Transcript India - amy

India & The Indian Ocean
Basin
451 to 1600 C.E.
Classical India Recap: Two occurrences where India
was unified into a single state:
1) The Mauryan Empire: The first rulers to bring most of India
together politically were the Mauryans, who created an
empire lasting from 324 to 184 B.C.E. Mauryan India was
characterized by a strong military and an extensive trade
network, which stretched all the way to Mesopotamia and
the eastern parts of the Roman Empire. A key good was
cotton.
The best known of the Mauryan emperors was Ashoka. A
great warrior as a youth, Ashoka became sickened by war
after one of his greatest victories. He converted to
Buddhism after meeting Buddha, and became an advocate
of peace and tolerance. He spread those ideals throughout
India by means of his Rock and Pillar Acts. These acts……..
He encouraged trade with China, especially for it’s silk and
opened trade routes to the north. Ashoka was admired for
his justice and wisdom, and he remains famous for his
efforts to create harmony between Buddhists, Hindus, and
the followers of India’s other religions.
2) The Gupta Empire: In 184 B.C.E., The Mauryan Empire
collapsed, du to attacks by outside enemies. For the next
500 years, India reverted to a state of political disunity. Not
until 320 C.E. did another large empire rise up: The Gupta
Empire, which lasted until 550 C.E. and controlled most of
northern and central India. The Gupta Empire was smaller
and less centralized than the Mauryan, but it thrived
culturally and economically. Although the Gupta rulers
were Hindu, they practiced religious toleration. Gupta India
traded with china, Southeast Asia, and even the eastern
Mediterranean. Gupta scholars created the decimal system
used today, along with the concept of pi and zero.
Like the Mauryan, the Gupta emperors fell as a result of
outside pressure, especially from the White Hun attacks on
the northwestern frontier. From then until after 1000 C.E.,
India would remain decentralized. Then Muslim invaders
would begin to move into the subcontinent, doing much to
shape Indian politics and culture after 1000 C.E.
Postclassical India


Though politically disunited, India remained
a coherent and distant society as a result of
the caste system and the Hindu religion
values throughout the subcontinent during
this era.
In the 7th century Islam also began to
attract popular following in India, & after
the 11th century Islam deeply influenced
Indian society alongside the caste system
and Hinduism.
Islamic & Hindu Kingdoms



The Gupta dynasty rulers resisted nomadic
invaders pressures and preserved order
throughout much of the Indian subcontinent
until 451 C.E. when the White Huns from
central Asia invaded and disrupted the
Gupta administration.
By the mid-sixth century the Gupta state
had collapsed, and political authority quickly
dissolved to invaders.
16th century, a Turkish people known as the
Mughals extended their authority and their
empire to most of the subcontinent, further
politically dividing the land.
Overview




Northern and Southern India followed
different political trajectories after fall of
the Gupta empire.
Local states in the south contested for
power and territory, and northern India
became a region of continuous tension and
sporadic wars.
Nomadic Turkish-speaking peoples from
central Asia frequently took advantage and
forced their way into India.
Eventually, they became completely
absorbed into Indian Society. (Caste
System- Jati)
Introduction of Islam to
Northern India
Merchants: Muslim merchants took their faith
to coastal regions in both northern and
southern India. Muslim Merchants & their
descendants dominated trade and
transportation networks between India and
western lands from the 7th to 15th centuries.
 Muslim merchants formed small
communities in all the major coastal cities in
India where they played prominent roles in
Indian businesses, commercial life, married
local women and found places for
themselves within Indian society.
Introduction of Islam to
Northern India
Military: In 711, an expedition conquered
Sind: incorporated it as a province of the
expanding Umayyad empire.

Mid-century, Sind passed into the hands of
the Abbasid caliphs. Though apart of the
Islamic world, Much of its population
remained Hindu and Buddhist.

