History ANCIENT INDIA
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CHAPTER www.ssbcrackexams.com History ANCIENT INDIA Pre History Palaeolithic Age or Mesolithic Age or Neolithic Age or Old stone age Late Stone age New Stone age (500,000-10,000 BC) (10,000-4,000 BC) (6,000-1,000 BC) Pre Historic Phases Stone Age Primary Culture Major Site Importance Lower Palaeolithic Flakes,Chopper Kashmir, Punjab, Whole India except - Head axe and pebble tools, Fossil of Chopping Culture Sind and Kerala. Main :- Sohan(Punjab), Homo Erectus from Hathnaura Singrauli basin (U.P.), Chhotanagpur (Narmada basin) (Jharkhand), Assam, Narmada, Andhra - Represented by Sohan Culture (now Pradesh, Karnataka. in Pakistan.) Middle Scraper/Booer Culture Navasa (Maharashtra), Didwana - Varieties of Blades, Points, Borer and Palaeolithic (Rajasthan), Bhimbetka (MP), Bankura Scraper made of Flakes. and Purulia (West Bengal), Narmada - 200 rock shelters and caves are Valley etc. located on Bhimbetka hills having thousands of paintings. Upper Palaeolithic Blade and Burin A.P. (Kurnool, Chittor) Karnataka, - The age of Neanderthal Man Culture Central MP, Jharkhan Plateau, U.P., - Earlier "Homo Sapiens" Rajasthan, Gujrat - Harpoon, blade tools from Renugunta (A.P.) - Bone tools from Kurnool. Meslithic Age Microliths Culture or Karnataka, Rajasthan (Bagor, Tilwara), - Microlith (a great technological Fluting & Gometrical Gujrat (Langhanj), M.P., Tamil development, introduction of tools Nadu,West Benal (Birbhanpur), U.P. compound tools) (Sarai Nahar Rai) - Man still a savage but pottery maing (Tilwara) and permanent habitation found, still a hunder, fisher. - Earlies Farming community - Kinship became the basis of social organisation - Pit dwelling houses Kashmir (Burzahom, Gufkral), Assam - Food begain to be cooked by fire (Daojili Hading), Garohill Meghalaya, Neolithic Age Polished tool culture -Evidence of dogs, circular huts made Bihar (Chirand), Peninsular India, Amri, of bamboo, bone-tools, hand made Kotdiji, Mehargarh etc pottery etc - Also called "Neolithic Revolution" -Boat making, spinning cotton and wool. IMPORTANT HARAPPAN SITES Year of Name of Sites Excavators Region/River Features Excavation 1. City followed grid planning Montgomery 2. Row of six granaries district of Punjab Harappa 1921 Daya Ram Sahni 3. Only place having evidences of coffin burial (Now in Pak) on the 4. Evidence of fractional burial and coffin burial left bank of Ravi 5. Cemetery-H of alien people. 1. City followed grid planning 2. A large granary and Great Bath, a college Larkana district in 3. Human skeletons showing invasiona and massacre. Sind on the right Mohenjodaro 1922 R.D.Banarjee 4. Evidence of Horse come from superficial level. bank of Indus (N ow 5. A piece of woven cotton alongwith spindle whorls and in Pak) needles 6. Town was flooded more then seven times. 1. The city has no citadal 2. Famous for bead makers shop N. Gopal Situtated in Sind on 3. A small pot, possibly an inkpot Chanhu-daro 1931 Majumdar, the bank of Indus 4. Foot prints of a dog chasing a cat Mackey 5. Three different cultural layers, Indus,Jhukar and Jhangar 1. Shows both Pre Harappan and Harappan phase Situated in 2. Evidence of furrowed land Kalibangan 1953 A. Ghos h Rajasthan on the 3. Evidence of seven fire altars and camel bones Bank of Ghaggar 4. Many houses had their own well 5. Kalibangan stand for black bangles 6. Evidence of wooden furrow 1. A titled floor which bears intersecting design of circles Situated in Gujarat 2. Remains of rice husk on Bhogava river 3. Evidence of horse from a terracotta figurine Lothal 1953 S.R. Rao near Gulf of 4. A ship designed on a seal Cambay 5. Beads & trade ports 6. An instrument for measuring angles,pointing to modern day compass Situated in Hissar 1. Shows both Pre-Harappan and Harppan phase Banwali 1974 R.S. Bisht district of Haryana 2. Good quantity of barley found here Situated in Sind on Amri 1935 N.G. Majumdar 1. Evidence of antelope the bank of Indus 1. Seven cultural stages Situated in Gujarat 2. Largest site Dholavira 1985-90 R.S. Bisht in Rann of Kutch 3. Three party of city 4. Unique water management Situated on the M.S. Vats, B.B. Rangpur 1953 bank of Mahar in 1. Rice was cultivated Lal & S.R. Rao Gujarat 1. Evidence of burying a dog below the human bural Situated in Punjab 2. One example of rectangular mudbrick chamber was Ropar 1953 Y.D. Sharma of the banks of noticed Sutlej 3. Five fold cultures - Harappan, PGW, NBP, Kushana - Gupta and Medieval 1. The impression of cloth on a trough is discovered Situated on Hindon Alamgirpur 1958 Y.D. Sharma in Ghaziabad 2. Usually considered to be the eastern boundary of the Indus culture MAHAJANPADS : AT A GLANCE The Sakas Mahajanpads Places • The Sakas were a nomadic tribe of Central Asia who were Anga Bhagalpur and Monghyr in Bihar driven out of their land by another tribe, Yeuh-Chi. Magadha Patna and Gaya in Bihar • They established