Nomadic Empire 

Nomadic Empires can be said to be an imperial formation constructed by nomadic groups. The Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, established a transcontinental empire straddling Europe and Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Sources: 

The steppe dwellers themselves usually produced no literature, so our knowledge of nomadic societies comes mainly from chronicles, travelogues and documents produced by city-based litterateurs. These authors often produced extremely ignorant and biased reports of nomadic life.

The imperial success of the Mongols attracted many travelers. These individuals came from a variety of backgrounds – Buddhist,Confucian, Christian, Turkish and Muslim. Many of them produced sympathetic accounts and others hostile.

The most outstanding sources of Mongols are Igor de Rachewiltz’s ‘The Secret History of Mongol’ and ‘the Travelogues of Marco Polo’.

Rise of Mongol tribe: 

In the early decades of the thirteenth century the great empires of the Euro-Asian continent realised the dangers posed to them by the arrival of a new political power in the steppes of Central Asia: Genghis Khan (d. 1227) had united the Mongol people.

Background:

The Mongols were a diverse body of tribal people, spoke similar languages.

Some of the Mongols were pastoralists while others were hunter-gatherers.The pastoralists tended horses, sheep and cattle, goats and camels.

They lived nomadic life in the steppes of Central Asia in a tract of land in the area of the modern state of Mongolia. This was a majestic landscape with wide horizons, rolling plains, ringed by the snow-capped mountains, Gobi desert and drained by rivers and springs.

Agriculture was possible in the pastoral regions but the Mongols did not take to agriculture. The Mongols lived in tents and travelled with their herds from their winter to summer pasture lands.

These groups were constantly engaged in war with each other.

Mongol society was patriarchal in nature.

Life and Career of Genghis Khan:

Genghis Khan was born in 1162 CE, near the Onon Riverin the north of present-day Mongolia.

His original name was Temujin, he was the son of Yesugei, the chieftain of the Kiyat clan.

His father was murdered by a tribe at an early age and his mother, Oelun-eke, raised Temujin, his brothers and step-brothers in great hardship.

Genghis Khan faced many problems in his childhood. Temujin was captured and enslaved for many years.

Soon after his marriage, his wife, Borte, was kidnapped, and he had to fight to recover her.

During these years of hardship he also managed to make important friends. The young Boghurchu was his first ally and remained a trusted friend; Jamuqa,his blood-brother was another.

Temujin became the dominant personality in the politics of the steppe lands, a position that was recognised at an assembly of Mongol chieftains, where he was proclaimed the ‘Great Khan of the Mongols’ with the title Genghis Khan, the ‘Oceanic Khan’or ‘Universal Ruler’.

His conquests: China, Transoxiana, Khwarazm, Samarqand, Herat, Azerbaijan Russia between 1219 to 1222 CE

The first of his concerns was to conquer China, divided at this time into three realms:the Hsi Hsia dynasty in the north-western provinces,Chin dynasty ruled north China and the Sung dynasty in south China.

By 1209, the Hsi Hsia were defeated, the ‘Great Wall of China’ was breached in 1213 and long drawn-out battles against the Chin continued until 1234 but Genghis Khan was satisfied enough with the progress of his campaigns to return to his Mongolia

 Sultan Muhammad, the ruler of Khwarazm, executed Mongol envoys worried of Mongol invasion. In the campaigns between 1219 and 1221 the great cities – Otrar, Bukhara, Samarqand, Balkh, Gurganj, Merv, Nishapur and Herat – surrendered to the Mongol forces.

 Towns that resisted were devastated by Mongols. A Mongol prince was killed during the siege operation at Nishapur.

Mongol forces in pursuit of Sultan Muhammad pushed into Azerbaijan and defeated Russian forces. Another wing followed the Sultan’s son, Jalaluddin, into Afghanistan and the Sindh province.

Why did Genghis Khan return to Mongolia without touching India?

At the banks of the Indus, Genghis Khan considered returning to Mongolia through North India and Assam, but the heat, the natural habitat and the ill portents reported by his Shaman soothsayer made him change his mind.

Genghis Khan died in 1227.

His Achievements:

His ability to innovate and transform different aspects of steppe combat into extremely effective military strategies was the most important reason behind his astounding success.

Organised the army: He made great efforts to organise the army. Strict discipline was maintained in the army. He improved and restructured the army to blend the typical skills of the tribe with the army. The horse-riding skills of the Mongols and the Turks provided speed and mobility to the army. Their abilities as rapid-shooting archers from horseback were further perfected during regular hunting expeditions which doubled chance of victory over the enemies.

Rigorous training & prepartion:  The steppe cavalry had always travelled light and moved quickly, but now it brought all its knowledge of the terrain. They carried out campaigns in the depths of winter, treating frozen rivers as highways to enemy cities and camps.. He learnt the importance of siege. His engineers prepared light portable equipment, which was used against opponents with devastating effect.

The Mongols after Genghis Khan

The Mongol expansion after Genghis Khan’s death can be divided into two distinct phases –

(i) The first which spanned the years 1236-42 when the major gains were in the Russian steppes, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary.

(ii) The second phase including the years 1255-1300 led to the conquest of all of China, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

The Mongol military forces met with few reversals in the decades after the 1260s the original impetus of campaigns could not be sustained in the West.

Social, Political and Military Organisation

Social Organisation

Among the Mongols all the able-bodied, adult males of the tribe bore arms: they constituted the armed forces when the occasion demanded.

The unification of the different Mongol tribes and subsequent campaigns against diverse people introduced new members into Genghis Khan’s army. It included groups like theTurks, Chinese and Arabs who had accepted his authority willingly.

The society included groups like the Turkic Uighurs, the defeated people like – the Kereyits. It was a body of heterogeneous mass of people.

Military Organisation

Genghis Khan worked to systematically erase the old tribal identities of the different groups who joined his confederacy. His army was organised according to the old steppe system of decimal units. Any individual who tried to move from his allotted group without permission received harsh punishment.

He divided the army into four units and they were required to serve under his four sons and specially chosen captains of his army units called noyan.

 The soldiers who had served Genghis Khan loyally through grave adversity for many years were publicly honoured some of these individuals as his ‘blood brothers’ and  others were given special ranking as his bondsmen, a title that marked their close relationship with their master.

Political Organisation

The civil system was based on Ulus system. Genghis Khan assigned the responsibility of governing the newly-conquered people to his four sons. These comprised the four ulus.

The eldest son, Jochi, received the Russian steppes and it extended as far west as his horses could roam.

The second son, Chaghatai, was given the Transoxanian steppe and lands north of the Pamir Mountain adjacent to those of his brother.

