The Age of Iron and the Religious Revolution, c. 700 - c. 350 BC

This monograph deals with a very important phase of Indian history, spanning c. 700 and c. 350 BC. During the period 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 source 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 is provided with a bibliographical note, indicating sources and suggesting further reading.

Other volumes available in the People's History of India series:

1. Prehistory
2. The Indus Civilization
3. The Vedic Age
5. Mauryan India
6. Post Mauryan India, 200 BC - AD 300
7. Society and Culture in Post-Mauryan India, c. 200 BC - AD 300
14. Economic History of India, AD 1206-1526, The Period of the Delhi Sultanate and the Vijayanagara Empire
20. Technology in Medieval India, c. 650-1750
23. The Establishment of British Rule, 1757-1813
25. Indian Economy Under Early British Rule, 1757-1857
28. Indian Economy, 1858-1914
30. The National Movement: Origins and Early Phase to 1918
36. Man and Environment