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Islamic Invasion Of India

Islamic invasion of India

The Islamic conquest of South Asia took place during the period of Rajput supremacy in north India, which lasted from the 7th century to the 12th century centuries. The first effort toward invasion was made in 664 CE during the Umayyad caliphate, when Muslim forces led by Mohalib began launching numerous raids from Persia. Among the cities struck were Multan in the southern Punjab in what is today Pakistan. Mohalib penetrated as far as the ancient capital of the Maili and returned with many prisoners of war. However, the Muslims didn't at this time come to conquer, seeming only to make exploratory raids. Many Hindus were turned to Islam by laws favoring Muslims or by force (in Iran the near annihilation of the Zorastrians), others turned to Islam voluntarily. It took several centuries to finally spread Islam in all portions of India. Most Indian Muslims who converted to Islam were Hindu and some of their ancestors embraced Islam under duress, although some did willingly or under the influence of laws favoring Muslims. There were also some converts who belonged to the ruling families of the different kingdoms of the region, many of whom were given little choice in the matter. Some of these rulers were Hindus who belonged to the warrior castes of Hindu society and were forcibly converted. The rulers of India also brought businessmen, traders, merchants and slaves from different parts of the world. Many of them married local Indians and converted them to Islam. The historian Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization (1972) that the Muslim conquest of India was "probably the bloodiest story in history." The exact number of people killed during the invasions will never be known. Estimates are based upon the Muslim chronicles and demographic calculations. K.S. Lal estimated in his book The Growth of Muslim Population in India that between the years 1000 CE and 1500 CE the population of Hindus decreased by eighty million.

Muhammad bin Qasim

In 711, the Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Baluchistan (an arid region on the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia, presently split between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) and Sindh (presently a province of Pakistan bordering on Baluchistan, Punjab, and Rajasthan, India). The expedition was led by a twenty-year-old Syrian Muslim chieftain named Muhammad bin Qasim (for whom Karachi's second port is named). The expedition went as far north as Multan, which at that time was known as the "city of gold," within which was the Sun Mandir, an extremely large Hindu temple that housed over six thousand people. Muhammed bin Qasim invaded South Asia on the orders of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, the governor of Iraq. Muhammad bin Qasim's armies defeated Raja Dahir at what is now Hyderabad in India and established Islamic rule. Conquering the area in 712 and supplanting its Hindu rulers, Qasim extended Muslim rule to the Indus Valley. Like Alexander the Great before him, he traveled and subdued the whole of what is modern Pakistan, from Karachi to Kashmir, but he managed this feat with a small force of only six thousand Syrian tribesmen, reaching the borders of Kashmir within three years. These conquests, however, couldn't be sustained by the Muslim Arabs for very long. Umayyad rule stretched too far, and any further conquests without consolidation proved futile. From Lisbon in Portugal to Lahore in the Punjab were the apogee of this vast empire. Qasim's was recalled to Baghdad, and Muslim rule in South Asia shrank to Sindh and the southern Punjab. But coastal trade and the presence of a Muslim colony in Sindh permitted significant cultural exchange and the introduction into the subcontinent of Islamic teachers. Consolidation took place and conversion was widespread, especially amongst the Buddhist majority. Multan became a center of the Ismaili sect of Islam, which still has many adherents today in Sindh. In many regions north of Multan, however, several non-Muslim groups (largely Buddhists and Hindus as well as followers of folk religions further north) remained numerous. From this period through the year 1000 the conquered area was divided into two parts: the northern region comprising the Punjab remained under the control of Hindu rajas while the southern area came under Muslim control and comprised Baluchistan, Sindh, and Multan—until a new invader appeared on the scene and reconquered all of what is today Pakistan. Qasim demolished many temples, shattered "idolatorous" artwork and killed many people in his battles. After the violence, he attempted to establish law and order in the newly-conquered territory through the imposition of Islamic Shariah laws. He also sought control through systematic persecution of Hindus. Qasim wrote an account of such experiences: :O my cousin; I received your life inspiring letter. I was much pleased and overjoyed when it reached me. The events were recounted in an excellent and beautiful style, and I learnt that the ways and rules you follow are conformable to the Law. Except that you give protection to all, great and small alike, and make no difference between enemy and friend. God says, 'Give no quarter to Infidels, but cut their throats." "Then know that this is the command of the great God. You should not be too ready to grant protection, because it will prolong your work. After this, give no quarter to any enemy except to those who are of rank. This is a worthy resolve, and want of dignity will not be imputed to you. Peace be with you. Native populations of conquered territories under Qasim underwent a great deal of hardship and struggle for their refusal to convert to Islam. Heavy taxes known as Jizya were imposed upon the non-muslims, and the conversion of conquered populations occurred on a large scale.

