New Kings and Kingdoms....

Past is Past....  But some times the Past carries the great things that we all should know.... 

In this content let's know about the things happened during seventh century..

Many new dynasties emerged after the seventh century. By the seventh century there were the great warrior chiefs in different regions of the subcontinent. Existing kings acknowledged them as their subordinates. They were expected to bring gifts to their kings and also they provided military support. The subordinates also called as the Samantas. As they gained power and wealth, they declared themselves to be maha-samanta. As days passed they announced their independence and one among them was RASHTRAKUTAS in DECCAN. Initially they were the subordinates to the CHALUKYAS of karnataka.

ADMINISTRATION IN THE KINGDOMS:

Many of these new kings called themselves as maharaja-adhiraja, tribhuvana-chakravartin and so on...

however they often shared their powers with their samantas as well as with associations of peasants,traders, and Brahmanas.

In each of the state the resources was obtained from the peasants, cattle-keepers and so on .. these people were compelled to surrender the part of what they produced. It is also called as a rent. Revenue was also collected from the traders. These resources were used for the welfare of the king's.

kings often rewarded Brahmanas by grants of land. These were recorded on copper plates.

WARFARE OF WEALTH:

We already noted that each region was ruled by each dynasty. At the same time they tried to control other areas also mainly to plundering other's wealth. Mahmud of Ghazni is the best example for this kind of warfare.

HOW DID CHOLA'S RISE TO POWER?

A minor chiefly family known as the Muttaraiyar, held power in the Kaveri delta. They were subordinate to the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. Vijayalaya, who belonged to the ancient chiefly family of the cholas from Uraiyur, captured the delta from the Muttaraiyar in the mid of ninth century. He built the town of Thanjavur and a temple for goddess Nishumbhasudini there.

The successors conquered the neighbouring regions and the size of the kingdom grew. The Pandyan and Pallava territories to the south and north were made part of this kingdom. The most powerful ruler in Chola dynasty is Rajaraja chola became the king in 985 and he expanded his territory.

SPLENDID TEMPLES AND BRONZE SCULPTURE:

Temples played a major role in those periods. Kings were considered that as their pride. similarly cholas bronze images are considered amongst the finest in the world. Most of the images were of deities, sometimes images were made of devotees as well...

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION:

Most of the welfare came from the agriculture and the chola kings maintained agriculture since it is the back bone of the economy. The main advantage is the river kaveri which flows through the area and emptying into the Bay of Bengal. It is the main reason for the creation of delta region and the fertile soil. The availability of water is more than enough for the peasants due to the river kaveri and is useful for the cultivation of rice in that region. In many areas over Tamilnadu two crops were grown over a year.

In many cases it is necessary to water crops artificially. So in many places wells were dug and tanks were constructed to collect rainwater. These kind of methods were used for the irrigation.

HOW WAS THE ADMINISTRATION ORGANIZED?

Group of villages are called as nadu . The nadu follows various administrative functions needed for the common people. Rich peasants of the Vellala caste are allowed to control the local peasants under the chola kingdom. Chola kings offered titles such as muvendavelan, araiyar and so on.. to them. Association of traders were known as nagaram. 

Like this the new kingdoms were emerged in the medieval period ..........