Theme 2. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS EARLY STATES AND ECONOMIES (C.600 BCE-600 CE)

             Theme 2. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS

 EARLY STATES AND ECONOMIES (C.600 BCE-600 CE)

          (Political and Economic History from the Mauryas to the Guptas)

 

Introduction

There were several changes in economic and political life between 600BCE and 600 CE.The most
important was the emergence of early states, empires and kingdoms. There were other changes as well like growth in agricultural production, emergence of new towns etc.Historians tried to understand these changes by using a variety of sources-Inscriptions, texts coins etc.This is a complex process and sources do not tell the entire story.

Some developments during the long span of 1500 years following the end of Harappan Civilization

 There were several developments that took place in India during the long span of 1,500 years
following the end of Harappan civilization. They are:
 Rig-Veda was composed along the Indus and its tributaries
 Agricultural settlements emerged in many parts of the subcontinent.
 Emergence of new mode of disposal of the dead like Megaliths in central and south India.
 Emergence of new towns and kingdoms.

The Sixth century BCE was a turning point in early Indian history: Reasons

 The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history.
 This era is known for some crucial developments. They are:
 Increased use of iron
 Development of coinage
 Emergence of early states and cities
 Rise of new religions, namely, Jainism and Buddhism

Features of Mahajanapadas

 The sixth century BC is known for the rise of the sixteen Mahajanapadas.
 These states were either ruled by kings or Ganas (Sanghas)
 Each had its own capital often fortified.
 Some states maintained permanent standing armies recruited from the peasantry and regular
bureaucracies.
 Dharma sutras laid down norms for kings and other people.
 Functions of the rulers were to collect taxes and tribute from people.

Factors responsible for the rise of Magadha

 Between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, Magadha became the most powerful Mahajanapada
 Powerful and ambitious rulers like Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadmananda.
 Availability of iron enabled the Magadhans to make tools and weapons.
 Availability of elephants in forests constituted an important part of the army.
 Fertile soil provided agricultural productivity
 Ganga and its tributaries provided means of cheap and convenient communication.
 Location of Pataliputra facilitated routes of communication along Ganges.
 Rajgriha, the old capital of Magadha was located amongst hills.

The Mauryan Empire

 The rise of Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire.
 Chandragupta Maurya (c.321BCE) was the founder of the empire who extended control up to
Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
 His grandson, Ashoka, the most famous ruler conquered Kalinga

Variety of Sources to reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire

Historians have used variety of sources to reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire. They are:
 Archaeological finds especially sculpture, Asoka’s inscriptions
 Literary sources like Indica account of Megasthanese, Arthashastra of Kautilya, and Buddhist,
Jaina and Puranic literature.

Asoka’s Dhamma

 Asoka was the first ruler who inscribed his messages to his people on stone (rocks and pillars)
 He used the inscriptions to proclaim his principles of Dhamma.This included,
 Respect to elders
 Genorosity towards Brahmanas and others sects
 Kindness to slaves and servants.
 Religious tolerance towards other religions

Features of Mauryan Administration as mentioned in the Asokan Inscriptions

 The mauryan king was the centre of the great administrative system .He enjoyed absolute power.
The vast empire was divided into number of provinces. The mauryans had a strong standing army

1. Five Major Political Centres

 There were five major political centres –Pataliputra,Taxila,Ujjaini,Tosali and Suvarnagiri to
administer the vast empire.
 These centres were situated on important long-distance trade routes. Communication along both
land and riverine routes was vital for the existence of empire.

2. Role of the sub committees

 Megasthanese mentioned a committee with six sub committees was organized for coordinating
military activity. They looked after the navy, transport infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants.
 The second committee was to arrange bullock carts to carry equipments procure food for soldiers
and fodder for animals and recruit servants and artisans to look after the soldiers

3. Measures of Asoka to hold his empire

 Asoka tried to hold his empire together by propagating dhamma.
 He appointed Special officers called dhamma mahamattas to spread the message of dhamma

New Notions of Kingship (Post-Mauryan period)

 By second century BCE, new chiefdoms and kingdoms emerged in several parts of the
subcontinent.
 Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam were known from Sangam texts.
 Several states including Satavahanas and Shakas took advantage from long distance trade.
 Kushans (C First century BCE to first century CE) ruled over a vast kingdom extending from
central Asia to North West India.
 Their history has been reconstructed from inscriptions, coins, and sculptures .The notions of
kingship they wanted to convey are well reflected in their coins and sculpture.
 Huge Statues of Kushan rulers have been found in U.P and Afghanistan. This indicates that the
Kushans considered themselves godlike. They claimed divine status and adopted the title
devaputra,or ‘son of god’.
 History of the Guptas (4 th century CE) has been reconstructed from literatures, coins and
inscriptions including prashastis (For e.g.The Prayaga Prashasti(Allahabad Pillar Inscription)
composed by Harishena,the court poet of Samudragupta.)
 What did subjects think about their rulers? Historians have tried to understand this by examining
stories contained in Jatakas(written in Pali) and Panchatantra.
 The jataka story indicates the strained relationship between kings and subjects. Kings demanded
high taxes and peasants opposed to this.

