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

• 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.


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