Tamil Nadu HSE First Year History cheat sheet

Prehistoric periods are divided by tool technology: Palaeolithic (rough stone), Mesolithic (microliths), Neolithic (polished stone and ground tools), followed by the Chalcolithic (copper-stone) phase.

Palaeolithic people were nomadic hunter-gatherers who used hand axes, cleavers and choppers; the Soan and Madrasian tool traditions are named after the Soan valley and the Madras region.

Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) rock shelters preserve Upper Palaeolithic to Mesolithic paintings in red, white and green, depicting hunting, dancing and animals.

Mesolithic sites such as Teri groups in Tamil Nadu and Bagor in Rajasthan show microliths, early domestication and the beginning of settled life.

The Neolithic Revolution (c. 9000-7000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent) introduced farming, animal domestication, pottery, weaving and permanent villages.

Key South Asian Neolithic sites: Mehrgarh (Baluchistan, earliest farming c. 7000 BCE), Burzahom (Kashmir, pit dwellings), Daojali Hading (Assam), Paiyampalli and Adichanallur region in the south.

Chalcolithic cultures (c. 2000-700 BCE) such as Ahar, Kayatha, Malwa, Jorwe and Ochre Coloured Pottery used copper tools with stone and lived in mud-walled villages.

Megalithic burials (c. 1000 BCE onward) in South India, with dolmens, cists, urn burials and iron tools, mark the transition to the early historic period.

Mesopotamia ('land between rivers', Tigris-Euphrates) saw Sumerian city-states such as Ur, Uruk and Lagash; cuneiform writing on clay tablets began c. 3200 BCE.

Hammurabi of Babylon (c. 1754 BCE) issued a famous law code inscribed on a stele; Mesopotamian society was temple-centred with ziggurats as sacred towers.

Egyptian civilisation arose along the Nile; the pharaoh was a divine king, and the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms are its main phases; hieroglyphic writing used papyrus.

Egyptian achievements include the pyramids at Giza, mummification, the solar calendar of 365 days, and medicine and geometry recorded in papyri.

Chinese civilisation developed along the Huang He (Yellow River); the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) used oracle bones for divination and bronze ritual vessels.

The Zhou dynasty introduced the Mandate of Heaven; Confucianism (Confucius) and Daoism (Laozi) shaped Chinese ethics and political thought.

Greek civilisation: Minoan and Mycenaean predecessors, then the polis (city-state) system; Athens developed democracy under Cleisthenes and Pericles; the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars defined the classical age.

Roman civilisation: republic (509 BCE) with Senate and consuls, empire from Augustus (27 BCE); Roman law, Latin, roads, aqueducts and concrete shaped later Europe.

Harappan Civilisation is dated c. 2600-1900 BCE (Mature phase), with Early Harappan from c. 3300 BCE and Late Harappan to c. 1300 BCE; it is a Bronze Age urban culture.

Major sites: Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (on the Indus), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Chanhudaro and Sutkagendor (Baluchistan coast).

Town planning features grid streets, burnt-brick houses, covered drains, citadel and lower-town divisions, and the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro; Dholavira shows stone water reservoirs.

The script is undeciphered, written right to left on seals; the standardised cubical weights and chert blades show trade regulation.

Economy rested on wheat, barley, cotton (earliest evidence), cattle and buffalo, plus maritime trade with Mesopotamia (Meluhha in Sumerian records) via Lothal and the Persian Gulf.

Religion evidence includes the 'Pashupati' seal, mother-goddess figurines, sacred trees, and possible ritual bathing; there are no confirmed temples.

Decline theories include river shifts, floods, drought and the Sarasvati system drying; the Late Harappan shows de-urbanisation and a shift eastward to the Ganga-Yamuna region.

The Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas, is a collection of hymns to deities such as Indra, Agni, Varuna and Usha; it was orally preserved and dated roughly c. 1500-1000 BCE.

Early Vedic society was pastoral and semi-nomadic, organised in tribes (jana) led by a rajan; assemblies were the sabha, samiti and vidatha; the chief priest was the purohita.

The later Vedic period (c. 1000-600 BCE) saw settlement in the Ganga-Yamuna doab, iron (krishna ayas) use, painted grey ware pottery, and the growth of kingdoms (janapadas).

Vedic literature is divided into Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad layers; the Upanishads contain early philosophical ideas such as Brahman and Atman.

The four ashramas (brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa) and the four varnas (Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) are described in later Vedic texts.

The Vedic economy moved from cattle-rearing to agriculture, with ploughing, irrigation and crafts; the rajasuva and ashvamedha sacrifices enhanced royal power.

Vedic gods include Dyaus, Prithvi, Surya, Soma and Vayu; the Gayatri mantra is addressed to Savitri; the Vedic calendar and yajna ritual shaped later Brahmanical practice.