Strategies for increasing agricultural production

 Use of iron tipped ploughshare
 Introduction of transplantation of paddy
 Irrigation through wells, tanks and canals
 Hoe agriculture in semi-arid parts of Punjab, Rajastan and hilly tracks in North-Eastern and
Central parts.

Differences in rural society

 With the increase in production, differences arose among people engaged in agriculture.
 Buddhist tradition refers to landless agricultural labourers, small peasants and large landlords.
 Landlords and heads of village were more powerful and had control over farmers
 Sangam texts mention large landowners or vellalar, ploughman or uzhavar and slaves or adimai.
 Thus, differences in rural society were based on control over land,labour and technologies.

Land grants and new rural elites

 Land grants by kings were recorded in inscriptions.
 Most of the records are generally about grants to religious institutions or to Brahmanas.
 Prabhavati Gupta, daughter of Chandragupta II, was married into the family of vakatakas in
Deccan.
 According to Sanskrit legal texts, women were not supposed to have access to land.
 But Inscription indicates that Prabhavati had access to land.
 The inscription gives us an idea about rural people-Brahmanas, peasants and others.
 There were regional variations in the sizes of land donated.
 Land grants were made to extend agriculture to new areas or to win allies by making grants of
land.
 Land grants provide an insight into the relationship between peasants and the state.
 However, groups such as pastoralists, fisher folk, hunter gatherers, sedentary artisans and shifting
cultivators did not keep detailed records of their lives and transactions.

Towns and Trade

 From c. sixth century BCE, urban centres emerged in different parts of the subcontinent.
 Majority of the towns such as Pataliputra, Ujjaini, Puhar, Mathura etc.were located along riverine
or land routes.
 Votive Inscriptions give us an idea about town people.
 In the towns different types of people used to live such as washingfolk,weavers, scribes,
carpenters,potters,goldsmiths,blacksmiths,officials,religious teachers,merchants and kings.
 Artisans and traders organized themselves in guilds or shrenis.Guilds procured raw materials,
regulated production and marketed the finished product.
 Trade was not confined within the subcontinent but extended to East and North Africa and West
Asia and to Southeast Asia and China.
 India used to export spices, fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, medicinal plants etc.

Coins and Kings (Numismatics of the 6 th century BCE onwards)

 Exchangers were facilitated by the introduction of coinage.
 Punch marked coins made of silver and copper were amongst the earliest to be minted and used.
 Coins were issued by kings, merchants, bankers and town people.
 The first coins bearing the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks.
 The first gold coins were issued in first century CE by the Kushans.
 Hoards of Roman coins have been found in south India. This indicates that there was a close
connection between south India and Roman Empire.
 Coins were also issued by tribal republics .For e.g. Yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana (first
century CE) issued thousands of copper coins.
 The Guptas also issued gold coins. These were remarkable for their purity. These coins facilitated
long distance transactions.
 From c.sixth century onwards finds of gold coins are fewer. Historians divided on this issue.
Some suggest that there was an economic crisis following the collapse of Western Roman
Empire. Decline of long distance trade affected the prosperity of states, communities and regions.
 Others argue that new towns and networks of trade began to emerge around this time though finds
of coins are fewer.

Decipherment of Inscriptions

 James Princep, an officer in the mint of the English East India Company was able to decipher
Asokan Brahmi in 1838.
 The coins of indo –Greek kings contain the names of kings written in Greek and Kharoshti
scripts.
 The European scholars compared the letters in both scripts. For e.g. the symbol for “a” could be
found in both scripts for writing names such as Appollodotus

Historical evidence from inscriptions-Interpretation of inscriptions by historians

 It is found that the name Asoka is not mentioned in inscriptions.
 Instead, the king is referred to as devanampiya (“beloved of the gods”) and piyadassi (“pleasant
to behold”).
 There were a few inscriptions which also referred to the king as Asoka. These inscriptions are
also containing such titles.
 By examining the content, style, language and paleography, of these inscriptions, epigraphists
have come to the conclusion that they were issued by the same ruler.

Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence

Inscriptions have some limitations:
 Letters may be very faintly engraved
 Inscriptions may be damaged or letter missing
 It is not sure about the exact meaning of the words.
 Inscriptions may not have lasted the ravages of time. Thus, what is available at present is simply a
fraction of what was written.
 Inscriptions may not provide a complete idea about political and economic history
 Inscriptions are written from the point of the view of the person who commissioned them.
 So, the routine agricultural practices may not be recorded in the inscriptions.

