Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 7 – India and Iran (Persia)
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 7: India and Iran (Persia). Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here India and Iran (Persia) full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
History |
Chapter |
7 |
Chapter Name |
India and Iran (Persia) |
Q.1 (A) Choose the correct alternative and write the complete sentences.
(1) The Greek historian ……………………..is said to be the father of modern historiography.
(a) Herodotus (b) Alexander
(c) Scylax (d) Daryush
Answer – (1) The Greek historian (a) Herodotus is said to be the father of modern historiography.
(2) Taxila was ruled by King ……………………..at the time of Alexander’s advent.
(a) Chandragupta (b) Ambhi
(c) Porus (d) Shashigupta
Answer – Taxila was ruled by King (b) Ambhi at the time of Alexander’s advent.
(B) Find the incorrect pair from set B and write the correct ones.
Set ‘A’ Set ‘B’
(1) Persopolis City built by Daryush I
(2) Halicarnassus Herodotus was born here
(3) Taxila Centre of knowledge and education
(4) Nysa Persian settlement
Answer – The incorrect pair is
(4) Nysa Persian settlement
The correct pair would be
(4) Nysa Greek settlement
(C) Write the names –
(1) Last emperor of Achaemenid empire-
Answer – Last emperor of Achaemenid empire – Daryush III
(2) Name of the coins issued by Daryush
Answer – Gold coins issued by Daryush were called ‘Darik’ and silver coins issued were called ‘Siglos’.
Q.2 Explain the statements with reasons.
(1) Alexander invaded Persia.
Answer – Alexander became the king of Macedonia in 334 B.C.E. He defeated emperor Daryush III in 331 B.C.E. Thereafter he marched up to ‘Shistan’ province of Iran and from there he turned toward Kabul.
As the effect of this prolonged conflict the Achaemenid rule grew weak. This was bound to reflect in the political and financial spheres. An impact of this conflict was to manifest in the way of the invasion of Persia by Alexander, the king of Macedonia, who was later regarded as the ‘Conqueror of the World. Arrian was a Greek historian of the 1st century C.E. He wrote a book called ‘Anabasis* of Alexander’. He has referred to the correspondence between Daryush III, the last Achaemenid emperor and Alexander. Daryush had written to Alexander about the release of his mother, wife and children. Alexander responded by reminding Daryush of the sorrow inflicted on the Greeks by the earlier invasions of the Achaemenid emperors. Alexander wrote that he had arrived in Russia by crossing the ocean, with the intention of punishing the aggressive Persians. Next, he accused Daryush of provocating the
Greeks against him and he reminded Daryush that he was a defeated king. So Daryush was further snubbed that he should not behave as an equal to Alexander.
This correspondence is indicative of two things: The Greeks felt that their self-esteem was challenged. The Greeks now felt confident about their strength to conquer the Persians.
It may be said that these two factors inspired Alexander’s expedition.
(2) Alexanders’ invasion of India did not have far reaching impact on the political scenario of India.
Answer – Alexander invaded the Indian subcontinent and conquered some kingdoms from Afghanistan to Sindh-Punjab. He, however, could not establish his rule there for a long time.
