Experts have designed these Class 7 SST Notes Chapter 4 New Beginnings Cities and States Class 7 Notes for effective learning.
Class 7 New Beginnings Cities and States Notes
Class 7 SST Chapter 4 New Beginnings Cities and States Notes
Class 7 SST Chapter 4 Notes – New Beginnings Cities and States Notes Class 7
→ Millennium: A period of thousand years.
→ Administration: A group or a community that organises or controls something.
→ Culture: The customs, ideas, beliefs, etc. of a particular society or country.
→ Excavations: The action of unearthing the remains especially of an archaeological site.
→ Janapada: The earliest territorial and political units in ancient India, emerged during later Vedic period.
→ Mahajanapadas: Some early janapadas had found cultural similarities between them and merged together. They are known as Mahajanapadas.
→ Monarchies: A system of government in which one person reigns, usually a queen or king. The authority, or crown, in a monarchy is generally inherited.
→ Sabha-Samiti: It primarily refers to the assembly or council of Janapadas.
→ Gana and Sanghas: These were the more powerful assemblies than sabha or samiti. Their powers also include the selection of the king.
→ Urbanisation: Urbanisation refers to the growth and development of towns and cities, as well as the increasing concentration of people living in urban areas compared to rural areas.
→ Punch-marked coins: Metal coins made with symbols punched onto the metal surface using individual punches.
→ Varna-Jati: In ancient India, based on occupation and duties, Indian societies were divided into some categories which were known as varna-jati.
→ Metallurgy: The science and technology of metals.
→ Transmitted: Passed or sent from one place to another.
→ Brahmins: In ancient India, Brahmins were the priestly class within the four-tiered varna system, associated with rituals, knowledge, and spiritual guidance.
→ Kshatriyas: In the ancient India, Kshatriyas were the warrior and ruling class within the Varna system.
→ Sudras: Sudras were the fourth Varna in the traditional cast system who served the other three Varnas.
→ Pilgrimage: A journey to a holy place.
→ Archaeological: Things connected with the study of human history and the past.
→ Resources: Materials, substances or sources of supply that can be drawn on by a person or organisation in order to function effectively.
→ Precious: Of great value.
→ Semi-precious: Having commercial value but less than precious things.
→ Subcontinent: A large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent.
→ Vindhya-Range: A complex broken chain of mountain ridges, hills, highlands and plateaus in west-central India.
→ Lateral: Situated at the side
→ Vibrant: Full of energy and life.
→ Fortifications: Defensive military works constructed for strengthening a kingdom.
→ Compliment: To enhance or complete something.
→ Inequalities: Difference in wealth, power, or influence among groups.
→ Inscriptions: Writings or carvings on a surface often on stones or metals.
→ Rigid: Hard to be forced out of the shape.
→ Migrate: To move from one place to another.
→ Deliberately: Knowingly
→ Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of a different categories of people or things.
→ Aspect: A particular part or aspect of something.
→ Heritage: Property that is or may be inherited.
→ Mechanism: The way in which something works or is done
→ Endowed: Provided or supplied with.
New Beginnings Cities and States Class 7th Notes
- A few centuries after 2000 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilisation (India’s First Urbanisation), began to decline.
- Then, in the Ganga plains, a new era of urbanisation emerged with an enhanced cultural component, including some parts of Harappan regions which we call the ‘Second Urbanisation of India.’
- A variety of sources like ancient literary texts, (Jain, Buddhist and late Vedic literature) artefacts, inscriptions and burial sites through archaeological excavations provide us the insights of this new emerging urbanisation.
JANAPADAS AND MAHAJANAPADAS
- In the late 2000 BCE, people with common lifestyles, religious beliefs, and languages began forming groups and settling down in different parts of North and central India. These places later established as Janapadas.
- Each group had a ruler and a significant system which unfold the territory/Janapada they were associated with.
- The Janapadas continued their expansion through trade networks from the Ganga region to the southern part of India. Those with shared features, unified. Together, they formed a total of 16 (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (bigger units).
EARLY DEMOCRATIC TRADITIONS
- Apart from ministers, the Mahajanapadas had a set of people referred as council members who sometimes controlled or regulated the powers of a ‘Raja’.
- The council members sat with Raja to discuss the issues that upset the people. These meetings were called ‘Sabha’or ‘Samiti’.
- The assembly also had the power to dethrone a dominant ruler in few Janapadas.
- Later, the ruler’s position became an inheritance and the rulers were bounded with responsibilities to protect their people and expand their kingdom.
- Due to their prominent locations Magadha, Avanti, Kosala, and Vatsa established themselves as the most powerful Mahajanapadas of North India.
- Vajji and Malla followed democratic system in which members of the assembly selected their ruler or the king. Scholars called them early republics.
- These mahajanapadas were one of the earliest democracy in the world.
MORE INNOVATIONS
- During this period, significant cultural and intellectual shifts came into view. Setting the stage for future empires, new philosophical traditions (later Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain) started spreading widely.
- The second urbanisation opened up iron metallurgy and its tools which advanced the agriculture. By the early 2000s BCE, wars became a common survival instinct, which led to the rise of new dynasties and also brought many unions to an end.
- Uses of metal coins, known as ‘punch-marked coins’, are considered the most remarkable innovation of this age, which fuelled up the trade system and supported the kingdom to grow efficiently. Silver coins were one of the first Indian coins. Each Mahajanapadas had their own coins especially of Silver, Gold, Copper or other metal.
THE VARNA-JATI SYSTEM
- Based on occupation and duties, Indian society organised Varna-Jati which created, social order but also caused major inequality.
- These organisations had their subdivisions.
- Varna was rooted in ancient texts like-the Vedas while Jati was flexible. As per Vedic texts, there were four varnas:
- Brahmins: They were engaged in preaching and preserving knowledge.
- Kshatriyas: They were mostly warriors protecting the land from their enemies.
- Vaishyas: They were traders and doing some kind of business to generate wealth.
- Shudras: They were craftspeople, artisans, workers and servants.
- Over time, the Varna-Jati system grew rigid, causing social discrimination. It remained influential in India during British rule.
DEVELOPMENT ELSEWHERE IN INDIA
- The Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha were the main routes, introduced to encourage trade and military.
- Western and eastern coasts became vital trade centres using many lateral roads.
- Uttarapatha connected northwest regions to the Ganga Plains towards eastern India in end.
- Dakshinapatha started from Kaushambi near Prayagraj (where Kumbh took place in 2025) towards the south crossing the Vindhya range of hills.
- Major cities also emerged in the eastern part of India.
- Shishupalgarh (now part of Bhubaneswar in Odisha) was such a city. It was the capital of the Kalinga region, had strict square shaped fortification with broad streets.
- Around 400 BCE, in southern regions, three main kingdoms emerged. The Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas.
- These southern regions were trading spices, semiprecious and precious stones not only within Indian Subcontinent but also overseas.
- Mahajanapadas also ceased to exist during same time, reshaping India with fresh developments.