Genghis Khan had indicated that his third son, Ogodei, would succeed him as the Great Khan and on accession the Prince established his capital at Karakorum.

The youngest son, Toluy, received the ancestral lands of Mongolia. Genghis Khan envisaged that his sons would rule the empire collectively, and to underline this point, military contingents of the individual princes were placed in each ulus.

The sense of a dominion shared by the members of the family was underlined at the assembly of chieftains, quriltais, where all decisions relating to the family or the state for the forthcoming season campaigns, distribution of plunder, pasture lands and succession were collectively taken.

Development in Trade & communication in Mongolia

Yam:  Genghis Khan had already fashioned a rapid courier system called yam that connected the distant areas of his regime.

Qubcur tax: For the maintenance of this communication systemthe Mongol nomads contributed a tenth of their herd – either horses or livestock – as provisions. This was called the qubcur tax, a levy that the nomads paid willingly for the multiple benefits that it brought.

Territory linking: Once the campaigns had settled, Europe and China were territorially linked with Mongolia. Commerce and travel along the Silk Route reached its peak under the Mongols but, the trade route extended up to Mongolia.

Baj tax:  Communication and ease of travel was vital to retain the coherence of the Mongol regime and travellers were given a pass for safe conduct. Traders paid the baj tax for the same purpose, all acknowledging thereby the authority of the Mongol Khan.

Pressure groups: Mongols waged their successful wars against China, Persia, Russia etc there was a strong pressure group within the Mongol leadership that advocated the massacre of all peasantry and the conversion of their fields into pasture lands.

But by the 1270s, Genghis Khan’s grandson, Qubilai Khan appeared as the protector of the peasants and the cities.

The legal code of law – Yasa

Genghis Khan promulgated Yasa (the code of law) at the Assembly of Mongol Chieftains (quriltai) of 1206. It has elaborated on the complex ways in which the memory of the Great Khan was fashioned by his successors.

In its earliest formulation the term was written as yasa which meant ‘law’,‘decree’ or ‘order’. Yasa concern administrative regulations: the organisation of the hunt,the army and the postal system.

By the middle of the thirteenth century the Mongols had emerged as a unified people and just created the largest empire the world had ever seen. They ruled over very sophisticated urban societies, with their respective histories, cultures and laws. Although the Mongols dominated the region politically, they were a numerical minority. The one way in which they could protect their identity and distinctiveness was through a claim to a sacred law given to them by their ancestor. The yasa was in all probability a compilation of the customary traditions of the Mongol tribes but in referring to it as Genghis Khan’s code of law.

Conclusion

For the Mongols, Genghis Khan was the greatest leader of all time: he united the Mongol people. He freed them from interminable tribal wars and Chinese exploitation.He brought them prosperity, fashioned a grand transcontinental empire and restored trade routes and markets that attracted distant travelers and traders.

Genghis Khan ruled the diverse body of people and faiths.  Although the Mongol Khans themselves belonged to a variety of different faiths – Shaman, Buddhist, Christian and eventually Islam, they never let their personal beliefs dictate public policy.

The Mongol administration was a multi-ethnic,multilingual, multi-religious regime that did not feel threatened by its pluralistic constitution.

Today, after decades of Soviet control, the country of Mongolia is recreating its identity as an independent nation. Genghis Khan appeared as an iconic figure for the Mongol People, mobilising memories of a great past in the forging of national identity that can carry the nation into the future.

 Comparison with the Mongol Empire.Mongols provided ideological models for the Mughals of India.Timur, another monarch who aspired to universal dominion, hesitated to declare himself monarch because he was not of Genghis Khan descent.

The Making of a Global World Notes

 The Making of a Global world 

Globalisation is generally associated with economy as the free movement of capital, goods, technology, ideas and people across the globe. Globalisation in a broader sense also includes cultural exchanges between different countries of the world.

 Ancient times :-

Travellers, traders, priests and pilgrims travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunity and spiritual fulfilment, or to escape persecution. 

They carried goods, money, values, skills, ideas,  inventions, and even germs and diseases. 

As early as 3000 BCE an active coastal trade linked the Indus valley civilisations with present-day West Asia. 

Silk route linked China with West. 

Food travels from America to Europe to Asia. 

Noodles travels from China to Itly and became Spaghetti. 

European conquerors carried germs of smallpox in America. Once introduced, it spread deep into the continent.

 Silk routes :-

 The Silk Route was a historic trade route that dated from the second century B.C. The ‘silk routes’ points to the importance of West-bound Chinese silk cargoes along this route. until the 14th century A.D. 

 It stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean, traversing China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Italy .It was dubbed the Silk Route because of the heavy silk trading that took place during that period.

 Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato :-

 Traders and travellers introduced new crops to the lands that they travelled.

 Spaghetti :- noodles travelled west from China to become spaghetti. Or, perhaps Arab traders took pasta to fifth-century Sicily, an island now in italy

 Food Many of our common foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes, and so on were not known to our ancestors until about five centuries ago.

 Potato :- Europe’s poor began better and live longer with introduction the humble Potato. 

 Ireland’s poorest peasants became so dependent on potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

 Conquest, Disease and Trade :-

 America’s Discover and Precious Metals :-

 European sailors found a sea route to Asia and also successfully crossed the western ocean to America.

 Before its ‘discovery’, America had been cut off from regular contact with the rest of the world for millions of years.

 Precious metals, particularly silver, from mines located in present day Peru and Mexico also enhanced Europe’s wealth and financed its trade with Asia. 
Use of smallpox germs by conquerors (for victory)

 The Portuguese and Spanish conquest and Colonisation of America was decisively underway by the mid- sixteenth century.

 The most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors was the germs such as those of smallpox that they carried on their person. 

 Due to their long isolation, America’s original inhabitants had no immunity against these diseases that came from Europe. Smallpox, in particular proved to be fatal. 

  Problems in europe :-

 Until the 19th century, poverty and hunger were common in Europe. Cities were crowded and deadly diseases were widespread. 

 India and China till the eighteenth century :-

 In the 18th century, China and India were among the world’s richest countries. They were also pre-eminent in Asian trade.

 However, from the 15th century, China is said to have restricted overseas contacts and retreated into isolation. 

 China’s reduced role and the rising importance of the America gradually moved the centre of world trade Westwards. 

 Europe now emerged as the centre of world trade.

The Nineteenth Century (1815-1914) 

 The Nineteenth Century :-

 Economic, political, social, cultural and technological factors interacted in complex ways to transform societies and reshape external relations. 

 Economists identify three types of movement or ‘flows’ within International Economic Exchanges. 

The flow of Trade :- Trade in goods such as grain and cloth.

The flow of Labour :- Migration of people to new areas in search of work.