The information of his advent primarily comes from the Greek historians like Arrian, Curtis, Diodorus, Plutarch and Justin. At the time of Alexander’s advent the Achaemenid rule in Sindh-Punjab and Afghanistan had weakened and a number of small kingdoms had come into existence. The political strife stopped them from uniting to resist Alexander’s invasion. Alexander became the king of Macedonia in 334 B.C.E. He defeated emperor Daryush III in 331 B.C.E. Thereafter he marched up to ‘Shistan’ province of Iran and from there he turned toward Kabul. After conquering the region around Kabul, he reached the foothills of Hindukush mountains. Then he camped at a place called Nicaea, situated on Uttarapatha. Ambhi welcomed Alexander and sought friendship with him. Another king whose name was Sisikottas (Shashigupta) surrendered to Alexander. However, not all Indian kings surrendered to Alexander so easily. Many fought with Alexander with great valour. Alexander conquered almost all kingdoms in Kabul, Sindh and Punjab. On the banks of Jhelum Alexander and King Porus confronted each other and there was a fierce battle between them. Porus was defeated but Alexander and his army was greatly influenced by his valour. The Greeks were unfamiliar to the use of elephants in warfare. To penetrate the file of elephants proved to be a great challenge for them. The Greek historians have unanimously praised the skill of Porus in warfare and also his courage. After the confrontation with Porus, Alexander reached Nysa, a Greek settlement. People of Nysa resisted Alexander in the beginning but later they welcomed him. Thereafter, Alexander proceeded in the direction of Chenab and Ravi. He conquered the kingdoms on the way and reached the banks of Beas. By that time Alexander’s soldiers had lost spirit and they refused to march forward. Alexander was forced to return. Before setting on the return journey Alexander handed over the regions in Punjab to Porus and those in Sindh to Ambhi. He handed over the kingdom of Kashmir to Abhisara, the king of Varanavati. On his way back he defeated Shibis and Mallas, etc. In rest of the regions he appointed Greek satraps. In 325 B.C.E. Alexander died at Babylon, while he was on his way back to Greece.
Alexander’s invasion of India did not have far reaching impact on the political scenario of India. In a very short period after his death Chandragupta Maurya established his vast empire from Bihar to Afghanistan. It was the beginning of a new era in the Indian history.
Q.3 State your opinion.
(1) Herodotus is said to be the father of modern history writing.
Answer – The Greek historian Herodotus was born in 484 B.C.E., in Halicarnassus, a Greek city state. He began to write with the intention of tracing the history and causes of the battles between Greek city states and Achaemenid empire during 500-449 B.C.E. The book he wrote was named as ‘Historia’ (The Histories). He, at the outset of the book says, “Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvellous deeds – some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians – may not be without their glory.”
Herodotus was the first historian who collected information seeking answers to a particular question, and then to put it in a chronological order. While doing this he did not bring in notions like god, human destiny, etc. Later putting historical events in chronological sequence became an essential theme of history writing. This theme proved to be fundamental in the development of history writing as an independent discipline. Therefore, Herodotus is said to be the father of historiography.
(2) Ancient Taxila was the centre of knowledge and education.
Answer – Mahabharata mentions King Takshaka as the king of ‘Naga’ people. Taxila was the capital of King Takshaka. The archaeological evidence confirm that Taxila has a hoary past. It was the capital of Gandhara mahajanapada. The archaeological remains of this city are strewn over a large area that comprises 18 archaeological sites. They are enlisted as the World Cultural Heritage. It is situated on the Grand Trunk Road, 30 kilometres away from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Evidence of prehistoric people using microliths have been found at Taxila and in some caves in its vicinity. The Neolithic village at Taxila was settled around 3500 B.C.E. Its remains have been found at a site called ‘Sarai-Khola’. Taxila was ruled by King Ambhi at the time of Alexander’s advent. He welcomed Alexander and presented gifts to him. The Greek historians accompanying Alexander described Taxila as a “city full of hustle bustle of people, prosperous and the one that was under a well-established administration.” Some information about Taxila can be gathered from the Buddhist literature and from the writings of the Greek historians. There were several learned individuals (Acharyas) staying in Taxila. Many students from various regions of the Indian subcontinent were attracted to Taxila because of the fame of the acharyas. Thus, Taxila had become a great centre of education. Thereby it had assumed the magnitude of a natural university. However, the king and his administration at Taxila did not interfere in the decisions of an individual acharya as to the nature of his method of teaching, the subjects to be taught by him or the nature of the syllabi. The duration of a course was dependent on individual student’s intellectual capacity to learn. There was no formal system of examinations. Rather success in examination was not perceived as the test of real knowledge. It was the acharya who decided the level of maturity of his students. Among the subjects taught at Taxila included, Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, ancillary branches of the Vedas (Vedangas), Ancient Traditions and Ethics, Philosophy, Mathematics, Music, Medicine, Puran Texts, History, Weaponry, Poetry, etc. Acharya Chanakya is believed to have taken Chandragupta Maurya to Taxila for education when he was young. Chanakya himself hailed from Taxila. After becoming the emperor of Magadha, Chadragupta established a regional capital at Taxila. During the reign of Ashoka Maurya Taxila became an important centre of learning of Buddhist tradition. Taxila did not lose its importance even when the land suffered from the invasions of Greeks, Shakas and Kushanas. However, in the 5th century C.E. the glory of Taxila gradually waned under the pressure of Huna invasions
Q.4 Answer the following questions in detail.