The 6th century BCE saw the rise of heterodox sects against Vedic ritualism; key causes include urbanisation, trade, iron technology, and dissatisfaction with caste and sacrifice.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-483 BCE), who attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and preached the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Buddhist texts were compiled in the Tripitaka (Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma) and the Pali canon; the sangha and monasteries (viharas) became central institutions.

Jainism's 24 tirthankaras include Rishabhanatha and Parshvanatha; Mahavira (c. 599-527 BCE) is the 24th; core doctrines are ahimsa, anekantavada and aparigraha.

The Ajivikas (Makkhali Gosala), Charvaka/Lokayata materialism, and other sramana groups show a broad intellectual ferment in the middle Ganga plain.

Buddhism split into Mahayana and Theravada (and later Vajrayana); Jainism divided into Digambara and Svetambara; the first Buddhist council was held at Rajagriha, the third at Pataliputra under Ashoka.

Royal patronage (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Ashoka, Kanishka) and merchant support helped both religions spread along trade routes to Central Asia, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

The Mauryan Empire (c. 321-185 BCE) was founded by Chandragupta Maurya with Chanakya/Kautilya; its capital was Pataliputra; the Arthashastra describes statecraft and economy.

Ashoka (268-232 BCE) adopted Buddhism after the Kalinga war; his dhamma policy is recorded in edicts on pillars and rocks; his inscriptions were deciphered by James Prinsep (1837).

Mauryan administration had provinces, mahamatras, rajukas and a spy system; Megasthenes' account Indica describes Pataliputra and the Mauryan army.

The Sunga dynasty (c. 185-73 BCE) followed the Mauryas; Pushyamitra Sunga performed ashvamedha; the Bharhut stupa and Sanchi railings belong to this era.

The Kushanas (c. 1st-3rd century CE), of Central Asian origin, ruled from Purushapura (Peshawar); Kanishka (c. 127 CE) patronised Buddhism and convened the fourth Buddhist council in Kashmir.

Kushana coinage is notable for gold coins and syncretic imagery (Greek, Iranian and Indian deities); the Gandhara and Mathura schools of art flourished under them.

The Satavahanas (c. 1st century BCE-3rd century CE) ruled the Deccan from Pratishthana; Gautamiputra Satakarni and the Prakrit Gathasaptasati are notable; land grants to Brahmanas increased.

The Sangam corpus (c. 300 BCE-300 CE) comprises Tolkappiyam (grammar), Ettuthogai, Pattuppattu, and the epics Silappadikaram, Manimekalai and Sivaga Sindamani.

The three crowned kings (muvendar) were the Cheras (Kerala), Cholas (Cholamandalam, Kaveri delta) and Pandyas (Madurai); the Velir chiefs and kadai (market) towns supported trade.

Sangam economy included agriculture, pearl fishery, textiles and Indo-Roman trade; Roman coins and the Periplus and Ptolemy's Geography mention Muziris and Korkai.

Pandya kings such as Nedunjeliyan and the Chola Karikala (builder of the Grand Anicut) appear in Sangam poems; the Cholas later rose to empire under Rajaraja I and Rajendra I.

The Pallavas (c. 4th-9th century CE) ruled from Kanchipuram; Mahendravarman I and Narasimhavarman I built the rock-cut rathas at Mahabalipuram and the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi.

Pallava administration used the mandala and nadu divisions; land grants (brahmadeya) and temple-centred settlements grew; Sanskrit and Tamil coexisted in inscriptions.

The Chola empire (9th-13th century) had the Brihadeeswara temple at Thanjavur (Rajaraja I), the Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple (Rajendra I), and local self-government in ur and sabha assemblies.

The Gupta Empire (c. 320-550 CE) was founded by Sri Gupta; Chandragupta I assumed the title maharajadhiraja and married a Lichchhavi princess; Samudragupta's Allahabad pillar inscription (Prayaga Prashasti) by Harisena records his conquests.

Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) expanded to western India; the Udayagiri cave inscriptions and the Mehrauli iron pillar (attributed to Chandragupta II) belong to this period.

Kalidasa (Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsa) and the Navaratna poets flourished; Aryabhata wrote the Aryabhatiya (c. 499 CE) on astronomy and mathematics.

Temple architecture shifted from rock-cut to structural; the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh and Bhitargaon brick temple are Gupta-era; sculpture reached classical refinement.

The Gupta economy used gold dinaras and issued land grants; Nalanda Mahavihara grew as a Buddhist learning centre under later Gupta and Harsha patronage.

Huna invasions (Toramana, Mihirakula) and the decline of central authority led to the empire's fragmentation by the 6th century.

Gupta-era sources include the accounts of Fa-Hien (Chandragupta II's reign) and the writings of Kalidasa and Vishakhadatta (Mudrarakshasa).

Harshavardhana (606-647 CE) ruled from Kannauj; his court poet Banabhatta wrote Harshacharita; Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) visited during his reign; the empire declined after his death.

