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Kings, Farmers And Towns

Question
CBSEENHS12028187
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Explain the system of land grants and trade from C. 600 BCE to 600 CE.

                                                          OR

Explain any four sources to reconstruct the history of Mauryas. Examine the system of Mauryan administration.

Solution

System of Land Grants:

i. Grants made to religious institutions

iii. Grants called agrahara grants were made to Brahmanas

iii. Samantas were also given land. Prabhavati Gupta – example of agrahara grant made by a woman is an exception

iv. Land grants were a strategy to extend agriculture and Brahmanical practices in new regions

System of trade:

i. Introduction of punch marked coins encouraged trade

ii. Inland and overland trade existed. Inland trade connected various parts of the subcontinent.

iii. Various river routes in the sub-continent were used for trade

iv. Overland and maritime trade existed with C. Asia, North Africa, West Asia etc

                                                         OR
Sources:

i. Punch marked coins

ii. Archaeological finds like palace wall at Patliputra

iii. Account of Megasthenes.

iv. Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Asokan inscriptions – pillar inscriptions and rock edicts

Administration:

i. There were five major political centres- the capital Pataliputra and provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri.

ii. Administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres.

iii. Provincial centres were carefully chosen: Taxila and Ujjayini were situated on important long distance trade routes

iv. Suvarnagiri was important for tapping gold mines of Karnataka. Communication along both land and riverine routes was essential for the existence of the empire.

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Some More Questions From Kings, Farmers And Towns Chapter

Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.

To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?

Compare Maps 1 and 2, and list the Mahajanapadas that may have been included in the Mauryan Empire. Are any Asokan inscriptions found in these areas?

Collect newspapers for one month. Cut and paste all the statements made by government officials about public works. Note what the reports say about the resources required for such projects, how the resources are mobilised and the objective of the project. Who issues these statements, and how and why are they communicated? Compare and contrast these with the evidence from inscriptions discussed in this chapter. What are the similarities and differences that you notice.

Collect five different kinds of currency notes and coins in circulation today. For each one of these, describe what you see on the observe and the reverse (the front and the back). Prepare a report on the common features as well as the differences in terms of pictures, scripts and languages, size, shape and any other element that you find significant. Compare these with the coins shown in this chapter, discussing the materials used, the techniques of minting, the visual symbols and their significance and the possible functions that coins may have had.

What is meant by Janapada?

What were the Mahajanapadas? Name a few important Mahajanapadas.

Which Mahajanapada emerged as the strongest one? Name any three of its important rulers.

What was the early capital of Magadha? Tell its one feature. In the 4th century BCE, which city was made the capital of Magadha?

Who was Chandragupta Maurya? Upto where he extended his control of the empire?

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