The India They Saw (Volume 2)
(By Meenakshi Jain)
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| Author | Meenakshi Jain |
India was then at a high point in her intellectual and cultural attainments. The Arabs transmitted knowledge of Indian numerals, mathematics, philosophy and logic, mysticism, ethics, statecraft, military science, medicine, astronomy and astrology to the outside world. Arab travellers described the grandeur and wealth of the kings of India, singling out for special mention the Palas, the Gurjara Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.
Politically, while north India was being subjected to Arab and Turkish invasions which culminated in the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in A.D. 1206, the south moved on a different trajectory. In the last quarter of the tenth century, the mighty Cholas on the Coromandel Coast replaced the Rashtrakutas as the paramount kings of India. By A.D. 1200, the Chola kingdom had withered away. In A.D. 1336, was established the Vijayanagar kingdom, which stood as a bulwark against Muslim attacks from the north for over two centuries.
Meanwhile, several European missions and missionaries undertook the journey to China, visiting India en route, or on their return journey. European merchants took advantage of the land routes opened by the Mongol conquests and some of them managed to visit India.
Besides the works of European travellers, traders and merchants, several Chinese accounts of India are also available from the twelfth century.”
