Armed Power and Armed Groups in Early Medieval Eastern India: their Characters and Involvement with Rural Power Relations

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26704008
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: History of Asia and Africa
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Furui Ryosuke 東京大学, 東洋文化研究所, 准教授 (60511483)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 東洋史 / 南アジア / 中世初期 / 農村社会 / 従属支配者層 / 武力

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study clarifies the character of subordinate rulers and the change in power relation between them and the kingship in Bengal between the fifth and thirteenth centuries, namely, the historical process of their emergence, the establishment of their power based on the relation with the kingship focused on military service and the territorial control, the tension and negotiation between the subordinate rulers and the kingship over the construction of religious institutions and donations to them, the Kaivarta rebellion as a result of several contradictions, and the change from the heavy dependence on subordinate rulers to the established royal control in the aftermath of the rebellion. It also explores the possibility of a comparative study with the process of state formation in the early modern Northeast India and contributes to the expansion of primary sources through the edition of new inscriptions and re-edition of published ones.

Free Research Field

南アジア中世初期史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果は、中世初期ベンガルにおける権力関係の歴史的変化に一貫性を持った解釈枠組を与えるものであり、同時代南アジア他地域における同様の過程、さらには前近代アジア諸地域における重層的政治権力の在り方についても、応用可能性あるいは比較の対象を提供するものである。また、本研究で遂行された新出・既出碑文の校訂・再校訂は、インド学など、歴史学に限らない、南アジア前近代を扱う様々な学術分野に信頼に足る情報源をもたらし、その発展に貢献するものである。