Chapter 5: The Rise of Empires

Key points

• In Sanskrit, an emperor was called samrāj (lord of all), adhirāja (overlord) or rājādhirāja (king of kings).
• Features: central authority of the emperor, administration and officials, taxes, an army, roads and waterways, laws-currency-measures, control over resources, support for art and learning.
• Why expand? Ambition to rule the whole world, gaining resources for economic and military strength, and wealth.
• Empires are fragile: heavy tribute demands for big campaigns, a weak successor, drought-flood or distance make far regions break away. An empire can bring unity, yet it usually rests on war and force.
• Easy : What is an empire? → One strong ruler's power over many kingdoms.
• Medium : Who is a tributary? → A ruler or state that accepts the emperor's overlordship and pays tribute.
• Exam-type : Write two reasons why an empire may weaken.

Spot the difference

Key points

• Goods traded: textiles, spices, farm produce, gems, handicrafts, animals; Indian goods travelled to distant lands by land and sea.
• A guild had a head, usually elected, and executive officers. Members became collaborators, not rivals, because sharing information and resources helped all.
• Guilds could make their own internal rules, and the king did not interfere. Guilds lasted for centuries.
• Main routes: Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha. More trade means more income for producers and more tax for the ruler.

• Easy : What is a guild? → A powerful association of traders, craftsmen etc.
• Medium : Why could guilds make their own rules? → They were autonomous and the king did not interfere.
• Exam-type : How did growing trade benefit the ruler?

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Key points

• Magadha's advantages: fertile land, forests for timber, elephants, iron ore from nearby hills. Iron ploughs raised produce; lighter, sharper iron weapons strengthened the army.
• The Ganga and Son rivers eased transport; surplus grain let more people work on arts and crafts; trade raised income.
• The Buddha and Mahāvīra lived in the time of Ajātaśhatru.
• Mahāpadma Nanda (5th century BCE) founded the Nanda dynasty, united many kingdoms and issued coins; Greek accounts say he kept a large army. The last king, Dhana Nanda, was rich but unpopular for oppressing people, which opened the way for the Mauryas.
• Pāṇini (5th century BCE) lived in the Nanda period; his 'Aṣhṭādhyāyī' gives Sanskrit grammar in 3,996 sūtras.

• Easy : Where was Magadha? → South Bihar and nearby areas.
• Medium : How did iron help Magadha? → Iron ploughs helped farming; iron weapons strengthened the army.
• Exam-type : Write the reasons for Magadha's rise.

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Key points

• His empire spread over three continents; satraps (provincial governors) were left behind to manage far-off territories.
• Asked how he wished to be treated, Porus said, 'Like a king.' Alexander left Porus at the head of his kingdom as satrap.
• Local tribes and rulers resisted fiercely; Alexander was seriously wounded. Tired, homesick soldiers refused to go further towards the Ganga. On the return along the southern coast and Iran's deserts, thirst, hunger and disease caused heavy losses.
• Alexander died in Babylon aged 32 (324–323 BCE); his empire was divided among his generals and satraps.
• Result: limited political impact on India, but it opened the door to Indo-Greek cultural contact. One story says Alexander posed riddles to Indian sages (Greek 'Gymnosophists'); they answered calmly and he spared them; the story has many versions.

• Easy : Alexander was king of which land? → Macedonia (Greek).
• Medium : Why did the soldiers refuse to go on? → They were tired and homesick.
• Exam-type : Write the effects of Alexander's invasion on India.

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Key points

• After Dhana Nanda insulted Kauṭilya, he vowed to end Nanda rule. Chandragupta overthrew the Nandas and took Magadha; his capital was Pāṭaliputra.
• He defeated the Greek satraps left by Alexander; the empire stretched from the northern plains to the Deccan plateau.
• The Greek historian-diplomat Megasthenes wrote 'Indika', the first written account of India, but the book is lost except for excerpts.
• Saptāṅga (seven parts of a state): swāmi (king), amātya (ministers-officials), janapada (territory and people), durga (forts), koṣha (treasury), daṇḍa (defence and law-and-order), mitra (allies).
• Kauṭilya's idea: the king's happiness lies in his subjects' happiness; take special care of the countryside; have laws and punishments against corruption.
• Easy : Who founded the Maurya Empire? → Chandragupta Maurya.
• Medium : What is 'koṣha' in saptāṅga? → The treasury.
• Exam-type : Write the seven parts of Kauṭilya's saptāṅga.

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Key points

• The edicts are mostly in the Prakrit language and Brahmi script; Aśhoka called himself 'Devanampiya Piyadasi' (Beloved of the Gods; one who regards others with kindness).
• A language is what we speak; a script is how we write it; Brahmi is called the mother of India's regional scripts.
• He said: medical care for people and animals, ban on hunting and cruelty, rest houses, wells and fruit-shade trees on roads, and that all sects should accept each other's best teachings. We need not take every claim literally.
• Aśhoka said officers should act impartially and never imprison or torture without reason, and that every five years a gentle officer would be sent on tour.
• Aśhoka sent emissaries to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Central Asia and beyond. After him the empire lasted about half a century; successors could not hold it together; it ended around 185 BCE.

• Easy : Which war did Aśhoka fight? → Kalinga.
• Medium : In which language-script are most edicts? → Prakrit and Brahmi.
• Exam-type : List Aśhoka's public welfare works.

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Key points

• The Sohgaura copper plate (4th–3rd century BCE; Prakrit, Brahmi) mentions a granary set up against famines; it is among India's earliest administrative records.
• Per Megasthenes, most people farmed; two crops a year; famines were rare; granaries well stocked; even if war raged nearby, farmers were protected.
• Cities had blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, jewellers; street signage; couriers for messages; wooden houses up to two storeys; water vessels for fires; people wore cotton clothes.
• The Sarnath capital: four lions show royal power; below are an elephant, bull, horse, lion and the dharmachakra (the Buddha's teaching). It became India's national emblem, with the motto 'satyameva jayate' added (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣhad). The dharmachakra is on our flag.
• Mauryan art: highly polished stone pillars, the elephant sculpture at Dhauli (symbolising the Buddha), the Great Stūpa at Sanchi; punch-marked coins.

• Easy : From which capital is India's national emblem taken? → Sarnath.
• Medium : What does the Sohgaura plate mention? → A granary against famine.
• Exam-type : Explain the animals and wheel on the Sarnath capital.

Spot the difference