The Movement of capital :- Investment of capital for a short and long period in far off areas.

 Let’s look at the UK economy to understand all three.

  A World Economy Takes Shape :-

Due to increase in population from the late 18th century, the demand for food grains in Britain had increased. 

Since, there was pressure from landed groups, the government also restricted the import of corn. 

The laws allowing the government to do this were commonly known as the ‘Corn Laws’. 

Railways were needed to link the agricultural regions to the ports. 

New harbours had to be built and people had to settle on the lands which meant building homes and settlements.

All these activities in turn required capital and labour. Capital flowed from financial centres such as London. 

The demand for labour in places where labour was in short supply-as in America and Australia, led to more migration. 

By 1890, Global Agricultural Economy had taken shape.

 Corn Law :-

 The laws allowing the government (U.K.) to restrict the import of corn were commonly known as the Corn Laws.

Role of Technology :-

 The railways, steamships, the telegraph were important inventions without which we cannot imagine the transformed nineteenth-century world.

 Colonisation stimulated new investments and improvements in transport.

 The trade in meat offers a good example of this connected process. Till the 1870s, animals were shipped live from America to Europe and then slaughtered when they arrived there. 

 Better living conditions promoted social peace within the country and support for imperialism abroad. 

 Trade flourished and markets expanded in the late nineteenth century.

 Late nineteenth-century Colonialism :-

 Britain and France made vast additions to their overseas territories in the late nineteenth century. Belgium and Germany became new Colonial Powers.

 The US also became a colonial power in the late 1890s by taking over some colonies earlier held by Spain.

 Rinderpest Plague :-

 Rinderpest is a fast spreading cattle plague which hit Africa in the late 1880s.

 Rinderpest, or the Cattle Plague :-

 In the 1880s, a fast-spreading disease of Cattle Plague or Rinderpest had a terrifying impact on the African local economy. It was carried by infected cattle imported from British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers invading Eritrea in East Africa. 

 Entering Africa in the East, Rinderpest moved west ‘like forest fire’. The loss of cattle destroyed African livelihoods.

 Indentured labour :-

 A bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a specific amount of time, to pay off his passage to a new country home.

Indentured Labour Migration from India :-

 In the 19th century, hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese labourers went to work on plantations, in mines, and in road and railway construction projects around the world.

 In India, indentured labourers were bonded labourers who were transferable to any country on contract for a specific amount of wage and time. Most of the labourers were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Central India and certain districts of Tamil Nadu.

 The 19th century indenture has been described as a ‘New System of Slavery’. 

 From the 1900s, India’s nationalist leaders began opposing the system of Indentured Labour Migration as abusive and cruel. It was abolished in 1921.

 New slave system in 19th century :-

Agents provided false information to misguide the labourers. 

Labourers were also kidnapped by the agents. 

The living and working conditions of new place were very hard. 

Wages were very low. The wages were deducted in terms of work was not done properly. 

There were no legal rights for labourers.

 Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad :-

 Shikaripuri Shrott and Nattukottai Chettiyars were amongst the many groups of bankers and traders who Financed Export Agriculture in Central and South-east Asia. 

 Indian Traders and Moneylenders also followed European colonisers into Africa. From the 1860s they established flourishing emporia at busy ports worldwide, selling local and imported curios to tourists whose numbers were beginning to swell, thanks to the development of safe and comfortable passenger vessels.
Indian Trade, Colonialism and the Global System :-

 With the advent of industrialisation, British cotton manufacture began to expand and industrialists pressurised the government to restrict cotton imports and protect local industries.

 Tariffs were imposed on cloth imports into Britain. Consequently, the inflow of fine Indian cotton began to decline.

 Indigo used for dyeing cloth was another important export for many decades. British manufactures flooded the Indian Market.

 The value of British Exports to India was much higher than the value of British imports from India. Thus, Britain had a “Trade Surplus’ with India. 

 Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with other countries that is, with countries from which Britain was importing more than it was selling to.

 The Inter-War and Post-War Economy 

 The Inter War Economy :-

 The First World War (1914-18) was mainly fought in Europe but its impact was felt around the world due to widespread economic and political instability. 

 Wartime Transformations :-

 The First World War was fought between two power blocs. On the one side were the Allies Britain, France and Russia (later joined by the US); and on the opposite side were the Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey. 

 This war was thus, the First Modern Industrial War. It saw the use of machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical weapons, etc., on a massive scale. 

 Most of the killed and maimed were men of working age and these deaths and injuries reduced the able-bodied workforce in Europe. 

 Britain borrowed large sums of money from the US Banks as well as the US public which transformed the US from being an “International Debtor to an International Creditor”.

the impact of first world war on the economy of Britain :-

Hard to maintain the top position of Britain in Indian market. 

After first world war Britain had to compete with Japan. 

Debt taken by America during First world war. 

Fall in demand of goods due to the end of war caused fall in production and increase in unemployment. 

The heavy taxes imposed by the government to fulfill the losses of war which causes great fall in employment.

 Post-war Recovery :-

 After the war, Britain found it difficult to recapture its earlier position of dominance in the Indian Market and to compete with Japan internationally. 

 The war had led to an economic boom, that is, to a large increase in demand, production and employment. 

 Before the war, Eastern Europe was a major supplier of wheat in the world market but during the war its supply disrupted and wheat production in Canada, America and Australia expanded immensely.

 But after the war, production in Eastern Europe revived and created a glut in wheat output. Grain prices fell, rural incomes declined and Farmers fell deeper into debt.

 Rise of Mass Production and Consumption :-

 One important feature of the US economy of the 1920s was Mass Production. A well-known pioneer of mass production was the Car Manufacturer, Henry Ford. 

 The T-Model Ford was the world’s first mass-produced car. 

 Mass production lowered costs and prices of engineered goods and there was an increase in the purchase of refrigerators, washing machines, radios, gramophone players, all through a system of ‘hire purchase’. 

 Large investments in housing and household goods seemed to create a cycle of higher employment and incomes, rising consumption demand, more investment and yet, more employment and incomes.

The Great Depression :-

 By 1929 the world plunged into a depression called -The Great Depression of 1929. 

 During this period most parts of the world experienced catastrophic declines in production, employment, incomes and trade. 

 The depression was caused by a combination of several facts of agricultural overproduction. 

 Many countries financed their investments through loans from the US. The withdrawal of the US loans affected much of the rest of the world. 

 With the fall in prices and the prospect of a depression the US Banks had also slashed domestic lending and called back loans. 

 The Great Depression’s wider effects on society, politics and international relations, and on peoples’ minds, proved more enduring. 