Fighting between Arab administrators
offered opportunities for local elites to
reassert Hindu authority over much of
Sind, yet the region remained under the
jurisdiction of the caliphs until the collapse
of the Abbasid dynasty in 1258.
Introduction of Islam to
Northern India
Migration & invasions of Turkish-speaking
people from central Asia. 10th Century,
several Turkish groups had become
acquainted with Islam through their dealings
with the Abbasids and converted to the faith.
 Some of these Muslim Turks entered the
Abbasid realm as mercenary soldiers or
migrated into Ghazni (Afghanistan), where
they established a Muslim state.
 Mahmud of Ghazni, leader of Turks in
Afghanistan, mounted seventeen
raiding expeditions into India between 1001
and 1027 C.E.
Spread of Islam

Mahmud plundered the wealth
stored in the many well-endowed
temples, demolished hundred of
sites associated with Hindu or
Buddhist faiths and established
mosques or Islamic shrines in
their place.


Adhai-din ka Jhonpra
Not interested in
conquering India, In the
late 12th Century, Mahmud
successors mounted a
systematic campaign to
conquer Northern India
and place it under Islamic
rule.
By the early 13th Century,
they had conquered most
of the Hindu kingdoms in
Northern India and
established an Islamic
state known as the
sultanate of Delhi.



The sultans established and ruled the Delhi Sultanate from
1206 to 1526.
Politically, the Delhi Sultanate will expand, but will
eventually shrink due to southern regions breaking away
and becoming independent states. (Some Muslim, Some Hindu)
1398, the Central Asian warlord Timur attacked and
captured Delhi. After a year of plundering, the city was in
ruins and Timur departed. The sultanate barely survived.

The sultans of Delhi was amongst
the most powerful in the Islamic
world, yet the authority of the
sultans did not extend beyond
Delhi.
• Raided the Deccan region, but could
not overcome Hindu resistance
• No permanent bureaucracy
• Northern India: Imposed very little
Islamic political or military authority
on a land populated mostly of Hindus
• Discord amongst the sultan’s court:
19 of the 35 Sultans of Delhi were
assassinated.

Nevertheless, the sultans of Delhi
sponsored Islam and helped to
establish a secure place for the
faith and culture within India.
(Art , Literature & Architecture)
Production and Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin
Agriculture in the Monsoon World

Because of the rhythms of the monsoons,
irrigation was essential for the maintenance of
an agricultural society.
Spring & Summer: Warm, moist winds from the
southwest bring most of India’s rainfall.
Autumn & Winter: Cool and very dry winds blow
from the northeast

Indian lands required a good watering by the
southern monsoon, supplemented by irrigation
during the dry months.

Light rain during the spring and summer
months or short supplies of water for irrigation
led to drought & famine.
 Dams, reservoirs, canals, wells, and tunnels
appeared throughout the south. Reservoirs
would catch the rains of the spring and
summer months and store it until the dry
season.
Increase in Population




.
increased productivity,
caused India’s
population to grow
steadily
Resulting in the
concentration of people
in cities.
During the 14th century,
Delhi had a population
of about 400,000
2nd only to Cairo among
Muslim cities.
Year
Population
600 C.E.
53,000,000
800 C.E.
64,000,000
1000 C.E.
79,000,000
1500 C.E.
105,000,000
Trade and the Silk Road


Even after the collapse of the classical
societies in Persia, China, India, and the
Mediterranean basin, the silk road trade
routes survived.
New imperial states reestablished order
throughout Eurasia and North Africa in the
6th Century, people within the eastern
hemisphere resumed their crossing of
cultural boundary lines in
the interest of trade & communication
Umayyad and Abbasid rulers maintained the roads
1)Military Expeditions
and Invasions.
Excellent routes for military
forces and administrative
officials extending from China
in the east to the
Mediterranean in the west.
2)Muslim merchants
3)Missionaries -
quick and
efficient travel: Buddhism
4) Migration
Indian Ocean Trade Network

Extensive Trade
Network linking
East Africa,
Arabian
Peninsula, India,
Indonesia,
China,& Japan.












