8.3 Urban Patterns and Trade

Urban Patterns and Trade
Subject: History
Unit: Towards Early Medieval India
Lesson: 8.3: Urban Patterns and Trade

Lesson Developer : Meera Visvanathan
College/Department: Ph.D Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

Table of contents
Chapter 8: Towards early medieval India

• 8.3: Urban patterns and trade
• Summary
• Exercises
• Glossary
• Further readings

8.3: Urban patterns and trade
Introduction: a Chinese pilgrim and a deserted landscape
Figure 8.3.1: The Chinese pilgrim, Xuanzang

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang
When the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited India in the seventh century, he travelled across
the land, collecting manuscripts, meeting scholars and visiting Buddhist monasteries. His
journeys were never easy, for they involved crossing deserts, mountains, plateaus, rivers
and plains. But in the course of his travels, he encountered a diversity of settlements and
people from different backgrounds.
Yet in many places across north India, Xuanzang’s account describes a landscape of
desertion and decline. Cities and sites of an earlier era appeared as relics of the past, shorn
of their former glory. Not just towns, but peopled villages were also few and far between.
Shravasti, Kapilavastu, Bodh Gaya, and Kushinagara -- sites that had been sprawling
settlements, graced by the presence of the Buddha -- now lay desolate and devoid of
people.

Figure 8.3.2: The route taken by Xuanzang

Source: Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the
Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Longman, 564.
The cities which arose in the time of the Buddha and Mahavira marked the beginnings of
early historic urbanism. In the centuries that followed, up until the 3rd century CE, the urban
landscape expanded across the subcontinent. Alongside this, came a host of other features:
the use of a script, the regulation of weights and measures, the emergence of monumental
architecture, the tremendous mobility of goods and people, and the expansion of trading
networks. Through literature and archaeology, through numismatics and art history, a large
body of information has been pieced together to study the cities of early historic India.
So, a hypothesis that details how, from the 4th century, these cities decayed and
disappeared into a landscape of villages and agrarian settlements cannot but be a
controversial one. At stake in the debate are the processes of urbanism: not just the form of
the cities, their plan and layout, but also the people who inhabited them, the links between
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them, as well as the processes of growth and decay that marked the long-term evolution of
urban culture.
The theory of urban decay
The account of Xuanzang is but one of the many pieces of evidence marshalled by R.S.
Sharma in his work on 'urban decay'. What began as an observation based on comparing
data from different archaeological sites, expanded into a full-length study. Urban Decay in
India (c.300-c.1000) was published in 1987.
The genesis of this idea, however, goes back much earlier. In the first edition of his now
classic Indian Feudalism (1965), Sharma noted many features characterizing the new social
formation of early medieval India. Among these features -- in a landscape marked by
political breakdown, economic crises and social conflict -- was the phenomenon of urban
decay.
The chronology and spread of urban decay
Examining the evidence from nearly 140 excavated sites, Sharma argued that the processes
of early historical urbanism were at their height between the 3rd century BCE and 3rd
century CE. Subsequently, there came the decline. In site after site, layers assigned to the
early medieval era provided evidence of desertion and decline. Sharma labelled this
phenomenon ‘urban decay.’
This decay, it is argued, took place in two phases. The first phase, dated to the late 3rd and
4th centuries CE, was a phase of ‘deurbanization’ that was marked by the decline of cites of
early historic times. Sites which declined in this period include: Sanghol, Atranjikhera and
Mathura in the Indo-Gangetic divide; Shravasti, Kaushambi, Khairadih, Chirand, Rajgir,
Tamluk, Chandraketugarh and Shishupalgarh in the Gangetic plains; Noh, Ujjain and Nagar
in western India; and Pauni, Kaundinyapura, Nevasa, Ter, Bhokardan, Paithan and Nasik in
Maharashtra (Sharma 1987, 179). The advent of the second phase coincided with the
decline of the Gupta empire in the 7th century and lasted for another 300 years. In the mid-
Gangetic plains, sites like Champa, Vaishali, Varanasi and Bhita ceased to be towns after
the 6th century (Ibid, 180-181).
In Sharma’s analysis, the rise of ‘Indian Feudalism’ was marked by an expanding rural
economy with land grants to brahmanas and temples. As cities declined, so did trade and
commerce, blurring the line between town and country. Artisans and workers migrated to
the countryside where they were drawn into a closed village economy. This led, in turn, to
the reorganization of social relationships, as occupational groups solidified into jatis and
marginal groups were incorporated into the varna-jati framework.

