Pariksha SaathiLesson 1 of 10 · Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge
Ancient and Medieval Uttar Pradesh: Harappan Sites to the Nawabs of Awadh
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Prehistory and Harappan sites
The Belan valley of Prayagraj and Mirzapur preserves a long Stone Age sequence. Chopani Mando is a Mesolithic site with some of the earliest hand-made pottery, Koldihwa has some of the earliest evidence of rice cultivation in the subcontinent, and Sarai Nahar Rai and Mahadaha in Pratapgarh have Mesolithic burials. The Harappan civilisation reached only the western edge of the state: Alamgirpur on the Hindon in Meerut district is the easternmost Harappan site, while Hulas (Saharanpur) and the large burial ground of Sanauli (Baghpat) belong to the late Harappan phase. In the western Ganga plain, Painted Grey Ware settlements such as Hastinapur, Ahichchhatra, Mathura and Atranjikhera (Etah) mark the later Vedic age.
The Mahajanapadas
By the sixth century BCE, six of the sixteen Mahajanapadas listed in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya lay largely in present Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Kuru (around Hastinapur) and Chedi (in Bundelkhand) also lay within it. Kashi had its capital at Varanasi; Kosala ruled from Shravasti, with Ayodhya (Saketa) as its other great city, under Prasenajit, a contemporary of the Buddha; Vatsa ruled from Kaushambi on the Yamuna under Udayana; Panchala had a northern capital at Ahichchhatra (Bareilly) and a southern one at Kampilya (Farrukhabad); Shurasena ruled from Mathura; and the Mallas had their centres at Kushinagar and Pava. Kosala absorbed Kashi, and Magadha later absorbed both, the first step towards a single empire in the Ganga plain.
Buddhist and Jain places
Four of the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage are in the state. The Buddha gave his first sermon (Dharmachakra Pravartana) in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi, attained Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar, spent many rainy seasons at Shravasti in the Jetavana monastery gifted by the merchant Anathapindika, and is believed to have descended from heaven at Sankisa (Farrukhabad). Kaushambi had the Ghoshitarama monastery. For Jains, Ayodhya is the birthplace of Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, and four others; Varanasi of Parshvanatha, the twenty-third; Shravasti of Sambhavanatha; Kaushambi of Padmaprabha; and Hastinapur of Shantinatha, Kunthunatha and Aranatha. Kankali Tila at Mathura yielded a Jain stupa, and Deogarh (Lalitpur) has a large group of Jain temples.
Mauryas, Kushanas and Guptas
Ashoka's lion capital at Sarnath, carved from polished Chunar sandstone, became India's national emblem. The Allahabad pillar, believed to have stood first at Kaushambi, carries Ashoka's edicts including the Queen's Edict, Harisena's Prayag Prashasti in praise of Samudragupta, and an inscription of Jahangir; Ahraura in Mirzapur has an Ashokan minor rock edict. Under Kanishka the Kushanas made Mathura a second capital, and the Mathura school carved Buddhist, Jain and Hindu images in spotted red sandstone, including the headless statue of Kanishka found at Mat. In the Gupta age the Sarnath school produced the finest seated Buddhas; Skandagupta's Bhitari pillar (Ghazipur) records his struggle against the Hunas; the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh is among the earliest temples with a shikhara; and Bhitargaon (Kanpur) is one of the oldest surviving brick temples in India.
Kannauj and the tripartite struggle
After the Guptas the Maukharis ruled from Kannauj, and Harshavardhana (606-647) moved his capital there from Thanesar. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang describes Harsha's assembly at Kannauj and the gifts he distributed every five years at Prayag, and his court poet Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita. Kannauj, also called Mahodaya, became the prize of north India: from the late eighth century to the tenth the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Palas of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan fought over it. The Pratiharas won it under Nagabhata II and reached their peak under Mihira Bhoja. Later the Gahadavalas ruled from Kannauj and Varanasi until Muhammad Ghori defeated Jaichand at Chandawar, near present Firozabad, in 1194, while the Chandelas held Bundelkhand from Mahoba and the fort of Kalinjar.
