A People's History of India 4:The Age of Iron and the Religious Revolution c. 700 - c. 350 BC

This volume of the A People's History of India series deals with the period spanning c. 700 and c. 350 BC. During this important period of Indian history iron technology diffused transforming and multiplying tools; cities arose and commerce spread; the caste system assumed practically all its essential features; powerful states were formed with armies and bureaucracies; and finally Jainism and Buddhism brought about a veritable religious revolution. All this is described in four chapters with clarity and precision but with no attempt to conceal points of controversy. Special notes are furnished on punch-marked coinage the Northern Black Polished Ware problems of chronology and the arrival of writing. Nine extracts from sources give the reader a taste of the textual sources. There are twelve illustrations and seven maps and a chronological table at the end. Each chapter includes a bibliographical note indicating sources and suggesting further reading.