Causes for urban decay
A legitimate question arises, ‘Why was there urban decay?’ Sharma argues against any
theory linking the decay of towns with the decline of political power. He points out that the
period between 200 BCE and 300 CE, although marked by tremendous political flux, was
precisely when cities were expanding (Ibid, 134). Instead, he argues, the causes for decay
must be located in the economic realm.
Sharma emphasizes that the cities of early historical India were marked by their
involvement in a widespread exchange zone. A profusion of routes, both overland and
maritime, linked the subcontinent with Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Roman Empire.
But with the fall of the Kushanas, the links with Central Asia were snapped. With the fall of
the Roman Empire, its trade links withered away. Towns declined with the decline of trade.
As the landscape turned from town to country, artisans became bonded labour and
merchants turned their attention to usury and land. The attachment of workers to mathas
and monasteries also indicates the rise of feudal ties.
Criticizing urban decay
In the many decades since its first articulation, the theory of urban decay (as well as the
larger rubric of ‘Indian Feudalism’) has had a major impact on the writing of history. But as
the feudalism hypothesis came to be challenged, both theoretically and on the basis of
evidence, this theory has also not gone uncontested.
Questioning the role played by trade
It is possible, of course, to criticize many elements of the theory, including those linkages
which now appear simplistic. For instance, there is the argument linking the decay of cities
with the decline of Indo-Roman trade. Sharma argued that the rise of cities in early historic
India was intimately linked with commercial activity and the ‘Indo-Roman’ trade.
Consequently, “once long-distance overland and overseas trade suffered, urban centres
began to decline” (Ibid, 9). But can we accord such prime causality to trade? And did long-
distance trade actually decline?
While trade is an important factor in the development of cities, it is rarely the sole factor.
Other factors -- the presence of administrative authority, modes of extracting agrarian
surplus, the presence of military camps or the location of a religious centre -- can define, in
different cases, the emergence of a city. Urbanism is not easily assignable to one factor, but
arises from changes in the social formation as a whole.

Value addition: did you know?

An Indian feudal trade charter
In an important essay, the Marxist historian D. D. Kosambi provided a translation
and analysis of the Charter of the Maitraka ruler Vishnusena/ Vishnubhatta to a
merchants’ guild in Gujarat. The inscription is dated to 592 CE. Its many provisions
provide a list of fascinating details for the study of social history. They indicate that
while trading groups continued to play an important role in the coastal regions, their
interaction with the state was of a fundamentally different nature. Some of the
interesting provisions of the grant are as follows:
1) The property of one who has died sonless is not to be attached (by the crown, but
disposed of according to guild rules).
5) A woman is not to be apprehended for (her) man’s transgression.
10) A bullock cart is not to be attached.
12) All guilds (shreni) are not to pay the single-market-tax (ekapanakah).
16) A merchant come upon legitimate business from a foreign district is not to be
apprehended, merely because he is suspect as a foreigner.
19) Workers at (brown-) sugar boiling pans (dhenku-kaddhaka) and at indigo-vats
(nila-dumphaka) are exempted from corvee labour (for the king…).
21) Those engaged (in their business) at their home or at the shop are not to be
summoned (to court) whether by a sealed document or messenger.
24) Peasants come (to the market town) from their own district at the (beginning of
the) rains for the (purchase of) seed are not to be seized by the lord (for labour on
his own estate).
29) If the guild-aldermen from the leading families do not turn up before the
registrar after the (registrar’s) attendant has called out their name thrice, the default
is punishable by a fine of rupaka 2 ¼ inclusive of tithe.
37) For knocking (another person) down and dragging (him or her) along, or for
cutting an ear, the fine is rupaka 27.38.
Source: Kosambi, D. D. [1959] 2002. Indian Feudal Trade Charters, in
Combined Methods in Indology and Other Writings. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 486-497.
Archaeology suggests that while the impetus provided by the Roman and Kushana empires
may have declined, the Indian Ocean trading networks continued. Explorations and
excavations indicate the existence of a range of sites along the Indian Ocean coasts. Sherds
of Red Polished Ware (RPW) have been found from nearly 400 sites in Gujarat and all along
the Persian Gulf. In Pondicherry, excavations at the site of Arikamedu (once identified as an
‘Indo-Roman trading depot’) show its continuing significance in both internal and oceanic
networks long after the decline of Roman trade. At Kaveripattinam, excavations show the
site flourishing until the 12th century. The sites of Mantai and Godavya in Sri Lanka and
inscriptions from Southeast Asia also indicate the continuance of trade (Ray 2003, 201-
203).

