NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS

NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS

Here we Dive into India between the 7th and 12th centuries rise and establish of various kingdoms and there governance, social structure, and military strategies during this period.

The Emergence of Dynasties power, Administration in the Kingdoms(Political and military), Prashastis and Land Grants, Warfare for Wealth, A Closer Look: The Cholas, cultural contribution .

The Emergence of Dynasties power:

• Many new dynasties emerged after the seventh (7th) century, Kings devided subdivision of his kingdom, which controled by landlords and chiefs

  they known as kings subordinates or samantas.

• They bring gifts for their kings or overlords, be present at their courts and provide them with military support. As samantas gained power and wealth, they declared themselves to be maha-samanta, maha-mandaleshvara.

• Rashtrakutas in the Deccan were subordinate to the Chalukyas of Karnataka, In the mid-eighth century, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief, removed Chalukya from the throne and performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha (literally, the golden womb). When this ritual was performed with the help of Brahmanas, it was thought to lead to the “rebirth” of the sacrificer as a Kshatriya, even if he was not one by birth.to become a king.

Administration in the Kingdoms (political and military)

• Many new kings adopted high-sounding titles such as maharaja-adhiraja (great king, overlord of kings), tribhuvana-chakravartin (lord of the three worlds) and so on. they often shared power with their samantas as well as with associations of peasants, traders and Brahmanas.

• Revenue was also collected from traders at that time from peasent too.

• Four hundred taxes! The inscriptions of the Cholas who ruled in Tamil Naduapplied more than 400 terms for different kinds of taxes. The most frequently mentioned tax is vetti, taken not in cash but in the form of forced labour, and kadamai, or land revenue. There were also taxes on thatching the house, the use of a ladder to climb palm trees, a cess on succession to family property, etc.

• These resources were used to finance the king’s establishment, construction of temples and forts, fight wars, which were in turn expected to lead to the acquisition of wealth in the form of plunder, and access to land as well as trade routes.

  Prashastis By Kings:

• Prashastis contain details that may not be literally true,But they tell us how rulers wanted to depict themselves – as valiant, victorious warriors, for example.

• In the twelfth century prashasti was a long Sanskrit poem containing the history of kings who ruled over Kashmir. Author named Kalhana. With the help of a variety of sources, including inscriptions, documents, eyewitness accounts, and earlier histories, to write his account.

Warfare for Wealth

• every ruling dynasties has definite region, but they tried to control over other region/ areas.

• There was a area city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley. For centuries, rulers belonging to the GurjaraPratihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj. Because there were three “parties” in this long-drawn conflict, historians often describe it as the “tripartite struggle”.

• Kings tried to demonstrate their power and resources by building large temples and forts. So, when they attacked one another’s kingdoms, they often chose to target temples, which were sometimes extremely rich.

• Mahmud of Ghazni, Afghanistan. He raided the subcontinent 17 times (1000–1025) with a religious motive. His targets were wealthy temples, including that of Somnath, Gujarat. Much of the wealth Mahmud carried away was used to create a splendid capital city at Ghazni.

• Other kings who engaged in warfare included, Chahamanas, later known as the Chauhans, who ruled over the region around Delhi and Ajmer.they were opposed by the Chalukyas of Gujarat and the Gahadavalas of western Uttar Pradesh.

• The Chahamana ruler was Prithviraja III (1168–1192), who defeated an Afghan ruler named Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191, but lost to him the very next year, in 1192.

  The Cholas (From Uraiyur to Thanjavur)

• A minor chiefly family known as the Muttaraiyar held power in the Kaveri delta, Muttaraiyar were subordinate to the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram.

• Vijayalaya, from chiefly family Cholas from Uraiyur, 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, considered the most powerful Chola ruler, became king in 985 and expanded control over most of these areas. He also reorganised the administration of the empire.

• Rajaraja’s son Rajendra 1 continued his policies and even invaded the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and countries of Southeast Asia, developing a navy for these expeditions.

  Splendid Temples and Bronze Sculpture

• big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, built by Rajaraja and Rajendra, are architectural and sculptural marvels

• Chola temples often became the nuclei of settlements, These were centres of craft production.

• 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.

  Agriculture and Irrigation

• the river Kaveri branches off into several small channels. These channels overflow frequently, depositing fertile soil on their banks. Water from the channels also provides the necessary moisture for agriculture, particularly the cultivation of rice.

• Although agriculture had developed earlier in Tamil Nadu, Its from the fifth or sixth century that area was opened up for large-scale cultivation. Deforestation & land had to be levelled in other areas. In the delta region, embankments had to be built to prevent flooding and canals had to be constructed to carry water to the fields. In many areas, two crops were grown in a year.

  The Administration of the Empire

• Settlements of peasants, known as ur, became prosperous with the spread of irrigation agriculture. Larger units such villages called nadu, The village council and the nadu performed several administrative functions including dispensing justice and collecting taxes.

• Rich peasants control over the affairs of the nadu under the supervision of the central Chola government.

• The Chola kings gave some rich landowners titles like muvendavelan (a velan or peasant serving three kings), araiyar (chief), etc.

• Brahmanas often received land grants or brahmadeya. As a result, a large number of Brahmana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley as in 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 inscriptions, often on the stone walls of temples. Associations of traders known as nagarams also occasionally performed administrative functions in towns. Inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district, Tamil Nadu, provide details of the way in which the sabha was organised. The sabha had separate committees to look after irrigation works, gardens, temples, etc. Names of those eligible to be members of these committees were written on small tickets of palm leaf; these tickets were put into an earthenware pot, from which a young boy was asked to take out the tickets, one by one for each committee.