Sultanate and Mughal centres
Firoz Shah Tughlaq founded Jaunpur, naming it after Muhammad bin Tughlaq (Jauna Khan), and in 1394 Malik Sarwar, who held the title Malik-us-Sharq, set up the independent Sharqi kingdom there. Ibrahim Shah Sharqi completed the Atala Masjid in 1408, and Jaunpur became a seat of learning called the Shiraz-i-Hind until Bahlul Lodi annexed it. Sikandar Lodi founded Agra in 1504 and made it his capital, and Sher Shah defeated Humayun near Kannauj in 1540. Akbar rebuilt Agra Fort from 1565, founded Fatehpur Sikri in 1571 and built the Allahabad fort in 1583, renaming Prayag as Ilahabas; Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal before moving his capital to Delhi.
The Nawabs of Awadh
Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk became governor of Awadh in 1722 and founded a virtually independent dynasty. Shuja-ud-Daula lost at Buxar in 1764 and signed the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765; Asaf-ud-Daula moved the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775; Saadat Ali Khan ceded Rohilkhand and the lower Doab to the East India Company in 1801; Ghazi-ud-din Haidar took the title of king in 1819; and Wajid Ali Shah was the last ruler. In Rohilkhand the Rohilla Afghans ruled from Bareilly until the Rohilla War of 1774, after which only the small state of Rampur remained with them.
Key facts
- Alamgirpur (Meerut district, on the Hindon) is the easternmost Harappan site; Hulas (Saharanpur) and Sanauli (Baghpat) are late Harappan sites.
- Belan valley: Koldihwa has some of the earliest evidence of rice cultivation; Chopani Mando has some of the earliest hand-made pottery.
- Mahajanapadas in UP: Kashi (Varanasi), Kosala (Shravasti), Vatsa (Kaushambi), Panchala (Ahichchhatra and Kampilya), Shurasena (Mathura), Malla (Kushinagar and Pava).
- Four of the eight great Buddhist pilgrimage places are in UP: Sarnath (first sermon), Kushinagar (Mahaparinirvana), Shravasti (Jetavana) and Sankisa (descent from heaven).
- Jain Tirthankaras born in UP: Rishabhanatha at Ayodhya, Parshvanatha at Varanasi, Sambhavanatha at Shravasti, Padmaprabha at Kaushambi, Shantinatha at Hastinapur.
- Allahabad pillar: Ashoka's edicts and Queen's Edict, Harisena's Prayag Prashasti of Samudragupta, and an inscription of Jahangir.
- Gupta monuments in UP: Dashavatara temple at Deogarh (Lalitpur), brick temple at Bhitargaon (Kanpur), Skandagupta's Bhitari pillar (Ghazipur).
- Kannauj: Harsha's capital; prize of the tripartite struggle (Pratiharas, Palas, Rashtrakutas); Jaichand of Kannauj lost to Muhammad Ghori at Chandawar in 1194.
- Jaunpur: founded by Firoz Shah Tughlaq; Sharqi kingdom from 1394 (Malik Sarwar); Atala Masjid completed 1408; called Shiraz-i-Hind.
- Agra founded by Sikandar Lodi in 1504; Fatehpur Sikri founded by Akbar in 1571; Awadh's capital moved from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775.
Quick revision
Alamgirpur easternmost Harappan site; Koldihwa early rice; six Mahajanapadas mainly in UP (Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Panchala, Shurasena, Malla); Sarnath first sermon, Kushinagar Mahaparinirvana, Shravasti Jetavana, Sankisa descent; Sarnath lion capital of Chunar sandstone; Mathura school (Kushana); Deogarh and Bhitargaon (Gupta); Harsha ruled from Kannauj; Chandawar 1194; Sharqi Jaunpur 1394; Agra 1504; Fatehpur Sikri 1571; Awadh from 1722, Lucknow capital 1775.