Ancient History Notes For UPSC - History Notes For IAS Preparation


Find below the pdfs of UPSC notes on Ancient History for the Civil Services Exam. Ancient History is part of the coveted IAS Exam. Ancient History is asked in both UPSC Prelims and the Mains Syllabus (GS I).

Also, History is an optional subject choice in the Mains exam. This scoring subject often poses a challenge to IAS aspirants, as students find it hard to go through its comprehensive syllabus.

Hence, we have provided CoolGyan’S Ancient History notes curated by subject matter experts specifically for IAS preparation.

How to prepare History for UPSC exam?

  • Understand the syllabus of History for IAS exam for UPSC Prelims and Mains.
  • Read/prepare notes from NCERTs
  • Check UPSC previous year question papers of both Prelims and UPSC Mains.
  • If it is your optional subject in UPSC Mains exam, have a definite strategy as the syllabus of History is extensive

For all the above and more, check the links at the bottom of the article.

Ancient History Notes for UPSC Prelims exam and IAS Mains

Topics PDF
  • Stone Age
    • Paleolithic
    • Mesolithic
    • Neolithic
    • Chalcolithic
  • Indus Valley Civilisation
    • Discovery
    • Origin
    • Sites
    • Town Planning
    • Life in IVC
    • Decline of IVC
  • Vedic Culture
    • Early Vedic Period
  • Later Vedic Culture
  • Pottery In India
  • Early Vedic v/s Later Vedic Period
  • The emergence of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas
  • Jainism
  • Buddhism
  • Buddhist Philosophy
  • Buddhist Councils
  • Popularity and Decline of Buddhism
  • Mauryan Dynasty
    • Chandragupta
    • Bindusara
    • Ashoka

 

  • Ashokan Edicts
  • Mauryan Art
  • The decline of the Mauryan Empire
  • Post-Mauryan period
  • Gupta Age
    • Political and Administrative setup
    • Society and Religion
    • Art and Architecture

Ancient History: Books for IAS preparation

  • Tamil Nadu State Board Class XI textbook
  • NCERT Class XI – An Introduction to Indian Art
  • NCERT Class XI – Living Craft Traditions of India (Chapters 9 & 10)
  • NCERT Class XII – History – Themes in Indian History Part I
  • Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) official Website
  • The Wonder That Was India – A.L. Basham (For religion and philosophy)

UPSC Notes for History

  • To revise efficiently, prepare notes in chronological order
  • Art and Culture has to be studied for IAS Mains as well, so make extensive notes for this part
  • History is a popular optional choice as well because of the amount of overlap with the GS part in both UPSC Prelims and Mains exam.
  • Refer UPSC previous years’ question papers to understand the IAS exam question trends.

Also, read:

NCERT Ancient History Notes for UPSC Exams IAS 2022 (Pre & Mains) Tablet Course
Chronology of Ancient to Modern History of India Weekly GK And Current Affairs Quiz
Success Rate Of Different Optional Subjects In UPSC Mains Daily News Analysis
How to Study Ancient History for UPSC Exam History Syllabus for UPSC Prelims
NCERT Notes for UPSC Exams – Prehistoric age in India Vedic Civilization: Ancient History for UPSC IAS Exam
UPSC Syllabus UPSC Calendar 2022
Daily Video Analysis: The Hindu Daily PIB Summary & Analysis
UPSC Previous Year Question Papers NCERT Notes
LBSNAA – Bharat Darshan: IAS Training In Detail How To Read Yojana Magazine for IAS Preparation

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