many kingdoms of which the most Kashi Banaras important were those of Taxila, Mathura, Nasik and Ujjain. Koshala Oudh in Uttar Pradesh Rudradaman of Ujjain was the most powerful Saka ruler Vajji North Bihar who assumed the title of ‘Mahakshtrap’. Malla Eastern U.P. Gupta Empire Chedi Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh Vatsa Allahabad • Under the Gupta kings, India made such a progress in almost Kuru Delhi and Meerut every field that it is regarded as the ‘Golden Age’. This Panchala Rohilkhand division in U.P. dynasty ruled for a little more than two hundred years (from Matsya Jaipur and Alwar 320 A.D. to 540 A.D.). Surasena Mathura in U.P. • Chandragupta I was the first important ruler of this dynasty. Assaka Godavari Valley • Chandragupta I was succeeded by his illustrious son and Avanti Malwa and a part of Madhya Pradesh one of the noblest kings of ancient India, Samudragupta. Gandhara Part of Afghanistan • He covered a long distance of 3,000 miles through dense Kamboj Part of Kashmir and Afghanistan forests with the same boldness as that of Alexander and Napoleon. • Magadha was the cradle of most of the important and powerful Indian empires. • The most authentic source of information about • Soon this kingdom lost to the Nandas (361–321 BC) and Samudragupta is the Allahabad Pillar in the Allahabad Fort. finally to the Mauryas. Mahapadma Nanda was the most It has an inscription composed by poet Harisena. famous ruler of the Nanda Dynasty. • Chandragupta II the son and successor of Samudragupta, • Chandragupta Maurya, the founder and the most powerful was another powerful ruler of the the Gupta dynasty. He is king of the Mauryan dynasty overthrew the last Nanda ruler popularly known as Vikramaditya (or Sun of Power) and is and established his own empire. often identified with Vikramaditya of Ujjain who patronised • He was supported by an efficient minister Chanakya who the famous Nav Ratnas. authored the Arthasastra (a political treatise) that formed • Chandragupta II was succeeded by Kumargupta. It was the basis of political agenda practiced by most Hindu during his reign that the Hunas, a barbaric nomadic tribe of sovereigns. Central Asia, invaded India. • Alexander of Greece (327 BC) entered North-West India • Their first invasion was repulsed by the brave Gupta king pursuing his chain of victories over Gandhara. He died on Skandgupta. But soon after they conquered Punjab and his way back to Babylon, Iraq in 323B.C. Kashmir, their invasions shok the Gupta empire which soon • Greek writers belonging to the Mauryan times stated that broke into pieces. after Alexander’s death, Seleucus Nicator ruled the eastern part of Alexander’s Empire. Harshavardhana • Bindusara succeeded Chandragupta and further expanded • After the fall of the Gupta empire chaos and disorder the empire. prevailed everwhere. The Huna invasions created more New Empires and Kingdoms confusion. It all led to the emergence of small kingdoms. Thanesar, near Kurukshetra, was one of them. It made great • Post-Mauryan India was a scene of struggle with one progress under Prabhakarvardhana and his son Harsha. dynasty vying with another for regional dominance. • Harshavardhana is regarded as the last great ruler of ancient • Pushyamitra Shunga was the founder of Shungas Dynasty. India. • Pushyamitra’s dominions extended up to Eastern Punjab • The first task that Harsha accomplished after his accession and included Jalandhar and Sakala, Magadha in east with to the throne of Thanesar was to march towards Kannauj, Pataliputra as its capital and Kosala with Ayodhya as its where first of all he saved his sister Rajyashri and then capital and central India with Vidisa as its capital. united the two kingdoms of Thanesar and Kannauj. • Simuka was the founder of the Satavahan Dynasty. Thereafter, he made Kannauj his capital. Sangam Age • According to Hieun Tsang, a Chinese pilgrim, Harsha spent • The Iron Age in South India laid the foundation stone for a six years of his reign (606 A.D. to 612 A.D.) in conquering golden period which began in 300 BC and lasted till 300 AD. the Five Indies, i.e., Eastern Punjab, Kannauj, Bengal, Bihar This period, popularly known as SANGAM AGE, is widely and Orissa and many other states. regarded as the golden age of the Tamils. The Chalukyas • The literature collectively produced by the ancient Tamilian poets is commonly known as the Sangam literature. • Pulakesin I (543 – 567 A.D.) established his own sovereign • Sangam literature makes a mention of three kingdoms— state at Vatapi (or modern Badami in Bijapur district) as his Chola, Chera and Pandiyan. capital. • His successors also extended the Chalukya empire. But the • Under him, the Cholas became a paramout power in the greatest ruler of this dynasty was Pulakesin II (608–647 South. A. D.). • Rajaraja I was a great builder. He constructed the beautiful MEDIEVAL INDIA Brihadesvara Temple of Shiva at Tanjore.