Transcript INDIA 321 B.C.E.

INDIA
321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.
Hinduism
“God is one, but wise people know it
by many names”
 Brahman–all-powerful spiritual force
 Reincarnation-rebirth of the soul in
another bodily form
 Karma-all the actions of one’s life that
affects the fate of the next life
 Dharma-religious and moral duties of an
individual
1. Temple
Worship
2. Recitation of
sacred text
3. Pilgrimage
4. Meditation
Hindu Practices
Caste System
 Closely tied to Hindu beliefs
 Governed everyday life
 “Untouchables”
 Ensured a stable social order
 Sense of identity
How did Buddhism change?
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Buddha began to be worshipped by
Buddhists
boddhisatvas appeared - those that gave
up nirvana to help others
Eightfold Path
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
Right belief
Right resolve
Live a moderate lifestyle =
the Middle Path
Right speech
Right behavior In order to attain spiritual
Right occupation independence or nirvana - break
away from the cycle of
Right effort
reincarnation
Right contemplation
Right meditation
Who will be attracted?
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It will appeal to members of the lower
castes
women
How will it spread?
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Ashoka’s conversion helps it spread in
India
monks in monasteries
merchants through trade
Back to India
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Mauryan Empire 324 B.C.E. - 184 B.C.E.
Gupta Empire - classical era of India 320 550 C.E.
Maurya Empire
Chandragupta Maurya-King
 Well organized bureaucracy
 Village-fundamental unit of
government
 Tax collecting and courts
 Civil and military organization
 Effective but harsh
 Slavery
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Mauryan
Empire
321 - 185 B.C.E.
Most famous ruler:
Ashoka - turned Buddhist
BEFORE the Mauryan Empire, India’s government was separated into
kingship groups and independent groups. AFTER the rule of the Mauryan
Empire, India again divided into many regional kingdoms. The caste system
was in place so political authority was of only secondary importance.
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Asoka-Most honored King
 Bloody war
 Converted to Buddhism
 Missionaries
 Hospitals
 Roads and rest houses
Asoka 274 -232 BCE
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Most famous king
Empire covered 2/3 of subcontinent
Warrior
Experienced a conversion and became a
Buddhist
Gave up warfare
Issued laws showing concern for others
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Rock edits caved into stone
Used native languages and Sanskrit
Built hospitals and shelters for travelers
Mauryan Collapse
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Asoka’s successors abused power
Levied heavy taxes
Seized crops
People revolted in 184
India again split into small kingships
Gupta Empire 310 AD
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Base was once again old Magadha
kingdom
Chandragupta I united tribes
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Married well gaining land and power
Became known as India’s Golden Age
Smaller then Mauryas
Never captured Deccan
 Never controlled the Indus valley
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Trade
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With knowledge of monsoons
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Open water trade between East Africa and India
begins
Indian coastline not good for big ships
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Government needed to give small ships to lead big ships to
harbor
Government control of trade led to centralized government
and many small states
Ivory major import to India
Spices, rice, sugar, indigo and Iron for Mediterranean
bullion
Trade with China
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Through Southeast Asia
First across sea of Bengal to Isthmus of Bra
 Then through Straits of Melaka
 Indian religion and culture taken to South
East Asia
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Buddhism
 Hindu kingship and ritual added
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Gupta Religion
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Hinduism was religion of the empire
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Devotional worship of Vishnu and Shiva
Encouraged study of the Upanishads
Built elaborate temples
Buddhism tolerated
Gupta Government:
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Gupta emperors did not have a
bureaucracy but instead allowed local
rulers to maintain regional control =
regionalism
Uniformed law codes and roads built
No single language imposed but Sanskrit
was the language of the educated people
What provided order and stability? caste
system
Patriarchal Society
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Women lose rights:
child brides - marriage arranged with dowries
 sati - widow to cremate herself on her
husband’s funeral pyre
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Marriage
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Unilaterial flow of gifts from brides family to
husbands
Only acceptable condition for women
Child marriage grew
Sati was encouraged
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Women seen as resposible for husband’s welfare
Tradition held 35 million years of bliss for those that
performed sati
If they did not sati
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Wear white, no jewelry
Eat only 1 meal and day
Legal rights of women
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Law of Manu
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Dayabhada – Bengali tradition
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Limited property rights
Called for marriage of women at a young age to much older
men
Widows were forbidden to remarry
Women inherited Stridhan and property
Sati more prevalent in Bengal
Mitskara
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Limited rights to property
Land divided among male family members
Women inherited after great grandson
Economy
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an agricultural economy but with
more emphasis on trade than in
Mediterranean civilizations and in
China - merchants enjoyed a high
caste status
steel surpasses China’s
manufacture of cotton cloth, calico
and cashmere
The Tamils of south India traded
cotton and silks
Gupta Art and Learning
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Poets,playwright,philosophers and scientists flourished
Panchatantra
 Collection of folk tales
 Morals though animal tales-like Aesop’s fables
Kalidasa a famous playwright wrote Shakuntala a
romance
University of Nalanda
 8 colleges and 3 libraries
Spread of Indian culture
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Indian culture, Hinduism and Buddhism
spreads through Indian Ocean trade to
S.E. Asia
Indian religion of Buddhism spread to
China through the Silk Road
Indian Number system
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place value notation - tens, hundreds,
thousands columns
invention of the zero
spreads to Middle East
Europeans adopt is from Arabs = Arabic
numerals are really Indian numerals Arabs transported them to the west Spain
Gupta Empire
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Strong central government
 Peace and prosperity
 Power left up to villages
Golden Age
 Great cultural achievements
 Literature
 Arabic numerals-1,2,3….
 Decimal system-.0123
 Surgeons and vaccinations
Decline
Weak rulers
 Civil war
 Foreign invaders
 White Huns
 Destroyed cities and trade
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 Split
into many
kingdoms
Death of the Gupta Empire
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Invaded by the “White Huns”, Rajputs
Broke into small states in early 600ACE
Ripe for take over
Invasions from the north were frequent
Harsha – Rajput king unified N. India
 Tolerant
 Buddhist
 Died 647 CE died
About to face Islamic invasions
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was a “theatre-state.”
This means that rulers used rituals and
ceremonies to persuade others to follow its
lead.
SPRITE features of the Gupta Empire.
S = urbanization and new middle class led to women’s status drops; practice of sati and child
brides begins; women escaped these new restrictions joining Jainist or Buddhist communities.
P = A theatre-state; rulers not as powerful as Mauryans; hereditary governors controlled provinces
and could exploit their people; labor tax as well as tax on agriculture sustained the gov’t.
R = Gupta rulers were Hindu but practiced religious toleration; Hinduism and the caste system
became more important and status of Brahmin priests increased
T = astronomers, mathematicians and scientists were supported by the government; the concept of
zero and the system of place-value notation was invented known as “Arabic” number system
E = Trade flourished; After the fall of the Roman Empire, merchants turned to S.E. Asia for trade,
especially Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula; the government monopolized the mining of salt and
metals