Medieval Japan

Japan consist of hundreds of small islands of which four are major island- Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu & Shikoku. Almost the entire country was unified into a single state by around the 7th century AD.In the 8th century Edo(modern kyoto) became the capital and continued to be the seat of the emperors of Japan for over 1000 years. the real power, however, was in the hands of an aristocratic family.

   Toward the end of the 12th century, a new political institution Shogun came into being. The Shogun or the General became the commander of Japan's army and ruled Japan , while the emperor remained at his capital at Edo. Until 1867, The Shoguns were the real ruler of Japan. Tokugawa Leyasu was the founder of last shogun dynasty. In 1867 the last Shoguns of Tokugawa dynasty was overthrown and the power was restored to the emperor. Now Japan launched itself on the road of industrial development, modernization and expansion.

   Samurai or the warriors were similar to the knights of western Europe. The most unique contribution of medieval Japan to literature was a form of poetry called Haiku. Haiku poems are short poems of only 17 syllables.The important contribution of medieval japan to art was Ikebana or the art of flower arrangement, which is being imitated throughout the world.

      Buddhism reached Japan early in the 6th century from China through korea and during the course of centuries it became widespread. In certain periods it even eclipsed Shintoism, the old religion of Japan.Gradually , tha Japanese developed their own distinct schools of Buddhism, the most famous of which is Zen Buddhism. The word Zen is derived from 'Dhyana'

Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most significant events of 20th century. It established  the ideology of Marxism. It was a great revolution after French revolution which was not limited to Russia but affected several countries of the world. The great revolution in Russia took place in two stages. The first stages of Russian revolution began in march 1917 with the overthrow of the Czar Nicholas II. The second stage in nov. of same year led to the establishment of the world's first communist state by Bolsheviks under Lenin.

                    The basic causes of the revolution were deep seated. The government was Autocratic. The Czar was the source of all authority and his powers were vigorously exercised by corrupt and inefficient bureucracy. The general standard of living of the people was tragically low. There was little social freedom. All Russian were forced to support the orthodox church.The intermediate cause of the event was however  the suffering and confusion caused by Russian disastrous defeats during world war I.Her armies lacked arms and ammunition. Prices soared high and economy was in shambles.Russian revolution began with March Revolution . Disorder broke out in Petrograd, the Russian capital in march 1917.Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate.

                   A provisional government composed of liberal and democratic elements under the successive premiership of Prince Lvov and then Aleksandr Kerensky lost ground to the radical wing of the social Democratic labour party.The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, seized power in Petrograd on nov 7, 1917- November Revolution. The Kerensky Government was overthrown and authority was vested in council of commissioner with Lenin as Premier. The new Government immediately decreed the abolition of private land ownership and set up a dictatorship of the Proletariat- actually of the communist party, as the Bolsheviks came to called.

             The Bolsheviks extended their authority over a large part of European Russia, but elsewhere they faced the resistance of the anti-Bolshevik Parties. the resulting civil war lasted till 1920 and was complicated by foreign intervention. The communists were ultimately in undisputed control of the country.In the period between 1917 and 1920, the communists took drastic action against

internal enemies . Former Landlords, capitalists, Czarist officers, etc. were arrested, exiled or executed, the Czar and his family were killed. In 1923, the Union Soviet Socialist Republics came. Its constitution declared the establishment of a 'republic of workers and peasants'. Ownership of the means of production, including land, factories, mines, banks, and railroads was vested in the state. The state is officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also commonly referred to as the Soviet Russia, or just Russia.

First World War

First world war was happened from july 28, 1914 to november 11, 1918.

Causes:- The causes of first world war are as under:-

• Militarism:- This means the dangerous and burdensome mechanism of great standing armies and large navies along with an espionage system.
• Narrow Nationalism or competitive patriotism:- The love of one's country demanded the hatred of the other. Love of Germany demanded the hatred of France and vice versa.
• Economic Imperialism:- It led to international rivalries. Every country tried to capture markets in every nook and corner of the world. This led to bitterness and heart burning.
• Anglo-German rivalry & the character of William II:- Anglo- German rivalry proved to be the main cause of world war I. Germany had become a great industral country and wanted to have more markets for trade.Germany was jealous of the colonial and naval Greatness of England. William II, emperor of Germany was very ambitious and wanted to gain influence in Turkey by linking berlin with baghdad by a railway line. This gave rises to a great rivalry between England and Germany.

                             William II was arrogant, haughty and ambitious. He wanted germany to be the strongest power in the world. He believed in the policy of "world power or downfall".

• Lack of international organisation:- There was an international organisation to control international relation .

          Immediate cause:- The immediate cause of the war was the murder of Archduke Ferdinand who was the heir to the Austrian throne. He and his wife sophie were killed at Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia, an annexed territory of Austria, by a Serbian.The Austrians held government of Serbia responsible for the murder and ultimately attacked Serbia. There was strong Rivalry alredy between austria- Hungary and Serbia in the balkans.

   Course of war :- To begin with, Austria was in favour of local war but as time passed, the situation became more grave. Other countries jumped into the fray. Germany, austria- Hungary turkey and Bulgaria were on one side; they were called central powers.

On the other side were England, France, Serbia, Belgium, Japan and Russia; they were called the Allied powers.The allied power joint by Italy in 1915 and USA in 1917. The war started on july 28 1914 and ended on november 11 1918.

