Trade in the Sultanate Period
- The Sultanate Period, during which an Islamic empire was based in Delhi, covered massive parts of South Asia from approximately 1206 to 1526 (~320 years). The territory included modern-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and southern Nepal. During this era, India traded with Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. India exported textiles, food grains, indigo, and precious stones. In contrast, imported precious metals (silver, gold, etc.), brocades, silk fabrics, horses, and other goods.
- In the early fourteenth century, there was extensive and profitable trade between Indian ports such as Chaul, Diu, Goa, Dabhol, Calicut, Bhatkal, etc. and Arabian and Persian ports such as Aden, Jeddah, Ormuz, Esh-Shihr, etc. The good leaving Indian consists of cloves, cardamoms, pepper, ginger, saffron, sandalwood, indigo, and others. In return, India received many goods, especially Arabian horses.
Role of Foreign Trade during Medieval Indian History
India has had trade relations with other countries like China, the Middle East, Java Islands, Sumatra, and Bali. But the arrival of the Europeans had a serious impact on that thriving trade as Indian goods started reaching the West directly instead of through the Middle East. There was an increase in exports of Indian goods as well as a massive shift in the nature of the exported goods.