 Causes of Great Depression :-

 Post-World War, economy of the world was fragile. Agricultural over production was a problem. As prices slumped, farm produce rotted. 

 Many countries financed loans from the US. 

 US overseas lenders panicked at the sign of financial crisis.

 Thus, banks were bankrupt and were forced to close down in Europe and in the US because they were unable to recover investments, collect loans and repay depositors. 

 American capitalists stopped all loans.

 India and the Great Depression :-

 Since Colonial India had become an exporter of agricultural goods and importer of manufactures, the depression immediately affected Indian trade. 

 Peasants and farmers suffered more than urban dwellers though agricultural prices fell sharply, the Colonial Government refused to reduce revenue demands.

 This resulted in the increase of indebtedness of the Indian peasants who used up their savings, mortgaged lands, and sold whatever jewellery and precious metals they had to meet their expenses. 

 The famous economist John Maynard Keynes thought that Indian gold exports promoted global economic recovery.

Rebuilding a World Economy: The Post-war Era 

 The Post War Era :-

 The Second World War broke out merely after two decades of the First World War and brought enormous death and destruction.

 It was fought between the Axis powers (mainly Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the US). 

 The war caused an immense amount of economic devastation and social disruption.

 There were two impacts that influenced post-war reconstruction. The first was the US’s Emergence as the dominant economic, political and military power in the Western world and the second was the dominance of the Soviet Union.

  The Bretton Woods institutions :- 

 The International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank were created to bring about orderly development of the world economy in the post-World War Il era. 

 Bretton Woods agreement :-

 Bretton Woods :-

 Bretton Woods is the name of Hotel in USA where the National Monetary and Financial conference held in 1944 to ensure the stable economy. 

Establishment of IMF and World Bank. 

Bretton Woods system was based on fixed exchange rate.

 Decolonisation and Independence :-

 Most developing countries did not benefit from the fast growth that the Western economies experienced in 1950s and 1960s therefore, they organized themselves as a group-the Group of 77 (or G-77)-to demand a New International Economic Order (NIEO).

 By the NIEO they meant a system that would give them real control over their natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials and better access for their manufactured goods in developed countries’ markets.

End of Bretton Woods and the Beginning of “Globalisation’ :-

 The Industrial World was hit by unemployment that began rising from the mid-1970s and remained high until the early 1990s. 

 From the late 1970s., MNCS also began to shift production operations to low-wage Asian countries, China being one of them.

 China became an attractive destination for investment by foreign MNCS, competing to capture world markets. 

 The relocation of industries to low-wage countries stimulated world trade and capital flows.

 Exchange Rates :-

 They link national currencies for the purposes of International trade. There are broadly two kinds of exchange rates, namely, fixed exchange rate and floating exchange rate. 

 Fixed Exchange Rates :-

 The rates which are officially fixed by the government and do not vary with change in demand and supply of Foreign Currency.

 Flexible or Floating Exchange Rates :-

 These rates fluctuate depending on demand and supply of Foreign Currencies in Foreign Exchanges Markets, in principle without interference by governments. 

 Tariff :-

 Tax imposed on a country’s imports from the rest of the world. Tariffs are levied at the point of entry, i.e., at the Border or at the Airport. 

Hosay :-

 A riotous carnival in Trinidad (for Imam Hussain) where workers of all races and religions joined to celebrate.

 Plantation :-

 Estate for cultivation of cash crops such as tea, coffee, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, etc. 

 MNCS :- 

 Multinational Corporations (MNCS) are large companies that operate in several countries at the same time.

 IMF :-

 It is also termed as International Monetary Fund, The Bretton Woods Institution. It was established to deal with external surpluses and deficits of its member nations. 

 IBRD :-

 It is abbreviated as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (popularly known as the World Bank). It was set up to finance Post-war reconstruction. 

 G-77 :-

 G-77 or Group of 77 refers to the seventy seven developing countries that did not benefit from the fast growth western economies experienced in 1950s and 1960s.

 Veto :-

 A constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law making body.

Ch-4 Thinkers, beliefs and Buildings

The sources to reconstruct Cultural Developments of this period (c. 600 BCE - 600 CE)

1. Buddhist, Jaina and Brahmanical texts written in various languages.

2. Large and impressive material remains including monuments and inscriptions.

The mid-first millennium BCE is often regarded as a turning point in world history:
1. This period saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautama Buddha in India.

2. They tried to understand the mysteries of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order (Universe)

3. This was also the time when new kingdoms and cities were developing aii over the world

4. This was also the time when social and economic life was changing in a variety of ways in the Ganga valley.
The sacrificial traditions (Vedic sacrifices)

1. The early Vedic tradition was one of the pre-existing traditions of thought.

2. The Rig-Veda consists of hymns in praise of a variety of deities, especially Agni, Indra and Soma.

3. Many of these hymns were chanted when sacrifices were performed, where people prayed for cattle, sons, good health, long life, etc.

4. At first, sacrifices were performed collectively. Later some sacrifices were performed by the head of the family for the wellbeing of the domestic unit.

5. More elaborate sacrifices, such as the Rajasuya and Ashvamedha, were performed by chiefs and kings who depended on Brahmana priests to conduct these rituals.

New questions in the early period

1. Many people were curious about the meaning of life, the possibility of life after death, karma and rebirth.

2. Such issues were hotly debated. Thinkers were concerned with understanding and expressing the nature of the ultimate reality.

Debates and discussions

1. There were as many as 64 sects or schools of thought. Lively discussions and debates took place between the teachers of these schools of thought.

2. Teachers like Buddha and Mahavira travelled from place to place, trying to convince one another as well as laypersons, about the validity of their philosophy or the way they understood the world.

3. Debates took place in the kutagarashala (a hut with a pointed roof) and in groves where travelling mendicants halted.

4. If a philosopher succeeded in convincing one of his rivals, the followers of the latter also became his disciples. So support for any particular sect could grow and shrink over time.

5. Many of these teachers, including Mahavira and the Buddha, questioned the authority of the Vedas.

Fatalists and materialists

1. Fatalists or Ajivikas those who believe that everything is predetermined.

2. Materialists or Lokayatas those who believe that everything is not predetermined.

3. Fatalist teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, says that the wise and the fool cannot come out of karma. It can neither be lessened nor increased.

4. Materialist teacher Ajita Kesakambalin says that a human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the windy to air, and his senses pass into space. They do not survive after death.

The Message of Mahavira or philosophy of Jainism.

1. The important idea of Jainism is the entire world is animated: even stones, rocks and water have life.

2. Non-injury to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and insects, is central to Jainism

3. In fact the principle of ahimsa, emphasized within Jainism, has left its mark on Indian thinking.

4. According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.

5. Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma. This can be achieved only by renouncing the world.

