Book contents
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in Color Plates)
- Illustrations (in Color Plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Indian Ocean between Tang China and the Muslim Empire (Seventh–Tenth Century)
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Tang China and the Rise of the Silk Roads
- Chapter 2 Islam: The Conquest of Lands and Oceans
- Chapter 3 India: A Core with Four Centers
- Chapter 4 Southeast Asia: The Rise of the Srīwijayan Thalassocracy and the Javanese Kingdoms
- Chapter 5 East Africa: Dawn of the Swahili Culture
- Chapter 6 Madagascar (Seventh–Eleventh Century): Early Cultural Hybridization
- Part II Globalization during the Song and Mongol Periods (Tenth–Fourteenth Century), and the Downturn of the Fourteenth Century
- Part III From the Globalization of the Afro-Eurasian Area to the Dawn of European Expansion (Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries)
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical Names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Chapter 3 - India: A Core with Four Centers
from Part I - The Indian Ocean between Tang China and the Muslim Empire (Seventh–Tenth Century)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2019
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in Color Plates)
- Illustrations (in Color Plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Indian Ocean between Tang China and the Muslim Empire (Seventh–Tenth Century)
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Tang China and the Rise of the Silk Roads
- Chapter 2 Islam: The Conquest of Lands and Oceans
- Chapter 3 India: A Core with Four Centers
- Chapter 4 Southeast Asia: The Rise of the Srīwijayan Thalassocracy and the Javanese Kingdoms
- Chapter 5 East Africa: Dawn of the Swahili Culture
- Chapter 6 Madagascar (Seventh–Eleventh Century): Early Cultural Hybridization
- Part II Globalization during the Song and Mongol Periods (Tenth–Fourteenth Century), and the Downturn of the Fourteenth Century
- Part III From the Globalization of the Afro-Eurasian Area to the Dawn of European Expansion (Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries)
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical Names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
Following the disaggregation of the Gupta Empire during the sixth century, political confusion prevailed in part of the Indian subcontinent. Declining trade with Central Asia and the West, along with a decrease in the volume of internal as well as external trade, led to an impoverishment of northern India. The situation in South Asia has often been inappropriately compared to that of western Europe at the time, marked by social changes, diminishing resources, de-urbanization, decreasing monetization, and disrupted communications (Digby 1982a: 45). Invasions from Central Asia and the closing of the Silk Roads to northwestern India were partially responsible for this downturn, whose significance, however, has been greatly overestimated. The theses proposed by Sharma and other authors concerning India’s de-urbanization, demonetization, and general decline in trade have been challenged, particularly for the eighth century and the ensuing period (Subrahmanyam 1994a: 12ff.; Chakravarti 2001a; Stein 2002). The downturn in trade affected mostly inland regions, especially in northern India.
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- Information
- The Worlds of the Indian OceanA Global History, pp. 72 - 87Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019