The Ghaznavid Period

In the early 11th century Mahmud of Ghazni launched seventeen invasions of the Hindu parts of India and set up several early forms of government. In 1001 Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated King Jeebal of Kabulistan and marched further into Peshawer and, in 1005, made it the center for his forces. From this strategic location Mahmud was able to capture the Punjab in 1007. the city Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Multan twice, destroying the Sun Mandir, but he didn't stay. Tanseer fell in 1014, Kashmir was captured in 1015, and Qanoch fell in 1017. By 1027 Mahmud had captured most of northern India. In 1010 Mahmud captured what is today the Ghowr Province (Ghor) and by 1011 annexed Baluchistan. Mahmud had already had relationships with the leadership in Balkh through marriage, and its local emir, Abu Nasr Mohammad, offered his services to the sultan and his daughter to Mahmud's son, Muhammad. After Nasr’s death Mahmud brought Balkh under his leadership. This alliance greatly helped him during his expeditions into northern India. In 1030 Mahmud fell gravely ill and died at the age of 59. He had been a gifted military commander and eloquent speaker as well as a patron of poetry, astronomy, and mathematics. Mahmud had no tolerance for other religions, however, and praised only Islam. During his rule universities were founded to study various subjects such as mathematics, religion, the humanities, and medicine—but only within the laws of the Sharia. Islam was the main religion of his kingdom and the Perso-Afghan dialect of Dari was made the official language. Ghaznavid rule in Pakistan lasted for over 175 years, from 1010 to 1187. It was during this period that Lahore assumed considerable importance as the eastern-most bastion of Muslim power and as an outpost for further advance toward the riches of the east. Apart from being the second capital, and later the only capital, of the Ghaznavid kingdom, Lahore had great military and strategic significance. Whoever controlled this city could look forward to and be in a position to sweep the whole of East Punjab to Panipat and Delhi. By the end of his reign, Mahmud's empire extended from Kurdistan in the west to Samarkand in the northeast, and from the Caspian Sea to the Yamuna. Although his raids carried his forces across northern and western India, only the Punjab came under his permanent rule; Kashmir, the Doab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat remained under the control of the local Hindu Rajput dynasties. The wealth brought back to Ghazni, however, was enormous. Contemporary historians (e.g. Abolfazl Beyhaghi and Ferdowsi) give glowing descriptions of the magnificence of the capital as well as of the conqueror's munificent support of literature. Often reviled as a persecutor of Hindus—because in many cases Hindu temples were looted and destroyed—much of Mahmud's army was made up of Hindus. Indeed, some of his army commanders were of Hindu origin. For example, Sonday Rai was the commander of Mahmud's crack regiment and took part in several important campaigns with him. The coins struck during Mahmud's reign bore his own image on one side and the figure of a Hindu god on the other. Mahmud was also a great patron of learning. His court was full of scholars including giants like Ferdowsi the poet, Abolfazl Beyhaghi the historian (whose work on the Ghanavid Empire is perhaps the most substantive primary source of the period), and Al-Biruni, the versatile scholar who wrote the Ta'rikh al-Hind ("Chronicles of India"). It was said that Mahmud spent over four hundred thousand golden dinars on scholars. He invited them from all over the world and was thus known as an abductor of scholars. During his rule, Lahore also became a great center of learning and culture. It was called "Small Ghazni," since Ghazni received far more attention during Mahmud's reign. Saad Salman, a poet of those times, wrote about the academic and cultural life of Muslim Lahore and its growing importance. His armies destroyed Hindu temples in Varanasi, Mathura, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Jwalamukhi, and Dwarka. He had vowed to chastise idolaters every year of his life. He did not set up any permanent government in India, but he certainly left his legacy.

Muhammed Ghuri

Muhammad Ghori was a Perso-Afghan conqueror from the region of Ghor in Afghanistan. Before 1160, the Ghaznavid Empire covered an area running from central Afghanistan east to the Punjab, with capitals at Ghazni, a city on the banks of Ghazni river in present-day Afghanistan, and at Lahore in present-day Pakistan. In 1160 the Ghorids conquered Ghazni from the Ghaznevids, and in 1173 Muhammad was made governor of Ghazni. He raided eastwards into the remaining Ghaznevid territory, and invaded Gujarat in the 1180's but was rebuffed by Gujarat's Solanki rulers. In 1186 and 1187 he conquered Lahore, ending the Ghaznevid empire and bringing the last of Ghaznevid territory under his control. In 1191, he invaded the territory of Prithviraj III of Ajmer, who ruled much of present-day Rajasthan and Haryana, but was defeated at Tarain by Govinda-raja of Delhi, Prithviraj's vassal. The following year Muhammad assembled 120,000 horsemen and once again invaded the Kingdom of Ajmer. Muhammad's army met Prithviraj's army again at Tarain, and this time Muhammad was victorious; Govinda-raja was slain, Prithviraj captured, and Muhammad advanced on Delhi, capturing it soon after. Within a year Muhammad controlled northern Rajasthan and the northern part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab. After these victories in India, and Muhammad's establishment of a capital in Delhi, Multan in the Punjab was made a part of his empire. Muhammad then returned east to Ghazni to deal with the threat to his eastern frontiers from the Turks and Mongols, but his armies, mostly under Turkish generals, continued to advance through northern India, raiding as far east as Bengal. Muhammad returned to Lahore after 1200 to deal with a revolt of the Ghakkar tribe in the Punjab. He suppressed the revolt, but was killed during a Ghakkar raid on his camp on the Jhelum River in 1206. Upon his death his most capable general, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, took control of Muhammad's Indian conquests and declared himself the first Sultan of Delhi.

The Delhi Sultanate

Muhammad's successors established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, while the Mamluk Dynasty (mamluk means "slave" and referred to the Turkic slave soldiers who became rulers throughout the Islamic world) in 1211 (however, the Delhi Sultanate is traditionally held to have been founded in 1206) seized the reins of empire. The territory under control of the Muslim rulers in Delhi expanded rapidly. By mid-century, Bengal and much of central India was under the Delhi Sultanate. Several Turko-Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi: the Mamluk (1211–1290), the Khalji (1290–1320), the Tughlaq (1320–1413), the Sayyid (1414–51), and the Lodhi (1451–1526). As Muslims extended their rule into southern India, only the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar remained immune, until it too fell in 1565. Although some kingdoms remained independent of Delhi in the Deccan and in Gujarat, Malwa (central India), and Bengal, almost all of the area in present-day Pakistan came under the rule of Delhi. The sultans of Delhi enjoyed cordial, if superficial, relations with Muslim rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. The sultans based their laws on the Quran and the sharia and permitted non-Muslim subjects to practice their religion only if they paid the jizya or head tax. The sultans ruled from urban centers--while military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for towns that sprang up in the countryside. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the sultanate was its temporary success in insulating the subcontinent from the potential devastation of the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the thirteenth century, which nonetheless led to the loss of Afghanistan and western Pakistan to the Mongols (see the Ilkhanate Dynasty). The sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance resulting from the stimulation of Islam by Hinduism. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. In addition it is surmised that the language of Urdu (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects) was born during the Dehli Sultanate period as a result of the mingling of Sanskritic Hindi and the Persian, Turkish, Arabic favored by the Muslim invaders of India. The sultanate suffered from the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (Tamerlane) but revived briefly under the Lodhis before it was conquered by the Mughals in 1526, who ruled from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.

