New Kings and Kingdoms Class 7 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 2

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Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by XAM CONTENT

Here you will find revision notes for CBSE Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 2 New Kings and Kingdoms. It is a part of Revision Notes for CBSE Class 7 Social Science Series.

CBSE	Class 7 History
Useful for	Class 7 Students
Subject	Social Science – History
Chapter	New Kings and Kingdoms
Type	Revision Notes
Covers	Notes Important Keywords Important Dates

Table of Contents

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New Kings and Kingdoms Class 7 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 2 (PDF Download)

Notes

Emergence of New Dynasties

Big landlords and chieftains were subordinate to the kings known as ‘samantas’.
Paid tribute to kings and emperors.
More powerful ones were known as ‘maha-samantas’ or ‘maha-mandaleshwara’. (The great lord of a ‘circle’ or region).
Became more powerful at times and asserted their independence.
The Rashtrakutas who were vassals of the Chalukyas asserted their independence under the leadership of their lord Dantidurga.
Brahmin clans like the Gurjara-Pratiharas gave up their traditional profession to become a militia group consequently establishing their rule in Rajputana. The same can be said of the Kadambha Mayurasharman in Karnataka.

Administration

In spite of kings assuming lofty titles like ‘maharaja-adhiraj’ (great king, overlord of beings) or ‘tribhuvana-chakravartin’ (lord of three worlds) they ruled in collaboration with Brahmins, traders and samantas.
Peasants, animal herders and artisans were compelled to produce as ‘rent’ to lords and kings. Traders paid revenue in the form of tax.
These taxes funded fort and temple construction, administrative requirements and wars. Conquest over new territory meant acquisition of wealth by plunder and opening up of new trade routes.
Prashastis and Land Grants
Brahmin scholars composed prashastis in praise of the lords and kings as brave and valiant warriors and efficient administrator. The Allahabad Prashasti in eulogy of Samudragupta by his court poet Harisena is famous.
Land grants were made by kings to Brahmins and were recorded in copper plates.
Kalhana wrote a long account of the history of Kashmiri kings borrowing from a variety of sources like documents, laws and eye witness accounts. Surprisingly, he has been quite critical in his account.

Wealth from War

Gurjara – pratiharas, Rashtrakutas and the Palas fought for control over Kanauj in the Ganga valley which was known as the ‘tripatite struggle’.
Mahmud of Gazni raided the Somnath and other temples between 1000-1025 CE to finance his designs of conquering the whole of central Asia and transforming Gazni into a magnificent city.
The Chauhans of Delhi and Ajmer clashed with the Chalukyas and Gahadavalas in the west. Prithviraj was the most famous Chauhan ruler who defeated Mohammad Ghori in the 1st Battle of Tarain.
Sultan Mahmud’s biography ‘KITAB-UL-HIND’ by Al-Beruni has advices taken from Sanskrit scholars.

The Chola Kingdom

Muttaraiyar, a chieftain family dominated over the Kaveri delta. Vijayalaya, a descendent of the Uraiyur Cholas, captured the delta and built the city of Tanjavur and the magnificent temple dedicated to Goddess Nishumbhasudini.
Successors of Vijayalaya further extended the territories over the neighbouring Pandya and Pallavea territories.
Rajaraj 1 was the most powerful Chola king. His son Rajendra Chola further extended the kingdom raiding the Ganga valley as well. He was consequently given the title, Gangaikonda.
The Tanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram temples are splendid examples of art and architecture. The bronze deities signify the highest standards of bronze sculpture.
Temples were the nuclei of Chola culture, economy and society. They also functioned as banks.
The Kaveri often overflowed its banks and the water was harnessed into canals to provide irrigation to agriculture.
Forests were cleared, huge tanks were built to hold rainwater and embankments were built to facilitate irrigation and agriculture.

Administration

Peasant settlements,’ur’, became larger villages owing to agricultural prosperity and were called ‘nadu’ with a council to collect taxes and enforce laws.
Rich landowners were gifted the title of ‘vendavelan’ and accorded important state offices.
Brahmins were given landgrants called ‘bramhadeya’ and a council of Brahmins called ‘sabha’ administered these lands. Towns were under associations of traders known as ‘nagarams’.
The ‘sabha’ functioned in separate departments to look after various aspects of administration dividing themselves into committees.

Important Keywords

Prashasti: The description of achievements and praise of kings written by royal poets.
Sultan: An Arabic term which means ruler.
Samanta: Big landlords or warrior chiefs who pay taxes, bring gifts to the king, and povide the king with military support.
Temple: Place of worship of a god or a goddess for the Hindus.
Advaita: A system of Indian ph : 1050, phy preached by Shankaracharya.
Nadu: Territory Villages formed a large unit.
Nagarams: Association of traders.
Sabha: Society, council, or public meeting
Ur: A council of assembly in time of Chola Kings.

Important Dates

5th-5th century : The area of Tamil Nadu was opened up for a large-scale cultivation.
7th century : The rise of the new dynasties.
Mid 8th century : Rise of Rashtrakutas.
985 : Rajraja I Chola became great ruler.
1168-1192 : Ruler of Prithviraja III around Delhi.
1191 : Prithviraja III defeated Md. Ghori in first Battle of Tarain.
1192 : Prithviraja defeated and killed by Md. Ghori in the 2nd Battle of Tarain.

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