A lucid, informative and comprehensive account of political processes and their varied foundations in medieval Kashmir. It examines some of the principal ways through which the region's social and religious life interacted with the then, current political formations to produce peculiar structures of power and domination. The book also analyses in detail problems that the medieval state faced in Kashmir, while evolving its ideological apparatus and legitimational tools.
The author has put together varied Sanskrit, Persian, and other sources on this region's history and passed them through a theoretical lens to ensure a vivid focus and a long historical perspective. The book is a major contribution to medieval Indian history, particularly in Kashmir region.
Map 3
Preface to the Revised Edition 9
Preface to the First Edition 11
Introduction 13
1.Historical Roots of State Formation in Pre-Sultanate Kashmir 18
2.Conversions to Islam and the Consolidation of a Social Base of Power in the Sultanate 63
3.The Sayyids, Sultans and the State: A Search for Legitimacy, 1339-1470 121
4.The Incorporation of the Sultanate into the Mughal State 154
5.Conclusion 180
Bibliography 185
Index 195
Rattan Lal Hangloo is Honorary Chancellor, Noble International University, Toronto. Hangloo was a Professor of History at the Hyderabad Central University and Vice Chancellor of Kalyani University, West Bengal, and Vice Chancellor of University of Allahabad. He has authored several books, primarily on the medieval Indian history.