Alauddin Khilji

Other invasions from Central Asia followed his on a regular basis, such as that of Muhammad Khilji, who burned Nalanda's a major Buddhist library. The rulers of these territories became known as the Mughals and their empire that covered a large portion of India is known as the Mughal Empire.

Timur

The Mughal Empire

Main article: Mughal Empire India in the 16th century presented a fragmented picture of rulers, both Muslim and Hindu, who lacked concern for their subjects and who failed to create a common body of laws or institutions. Outside developments also played a role in shaping events. The circumnavigation of Africa by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498 allowed Europeans to challenge Arab control of the trading routes between Europe and Asia. In Central Asia and Afghanistan, shifts in power pushed Babur of Ferghana (in present-day Uzbekistan) southward, first to Kabul and then to India. The dynasty he founded endured for more than three centuries.

Babur

Claiming descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur, Babur combined strength and courage with a love of beauty, and military ability with cultivation. He concentrated on gaining control of northwestern India, doing so in 1526 by defeating the last Lodhi sultan at the First battle of Panipat, a town north of Delhi. Babur then turned to the tasks of persuading his Central Asian followers to stay on in India and of overcoming other contenders for power, mainly the Rajputs and the Afghans. He succeeded in both tasks but died shortly thereafter in 1530. The Mughal Empire was one of the largest centralized states in premodern history and was the precursor to the British Indian Empire. Babur was followed by his great-grandson, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58), builder of the Taj Mahal and other magnificent buildings. Two other towering figures of the Mughal era were Akbar (r. 1556–1605) and Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707). Both rulers expanded the empire greatly and were able administrators. However, Akbar was known for his religious tolerance and administrative genius while Aurangzeb was a pious Muslim and fierce protector of orthodox Islam in an alien and heterodox environment.

Ahmad Shah Abdali

Aurangzeb

While some rulers were zealous in their spread of Islam, others were relatively liberal. The Moghul emperor Akbar was one who was relatively liberal and established a new religion, Din E Elahi, which included beliefs from different religions. He abolished the jizya for some time. In contrast, Aurangazeb was more zealous and, generally, during his term non-Muslims suffered. He reimposed the jizya, which his great grandfather Akbar had removed. It is a matter of historical record that under the rule of Aurangzeb a large number of natives were put to death. In the century and a half that followed the death of Aurangzeb, effective Muslim control weakened. Succession to imperial and even provincial power, which had often become hereditary, was subject to intrigue and force. The mansabdari system gave way to the zamindari system, in which high-ranking officials took on the appearance of hereditary landed aristocracy with powers of collecting rents. As Delhi's control waned, other contenders for power emerged and clashed, thus preparing the way for the eventual British takeover.

Iconoclasm

Nalanda

In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was destroyed by Turkish Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as the final milestone in the decline and near extinction of Buddhism in India. He also burned Nalanda's a major Buddhist library. Vikramshila University, also a major center of Buddhist learning, was destroyed as well, along with the rest of the Buddhist monasteries in India. By the end of the 12th century, following the Islamic conquest of the Budhist stronghold in Bihar, Budhists ceased to be a significant presence in India. The survivors retreated into Nepal and Tibet, or escaped to the south of the Subcontinent. The remnants of their culture lingered on even as far west as Turkestan. In March 2001, two giant statues of Buddha, the Buddhas of Bamiyan, were destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Vijayanagara

The city flourished between the 14th century and 16th century, during the height of the power of the Vijayanagar empire. During this time, it was often in conflict with the Muslim kingdoms which had become established in the northern Deccan, and which are often collectively termed the Deccan sultanates. In 1565, the empire's armies suffered a massive and catastrophic defeat at the hands of an alliance of the sultanates, and the capital was taken. The victorious armies then proceeded to raze, depopulate, and destroy the city over a period of several months. Despite the empire continuing to exist thereafter during a slow decline, the original capital was not reoccupied or rebuilt. It has not been occupied since.

Somnath

The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the Christian era. The second temple, built by the Maitraka kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649. In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked this temple in 1026, and looted it of gems and precious stones. He then massacred the worshippers and had the temple burnt. It was then that the famous Shivalinga of the temple was entirely destroyed. The fourth temple was built by the Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Gujarat (Anhilwara) between 1026 and 1042. The temple was razed in 1297 when the Sultanate of Delhi conquered Gujarat, and again in 1394. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple again in 1706.

Historical Views

In his book Histoire de l'Inde the French historian Alain Danielou writes: :From the moment when the Muslims arrive in India, the history of India does not have any more great interest. It is long and monotonous series of murder, massacres, spoilations, destruction. In his book The Story of Civilization the historian Will Durant said: :The Mohammadan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within. Hindu sage Padmanabha described in his KanhaDade Prabandha in 1456 AD the story of the Islamic invasion of Gujarat of the year 1298 AD: :The conquering army burnt villages, devastated the land, plundered people’s wealth, took Brahmins and children and women of all classes captive, flogged with thongs of raw hide, carried a moving prison with it, and converted the prisoners into obsequious slaves. Tarikh-i-Yamini of Utbi the sultan's secretary wrote in the 11th century: :The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously at Thanesar that the stream was discoloured, notwithstanding its purity, and people were unable to drink it. The Sultan returned with plunder which is impossible to count.

Cultural influence

Islamic traditions blended with language, dress, cuisine, architecture, social customs and values of the natives to give rise to much of present day Indian culture. Numerous scientific and mathematical advances and the Indian mathematical numerals were spread to the rest of the world . The languages brought by Islam were modified by contact with local languages leading to the creation of several new languages, such as Urdu, which uses the modified Arabic script, but with more Persian words. The influences of these languages exist in several dialects in India today. Islamic and Mughal architecture and art is widely noticeable in India, examples being the Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar.

