NCERT Book Class 7 History Towns Traders And Craftsperson

TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSONS

What would a traveller visiting a medieval town expect to find? This would depend on what kind of a town it was – a temple town, an administrative centre, a commercial town or a port town to name just some possibilities. In fact, many towns combined several functions – they were administrative centres, temple towns, as well as centres of commercial activities and craft production.

Administrative Centres

You read about the Chola dynasty in Chapter 2. Let’s travel in our imagination to Thanjavur, the capital of the Cholas, as it was a thousand years ago. The perennial river Kaveri flows near this beautiful town. One hears the bells of the Rajarajeshvara temple built by King Rajaraja Chola. The townspeople are all praise for its architect Kunjaramallan Rajaraja Perunthachchan who has proudly carved his name on the temple wall. Inside is a massive Shiva linga. Besides the temple, there are palaces with mandapas or pavilions. Kings hold court in these mandapas, issuing orders to their subordinates. There are also barracks for the army.

The town is bustling with markets selling grain, spices, cloth and jewellery. Water supply for the town comes from wells and tanks. The Saliya weavers of Thanjavur and the nearby town of Uraiyur are busy producing cloth for flags to be used in the temple festival, fine cottons for the king and nobility and coarse cotton for the masses. Some distance away at Svamimalai, the sthapatis or sculptors are making exquisite bronze idols and tall, ornamental bell metal lamps.

Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centres

Thanjavur is also an example of a temple town. Temple towns represent a very important pattern of urbanisation, the process by which cities develop. Temples were often central to the economy and society. Rulers built temples to demonstrate their devotion to various deities. They also endowed temples with grants of land and money to carry out elaborate rituals, feed pilgrims and priests and celebrate festivals. Pilgrims who flocked to the temples also made donations. Temple authorities used their wealth to finance trade and banking. Gradually a large number of priests, workers, artisans, traders, etc. settled near the temple to cater to its needs and those of the pilgrims. Thus grew temple towns. Towns emerged around temples such as those of Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh), and Somnath in Gujarat. Other important temple towns included Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

Let’s recall

1. Fill in the blanks:

(a) The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in ———.

(b) Ajmer is associated with the Sufi saint ————.

(c) Hampi was the capital of the ———— Empire.

(d) The Dutch established a settlement at ———— in Andhra Pradesh.

2. State whether true or false:

(a) We know the name of the architect of the Rajarajeshvara temple from an inscription.

(b) Merchants preferred to travel individually rather than in caravans.

(c) Kabul was a major centre for trade in elephants.

(d) Surat was an important trading port on the Bay of Bengal.

3. How was water supplied to the city of Thanjavur?

4. Who lived in the “Black Towns” in cities such as Madras?

Let’s understand

5. Why do you think towns grew around temples?

6. How important were craftspersons for the building and maintenance of temples?

7. Why did people from distant lands visit Surat?

8. In what ways was craft production in cities like Calcutta different from that in cities like Thanjavur?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 7 History Towns, Traders And Craftsperson