The Rise of Empires Class 7 Notes Social Science Chapter 5

Students read RBSE Class 7 SST Notes Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires Class 7 Notes before attending weekly tests.

Class 7 The Rise of Empires Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 5 Notes – The Rise of Empires Notes Class 7

→ What is an Empire? — The word ’empire’ comes from the Latin imperium’. that means supreme power’. Often, after waging war against the small states, a powerful ruler or group of rulers would govern them, and this ruler was called an ‘emperor’. The smaller territories still had their own rulers, but they were all tributaries to the emperor. Emperor ruled the whole territory from his capital city, which was usually of great economic and administrative importance.

→ Reasons for the rise of empires—The king wanted to expand his kingdom and become an emperor for the following reasons—

1. to gain fame,
2. amass power,
3. including military power, and control resources and economic life.

→ Features of an empire—

1. The emperor exercised central authority over his tributary states and maintained control over them, keeping an army for imperial expansion or protects it from outside aggression.
2. Designs and maintains an administration, with officials to manage the territories.
3. Makes laws, issues currencies, weights and measures, regulates trade.
4. Controls and regulates access to resources.
5. Encourages art, literature, religions, schools of thought, centres of learning.
6. Maintains communication networks and other infrastructure for administration, trade and people’s welfare.

→ Regional characteristics of early Indian empires — Early Empires of India—

1. abundant natural resources,
2. rivers for irrigation and transport, and
3. the production of a variety of goods for trade.

→ Regional characteristics of early Indian empires — Early Empires of India emerged in regions blessed with—

1. abundant natural resources,
2. rivers for irrigation and transport, and
3. the production of a variety of goods for trade.

→ Trade, trade routes and guilds—

• Economic activity especially production and trade is one of the keys to maintaining an empire. Therefore, establishing and controlling trade routes all over the empire’s territory and beyond is of great importance, as it increases the quantity and variety of goods traded, leading to increased income for producers and higher revenue for rulers.
• In ancient times, the main items of trade in India were – textiles, spices, agricultural produce, luxury items such as gems and handicraft products, and various animals.
• In ancient times, India was not limited to India; many Indian goods travelled towards distant countries by land or sea.
• In most cases, merchants did not conduct their business in isolation. It was more profitable for them to work collectively, and this led to the development of guilds. Guilds were powerful associations of traders, craftsmen, moneylenders or agriculturists.

The traders’ guilds were known as a distinct entity for two reasons. First, they brought together people who were not rivals but collaborators, and they understood that sharing was beneficial for everyone. Second, guilds had the autonomy to create their own internal rules, and the king was not to interfere with them.

→ The Rise of Magadha (From 6th to 4th century BCE) — From the sixth to the fourth century BCE, one of the mahajanapadas, the large republics of northern and central India, was Magadha, which emerged as an important state and, by annexing several other states, laid the foundation for India’s first empire.
(i) Among the early powerful kings, Ajatashatru played a significant role in establishing Magadha as a center of power.

(ii) The following resources located within its territory played a significant role in the expansion of the Magadha Empire—The following resources located within its territory played a significant role in the expansion of the Magadha Empire — (i) The fertile plains of the Ganges, (ii) abundant forests for timber, (iii) elephants,(iv) iron ore and other mineral resources from the nearby mountainous regions, (v) the use of the Ganges and Son rivers for transportation, (vi) the use of iron metal, and rapid growth in agricultural production and surplus grain production.

(iii) Around the 5th century BCE, Mahapadma Nanda rose to prominence in Magadha and founded the Nanda dynasty. He successfully unified many smaller kingdoms and extended his empire across parts of eastern and northern India. He began issuing coins and had a large army.

→ Rulers of northwestern India and Alexander’s campaign (327 – 323 BCE)—
(i) In the 5th century BCE, while various events were unfolding in Magadha, numerous small kingdoms existed in the northwestern region. Among these kingdoms, the Paurava dynasty was prominent; whose ruler was King Porus.

(ii) Alexander, a young Greek ruler from Macedonia, campaigned against the Persian Empire to avenge earlier Persian invasions of Greece. After conquering the Persian Empire, he advanced further east and began his campaign in India, where he defeated King Porus in Punjab. During a battle in India, he himself was seriously wounded, and his soldiers lost the will to fight on. Consequently, Alexander and a portion of his army retreated back towards Persia. Upon returning to Persia, Alexander faced political turmoil. He fell ill in Babylon and died at the age of 32, and his vast empire was soon divided among his generals and satraps, who established their own kingdoms.

(iii) The political impact of Alexander’s campaign in northwestern India was limited, but it opened the door to Indo-Greek cultural exchanges.

→ The Mighty Mauryas — (a) The rise of Chandragupta Maurya (321 BCE) :

• A few years after Alexander returned from India with his army, around 321 BC, Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire, which soon conquered the territories of the Nanda Empire. Chandragupta managed this feat with the help of an able mentor named Kautoilya. Chandragupta Maurya made Pataliputra his capital.
• Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Greek satraps appointed by Alexander in the northwest and unified this region into an empire that stretched from the northern plains to the southern plateau.

(b) The King Who Chose Peace (268 – 232 BCE) :

• Another king of the Maurya dynasty was Ashoka. He had inherited a vast empire, which he further expanded it to cover almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent, except for the southernmost region. This included present-day Bangladesh, Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan.
• The Kalinga War completely changed the course of Ashoka’s life, and after this war, he give up violence and decided to follow the path of peace and non-violence as much as possible, which was in accordance with the teachings of Mahatma Buddha.
• Ashoka keen to advertise his achievements and project the image of a benevolent ruler. This is evident from the language of the inscriptions he commissioned. Ashoka continuously strived for the welfare of his subjects and made efforts to communicate his ideas to them.
• The Maurya empire continued for half a century (around 185 BCE) after Ashoka’s death. His successors were unable to hold the empire together, and many of the smaller kingdoms broke off and became independent.

(c) Life in the Mauryan period :

1. Cities like Pataliputra were bustling centres of governance and commerce.
2. It had palaces, public buildings, and well-planned streets.
3. There was also a fiscal system with a well-organised taxation system and brisk trade.
4. Officials of the administration of the empire, merchants and artisans played key roles in the city life.
5. A substantial proportion of the population was engaged in agriculture, which was an important source of revenue for the empire. Blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, jewellers and other artisans lived in the cities.
6. People wore cotton garments that reached below their knees, and they draped an outer garment over their shoulders. They wore shoes made of leather.

(d) Achievements of the Mauryan Empire :

1. The Mauryas created a vast empire with a legacy that lasted centuries. Their legacy includes — (i) strengthening trade routes, and economic systems, (ii) extensive use of coins for trade, (iii) well-designed urban settlements, and an elaborate system of administration.
2. They also promoted art and architecture.

→ The Fragile Nature of Empires—

• During times of war and drought, the emperor needs more resources and therefore imposes higher taxes on local rulers. This leads to discontent within the empire. If the emperor is weak, the local rulers take advantage of the situation and stop paying taxes.
• The larger an empire, the more difficult it is to hold it together.
• Natural calamities could also shake an empire’s structure.
• Empires are typically established through continuous warfare and maintain their existence through force and repression, which over time makes them internally unstable.