References

- - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html India], [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pktoc.html Pakistan] # #

External links

- [http://www.boloji.com/history/002.htm History of Islam in India] By Neria Harish Hebbar (Article with several pages)
- [http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Islamic_Onslaught.htm Article on Islamic invasions]
- [http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/moghal_link.html Library of modern Hindu history - The Islamic Ages]
- [http://www.kashmirherald.com/featuredarticle/hatredofhindus.html A Response to Muslim Legacy in India]
- [http://www.indiansaga.info/history/arab_invasion.html History of India] Indian site.
- [http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/sindh.html Islamization and the Arab conquest of India]
- [http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4616 The Legacy of Jihad in India] Category:Islamic conquests Category:History of India Category:History of Pakistan Category:Hindu history Category:South Asia Category:Middle Ages

Rajput

A Rajput ( राजपूत from Sanskrit राजपुत्र rāja-putra, "son of a king") is a member of a prominent caste who live throughout northern and central India, primarily in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which was called Rajputana until reorganization of India's states after independence. Rajasthan They are thought to number about 12 million. The Indian census has not recorded caste affiliation since 1931 (except in the case of Backward or Scheduled Castes) and any estimates of those claiming Rajput lineage or caste are necessarily inexact.

Definition

The term Rajputra has been used since the time of Harshavardhana, however the modern usage of the term refers to the descendants of the 36 major clans that ruled western India during the 8th–13th centuries. The names of the clans are given in the Kumarpala Charita of Jayasimha and in the Prithviraj Raso of Chandbardai. The term Rajput ordinarily refers to the group's "jati" which is a social hierarchical status found within the caste system of Hinduism, which developed out of the Vedic varna system. The Rajputs consider themselves the original descendants of the Vedic warrior (Kshatriya) varna. Although all members of a warrior caste, Rajputs vary in profession from aristocrats to farmers. There is one independent country, still ruled by a Rajput clan - Nepal. It should also be noted that a number of sub-castes, or jatis, claim to be Rajputs. Some of them have a historical basis for the claim. Some are considered to be descendants of the Rajputs but are not generally accepted by the main Rajput community. Ancient Rajput kings have permitted all the faiths to flourish in their domains. While personally they have often practiced Vedic, Shaiva, Vaishnava and ocasionaly Jain traditions; they supported Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Sufi traditions as well. Rajputs in India are mostly Hindu. There are some Rajputs who follow the Sikh panth, and they often intermarry with Hindu Rajputs. There are many Muslim Rajputs in Pakistan, and some also in India. There has been some discussion whether Muslim Rajputs can be considered Rajput which can be seen at the discussion page.

The Rajput Rule of India

Today the Rajput kings are mainly remembered as warriors. However as influential rulers, they were responsible for emergence of the modern Indian society. An examination of the archeological evidence and contemporary texts suggest that the Indian society had achieved significant prosperity during the Rajput rule. Most of the archaeological remains in a large part of India are from the Rajput period. It was also a period of spread of literacy. Numerous inscriptions from this period have been found. A significant fraction of them are by people who were unaffiliated with the nobles, suggesting that education was spreading among the common people. The literature composed in this period in Sanskrit and in Apabhramshas constitutes a large fraction of the classical Indian literatures. The Paramara king Bhoj of Dhara not only a patron of scholars, but himself a distinguished and prolific scholar. His Samarangana-sutradhara deals with architecture and Raja-Martanda is a famous commentary on Yoga-sutra. The intermarriage among the Rajput clans interlinked different regions of India, making it easier for the trade and scholarship to flow from one part of the country to another.

History

Yoga-sutra The Rajputs are divided into 36 clans, claiming three basic lineages: the Surya Vansi (Solar Race), the Chandra Vansi (Lunar Race), and the Agni kula (Fire Born). Some scholars also include Rishi vansi, Nag Vanshi and Vayu Vanshi as separate classes. One version of the story of Agni kula origins is that four warriors, Agnikul, Yadaukul, Suryakul and Odak, whose names are given to the Rajput clans, sprang from the sacred fire (Agni-kunda) in a ceremony performed by Sage Vashishtha near Mount Abu. Historically the Rajputs have supported Brahmins as scholars and priests. Rajputs often have their own family priests, known as Purohits. Also many Rajputs have Brahmin Gurus. Some scions of their noble families even officiate as priests in their Hindu temples; for example, the Sesodia kings of Mewar consider themselves regents of Eklingji, a manifestation of Shiva, and serve as the high priest of the deity as well as ruler of the state. The Rajput ethos is martial in spirit, fiercely proud, and emphasizes lineage and tradition. Rajput patriotism is legendary, an ideal they embodied with a sometimes fanatical zeal, often choosing death before dishonour. Rajput warriors were often known to fight until the last man. The practice of jauhar and saka was followed only in rajput communities. When the outcome of a battle was against the Rajputs, jauhar would be commited by Rajput women and children in the night and next morning men would commit saka. Brahmin priests would chant Vedic mantras and Rajput women wearing their marriage dresses, along with their young children, would embrace sandalwood flames. The next morning after taking a bath, the men would wear kesariya and apply the ash from the maha samadhi of their wives and children on their foreheads and put a tulsi leaf in their mouth. Then the palace gates would be opened and men would ride out for complete annhiliation of the enemy or themselves. The practices of Johar and Saka were, however not universal amongst all the Rajput clans and even among the same clan during different periods of time. Rajasthan, which is believed to be the birthplace of Rajputs has a very high concentration of Rajputs. Rajputs are spread throughout India and Pakistan with Punjab also having high numbers of both Sikh and Muslim Rajputs. In his New History of India, Stanley Wolpert wrote "The Rajputs were the vanguard of Hindu India in the face of the Islamic onslaught." For further details see Rajputs and Invasions of India

Genetics

The Rajputs are genetically similar to other upper castes and North Indians. See Indo-Aryan_migration.