Peace Settlement (1919-1920):- The central powers were completely defeated by the allied powers and an armistice was signed on nov 11, 1918, followed by ap peace conference at Peris. The defeated countries were not represented at the peace conference. though the number of countries represented at the peace conference was 27, the terms of peace treaties were really decided by three countries- USA, Britain and France. The three persons who played the determining role in framing the terms of treaties were woodrow Wilson(president of USA), Lloyed, George (prime minister of Britain) and George Clemenceu(prime minister of France). After prolonged discussion , the treaty of Versailles was signed between the allies and allies and germany on june 28 1919. This Treaty rearranged the boundaries of Europe, and many new states - Polland , Czechoslovakiya,Yugoslavia,Estonia,Lithuania, etc were formed. William II, the German emperor , abdicated and took asylum in the Netherland 

                 The peace settlement of 1919 to 1920 has been severely criticised. The terms of the treaty of Versailles were harsh and humiliating for Germany.The peace settlement was based on the principal :-' To the victors belong the spoils and allies are the victors'. Meanwhile the many suggestions were made from time to time for the creation of an international organisation which could check wars in the future. at the instance of Woodrow Wilson, the president of America, the League of Nations officially came into existence of jan 10 1920. It's headquarter was fixed at geneva in Switzerland.      

Ancient India

The oldest name - Indus civilization. According to archelogical tradition, the most appropriate name- Harrapan Civilization (Harrapa- the first discovered site).According to geographical point of view, the most suitable name - Inuds-Saraswati Civilization. The most accepted period - 2500 BC - 1750 BC. John Marshall was the first scholar to use the term 'Indus civilization'. The Indus civilization belongs to Proto- Historic period.Scholar generally believed that Harrapan- Ghaggar- Mohenjodrao axis represent the heartland of the Indus civilization.

                    The northern most site of Indus civilization- Ropar (sutlej)/Punjab (earlier); Manda (chenab)/ Jammu kashmir(now).
                    The southern most site of Indus civilization- Bhagatrav(Kim)/ Gujarat(earlier); Daimabad(pravara)/ Maharashtra(Now).
                    The Eastern most site of Indus civilization- Alamgirpur (Hindon)/Uttar pradesh. The Western most site of Indus civilization- Sutkagendor(Dashk)/Makran Coast, Pakistan- Iran border.

Site                          Archaeological Finds

Harrapa  -    6 Granaries in a row, working floors,workmen's quarters, virgin -Goddess (seal), cementery, stone symbols of lingum (male se organ) and yoni (female sex organ) painted            pottery , clay figures of Mother Goddess, wheat                                 and barley in wooden mortar, copper scale.

Mohenjodaro -   Great granary, great bath( the largest building of  civilization), assembly hall, shell strips, pashupati Mahadeva, bronze image of nude woman dancer,Human skeleton huddled together, Brick kilns.

Chanhudaro  -  Lipstick, metal workers, Terracotta model of  bullock cart, bronze toy cart.

Mohenjodaro is the largest site of Indus civilization, Rakhigarhi is the largest Indian site of Indus civilization.

Surkotada(kutchh districy, Gujarat) is the only Indus site where the remains of horse have actually been found.

Main corps:- wheat and Barely; evidence of cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur(Gujarat) only. other corps are Dates, mustard, seasamum, cotton etc. Indus people were the first to produce the cotton in the world.

Animal:- sheep, goat, humped and humpless bull, buffalo, boar, dog. cat , pig, deer, tortoise, elephant, camel, tiger etc.

• A very interesting feature of this civilization was that Iron was not known to people.
• The sumerian text refers to trade relation with 'Meluha' which was the name given to the Indus civilization.
• Shatughai and Mundigaq were the Indus sites found in Afghanistan.
• The Harrapan were the earliest people to produce the cotton.
• As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the normal method of exchanges of goods.
• The Harrapn people didn't worship their God in temple. No temple in fact has been unearthed. An idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found.
• The most commonly found figurine is that of Mother Goddess(Matridevi or shakti).
• Shiva Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been part of the religious belief of Harrapan people.     

Arab civilization

Arab civilization in the 7th century, a new religion, Islam, arise in Arabia which led to the establishment of a began empire. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam,was born in Mecca in 571 AD.When he was 40,he had 'vision of truth' and became a prophet. Muhammad's vision completely convinced him that Allah was the only God.He forbade the worship of idols and made many enemies.Ultimately he had to leave Mecca and take refuse in Medina.This event took place in 622 AD and he is known as the year of Hijira and from it Muslim date their era.

           The Quran, the holy book of Islam is divided into a number of suras , or chapters, and contains the teaching of Muhammad. Beside the Quran , the life of Muslim is guided by the sunna, the   practices of Muhammad and the Hadees, the saying of Muhammad.
Muhammad was not only a religious leader but also a political leader. After his death(632 AD), his successors were  known as  Caliphs, or Khalifas who held both religious and political authority.

         Nearly all Arabia had accepted the new religion and became a unified state before the death of prophet Muhammad in 632 AD.From Arabia, Islam spread very fast to many other parts of the world. With in a 100 years, the khalifas and their general, had conquered Iran, Syria, Egypt, central asia, North Africa and Spain. The Arab Empire was the largest that  world had so far seen.The first three Khalifa ruled from the city of Medina. Then the capital was shifted Kufah.

      By 660 AD, when the Omayyad dynasty took over the reins of government the principal city was Damascus.About 750, the Omayyad were overthrown by Abbasids, who made Baghdad their capital. Harun Rashid, famous in many legends, was an Abbasid ruler.The Abbasid ruler for about 300 years, till the Seljug Turks took Baghdad and the Arab rule. During the next four centuries, the Turks dominated the Islamic world. In the 15th century , most of these territorries came under the domination of the Ottoman Turks. It was the ottoman Turks who took Constantinople and ended the eastern Roman empire in 1453.