Rules for Jain Monks

1. Jain monks and nuns took five vows such as to abstain from killing. 

2. To abstain from Stealing 

3.To abstain from Lying 

4. To observe celibacy 

5. To abstain from possessing property.

Jain Literature and Spread of Jainism

1. The teachings of Mahavira were recorded by his disciples. These were often in the form of stories, which could appeal to ordinary people.

2. Jaina scholars produced a wealth of literature in a variety of languages such as Prakrit, Sanskrit and Tamil.

3. For many centuries, manuscripts of these texts were carefully preserved in libraries attached to jain temples.

4. Gradually, Jainism spread to many parts of India such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

5. Some of the earliest stone sculptures associated with Jainism were produced by devotees of the Jaina tirthankaras.

Spread of Buddhism

1. Buddhism grew rapidly both during the lifetime of the Buddha and after his death, as it appealed to many people who dissatisfied with existing religious practices.

2. Buddha’s messages metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion) spread across the subcontinent and beyond Central Asia , China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.

3. Buddha’s teachings have been reconstructed by carefully editing, translating and analyzing the Buddhist texts.

4. Historians have also tried to reconstruct details of his life from hagiographies.(Hagiography is a biography of a saint or religious leader)

5. Many of these were written down at least a century after the death of the Buddha, in an attempt to preserve memories of the great teacher.
Life of Buddha (What were the traumatic incidents changed the life of the Buddha?)

1. According to the traditions, Siddhartha was the son of a chief of the Sakya clan. He had a sheltered upbringing within the palace, avoiding the harsh realities of life.

2. One day he persuaded his charioteer to take him into the city. His first journey into the world outside was traumatic.

3. He was deeply anguished when he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse (dead body). He realized in that moment that the decay and destruction of the human body was inevitable.

4. He also saw a homeless mendicant, who had come to terms with old age and disease

5. Soon after, he left the palace and set out in search of his own truth. Siddhartha explored several paths including bodily mortification which led him to a situation of near death. He meditated for several days and finally attained enlightenment. After this he came to be known as the Buddha or Enlightened.

The Teachings of the Buddha

1. According to Buddhist philosophy, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing; it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.

2. Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.

3. By following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can come out of these worldly troubles.

4. The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and ethical towards common people.

5. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations. The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation.

Followers of the Buddha(monks and nuns)

1. According to Buddhist tradition, Buddha’s last words to his followers were: “Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation.”

2. The body of disciples of the Buddha or an organisation of monks is called Sangha. Buddha founded a sangha. The monks too became teachers of dhamma.

3. These monks lived simple life by possessing only the essential requisites for survival, such as a bowl to receive food once a day from the laity. As they lived on alms, they were known as bhikkhus.

4. Initially, only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also came to be admitted. The Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni. Many women who entered the sangha became teachers of dhamma.

5. The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups. They included kings, wealthy men, gahapatis, workers, slaves and craftspeople.

6. Once persons get into the sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The internal functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions where decisions were taken through discussions and voting.

Rules for monks and nuns

1. These are some of the rules laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka: When a new felt (blanket/rug) has been made by a bhikkhu, it is to be kept for (at least) six years.

2. Before the completion of six years if a Bhikku wanted to use a new one he has to be authorised by the other bhikkhus – it is to be forfeited and confessed.

3. In case a bhikkhu may accept two or three bowls of cakes or cooked grain-meal from a house if he so desires. If he should accept more than that, it is to be confessed.

4. Having accepted the two or three bowls and having taken them from there, he is to share them among the bhikkhus.

5. Any bhikkhu, who is leaving the lodging which belongs to the sangha, must inform to other Bhikkus.

Chaityas

1. From earliest times, people tended to regard certain places as sacred. These included sites with special trees or unique rocks, or sites of awe-inspiring natural beauty. These sites, with small shrines attached to them, were sometimes described as chaityas.

2. Buddhist literature mentions several chaityas. It also describes places associated with the Chaitya may also have been derived from the word chita, meaning a funeral pyre, and by extension a funerary mound.

What are Stupas?

Stupas are semi circular mount like structures in relics of Buddha are buried.

Where were stupas built?

Stupas were built in the places associated with Buddha’s life –
1. Lumbini-where he was born

2. Bodh Gaya -Where he attained enlightenment

3. Sarnath -Where he gave his first sermon( public speech) and

4. Kusinagara -Where he attained nibbana (Death) each of these places came to be regarded as sacred.

5. By the 200 BCE a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath were built.

Why were stupas built?

1. Stupas were built because relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him were buried there.

2. According to a Buddhist text known as the Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them.

How were stupas built?

1. Inscriptions found on the railings and pillars of stupas record donations made for building and decorating them. Some donations were made by kings such as the Satavahanas; others were made by guilds, such as associations of ivory workers.

2. Hundreds of donations were made by women and men who mention their names, place from where they came and their occupations and names of their relatives.

3. Bhikkhus and bhikkhunis also contributed towards building these monuments.

The structure of the stupa

1. The stupa originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth called anda. Gradually, it evolved into a more complex structure, balancing round and square shapes.

2. Above the anda was the harmika, a balcony like structure that represented the abode of the gods.

3. Arising from the harmika was a mast called the yashti, often surmounted by a chhatrior umbrella. Around the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space from the secular world.

4. The early stupas at Sanchi and Bharhut were plain except for the stone railings. Later wooden fence and the gateways were richly carved and installed at the four cardinal points.

5. Later, the mound of the stupas came to be elaborately carved with niches and sculptures as at Amaravati, and Shahji- ki-Dheri in Pakistan.
Role of Begums in preserving the Stupa at Sanchi

1. Nineteenth-century Europeans like the French and English sought Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway, which was the best preserved, to be displayed in museums in France and England. But she refused.

2. The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum and Sultan Jehan Begum, provided money for the preservation of the ancient site. That is why John Marshall dedicated his important volumes on Sanchi to Sultan Jehan.

3. She funded the museum that was built there as well as the guesthouse where John Marshall lived

4. She also funded the publication of the volumes written by John Marshall.

5. The stupa complex has survived due to wise decisions of Begums, and escaped from the eyes of railway contractors, builders, and those looking for finds to carry away to the museums of Europe.

The Fate of Amaravati Stupa

1. A local raja of Amaravathi wanted to build a temple from the ruins of the stupa at Amaravati. He decided to use the stone, and thought there might be some treasure buried in what seemed to be a hill.

2. Some years later, a British official named Colin Mackenzie visited the site. He found several pieces of sculpture and made detailed drawings of them, these reports were never published to protect the Stupa.

