Living Without Silver: The Monetary History of Early Medieval North India

Product Description This book is concerned with money as an indicator of economic activity. It makes a comprehensive examination of the use of money from Afghanistan to Bihar, and from Kashmir to Malwa, during the period AD 750-1250. Its major premise is that the patterns of production, exchange, and dispersion of money over time can be used to define the economic systems of early medieval North India. This book explains and interprets the economic history of the period, using current models of feudalization, decentralization, trade, and commerce. The author rejects the common perception that money during this period was scarce, primitive, and debased, by analysing the evidence of surviving coin hoards. His findings suggest a considerably greater reliance on money, closer co-ordination of its use, and its wider circulation in larger quantities, than is consistent with many current models of the early medieval Indian economy. Review `Deyell's work is an excellent example of how the careful study of the most restricted topic, when set in the proper context and viewed from the proper perspective, can suggest broader lines of inquiry and test larger hypotheses to the benefit of both specialist and generalist alike.' Stephen P. Blake, St. Olaf College, The Journal of Asian Studies About the Author John S. Deyell is at Canadian International Development Agency.