Contribution of Arab civilization

• The establishment of vast empire facilitated the coming together of intellectual and scientific tradition of various civilization, particularly Greek, Iranian. The Arab made their knowledge their own and developed in further.
• Al Razi, an Arab scientist discovered the true nature of small pox, and Ibn Sina discovered that tuberculosis is infectious.
• In mathematics, the Arab learned the Indian numerals and spread their use far and wide, so that in the West they are to this day called Arabic numerals.
• The Arabs developed their own decorative designs. Their buildings had bulblike domes, small minerals, horse shoe arches and twisted columns.
• The Arabs also developed a decorative style of writing called Calligraphy and made book illumination an art. 

ROMAN CIVILIZATION

• The center of Roman civilization was italy, the peninsula that projects into the mediterranean sea in the west of Greece.The river Tiber on which the city of Rome is located runs through the central part of the peninsula.
• The city of Rome was founded about 1000 BC by Romulus, in the district of Latium.
• The early Romans had a king, an assembly and a senate.
• Toward the end of the 6th century BC the king was overthrown and a republic was established .Under the republic the Roman conquered other parts of the peninsula, and by 265 BC controlled all of italy. The political system of the Roman republic consisted of two consults, the senate and the assembly.
• The Roman was involved in a series of wars with carthage, a city on the north coast of Africa.The danger of Carthagnian occupation of Sicily led the Roman to attack Carthage.The wars that followed, known as the Punic Wars, lasted from 264 BC to 146 BC.The carthagnian were defeated in the war.
• By the beginning of Ist century BC the Roman had conquered Greece and Asia Minor and established a protectorate over Egypt.
• Rivalry for power grew between generals,Pompey &Julius Caesar war between them followed and Pompey was murdered by his enemies in the Egypt.Caesar remained in Egypt for some time,attracted by the captivating beauty of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.On his return to Rome ,in 46 BC,he made himself dictator.However, on the charge that Caeser intended to become a king, he was assassinated in 44 BC,in a senate meeting.
• After the Assassination of caesar ,power passed into the hands of Mark Antony and Lapidus, Caeser 's friends and Octavian,Caeser's grand nephew. The leader of the cospiracy, Brutus and Cassius, fled and organised a large army, but they were captured and slain.
• In 37 BC, Octavian became the most powerful man in the Roman empire.He ruled for 44 years under the titles of Augustus Imperator, meaning 'holy victorious-general'.He also called himself Princeps,'first citizen of the states'.
• The period of Roman history beginning with his rule up to 284 AD is called 'the principate'.His rule and the period following it were peaceful and are known in history as Pax Romana,which means 'Roman Peace'.
• In 284 AD, Diocletian became ruler, From this time on , Roman civilization declined more rapidly.One of Dioclectian's successor,Consrantine, built a new capital called Constantinopole, on the site of ancient Byzantium,in 330 AD. Not long after, the Roman empire was divided into two empires-western & Eastern. The Western part soon broke into many pieces. But Eastern part, called as Byzantine empire,continued for a thousand years more.
• The final blow to the Roman empire at the hands of northern invaders they were German tribes.By 476 Ad, the once powerful Roman empire was no more.
• The Roman worshipped as many Gods & Goddesses as the Greeks.Jupiter sent rain for the corps; Mars helped them in war;Mercury carried their messages;Neptune, the god of sea; Vesta guarded the home;Juno protected their women.

Contribution of Greek civilization

In my last blog i was talking about greek civilization.Now i am talking about the contributon of Greek civilization on entire world

• The glory of Greece that the world has never forgotten was largely the glory of Athens at the time of Pericles
• The Olympic games were first held in 776 BC by the Greeks in honour of God Zeus at Mouut Olympus in Greece,hence the name and they continued till 394 AD.From 394 Ad these games started degenerating and by 580 Ad they altogether vanished.They were banned by the Roman Emperor theodosius as Pegan manifestation.
• It was the French Baron,Pierre de Coubertin,who revived these games in 1894 and the modern series of Olympic games started in 1896 at Athens and since then they are being held every fourth year.
• Homer's 'illad' and 'Odysesey' are among the best epics of the world.The Illad is the story of seize and destruction of the city of Troy,as the western coast of Asia Minor.The Odyssey describe the adventures and home coming from Troy ,of a Greek hero,Odyssey.
• The founder of Greek tragedy was Aeschylus author of 'promethus Bound'.Sophocles is considered the greatest of Greek tragedians.His famous plays are 'Oedipus Rex','Antigone' and 'electra'.
• Greek produced the some of the world's earliest great historian e.g Herodotus(known as the father of history)
• The most famous philosophers of Greece were Socrates,Plato and Aristotle.Aristotle was both philosopher and scientist.He made important contribution to philosophy,medicine,biology and astronomy.
• The Greek made many contributions to mathematics,especially to geometry as is seen in work of Euclid and Pythagoras.
• In medicine,Hippocrates laid the foundation of modern medicine.He is known as the 'father of medicine'.
• The most important astronomers were: Aristarchus, Ptolemy, Hipparchus,Eratosthenes etc.Ptolemy's belief that the earth was the center of the universe was accepted as truth until the 16th century.Eratosthenes prepared a fairly accurate map of the globe and was the first to suggest that one could reach India from Europe by sailing west.
• The temple of Athens,the parthenon, is the best example of Greek architecture.Myron and Phidias are two best known sculptors of ancient Greece.It was Phidias whom Pericles appointed to supervise the construction of Acropolis in athens

Greek civilization

The early Greeks lived in tribes,each composed of a numbers of families under a leader.A group of tribes had a king.The main occupation are agriculture and herding.The early Greeks had many Gods whom they imagined to be like human beings,though more powerful and immortal.Zeus was the God of the sky and hence caused thunder.Poseidon,God of the sea,raised stroms that sank ships.Appollo,the sun God,could reveal the future.Athena,was the Goddess of victory and patroness of the Arts.Dinosys was the God of wine and there were many others.The Greeks thought their gods lived on mount Olympus.

