The physical environment of Medieval India (c. 1200-1750, covering the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire) was dominated by two key factors: the monsoon and the state's view of land as a source of revenue.
Dominance of the Monsoon:
The entire agricultural economy, and thus the stability of the state, depended on the timely arrival of the monsoon rains.
A good monsoon meant a surplus of crops, high state revenue, and stability.
A failed monsoon meant drought, crop failure, famine, and social unrest.
Vast Forest Cover: Despite centuries of agricultural expansion, India remained heavily forested. Large forests separated settled agricultural zones.
State's Perception of Environment:
Medieval rulers viewed the environment primarily as an economic resource.
Land was valued for the revenue (tax) it could generate.
Forests were "wasteland" to be cleared and brought under the plough to increase revenue, but also a source of valuable resources like timber, elephants, and exotic animals.
2. Famine and Epidemic
Famine and epidemics were recurrent, devastating features of medieval life. They were often linked, as famine would weaken the population, making them highly susceptible to disease.
Famine
Famine: A widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors, leading to malnutrition, starvation, and death.
Primary Cause: The overwhelming cause was drought due to the failure of the monsoon.
Secondary Causes:
Warfare: Armies marching through the countryside would destroy crops, burn villages, and loot grain stores, causing man-made famines.
Poor Transport: Even if one region had surplus food, it was extremely difficult and expensive to transport it to a famine-stricken region.
State Response: Medieval states (like the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals) had systems for famine relief, though their effectiveness varied.
Tax Relief: Remission of the land tax (revenue) for the affected year.
Grain Distribution: Opening the royal granaries to distribute free or subsidized grain.
Public Works: Commissioning large-calibre (like Muhammad bin Tughlaq) to provide cash wages for people to buy food, often through public works projects like building forts or digging wells.
Epidemic
Crowded cities, poor sanitation, and large, moving armies made medieval India vulnerable to epidemics. Malnutrition during famines made things much worse.
Common Diseases: Bubonic plague, smallpox, and cholera were major killers.
Impact: Epidemics could depopulate entire cities and regions, cripple armies, and bring trade to a halt.
3. Extension of agriculture
The expansion of agriculture, which began in the ancient period, continued and was *actively encouraged* by medieval states.
Why did the state encourage expansion?
The simple answer is revenue. The land tax was the single largest source of income for the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. More land under cultivation meant more tax could be collected.
Methods of Agricultural Extension
State-sponsored Irrigation: This was the most important method. Rulers built extensive irrigation works to bring water to dry lands.
Example: Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (14th century) is famous for building a vast network of canals from the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers to irrigate new lands in Haryana.
New Technology: The introduction and spread of the Persian Wheel (Rahat) made it much more efficient to lift water from deep wells, allowing for farming in areas away from rivers and canals.
Introduction of New Crops: Through trade networks, new crops were introduced, which could be grown on different types of soil or in different seasons. (e.g., maize, tobacco, and chillies arrived in the late Mughal period).
Tax Incentives: The state would often give temporary tax breaks to peasants who cleared new forest land and brought it under cultivation for the first time.
Key Contrast: In Ancient India (Unit 2), expansion was driven by new iron technology and the rise of kingdoms. In Medieval India (Unit 3), expansion was a deliberate *state policy* driven by the need for revenue, primarily through large-scale irrigation projects.
4. Royal hunting and Wildlife
While peasants hunted for food, royal hunting (Shikar) was a highly organized, large-scale activity central to medieval kingship, especially for the Mughals.
The Royal Hunt (Shikar)
The *shikar* was far more than just a sport:
Symbol of Power: It was a demonstration of the emperor's sovereignty and control over the wilderness (and by extension, his kingdom). Defeating a powerful animal like a tiger was a metaphor for defeating a political enemy.
Military Training: The hunt served as a large-scale military exercise, keeping the emperor, his nobles, and his soldiers sharp and fit for war.
Administration: While on long hunting expeditions, the emperor would often hold court, meet local officials, and dispense justice, effectively touring his empire.
The Qamargah: This was a specific Mughal hunting technique where thousands of beaters would form a circle miles wide and slowly drive all the animals (deer, tigers, etc.) into a central enclosure, where the emperor and nobles would hunt them.
Mughals and Naturalism
Several Mughal emperors were keen naturalists. Their memoirs provide valuable historical and environmental information.
Babur (Baburnama): His memoir contains detailed, precise descriptions of the flora and fauna (plants and animals) of Hindustan, which he often compared to his homeland in Central Asia.
Jahangir (Jahangirnama): Jahangir was an even more passionate naturalist. He would commission artists (like Ustad Mansur) to paint rare animals and birds he encountered, such as the dodo or the zebra.
Environmental Impact
Hunting Preserves (Shikargah): Rulers set aside vast areas as royal hunting preserves.
A "Paradoxical" Conservation: While the hunt itself was destructive, these preserves were strictly off-limits to everyone else. This ban on poaching, farming, and tree-cutting meant that these areas acted as *unintentional wildlife sanctuaries*, preserving forests and animal populations.