The First Kingdoms Of India Flashcards
Who were rajans?
The Aryans had settled into the Ganga Valley and divided into janas or tribes. These janas were ruled by a king called rajan.
What were janapadas?
Some of the janas grew in size and power by the sacrifices of their kings and came to be known as janapadas, meaning the foothold of tribes.
What were Mahajanapadas?
Some janapadas such as Magadha, Kosala and Avanti became more important than the others and came to be known as Mahajanapadas.
By the sixth century, how many Mahajanapadas were there?
By the sixth century, there were sixteen Mahajanapadas, out of which, Magadha emerged as the mighty one.
Most Mahajanapadas were ______________ but some were ___________ too.
Monarchies, republics
Who was the head of a monarchy state?
-The head of a state was a monarch or king.
-He was a hereditary ruler with the throne passing from father to son.
-The king’s position was made strong because he had a strong army and diverse source of income
ex: Magadha, Avanti
How many settlements have been excavated in these janapadas
Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in these janapadas such as Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapur near Meerut and Atranjikhera near Etah in Uttar Pradesh etc.
Who was the head of a republic state?
-The republics was ruled by a group of powerful people elected by the common people.
-Kingship was not hereditary and all the decisions were taken democratically.
-Shakyas and Lichchhavis were the most important republics.
What is the capital of Vajji
Vajji with its capital at Vaishali was a republic.
What was a Gana or Sangha?
-The republics were called a Gana or Sangha.
-In the Gana or Sangha, there were many rulers. They were all called rajas. These rajas met in assemblies and took all decisions through debates.
-However, women, dasas and kammakaras did not take part in these assemblies.
-Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Mahavira, the founder of Jainism belonged to these republics.
-Such republics show how from very ancient times, democracy prevailed in India
What is the difference between monarchy and republic?
- In monarchies, the kings claimed tax from the peasents while in republic, tax was claimed by the entire ruling group.
- In the monarchy, only the king maintained a regular army, whereas in a republic each raja had its own independent army.
- Monarchies were ruled by a single monarch who was the sole decision maker whereas republics functioned under the care of assemblies which were controlled by a group of powerful people.
Describe the administration of Mahajanapadas.
-Most of the Mahajanapadas had a capital which was protected by huge walls built around it.
-Forts were built to protect the people from enemy attacks.
-The king was advised by priests or purohitas and assisted by ministers or amatyas.
-In matters of war and defence ,he was assisted by the army commander or senapati.
-The king maintained a large and well equipped army.
Why was tax collected? From whom was tax collected?
-To maintain the big state and large army, the kings collected taxes regularly.
-Taxes were collected by farmers, artisans, and traders.
-Tax could be paid in both cash and kind.
What was the tax collection scheme followed by Mahajanapadas?
-Taxes on crops were the most important as farming was the main occupation. Generally, the tax was fixed about one sixth of the total produce.
-Craftsmen used to pay taxes in the form of labour.
-There were taxes on goods bought and sold.
-Pastoral people paid taxes in the form of animal and animal produce.
-Even hunters and forest dwellers paid taxes in the form of forest produce
Towns developed into the centres of ________ and ____________.
trade, commerce