(1) Describe the political and cultural effects of Achemenid rule on India.
Answer – The Persian supremacy prevailed in the Indian subcontinent for at least two centuries. However, it had ended much before the advent of Alexander. Thinking of the impact left by the Persian contact in the period of two centuries, one thing can be noticed prominently. It is about the administrative system set by the Persian rulers. Every conquered region was annexed to their territory as a satrapy and a satrap (governor) was appointed as its chief administrator. This method was followed by Alexander and later by the Scythian (Saka) and Kushana rulers as well.
The Aramaic script came into use in the north-eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, during the times of Achaemenid rule. Kharoshthi, an ancient Indian script evolved from this script. The Ashokan edicts in this region are inscribed in the Aramaic script. The method of installing royal edicts at vantage points seems to be borrowed from the examples of Achaemenid inscriptions. Herodotus tells us that DaryushI had sent many explorers to gather information about the course of the river Sindhu and the Arabian Sea. Among them was ‘Scylax of Karyanda’, a Greek sailor from Ionia, who was well- known. He was the first Ionian Greek who stepped on the Indian land. Scylax began his exploration from the Sindhu and proceeded further by sailing around the coast of the Arabian Sea and then entering the Red Sea. He ended his journey at ‘Suez’, situated in the delta region of the Nile. It took two and half years for him to complete this journey. The logbook of the journey of Scylax is known as ‘Periplus of Scylax’. The original periplus is lost but we get to know about its contents from the writings of the Greek historians. This periplus was the first source of information of the Indian subcontinent to the western world, specially to the Greeks. Very soon after the completion of the expedition by Scylax, Daryush I conquered the region in the lower reach of the Sindhu. Scylax had reported an already existing canal that linked the Nile and the Red Sea. It was dug by an Egyptian Pharoh. Daryush I revived that canal by digging it again. It opened a new water way for the transport between Persia and the Indian subcontinent. This newly available route facilitated the trade between Achaemenid provinces in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent and the regions of Sindh-Punjab. The ivory and the teak wood coming from India had great demand in the Persian markets. The inscription of Daryush I at Susa records the use of Indian ivory and teakwood for building the palace. Herodotus has described the Indian soldiers in the Achaemenid army. According to it, Xerexes’ army had soldiers from Gandhara, Sindh and Punjab, when he invaded Greece in 480 B.C.E. The soldiers from Gandhara were equipped with bows made of cane and spears with short shafts. They also had horses and chariots drawn by horses. The Indian soldiers from Sindh and Punjab used cotton clothes and used bows and arrows made of cane. They were expert archers. When Xerexes retreated from Greece, it was decided to keep a regiment posted there. That regiment had Indian soldiers.
In the times before Cyrus II, the founder of Achaemenid empire, there was no coinage in use in Persia. The barter system prevailed to a large extent. Sometimes silver ingots of particular weight were used for exchanging commodities. Cyrus II had conquered the city state of Lydia, where use of coins was already in practice. Those coins were known as ‘stater’. Cyrus issued coins similar to Lydian coins Daryush I issued coins with his own portrait on it. The Gold coins issued by him were known as ‘Darik’ and silver coins were known as ‘Siglos’. A portrait of Daryush I, holding a bow and arrow can be seen on these coins. One ‘Darik’ was equivalent to 12 ‘Sigloi’* in value.