3. In 1854, Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur visited Amaravati and collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras. These came to be called the Elliot marbles after him.

4. By the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amaravati were taken to different places: a) To the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta b) To the India Office in Madras and some even to London.
5. It was usual to find these sculptures adorning the gardens of British administrators.

View of H.H. Cole, about the preservation of ancient monuments:

1. He wrote: “It seems to me a suicidal and indefensible policy to allow the country to be looted of original works of ancient art.”

2. He believed that museums should have plaster-cast facsimiles of sculpture, whereas the originals should remain where they had been found.
3. Unfortunately, Cole did not succeed in convincing the authorities about Amaravati, although his plea for in situ (in the original place) preservation was adopted in the case of Sanchi.

Why did Sanchi survive while Amaravati did not?

1. Perhaps Amaravati was discovered before scholars understood the value of the finds and realised how critical it was to preserve things instead of removing them from the site.

2. When Sanchi was “discovered” in 1818, three of its four gateways were still standing, the fourth was lying on the spot where it had fallen and the mound was in good condition.

3. Points 3,4,5,6,7,8( about sanchi and Amaravathi stupas)


Stories in stone

1. Art historians who have carefully studied the Ist sculpture at Sanchi identify it as a scene from the Vessantara Jataka. This is a story about a generous prince who gave away everything to a Brahmana, and went to live in the forest with his wife and children.

2. According to hagiographies, the Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a tree. Many early sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form – instead, they showed his presence through symbol of an empty seat to indicate the meditation of the Buddha.

3. The Stupa was meant to represent the mahaparinibbana (death)
4. Another symbol was the wheel. This stood for the first sermon of the Buddha, at Sarnath.

5. A beautiful woman swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree. Scholars realized that it could be a representation of a shalabhanjika. According to popular belief, this was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit.

6. Some of the finest depictions of animals are found in sanchi. These animals include elephants, horses, monkeys and cattle.

7. While the Jatakas contain several animal stories that are depicted at Sanchi, it is likely that many of these animals were carved to create lively scenes to draw viewers. Elephants were depicted to signify strength and wisdom.

8. Another motif is a woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants which are sprinkling water on her as if performing an abhisheka or consecration. While some historians identify the figure as Maya, the mother of the Buddha, others identify her with a popular goddess, Gajalakshmi – literally, the goddess of good fortune – who is associated with elephants.

9. The serpent motif, which is found on several pillars, seems to be derived from popular traditions, James Fergusson, considered Sanchi to be a centre of serpent worship.
The Division of Buddhism into Mahayana and Hinayana

1. By the first century CE, there is evidence of changes in Buddhist ideas and practices.

2. Early Buddhist teachings had given great importance to self-effort in achieving nibbana. Besides, the Buddha was regarded as a human being who attained enlightenment through his own efforts. Those who adopted these beliefs were described as Hinayana or the “lesser vehicle”.

3. However, gradually the idea of a saviour emerged. Buddha was regarded as a God the one who could ensure salvation. Those who adopted these beliefs were described as Mahayana or the “greater vehicle”.

4. Simultaneously, the concept of the Bodhisatta also developed. Bodhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings they accumulated merit through their efforts not to attain nibbana but to help others.

5. The worship of images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas became an important part of Mahayana tradition.


The growth of Puranic Hinduism

1. Vaishnavism, a form of Hinduism within which Vishnu was worshipped as the principal deity.

2. Shaivism, a tradition within which Shiva was regarded as the chief god.
3. In such worship the bond between the devotee and the god was visualized as one of love and devotion,मनF
4. Within the Vaishnavism many cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of the deity. Ten avatars were recognized within the tradition.

5. Avatars were forms that the deity was believed to have assumed in order to save the world whenever the world was threatened by evil forces.

6. It is likely that different avatars were popular in different parts of the country. Recognizing each of these local deities as a form of Vishnu was one way of creating a more unified religious tradition.

7. Shiva, for instance, was symbolized by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too. All such representations depicted a complex set of ideas about the deities and their attributes through symbols such as headdresses, ornaments and weapons (auspicious objects) the deities hold in their hands – how they are seated.

8. To understand the meanings of these sculptures historians have to be familiar with the stories behind them – many of which are contained in the Puranas, compiled by Brahmanas

9. Puranas contained much that had been composed and been in circulation for centuries including stories about gods and goddesses. Generally, they were written in simple Sanskrit verse, and were meant to be read aloud to everybody, including women and Shudras, who did not have access to Vedic learning.
Building temples
1. The early temple was a small square room, called the garbhagriha, with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image.

2. Gradually, a tall structure, known as the shikhara, was built over the central shrine. Temple walls were often decorated with sculptures.
3. Later temples became far more elaborate – with assembly halls, huge walls and gateways, and arrangements for supplying water.

4. One of the unique features of early temples was that some of the temples were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves (Rock cut temples). The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one. Some of the earliest of these were constructed in the third century BCE on the orders of Asoka for renouncers who belonged to the Ajivika (fatalist) sect.

5. This tradition evolved through various stages and culminated much later – in the eighth century – in the carving out of an entire temple, that of Kailashnatha (a name of Shiva) in Maharashtra.

European Scholars with the unfamiliar Indian sculptures

1. In nineteenth century European scholars first saw some of the sculptures of gods and goddesses; they could not understand what these were about. Sometimes, they were horrified by what seemed to them grotesque figures, with multiple arms and heads or with combinations of human and animal forms.

2. These early scholars tried to make sense of what appeared to be strange images by comparing them with sculptures of ancient Greece. While they often found early Indian sculpture inferior to the works of Greek artists.

3. European scholars were very excited when they discovered images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas that were evidently based on Greek models. These were, more often than not, found in the northwest, in cities such as Taxila and Peshawar, where Indo-Greek rulers had established kingdoms in the second century BCE.

4. As these images were closest to the Greek statues these scholars were familiar with, they were considered to be the best examples of early Indian art (Gandhara Art-Use of Greek style to make sculptures for Indian Gods or religious teachers)
5. In effect, these scholars adopted a strategy we all frequently use – devising meaning from the familiar to make sense of the unfamiliar.

If text and sculpture do not match what do Art Historians do?

1. Art historians often draw upon textual traditions to understand the meaning of sculptures. While this is certainly a far more efficacious strategy than comparing Indian images with Greek statues, it is not always easy to use.

2. One of the most intriguing examples of this is a famous sculpture along a huge rock surface in Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu).

3. Art historians have searched through the Puranas to identify it and are sharply divided in their opinions.

4. Some feel that this depicts the descent of the river Ganga from heaven – the natural cleft through the centre of the rock surface might represent the river. The story itself is ye narrated in the Puranas and the epics.
5. Others feel that it represents a story from the Mahabharata – Arjuna doing penance on the river bank in order to acquire arms – pointing to the central figure of an ascetic.

