Page 64 - SST Class 07

Towns for Different Purposes

Some towns met more than one aspect of life. It
could be a trade town, a pilgrimage town, a
military town, an
industrial town—all rolled
into one, such as Mumbai,
which serves as a port
Ratha Temple Virupaksha Temple
town, as a trade town, as
an industrial town, a This small village came into prominence when it
capital town and a military became a part of the newly founded capital of the
empire of Vijayanagara. It was chosen by the
town. At present, there is Mumbai
a number of such towns. rulers in 1336 because of its strategic location. It
had a river to its one side and the other three sides
Quiz Time were surrounded by hills which could be used to
defend against an enemy attack. Moreover, the
Fill in the blanks :
village of Hampi was a trade centre with fertile
1. __________ was famous for camel trade. land. Also, the people were prosperous.
2. The __________ reveal to us about the At present, Hampi is all ruins, due to which it is
founding and importance of a town. also called the ‘City of Ruins ’. Its ruins reveal that

3. The invaders wanted to plunder the __________ it was a well fortified town. Its buildings had
because of their wealth. splendid arches and pillared niches for holding
idols. The walls were well decorated. The
4. A __________ town is a place where the traders archaeologists have found a platform called
come to sell and buy commodities.
Mahanavmi dibba , from where the ruler watched
5. Moradabad came into prominence due to its the celebration of Mahanavmi , the most important
__________ industries. festival then. Its markets were visited by traders
from other countries including Moors (the Muslim
world) and Europe. It was an important trade
GROWTH OF MAJOR TOWNS
centre for cotton textiles and spices.
Hampi

Hampi is a fit
case to know
how a town
comes into
prominence and
fades away from
prominence. This Ruins of Hampi Mahanavmi dibba
town is located
on the bank of Hampi Info Bits
Info Bits
River Tungbhadra in Karnataka. It was a village of
religious importance before it became a part of the The festival of Mahanavmi is at present known as
capital of the Vijayanagara capital. It was located Navratri.
around the Virupaksha temple which is devoted to
Hampi declined in importance after the decline of
Lord Shiva, goddesses Bhuvaneshwari and Pampa. the Vijayanagara empire in 1565 when it was
Due to this temple, it is also called
defeated by the rulers of Golconda, Bijapur,
Virupakshapura .
Ahmednagar, Berar and Bidar.
Contemporary Social Science-7
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