Prominent Rajput clans & their main centers

For further details see Rajput Clans
- Badgujar: Churu
- Bhatti: Jaisalmer
- Bhaduria (Chauhan): Bhadawar
- Bundela: Orchha
- Chandela: Mahoba/Khajuraho
- Chauhan: Ajmer
- Chavda: Anhilwara in Gujarat
- Dahia: Haryana
- Dodia: Piploda
- Gaharwar (Rathore): Kannauj
- Guhilot: Chittor/Udaipur
- Sisodia (Guhilot): Chittor/Udaipur
- Hada (Chauhan): Hadoti
- Jasrotia (Kachwaha): Jasrot
- Jadeja: Kutch
- Janjua: Gandhara
- Jarral: Kangda, Rajauri
- Jhala: Jhalavad
- Kachwaha: Narwar, Jaipur
- Katoch: Uttarakhand
- Paramara, Ponwar (Parmar): Mount Abu, Dhar
- Pathania: Uttarakhand
- Pratihara (Parihara): Rajasthan, Kannauj
- Rathore: Bikaner, Jodhpur
- Solanki: Anhilwara in Gujarat
- Tomara or Toor: Delhi, Gwalior

Links

- [http://www.mewarindia.com/ency/raja.html The Mewar Encyclopedia]
- [http://heritagehotels.com/ektharaja/introduction.htm#intro Ek Tha Raja]
- [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/kotah.htm Kota Chauhan Clan]
- [http://www.maharajajodhpur.com/hh/hh_main.htm Jodhpur Rathore Clan]
- [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/r/rewah.html Rewa Baghel Clan]

Refrences

- Kshatriya Vamshavali, Thakur Udainarain Simha.
- Jati Bhaskara, Jwalaprasad Mishra, Pub. Khemaraj Shrikrishnadas, 1914.
- An Introduction to Indian Historiography, A. K. Warder, 1972.
- Some aspects of Ancient India History and culture, Upendra Thakur, 1974. Category:Social groups of India Category:Social groups of Pakistan ja:ラージプート

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna. The rivers are responsible for the fertile plains in northern India which are conducive to farming. The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalaya have a tundra climate. India gets most of its rains through the monsoons.

Economy

monsoon India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 6.9% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry. The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005. Many small-scale industries provide steady employment to workers in small towns and villages. business process outsourcing While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange. India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellry, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.

Demographics

India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. By 2030, India is expected to surpass China with the world's largest population, estimated at 1.6 billion. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai]] India's literacy rate is 64.8 % with 53.7 % of females and 75.3 % of males being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands at 39.1 % with male WPR at 51.7 % and female WPR at 25.6 % inote|eu{inote|demostats{inote|religion{ref|languages{inote|tongues{see2|Christianity in India|Jews in India{seealso3|List of Indian languages by total speakers|List of cities in India|Religion in India{main|Culture of India{seealso4|List of World Heritage sites in India|Indian architecture|Indian family name|Cuisine of India{main|Sports in India{main|Holidays in India{Official Holidays of India{Topics related to India{portal{sisterlinks|India{wikitravel{wikicities|india|India{explain-inote{Web reference | title=India facts and figures | work=Embassy of India| URL= http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/indiaprofile/profile.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Forex reserves up by $1bn | work=Economic Times| URL= http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093864.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India Economy | work=Travel Document Systems |URL= http://www.traveldocs.com/in/economy.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Services | work=India in Business| URL= http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/india-profile/ser-infotech.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Destination India: An Unpolished Diamond | work=Times of India | URL= http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/819309.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= US, UAE, UK, China, Japan among India's top trade partners | work=Indian Express| URL= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/business/20050102-0.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= CIA Factbook : India | work=CIA Factbook | URL= http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Provisional Population Totals 2001 Census| work=Census of India| URL=http://www.censusindia.net/results/resultsmain.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Debating India & India's literacy rate | work=Debating India | URL= http://india.eu.org/1963.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India – Country profiles | work=indexmundi.com | URL= http://www.indexmundi.com/India/ India | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Census of India 2001, Data on Religion | work=Census of India | URL= http://www.censusindia.net/results/religion_main.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Languages of India | work=India image | URL= http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm| date=August 14 | year=2005{Book reference | Author=K.M. Matthew | Title=Manorama Yearbook 2003 | Publisher= Malaya Manorama | Year=2003 | ID=ISBN 8190046187{mnb|afgh|1{mnb|LoC|2{South Asia{Asia{Commonwealth of Nations{SAARC{Life in India{Link FA|sv{Link FA|sv

7th century

Overview

Events

- Islam starts in Arabia, the Qur'an is documented, and Syria, Iraq, Persia, North Africa and Central Asia convert to Islam.
- Sutton Hoo ship burial, East Anglia (modern England)
- Xuan Zang (aka Hsuan-Tsang) travelled from China to India, before returning to Chang An in China to translate Buddhist scriptures.
- End of sporadic Buddhist rule in the Sindh.
- Serbs and Croats entered their present territory early in the 7th century AD, settling in six distinct tribal delimitations, and setting up early states.
- Teotihuacan is sacked and burnt.
- The religion of Shugendo evolves from Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto and other influences in the mountains of Japan.
- The Bulgars arrive in the Balkans.
- Arab traders penetrate the area of Lake Chad.
- First English poetry

Significant persons

- Gregory the Great (Pope, 540-604)
- Saint Cuthbert
- Heraclius - Warrior Emperor of Byzantium who won numerous victories against the Sassanids (Persians).
- Emperor Taizong of Tang China
- Muhammad (570-632), Muslim Prophet
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (600-661), cousin of Muhammad, central to Shi'a Islam
- Saint Asaph

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

- The stirrup introduced to Persia from China, late 7th century
- Earliest known record of the game Chatrang, predecessor to Chess

Decades and years

Category:7th century 07th century ko:7세기 ja:7世紀 th:คริสต์ศตวรรษที่ 7

12th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages. See also: Renaissance of the 12th century

Events

- The Song dynasty loses power over Northern China.
- The Kamakura Shogunate deprives the Emperor of Japan of political power.
- First, Second, and Third Crusades of western European kingdoms against Islam.
- Pope Adrian IV grants overlordship of Ireland to Henry II of England.
- Suger rebuilds the abbey church at St Denis north of Paris, regarded as the first major Gothic building.
- King Coloman unites Hungary and Croatia under the Hungarian Crown (1102)
- Portugal gains independence from the kingdom of León in 1128 (recognised by León in 1143).
- Nalanda, the great Indian Buddhist educational centre, is destroyed.
- Thomas Becket is murdered in 1170.
- The Toltec Empire collapses.
- Founding of the cathedral school (Katedralskolan) in Lund, Sweden, 1185. The school is the oldest in northern Europe, and one of the oldest in Europe as a whole.
- The medieval Serbian state formed by Stefan Nemanja and continued by the Nemanjić dynasty.

