States of the east in the middle ages
• Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle
Ages
• India
• China
• Japan
• Arab Caliphate
1. Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle
Ages
The term "Middle Ages" is used to refer to the period in the history of the
countries of the East in the first seventeen centuries of a new era. The natural
upper boundary of the period is considered to be the 16th - early 17th centuries,
when the East became the object of European trade and colonial expansion,
which interrupted the course of development characteristic of Asian and North
African countries. Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North
Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka,
Southeast Asia and the Far East.
The transition to the Middle Ages in the East in some cases was carried out
on the basis of already existing political formations (for example, Byzantium,
Sassanian Iran, Kushano-Gupta India), in others it was accompanied by social
upheavals, as was the case in China, and almost everywhere the processes
received acceleration due to the participation in them of "barbarian" nomadic
tribes. In the historical arena during this period, such hitherto unknown peoples
as the Arabs, the Seljuk Turks, and the Mongols appeared and rose. New religions
were born and civilizations arose on their basis.
The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were connected with Europe.
Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of Greco-Roman culture. The
Arab conquest of Spain and the campaigns of the Crusaders to the East
contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South
Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with Europeans took place only in the 15th-
16th centuries.The formation of medieval societies of the East was characterized
,by the growth of productive forces - iron tools spread, artificial irrigation
expanded and irrigation technology improved, the leading trend of the historical
process both in the East and in Europe was the establishment of feudal relations.
Various outcomes of development in the East and West by the end of the 20th
century. were due to a lesser degree of its dynamism.
Among the factors causing the "delay" of Eastern societies, the following
stand out: the preservation, along with the feudal way of life, of extremely slowly
disintegrating primitive communal and slave-owning relations; the stability of
communal forms of community life, which held back the differentiation of the
peasantry; the predominance of state property and power over private land
ownership and the private power of feudal lords; the undivided power of the
feudal lords over the city, weakening the anti-feudal aspirations of the
townspeople.
Pereodization of the history of the medieval East. Taking into account these
features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the
history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:
1st-6th centuries AD - the transitional period of the birth of feudalism;
7th-10th centuries - the period of early feudal relations with its inherent
process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;
XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongolian period, the beginning of the heyday of
feudalism, the formation of a class-corporate system of life, cultural take-off;
13th century - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the
development of feudal society and reversed some of them;
XIV-XVI centuries- the post-Mongolian period, which is characterized by a
slowdown in social development, the conservation of the despotic form of power.
Eastern civilizations. A colorful picture was presented by the Medieval East
in terms of civilization, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations
in the East arose in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Hindustan Peninsula,
Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim
civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim civilization in India, Hindu
and Muslim civilization in the countries of Southeast Asia, Buddhist civilization in
Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian civilization in Japan and Korea.
, 7.2. India (7th–18th centuries)
Rajput period (VII-XII centuries). As shown in Chapter 2, in the IV-VI
centuries. AD The powerful Gupta empire developed on the territory of modern
India. The Gupta era, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the
7th-12th centuries. period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the
isolation of the regions of the country and the decline of culture did not occur due
to the development of port trade. The conquering tribes of the Huns-Ephthalites
who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the
Gujarats who appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana and Malwa.
As a result of the merging of alien peoples with the local population, a compact
ethnic community of Rajputs arose, which in the 8th century. began expansion
from Rajputana into the rich regions of the Ganges valley and Central India. The
Gurjara-Pratihara clan, which formed a state in Malwa, was the most famous. It
was here that the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed
hierarchy and vassal psychology developed.
In the VI-VII centuries.in India, a system of stable political centers is
emerging, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties -
Northern India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. Canvas of political events of
the VIII-X centuries. began the struggle for Doab (between the Jumna and the
Ganges). In the tenth century the leading powers of the country fell into decay,
divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country
turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the 11th
century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (998-1030), the ruler
of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia,
Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.
The socio-economic development of India during the Rajput era was
characterized by the growth of feudal estates. The richest among the feudal lords,
along with the rulers, were the Hindu temples and monasteries. If initially only
uncultivated lands complained to them and with the indispensable consent of the
community that owned them, then from the 8th century. more and more often,
not only lands are transferred, but also villages, whose inhabitants were obliged
to bear a natural service in favor of the recipient. However, at this time, the
Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-
governing. A full-fledged community member hereditarily owned his field,
, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the community
administration.
Urban life, frozen after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the
end of the Rajput period. The old port centers developed faster.New cities arose
near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of
the court and the landowner's troops. The development of urban life was
facilitated by the increased exchange between cities and the emergence of
groupings of artisans according to castes. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian
city, the development of handicrafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle
of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and
merchants. Moreover, the value of the tax was the higher, the lower was the class
position of the castes to which the artisans and merchants belonged.
At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally took over Buddhism,
defeating it with the power of its amorphousness, which perfectly corresponded
to the political system of the era.
The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI
centuries) In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi
Sultanate, is established, and the dominance of Muslim commanders from the
Central Asian Turks is finally taking shape. Sunni Islam becomes the state religion,
and Persian becomes the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the
dynasties of Gulyams, Khiljis, and Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi.
The troops of the sultans made aggressive campaigns in Central and South India,
and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi
and pay an annual tribute to the sultan.
The turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of
Northern India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur (another
name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine
began in the country. Abandoned by the conqueror as governor of the Punjab,
Khizr Khan Sayyid captured Delhi in 1441 and founded a new Sayyid dynasty.
Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it already ruled as
governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his
power, entered into an uncompromising struggle with the feudal nobility and
Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents turned to the ruler of Kabul, the
Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In
• Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle
Ages
• India
• China
• Japan
• Arab Caliphate
1. Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle
Ages
The term "Middle Ages" is used to refer to the period in the history of the
countries of the East in the first seventeen centuries of a new era. The natural
upper boundary of the period is considered to be the 16th - early 17th centuries,
when the East became the object of European trade and colonial expansion,
which interrupted the course of development characteristic of Asian and North
African countries. Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North
Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka,
Southeast Asia and the Far East.
The transition to the Middle Ages in the East in some cases was carried out
on the basis of already existing political formations (for example, Byzantium,
Sassanian Iran, Kushano-Gupta India), in others it was accompanied by social
upheavals, as was the case in China, and almost everywhere the processes
received acceleration due to the participation in them of "barbarian" nomadic
tribes. In the historical arena during this period, such hitherto unknown peoples
as the Arabs, the Seljuk Turks, and the Mongols appeared and rose. New religions
were born and civilizations arose on their basis.
The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were connected with Europe.
Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of Greco-Roman culture. The
Arab conquest of Spain and the campaigns of the Crusaders to the East
contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South
Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with Europeans took place only in the 15th-
16th centuries.The formation of medieval societies of the East was characterized
,by the growth of productive forces - iron tools spread, artificial irrigation
expanded and irrigation technology improved, the leading trend of the historical
process both in the East and in Europe was the establishment of feudal relations.
Various outcomes of development in the East and West by the end of the 20th
century. were due to a lesser degree of its dynamism.
Among the factors causing the "delay" of Eastern societies, the following
stand out: the preservation, along with the feudal way of life, of extremely slowly
disintegrating primitive communal and slave-owning relations; the stability of
communal forms of community life, which held back the differentiation of the
peasantry; the predominance of state property and power over private land
ownership and the private power of feudal lords; the undivided power of the
feudal lords over the city, weakening the anti-feudal aspirations of the
townspeople.
Pereodization of the history of the medieval East. Taking into account these
features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the
history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:
1st-6th centuries AD - the transitional period of the birth of feudalism;
7th-10th centuries - the period of early feudal relations with its inherent
process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;
XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongolian period, the beginning of the heyday of
feudalism, the formation of a class-corporate system of life, cultural take-off;
13th century - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the
development of feudal society and reversed some of them;
XIV-XVI centuries- the post-Mongolian period, which is characterized by a
slowdown in social development, the conservation of the despotic form of power.
Eastern civilizations. A colorful picture was presented by the Medieval East
in terms of civilization, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations
in the East arose in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Hindustan Peninsula,
Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim
civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim civilization in India, Hindu
and Muslim civilization in the countries of Southeast Asia, Buddhist civilization in
Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian civilization in Japan and Korea.
, 7.2. India (7th–18th centuries)
Rajput period (VII-XII centuries). As shown in Chapter 2, in the IV-VI
centuries. AD The powerful Gupta empire developed on the territory of modern
India. The Gupta era, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the
7th-12th centuries. period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the
isolation of the regions of the country and the decline of culture did not occur due
to the development of port trade. The conquering tribes of the Huns-Ephthalites
who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the
Gujarats who appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana and Malwa.
As a result of the merging of alien peoples with the local population, a compact
ethnic community of Rajputs arose, which in the 8th century. began expansion
from Rajputana into the rich regions of the Ganges valley and Central India. The
Gurjara-Pratihara clan, which formed a state in Malwa, was the most famous. It
was here that the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed
hierarchy and vassal psychology developed.
In the VI-VII centuries.in India, a system of stable political centers is
emerging, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties -
Northern India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. Canvas of political events of
the VIII-X centuries. began the struggle for Doab (between the Jumna and the
Ganges). In the tenth century the leading powers of the country fell into decay,
divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country
turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the 11th
century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (998-1030), the ruler
of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia,
Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.
The socio-economic development of India during the Rajput era was
characterized by the growth of feudal estates. The richest among the feudal lords,
along with the rulers, were the Hindu temples and monasteries. If initially only
uncultivated lands complained to them and with the indispensable consent of the
community that owned them, then from the 8th century. more and more often,
not only lands are transferred, but also villages, whose inhabitants were obliged
to bear a natural service in favor of the recipient. However, at this time, the
Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-
governing. A full-fledged community member hereditarily owned his field,
, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the community
administration.
Urban life, frozen after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the
end of the Rajput period. The old port centers developed faster.New cities arose
near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of
the court and the landowner's troops. The development of urban life was
facilitated by the increased exchange between cities and the emergence of
groupings of artisans according to castes. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian
city, the development of handicrafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle
of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and
merchants. Moreover, the value of the tax was the higher, the lower was the class
position of the castes to which the artisans and merchants belonged.
At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally took over Buddhism,
defeating it with the power of its amorphousness, which perfectly corresponded
to the political system of the era.
The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI
centuries) In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi
Sultanate, is established, and the dominance of Muslim commanders from the
Central Asian Turks is finally taking shape. Sunni Islam becomes the state religion,
and Persian becomes the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the
dynasties of Gulyams, Khiljis, and Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi.
The troops of the sultans made aggressive campaigns in Central and South India,
and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi
and pay an annual tribute to the sultan.
The turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of
Northern India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur (another
name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine
began in the country. Abandoned by the conqueror as governor of the Punjab,
Khizr Khan Sayyid captured Delhi in 1441 and founded a new Sayyid dynasty.
Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it already ruled as
governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his
power, entered into an uncompromising struggle with the feudal nobility and
Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents turned to the ruler of Kabul, the
Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In
