Medieval India
The period between ancient and modern India, roughly from the 6th century and 16th century AD, is called the medieval era of India. The beginning of the era saw the rise of the Rajputs in north India and unrest between the north and south India. In the south, Cholas, Hoysalas, and Rashtrakutas reigned strong. The later medieval period was the era of invasion of Afghans and Turks. The beginning of the Mughal rule marks the end of the medieval era. However, some historians prefer to include the Mughal era in the late medieval period. Despite the upheavals, medieval India saw much progress in the art, culture, and languages of India.
Agrarian society
Agriculture formed the chief occupation of the people from the medieval era. Peasantry produced various food crops, fruits, vegetables and spices by employing advanced agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, double cropping, three-crop harvesting and grafting.
International trade routes
India had well-developed external and internal trade practices during the medieval period. Trade relations with China, Arabia, Egypt, Central Asia and Afghanistan were maintained by land routes. The advent of European trading companies from Portugal, Britain, France and the Netherlands intensified trade in the Indian subcontinent.
Import and export
India's three top export items in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were spices, textiles and indigo. Pepper was the main spice exported from Malabar, followed by ginger. Other items included labour, rice, sugar and aromatic substances.
Horses were a growing requirement not only for military purposes but also for racing and riding for pleasure. However, the Indian climate was not suitable for breeding horses of superior Quality, so they were imported. Turkish horses, bred in the steppes of Turkestan and southern Russia, were brought over land. while Iranian and Arab horses came by sea. These horses were shipped from Zufar and Hurmuz to the western coast of India to be sold mainly in the markets of the Gujarat kingdom and the Vijayanagar Empire. The political conflict between the Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani kingdom in the fifteenth century created additional demand for Iranian and Arab horses. At the turn of the sixteenth century, 7.000- 10,000 horses were exported to India annually from Kabul.
Towns and trade within India
Most of our notions of Indian towns come from Ibn Battuta's descriptions, which give us an impression of a reasonably well-urbanized land. By the mid-fourteenth century, Devagiri, now renamed Daulatabad, had gained prominence and was second only to Delhi. Other notable towns were Uchh, Sarsati (Sirsa), Kanauj, Gwalior and Gandhar on the Gulf of Cambay. Down the Western Coast, Mangalore, Eli (Hili), Pudupattana and Panderani, and then Madurai in Tamil Nadu were the large towns.
The currency system