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Class 7 New Beginnings: Cities and States: cheat sheet
CBSE Social Science. How janapadas grew into mahajanapadas, the early republics, the Second Urbanisation of the Ganga plains, the first coins and the great trade routes.
Key ideas
- A janapada was a clan territory led by a raja; assemblies called sabha and samiti advised him.
- Janapadas merged into larger states called mahajanapadas, usually listed as 16.
- Vajji and Malla were early republics, governed by assemblies (gana or sangha) instead of a single king.
- Iron tools helped clear forests and farm more land, and the surplus food fed growing cities.
- This growth of cities in the Ganga plains is the Second Urbanisation; the Harappan cities were the First.
- Cities had walls and moats to protect them from attacks.
- The first Indian coins were punch-marked silver coins, and trade moved along Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha.
Remember
| First Urbanisation | the Harappan civilisation |
| Second Urbanisation | cities of the Ganga plains, 1st millennium BCE |
| Four strongest mahajanapadas | Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti |
| Capitals | Magadha: Rajagriha; Vatsa: Kaushambi |
| Early republics | Vajji and Malla |
| Far south kingdoms | Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas |
| Days for a journey | distance ÷ distance a day, rounded up |
Watch out
- Mixing up a janapada (a clan territory) and a mahajanapada (a larger, merged state).
- Thinking every mahajanapada had a king: the early republics were run by assemblies.
- Rounding down the days for a journey: a part day still needs a whole day.
Worked example
A caravan of traders on Uttarapatha covers about 25 km a day. How many days will a 560 km stretch take?
Working: 560 ÷ 25, rounded up
Answer: 23 days
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