Ancient and Medieval History - 1

The real name of Kautilya was Vishnu Gupta. He is considered as a pioneer in the fields of economics and political science in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics.

The dynasty ruling over North India at the time of Alexander’s invasion was Nanda. After Shishunag dynasty, Nanda dynasty ruled over Magadh. Mahapadma Nanda was the founder of the dynasty and was the first ruler. Dhana Nanda was the last ruler of this dynasty. During his time, Alexander invaded India.

The Rajput Clan of Solankis rose to power in Malwa. The Mori Clan is one of the 36 royal clans of Rajputs. They ruled Chittor and Malwa till early part of eighth century and built the biggest fort in India at Chittor in the reign of Chitrangad Mori. Then onwards, Chittor was ruled by Sisodia Rajputs. Later, Mori and Parmar Rajputs continued to rule Malwa until Muslim incursions. 

The social system of the Harappans was egalitarian. It seems that the Indus Valley civilisation was fairly egalitarian, with fewer differences in lifestyle among the different classes of city dwellers than in other contemporary cultures such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. For example, all houses had access to water and drainage facilities. One gets the impression of a vast middle-class society. 

Muhammad Ghori was the real founder of the Muslim Sultanate. Sultan Shahāb-ud-Din Muhammad Ghori also referred to by orientalists as Muhammad of Ghor, was one of the rulers of the Ghurid dynasty. During the last quarter of the twelfth century, he invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan, Sindh, Lahore and Delhi.

Alauddin Khilji was of a secular bent. He opposed the interference of Ulema in State affairs. 

Kapila was the earliest exponent of the Samkhya School. Sage Kapila is considered as the founder of the Samkhya School, but there is no evidence to prove that the texts attributed to him are entirely his own. 

The famous Pala Dynasty, whose rule over Bengal commenced in the second half of the eighth century, began with Gopala. Gopala (ruled 750 – 770 CE) was the founder of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal. The last morpheme of his name Pala means protector and was used as an ending for the names of all the Pala monarchs. 

In the domain of historical literature, the post-Gupta period produced works, the likes of which had not been seen in the other ages, Arthashastra is not one of those works. Arthashastra was the work from early ages. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The first gold coins were issued by the Indo- Greeks. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The Indo-Greek kings were the first to issue gold coins in India and their coins were special in the sense that each king had his own distinctive coins by which he could be definitely identified. 

Firoz Shah Tughlaq brought Ashoka’s Pillar to Delhi.  It was a pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C., one of many pillars left by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. It was moved from Ambala, Punjab (currently in Haryana) and re-erected in its current location in 1356. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Asoka <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">was the son of Bindusara ascended to the throne. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa=""> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Bindusara wanted his son Sushim to succeed him but Ashoka was supported by his father's ministers. A minister named Radhagupta seems to have played an important role. Ashoka managed to become the king by getting rid of the legitimate heir to the throne, by tricking him into entering a pit filled with live coals. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The four-fold division of society is mentioned in <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Purusa-sukta of Rig Veda. Purusha sukta is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the Cosmic Being. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, the seer of this verse is Rishi Narayana and this sukta is potent enough to rouse God-experience in the seeker. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">The founder of the Satavahana Dynasty was Simuka. Simuka<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa=""> was an Indian king and the founder of the Satavahana dynasty. He is described as Sishuka or Sindhuka in the Puranas. He is also known as Gadabhilla, father of Vikrama in the accounts of the Jains, and is said to have ruled in the area of Pratishthan and Malwa. 

Harisena, the author of the famous “Prayag Prashasti” adorned the court of Samudragupta. Samudragupta was a great warrior - this is well proved by the account of Harisena in Allahabad Pillar inscriptions although the description is poetic. 

Bindusara is known as the “father of a son and the son of a father". He was the second Mauryan emperor (c. 320 BC – 272 BC, ruled. 298 BC – c. 272 BC) after Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two well-known sons, Susima and Ashoka, who were the viceroys of Takshashila and Ujjain. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha was assassinated by <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Pushyamitra Sunga. In 185 bce the last of the Mauryas, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his Brahman commander in chief, Pushyamitra, who founded the Shunga dynasty. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Aryans come to India <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">2500-1800 B.C.  The Aryans came to India in several waves. The earliest wave is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the subcontinent in about 1500 BC. 

Harshavardhan, on the bank of Narmada, was defeated by Pulakeshin II. When Pulikeshin II pushed forth up to the Narmada, he came face to face with Harshavardhana of Kanauj. In a decisive battle fought on the banks of the Narmada, Harsha lost a major part of his elephant force and had to retreat.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The capital of cholas dynasty was Thajavur. The other major towns were Uraiyur and Kudanthai, After Rajendra Chola moved his capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Thanjavur lost its importance. The later Chola kings moved around their capitals frequently and made cities such as Chidambaram, Madurai and Kanchipuram their regional capitals. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The early capital of cholas is Uraiyur.  Uraiyur (now in/part-of Thiruchirapalli) was their oldest capital.<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa=""> Kaveripattinam also served as an early Chola capital. Urayur, located near the city of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India, was the capital of the early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. 

Udayin founded the city of Pataliputra. Pāṭaliputra, modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Ajatashatru in 490 BC as a small fort near the River Ganges, and later the capital of the ancient Mahājanapadas kingdom of Magadha. Its key central location in north central India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative capital here, from the Nandas, Mauryans, Sungas and the Guptas down to the Palas 

Iron was not used by Harappans. Distinctive seals were used among other applications, perhaps for identification of property and shipment of goods. Although copper and bronze were in use, iron was not yet employed.  

The Battle of Kalinga was fought in the year 261 BC. Kalinga War was a war fought between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present day Indian state of Orissa. The Kalinga War, the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in the history of India. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's brutal strength.