PSEB Matric Punjab History and Culture key terms

An ancient city of the Indus Valley Civilisation in present-day Sahiwal district, Punjab, Pakistan, excavated from 1921. Famous for brick houses, granaries, wells and a drainage system, it gave the civilisation its alternative name.

A major Indus Valley city in Sindh, excavated from 1922, noted for the Great Bath, a planned grid of streets and standardised burnt bricks. It shows how carefully Bronze Age Punjab-region cities were laid out.

South Asia's earliest urban culture, flourishing roughly 2600 to 1900 BCE across Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat. Known for planned cities, script seals, bronze tools and trade with Mesopotamia, it declined as its cities were abandoned.

Indian archaeologist who first excavated Harappa in 1921 while working with the Archaeological Survey of India. His finds of seals and bricks helped establish that a previously unknown ancient civilisation had existed in Punjab.

Archaeologist who led excavations at Mohenjo-daro from 1922 and uncovered its Buddhist stupa mound and early city remains. His work, alongside Sahni's at Harappa, proved the Indus Valley Civilisation's antiquity.

A set of short signs found on seals, pottery and copper tablets of the Indus cities. It remains undeciphered, so much of what we know about the civilisation comes from archaeology rather than written records.

A large waterproofed brick tank at Mohenjo-daro, about 12 by 7 metres, with steps at both ends and adjoining rooms. It is usually interpreted as a site for ritual bathing, suggesting early religious practice.

The oldest of the four Vedas, a collection of Sanskrit hymns composed over centuries by Indo-Aryan poets. It is the earliest literary source for religion, society and geography in the Punjab region.

The Sanskrit name meaning 'land of seven rivers', used in Vedic texts for the region drained by the Indus and its Punjab tributaries. It is one of the oldest names for the Punjab.

The era, roughly 1500 to 600 BCE, when the Vedas were composed and Indo-Aryan culture spread across northern India. In Punjab it saw pastoral tribes, early kingdoms and the beginnings of settled agriculture.

Four ancient collections of Sanskrit hymns and ritual knowledge: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. They are the foundational texts of Brahmanical religion and shaped later Punjabi religious life.

An ancient city and learning centre near present-day Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, at the crossroads of routes from Central Asia and India. It was a Buddhist centre of scholarship visited by Chinese pilgrims.

The famous ancient centre of higher learning at Taxila, where students from across Asia studied medicine, law, warfare and philosophy. Its reputation made Taxila a byword for scholarship in early Indian history.

An ancient region around Peshawar and Taxila in northern Punjab and beyond, famed for a Greco-Buddhist art style blending Indian and Hellenistic features. It flourished under Kushan and earlier rulers.

A Buddhist sculptural style from the Gandhara region, using grey schist and stucco, showing Buddha with wavy hair and drapery influenced by Greek and Roman models. It spread across Punjab and Central Asia.

A Kushan emperor who ruled much of northern India and Punjab in the second century CE. He patronised Buddhism, convened a council in Kashmir and issued coins and inscriptions linking Punjab to Central Asian trade.

The 'land of five rivers' (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) in north-western South Asia. It was partitioned in 1947, leaving the Indian state of Punjab and the Pakistani province of Punjab.

The easternmost of the five Punjab rivers, rising in Tibet and flowing through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. It marked the boundary of Sikh territory under Ranjit Singh and was a key route for trade.

The founder of Sikhism, born in 1469 at Nankana Sahib in Punjab. He taught the oneness of God, rejected caste and ritual, and travelled widely, leaving his hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Sikh holy scripture, compiled by Guru Arjan and finalised by Guru Gobind Singh, containing hymns of the Gurus and of saints including Kabir and Farid. Sikhs treat it as their eternal Guru.

The fifth Sikh Guru, who compiled the Adi Granth in 1604, built the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar and was executed under Mughal orders in 1606. His martyrdom deepened Sikh resistance to Mughal authority.

The tenth Sikh Guru, who founded the Khalsa in 1699, gave Sikhs the five Ks and finalised the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru. He fought Mughal and hill rulers and died at Nanded in 1708.

The community of initiated Sikhs founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 at Anandpur. Members take amrit, adopt the five Ks and commit to a disciplined, casteless and courageous way of life.

The outward symbols adopted by initiated Sikhs: kesh (uncut hair), kangha (comb), kara (steel bracelet), kachh (shorts) and kirpan (sword). They mark identity, discipline and readiness to defend the weak.

The Golden Temple at Amritsar, built under Guru Arjan in the late sixteenth century. Its four entrances and open courtyard symbolise that Sikh worship is open to all people regardless of caste or creed.

The holy city of the Sikhs in Indian Punjab, founded by Guru Ram Das in 1577 around a sacred tank. Its name means 'pool of nectar' and it grew as a major commercial and pilgrimage centre.

A monotheistic religion founded by Guru Nanak in Punjab in the late fifteenth century. It teaches equality, honest work, remembrance of God and service, and is guided by the ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib.

A Sikh military leader who, after meeting Guru Gobind Singh, led an uprising in Punjab, captured Sirhind in 1710 and established early Sikh rule. He was executed by Mughal forces in 1716.

The twelve Sikh confederacies that controlled Punjab in the eighteenth century after Mughal power declined. Each had its own leader and territory, and together they prepared the ground for Ranjit Singh's rise.

The Sikh ruler who united the misls and founded the Sikh Empire, ruling from Lahore from 1799 to 1839. He modernised his army and extended control from the Sutlej to Kashmir and Peshawar.

The state established by Ranjit Singh with its capital at Lahore, lasting from 1799 until its annexation by the British in 1849. It was the last major independent power in north-western India.

An 1809 agreement between Ranjit Singh and the British under which the Sutlej was fixed as the boundary of his territories. It limited Sikh expansion eastwards and began British influence in Punjab.

Two wars, in 1845-46 and 1848-49, fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. Their outcome led to the annexation of Punjab in 1849 and the end of Sikh sovereignty.

The British takeover of Punjab in 1849 after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, ending the Sikh Empire. Punjab became a British province administered by a Board of Administration and later a Chief Commissioner.

An enclosed garden in Amritsar where, on 13 April 1919, British troops under General Dyer fired on an unarmed gathering, killing hundreds. The massacre galvanised the Indian freedom movement in Punjab.

A 1919 law allowing detention without trial in British India. It provoked nationwide protests, including the Punjab disturbances that led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and martial law in several cities.

A Punjabi revolutionary who shot Michael O'Dwyer in London in 1940 to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was tried and hanged, becoming a symbol of anti-colonial resistance.

The division of British India into India and Pakistan, which split Punjab between the two new states. It triggered mass migration and communal violence, displacing millions of Punjabis on both sides.

The boundary drawn in 1947 by Sir Cyril Radcliffe between India and Pakistan, dividing Punjab and Bengal. Its hurried demarcation left unresolved disputes and caused enormous displacement of communities.

The fourth Sikh Guru, who founded the city of Amritsar and excavated its sacred tank. He contributed hymns to the Guru Granth Sahib and strengthened the Sikh community's institutions in Punjab.