Around 800 BC,groups of Greek villages began joining into larger units to form city-states.At the highest point in  a city-state,an acropolis or citadel was built for defence and city spread out around the acropolis.Such cities were Sparta, Athens, Macedonia, Corinith. Athens and Sparta were two important city-states.The spartans main concern was with militarism and war so much so that the word 'spartan' is often used to mean militaristic.Spartans were fine soldiers,but they contributed little else to Greek culture.

The city state of Athens developed along lines quite different from Sparta.The territories it ruled had been occupied gradually and peacefully and militarim had not developed.Athens had excellent harbours and mineral deposits.Athenians built a posperous trade and culture.Pericles was the most important ruler of Athens.

The Battle of Marathon:-The Greek defeated the Iranian king DariousI at Marathon near Athens.Philip of Macedonia conquered most of states in the year following Athens defeat.Then his son Alexander, set out at the age of 20 to conquer the world.During the 13 years, he compelled all Greece to accept his leadership and conquered the Achaemenid empire.This brought him to border of India where he defeated king Porus on the Jhelum in 326 BC.He sailed down the Indus and then returned to Mesopotamia where he died of fever in 323BC at the age of 32.Alexender's conquests brought many important changes to the world.Trade between Europe and Asia was developed.Many new cities were founded.
In the 2nd Century BC,the Roman empire started expanding eastward.As a result of Roman attack,almost the entire territory of the Greeks and their empire became a part of the Roman Empire.

Chinese civilization

Today I am talking about Chinese civilization

The earliest Chinese civilization is the Shang civilization.The Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Chou dynasty.The Chinese script is pictographic script.It is remarkable that the Chinese script has changed very little since the earliest times.The Chinese calender-Solar-Lunar calender,was a combination of solar and lunar calender.The Chinese were the first to calculate the length of the year as 365.In the 3rd century BC, the Chin dynasty became important.To keep out invades from the north,he began construction of a wall known  as the Great Wall.The Han dynasty followed the Chin dynasty in 202 BC and the Han emperors ruled China for almost 400 years.The Chinese was the first civilization in history to have a system of selecting public officials on the basis of education and competitive examination.Under the Hans,silk was a principal item of export.Two main roads were built across the Great Wall to carry on trade with the west.The two major religions of ancient China are Taoism and Confucianism.Confucius was a contemporary of Mahavira and Buddha.Buddhism was brought into China by Indian during the Hal rule.The Great wall is a mightily monument to the building skill of ancient China.This wall,built of stone and earth to a height of 6 meter and extending over 2400 km.The Chinese script was standardized by the China ruler.The Chinese script spread to other countries also.It influenced the Japanese,korean and vietnames script.In the ist century AD,paper was invented in China.The invention of paper and its importance in spreading knowledge within the outside China makes it one of great contribution of China to the world.Some of the first historical works in the world were written in China.Each dynasty compiled its own history.The pattern of these histories was set by Ssuma Chien,and is commonly remembered as the 'Herodotus of China'.The water clock,abacus,umbrella were invented by Chinese.In the 2nd century AD,Chinese invented a seismograph.

Egyptian civilization

Egypt is called the 'Gift of the Nile'.The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the "gift of the Nile", since the kingdom owed its survival to the annual flooding of the Nile and the resulting depositing of fertile silt. The Nile River flows into the Mediterranean Sea, and there is a delta at the mouth.Historians divide the history of Egypt into three periods:the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom.The Egyptian was called the pharaoh.The Egyptian were the worshipper of the nature and sun wad their most important God.The Egyptian believed that after death both the body and the soul live while other people believe that only the soul lives and body perishes.So Egyptians took great care in preserving the body of the dead.The body was embalmed in spices and then wrapped in strips of fine linen.Such a preserved body is called a mummy.The mummy was put in a wooden box and buried.The pyramids and the Sphinx are the two specimens of Egyptian architectural excellence.The Pyramids were the tombs of kings and they contained the mummies of these monarchs.The most imposing of all is the Great Pyramids at Gizen in cairo,built by the king Cheops of the old kingdom.The Great Pyramids is one of seven wonders of the ancient world.The Sphinx is a mythological animal with the body of lion and the head of man.Each Sphinx was carved out a single solid stone.The Egyptian script, known as hieroglyhic was deciphered by chapolilian.The Egyptian developed a decimal system of numeration.The crowning achievement of the Egyptians was the solar calender.

Mesopotamia the Oldest civilization

Mesopotamia civilization was the oldest civilization of the world.