Figure 8.3.3: Red polished ware sites in Gujarat

Source: Pinto Orton, Nancy. 1991. Red Polished Ware in Gujarat: A Catalogue of Twelve
Sites, in Rome and India: The Ancient Sea Trade, ed. Vimala Begley and Richard Daniel de
Puma.
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 48.
Viewing early medieval India in its own terms
The developments marking the transition to early medieval India indicate substantial
changes at many levels. They cannot simply be labelled an absence of what went before.
This is one of the problems with Sharma's argument, for he says:
It is not necessary to define deurbanization. If the concrete signs of urbanism that have
been pointed out above are either wanting or found in considerably diminished form at an
urban site, we visualize urban decline (Sharma 1987, 244).
But can we argue that there is but one pattern of urbanism that marks early Indian history?
We need to ask how to define urban form and settlement history for the early medieval
period. Early medieval India needs to be understood in its own terms.
It is also necessary to rework Sharma’s chronology of urban decay. Through a detailed

study of inscriptions, B. D. Chattopadhyaya has shown the emergence of new settlements
like Prithudaka, Tattanandapura, Siyadoni and Gopagiri in the post-eighth century period.
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These sites were marked by growing local markets, residential areas, and also participated
in long-distance exchange (Chattopadhyaya 1994, 139). Chattopadhyaya argues further
that “urbanization in the Early Medieval period… (should be) taken as the beginning of the
third phase of the phenomenon in India” (Ibid, 158-160).
While the argument of the ‘third urbanization’ holds true after the eighth century, for the
period this lesson is concerned with (the 4th-7th centuries CE), there is little doubt that many
cities did experience desertion and decline. Even critics of Sharma's thesis admit that early
historic urban settlements underwent a decline. Thus Chattopadhyaya holds, “the decline
was geographically widely distributed and since this observation is based on a study of
archaeological sequences at a number of Early Historic sites, both of the northern and
southern India, the chronology of the decline of this urban phase is not a matter of
speculation”(Ibid, 159-160).
Value addition: interesting details

Charting the history of some urban centres across time
Serial Name of Pre- Kushana Gupta Post-

No. Settlement Kushana Gupta
1. Purushapura URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
2. Taxila URBAN URBAN DESERTION
3. Sanghol URBAN DECLINE URBAN
4. Purana Qila URBAN URBAN DECLINE DECLINE
5. Noh URBAN URBAN DESERTION
6. Hastinapura URBAN URBAN DECLINE DECLINE
7. Atranjikhera URBAN URBAN DECLINE DECLINE
8. Mathura DESERTION URBAN DECLINE DESERTION
9. Shravasti URBAN URBAN DECLINE DECLINE
10. Bhita URBAN URBAN DECLINE DECLINE
11. Kaushambi URBAN URBAN DECLINE DESERTION
12. Ahichchhatra URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN

13. Kanauj URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN
14. Ayodhya URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
15. Rajghat URBAN URBAN URBAN DECLINE
16. Khairadih URBAN URBAN DECLINE DESERTION
17. Kapilavastu URBAN DESERTION
18. Piprahwa URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
19. Chirand URBAN URBAN DECLINE DESERTION
20. Vaishali URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
21. Champa URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN
22. Pataliputra URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
23. Nalanda URBAN URBAN
24. Mangalkot URBAN URBAN URBAN DECLINE
25. Tamralipti URBAN URBAN DECLINE DESERTION
26. Mahasthan URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN
27. Ambari URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN
28. Shishupalgarh URBAN URBAN DESERTION
29. Eran URBAN URBAN URBAN DESERTION
30. Dwaraka URBAN URBAN URBAN URBAN
Source: Thakur, Vijay Kumar. 1997-1998. Decline or Diffusion: Constructing

the Urban Tradition of North India during the Gupta Period. The Indian
Historical Review, XXIV (1-2): 20-69.
Thus, many cities of early historic India declined, and only after a gap of several centuries
did urban centres begin to reassert themselves. This lesson does not argue for the eternal
presence of cities, nor does it accept the complete absence of urbanism until the 10th
century. To further understand the situation in all its complexity, we need a detailed
discussion of the archaeological data.
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The difficulties of medieval archaeology
To examine the basis of urban decay, Derek Kennet argues that we must reconsider the
archaeological evidence that underlay Sharma’s study. In Kennet’s own words,
“Firstly, and inevitably, for a study of such magnitude, Sharma did not enter into a detailed
consideration of all the excavated sequences he used, but has accepted uncritically the
excavator's conclusions and chronology….”
Secondly, the great majority of excavation reports Sharma used in his study are published
only as short summaries in ‘Indian Archaeology -- A Review’ or ‘Ancient India’, and do not
describe the evidence upon which their interpretation and dating are based.
Thirdly, it has to be remembered that most of the excavations Sharma used were carried
out in the 1950s and 60s, since which time archaeology has undergone a number of far-
reaching improvements in methodology and technique…(Kennet 2004, 12).
These problems are not specific to Sharma’s work alone. Rather, they arise from the
manner in which archaeology as a discipline evolved in our country.
The absences of early medieval archaeology
The sites discussed by Sharma were almost all excavated by the methods introduced by
Mortimer Wheeler in the 1940s. When Wheeler took charge of the Archaeological Survey of
India, he held that one of the key tasks of archaeology was to provide a stable basis to the
historical chronology of the region. Rather than horizontal excavations which provided an
overall understanding of a site, Wheeler focused on vertical excavations. Here, an analysis
of stratified layers and culture sequences was meant to provide a window to the origin,
growth and decline of a particular site.
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Figure 8.3.4: Mortimer Wheeler: He trained as an archaeologist of Roman Britain and was
serving as a brigadier in the British army when he was asked to head the Archaeological
Survey of India in 1944. Wheeler’s focus on vertical excavations and his work in training an
entire generation of Indian archaeologists meant that his methods endured for long in
archaeological research in the subcontinent.
Source: http://www.mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/files/2010/10/MortimerWheeler.jpg
As Indian archaeology developed, it laid greater emphasis on prehistory and protohistory,