Key words (Read Instructions regarding contents)

Inscriptions: Inscriptions are writings on stone, metal, pottery etc

Epigraphy: Study of Inscriptions

Janapada: The land where a Jana (a people, clan or tribe) sets its foot or settles.


Oligarchy: A form of government where power is exercised by a group of men

Girnar Inscription: The inscription mentions the achievements of the Shaka ruler Rudradaman and
Sudarsana Lake

The Manusmriti: Legal texts of early India

The Harshacharita: A biography of Harshavardhana, the king of Kanauj composed by his court poet
Banabatta.

Agrahara land: Land granted to a Brahmana.He was exempted from tax but had the right to collect tax dues from local people.

Votive Inscriptions: Votive inscriptions record gifts made to religious institutions.

Periplus of the Erythrean Sea: Periplus of the Erythrean Sea was composed by an anonymous Greek
sailor (First century BCE).”Periplus”is a Greek word meaning sailing around and “Erythrean”was the
Greek name for the Red Sea.

Numismatics: Study of coins.



                        NCERT SOLUTION

NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

1.Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
Ans. Widespread and deep excavations in the early historic towns have not been possible due to the fact that these towns are still inhabited. In Harappan Civilisation, we have been fortunate enough that excavations have taken place widespread. Despite this shortcoming, we have found many artefacts in the historic towns. These throw light on the craftsmanship of those days. There are other evidences too, that throw light on the craftsmanship of those days. The salient features of such evidences are as follows:
1.From the sights the fine pottery bowls and dishes have been found. They are glossy too and we call them Northern Black Polished Ware. It looks they were used by the rich people.
2.There have also been evidence of ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels and figurines. There are a wide range of items made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta.
3.The donor inscription tells who all lived in towns in terms of professionals and craftsmen. It included washer men, weaver, scribes, carpenters, goldsmith, ironsmith, etc. It is notable in Harappan towns there are no evidences of iron use.
4.The craftsmen and artisans built their guilds too. They collectively bought raw materials, produced and marketed their products.
2.Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.
Ans. Mahajanapadas were states that existed between 6th and 4th BC centuries. Buddhist and Jain texts mention sixteen Mahajanapadas. The name of all these are not uniform in all texts but some names are common and uniform which means they were the powerful ones. These Mahajanapadas are Vajji, Magadha, Kaushal, Kuru, Panchal, and Gandhar.
The important features of the Mahajanapadas are as follows.
1.Most of the Mahajanapadas were ruled by powerful kings. However, there were some Mahajanapadas where rule was in the hands of people, we call them republics. In some states the king and the subject had collective control on the economic resources of the state.
2.Every Mahajanapadas had its own capital. The capital normally would be surrounded by fort. The fortification of the capital was needed for protection and economic resources.
3.It was around 6th Qentury BC, Brahmins began to compile scripture called “Dharmshastra” which states rules of morality including that of monarch. Herein it was mentioned that the king should be Kshatriya.
4.The main job of the king was collection of taxes from farmers, traders, craftsmen. They also accepted donations.
5.It was considered fair to plunder neighbouring countries for riches.
6.Gradually Mahajanapadas began to have full time army and officials. Soldiers were from the ranks of farmers.
3.How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Ans. Ordinary people could not leave behind any historical evidence about their life. Hence, the historians use a variety of sources to reconstruct the lives of the common people during the ancient times. The important sources are:
1.Remains of houses and pottery give an idea of the life of common men.
2.Some inscriptions and scriptures talk about the relation between monarchs and the subject. It talks about taxes and happiness and unhappiness of the common men.
3.Changing tools of craftsmen and farmers talk about the lifestyle of the people.
4.Historians also depend upon folklores to reconstruct the lives of the people during the ancient times.
4.Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (source 8). Do you notice any similarities and differences?
Ans. The gifts given to Pandya chief included things like ivory, fragrant wood, honey, sandal¬wood, pepper, flowers, etc. in additions to many birds and animals were also given as gifts. On the contrary, items produced in the village of Danguda included grass, skin of animals, flower salt and other minerals, etc. In both the lists the only common item is flower.
5. List some of the problems faced by the epigraphists.
Ans. The specialists who study inscriptions are called Epigraphists. Some of the important problems they encounter when they try to decipher inscriptions are as follows:
1.Many of the inscriptions are not found in proper shape, they are partly damaged, hence deciphering them becomes a knotty problem.
2.The inscriptions are written from the point of view of those who have created it. Hence, in order to get an impartial understanding, we need to go beyond the written words, get into its interpretations.
3.Many of the inscriptions have descriptions in symbolic words. Hence deciphering them have become difficult.
4.Sometimes the inscriptions are engrafted in very light colors. Hence, deciphering them becomes difficult.
