Cities and States

Overview

After the early village settlements, India saw the rise of its second urbanisation around 600 BCE. Towns and cities grew along rivers and trade routes, and large territorial kingdoms called mahajanapadas emerged. This was a time of new ideas, coins, trade and powerful states in the Ganga valley.

Key points

• Around 600 BCE there were sixteen mahajanapadas (great kingdoms).
• Magadha became the most powerful mahajanapada.
• Cities had ramparts, markets, craft workers and a busy trade life.
• Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper came into use.
• New religions, Buddhism and Jainism, arose during this period.

Important terms / dates

• Mahajanapada - a large territorial kingdom or republic.
• Janapada - the land where a tribe (jana) settled.
• Second urbanisation - rise of cities in the Ganga valley.
• 600 BCE - the age of the mahajanapadas.

Important questions

1. What were mahajanapadas?
2. Why did Magadha become powerful?
3. What is meant by the second urbanisation?
4. How did the use of coins help trade?

Quick revision

Around 600 BCE, sixteen mahajanapadas rose in northern India, with Magadha becoming the strongest. Cities, coins, trade and new religions like Buddhism and Jainism marked this important age of new beginnings.