Mesopotamia means 'land between the rivers'.Mesopotamia is the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.Mesopotamia comprises four regions: Sumer(Southernmost region),Babylonia and akkad(middlr region) and Assyria(Northernmost region). Hammurabi(C.2100BC), the greatest Babylonian ruler,united the whole of what is now called Iraq into single kingdom.Hammurabi gave his people a code of laws. His code covered every aspect of life.His code was based on the law of 'eye foe eye' and 'tooth for

 tooth' i.e the law of 'tit for tat'.Hittites,who came from Asia Minor(now turkey) and destroyed the Babylonian kingdom,were the first to make regular use of horses for war chariots and to make iron implements.The Potter's wheel was perhaps first used in Mesopotamia.The Mesopotamia also seem to have been the first to make glassware.The Sumerians were the first to evolve a proper system of writing.This System is called cuneiform.The cunieform script was deciphered by Henry Rawlinson.The Mesopotamian system of counting in known as sexagesimal because the Mesopotamian people counted by sixties as we count by tens.Their sexagesimal system is no longer in  use but we still use it as the basis of division of time into minutes and seconds of circle into 360 degrees.In geometry, the Mesopotamians had discovered what was later called the Pythagoras theorem.In astronomy, the Mesopotamians made astonishing progress.They could calculate the length of the day and the night.They divided the whole day into 24 hours.They divided the sky into 12 parts,each assigned a name.This has come down to us as the 12 signs of zodiac or rashis as we call them in India.Another remarkable achievement of the Mesopotamians was the invention of lunar calender,based on the  moon.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was born on october 2,1869 in Porbandar,Gujarat.
His father name is Karamachand Gandhi,Mother name is Putali Bai.His real name is Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi.In may 1883, the 13th years old Mohandas gandhi was married to 14 yrs old Kasturaba.In late 1885 his father was died.In London he studied law for becoming a barrister.In june 1891 he left londn for India when he came to know that his mother had died while he was in London and his family had kept the news from him.Gandhi was 24 yrs old when he arrived in south Africa in 1893.He spent 21 yrs in south Africa where he developed his political views,ethics and political leadership skill.In south Africa Gandhi faced the discrimination directed at all people of colour.He was thrown off a train after refusing to move from first class.Indians were not allowed to walk on Public footpath on South Africa.Mr Gandhi was kicked by the police officer out of the footpath onto the street without warning.These were the turning point in his life and shaped his social activism and awakened him to social injustice.After witnessing the racism,he began to question his place in society in British Empire

Struggle for Independence

Khilafat movement:-  The sultan of Turkey,was looked upon by the muslim as their religious head.During the first world war,when the safety and welfare of Turkey were threatened by the British thereby weakening the sultan's position.Indian muslim adopted an aggressive anti-British movement in 1920 the Khilafat movement for the restoration of Khilafat.It was supported by Gandhiji which paved the way for Hindu Muslim unity.

Dandi March/Salt Satyagraha:- To achieve the goal of 'complete Independence' Gandhi launched another civil disobedience movement.Alongwith 78 followeres,Gandhi started his famous march from Sabarmati Ashram on march 12,1930 for small village Dandi to break the salt law.Gandhi covered a distance of 240 miles in 24 days. On reaching the seashore on April 6,he broke the salt salt Law by picking up salt from seashore.By picking a handful of salt,Gandhi inaugurated the civil disobedience movement,a movement that was to remain unsurpassed in the history of Indian National movement for the countrywide mass participation.The movement became so powerful that is sparked off patriotism even among the Indian soldiers in the army.The Garhwal soldiers refused to fire on the people at peshawar.Gandhi was arrested on may 5,1930.This was followed by another round of boycott of foreign goods and it took the shape of nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement in which ladies also participated.Soon thereafter followed repressive measures such as mass arrests,lathi charges,police-firing etc.About 100000 people went in jail.

In 1948 Gandhiji was shot dead by Nathu ram Godse while on his way to the evening prayer meeting at Birla House,new Delhi.He died, with 'hey Ram' on his lips.

The revolt of 1857

The revolt of 1857 is an important landmark in the history of India.

Causes of the revolt:-

The revolt of 1857 was a combination of political,economic,socio-religious and military causes.

Political:- Nana Sahib was refused pension,as he was adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II.Avadh was annexed in 1856,on charges of administration Satara,Jhansi,Nagpur and Sambhalpur were annexed owing to doctorine of lapse.

Economic:- Heavy Taxation,forcibly eviction,discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products and destruction of traditional handcrafts that hit peasant and artisans.

Socio-religious:- British social reforms(abolition of sati,1829;legalisation of widow remarriage,1856) hurted the sentiments of orthodox and conservative people.

Military:- Discrimination with Indian soldiers.

The beginning of the revolt:-

On march 29,1857 an Indian sepoy of 34 Native Infantry,Mangal pandey,killed two British officers.The Indian soldiers present,refused to obey orders to arrest Mangal Pandey.However, he was later on arrested ,put to and hanged.The mutiny really started at merrut on 10t may 1857.The soldiers alongwith some civillians,went on a rampage shouting 'maro firangi ko'.They broke open jails,murdered Europeans,burnt their houses and marched to delhi after sunset.The apperance of the marching soldiers next morning (11th may) in Delhi was a signal to the local soldiers,who in turn revolted,seized the city and proclaomed the 82 yrs old Bahadur Shah Zafar as Shaheshah-i-Hindustan.With in a month of capturing Delhi,the revolt spread to the different parts of India.In these revolt Rani laxmi bai was died in the battle field.She was the best and bravest military leader of the rebel.She was known as the 'jhansi ki rani'.