Significant people

- Genghis Khan, Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.
- Pierre Abélard, one of the first scholastic philosophers; author of "Historia calamitatum mearum", a description of his love affair with Héloïse.
- Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot influential in church politics.
- Saladin, ruler of Egypt and Syria who resisted the Crusaders.
- Hugh of St. Victor, French scholar.
- Richard of St. Victor, theologian.
- Alfonso I Henriques, first King of Portugal.
- Maimonides, leading Jewish philosopher.
- Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury.
- Minamoto no Yoritomo, first shogun of Japan.
- Omar Khayyám, Persian poet and astronomer
- Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen consort of France and later England.
- Hildegard of Bingen, first Western musical composer known by name.

Inventions, discoveries and introductions

- Beginning of the Gothic architecture style.
- First European universities founded.
- Christian humanism becomes a self-conscious philosophical tendency in Europe.
- Earliest record of a miracle play, in Dunstable, England.
- Beginning of troubador and trouvère music in France.
- Earliest account of a mariner's compass, by Alexander Neckam is "De utensilibus".
- First fire and plague insurance (in Iceland).
- First authenticated influenza epidemics.
- Start of Middle English

Decades and years

Category:12th century Category:Centuries ko:12세기 ja:12世紀 simple:12th century th:คริสต์ศตวรรษที่ 12

664

Events

- September, Synod of Whitby

Births

Deaths

- July 14 - Deusdedit of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Xuanzang, famous Chinese Buddhist monk
- Saint Tuda, Bishop of Lindisfarne Category:664 ko:664년

Umayyad

The Umayyad Dynasty (Arabic بنو أمية banū umayya / الأمويون al-umawiyyūn); Persian امویان (Omaviyân), Turkish, Emevi, ) was the first dynasty of caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad who were not closely related to Muhammad himself, though they were of the same Meccan tribe, the Quraish. The first dynasty reigned from AD661 to AD750. Ironically, the clan from which the Umayyads originated had originally been bitter enemies.

Umayyad rulers

Muawiyah had been the governor of Syria under the 3rd caliph and his kinsman, Uthman ibn Affan. After the assassination of Uthman, he was replaced by the new caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Since the killers of Uthman had allied themselves with Ali, Muawiyah refused to accept his caliphate, and in 657 led an army against him. The two sides agreed to a conciliation procedure, resulting in an arbitration that many of Ali's partisans saw as unfair. The Muslim empire was partitioned. When Ali was assassinated in 661, his son Hasan pledged allegiance to Muawiyah and Muawiyah was declared caliph of all Muslim lands. This established the Umayyad dynasty, and the capital of the caliphate was moved to Damascus. Great waves of expansion occurred under the reign of the Umayyads. Muslim armies pushed across North Africa and Iran, through the late 600s, expanding the borders of the empire from the Iberian peninsula, in the west, to what is today Pakistan, in the east. Forces led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad crossed Gibraltar and established Muslim power in the Iberian peninsula, while other armies established power far away in Sind, in South Asia. The Muslim empire under the Umayyads was now a vast domain that ruled a diverse array of peoples. The Umayyads were overthrown in the east by the Abbasid dynasty after their defeat in the Battle of the Zab in 750, following which most of the clan was massacred by the Abbasids. An Umayyad prince, Abd-ar-rahman I, took over the Muslim territory in Al-Andalus (Hispania) and founded a new Umayyad dynasty there.

Umayyad Caliphs at Damascus

- Muawiyah I ibn Abi Sufyan, 661-680
- Yazid I ibn Muawiyah, 680-683
- Muawiya II ibn Yazid, 683-684
- Marwan I ibn Hakam, 684-685
- Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 685-705
- al-Walid I ibn Abd al-Malik, 705-715
- Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik, 715-717
- Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, 717-720
- Yazid II ibn Abd al-Malik, 720-724
- Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, 724-743
- al-Walid II ibn Yazid II, 743-744
- Yazid III ibn al-Walid, 744
- Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, 744
- Marwan II ibn Muhammad (ruled from Harran in the Jazira) 744-750

Umayyad Emirs of Cordoba

- Abd ar-Rahman I, 756-788
- Hisham I, 788-796
- al-Hakam I, 796-822
- Abd ar-Rahman II, 822-8
- [[Abdallah ibn Muhammad]], [[888-912
- Abd ar-Rahman III, 912-929

Umayyad Caliphs at Cordoba

- Abd ar-Rahman III, as caliph, 929-961
- Al-Hakam II, 961-976
- Hisham II, 976-1008
- Mohammed II, 1008-1009
- Suleiman, 1009-1010
- Hisham II, restored, 1010-1012
- Suleiman, restored, 1012-1017
- Abd ar-Rahman IV, 1021-1022
- Abd ar-Rahman V, 1022-1023
- Muhammad III, 1023-1024
- Hisham III, 1027-1031

Umayyad sahaba

Here is a partial list of the Companions of Muhammad who were part of the Umayyad clan:
- Marwan ibn Al-Hakam
- Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
- Abu Sufiyan ibn Harb

Umayyad taba'een

Here is a partial list of the Taba'een (the generation that succeeded the Companions) who were part of the Umayyad clan:
- Abdul Rahman ibn Khalid ibn Walid
- Yazid bin Muawiyah
- Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

External links

Muslim

A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also pronounced Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. Literally, the word means someone who has submitted/surrendered himself or herself to the will of God.

Definition

Most Muslims accept as a fellow Muslim anyone who has sincerely pronounced the Shahada, a ritual declaration of submission to God and assertion that Muhammad is the last prophet. Muslims describe many Biblical figures, such as Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), as Muslims because they submitted completely to God.
- For a list of Muslims, see List of Muslims.
- For a list of different Muslim sects and divisions, see Divisions of Islam.

Etymology

The singular form of the word Muslim comes from the Arabic plural form 'Al-Muslimīn, from the tri-consonantal root SLM, also found in the words Islam and salām. The plural form is instanced in the Qur'an, 22:79, Al-Hajj.