East Africa
Gold, Slaves, Ivory, Animal Hides
Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Horses, Textiles, Carpet,
Glass
India
Cotton, Spices, Salt, Elephants
Indonesia
Spices (Cinnamon), Exotic Woods
China
Silk, Porcelain, Paper
Japan
Major Source of Silver
Trade in the Indian Ocean






Promoted more intense cross-cultural
communications.
Maritime trade was built on the political stability,
economic expansion, and demographic growth
Trade in bulk indicated a movement towards economic
integration
Societies of the Indian Ocean basin concentrated on
cultivating crops or producing goods for export while
importing foods or goods that they could not produce
Central location of Indian ports became the principal
clearinghouse of trade in the Indian Ocean basin &
became cosmopolitan centers. (Emporiums)
Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, & others who
inhabited the Indian port cities did business w/
counterparts from all over the Eastern Hemisphere.
Major Port Cities of
 India Ocean Trade
Network:






East Africa- Mombasa
Arabian Peninsula- Mecca
India- Calicut & Gujarati of
Cambay
* Gujarati: Major Muslim city
on W. Coast of India
China- Canton (Guangzhou)
Homework


Read and study next two slides
Answer Questions on the last three
slides
The Meeting of Hindu & Islamic Traditions Worksheet Notes
Caste and Society







The changes of the postclassical era brought a series of changes for
the Indian caste system.
(Migration, Islamic presence, urbanization, economic development)
The caste system has never been an unchangeable structure;
individuals and groups adjust and adapt it to new circumstances
creating a more complex system.
In the absence of a strong central government in India, the caste
system maintained order in local communities by providing guidance
on individuals’ roles in society and their relationships with others.
As migrants pursued opportunities in India, they gained recognition as
distinct groups under the umbrella of the caste system.
The caste system influenced the lives of most people by helping to
order their work and relationships with other workers. Most identified
with their sub-caste (jati).
As merchants and manufactures became important in the larger
economy, they organized powerful guilds to represent their interests.
Due to their wealth and contribution to the economic health, Merchant
guilds held a lot of political and economical influence.
Guild sub-caste rank depended on the merchants or artisans
specialization. (Silk, Cotton, Spice Merchants had their own guilds vs.
Iron, Steel, Leather Artisans having their separate guilds.)







The caste system became securely established in southern India as
well. The emergence of merchant & craft guilds in southern regions in
strengthened the caste system since guild members usually organized
as a sub-caste.
By the 11th Century, caste had become the principle basis of social
organization in Southern India.
Indian cultural landscape underwent a thorough transformation
during the postclassical era as well.
Buddhism will loose much of their popular following, but won’t
completely disappear.
In 1196 Muslim forces invaded and overran the city of Nalanda; looted
and torched Buddhist schools, libraries, and shrines where thousands
of Buddhist were either killed or sent into exile.
After 1000 C.E., Hindu and Islamic traditions increasingly dominate
the cultural and religious life in India and in some instances will even
merge. (Architecture, Art, Laws, etc.)
Indian Muslim Women vs. Indian Hindu Women
Hindu & Islamic Similarities
Hindu & Islamic Differences
Both promised salvation to devout individuals.
Hinduism is polytheistic vs. Islam is monotheistic.
Both promised a form of an after-life.
Hinduism believed in reincarnation as an after-life.
Islam followed a strict doctrine vs. Hindu’s variety
of types of worship.
All followers of Islam were equal vs. the Hindu
caste system.





In the 7th Century, King Harsha temporarily
restored unified rule in most of northern
India and sought to revive imperial
authority.
Homework
Answer the following questions:
How old was he when he took the throne in
the lower Ganges Valley?
What was King Harsha’s reputation? List 2
of his accomplishments that led to this
reputation.
What caused the collapse of Harsha’s
Kingdom?
Homework


What is a monsoon?
How might monsoons affected a region’s
agriculture?
Homework
Name the 3M’s of how Islam traveled
into India.
1)M_______ 2) M_______ 3)
M________
 Out of the 3 routes, explain which
(you believe)had the greatest impact
or influence in Indian Society.
