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History, the early janapadadas and mahajanapadas Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

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This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Intro

between 1000 BCE and 600 BCE the vedic people spread out over most of the indo-g­angetic plain.
The period of vedic expansion into the indo-g­angetic plain is known as later vedic period.-so, the period of vedic expansion- when people started to devlop and speard around the indo-g­angetic plain, that period is known as later vedic period.

Janapadas

the vedic people cleared the thick forests of indo-g­angetic plain with the help of fire and iron tools and brought more land under cultiv­ation.
and by cultiv­ation we mean growing of crops and plants.
As the vedic people started leading settled lives as cultiv­ators, their settle­ments became permanent. each of these settle­ments usally consisted of a single jana or tribe. these tribal settle­ments were called janapadas.
so the vedic people started leading settled lives as cultiv­ators which means instead of moving around as hunters and gathers they started to cultivate. and this practice become permanent. and each of these settle­ments consisted single jana or tribe- which means that each of these practices had a single jana ( a group of people beloging to the same history) or a tribe ( history and practices same thing as single jana). and these settle­ments with tribal or single jana is called janapadas.
The janapadas were ruled by rajans or chiefs. these r some ruler postions

Amount of mahaja­napadas

According to the buddhist texts Anuguttara Nikaya, and Digha Nikaya, by around 600 BCE, there were 16 mahaja­nap­adas, such as magadha, avanti, vatsa and kosala. over time Magadha emerged as the most powerful of all the mahaja­nap­adas.
*So buddhist texts or books were Anuguttara Nikaya and Digha Nikaya and there were 16 mahaja­napadas but out of that most powerful was magadha
 

Rajans

The rajans fought among themselves for control over land, as whoever controlled the largest territory was considered most powerful.
The powerful states that emerged after defeating the smaller states or janapadas came to be known as mahaja­napadas.
The powerful states that killed the smaller states or janapadas were known as mahaja­nap­ada's

Monarchies

The 16 mahaja­napadas were mostly concen­trated in the Gangetic plain, a majority of them were monarchies ( states ruled by kings or monarchs.) The king became more powerful in the later vedic period as compared to the early vedic period, and the kingship was now passed from father to son, that is, it became heredi­tary. The king was considered divine. The king imposed taxes to administer the land. The army was under his command and he was the law marker too.
So, the 16 mahaja­napada were mostly concen­trated in the Gangetic plain or they mostly were in the gangetic plain. kings were divine, divine means like a god, powerful. the king imposed or asked people for taxes. the people had to obey them.
 

What is a state?

State is a political organi­sation that has sovere­ignty over a geogra­phical area-this means that its government is free from outside control. In other words the ranjan or the chief of the janapada now had total control over the area where the tribe lived. The rajan imposed laws and rules over the area they ruled, which people had to obey. the earliest forms of the state usually came up wherever and whenever agricu­lture ( and latter, writing ) came up. The early states were usally of two types- monarchies and republics.
So, Sovere­ignty means having the highest power or authority. and state is a organi­sation which has highest power. government of the state can make decisions without being controlled by outside force. the rajan or chief had control of the janapadas and where the tribes and people lived. the rajan imposed or made rules and laws over the area they lived. people had to obey these rules. the earliest form of state was about agricu­lture, writing. the early state were of 2 types- monarchies and the republics.