Causes of Failure of revolt 1857:-

The revolt of 1857 was an unsuccessful but heroic effort to eliminate foreign rule.The main causes were:-

• Disunity of Indians and poor organisation
• Lack of complete nationalism
• Lack of coordination between sepoys,peasant,Zamindars etc.
• Many had different motives for participating in the revolt.

Impact of revolt 1857:-

• In august 1858,the British parliament passed an act,which put an end to the rule of the company.The control of the British government in India was transferred to The British crown.
• After the revolt the British pursued the policy of 'divide and rule'
• Marked the end of British imperialism.

British came to India

Before the English East India company established trade in India,john Mildenhall,a merchant adventure,was the first english man who arrived in India in 1599 by the over land route,for the purpose of trade with Indian merchants.The governer and company of merchants of London Trading into the east Indies, popularly known as the English East India company was formed in 1600. Captain William Hawkins arrived at Jahangir's court to seek permission to open a factory at Surat.A Farman was issued by Jahangir permitting the English to build a factory at Surat.Sir Thomas Roe came to India as ambassador of James I to Jahangir's court in 1615 to obtain the permission to trade and erect factories in different parts of empire.The english east India company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease.Gerald was its first governer from 1669 to 1677.In 1690.Job Charnock established a factory at Sultanati and the zamindari of three villages of Sutanati,Kalikata and Gobindpur was acquired by the british.These villages later grew into the city of Calcutta. In 1694,the British parliament passed a resolution giving equal rights to all Englishmen to trade in the East.A new rival company,known as 'the English company of merchants trading to East Indies' was formed. The final amalgamation of the company came in 1708 under the title of 'The united company of Merchants of England trading to East Indies'. This new company continued its existence till 1858

Portuguese come to India

The Cape route was discovered from Europe to India by Vasco da Gama.He reached the port of Calicut on may 17,1498 and was received by the Hindu ruler of Calicut(city of kerala).This led to the establishment of trading station at Calicut,Cochin and Cannanore.Cochin was the early capital of portugues in India.Later Goa replaced it.Francisco de Almeida was the first governer of Portuguese.Almeida introduced 'the policy of Blue water'.Blue water means that he wanted to make the portuguese the master of Indian ocean.Alfonso d' Albuquerque was the second governer of portuguese.He introduced 'the policy of Imperialism'.He captured Goa from the ruler of Bijapur in 1510.Policy of Imperaliasim means that the policy of extending the rule or authority of nation or empire over foreign countries. Ninho da Cunha transferred his capital from Cochin to Goa.The Portuguese witnessed a decline by the end of 16th century.They lost Hugni in 1631 after being driven out by Qasim khan,a Mughal noble of Shahjahan.In 1661 the king of Portugal gave Bombay to Charles II of England as dowry when he married the former's sister.At the end they were only left with Goa,Diu and Daman which they retained till 1961.The Diu and Daman, a union territory in west India,consist of two separate areas divided by arabian sea. The daman ganga river flows through the coastal town of Daman.Diu is a small island. The fort of Moti Daman and diu fort and 16th century church reflect territorry's past as portuguese colony.

MARATHA KING SHIVAJI

• Maratha king Shivaji was born at Shivneri fort in 1627.
• His father-Shahji Bhonsle,mother-Jija Bai
• Shivaji inherited the jagir of Poona from his father in 1637.
• He conquired many fort i.e Singh Garh/Kondana(1643),Rohind and Chakan(164445),Toran(1646),Purandhar(1648) ,Rajgarh(1656 ) and Panhala(1659).
• Afzal Khan was deputed by Adil Shah(ruler of Bijapur) to punish Shivaji but the later Afzal khan was killed by Shivaji in 1659.
• Shaista Khan,was deputed by Aurangzeb to put down the rising power of Shivaji in 1660.Shivaji lost poona and suffered several defeat till he made a bold Attack on Shaista khan and plundered Surat and later Ahmadnagar.
• Shivaji continued his struggle with mughals. He conquested Karnataka in 1677.
• He divided his territory under his rule into three provinces. provinces were divided into prants which were subdivided into parganas.The lowest unit was village headed by Patel.

Aurangzeb

Auranzeb was the son of Shahjahan.He put his father into prison.He ruled for 50 years till his death in feb,1707 in Ahmadnagar.During the first 23 years of the rule he concentrated on North India.During this period the Marathas under Shivaji rose to power.Auranzeb captured Guru Teg Bahadur,the 9th guru of Sikh in 1675. The 10th and last Sikh Guru ,Guru Gobind Singh,son of guru teg bahadur,organise his followers into community of warrior called Khalsa to fight the muslim tyranny and avenge the killing of his father.Guru Gobind Singh was,however assassinated in 1708 by an afghan at Nander . Banda Bairagi,a trusted disciple of Guru Gobind Singh continued the war against Mughals.Auranzeb left the North in 1682 and for the next 25 years trying to crush the Marathas.Shivaji was the most powerful Maratha king and an enemy of Auangzeb.When Aurangzeb could not elliminate him,he conspired in 1665 with Jai singh of Amber,a rajput to eliminate Shivaji.On a assurance given by Jai singh,Shivaji visited Auranzeb'court.Shivaji was imprisoned by Aurangzeb but he managed to escape .The Mughal conquest reached a climax during Aurangzeb's reign.Aurangzeb died in 1707.Aurangzeb ban on Hindu festival.He destroyed many Hindu temples

Shahjahan

Shahjahan is the son of Jahangir.He ascended the throne in 1628 after his father's death.He was best known for his deccan and foreign policies.He was the fifth Mughal ruler in India.He was the most creative builder in history of India.Shahjahan is best known for his magnificent architectural structure.He built the TajMahal for his beloved wife Mumtaj.He also built the Jama masjid which is the largest mosque of India.He also built the Red fort in Delhi.Until the year 1657 he remained as a ruler afterwords he became ill.A civil war for succession soon got going between his sons.Among his sons Aurangzeb emerged Triumphant.He was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb and was put in the fort of Agra.From Agra fort he was allowed to see TajMahal that was situated across the yamuna.This was the resting place of his beloved wife Mumtaj.His death took place in captivity in year 1666. 

