The emergence of maritime polity in Goa (Tenth Century to Fifteenth Century CE)

Abstract

Scholars, who studied the nature of the Goa Kadamba polity, did not comprehend the fact that the Goa Kadambas exhibited the features of not only coastal polity but also maritime polity. At the same time, we accept the contention that the Shilaharas represented coastal polity while it lacked the features of a maritime polity. We support our argument by using the inscriptional data and foreign travelogue accounts, which exhibit the attempt of the Goa Kadambas to protect their maritime trade interest through their alliance with the Arab traders and maintaining a navy.