Along with the Achaemenid coins, coins from Greek satrapies also remained in circulation in Persia. Some satraps issued their own coins imitating Greek coins. These coins were cast in moulds. The obverse side of a coin usually carried the portrait of a king and the reverse side had a symbol punched on it. It is possible that the ancient Indian punch marked coins were influenced by this technique of punching. In the times that preceded emperor Cyrus’ reign, the practice of building huge public monuments did not exist in Persia. Hence, there was no existing Persian architectural style to follow while creating the magnificent palaces and sculptures in Susa and Persepolis. For that purpose, emperor Cyrus got Greek architects and sculptors from the Greek settlements in Asia minor under his rule. Persepolis was razed completely by Alexander after conquering Persia. It was the end of the Persian Empire. The architects, sculptors and other artisans lost the royal patronage. They had to move out in search of work. They migrated to India. They received royal patronage in the court of emperor Ashoka. Their style is reflected in the stone pillars erected by empror Ashoka. Thus, the sculptural art in ancient India has its roots in the Persian; and acordingly in the Greek sculptural style.
(2) Describe Alexander’s invasion of India.
Answer – Alexander invaded the Indian subcontinent and conquered some kingdoms
from Afghanistan to Sindh-Punjab. He, however, could not establish his rule there for a long time.
The information of his advent primarily comes from the Greek historians like Arrian, Curtis, Diodorus, Plutarch and Justin. At the time of Alexander’s advent the Achaemenid rule in Sindh-Punjab and Afghanistan had weakened and a number of small kingdoms had come into existence. The political strife stopped them from uniting to resist Alexander’s invasion. Alexander became the king of Macedonia in 334 B.C.E. He defeated emperor Daryush III in 331 B.C.E. Thereafter he marched up to ‘Shistan’ province of Iran and from there he turned toward Kabul. After conquering the region around Kabul, he reached the foothills of Hindukush mountains. Then he camped at a place called Nicaea, situated on Uttarapatha. Ambhi welcomed Alexander and sought friendship with him. Another king whose name was Sisikottas (Shashigupta) surrendered to Alexander. However, not all Indian kings surrendered to Alexander so easily. Many fought with Alexander with great valour. Alexander conquered almost all kingdoms in Kabul, Sindh and Punjab. On the banks of Jhelum Alexander and King Porus confronted each other and there was a fierce battle between them. Porus was defeated but Alexander and his army was greatly influenced by his valour. The Greeks were unfamiliar to the use of elephants in warfare. To penetrate the file of elephants proved to be a great challenge for them. The Greek historians have unanimously praised the skill of Porus in warfare and also his courage. After the confrontation with Porus, Alexander reached Nysa, a Greek settlement. People of Nysa resisted Alexander in the beginning but later they welcomed him. Thereafter, Alexander proceeded in the direction of Chenab and Ravi. He conquered the kingdoms on the way and reached the banks of Beas. By that time Alexander’s soldiers had lost spirit and they refused to march forward. Alexander was forced to return. Before setting on the return journey Alexander handed over the regions in Punjab to Porus and those in Sindh to Ambhi. He handed over the kingdom of Kashmir to Abhisara, the king of Varanavati. On his way back he defeated Shibis and Mallas, etc. In rest of the regions he appointed Greek satraps. In 325 B.C.E. Alexander died at Babylon, while he was on his way back to Greece.
Alexander’s invasion of India did not have far reaching impact on the political scenario of India. In a very short period after his death Chandragupta Maurya established his vast empire from Bihar to Afghanistan. It was the beginning of a new era in the Indian history.
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