Bhoja II (910–912) had been overthrown by Mahipala I (912–914).

Several feudatories of the empire take advantage of the temporary weakness of the Gurjar Pratiharas to declare their independence, notably the Paramaras of Malwa, the Chandelas of Bundelkhand, and the Kalachuris of Mahakoshal.

The Chandela Rajputs, who rule the region of India’s present northern Madhya Pradesh state, begin construction, around 950, on a magnificent series of Hindu temples at Khajuraho (about three hundred and seventy-three miles (six hundred kilometers) southeast of New Delhi).

South Asia (964 – 1107 CE): Ghaznavids and Cholas, Palas and Senas, and the Rise of a Maritime Subcontinent

Geographic and Environmental Context

South Asia in the Lower High Medieval Age extended from the Hindu Kush and Himalayas to the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula, embracing the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Deccan Plateau, and the Indian Ocean island chainsfrom Sri Lanka to the Maldives and Chagos.
This world contained diverse ecological zones: fertile deltas (Bengal), monsoon-watered plains (Punjab, Doab, Tamil Nadu), high plateaus (Deccan), and maritime corridors that connected the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and wider Indian Ocean. Stable monsoons and abundant river systems fostered dense agrarian civilizations, while strategic mountain passes and seaways linked the region to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

Climate and Environmental Shifts

The Medieval Warm Period sustained favorable rainfall and robust agricultural production across the subcontinent.

• Bengal’s delta expanded, increasing rice cultivation.

• Deccan reservoirs and Tamil tank systems mitigated drought.

• Sri Lanka’s irrigation canals and Polonnaruwa reservoirs ensured food security.

• In the north, Himalayan passes remained open for salt-and-wool exchange, while steppe pressures introduced new migratory and military currents into Afghanistan and Punjab.
  Ecological stability thus underpinned both imperial consolidation and far-reaching commerce.

Societies and Political Developments

Northern South Asia: From Ghazni to Bengal

• Afghanistan and Punjab:
  The Ghaznavid Empire, under Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998–1030), extended from Ghazni to the Punjab, conducting celebrated but destructive raids into India. After mid-century, the Seljuks displaced Ghaznavid power in Khurasan, leaving a Punjabi remnant.

• Delhi–Doab:
  Fragmented into Rajput strongholds—Tomaras of Delhi, Chauhans of Ajmer—defending regional autonomy through fortified cities and chivalric warfare.

• Bengal:
  The Palas revived under Mahipala I (r. 988–1038), patronizing Buddhism, but waned as the Sena dynasty(Ballala Sena, Lakshmana Sena) rose, asserting Hindu orthodoxy and moving the political center to Vikramapura.

• Kashmir prospered under Hindu–Shahi kings with temple patronage and bronze artistry.

• Nepal saw the Malla dynasty strengthen Kathmandu’s urban and temple culture; Bhutan absorbed Tibetan Buddhist diffusion, embedding monastic authority.

• Arakan and the Chindwin valley connected Bengal and Upper Burma through Buddhist polities such as Launggyet, mediating rice and elephant trade.

Maritime South Asia: The Chola Zenith and Maritime Integration

• Tamil Nadu and the Cholas:
  Under Rajaraja I (r. 985–1014) and Rajendra I (r. 1014–1044), the Chola Empire  unified the peninsula and projected naval power across the Bay of Bengal, conquering northern Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and launching expeditions toward Southeast Asia.
  Monumental Shaiva temples—notably the Brihadeshvara at Thanjavur (1010)—symbolized imperial grandeur.

• Deccan:
  The Western Chalukyas contested Chola influence; the Rashtrakutas’ legacy persisted through successor states balancing agrarian control with temple patronage.

• Kerala (Chera realm):
  Spice exports (pepper, cinnamon) enriched port towns along the Malabar Coast.

• Sri Lanka:
  The Cholas annexed the north in 993 CE, ruling from Polonnaruwa until local resurgence under Vijayabahu I (r. 1055–1110) restored Sinhalese sovereignty.

• Islands:
  The Maldives entered the Chola orbit as a node in the cowrie and coconut trades; Lakshadweep and Chagos remained lightly settled but linked to wider sea routes.

Economy and Trade

Agriculture and maritime commerce operated in symbiosis.