periods marked by the absence of written records. Even where a site was occupied from
prehistoric to medieval times, the excavators focused on the earlier levels at the cost of
historical and medieval periods.
Further difficulties arise where a historical or medieval occupation is covered by a modern

village or city. This makes it much more difficult to excavate the older levels of a city. But
there are also cases where mounds belonging to the early medieval period exist, but have
not been subject to excavation (Dayal, 2005, 62). Surface surveys have also invariably
been of an exploratory rather than systematic nature.
Excavated layers and the problems of chronology
The list of problems goes much deeper, especially with regard to excavated sites. It is
common archaeological knowledge that based on their stratigraphic positions the different
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excavated layers of a site are assigned to broad historical periods. The deposits in each
layer (coins, pottery etc.) help excavators further define the period and culture to which a
particular layer should be dated.
Value addition: did you know?

Excavations at Shravasti
“As already stated…, the deposits of …period (III) were noticed in a very limited
area. It appears that though the city, as such, was deserted, small sections of the
people occupied and built their houses over the earlier ruins in scattered areas. In
the excavated trench, immediately overlying the deposits of Period II were found the
remains of a settlement which could not be dated earlier than the 4th-5th century
CE…. Pottery in this period, as well, is mainly utilitarian in character and the only
decorations that need mention are incised designs on potsherds recovered from the
upper levels. The other objects of interest were glass and carnelian beads, knife-
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blades, and spear heads of iron and glass bangles.”

Source: Sinha, K. K. 1967. Excavations at Sravasti -- 1959. Varanasi:
Benaras Hindu University, 12.
At many of the sites on which Sharma’s book depends, Kennet points out that the definition
of archaeological layers is extremely crude by currently acceptable standards of
archaeology. Once a site has been excavated and its report written, there is very little
anyone can do to reinterpret the archaeological sequence (Kennet 2004, 12). Unless the
excavators have said so, it becomes impossible, for instance, to define whether a brick
structure in a particular layer was occupied for 50 years or 250. But given the kinds of
questions that historians are interested in, these are precisely the sorts of issues that would
be important for understanding a site’s history.
Figure 8.3.5: Gupta period structures from an excavation at the site of Orai, District Basti,
Uttar Pradesh. The report provided by the excavators states that a quadrant measuring 4.25
x 4.25m was excavated to understand the cultural sequence at the site. The limited
excavation revealed pottery and brick structures dated to the Kushana and Gupta periods.
Source: Indian Archaeology: A Review, 1996-97, New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India,
Plate XLII-A, 137.
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Another problem arises from the tendency to create a unified occupation history by
combining all the sequences from different trenches at a site. This is done even where it is
clear that these trenches were laid in widely separated areas of the site. At the site of
Nevasa in Maharashtra, for example, a single occupational history of five periods has been
created by combining the evidence from three distinct trenches. To combine evidence in
such a way presumes that all areas of a settlement experience the same occupational
history, the same patterns of construction, settlement and decline. But in practice, we know
that in any village, town or city, some areas are built up, others are left undeveloped, and
still others are used as gardens or garbage dumps. Strangely, this is something many
archaeologists have failed to understand.
Little attention has been paid to defining the material culture of the early medieval period.
In particular, there is the absence of any clear definition of archaeological 'type-fossils' or
'index-types'. For the early historical period, pottery types like Northern Black Polished
Ware, Black-and-Red Ware, and Rouletted Ware have been used to define various
archaeological horizons and cultures. In contrast, such markers of identification have not
been properly developed for early medieval and later periods.
So, when a gap in occupation is found in the early medieval levels of an excavated site, it is
possible that one of the reasons for this gap may be the absence of type-fossils datable to
this period. For example, at Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh, the excavators found that while
textual and architectural evidence indicated occupational continuity, the archaeological
record indicated a gap since no material evidence could be securely dated to this period
(Kennet 2004, 14).
Figure 8.3.6: Modelled terracotta heads belonging to the Gupta period excavated from the
site of Sankisa, Farrukhabad District, Uttar Pradesh. The excavation of ‘Gupta’ red ware and
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terracottas along with brick structures led the excavators to suggest that “this sacred area
for the Buddhists witnessed continuous activities from the NBPW period to the Gupta period.
Source: Indian Archaeology: A Review, New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1996-97,
Plate XLV- B, 142-143.
Present absences: the issue of coins
Linked to economic decline and urban decay was the supposed demonetization of the
economy. Sharma and others argued that with the decline of Roman trade, Roman gold no
longer entered the economy as bullion and a general paucity of coins is visible after the 3rd
century CE. While the Guptas issued pure gold coins, their actual circulation was limited and
is indicative of low levels of trade. From c.600 to 1200 CE, the economy is said to have
relapsed into the exchange of goods and services through barter. The coins of this period do
not use precious metals; rather, there is ‘debasement’ of metal content and the circulation
of alloyed and base metal coinage.
Figure 8.3.7: This gold coin of the Gupta ruler Skandagupta has a portrait of the king who is
shown standing, his left hand resting on his bow, the right grasping an arrow. His name,
'Skanda', is engraved between the bow string and his left leg.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandagupta
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“Living without silver”
As John S. Deyell argues in his study of the monetary history of early medieval north India,
many problems exist with the assumptions and accuracy of this hypothesis. Deyell holds
that debasement in itself is “not a priori evidence of economic decline” (Deyell 1999, 5).
Rather, the phenomenon of debasement was widespread across the medieval world and
linked to worldwide shortages in the circulation of precious metals. “Living without silver”
was thus a central dilemma of early medieval economies. In such a situation, the needs of
economic transactions could best be met by alloying coinage so as to place more money in
circulation.
Value addition: new leads

