The Global Sphere

HISTORY: IMPERIAL GUPTAS QUICK REVISION NOTES Ashoka’s death  left a vacu­um in India for the next 600 years, during which, several foreign tribes overran India. With the ascent of the Gupta power, the northern States were merged into a single empire. This national revival yielded an excellent administration and trade, all-round development with prevailing order and peace. The tax-burden was low compared to the Mauryan rule and the State provided for safe roads for trade. The period saw the revival of religion, sanskrit literature, art and architecture too. After the  Mauryas, the two main powers were the Satavahanas in the Dec­can and the Kushanas in the north. They carried on brisk trade with the Roman empire. These powers were replaced in the middle of the 3rd century A.D. by the Gup­tas. The Guptas were Vaishyas by caste and followed Vaishnavism. The main  centres of Gupta activity were Magad­ha (Pataliputra), Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain (M.P., considered as the...

HISTORY: JAINISM AND BUDDHISIM QUICK REVISION NOTES Parents of Mahavira were Siddhartha, a Janatrika chief of Kunda­pura, and Trishala, a Ksha­triya lady related to the ruling families of Vaishali and Magadha. Mahavira married a princess named Yashoda. Mahavira forsook the world at the age of thirty and roamed as a naked ascetic in several parts of eastern India and practiced severe penance for 12 years. Half of this time was spent with a mendicant (beggar) friar (brother) named Goshala who subse­quently left him and became the leader of the Ajivika sect. In the 13th year of penance, Mahavira attained the highest spiritual knowl­edge called Kevala-jnana, on the northern bank of river Rijupalika, outside Jrimb­hikagrama, a little known locality in eastern India. He was now known as a Kevalin (omniscient), a Jina (conqueror) and Mahavira (the great hero). Mahavira became the head of a sect called Nigranthas (free from Fret­ters), known in later times as Jains or followers of Jina ...

TRADE AND COMMERCE IN ANCIENT INDIA QUICK REVISION NOTES Metallurgy is as old as pre-historic times. Mining of metals was known even in pre-Vedic period and during the Harappa period various metals like copper, lead, silver were in use. During Vedic period, metal (ayas) was chiefly of two kinds—krishna ayas (black metal or iron) used during later Vedic period and loh ayas (copper). The Jatakas refer to eighteen important handicrafts and industries. The Vaishyas developed institutions like Sreni, Nigama and Puga to regu-late trade and avoid intrusion by other varnas and develop monopoly. Proper rules of conduct of trade were laid by the head of trade guilds, known as Sarthavaha or Srenipramukha. The rules were called Samay and Srenidharma. Taxila, Pushkalavati, Kapisa and Vidisha prospered as trade centres, under the Indo-Greek rulers. Kautilya asked the king to develop measures to stop obstruction of the trade routes by his favourite men (vallabhas). Frontier guards (Antapalas...

HISTORY: MUGHAL PERIOD QUICK REVISION NOTES The second Battle of Panipat marked the real beginning of the Mughal Empire in India. Bairam Khan remained the protector and guardian of Akbar during the initial reign of Akbar. Akbar’s mother Hamida Banu Begum, and his foster mother Maham Anaga urged Akbar to get rid of the Regent, Bairam Khan. In 1560, Akbar openly expressed his desire to take the reigns of the empire in his own hands and dismissed him. Bairam Khan submitted his resignation and desired to proceed to Mecca. On his way to Mecca, Bairam was stabbed to death by Lohani Afghan, whose father had been killed by Mughal troops under the command of Bairam Khan. Akbar followed a policy of conquest for the expansion of his empire until the capture of Asirgarh in January 1601. He achieved the political unification of the whole of northern and central India by frequent annexations extending over 40 years. Akbar realised the value of Rajput alliance in his task of building up an Empi...