Hinglish

Foreign Invasions

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 15: Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 15.6

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The Hūṇas, thought to be a branch of the Central Asian Huns, were fast horse-archers. In the early 6th century two Hūṇa leaders pushed deep into the Ganga plains until kings of the Aulikara dynasty of Daśhapura (Mandsaur) defeated them. By the 7th century the Hūṇas had blended into Indian society: they served as soldiers and officials, wrote in Sanskrit, and issued coins showing Lakṣhmī, much like Gupta coins.

After the rise of Islam, Arab ships raided Thānā, Bharuch and Debal in 637 without lasting control. In 712, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh, destroying a great temple at Debal and killing King Dāhar in battle. But Indian chiefs soon won back most of the land, and the Gurjara-Pratīhāras under Nāgabhaṭa I and Kashmir's Lalitāditya repeatedly defeated Arab armies; after three centuries, Arab rule was limited to two small states. Long before this, India and Arabia had traded across the sea with the monsoon winds ("monsoon" comes from Arabic mawsim, season), and the Arabs took India's decimal numerals with zero to Europe, where they were called "Arabic numerals".

Explore: place events on the timeline.

  1. The first Arab naval raid at Thānā came in 637. Put the marker there.
  2. The Arabs conquered Sindh in 712. Put the marker there.

Remember

  • The Hūṇas were defeated by the Aulikaras and absorbed into Indian society.
  • Arabs conquered Sindh in 712 but were long held back by Indian rulers; trade and knowledge also flowed between India and Arabia.

Quick check

What happened to the Hūṇas by the 7th century?

  1. they blended into Indian society
  2. they conquered all of India
  3. they returned to Europe
  4. they ruled from Kannauj
Answer

they blended into Indian society. They adopted Sanskrit, Indian titles and Indian coin designs.

Think about it

Why might invaders who stayed in India adopt Indian languages, coins and gods?

One answer

To win the trust of the people they ruled, to run the land with local officials, and because Indian culture was rich and well established.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.