The mystery of the Vakataka coins
While their contemporaries, the Guptas, are famous for their gold coins, till recently
it was believed that the Vakataka rulers issued no coins. Particularly since no coins
ascribed to the Vakataka dynasty could be found.
But in 1997, Ajay Mitra Shastri identified a dozen ‘Vakataka coins’ from the finds at
Ramtek and Paunar. Even so, such coins remain scarce, particularly when we
compare them to the Satavahana coinage which was found so abundantly in the
archaeological record. Interestingly, it has been suggested that Satavahana base
metal coinage continued to circulate in the Vakataka realm, along with the coins of
other dynasties and that the number of these coins in circulation was much greater
than those minted by the Vakatakas themselves.
Source: Kennet, Derek. 2004. The Transition from Early Historic to Early
Medieval in the Vakataka Realm, in The Vakataka Heritage: Indian Culture
at the Crossroads, ed. Hans T. Bakker. Gronigen: Egbert Forsten, 11-18.
Until the end of Gupta rule, Deyell argues, rulers took an active interest in coinage, issuing
coins with various legends, designs and dates. In the post-Gupta period, however, coinage
ceased to be a “message-bearing medium.” In north India, certain coin-types like the bull-
and-horseman series circulated within many dynastic realms. While political groups oversaw
the manufacture of coins, many other factors such as the preferences of trading groups
helped determine their circulation (Ibid, 6-7).
Deyell describes the coins of early medieval north India as being “crudely executed”,
”generally unaesthetic” and appearing “rude and adulterated”. But despite this, the point for
him is that economic history is concerned with money and not coins per se (Ibid, 233).
While there was a definite shortage of coin types in this period, there was no shortage in the
circulating medium i.e. coinage per se. Says Deyell, “The physical evidence is
incontrovertible, that money and exchange were alive and vibrant through much of the
area” (Ibid, 1-2).
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While money is an important indicator of economic activity, the fact remains that in pre-
modern economies coinage was never the only medium of exchange. More than one
currency could be in circulation; where gold and silver were used for large transactions,
unstamped copper pieces served simpler needs. In addition, hundis or credit instruments
were used for long-distance exchange. At the bottom of the scale was barter and the use of
cowrie shells (Ray 2003, 208-209). These complex worlds of pre-modern exchange
continued for many centuries: we need to engage with them in all their complexity rather
than simplifying them based on modern experience.
How to define an early medieval city?
While the archaeological record speaks of absences, texts often provide elaborate
descriptions of the urban milieu. Particular emphasis is placed on the figure of the nagaraka,
the ‘man-about-town’ who is described as wealthy, educated and sophisticated.
Value addition: what the sources say

