Kings, Farmers and Towns

NCERT Themes in Indian History for Class 12, Part I, Theme 2 surveys early states, agrarian expansion and urban growth from the sixth century BCE to the fourth century CE. It compares mahajanapadas, Mauryan administration and Satavahana and Kushana polities. It explains punch-marked coins, trade routes, guilds and Sangam towns. It uses inscriptions, coins and Pali texts to show how kings claimed legitimacy. It links surplus production, iron tools and forest clearance to new cities and social change.

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