Table of Contents

Introduction; From Prehistory to the Harappan Civilization; The Aryans & the Vedic Line; The Material Background of Religious Dissent: Jainism & Buddhism; The First Territorial States; The First Empire; Invasions, Trade & Culture c. 200 BC-AD300; The Myth of the Golden Age; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

Dwijendra Narayan Jha graduated from Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1957 and obtained M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in 1959 and 1964 respectively from Patna University where he taught history up to 1975. He retired professor of history at the University of Delhi. Professor Jha has lectured at universities and other centres of education in India and abroad and was National Lecturer in History, University Grants Commission, during 1984-5. His works include Revenue System in Post-Maurya and Gupta Times (Calcutta, 1967), Ancient India: An Introductory Outline (Delhi, 1977), Studies in Early Indian Economic History (Delhi, 1980), Economy and Society in Early India: Issues and Paradigms (Delhi, 1993) and a number of articles published in Indian and foreign journals. He has to his credit several edited works including Feudal Social Formation in Early India (Delhi, 1987) and Society and Ideology in India: Essays in Honour of Professor R.S. Sharma (Delhi, 1996). Professor D.N. Jha was president of the ancient Indian history section of the Indian History Congress in 1979 and its General Secretary from 1985 to 1988.