Society and culture in Northern India: in the twelfth century

The rapidity of the Turkish conquest of Northern India after the second battle of Tarain in 1192 and the other features of the existing historical situation have made the 12th century one of the land marks of Indian history. This century, along with the preceding one, represents a significant phase of the early Middle Ages in Indian history. The beginning of this phase comes into clearer view when the feudal tendencies, as manifested in the samanta system, begin to announce their distinctive import by the seventh century A.D. However, in the attempt at the periodization of history, not only is it futile to look for a particular date for the beginning of an age, but some margin has also got to be allowed for a preceding phase of transition.

The aim here has been to study the main aspects of the society and culture of Northern India in the twelfth century in the back ground of the development and change brought about by the operation of social forces during the late ancient and early medieval times. Attempt has also been made to assess the nature and significance of the conflict of these social forces, of the tension which gripped the age, and of the interaction and interconnection of the major spheres of society's life-social, political, economic and religious,