Chapter 4: Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries — Class 7 Social Science
Social Science · 20 chapters
Summary, key terms, important questions and a practice quiz with AI diagnosis for each.
Chapter 4: Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries
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Why are the 11th and 12th centuries seen as a turning point?
Summary
This chapter treats the 11th and 12th centuries as a turning point in Indian history, when invasions by Turkic powers penetrated deep into north India despite stubborn resistance from native kingdoms. It begins with the Ghaznavid invasions: after the Hindu Shahis lost control of the Khyber Pass, Mahmud of Ghazni conducted seventeen campaigns into India, plundering and destroying temples at Mathura, Kannauj and Somnath and carrying away enormous booty. The chapter introduces the scholar al-Biruni, who accompanied Mahmud, learned Sanskrit and wrote an encyclopaedic survey of Indian sciences, and the great mathematician Bhaskaracharya, author of the Lilavati. It surveys kingdoms that flourished in this age — the Senas and Eastern Gangas in the east (builders of the Jagannatha and Konark temples), the Kakatiyas and Hoysalas in the Deccan (famous for their temples), the Cholas as 'masters of the seas' under Rajaraja and Rajendra, and the scholar-king Bhoja of the Paramaras. It then describes the Ghurid invasions: Muhammad Ghuri, after losing to Prithviraja III at the First Battle of Tarain, defeated him in 1192 and went on to capture Delhi, while his general Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed centres of learning like Nalanda. The chapter stresses resilience, the survival of trade, art, literature and thinkers like Ramanujacharya and Basaveshvara, and the enduring power of knowledge and creativity.
The Ghaznavid invasionsAl-Biruni and BhaskaracharyaKingdoms of the east, Deccan and southThe Ghurids and the conquest of DelhiResilience, thinkers and culture
Key terms
Turkic
Peoples, languages and cultures historically associated with a vast region from Central Asia to Turkey, the source of the invaders of this period.
Khyber Pass
A major mountain pass through the Hindu Kush range, long a trade route and the entry point for many invaders into the Subcontinent.
Sultan
A word of Arabic origin meaning 'authority' or 'power', a title assumed by rulers like Mahmud to mean a sovereign king.
Lilavati
Bhaskaracharya's famous mathematics text that uses lively riddles and problems to teach basic mathematics.
Second Battle of Tarain
The 1192 battle in which Muhammad Ghuri defeated Prithviraja III, opening the way to the conquest of Delhi.
Vachanas
Short Kannada poems by the reformer Basaveshvara that convey his spiritual and ethical vision and his rejection of caste distinctions.
Important questions
The Big Questions
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THINK ABOUT IT
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Turkic
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Peoples, languages and cultures historically associated with a vast region from Central Asia to Turkey, the source of the invaders of this period.
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Practice quiz · Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries
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