In 1951-52, the archaeologist B.B. Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh). While the similarity in names could be coincidental, the location of the sites in the Upper Ganga Doab, where the Kuru kingdom was situated, suggests that it may have been the capital of the Kurus. Lal found evidence of…
The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India. By the 6th century B.C. or B.C.E., there were approximately 22 different Janapadas. With the development of iron, as an important metal in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Janapadas became more powerful and turned into Mahajanapadas. There were 16 Mahajanapadas during 600 B.C.E. to…
The trade centres were carefully chosen, both Taxila and Ujjayini being situated on important long distance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri (literally, meaning the ‘golden mountain’) was possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka. Communication along both land and riverine routes was vital for the existence of the empire and for the trade too….
In the Tamil region, the large landowners were known as Vellalar and the ordinary ploughmen were known as Uzhavar. On the other hand, the landless labourers, including the slaves, were known as Kadaisiyar and Adimai.
Historians have used many sources to reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire: The archaeological findings like sculptures. Valuable contemporary works such as Megasthenes Indica who was a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya The book of Arthashastra, parts of which were probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya. Pillar inscriptions of Asoka. Rock…
‘There are limits to what epigraphy can reveal’. This statement can be justified by the following arguments : Sometimes the words are engraved in very light colours. Therefore, it is very hard to decipher them. Sometimes the inscriptions are damaged and hence, many words inscribed are lost. It is always not easy to find out…
Magadha was the most powerful Mahajanapada between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.E.
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan Empire.
The capital of Magadha was shifted to Pataliputra in the fourth century B.C.E.