New kings and knigdom class 7 history

Chapter 2 :- New kings and kingdoms

1.Dynasty:-A family of rules who rules over a country for a long period of time.

2.Kingdoms:-Any country which is ruled by a monarch (king or queen) is considered to be a kingdom

3.Empire:-An empire can be said is a large kingdom. It is traditionally larger than a kingdom and many consists of many different regions and nations may be far away from head of kingdom i.e. it's capital.

The emergence of new dynasties:-

• By the seventh century there were big landlords or warrior chiefs in different regions of the subcontinent called Samantha's.
• They were expected to:-
• bring gifts for their kings ,
• be present at their courts
• provide military support.
• As Samantas gained power and wealth, they declared themselves to be maha-samanta, maha-mandaleshvara.
• Sometimes they asserted their independence from their overlords.
• For example:- Rashtrakuta(in the Deccan)were the sub-ordinate to Chalukyas of Karnataka initially.
•  But in mid eighth century, its chief, Dantidurga overthrew his Chalukya overlord and performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha.
• When this ritual was performed with the help of Brahmanas, it was thought to lead to re-birth of sacrifices as a Kshatriya, even if he was not one by birth.
• In other cases , men from enterprising families used their military skills to carve out kingdoms. 
• For example:- the Kadamba Mayurasharman and Gujarara- Pratihara Harichandra. were  Brahmanas who gave up their traditional professions and took up arms, successfully establishing kingdoms in Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively.

Administration in kingdoms:-

• Many kings adopted high -sounding titles such as maharaja-adhiraja, tribhuvana-chakravartin and so on
• Inspite of this, they share power with their Samantas as well as with association of peasants, traders and Brahmanas.
• In each of these states, resources were obtained from the producers and traders.
• These resources were used to finance the king's establishment, constuction of temples ,forts, in wars.

Prashastis and land grants:-

• Prashastis contain details that may not be literally true.
• It tells us how rulers wanted to depict themselves - as valiant, victorious warriors.
• These were composer by learned Brahmanas, who occasionally helped in the administration.
• Kings rewarded Brahmanas by grants of land. 
• These were recorded on copper plated, which were given to those who received the land.
• Note:- Ruler of Kanauj won a victory over Chakrayudha.
• A poem containing the history of kings who ruled over Kashmir is composed by author named Kalyana.

Warfare for wealth:-

Tripartite struggle:-

• Kanauj , a city in the Ganga valley was an important city of the time.
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• For centuries, rulers belonging to the Gujarat-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj . It is known as tripartite struggle.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, Afghanistan:-

• He ruled from 997to 1030.
• He extended control over parts of Central Asia, Iran and North-western part of subcontinent.
• He raised the subcontinent almost every year.
• His targets were wealthy temples, including that is Somnath, Gujarat.
• He used wealth to create a splendid capital city at Ghazni.
• He hired a scholar named Al-Biruni to write an account of subcontinent.
• This Arabic work is known as Kitab ul-Hind.
• Other kings were Chahamanas , later known as the Chauhans, rulerld over the region around Delhi and Ajmer.
• The best Known Vhahamana ruler was Prithviraja III Who defeated Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191 but lost to him in 1192.

The Cholas:-

From Uraiyur to Thanjavur:-

• A minor chiefly family known as the Muttaraiyar held power in the Kaveri delta.
• They were subordinate to the pallava kings of Kanchipuram.
• Vijayalaya captured the delta from the Muttaraiyar in the middle of the ninth century.
• He built the town of Thanjavur and a temple for goddess Nishumbhasudini there.
• The successors of Vijayalaya conquered neighbouring regions and the kingdom grew in size and power.
• The Pandyan and the Pallava territories to the south and north were made part of this kingdom.
• Rajaraja I become king in 985 and expanded control over most of the area.
• Rajaraja's. Son Rajendra I continued his policies and even raided the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and countries of Southern Asia, developing a navy for these expeditions.

Splendid Temples and Bronze sculpture:-

• The big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikonda-cholapuram are architectural and sculptural marvels.
• These temples were built by Rajaraja and his son Rajendra.
• Chola temples often became the nuclei of settlements which grew around them.
• These were centres of craft production.
• Temples were endowed with land by rulers as well as by others.
• The product of this land went into maintaining all the specialists who worked at the temple and very often lived near it such as priests garland makers , cooks, sweepers, musicians, dancers etc .
• These temples were not only the place of worship , they were the hub of economic , social and cultural life as well.
• Amongst the crafts associated with temples the making of bronze images was the most distinctive.
• Chola bronze images are considered amongst the finest in the world.
• While most images were of deities sometimes images were made of devotees as well.
• Agriculture and irrigation:-
• Many of the achievements of the Cholas were made possible through new developments in agriculture.
• The river Kaveri branches off into several small channels before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
• These Chennels overflow frequently, depositing fertile soil on their banks.
• Water from the channels also provide the necessary moisture for agriculture, particularly the cultivation of rice.
• Although agriculture had developed earlier in other parts of Tamil Nadu, it was only from the fifth or sixth century that this area was opened up for large scale cultivation.
• Forests had to be cleared in some regions, land had to be levelled in other areas.
• In the delta region embankments had to be built to prevent flooding and canals has to be constructed to carry water to the fields.
• In many areas two crops were grown in a year.
• In many cases it was necessary to water crops artificially. 
• A variety of methods were used for irrigation .
• In some areas well were dug.
• In other places huge tanks were constructed to collect rainwater.
• This irrigation require planning, organising labour and resources , maintaining these works.
• Most of the new rulers and people living in villages took an active interest in these activities.

The administration of the Empire:-

• The settlements of peasants(known as Ur) became.prosperous with the spread of irrigation agriculture. 
• Groups of such villages formed larger units called Nadu.
• The village council and the Nadu performed several administrative functions including dispensing justice and collecting taxes.
• Rich peasants of the Vellala Caste exercised considerable control over the affairs of the Nadu under the supervision of central chola government.
• The Chola kings gave some rich landowners titles like muvendavelan, araiyar etc.
• Brahmanas often received land grants or brahmadeya.
• As a result, a large number of Brahmana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley as other parts of South India.
• Each brahmadeya was looked after by an assembly or Sabha of prominent Brahmana landholders 
• These assemblies worked very efficiently.
• Their decisions were recorded in detail in inscription, often on the stone walls of temples.
• Association of traders known as nagarams also occasionally performed administrative functions in towns.
• Inscription from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district, Tamil Nadu, provide details of the way in which Sabha was organised.
• The Sabha had separate committees to look after irrigation work , gardens, temples etc.
• Name of those eligible to members of these committees were written on small tickets of palm leaf.

Thank you:-)