Monarchies and Republic


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Monarchies and Republic

Monarchies and Republic: The 16 Mahajanapadas were concentrated in the Gangetic Plains and they were mostly monarchies i.e. ruled by kings or monarchs. The King became more powerful, and the kingship was now passed from father to Son. i.e., it became Hereditary. The king was considered divine. The king imposed taxes to administer the land. The army was under his command and he was the lawmaker too. The other political system that existed during the same period was that of the republics. In a republic the people chose or elected their rulers.

Power lay with the people of the state, not with the ruler. The republics were also known as gana-sanghas. These republics were located in the less fertile tracts of land. They were mostly concentrated at, for example, the foothills of the Himalayas, in North western India and in Punjab.

Some well-known republics were those of the Shakyas, Mallas, Vrijis and Yadavas. These republics were ruled by a chief known the ganapati and the office was not hereditary. The ganapati was considered a chief rather than a king.

Sample Questions
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Question : 1

What was the name of the minister of Ajatasatru ?

Right Option : C
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