Towns and Trade

From the sixth century BCE onwards, a new wave of urban centres appeared across the subcontinent. Many of these were the capitals of the mahajanapadas — the great kingdoms that had emerged in the earlier period. What made these towns different from the Harappan cities was that they were not abandoned; people have lived on these sites continuously, which makes large-scale excavation difficult. Yet, the artefacts that have been recovered tell us a great deal about the people who lived there and the networks that connected them.

New cities and their locations

Virtually all major towns were located along routes of communication. This was no accident — towns grew where people, goods and armies could move easily.

• Pataliputra (modern Patna) was on riverine routes, controlling traffic on the Ganga.
• Ujjayini (modern Ujjain) was on a major land route that connected the Ganga plain to the western coast.
• Puhar (in Tamil Nadu) was near the coast, from where sea routes began.
• Mathura was a bustling centre of commercial, cultural and political activity, sitting at the junction of several routes.

Each city had its own history. Pataliputra began as a village called Pataligrama. In the fifth century BCE, the Magadhan rulers shifted their capital from Rajagaha (Rajgir) to this settlement and renamed it. By the fourth century BCE, it was the capital of the Mauryan Empire and one of the largest cities in Asia. Its importance later declined — when the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang visited in the seventh century CE, he found it in ruins, with a very small population.

Urban populations: elites and craftspersons

Kings and ruling elites lived in fortified cities. The artefacts recovered from these sites include fine pottery bowls and dishes with a glossy finish, known as Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) , probably used by rich people. Also found are ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels and figurines made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta.

From the second century BCE onwards, short votive inscriptions (records of gifts made to religious institutions) appear in many cities. These inscriptions name the donor and sometimes specify his or her occupation. They tell us about the people who lived in towns:

• washing folk
• weavers
• scribes
• carpenters
• potters
• goldsmiths
• blacksmiths
• officials
• religious teachers
• merchants
• kings

Sometimes, the inscriptions mention guilds or shrenis — organisations of craft producers and merchants. These guilds probably procured raw materials, regulated production, and marketed the finished product. It is likely that craftspersons used a range of iron tools to meet the growing demands of urban elites.

Trade in the subcontinent and beyond

From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended in various directions:

• Overland into Central Asia and beyond
• Overseas, from ports that dotted the coastline, across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa and West Asia
• Through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China

Rulers often attempted to control these routes, possibly by offering protection for a price. Those who travelled these routes included:

• Peddlers, who probably travelled on foot
• Merchants, who travelled with caravans of bullock carts and pack-animals
• Seafarers, whose ventures were risky but highly profitable

Successful merchants were designated as masattuvan in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas in Prakrit. They could become enormously rich.

A wide range of goods were carried: salt, grain, cloth, metal ores and finished products, stone, timber, medicinal plants — to name a few. Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in the Roman Empire, as were textiles and medicinal plants. These were transported across the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean.

Archaeological evidence of a bead-making industry using precious and semi-precious stones has been found at Kodumanal (Tamil Nadu). It is likely that local traders brought the stones mentioned in the Periplus from sites such as these to the coastal ports.

Coins and kings

Exchanges were facilitated by the introduction of coinage.

Numismatists (scholars who study coins) have studied these coins to reconstruct possible commercial networks. Attempts to identify the symbols on punch-marked coins with specific ruling dynasties, including the Mauryas, suggest that these were issued by kings. It is also likely that merchants, bankers and townspeople issued some of these coins. …