6.Discuss the main features of the Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?
Ans. Asokan inscriptions mention all the main features of the administration of the Mauryan Empire. Thus, the features of the administration are evident in the inscriptions of the Asokan age. The important features of the same are as follow:
1.The capital of the Mauryan Empire was Pataliputra. Apart from the capital there ‘ were four other centres of political power in the empire. They were Taxila, Ujjaini,
Tosali and Suvamagiri.
2.Committee and subcommittees were formed to run the administration and safety of boundaries. Megasthenes has mentioned that there were one committee and six sub-committees. The six subcommittees and their areas of activities are as follows:
(i)The first sub committee looked after navy.
(ii)The second sub committee looked after transport and communications.
(iii)The third sub committee looked after infantry.
(iv)The fourth sub committee had the responsibility of horses.
(v)The fifth had the responsibility of chariots.
(vi)The sixth had the responsibility of elephants.
3.Strong network of roads and communications were established. It is notable that no large empire can be maintained in the absence of the same.
4.Asoka made an attempt to keep the empire united by the philosophy of Dhamma. Dhamma are nothing but moral principles that actuated people towards good conducts. Special officers called Dhamma Mahamtras were appointed to propagate Dhamma. In fact Romila Thapar has made it the most important element of the Asokan state’s governing principle.
7.This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: “There is no aspect of life, culture, activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions.” Discuss.
Ans. The statement of eminent epigraphist D.C. Sirkar has highlighted the importance of inscription as single source of information that touch upon all areas of our life. Following are the main areas we get information about from the inscriptions
1.Determination of state’s boundaries: the inscriptions were carved in the territories of the kings and even more important is not often close to the borders. This help us find out boundaries of kingdoms and their expansions thereto.
2.Names of Kings: The names of the kings are mentioned in the inscriptions. The names and titles used by Asoka the Great got revealed through inscriptions only.
3.Historic events: The important historical events are mentioned in the inscriptions. The best example is how the event of the Kalinga war is mentioned in the inscription and how Asoka takes to Dhamma.
4. Information about conduct of Kings: Inscriptions describe the conduct and character of the kings quite well. It is through the inscriptions only that we know Asoka worked for the welfare of the masses.
5. Information about administration: Inscriptions gave information about administration. It is through the inscription. We know that Asoka appointed his son as a Viceroy.
6. Land settlement and Taxes: inscriptions mention how land were granted or gifted. It also talks about various taxes imposed by the ruler.
There is hardly any area of governance of our life that is not mentioned in the inscriptions. Hence, we are inclined to agree with D.C. Sirkar who says, “There is no aspect of life, culture, activities of Indians that is not reflected in the inscriptions.”
8. Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.
Ans. In the post-Mauryan age, the idea of kingship got associated with divine theory of state. Now, the monarchs began to talk about divine sanction to rule the people. Kushan rulers propagated the idea of the same at the unprecented scale. They ruled from central Asia to western India. We can discuss the kingship based on the dynasties.
1.Kushan Kings: Kushan Kings called themselves Devputra and hence, godly status. They built great statues of themselves in temples.
2.Gupta Rulers: Second development of kingship is found during Gupta dynasty. It was a period of large-sized states. Such states were dependent on Samantas who sometimes became powerful enough to usurp the power of kings too.
3.Literature, coins and inscriptions helped us in creating history of those days. Very often poets would describe the monarch often to praise them but giving insight into the history and kingship too. A good example is of Harisena who praised Samudragupta, the great Gupta ruler.
9. To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?
Ans. The demand for taxes increased in the post 600 BC. In order to meet the demand of excessive taxes, without taking lesser produce, forced the farmers to increase productivity. This resulted in the use of new tools and practices of agriculture. The important ones are as follows:
1.Use of plough: Ploughs became commonplace. They were hardly heard of in the past. The use of ploughs began in the Ganga and Cauvery basins. In places where rain was abundant, the plough was used with iron tip. This increased the paddy production manifold.
2. Use of spade: Another tool that changed the system of agriculture is spade. Those farmers who lived in the areas of harsh land used spade.
3. Artificial Irrigation: Apart from rainfall, the farmers now began to look at artificial form of irrigation. This prompted farmers to build wells, ponds, and – canals often collectively. This increased the agricultural production.
The production increased due to new technology and tools. This created a new strata in the society. In the Buddhist literature, there is a description of small and big farmers. They were called Grihpatis. Similar description is given in the Tamil literature too. The position of village head was often hereditary. In such a situation the ownership of land became very important.