Pronunciation and spelling

Until around the late 1980s, the word was commonly spelled Moslem. The spelling has since fallen into disuse. Muslims do not recommend this spelling because it is often pronounced "mawzlem," which sounds somewhat similar to an Arabic word for "oppressor" (Za'lem in Arabic). The word is pronounced "Mus"-lim in Arabic, but some English dictionaries allow both "Mus"-lim and "Muz"-lim. The word is written "Muslim".

Other words for Muslim

Many English-language writers used to call Muslims "Mohammedans" or "Mahometans," meaning "followers of Mohammed," but this terminology is considered incorrect and insulting, because Muslims believe it implies that they worship the prophet Muhammad, contrary to the fundamental principles of Islam itself. This terminology is seen as too similar to Christians as followers and worshippers of Christ. In addition, Muslims believe that the religion of submitting to God (Islām in Arabic) existed long before the birth of Muhammad, making all the prophets before him "Muslims." English writers of the 19th century and earlier sometimes used the words Mussulman, Musselman, or Mussulmaun. Variant forms of this word are still used by many Indo-European languages. These words are similar to the French, Spanish, and Italian words for "Muslim."

Disputes

The Ahmedi sect consider themselves Muslim, and an agnostic or atheist of Islamic background may refer to themselves as a cultural Muslim; however, most mainstream Muslims disagree with both these classifications, since they conflict with the conventional religious definition of Islam.

Persia

Persia can refer to:
- the Western name for Iran. (See Iran naming dispute)
- the country under authority of ancient Persian Empire.

Other place names

- Persia, Iowa
- Persia, New York
- Persia, California

Etymology

English Persia < Latin Persia, < ancient Greek Persis, < Old Persian Parsa.

Multan

Multan ملتان is a city in Pakistan and capital of Multan District in the Punjab Province. It is located in the southern part of the province, and is a very historic city. It has a population of over about 3.83 Million (according to 1998 census), making it the sixth largest city in Pakistan.

History

Multan ملتان is an extremely old city, famous for its sufi shrines, which has seen a lot of warfare, because of its location on a major invasion route of India from Central Asia. The history of Multan dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. It is believed to be the same city as Maii-us-than where Alexander's forces stormed the citadel after seeing their king injured and unconscious on the field of battle. In the mid 5th century, the city was attacked by a group of nomads led by Torman. These nomads were successful in taking the city, but did not stay, and the long-standing Hindu rule over the city was reestablished. In the 7th century, Multan had its first experience with Muslim armies. Armies led by Muhalib launched numerous raids from Persia into India. However, they did not come to conquer, and seemed only to be exploring the area. However, only a few decades later, Muhammad bin Qasim would come on behalf of the Arabs, and take Multan along with Sind. The city at that time was known as the "city of gold" and numerous historians have written about an extremely large Hindu temple that housed over 6,000 people within it, known as the Sun Mandir. Following bin Qasim's conquest, the city was securely under Muslim rule, although it was in effect an independent state. With the turn of the millennium, the city was attacked twice by Mahmud of Ghazni who destroyed the Sun Mandir, but he did not stay. After Muhammad Ghuri's victories in India, and his establishment of a capital in Delhi, Multan was made a part of his empire. However, the rise of the Mongols would again give it some independence, albeit requiring it to be vigilant against Mongol raids from Central Asia. Under the Mughal Empire, Multan enjoyed over 200 years of peace, and became known as Dar al-Aman (Abode of Peace). It was at this time that Multan was ruled by Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan Khakwani. As governor of Multan, he built the famous Mosque Wali Mohammad Khan in 1757 which remains to this day. Many buildings were constructed in this time, and agricultural production grew rapidly. The decline of the Mughal Empire was not as devastating for Multan as it was for other cities. The city escaped the destruction brought upon India by the armies of Nadir Shah, but it was ruled from Kabul by numerous Afghan dynasties for a while. In the 19th century, the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh conquered Multan. Sikh rule would not last long, as the British were eventually provoked into checking the Sikh strength in Punjab. After a long and bloody battle, Multan was made part of the British Raj. This also signalled a decline in the city. The British built some railways to the city, but its industrial capacity was never developed. Upon Pakistan's independence in 1947, Multan was in a very bad state.It was lacking industry, hospitals, and even places of higher education. Since then, there has been some industrial growth, and the city's population is continually growing. But the old city continues to be in a dilapidated state, and many monuments wear the effects of the warfare that has visited the city.

Location

The city of Multan is located in southern Punjab province and almost at exact center of Paistan. The area around the city is a flat plain and is ideal for agriculture. There are many canals that cut across the Multan district that provide water from nearby rivers. It is extremely hot in the summer.

Language & Literature

Being in Punjab, the majority of Multan's residents are Siraiki, and an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim. Most of the people speak Siraiki language with a good portion of the people knowing Urdu. English is understood by the educated. Multan is also rich in literature, there are many poets who are known country wide. In Urdu poetry Haider Gardezi, Aasi Karnali, Aslam Ansari, Arsh Siddiqi, Iqbal Arshad, Arshad Multani, Hazeen Sidiqi, Anwar Jamal, Raziuddin Razi, Ghazala Khakwani,kashif Baloch and Riffat Abbass are popular poets of this city.