Jahangir,son of Akbar

Salim(Jahangir),son of Akbar came to the throne after Akbar'death in 1605.he is known for his strict administratorsof justice.He established Zanjir-i-Adal(i.e chain of justice) at agra fort for the seeker of Royal justice.In 1611,Jahangir married Mihar-un-nisa,widow of Sher afghan,a Persian nobleman of Bengal.Lateron She was given the title Nurjahan.Nurjahan exercised tremendous influences over the state affairs.She was made the official Padshah Begum.Jahangir issued the coin jointly in Nurjahan's name and his own.Jahangir also married Manmati of Marwar and a Kachwaha Princess.In 1608, Captain William Hawkins,a representative of East India Company came to Jahangir's court.His reign was marked by several revolts.His son Khusrau,who recieved patronage of 5th sikh guru Arjun Dev,revolted against Jahangir.Arjun Dev,was later sentenced to death for his blessing to the rebel prince. During his last period,Khurram(Shanjahan),son of Jahangir and Mahavat khan,military general of Jahangir also revolted.He was buried in Lahore.

Akbar

Akbar,the eldest son of Humayun ascended the throne under the title of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Badshah Ghazi at the young age of 14 at Kalanpur,punjab and his tutor Bairom khan was appointed as the regent.Second Battle of Panipat was fought between Hemu and Bairam khan.Hemu was defeated,captured by Bairam khan.This war ended the Mughal -Afghan contest for the throne of delhi in favour of the Mughals and enabled Akbar to reoccupy Delhi and Agra.To expand his empire he conquered various provincial states.The Rajputa Kingdom of Mewar put up a fierce defence under Rana Uday Singh and his son MahaRana Pratap. The battle of Haldighati was fought between  Maharana Pratap of Mewar and Mughal army led by Man singh of Amer. Maharana Pratap was defeated but he did not submit and continued to struggle.Akbar built Fatehpur sikri,Agra fort,Lahore fort and Allahabad fort and Humayun tomb in Delhi.
Navaratna i.e nine jewels of Akbar:-

1. Birbal(administrator)
2. Abul Fazl(scholar and statesman)
3. Faizi(scholar and statesman)
4. Todarmal(finance minister)
5. Bhagwandas(mansabdar)
6. Man singh(mansabdar)
7. Tansen(musician)
8. Abdur Rahim Khanekhana(statesman and hindi poet)
9. Mulla do pyaja

Begining of Mughal empire

 The foundation of the Mughal rule in India was laid by Babur in 1526.Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat on april 21,1526 and established Mughal dynasty which lasted till the establishment of British rule in India.In 1527 he defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar at khanwa.In 1528,he defeated Medini rai of chaneri at Chanderi.In 1529 he defeated Muhammad Lodhi at Ghangra.In 1530 he died at agra.His tomb is at Kabul.His son Humayaun ascended the throne in 1530.His succession was challenged by his brother Kamran,Hindal and Askari alongwith the afghans.He fought two battles against Shershah at Chausa and at Kannauj and was completely defeated by him.He escaped to Iran where he passed 12 years of his life in exile.After Shershah's death Humayun invaded India in 1555 and defeated his brothers.He once again became the ruler of India.He died while climbing down the stairs of his library in 1556.

Gautam Buddha

Gautama Buddha was born in 563 BC on the vaishakha purnima day at Lumbinivana(a district of nepal) in the Sakya Kshatriya clan.His father sudhodhana was the republican king of Kapilvastu and mother Mahamaya was a princess of Kollia republic.His father married him at an early age to Yasodhara .from whom he had a son named Rahul.Four sights-an old man,a disease person,a dead body and an ascetic proved to be a turning point in his life.At the age of 29 he renounced his home and became a wandering ascetic.His first teacher was a Alara Kalama from whom he learnt the technique of meditation.At the age of 35,under pipal tree at uruvella(Bodh gaya) on the bank of river Niranjana he attained Nirvana(enlightenment) after 49 days of continuous meditation,now he was a fully enlightened.Buddha delivered his first sermon at sarnath to his five deciples,this is known as the Dharmachakra Pravartna(turning of the wheel of law).He died at the age of 80 in 463 BC at kushinagar.
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Effect of Alexander invasion

• By opening up both the land and sea routine between India and  Europe, it brought both of them closer to each other.
• Indirectly this invasion made possible the establishment of Indo-Bacterian and Indo-parthian states,which at a later stages considerably influenced Indian architecture,astronomy,coinage etc.
• The invasion opened eyes of Indian politicians to the necessity of creating a unified empire.
• The date of the Invasion of Alexander is the 'first reliable date in early India history, and considerably helps us in solving chronological difficulties.

