(i) Sericulture the silk production by breeding the mulberry silkworm was introduced in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
(ii) By the seventeenth century, Bengal had become one of the largest silk-producing regions in the world.
(iii) In addition, other varieties of silk (like tassar) were also produced.

(i) Cities and towns fulfilled diverse and overlapping roles in the economy.
(ii) The large cities were centres of manufacturing and marketing, banking and financial services.
(iii) Network of roads connected cities to other parts of the country.
(iv) Smaller towns were marketing centres in local trade connecting the immediate rural hinterland.
(v) Cities also served as political and administrative centres, both in the capital region and in the provinces.
(vi) Major pilgrimage centres like Varanasi also grew into cities.

(i) The first was that cotton grew in almost all parts of India, so that the basic raw material was easily available.
(ii) Second, the technology of producing a permanent colour on cotton using vegetable dyes was known from very early times in India.
(iii) Indigo was the most important dye crop that was grown in India.

(i) Vijayanagar kingdom was established by - Harihara and Bukka (the two brothers).
(ii) This empire was ruled by Sangama dynasty, Saluva dynasty and the Tuluva dynasty.

The first ten years of the 1300 AD(CE) Alauddin Khalji's slave and commander Malik Kafur was sent on military expedition to south India.

Darasuram Temple:
(i) Darasuram is a Panchayat town, located 3 kilometres from Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu.
(ii) The town is known for the Airavateswara Temple constructed by Raja Raja Chola II in the 12th century A.D.
(iii) The temple is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.
(iv) Darasuram Temple is a storehouse of art and architecture.
(v) The vimana is 85 feet high.
(vi) With heavily ornamented pillars accurate in detail and richly sculpted walls, the Airavateswara at Darasuram is a classic example of Chola art and architecture

 Fatehpur Sikri:
(i) Fatehpur Sikri is a town in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh.
(ii) The city was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar.
(iii) Fatehpur Sikri means the city of victory.
(iv) The Buland Darwaza was built in honour of his successful campaign in Gujarat.
(v) The city was built massively and preferably with red sandstone.
(vi) The city's architecture reflects both the Hindu and Muslim form of domestic architecture popular in India at that time.
(vii) Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid, Tomb of Salim Chishti, Panch Mahal, Naubat-khana, Birbal's House, Hiran Minar and other buildings are seen here.

(i) The territorial expansion of the Chola empire began under Rajaraja I.
(ii) The Pallava kingdom had already been assimilated into the Chola kingdom
(iii) Pandya kingdom remained independent, but was subservient to the Cholas.
(iv) The empire expanded further under Rajendra I. who had successfully taken his armies as far to the north east as the river Ganga.
(v) He had also sent naval expeditions against the Sailendra kingdom of Sri Vijaya (in Indonesia), Kadaram (Kedah) and Ceylon.
(vi) This earned him the title "Gangaiyum Kadaramum Konda Cholan".
(vii) Ceylon remained a province of Chola for 10 years.
(viii) The marriage alliance with the eastern Chalukyas under Rajendra's grandson Kulottunga helped to extend his empire up to the border of Orissa.
(ix) Trade with south-east Asia and China expanded greatly during the Chola period.
(x) The continued interaction with Tamil merchants resulted in the spread of the Indian culture and art into south-east Asia, as seen in the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

COMMERCE:
(i) The large manufacturing sector essentially produced goods for exchange, and not for self-use.
(ii) Therefore, India had an extensive network of trade for marketing these goods, barter was the medium of exchange.
COMMERCIAL CENTRES:
(i) Big cities were usually major commercial centres, with bazaars and shops.
(ii) These cities were also intermediate points in inter-regional trade since they were connected by a network of roads to other centres in other parts of the country.
(iii) In addition to such overland trade, smaller ships and boats were used in coastal trade along both the western and eastern coasts of the country.
MARITIME TRADE:
(i) Maritime trade across the Indian Ocean, extending from China in the east to Africa in the west, had flourished for many centuries.
(ii) India was an integral part of this maritime. This was partly due to its geographical location in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
MAJOR COMMERCIAL PORTS:

EXPORTS:
Textile, pepper, precious stones diamond, iron and steel are the important export goods of India.
IMPORT:
Silk, Chinese ceramics, gold, spices, aromatic woods and camphor and ivory are the important import goods of India.

(i) The Mughal empire was founded by Babur in 1526 A.D. (C.E.) after he defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat.
(ii) The first six Mughal Emperors are referred to as the 'Great Mughals'.
(iii) Aurangzeb was the last of the great Mughals.
(iv) Akbar consolidated the Mughal Empire through conquest and through a policy of conciliation with the Religious based kingdoms of Rajasthan.
(v) Though the Mughal empire began to disintegrate after Aurangzeb, it continued to exist nominally till 1857 A.D. (C.E.) when the British finally ended the virtually non-existent empire.
(vi) A new power centre rose in Maharashtra in the seventeenth century, and the Marathas under the leadership of Shivaji seriously undermined the authority of the Mughals in western India.
(vii) At its height, the empire stretched over most of the Indian sub-continent.
(viii) Only the south-western region of Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu were not directly under Mughal rule.