External links

- [http://www.worldisround.com/articles/86927/index.html Images of Multan]
- [http://www.pakvisit.com/pakistan/multanintro.html Multan from Pakvisit]
- [http://www.alephinc.net/multan/html/profile.htm Multan Profile]
- [http://www.tourism-punjab.com/places.html#multan from Tourism Punjab]
- [http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/multan.aspx itsPakistan, About Pakistan, Multan]
- [http://groups.msn.com/multanpoets] Category:Cities in Pakistan Category:Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab region

:This article details the geographical region of Punjab. For other meanings see Punjab (disambiguation) Punjab (disambiguation)Punjab (disambiguation) The Punjab (meaning: "Land of five Rivers"; also Panjab, Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: پنجاب) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. Punjab, a region in Northern India and the east side of Pakistan, has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and they speak a language called Punjabi. The three main religions in the area are Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. The region has been invaded and ruled by many different empires and races, including the Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Turks, Mughals, Afghans and British. Around the time of the 15th Century, Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion, which quickly came to prominence in the region, and shortly afterwards, Maharaja Ranjit Singh reformed the Punjab into a secular and powerful state. The 19th Century saw the beginning of British rule, which led to the emergence of several heroic Punjabi freedom fighters. In 1947, at the end of British rule, the Punjab was split between Pakistan and India. A historical region of the northwest Indian subcontinent bounded by the Indus and Yamuna rivers. It was a center of the prehistoric Indus Valley civilization and after c. 1500 B.C. the site of early Aryan settlements. Muslims occupied the western part of the region by the 8th century, introducing Islam, and although they later conquered the eastern part, Hinduism remained entrenched there. The Mughals brought the region to cultural eminence until their empire declined in the 18th century. The Punjab was controlled by Sikhs from 1799 to 1849, when it was annexed by Britain. It was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947. Once a single entity, it is now split between two nations: Pakistan's Punjab Province and India's Punjab state. The Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were also parts of the former undivided Punjab. Delhi had been apart of the British Punjab province. Punjab, India covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). Punjab, Pakistan is 205,344 square kilometres, (79,284 square miles). Population: 24,289,296 (2000) in India: 72,585,000 (1998) in Pakistan. Roughly half of Pakistan's population lives in Pakistani Punjab. Punjabi is spoken by (approx) 90% of population in Pakistani Punjab and 65% in Indian Punjab. The capital city of the Indian Punjab is Chandigarh. The capital city of the Pakistani Punjab is Lahore.

History

Many races of people and religions made up the cultural heritage of the Punjab. Punjab is the land where spiritual aspirations arose. This heroic land bore numerous invasions, and after all its suffering, did not entirely lose its glory and its strength. Here it was that the gentle Nanak preached his marvellous love for the world. Here it was that his broad heart opened and his arms outstretched to embrace the whole world. One of the earliest stone age cultures of South Asia nourished in the Punjab. The Harappa civilization was located in the Punjab. The Vedic and Epic period of the Punjab was socially and culturally very prolific as during this glorious period, the people accelerated in the fields of philosophy and culture. Here the people composed the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. Further, tradition maintains that Valmiki composed the Ramayana near the present Amritsar city and Kaikyee belonged to this region. Lord Krishna gave the divine message of the Gita at Kurukshetra. It was here that people wrote eighteen principal Puranas. The authors of Vishnu Purana and the Shiv Purana belonged to the central Punjab. Right from the invasion of Alexander in 326 B.C., the Punjab bore the brunt of incursions and the aggressive assaults of invaders from the north. At times during the Mughal rule, there was much conflict, chaos, and political upheavals in the Punjab. However, with the Mughals prosperity, growth and relative peace was brought to the Punjab, particularly under the reign of Jahangir in with the Punjab enjoyed its longest era of peace and calm for some time. Appearance of Guru Nanak (1469-1538) was an event significant for the region. He was the founder of a powerful popular movement which has left a lasting impression on the history and culture of Punjab. Born in the district of Sheikhupura, he rejected the division of mankind into rigid compartments of orthodox religions and preached the oneness of humanity, and oneness of God, thus aiming at creating a new order which embraced the all pervasive spirit in man. He condemned and ridiculed the false and unnatural notions of high and low castes practices in Hindu society. Guru Nanak also denounced idolatory and laid stress on meditation for the realization of the Universal self. British intrution had political, cultural, philosophical and literary consequences in the Punjab. The opening of a new system of education introduced a new spirit in the life of the Punjabis. More people realized the greatness of Punjabi culture. During the freedom movement, Punjab played a role worthy of its name. Many heroes emerged from the Punjab such as Lajpat Rai, Ajit Singh, Bhagat Singh, Uddham Singh, Bhal Parmanand and a host of others. Since independence, life in the Punjab proves to be tragic and traumatic. The partition resulted in riots and terror which tore up millions of homes and destroyed many lives. The massive exodus resulting from the newly formed state of Pakistan created problems of uncontrollable dimensions. The Punjabis trekked in blood and shreds. However, the Punjabi spirit of tenacity and toughness sustained the uprooted people. The disillusioned people set to work with no self pity to plough fresh fields. They built new industries and became prominent in sports. Punjabis attained an eminent place in cultural, aesthetic, and literary work, and revived folk art, song, dance and drama. All of this has created a sense of pride and climate of involvement in the heritage of the Punjab.

Religion

Sikhism is the main religion of the Indian Punjab. About 65% of the population is Sikh, 33% is Hindu, and the remaining 2% is mostly Muslim, although there are some Christians. Indian Punjab contains the holy Sikh city of Amritsar. The city is regarded with the same importance by Sikhs as Catholics regard Vatican city. Islam is the religion of about 97% of the population of the Punjab in Pakistan. The language of the region is Punjabi.

Geography

Most of the Punjab is an alluvial plain, bounded by mountains to the North. Despite its dry conditions, it is a rich agricultural area due to the extensive irrigation made possible by the great river system traversing it. The Indian Punjab is the wealthiest state in the country per capita, with

Islamic invasion of India

Muhammad bin Qasim

The Ghaznavid Period

Muhammed Ghuri

The Delhi Sultanate

Alauddin Khilji

Timur

The Mughal Empire

Babur

Ahmad Shah Abdali

Aurangzeb

Iconoclasm

Nalanda

Vijayanagara

Somnath

Historical Views

Cultural influence

References

Further reading

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Rajput

Definition

The Rajput Rule of India

History

Genetics

Prominent Rajput clans & their main centers

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Refrences

India

History

Government

Politics

States and union territories

Geography

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7th century

Overview

Events

Significant persons

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Decades and years

12th century

Events

Significant people

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Decades and years

664

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Umayyad

Umayyad rulers

Umayyad Caliphs at Damascus

Umayyad Emirs of Cordoba

Umayyad Caliphs at Cordoba

Umayyad sahaba

Umayyad taba'een

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Muslim

Definition

Etymology

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Other words for Muslim

Disputes

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Persia

Other place names

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Multan

History

Location

Language & Literature

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Punjab region