Transcript Civl 201: World Civilizations The Emergence of India & China (2500

India
India
Himalaya
Mountain Range
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Rivers: Indus,
Ganges
• Early cities in the river valleys (Indus and
Ganges)
• Floods are unpredictable and can be
dangerous
Harappan Civilization (2500-1500 BC)
Indus River Valley
Mohenjodaro: Harappan city
Mohenjodaro
What can you say about the city by looking
at this plan?
Challenges to our
understanding!
• We have seen development of elites,
social differentiation in Egypt and
Mesopotamia
• Hierarchy is shown in architecture:
Temples, Tombs, Palaces
• None here!
Harappan Writing
450 Symbols
Inscriptions usually 5 symbols
long
Harappan Seals
Sacred cow in
India today
What happened to this early Indus Civilization?
Economic collapse? Environment? Invasion?
Aryans establish new cities along the Ganges river
Caste System
• Priests (Brahmins)
• Warriors (Kshatriyas)
• Traders, merchants, artisans, free
farmers (Vaisya)
• Slaves, servants (Sudra)
• Untouchables
Caste-based discrimination is now
illegal in India
but people still often marry within their caste
Brahmin Wedding
Hinduism
• mixture of Aryan and earlier Indian gods
and practices
• no single founder or doctrine—long
process of development (1500 BC – 500
BC)
• Third largest world religion after
Christianity and Islam
Teachings of Hinduism
• Traditionally Hindus must abide by
caste laws (dharma) by accumulating
good deeds (karma) so that when
one is reborn / reincarnated
(samsara) you find yourself in a
better position in the caste system.
Eventually – with enough Karma you
may experience moksha - a release
of cycle of rebirth and reincarnation
Ahimsa - non-violence
• Important for good
karma
• Principle used by
Ghandi in peacefully
resisting the British
rule of India
Hindu Gods
• major gods: Brahma,
Vishnu, Shiva
Hindu Devotional Practices
• acquiring religious
learning (  guru)
• asceticism
• meditation
• yoga
Bhagavad Gita - world’s longest epic story
Diwali
(= festival commemorating the return of Rama and
Sita after defeating the demon king Ravana, from
Ramayana)
There are two major types of Hindu temples
The Northern Style looks like a mountain
The Southern Indian temple looks like a multi-level pyramid
Where is this temple? Northern or
Southern India ?
North or South ?
Mauryan Dynasty (321-185 B.C.)
• first dynasty to
rule all of India
• Ashoka (= first
Buddhist emperor)
Buddhism
• Siddharta Gautama (563483 BCE) = Buddha
• lived in great luxury and
isolation; however, one
day he encountered a
sick person, an old
person, and a dying
person, and he started to
think about human misery
and how to escape this
misery.
Buddhism
• Spent years
wandering, fasting,
meditating
• Siddharta became
Buddha - “the
enlightened one”
• preached for rest of
life, founded Buddhist
order of monks
Teachings of Buddhism
• cause of all human suffering is desire for
worldly things
• worldly things are illusory
• ultimate spiritual reality of things = nirvana
• possible to reach nirvana
-by turning away from evil
-by denying the human body
-by deep meditation
Buddhist Shrines
Spread of Buddhism
• India: attractive to
low castes
• spread by monks
and pilgrims
Buddhism in Different Parts of the World