• Agriculture:
  Wheat and barley dominated the Punjab, rice thrived in Bengal, Nepal, and the Tamil plains, while millet and barley sustained Himalayan terraces.

• Crafts:
  Ghazni and Lahore produced ivory and fine textiles; Bengal excelled in bronze sculpture; Tamilakam specialized in cotton weaving.

• Trade Networks:

  • Overland: Horses via Kabul; textiles and indigo from North India; Himalayan salt and wool exchanged for grain.

  • Maritime: Chola fleets controlled shipping from Coromandel to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Southeast Asia, exporting rice, textiles, and metals, importing gold, aromatics, and ceramics.

  • Bengal’s ports (Tamralipta, Chandpur) traded rice and sugar with Arakan and Pagan Burma.

  • Malabar Coast ports supplied spices to Arab and Persian merchants; cowries from the Maldives circulated as currency across the Indian Ocean.

• Coinage: Ghaznavid silver dirhams and Chola gold fanams symbolized dual monetary spheres bridging Islamic Asia and the Indic world.

Subsistence and Technology

• Irrigation:
  Ghaznavid canals around Lahore, embankments in Bengal, and vast tank systems in Tamil Nadu and Andhra maximized monsoon use.

• Military:
  Turkish cavalry and war-elephants dominated northern battlefields; southern navies wielded catapults and fire arrows at sea.

• Architecture:
  Chola Dravidian temples, Sena Hindu shrines, Ghaznavid mosques in Lahore and Ghazni, and Nepalese pagodas expressed regional diversity.

• Artisanal technology: advanced bronze casting, stone carving, shipbuilding, and water-management engineering enriched both sacred and practical life.

Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Khyber and Bolan Passes: conduits for Central Asian caravans and invasions.

• Punjab–Doab–Bengal trunk route: horses, textiles, and tribute moved east–west.

• Bay of Bengal seaways: joined Coromandel, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia.

• Bengal–Arakan–Chindwin corridor: linked rice and elephant trade to Pagan Burma.

• Himalayan passes: carried salt, wool, and religious ideas between Kathmandu, Bhutan, and Tibet.

Together these routes knit the subcontinent into a single commercial and religious field reaching from Samarkand to Srivijaya.

Belief and Symbolism

South Asia’s religious landscape was plural and dynamic.

• Islam: Ghaznavid rule introduced Sunni madrasas and mosques in Punjab, with early Sufi lodges fostering intercultural dialogue.

• Hinduism: Chola and Sena patrons reinforced Shaiva and Vaishnava orthodoxy through monumental architecture and ritual kingship.

• Buddhism: persisted in Bengal, Nepal, and Kashmir; Vajrayāna centers in Bihar–Nepal transmitted teachings to Tibet, influencing the phyi dar revival.

• Jainism flourished under Chalukya and local Deccan courts.

• Sri Lanka: Theravāda continuity anchored by Polonnaruwa monasteries.

• Bhutan and Himalayan regions: integrated Tibetan Drukpa Kagyu traditions.
  Temples, stupas, and mosques alike proclaimed divine kingship and cosmological order across diverse faiths.

Adaptation and Resilience

Hydraulic engineering and ritualized redistribution enabled resilience to climatic fluctuation.

• Tank irrigation buffered drought; flood embankments protected deltas.

• Maritime trade diversified revenue beyond agrarian surplus.

• Caste and monastic networks ensured social continuity and education.

• Inter-regional diplomacy—tribute, pilgrimage, and intermarriage—helped maintain equilibrium despite warfare.
  The coexistence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic polities fostered cultural synthesis rather than collapse.

Long-Term Significance

By 1107 CE, South Asia embodied a dual-centered world:

• In the north, the Ghaznavids were declining, soon to yield to Ghurid expansion; Rajput houses held the plains; Bengal transitioned from Pala Buddhist to Sena Hindu rule; and Himalayan kingdoms blended Indic and Tibetan traditions.

• In the south, the Cholas presided over the most extensive maritime empire ever forged by an Indian dynasty, while Sri Lanka regained independence and the Deccan balanced Chalukya and regional powers.

• Across both spheres, agricultural intensification, urban prosperity, and maritime connectivity positioned South Asia as a pivotal crossroads between Islamic West Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Africa.