The daily routine of the man-about-town
In the popular imagination, the Kamasutra is seen as an erotic text. But beyond the
obvious, it is also a text about culture, politics, and ways of behaving in society. The
following passage provides a description of the routine of a nagaraka (the cultured
urban male):
He gets up in the morning, relieves himself, cleans his teeth, applies fragrant oils in
small quantities, as well as incense, garlands, beeswax and red lac, looks at his face
in a mirror, takes some mouthwash and betel, and attends to things that need to be
done. He bathes every day, has his limbs rubbed with oil every second day, a foam
bath every third day, his face shaved every fourth day, and his body hair removed
every fifth or tenth day. All of this is done without fail. And he continually cleans the
sweat from his armpits. In the morning and afternoon he eats…. After eating, he
passes the time teaching his parrots and mynah birds to speak; goes to quail-fights,
cock-fights, and ram-fights; engages in various arts and games; and passes the time
with his libertine, pander and clown. And he takes a nap. In the late afternoon, he
gets dressed and goes to salons to amuse himself.
And in the evening, there is music and singing. After that, on the bed in a bedroom
carefully decorated and perfumed by sweet-smelling incense, he and his friends
await the women who are slipping out for a rendezvous with them. He sends female
messengers for them or goes to get them himself. And when the women arrive, he
and his friends greet them with gentle conversation and courtesies that charm the
mind and heart. If rain has soaked the clothing of women who have slipped out for a
rendezvous in bad weather, he changes their clothes himself, or gets some of his
friends to serve them. That is what he does by day and night.
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Source: Doniger, Wendy and Sudhir Kakar (trans.). 2002. Kamasutra.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 18.
But problems exist with regard to these texts, both with their chronology as well as ways of
reading them. As Chattopadhyaya argues, while texts can tell us about the idea of the city
or the notion of urban culture, we will be on a much firmer footing if archaeology provides
us an indication of the presence or absence of urban traits in the history of different
settlements (Chattopadhyaya 1994, 161).
The question of defining urban traits remains a pressing issue for all sides of the debate. But
the neat division between town and country is quite difficult to make for pre-modern times.
Further, the grama or village was not an unchanging site, but could become a commercial
centre, a nodal point in an emerging settlement hierarchy, or even an urban settlement
over time. Therefore, it is useful to expand the problematic and ask ‘What defines an early
medieval site?’ On the basis of an extensive surface survey of 41 villages in the Gulbarga
district of Karnataka, Suchi Dayal argues that the most basic way of identifying such sites is
by the presence of temple remains and inscriptions. In addition, the evidence of datable
herostones, fortifications, step-wells and sculptural remains help define a site as belonging
to the early medieval period (Dayal 2005, 63-65).
A new kind of urbanism?
While considering the changes taking place in the transition to the early medieval period, we
also need to consider a new kind of urbanism and a different patterning of urban
settlements for this period.
Thus, Sharma lays emphasis on the rise of the skandhavara, which is referred to repeatedly
in land grant inscriptions. He then draws attention to the references in the Manasara which
describe a skandhavara as a settlement located along a river and possessing gardens, royal
palaces and many houses (Sharma 1987, 118).
On the basis of his study of the Vakataka domains, Kennet offers certain archaeological
perspectives for studying settlement history. Thus, the excavated sites of Maheshwar and
Navdatoli together make up a large archaeological site at the point where the Narmada
meets the Maheshwari. At Maheshwar, the five occupation mounds extend along the north
bank of the Narmada, while Navdatoli, on the south bank, has four occupation mounds. The
excavators dug trenches into six of these nine mounds to provide the following pattern of
occupation (where ‘X’ indicates evidence of settlement):
NAVDATOLI MAHESHWAR
MOUND I II III I II V
TRENCH I II III IV V I II III
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VII ‘Muslim- X X X X X X
X
Maratha’
VI (200- 500 AD) X X
V (100 BC- 200 X

AD)
IV (400- 100 BC) X X X X X X
III (protohistoric) X X X X X X
What this table clearly shows is that not all areas of these sites were occupied at all periods
of time. As Kennet argues, “the centre of occupation has not been static but has moved
around the site through time” (Kennet 2004, 16) The reasons for this shift may have been
linked to changing political, economic or socio-religious circumstances. And it also remains a
possibility that in the mounds that were not subject to excavation, traces of early medieval
habitation may still be found.
Anther possibility is the ‘double urban scenario’ which Kennet applies to the sites of
Besnagar and Vidisha, early historical towns located in close proximity to each other.
Excavations suggest that Besnagar began to decline by the 3rd century CE and was
abandoned completely in the post-Gupta period. Vidisha, however, continued to be occupied
into the early medieval period and beyond. Kennet suggests the possibility that Vidisha took
over many of the functions once performed by Besnagar. However, the continuity of
occupation and settlement have made it difficult for archaeologists to excavate Vidisha,
leading them to focus instead on the early historic settlement at Besnagar, where the
archaeological deposits are more easily accessible (Ibid, 16).
Figure 8.3.8: The Gupta brick temples at Deogarh were among the first structural temples
of the early medieval period. However,
these were not the impressive structures that later temples would become.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deogarh01.jpg
20