An Empire cross three continents

 An Empire Cross Three Continents 

The two most powerful empires

* The two empires that ruled between the birth of Christ and 630 CE were Rome and Iran.

* The Romans and Iranians were neighbours, separated by narrow strip of land that ran along the river Euphrates.

* They were rivals and fought against each other for much of their history.



The Phases of Roman Empire

* The Roman Empire can broadly divide into two phases-Early Roman Empire and Late Roman Empire.

* The whole period down to the main part of the 3^rd century can be called the ‘early empire’. The period after 3^rd Century can be called the ‘late empire’.



Difference between the Roman Empire and Iranian Empire

* Major difference between the Roman and Iranian Empires were:

* Roman Empire had a diverse population as compared to that of Iran.

* The Parthians and Sasanians dynasties, that ruled Iran in this period, ruled largely over the Iranian population.

* Whereas the Roman Empire was a variety of territories and cultures bound by the common system of govt.

* Many languages were spoken in the Roman Empire, but for the administrative purposes only Greek and Latin were used.

* The upper class of east spoke Greek and those in the western part spoke Latin.

* All the people in the Roman Empire were subjects of single ruler, the emperor, irrespective of where they lived and what language they spoke

Features of Roman Army

* The Army which was a paid and professional army where soldiers had to put up twenty five years of service.

* The existence of paid army was a distinctive feature of the Roman Empire.

* The army was the largest single organized body of the Roman Empire.

* It had the power to decide the fate of the emperors.

* The army was hated by the Senators.

Thus, it can be said that the emperor, the aristocracy, and the army were the three players in the political history of the empire.

Succession to the throne in the Roman Empire

* Family descent, either natural or adoptive, was the decisive factor in the succession to the throne in the Roman Empire.

The army was also wedded to this concept. For e.g. Tiberius was not the natural but adopted son of Augustus.

The Augustan age

* The Augustan age is remembered as the age of peace.

* It brought peace after decades of internal strife and centuries of military conquest.

* External warfare was also much less common in the first two centuries.

Administration of the vast Roman Empire

* The vast Roman Empire was controlled and administered with the help of urbanization.

* All the territories of the empire were organized into provinces and were subject to taxation.

* Carthage, Alexandria, Antioch that lined the shores of Mediterranean were the foundations of the imperial system.

* It was through these cities that the government was able to collect tax from the provincial countryside which generated much of the wealth.

* This shows that the local upper class was actively involved with the Roman state in administering their own territories and collecting taxes from them.

* Throughout the second and third century the provincial upper classes provided experienced officers that administered the provinces and commanded the army.

Thus, they became the new elite of the Roman Empire. They controlled the army and looked after the provincial administration.

* They became much more powerful than the senatorial class because they had the backing of the Emperors.

* Emperor Gallienus consolidated their rise to power by excluding senators from military command. He did this in order to prevent control of the empire from falling in to their hands.

Meaning of Roman city

* An Urban center with its own magistrates, city council and a ‘territory’ containing villages under its jurisdiction.

* The villages could be upgraded to the status of city and vice-versa generally as a mark of favour from the emperor.

Advantages of living in the city of Roman Empire

* The advantage of living in the city was that it might be better provided for during food shortages and famines in the country side.

* The cities had public baths and the urban population enjoyed a higher level of entertainment

The Third- Century Crisis

* The first and second centuries were a period of peace, prosperity and economic expansion. But the third century was a period of crisis.

* In 225, new dynasty called Sasanians emerged in Iran.

* They were more aggressive and expanding rapidly in the direction of the Euphrates.

* The Germanic tribes (barbarians) began to move against the Rhine and Danube frontiers.

* From 233 to 280 saw repeated invasions.

* The Romans were forced to abandon much of the territory beyond the Danube.

* The quick succession of emperors (25 emperors in 47 years) is a sign of strain faced by the empire in the 3rd century. 

Gender, Literacy, Culture

Structure of Family

* There was widespread prevalence of nuclear family.

* Adult sons did not live with their parents and it was exceptional for adult brothers to share a common household.

* Slaves were however included in the family.

Status of women

* The women enjoyed considerable legal rights in owning and managing property.

* They were married off in the late teens or early thirties.

* Arrange marriage was the general norm

* women were often subject to domination by their husbands

* Wives were even beaten up by their husbands.

* The typical form of marriage was one where the wife did not transfer to her husband’s authority but retained full rights in the property of her natal family.

* Women remained a primary heir to father’s property after marriage.

* They could become independent property owners after their father’s death.

* Divorce was easy for both men as well as women.

Literacy

* The rate of literacy varied greatly between different parts of the empire.

* Literacy was widespread in army officers, estate managers and soldiers

* Casual literacy existed and it varied from place to place.

* There was a wall in pompei which carried advertisements and graffiti, which indicates high level of casual literacy.

Cultural diversity

* The cultural diversity was reflected in many ways and at many levels.

* There was a vast diversity of religious cults and local deities, the plurality of languages that were spoken, the styles of dresses that were worn.

* The food the people ate their forms of social organisation and their types of settlement, all reflected cultural diversity.

* Different languages were spoken in different areas. Most of the linguistic cultures were purely oral, at least until a script was invented for them.

* As late as fifth century, Armenian began to be used as written form of language.

* In other areas the spread of Latin displaced the other widespread written form of languages.

Economic activities of the Ancient Roman Empire

* The Roman Empire had substantial economic infrastructure of harbours, mines, quarries, brickyards, olive oil factories etc.

* Goods for trade consisted mainly wheat, wine and olive oil and they came from Spain, the Gallic provinces, north Africa, Egypt and Italy.

* These areas had conditions best suited for these crops.

* Spanish olive oil was a vast commercial enterprise that reached its peak in the years 140-160.

* The Roman Empire included regions that had a reputation for exceptional fertility. E.g. Compania

* Italy, Sicily, Fayum in Egypt, Galilee, Byzacium (Tunisia), southern Gaul, Baetica (southern Spain) .

* These area had best conditioned crops.

* The large expenses of Roman territory were in a much less advanced state.

* Transhumance was widespread in the country side of Numidia(Modern Algeria)

* As Roman estates expanded in North Africa, the pastures of those communities were drastically reduced and their movements more tightly regulated.

* Even in Spain the north was economically much less developed.

* In these areas peasantry who were Celtic-speaking lived in hilltop villages known as castella.

* In the Roman Empire water power was very efficiently used around Mediterranean and there were advances in the water powered milling technology, the use of hydraulic mining techniques in Spanish gold and silver mines.