By the early twelfth century, the subcontinent stood as a maritime–continental civilization, where temple and mosque, caravan and ship, monsoon and mountain together defined one of the world’s most intricate and enduring cultural ecologies.

Upper South Asia (964 – 1107 CE): Ghaznavids, Palas & Senas, and Himalayan Polities

Geographic and Environmental Context

Upper South Asia includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, North India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and northwestern Myanmar (northern Arakan/Yakhine and the Chindwin valley).

• Anchors: the Indo-Gangetic plain from Punjab to Bengal, the Kathmandu Valley, the Himalayan foothills of Nepal and Bhutan, Kashmir, and the Arakan/Chindwin corridors tying Bengal to Upper Burma.

Climate and Environmental Shifts

• Favorable monsoons persisted; Bengal deltaic expansion intensified rice cultivation.

• Himalayan passes remained viable for salt/wool–grain exchange.

• Steppe pressures brought Turkic migrations into Afghanistan.

Societies and Political Developments

• Afghanistan & Punjab:

  • Ghaznavid Empire (Mahmud of Ghazni, r. 998–1030) extended from Ghazni to Punjab, conducting raids deep into India.

  • By mid-11th c., Seljuks displaced Ghaznavids from Khurasan; Ghaznavids remained in Punjab.

• Delhi–Doab: fractured into Rajput polities; Tomaras and Chauhans controlled Delhi and Ajmer.

• Bengal:

  • Palas revived under Mahipala I (r. 988–1038) but declined by 12th c.; Sena dynasty rose (Ballala Sena, Lakshmana Sena), enforcing Hindu orthodoxy and shifting centers to Vikramapura.

• Kashmir: flourished under Hindu/Shahi kings; strong temple patronage.

• Nepal: Malla dynasty consolidated; Kathmandu Valley urbanism deepened.

• Bhutan: Buddhist diffusion from Tibet strengthened local monastic centers.

• Arakan/Chindwin: Buddhist Launggyet and related polities matured, interfacing with Bengal and Pagan Burma.

Economy and Trade

• Agriculture: wheat/barley (Punjab); rice (Bengal, Nepal); barley/millet (Himalayas).

• Crafts: Ghazni and Lahore famed for ivory and textiles; Bengal continued bronze statuary.

• Trade:

  • Horses via Kabul; cotton/textiles from North India; Bengal rice and sugar to Southeast Asia.

  • Himalayan salt, wool, and paper for Indian grain.

• Coinage: Ghaznavid silver dirhams circulated widely.

Subsistence and Technology

• Irrigation: Ghaznavid Lahore invested in canals; Bengal’s embankments; Nepalese ponds.

• Military: Ghaznavid Turkish cavalry and elephants; Rajput chivalric warfare; fortified hilltop redoubts.

• Architecture: Sena Hindu temples; Ghaznavid mosques (Lahore, Ghazni); Nepalese pagodas.

Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Khyber/Bolan passes: caravans and invasions.

• Punjab–Doab–Bengal trunk: horses, textiles, revenue flow.

• Bengal–Arakan–Chindwin: rice and elephants tied to Pagan.

• Himalayan passes: Kathmandu salt–grain, Bhutanese monastic circuits.

Belief and Symbolism

• Islam: Ghaznavids sponsored Sunni madrasas, mosques; Sufi presence began in Punjab.

• Hinduism: Rajput and Sena patrons reinforced orthodoxy.

• Buddhism: still strong in Bengal, Nepal, Kashmir; Vajrayana radiated from Bihar/Nepal to Tibet.

• Bhutan: monasteries extended Tibetan Drukpa/Kagyu reach.

Long-Term Significance

By 1107, Upper South Asia was transitioning:

• Ghaznavids fading, Ghurids poised to strike.

• Bengal shifting from Palas to Senas.

• Rajputs held Delhi–Doab.

• Nepal and Bhutan stabilized into syncretic Buddhist–Hindu realms.

• Arakan–Chindwin solidified as the link between Bengal and Pagan Burma.

The Middle Indic Prakrits dialects, which contemporary Sanskrit scholars regard as evidence of a cultural decline, labeling them “Apabhramsa” ("decadence"), have by 1000 evolved to the point of being recognizable as the forerunners of modern regional tongues, notably Hindi, Urdu, Bhihari, Rajastani, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Sindhi, Nepali, Pahari, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Maldivian, and Sinhalese.

