Notes of Chapter 2 New Kings and Kingdoms Class 7th History
The Emergence of New Dynasties
• By the seventh century there were big landlords or warrior chiefs in different regions of the subcontinent.
The Rashtrakutas
• The Rashtrakutas in the Deccan were subordinates to the Chalukyas of Karnataka.
• During the mid-eighth century, a Rashtrakuta chief called Dantidurga overthrew his Chalukya overlord.
• Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra and Kadamba Mayurasharman were Brahmanas successfully established kingdoms in Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively.
Administration in the Kingdoms
• By the seventh century there were big landlords or warrior chiefs in different regions of the subcontinent.
The Rashtrakutas
• The Rashtrakutas in the Deccan were subordinates to the Chalukyas of Karnataka.
• During the mid-eighth century, a Rashtrakuta chief called Dantidurga overthrew his Chalukya overlord.
• Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra and Kadamba Mayurasharman were Brahmanas successfully established kingdoms in Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively.
Administration in the Kingdoms
• Many of these new kings often shared power with their samantas as well as with associations of peasants, traders and Brahmanas.
• Revenue in the form of land rent was collected from peasants, cattle-keepers and artisans and Traders.
Prashastis and Land Grants
• Prashastis depicted the image that the kings wished to project about themselves.
• These were composed by learned Brahmanas who were rewarded by grants of land.
Warfare for Wealth
Tripartite Struggle
• Kanauj, a city in the Ganga valley was an important city of the time.
• For centuries, rulers belonging to the Gurjara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj, called as the “tripartite struggle”.
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni
• Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni from Afghanistan (ruled from 997 to 1030) raided the subcontinent almost every year and targeted wealthy temples, including Somnath in Gujarat.
Chahamanas or the Chauhans
• The Chahamanas or the Chauhans, who ruled around Delhi and Ajmer, attempted to expand
their control to the west and the east.
• They were opposed by the Chalukyas of Gujarat and the Gahadavalas of western Uttar Pradesh.
The Cholas
• Cholas were subordinates of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram.
• Vijayalaya, of the Chola family from Uraiyur, captured the Kaveri delta from Muttaraiyar in the middle of the ninth century.
• The successors of Vijayalaya conquered neighbouring regions such as the Pandyan and the Pallava territories to the south and north.
• The most powerful Chola ruler was Rajaraja I.
Splendid Temples and Bronze Sculpture
• The big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikonda-cholapuram, built by Rajaraja and Rajendra, are sculptural and architectural marvels.
Agriculture and Irrigation
• The river Kaveri branches off into several small channels before draining into the Bay of Bengal.
→ Water from these channels provides the necessary moisture for agriculture, particularly the cultivation of rice.
• Forests were cleared and land was levelled for agriculture in many areas.
• Wells were dug and tanks were constructed to collect rainwater
The Administration of the Empire
• Settlements of peasants, called ur, became prosperous with the spread of irrigation agriculture.
• Rich landowners handled important offices of the state at the centre.
• Grants of land to Brahmanas were looked after by an assembly or sabha of prominent Brahmana landholders.