* Well organised commercial and banking networks existed.

* Widespread use of money indicates that the Roman Empire had sophisticated economy.

Controlling of Workers in the Roman Empire

* Slavery was an institution deeply rooted in Ancient Roman world.

* Though slavery was institutionalized and was greatly used as labour but it was not always slaves that performed labour in the Roman economy.

* As peace was established in the first century, the supply of slaves declined and users of slave labour had to turn to slave breeding or cheaper substitutes such as wage labour which were easily dispensable.

* Most of the time free labour was used, as slaves had to be provided with food and maintained throughout the year which proved expensive.

* This is the reason that the slaves were not employed in the agriculture.

* On the other hand ,slaves and freedmen were extensively used in jobs where labour was not required in large number that is as business managers

* There was a presumption that without supervision no work would ever get done.

* So supervision was most important for both freed slaves and slaves.

For a better supervision the slaves were grouped into gang of ten.

* So that it could be easy to see who is putting in effort and who is not.

* This method was criticised by Pliny the Elder.

* He was of the opinion that the slave gangs were the worst method of organizing production because slaves who worked in gangs were usually chained together by their feet.

* Although all this look harsh yet similar principles of labour control are being enforced in most of the factories in the world today.

* Debt contracts were a type of agreements between the private employees and their workers.

* In these debt contracts it was claimed that the employees were in debt to their employers and as a result were under tighter control.

* A large number of families went in to debt bondage in order to survive.
Social Hierarchies

* Tacitus, a Roman historian has described the social hierarchy of the early empire.

* To him, in the early Roman Empire Senators were at the top.

* Next were the leading members of equestrian classes.

* Respectable section of the people who were attached to the great houses was next in the social order

* Then was the untidy lower classes and slaves came to the bottom

* In the fourth century by the time of Constantine I, the Senators and equities had merged in to an expanded aristocracy and at least half of the families were of Eastern or African origin.

* Like Senators, most ‘knights’ were landowners, but unlike Senators many of them involved in business activities like shipping, trade and banking.

* This late Roman aristocracy was very wealthy but was less powerful than purely military elites who came entirely from non-aristocratic background.

* Next in the social hierarchy was the middle class.

* It consisted of persons working in bureaucracy and army, prosperous merchants and farmers.

* According to Olympiodorus, a historian of the early 5^th century, the aristocracy based in the city of Rome received annual incomes up to 4,000 pounds of gold from their estates.

* They also consumed grain, wine and other produce which, if sold, would have amounted to 1/3 of the income in gold.

* The income of the households at Rome of the second class was one thousand or fifteen hundred pounds of gold.

* Below the middle class were the vast class collectively known as humiliores.

* Literally it means ‘lower’.

* They consisted of rural labourers, workers in industrial and mining establishments; migrant workers who worked for the grain and olive harvests and building industry; self employed artisans, who were in better condition than the wage workers; a large number of casual labourers employed in big cities, and finally the slaves.

Monetary system of the late empire

* The monetary system broke down in the late empire because Spanish silver mines were exhausted and the government ran out of stock of the metal to support a stable coinage in silver.

* This is also led to the introduction of a new denomination in gold, the solidus.

Roman bureaucracy of the late Roman Empire

* The bureaucracy of the late Roman Empire both at higher and middle level was affluent as it drew much of its salary in gold and invested in buying land.

* There was corruption in the administration of judiciary and military supplies.

* The extortion by higher bureaucracy and the provincial governors was common.

* But the government intervened repeatedly to stop these forms of corruption.

* Laws were made to put and end to them.

* Historians and other members of intelligentsia denounced such practices.

* The Roman emperors were not free to do anything as they liked.

* By the 4^th century the tradition of Roman law acted as a brake and was actively used to protect civil rights.

* Because of these laws powerful bishops could deal with powerful emperors when they were extremely harsh on civilian population.

Late Antiquity

* Late antiquity is the term used to describe the final, fascinating period in the evolution and break-up of the Roman Empire and refers from the fourth to seventh centuries.

* The period saw considerable changes in cultural, economic, and administrative levels.

Changes effected by the Emperor Diocletian in administration

* The emperor Diocletian abandoned territories with little strategic and economic importance.

* He fortified frontiers, recognized provincial boundaries and separated civilian from the military functions.

* He granted greater autonomy to the military commanders who became powerful.

* Constantine consolidated some of these changes and added others of his own.

Innovations of Emperor Constantine I

* The most important innovations of Constantine were in the monetary sphere.

* He introduced Solidus, a coin weighing 4 ½ gm of pure gold.

* These coins were minted in millions.

* The other innovation was the creation of a second capital at Constantinople.

Changes in the economic life.

* The late Antiquity period witnessed considerable change in economic life.

* Monetary stability and an expanding population stimulated economic growth.

* Archaeological record shows investments in rural establishments, including industrial installations like oil presses and glass factories, in newer technologies such as screw presses and multiple water-mills.

* The period also saw a revival of the long- distance trade. All this led to strong urban prosperity.

Changes in the religious life

* There were significant changes in the religious life.

* Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as official religion of the Roman empire.(4^th century)

* Seventh century was associated with the rise of Islam The traditional religious culture of the classical world, both Greek and Roman, had been polytheist.

* The other religions in the empire were Judaism and Islam.

Decline of the Roman Empire

* The Roman Empire was divided in to eastern and western halves in the fourth century C.E.

* During the late antiquity period, the general prosperity was especially marked in the East.

* In the Eastern Roman empire, population was still expanding till the 6^th century.

* The East remained united under Emperor Justinian.

* There were wars between Rome and Iran during the 7^th century.

* The East Roman Empire came to be known as Byzantium.

* The expansion of Islam has been called the greatest political revolution in the history of the ancient world.

* Large parts of the Roman and Iranian Empires had fallen into the hands of the Arabs.

* Nomadic tribes in frontier areas such as Goths, Visigoths, Vandals and others attacked the Roman Empire in the west by the 5^th century C.E.

* The Germanic groups established their own kingdoms within the empire.

* With the prompting of the Christian Church, a Holy Roman Empire was formed from some of these kingdoms from the 9^th century CE.

Key words

* Republic: The name for a regime in which the reality of power lay with the Senate.

* Senate : A body dominated by a small group of wealthy families.

* Civil war: Armed struggles for power within the same country.

* Transhumance: Herdsman’s regular annual movement between the higher mountain regions and low lying ground in search of pasture.

* Draconian: Harsh(so-called because of early sixth century BCE Greek law maker, Draco who prescribed death as the penalty for most crimes

* Dressel 20/Amphorae: oil containers especially olive oil.