The exterior façades of the eighty huge temple complexes constructed between 950 and 1050 at Khajuraho, in north central India, feature various worldly activities, some ten percent of them sensuous carvings of loving couples often depicted in ecstatic embrace, symbolizing the union between the soul and the deity.

The whole area is enclosed by a wall with eight gates, each flanked by two golden palm trees.

The city is the religious capital of the Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that rules this part of India.

Hindu temple building reaches a peak with the erection of the eighty-five opulently embellished “nagara” temples of Khajuraho, constructed of buff-colored sandstone and granite in about 1000 and set upon lofty terraces.

Each temple comprises a sequence of halls, foyers, and porches joined into a single architectural skin and coordinated along a common axis.

The full light of the entrance progresses in a modulated sequence from open to closed, culminating in the utter darkness of the sanctum.

Myriad carvings of the deities and of erotic scenes, meant as concrete examples of the potency of the icon originally enshrined within, animate the exterior surfaces.

The “sikkhara”—the high, phallic form covering the sanctum—is echoed in the pyramidal superstructures rising from the low, broad shapes of the porch in regular stages, intended to evoke a natural mountain range.

The Kandariyâ Mahâdeva Temple, the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India, is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India.

Khajuraho, the religious capital of the Chandela Rajputs, is today is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.

Built around 1050 on Hindu beliefs dating back to 1000 BCE, the main spire or sikhara rises thirty-one meters to depict Mount Kailash, the Himalayan mountain abode of Shiva and is surrounded by eighty-four miniature spires (or Urushringas).

Inside the sanctum is a marble linga representing Shiva.

Mahmud, by 1026, has waged the last of seventeen campaigns in a quarter-century of holy war of conquest in the northern Indian plains, demolishing Hindu temples, defacing idols, and carrying treasures back to Ghazni.

Mahmud has defeated the Gurjara-Pratiuharas, the Chandellas of Khajuraho, the Rajputs of Gwalior, and the Arab ruler of Multan.

A ferocious warrior, he is also a lover of literature who brings intellectuals to his capital.

Although a harsh master of his conquered territories, he does not force conversions to Islam, and employs Hindu troops in his depredations.

The Ghaznavid Empire extends by 1030 from Ray in the west to Samarkand in the northeast, and from the Caspian Sea to the Yamuna.

Although his raids have carried his forces across the South Asia, only a portion of Punjab and Sindh in modern-day Pakistan come under his semi-permanent rule; Kashmir, the Doab, Rajasthan and Gujarat remain under the control of the local Rajput dynasties.

The booty brought back to Ghazni is enormous, and contemporary historians (e.g.

Abolfazl Beyhaghi, Ferdowsi) give descriptions of the magnificence of the capital, as well as of the conqueror's munificent support of literature.

He has transformed Ghazni, the first center of Persian literature, into one of the leading cities of Central Asia, patronizing scholars, establishing colleges, laying out gardens, and building mosques, palaces, and caravansaries.

He has patronized Ferdowsi to write the Shahnameh; and, after his expedition across the Gangetic plains in 1017, of Al-Biruni to compose his Tarikh Al-Hind in order to understand the Indians and their beliefs.

During his rule, universities have been founded to study various subjects such as mathematics, religion, the humanities, and medicine.

Islam is the main religion of his kingdom.

Persian, spoken in the empire, is made to the official language.

Sultan Mahmud, who had contracted malaria during his last invasion, dies in Ghazni at the age of fifty-nine on April 30, 1030.

The medical complication from malaria had caused lethal tuberculosis.

The Ghaznavid Empire will be ruled by his successors for one hundred and fifty-seven years.

Mohammad Ghaznavi, the younger of a set of twins, ascends the throne upon the death of his father Mahmud in 1030.

His uncle Yusuf Sebüktigin initially supported his coronation but later forms a confederacy supporting Mas'ud, the elder twin.

Mas'ud had proved himself a capable general during his father's time, annexing the provinces of Joorjistan, Tuburistan and the Persian portion for his father.

He had been appointed governor of Rayy, Isfahan, Balkh and Herat.

Upon his father's death, he gathers his supporters at Nishapur, where his captured brother is delivered to him, after which he is blinded and imprisoned.