Changing Structure of Political Economy in Early Medieval India

Abstract

The economy of any place depends largely on its natural resources and on the technological skill of the people inhabiting it on one side and socio- political organization at the other. The early medieval India was a period of proliferation and fragmentation. The existing varnas were split up into many castes and numerous new tribes and castes were annexed to and incorporated within them. In this period ‘Kanauj’ was the center of Political hierarchy in northern India. The tripartite struggle between Pratihāras, Pālas and Rāśtrakutas resulted in the emergence of many small principalities in 7^th century. The Rāśtrakutas ascendancy constitutes such a brilliant chapter in the economy of southern India. The background to socio-political changes in early medieval India is provided by certain economic developments.