Kings, Farmers and Towns

About this unit

This unit covers roughly the period from about 600 BCE to 600 CE. It traces the rise of early states such as the mahajanapadas, the growth of Magadha, the Mauryan empire and later kingdoms of the Kushanas and Guptas. It also looks at changes in agriculture, the growth of towns, trade and coins. Inscriptions are the main source, so the unit also explains how scripts were deciphered and what inscriptions can and cannot tell us.

Key ideas

• James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi in the 1830s.
• Sixteen mahajanapadas emerged in the sixth century BCE; Magadha became the most powerful.
• The Mauryan empire is known from Megasthenes, the Arthashastra and Ashokan inscriptions.
• Later rulers claimed high status through divine titles and prashastis.
• Land grants, new agricultural techniques and trade transformed rural and urban life.

How to prepare

Make a short chart of sources and what they tell us. Memorise major dates (Mauryan empire founded c. 321 BCE), names of capitals and key terms like dhamma, prashasti, agrahara, shreni and gahapati. Practise source-based questions on inscriptions.