Alexander invasion

• In the 4th century BC,the Greeks and the Iranianfought for the supremacy of the world.Under the leadership of Alexander of Macedonia the Greek finally destroyed the Iranian empire.
• Alexander succeeded his father Philip to the throne of Macedonia.He was then only 20 years of age.
• From his very childhood he used to dream of world-conquest. He quickly conquered many areas.
• As a preliminary step to conquer India,the kabul valley and the hilly area of North-west frontier were conquered,and he reached Ohind near Attock in 326 BC.
• The rules of Taxila and Abhisara submitted but Porus refused to do so.
• Alexander then crossed the jhelum by trick.Porus was defeated in the battle that followed.but Alexander treated him very generously for his bravery.
• This was how the Indians were defeated because of their disunity.
• After making administrative arrangement for the conquered territory,Alexander marched back in sept 325 BC.
• He reached Babylon in 323 BC where he died at the age of 33.

First railway line in India

Railway were introduced in India for the benefit of the British administration,political control and trade.But railways brought many changes in the lives of Indians.People from different parts of india came in close contact.This communication brought about an awareness against social evils,need of education and freedom from foreign exploitation.
          Indian Railways made a beginning on april 6,1853 when the very first train ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane.It consisted of 14 railways carriages and 400 guests.It started his journey with a salute of 21 guns.
       The British introduced railways for:-

• Commercial advantage- Railways collected raw material from fields and mines and sent them to the ports to be transported to England to feed the British industries.
• Defence aspect - Most importantly, the railways helped in the defence of British  possesions in India from military attacks of other impereliast countries,who were trying to expand their influence.
• Political aspect - Railways safeguarded the British possesions in different parts of India with the quick movement of armed forces and administrative convienence.
• Investment of surplus income- Railways opened new area where investments earned huge profits.

The kalka mail from howrah to kalka was introduced to make the annual migration of British officials . Their families and their survants  and clerks from the imperial capital at calcutta to the summer capital in shimla.From kalka, there is still a narrow gauge to shimla that passes through 103 tunnels.

the first war of independence-1857

The revolt of 1857 was the landmark in the history of India's struggle for freedom.It started on may 10,1857 with the mutiny of soldiers in meerut cantonment.The revolutionery soldiers marched towards Delhi.On may11, 1857 delhi was a mute witness to band sepoys who crossed over Yamuna and entered the leadership of the revolt.He as proclaimed the Shahenshah-e-Hindustan.The sepoys captured the city of Delhi killed many Englishmen and ransacked many public offices.
                            Though the revolt was started by the Indian soldiers in the service of the East India Company,it soon spread to different parts of country.different sections of the society like peasants,artisans,soldiers,educated Indians and many Indian rules joined hands to fight heroically against the foreign rule.Hindus and Muslims are come together to oppose the foreign domination.
                 The event was also called the uprising,the revolt of 1857 or the sepoy mutiny by the British.But Indian historians call it the First war of independence as it was the first time that different sections of indian society united and fought as one nation to throw off the shackles of foreign domination.
                    Ever since the British had set foot on Indian soil,the nation was losing its wealth and independence.The aim of the British was to exploit the resources the resources of our country.From 1757 onwords,they won almost every battle against the Indian ruler and kept on expanding their area of control.They sent Indian wealth back home to England.This angered the Indians later,in 1857,a number of Indians revolted against the exploitation.
       
      

Acharya chanakya

In the previous two blogs i was talking about two kings Chandragupt maurya and the great king ashok.But behind their success there is only one reason i.e ACHARYA

CHANAKYA.Acharya chanykya was the great teacher 

and economist of india.His full name is Vishnugupt chanakya.

when he was a child his father was killed by Dhananand the king of magadh.He had gone to taksshila for study and become a acharya(teacher).when he came back to magadh he see that people of magadh was torture by
Dhananand.Then he decided that he will remove Dhananand from his throne and will make that person a king who care for his people.He taught Chandragupt maurya to become a king.Acharya chanakya has made many morality which are listed below:-

• A man is born alone and dies alone and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone and he goes alone to hell and supreme abode.
• A man is great by deeds not by birth.
• A person should not be too honest.straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.
• As soon as the fear approaches near,attack and destroy it.
• Even snake is not a poisonous ,it should pretend to be venomous.

Mahan Samrat Ashoka

In the previous blog i talked about the king Chandragupt mourya now i am talking about the great king MAHAN SAMRAT ASHOK

he was the first king whose name is called the GREAT.The great king Ashok was the grandson of Chandragupt mourya and son of Bindusar. The great king Ashok fight with their brothers to become a king .His elder brother Sushim was always jealous from him.Radhagupt who was the disciple of acharya chanykya supported ashok to become a king.The great king ashok killed his brothers and become a king because their brothers always tried to kill him but they never get success.and when he became a king he explore their kingdom acoss india upto the afganistan. He always wanted to win anyhow.Initially he killed many people but in kaling yudh he saw that lakh of people has died in the kaling yudh he realised how brutal king he is then he decided that he will never fight again,never kill anybody and he adopted budh dharm. 

then he began to serve the public and become a MAHAN SAMRAT ASHOK.

Chandragupt mourya was the first indian king who explore their kingdom from magadh(bihar) to afganistan but you know he was labourour son . now you want to know how he had become king from labour yes this is a interesting question arise in your mind .the reason is acharya(teacher) Chanykya who was the greatest teacher and economist of india. he trained chandragupt mourya to become a king because Chanykya wanted that there should be unity in every states of india then he wanted that king should be that person who can inspire people for unity and make india in one nation
then he was searching to find that person who can generate unity in people then he found a child who was playing with their friends and he act like a king and he was saying to his friend that there should not be any partiality between anybody and when Chanykya saw that then he decided that this child should become the king  and that child was Chandragupt mourya.