These, with a number of artisans and handicraftsmen, formed the
chief population of the towns; some of the money-dealers were
very rich, and 36 per cent. per annum was not perhaps an extreme
rate of interest. There were no silver or gold mines, external
commerce hardly existed, and the money-price of commodities was
low.

The literary and polite language of Hindustan, called Urdu or
Rekhta, was, and still is, so far common to the whole country,
that it everywhere consists of a mixture of the same elements,
though in varying proportions; and follows the same grammatical
rules, though with different accents and idioms. The constituent
parts are the Arabised Persian, and the Prakrit (in combination
with a ruder basis, possibly of local origin), known as Hindi.
Speaking loosely, the Persian speech has contributed nouns
substantive of civilization, and adjectives of compliment or of
science; while the verbs and ordinary vocables and particles
pertaining to common life are derived from the earlier tongues.
So, likewise, are the names of animals, excepting those of beasts
of chase.

The name Urdu, by which this language is usually known, is said
to be of Turkish origin, and means literally "camp." But the
Moghuls of India first introduced it in the precincts of the
Imperial camp; so that as Urdu-i-muali (High or Supreme Camp)
came to be a synonym for new Dehli after Shahjahan had made it
his permanent capital, so Urdu-ki-zaban meant the lingua franca
spoken at Dehli. It was the common method of communication
between different classes, as English may have been in London
under Edward III. The classical languages of Arabia and Persia