Class 7 Chapter 2 History New Kings and Kingdoms Notes (NCERT) to make the chapter easier. I hope it helps you.

1. 1) Samantas were big landlords or warrior chiefs appointed
by existing kings. There duties were to provide military
service when needed, present gifts to the kings and to be
present in court meetings.
2) Samantas gave themselves high-sounding names like
Maha-Samanta and Maha-Mandaleshvara(The great
lord of a ‘circle’ or a region).
3) Dantidurga of the Rashtrakuta dynasty overthrew his
Chalukyan overlord to become a king. To be eligible to
become a king, he turned himself from Vaishya to a
Kshatriya using the Hiranya-Garbha ritual.
4) Hiranya-Garbha means golden womb. It was the ritual
done by the one who wants to be ‘reborn’ as a Kshatriya.
5) Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra used brute force as he
was already qualified because he was a Brahmana. He
built the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in present-day
Rajasthan.
6) Kadamba Mayursharman, who was a Brahmana used
brute force to set up the Kadamba dynasty in present-
day Karnataka.
7) Temples were constructed as a show off of power and
wealth.
8) Sultan(Ruler in Arabic) Mahmood of Ghazni from
Afghanistan, raided and looted the rich temples of India.
9) Sultan Mahmood’s scholar, Al-Biruni wrote Kitab-al Hind
in Arabic.
10) Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Muhammad Ghori
from Afghanistan, in the first battle of Tarain, in 1191. He

2. was defeated the next year by Ghori in 1192. Thus,
Prithviraj was the last Hindu ruler of Delhi.
11) The Chola dynasty excelled in foreign trade and
maritime activity.
12) Towns started to develop and soon became the
centre of craft production. These towns originated from
the temples there. The people first build shops for
business in construction of temples, then build houses to
make the temple accessible. The temples of Chola
empire thus became nuclei of settlements.
13) Famous bronze sculptures such as the Nataraja are
still seen today as they are made very fine. It was made
originally in the rule of Chola empire.
14) Vijayalaya I established the imperial Chola dynasty
with Thanjavur as its capital. Before this, Vijayalaya used
to be a subordinate to the Pallavas who used to rule in
present-day Tamil Nadu.
15) Rajaraja I, the sone of Vijayalaya became Chola king
in 985 CE and was the most powerful Chola ruler.
16) Rajendra I became Chola king in 1014 CE. He built a
new capital city of Gangaikondacholapuram.
17) The successors of Vijayalaya conquered
neighbouring kingdoms of the Pallavas and Pandyas.
18) The struggle between the Gurjara-Pratiharas, Palas
and Rastrakuta for Kannauj was known as the Tripartite
Struggle. The war lasted for 200 years. The winner of
this struggle was Gurjara-Pratiharas.
19) The new kings begin to give themselves high-
sounding names like Maharaja-adhiraja(The great king),

3. Tribhuvana-Chakravartin(Lord of the three worlds),
Maha-Mandaleshvara.
20) They also came up with a set of rules for wars.
21) Large amounts of tax were collected from the
villages.
22) Prashastis are special kinds of inscriptions with
glowing praises of the actions done by the kings and
rulers written by learned Brahmanas or poets.
23) Brahmanas were give given land grants for writing
inscriptions by the king. These land grants were
recorded on copper plates and given to the brahmanas.
These copper plates were known as Brahmadeya.
24) Large scale cultivation around the Kaveri Delta
developed in 5th
and 6th
Century.
25) Embankments are structures built using stones and
earth to control overflowing rivers.
26) Canals were constructed from the rivers to carry
water to the fields.
27) Wells were dug and tanks were constructed to
collect rainwater.
28) Sluice gate is a barrier made of wood or metal to
control the level and flow of water to river and canals.
29) The three types of village settlements in the Chola
empire were->
a. Ur-> Settlements of peasants
b. Agraharas-> Settlements of Brahmanas on lands
granted by the king.
c. Nagarams-> Association of Traders

4. 30) Admininstration was managed by Nadus or Groups
of villages. They used to dispense justice and collect
taxes. Landowners used to do these functions.
31) Rich peasants used to exercise considerable
control over problems of Nadus under the government.
32) Some rich landowners were given the title of
muvendavelam(a peasent serving three kings) or
araiyar(chief)etc. to respect them.
33) Each brahmadeya was looked after by a Sabha or
assembly of prominent brahamanas. This Sabha’s
decisions were recorded on stone walls of temples.
34) Nagarams were made to perform administrative
functions in a town.
35) Inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput
district, Tamil Nadu tells us how the elections in Sabha
happened. Sabha had different committee to look after
many works. Names of those eligible to be members of
these committees were written on tickets of palm leaf
and kept in an earthenware pot, from which a young
boy was asked to pick the tickets, one by one for each
committee.
36) There used to different types on lands->
a. Vellanvagai(Land of non-brahmana peasent
proprietors)
b. Brahmadeya(Land gifted brahmanas)
c. Shalabhoga(Land for maintenance of school)
d. Devadana(Land gifted to temples)
e. Pallichchhandam(Land donated to Jaina
institutions)

5. 37) The qualifications to be members of Sabha were as
follows->
a. The brahman should have land from which revenue
is collected.
b. They should have their own homes.
c. They should be between 35-70 years of age.
d. They should have knowledge of Vedas.
e. They should submit the accounts of themselves
and their family and relatives’.
f. They should be well versed in administrative
matters and honest.
g. If anyone has been a member of any committee in
the last three years, he cannot become a member
of another committee.