Sources of Ancient History

History - came from a Greek word called Historia, which means Inquiry:
knowledge acquired by investigation

Father of History - Herodotus

● Greek person
● Written The Histories

Study of Indian History and Culture - Indology

Father of Indology - Sir William Jones

India is also known as

Bharata - Land ruled by Emperor Bharata of Bharata Dynasty, which is

mentioned in Rigveda

Hindustan -

● Name given by a Iranian Historian Al- Biruni

● Persian emperor Darius I occupied the Indus / Sindhu region. So the land
people living around the river sindhu known as Hindustan

Aryavarta - Land where Aryans lived

Sources

Literary Sources

● Religious Sources
● Secular Sources
● Sangam Literature

Archaeological Sources

Foreign Sources
Religious Sources: Brahmana and Vedic literature

● Shruti
○ Vedas
○ Brahmanas
○ Aryankas
○ Upanishads
● Smriti
○ Vedangas
○ Upavedas
○ Sutras
○ Itihasas
Buddhist literature

● Tripitakas
● Jataka Tales
● Teachings of Buddha

Jain literature

● Teachings of Mahavira
● Angas
● Upangas
● Other literature
Secular literature

Non Historic literature

● Kautilya - Arthashastra
● Panini - Ashtadhyayi
● Kalhana - Rajatarangini
● Kalidasa - Abhijnanasakuntalam, Meghaduta, Vikramorvashiyam, Kumara
Sambhavam
● Hala - Gatasaptasadhi

Historic Literature
Architecture and Sculpture

Iconography

● Study of Architecture and Sculptures

● Nagara Style - North India
● Dravida Style - South India
● Britishers - Indo - Gothic style and Neo - Roman Styles
Material Remains

● Archaeologists through excavations

● Pottery
● Agriculture remains
● Buildings etc..

Pottery

● First time wheel found at Mehrgarh

● OCP - Ochre Coloured Pottery
● PGW - Painted Grey Ware
● BRW - Black and Red Ware
Archaeological Sources

Inscriptions - Inscriptions are of 3 types based on the matters

Eulogy

● Samudragupta - Allahabad Inscription

● Pulakesin II - Aihole Inscription

Edicts

● Asoka's Edicts
Land charters

● Land grants to Brahmins and Temples

● Gupta's copper plate inscription at Bihar has the details of land grants to
Brahmanas. These grants are called as Agraharas

Epigraphy - Study of Inscriptions

Coins

● Numismatics - Study of Coins

● Economic Conditions
● Examples of coins - Nishka, Satamana, Suvarna and Panishka
● Punch marked coins (till Mauryas)
Foreign Accounts

● Megastanese - Indica contains information about Mauryans

○ Syrian King Selucus Nicator send Megastanese as ambassador to the
court of Chandragupta Maurya
● Hiuen Tsang
● Fahian
● AI - Biruni ----> Tarik - Ul - Hind
○ It shows the lifestyle of Indians
○ He is the founder of Indology
○ Also called as Father of comparative Religion
THANK YOU