The Rajput kingdoms (Chahamanas, Paramaras, Chandelas, Gahadavalas) dominated north India; Mahmud of Ghazni raided (17 expeditions) and Muhammad of Ghor defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain (1192).

The Delhi Sultanate had five dynasties: Slave (Mamluk), Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi (1206-1526); Qutb-ud-din Aibak founded it; Iltutmish introduced the iqta system and silver tanka.

Alauddin Khalji's market reforms and Mongol defence, and Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency and capital shift to Daulatabad, illustrate Sultanate administration.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq's canal works and the Sayyid/Lodi periods precede the First Battle of Panipat (1526), where Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi.

Sultanate administration used the iqta (land assignment), diwan-i-wizarat (finance), diwan-i-arz (military) and the ulema; Persian became the court language.

Sultanate architecture blended Islamic and Indian styles: Qutb Minar, Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, Alai Darwaza, Tughlaqabad fort, and the Lodi and Sayyid tombs.

Babur founded the Mughal Empire after the First Battle of Panipat (1526) and the Battle of Khanwa (1527); his memoir is the Baburnama.

Akbar (1556-1605) won the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), built Fatehpur Sikri, abolished the jizya, and promoted sulh-i-kul and the Din-i-Ilahi; his finance minister Todar Mal introduced the zabti revenue system.

Jahangir's reign saw the chain of justice and the influence of Nur Jahan; Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Jama Masjid; Aurangzeb reimposed jizya and expanded the empire to the Deccan.

Mughal administration used the mansabdari system (zat and sawar ranks), jagirs, the diwan, and the faujdar; Persian was the official language.

Portuguese arrival (Vasco da Gama, 1498) was followed by the Dutch (1602 VOC), English (1600 East India Company charter), French (1664 Colbert) and Danes.

Key Anglo-French contests were the Carnatic Wars; the Battle of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764) established British power in Bengal; the Mughal Empire declined after Aurangzeb's death (1707).

Mughal painting (Akbar's atelier, the Razmnama), the Akbarnama, and the works of Abul Fazl (Ain-i-Akbari) reflect court culture and historiography.

Indian architecture progressed from Harappan brickwork to Mauryan stone pillars (Sarnath capital), Buddhist stupas (Sanchi, Amaravati), and rock-cut chaityas and viharas (Ajanta, Ellora, Karle).

The Gandhara school (Greco-Buddhist, grey schist) and Mathura school (red sandstone, indigenous) produced early Buddha images; the Amaravati school used white marble and narrative reliefs.

Temple styles are the Nagara (north, curvilinear shikhara), Dravida (south, vimana and gopuram) and Vesara (Deccan hybrid); examples are Khajuraho, Thanjavur and Belur-Halebidu.

Classical Sanskrit literature includes the Ramayana (Valmiki), Mahabharata (Vyasa), the Puranas, Kalidasa's works, and Bhasa's plays; Tamil Sangam poetry and the Kamban Ramayanam are regional classics.

Bhakti and Sufi movements (Alvars, Nayanars, Kabir, Mirabai, Chaitanya; Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya) reshaped religious life from the 7th-16th centuries.

Indian art includes Ajanta murals, Mughal miniatures, Rajput and Pahari paintings, and Chola bronzes (Nataraja); music traditions are Carnatic and Hindustani.

Inscriptions (Ashokan edicts, Hathigumpha, Aihole), coins, monuments and foreign accounts (Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Xuanzang, Al-Biruni) are primary sources for cultural history.

Sources are classified as primary (contemporary inscriptions, coins, monuments, documents) and secondary (later chronicles, modern histories); literary sources divide into religious and secular.

Archaeological evidence includes excavations (Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Inamgaon), stratigraphy, pottery typology (PGW, NBPW, megalithic), and scientific dating (radiocarbon, dendrochronology).

Epigraphy: Ashokan edicts (Brahmi, Kharosthi, Greek, Aramaic), the Hathigumpha inscription (Kharavela), the Allahabad pillar (Samudragupta), and the Aihole inscription (Pulakeshin II).

Numismatics: punch-marked coins, Indo-Greek and Kushana gold coins, Roman coins in South India, and Sultanate/Mughal coinage help date and locate events.

Foreign accounts: Megasthenes (Indica), the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Ptolemy's Geography, Fa-Hien, Xuanzang, Al-Biruni's Tahqiq-i-Hind and Ibn Battuta's travels.

Historiographical schools include colonial/imperialist, nationalist, Marxist, subaltern and feminist approaches; each selects and interprets evidence differently.

Chronology skills: convert BCE/CE correctly (there is no year 0), use regnal years and inscriptions, and cross-check literary dates against archaeological and numismatic evidence; the Kali Yuga era and Saka era (78 CE) are used in Indian inscriptions.