MERCHANT GUILDS IN EARLY MEDIEVAL SOUTH INDIA: A STUDY

In South India the merchant communities had been organized into corporate bodies or guilds form AD. 10^th century onwards. The active functioning of trade and merchant guilds was an important feature of South Indian Economy in the ancient and medieval times. The merchant guilds were formed with the primary objective of carrying on trade, commerce, banking etc. They were not merely interested in amassing wealth and protecting the interest of the merchants but also in the general upliftment of the people. This paper mainly focuses on the functions of the merchant guilds of South India spread over Karnataka, Andhra and Tamilnadu. In Karnataka we get fairly good picture about the activities in the Chalukyas of Badami- Kalyan, Rastrakutas, Hoyasalas and Vijayanagar periods.