Ancient and Medieval History - 2

Mohammad Muazzam succeeded Aurangzeb as the Emperor of India under the title of Bahadur Shah. He was the third son of the emperor Aurangzeb and was born in Burhanpur in 1643. In his father's lifetime, Muazzam was deputed governor of the Northwest Territories by Aurangzeb. Upon the death of Aurangzeb on 3^rdMarch, 1707, Mohammad Muazzam Shah proclaimed himself Emperor and seized the throne. 

Ain-i-Akbari was written by Abul Fazl. It is called the Constitution of Akbar and is a detailed document recording the administration of Emperor Akbar's empire, written by his vizier, Abul-Fazl Ibn Mubarak. 

On the basis of radio carbon dating, Indus Valley civilization spread from the year 2500 - 1750 BC. Although, Harappa was undoubtedly occupied previously, it was between 2500-1750 B.C. that it reached its height of economic expansion and urban growth. Radio carbon dating, along with the comparison of artifacts and pottery has determined this date for the establishment of Harappa and other Indus cities. 

The fact which is not true about ‘script’ in Indus Valley Civilization is that script is not pictographic but alphabetical. The writing system is largely pictorial but includes many abstract signs as well. The script is thought to have been mostly written from right to left, but sometimes follows a boustrophedon style.  

Solankis were the rulers of Gujarat. In Gujarat, Anhilwara served as their capital. Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade, and Anhilwara was one of the largest cities in India with an estimated population of 100,000 in the year 1000. 

Mahmud of Ghazni was accompanied by Alberuni in India. Alberuni came to India with the invading armies of the Mahumud of Gazni, the name amongst his friends was Abu Raihan and this particular work is dated to belong to the early 11th century A.D.  

Banabhatta was the court poet of Harsharvardhana. He was the poet in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reined in the years c. 606-647 CE in north India. Bana's principal works include a biography of Harsha and one of the world's earliest novels named Kādambari. 

Taj Mahal is said to possess the unique feature of being exactly equal in length and breadth. It took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants to complete this magnificent monument. This monument is built from white marble and stands on sandstone platform. It also has a 137-foot high dome on top.  

Sakas were finally overthrown by Gautamiputra Satakarni. Gautamiputra Satakarni have defeated Sakas in 78 CE and started the calendar known as Shaka era, which is followed by the Gujarati, Marathi, Kannadiga and Telugu people and is today known as the Indian national calendar. 

The first king to have the image of Lord Buddha inscribed on his coins was Kanishka. The Buddhist coins of Kanishka are comparatively rare. Several coins show Kanishka on the obverse and the Buddha standing on the reverse, in Hellenistic style. 

Religion associated with Kaivalya is Jainism. In the concept of Kaivalya, the Hindu attitude of not expecting the fruits of labor as preached by Sri Krishna in the Geeta, is reflected. As in the Hindu concept of Moksha, Kaivalya is attained in Jainism as a 'release from the cycle of rebirth' when the soul is free from attachment of all material things. 

Samudragupta has been called the 'Napoleon of India'. He was called so because he waged many wars. At first he defeated the rulers of Western UP and Delhi and brought them under his direct rule. Next, frontier states of Kamrupa (Assam), Bengal in the East and Punjab in the West, were made to accept his suzerainty. 

Tamil was used in the literature of Sangam period. Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 300 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets. The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam period. These poems were composed by Tamil poets, both men and women. 

The earliest capital of Magadha Kingdom was Rajgir. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganges; its first capital was Rajgir and then Patna. 

Sarnath's Lion Capital is attributed to Ashoka. The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four Indian lions standing back to back. It was originally placed at top of the Aśoka pillar at Sarnath in India by Emperor Ashoka circa 250 BC. 

Sharagani and Jeetal were made of silver and copper. These are some of the manuscripts made with metals like silver and copper. 

The Harappans had trade links with Mesopotamia. There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations in the middle Harappan Phase, with commerce being handled by middlemen merchants from Dilmun. 

Asokan inscription were first deciphered by J. Prinsep. In 1837, James Prinsep succeeded in deciphering an ancient inscription on a large stone pillar in Delhi.  Prinsep's inscription proved to be a series of edicts issued by a king calling himself Beloved-of-the-Gods. 

The Arab conquest of Sind in 712 A.D. led to the foundation of a durable Islamic empire in India. Arab conquests began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent, Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.

Kamarupa is the old name of Assam. Kamarupa was the first historical kingdom in Assam that existed between 350 and 1140 CE i.e. for almost 800 years.  

In “Boustrophedon” the style of script is written from right to left in first line and left to right in second line. Rather than going left-to-right as in modern English, or right-to-left as in Arabic, alternate lines in boustrophedon must be read in opposite directions. The individual characters are reversed or mirrored in it.

The main occupation of the earliest Mesolithic people was hunting, food gathering and fishing. These early hunters concentrated their activities like fishing and food gathering on waterways, foraging on the shores of the sea, lakes and rivers.  

Shashanka, the king of Gaur, was a contemporary of Harshvardhana. Shashanka is often attributed with creating the first separate political entity in a unified Bengal called Gauda and as such is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in 7th century AD, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 AD and 625 AD. 

Rig Veda contains the Gayatri Mantra. This Mantra is a highly revered mantra, based on a Vedic Sanskrit verse from a hymn of the Rigveda, attributed to the <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial" unicode="" ms";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Vishvamitra. As, the verse can be interpreted to invoke the Deva Savitr, it is often called Savitri. 

“Padshahnama”, was created to <span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";color:#222222;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">commemorate the first ten years of rule by the Mughal Emperor Shah-Jahan. The Padshahnama is one of the greatest works made for the Mughal Emperor. The volume in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, documents the first ten years of the Emperor's rule. It has seldom been exhibited and the majority of pages remain unpublished.