There has been considerable discussion on the role of temples in framing early medieval
settlements. Sharma argues that unlike the Buddhist monasteries located on the outskirts of
towns, early medieval religious establishments (whether brahmana settlements or temples)
were maintained by grants of land and did not possess an urban or artisanal core to begin
with (Sharma 1987, 183). That the presence of the temple in itself does not characterize an
urban centre is evident from the many contexts where temples have been found: from the
interior heart of forests to the centre of commercial towns. Even in 10th century south India,
when the phenomenon of ‘temple urbanism’ was at its height, not every shrine became the
nucleus of an urban site.
The presence of regional variations
Many studies have emphasized the importance of regional variations in urban history. R.
Champakalakshmi, for instance, questions the validity of applying the 'generalization' of
urban decay to the entire subcontinent (Champakalakshmi 1999, 16-17). She points out
that neither the Tamil literary tradition nor the archaeological record possess any indication
of the features Sharma saw as characterizing urban decay. Instead, the epic poems like the
Shilappaddikaram and Manimekhalai describe the continuity of cities, trade centres and
markets at sites like Kanchi, Vanchi, Madurai and Kaveripattinam.
Value addition: what the sources say

Kovalan walks through the streets of Madurai
The fifth-century text, the Shilappadikaram, provides the following description of its
hero, Kovalan, wandering through the city of Madurai:
Kovalan passed through the renowned goldsmiths’ street

Flying tiny pennants to help dealers
Identify the four kinds of gold:
Natural gold, gold the colour
Of parrots’ wings, atakam and campunatam
In the cloth merchants’ street, he picked

His way through bales piled high,
Each containing a hundred lengths,
Woven of cotton, hair or silk.
In the grain merchants’ street, traders

Wandered about everywhere with balances,
Measures and bushels. There were bags of grain
And black pepper in all seasons.
Kovalan walked through the streets of the four castes,
21

The crossings of three or four streets,

The marketplace, meeting places, little streets
And lanes. From the shade of an arbor
Overhanging with green creepers that even the fierce rays
Of the sun blazing in the heavens cannot pierce,
He saw the Pandyan’s great city
Of Madurai and rejoiced in his heart.
Later, he emerged from among the vines.
Source: Parthasarathy, R. (trans.). 2004. The Cilappatikaram. New Delhi:
Penguin, 148-149.
Let us take a closer look at Kanchipuram in this period of transition. In the early historic
period, Kanchipuram was the political capital of the Tiraiyar (‘People of the Waves’). It was
also a major weaving centre that drew upon the resources of the surrounding cotton-
producing region. Inscriptions and texts alike refer to it as a managaram (‘big town’) and
the events of the Manimekhalai unfold in this city. By the period of the rise of the Pallavas in
the sixth century, Kanchipuram had become a royal centre, a commercial city, as well as
the site of heated debates between different religious communities.
As the Pallavas began making grants of land, the agrarian hinterland of Kanchipuram
expanded beyond the area of Eyil Kottam where the site was situated. These processes
intensified with the advent of the Cholas, so that between the 10th and 13th centuries, the
city not only expanded but was rebuilt and elaborated in completely different ways
(Champakalakshmi 1999, 389-391).
The developments at Kanchipuram emphasize the need to view urban development as a

process. While the nature of urbanism experienced in the early historic and early medieval
periods was of a different order, the site continued to be an urban one. The space of the city
is neither eternal nor unbroken, but urban processes change both in response to historical
circumstances and the passage of time.
Conclusion: the need for frameworks, the need for archaeology
The fact remains, however, that when compared to the wealth of information we possess on
early historic urbanism, the data on early medieval cities is extremely small. It is also
evident that a number of early historic sites declined in this period.
For all the problems with the evidence Sharma used, as well as the inconsistencies of some
of his arguments, the theory of urban decay does find its reflection in archaeological reality.
The material history of sites of this period needs to be foregrounded in the changes that
were occurring in the political economy of the time.
Many things remain before we can undertake a proper study of early medieval urbanism or
even the settlement history of the transitional period. To begin from the ground, with issues
of archaeology, there is much that remains to be done.
22

We need detailed studies defining the material culture of this period, in conjunction with the
evidence of inscriptions, texts and art history. We need to move beyond digging a few
keyhole trenches towards more detailed excavations and a holistic understanding of
archaeological sites. While archaeologists have tended to concentrate on protohistoric and
early historic levels of occupation, there is an urgent need to give equal attention to the
early medieval and later periods. This would help us understand the occupational history of
a site as a whole, as well as its rise and fall through time. In this manner, it becomes
possible to speak of urban development as a long-term process.
We also need to move towards understanding a site within the contexts of its surrounding
landscape. Detailed methodological surface surveys have to be undertaken for each region.
It also becomes important to excavate rural sites of the early medieval period. This is
necessary not only to provide macro-level studies of these sites but also to understand the
networks that bound them together and from which urban settlements drew their
sustenance and power. Such an exercise becomes particularly important for studying a
period when agriculture was expanding and new village settlements were coming into
being.
But while excavating different sites is important, it is equally important to set up a

