Rise of Kingdoms and Republics

The people in the Later Vedic Age began using implements and tools made of iron. These iron tools helped them to clear forests bringing more land under cultivation. This resulted in surplus production of food grains. The kings used the surplus produce for their military and administrative needs. It was also used by the people in the towns who specialized in various art and crafts. Thus, the use of Iron enabled the people to lead a settled life and to expand further in neighbouring areas.

The combined territory of many tribes formed by expansion due to war was called the janapada.
Each Janapada was composed of a number of villages and a few towns and cities whereas a number of Janapadas joined together to form bigger and more powerful independent kingdoms called Mahajanapadas. Most of the mahajanapadas had a Capital city, many of which were fortified.

Forts were built by the rulers to:

1. Protect themselves from attacks by other kings.
2. Show their power and wealth.
3. Control the land and the people living inside the fortified area.

A Republic is different from a Monarchy on the basis of the following points:

The two powerful republics in the 6th century BCE were:

1. The Lichchhavis
2. The Shakyas

Reasons for the rise of Magadha as a powerful mahajanapada were:

1. Magadha was located at the centre of the Gangetic plain where the soil was fertile. Due to heavy rains cultivation was possible even without irrigation. This led to surplus production which was taken by the kings as taxes and used to maintain a large army.
2. The forests located in the eastern part of Magadha provided elephants and timber. Elephants could be used in marching over marshly areas and storming fortresses. Timber could be utilized in constructing palaces and large buildings.
3. Magadha had rich deposits of iron which could be used to make better weapons and agriculture tools.
4. Magadha was ruled by very powerful and ambitious rulers like Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Mahapadma Nanda. These rulers made all efforts to enlarge their kingdoms.
5. The hills and rivers surrounding the two capitals of Magadha (old capital Rajagriha and new capital Pataliputra) acted as natural barriers against foreign invasions.

Alexander was the son of King Philip of Macedonia of Greece. After his father's death, he became the ruler of Macedonia in 336 BCE.

He was very ambitious and wanted to conquer the whole world. With this idea, he set out on his military campaign and conquered Asia Minor (Turkey), Syria, Egypt and the Persian Empire.

The effects of Alexander's invasion of India were:

1. Alexander's campaign opened up trade routes between Europe and India by land and sea.
2. Alexander's historians have left records of his campaigns along with dates of various events. These records are quite useful in fixing the dates for later events.
3. Alexander's invasion destroyed the power of small states in north-west India. This helped Chandragupta Maurya to establish his control over north-west and ultimately to achieve political unification of India.
4. The cultural contact with the Greeks influenced Indian art and led to the growth of the Indo-Greek school of art known as Gandhara School of Art.

The early life and ancestry of Chandragupta Maurya is covered in mystery. The Jain sources, describe him as the son of a daughter of 'the chief of peacock tamers'. As per the Buddhist source Mahavamsa, he was the member of Kshatriya clan of the Moriyas of Pipphalivana. According to these accounts Chandragupta's father was killed and he was brought up by his maternal uncle. Chanakya brought him from his foster father and got him educated at Taxila, which was a great centre of learning.

(a) The people in the Later Vedic Age began using implements and tools made of iron. These iron tools helped them to clear forests bringing more land under cultivation. This resulted in surplus production of food grains.

(b) The use of iron implements lead to the production of surplus food grains. As a result, the people began to lead a settled life and expanded further in neighbouring areas. Such expansion resulted in wars between different tribes. In the wars, the larger and more powerful tribes defeated the smaller ones and expanded their territory and created large kingdoms. These kingdoms were called Janapadas.

(c) The three reasons for the emergence of Magadha as a powerful Mahajanapada in the 6th century BCE were as follows:

1. Magadha was located at the centre of the Gangetic plain where the soil was fertile. Due to heavy rains cultivation was possible even without irrigation. This led to surplus production which was taken by the kings as taxes and used to maintain a large army.
2. Magadha had rich deposits of iron which could be used to make better weapons and agriculture tools.
3. Magadha was ruled by very powerful and ambitious rulers like Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Mahapadma Nanda. These rulers made all efforts to enlarge their kingdoms.