framework within which to compare the data from different sites. While the trajectory of an
individual site may shed light on its specific contexts and local processes, there is also a
need to see these specific developments within the framework of broader regional
processes. Only by collating and comparing the evidence from different sites can we begin
to understand the nature of urban processes, patterns of trade and coinage, and the
distribution of urban sites. The findings of such research should make it possible for a new
picture of urban history to emerge.
Summary
• The theory of urban decay holds that from the fourth century onwards, the cities of
early historical India declined and decayed, disappearing into a newly emerging
landscape of villages and agrarian settlements.
• The causes for this decay have been linked to the giving of land grants and the
decline of trade. The early medieval period is presented as one marked by political
breakdown, economic crises and social conflict.
• However, the theory of urban decay has been contested both methodologically and
on the basis of evidence. Archaeological evidence shows that not only did trade
continue, but urban centres based on local networks and economies began to
emerge in the post-8th century period.
23

• In the period between the 4th-8th centuries, many urban centres did decline, but this
decline did not characterize all regions across the subcontinent. In some regions,
such as the southern coast, trade and urban centres continued to thrive.
• There is much that still remains to be understood about urban processes in early
medieval India -- whether it is the desertion of settlements, the re-emergence of
urbanism, or the specifics of rural complexity.
• While the question of urban decay has been much debated, it remains, even now, a
complex problem worthy of further research and study.
8.3: Exercises
Essay questions
1) To what extent does archaeology tell us about the phenomenon of urban decay
between the fourth and seventh centuries? What difficulties are faced by historians in
interpreting the archaeological record?
2) What has been the contribution of the debates on ‘urban decay’ to the study of early
Indian history? Can we argue that theory represents an explanatory model that can
be applied across regions?
3) In what ways do you think the experience of urbanism varied for different people?
Would a villager, an upper-caste male, a prostitute and a trader have viewed a city
in the same way?
Objective questions
Question Number Type of question LOD
1 True or False 1
Question
The following urban sites declined in the Gupta period:
a) Purana Qila
b) Hastinapura
24

c) Ahichchhatra
d) Mathura
e) Mahasthan
f) Dwaraka
Correct Answer /
a) True b) True c) False d) True e) False f) False
Option(s)
Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer
Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer
Reviewer’s Comment:
Question Number Type of question LOD
2 Multiple choice question 2
Question
The historian who has characterized the early medieval period as marking the ‘third
urbanization’ in Indian history is:
a) R. S. Sharma
b) Hermann Kulke
c) B. D. Chattopadhyaya
d) V. K. Thakur
Correct Answer /
c)
Option(s)
25

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

The historian who has characterized the early medieval period as
marking the ‘third urbanization’ in Indian history is B. D.
Chattopadhyaya who did so in an article entitled ‘Urban Centres in
Early Medieval India: An Overview’.
Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer
Reviewer’s Comment:
Glossary
archaeological layers: also called stratigraphic units, these are the basic, distinct units of
deposition that define an excavation. These depositions of material may result from either
human or natural activity. All pottery, coins and other finds are dated to these layers, which
are phased by the excavators into various historical time periods.
debasement: to debase something is to lower its value, quality or status. With regard to
metals (and therefore, coins) debasement indicates the circulation of currency where the
value of pure metal is lowered by alloying it with metals of lower quality. This is done in a
situation where there is a shortage of metals or with the intention of creating a large body
of coinage rather than a few limited specimens.
early medieval: the early medieval period is seen as beginning with the decline of the
Guptas in the 6th century and continuing until the end of the 12th century. There is much
debate in historiography over characterizing the developments that marked this period.
Further readings
Champakalakshmi, R. 1999. Trade, Ideology and Urbanization: South India 300 BC to 1300
AD. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal. 1994. The Making of Early Medieval India. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Dayal, Suchi. 2005. Towns, Villages and Desertion: Exploring the Early Medieval Phase in
Indian Archaeology. Man and Environment, XXX(1): 61-66.
26

Deyell, John S. 1999. Living Without Silver: The Monetary History of Early Medieval North
India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kennet, Derek. 2004. The Transition from Early Historic to Early Medieval in the Vakataka
Realm, in The Vakataka Heritage: Indian Culture at the Crossroads, ed. Hans T. Bakker.
Gronigen: Egbert Forsten, 11-18.
Kaul, Shonaleeka. 2006. Women about Town: An Exploration of the Sanskrit Kavya
Tradition. Studies in History, Vol. 22, No.1: 59-75.
Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 2003. The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sharma, R. S. 1987. Urban Decay in India (c.300 – c.1000). Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Thakur, Vijay Kumar. 1997-1998. Decline or Diffusion: Constructing the Urban Tradition of
North India during the Gupta Period. The Indian Historical Review, XXIV (1-2): 20-69.
27

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Urban Patterns and Trade

Unit: Towards Early Medieval India

Lesson: 8.3: Urban Patterns and Trade

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

Chapter 8: Towards early medieval India

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi