Transcript Ancient India - Leleua Loupe

Chapter 2
Ancient India
I. The Emergence of Civilization in
India: Harappan Society
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A. A Land of Diversity
Reflected in Language, culture, &
Religion (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism &
Islam)
Earliest peoples
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Hill people
Aryans – Pastoral peoples migrated 2 BCE
Speakers of Dravidian Family Languages
Figure 2-1 p39
I. The Emergence of Civilization in
India: Harappan Society
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B. Harappan Civilization: A Fascinating
Enigma
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1. Political and Social Structures
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Collection of 1,500 cities connected by trade and
alliances
Ruled by a coalition of landlords & merchants
Agricultural economy
Trade with Sumer
Mohenjo-Daro
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2. Harrappan Culture
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Painted pottery
Sculpture
Writing – 3rd BCE
Indus Script - undeciphered
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Figure 2-2 p42
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Mother Goddess
2600 – 1900 BCE
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Women’s Status
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No Decline in Economic power is evident
Women & men made pottery
No gender division
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Female olive pressers in Mesopotamia made
50 ltrs of barley as opposed to the 300 ltrs
that men made per month
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A wage gap that developed with the decline in
women’s status in Mesopotamia not evident in
Mohenjo Daro
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Economy
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Agriculture
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Wheat, barley, rice, peas, cotton
Today’s Bahrain was the meeting place
of Sumerian and Indus civilizations
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Imported Textiles and foodstuffs
Exported copper, lumber, precious stones,
luxury goods
3. The Collapse of Harappan
Civilization
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Gradual Decay & Sudden Destruction, C.
1500 BCE
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Skeletons, running & hiding
Mohenjo-Daro – City of the Dead
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Aryan Theory
Rise of Empire
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From Harrapan and Aryan to the
establishment of states:
Populated territories - Janapadas began to
emerge
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became republics & monarchies
by 300 BCE one of four large states, Magadha
was becoming an imperial power.
II. The Aryans in India
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A. From Chieftans to Kings
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Raja – Chieftans/rule by merit
Kshatriya – Warrior class
Maharajas – Great Rajas /power not absolute
Dharma - laws governing morals
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Greek Impact & India’s First
Dynasty
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Alexander the Great of Macedonia
invaded in 330BCE
Chandragupta Maurya (324-301 BCE)
Pataliputra
Kautilya
Arthasastra
Theory of Politics
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Arthasastra or manual of politics and
economics.
Danda niti – Policy of Scepter or of the
big stick
Cut throat view of interstate competition
“Justice of the Fish”
Larger states swallowed smaller ones
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend
4 Internal regulatory functions
of the State
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Setting in which people had the
opportunity to seek the four major goals
of life (Hindu)
 Artha
(wealth)
 Kama (sensual pleasure)
 dharma (fulfillment of social and religious
duties)
 moksha (the release from earthly existence
and union with the infinite power of the
universe)
The Family
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Social Unit – extended family (3
generations)
Patriarchal
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State helped reinforce gender rules
Men had power over women and
responsibility for protecting them
Women expected to run the household in
accordance with the wishes of the men and
to be available for the pleasure of men.
Sati
Divorce prohibited/some polygamy
The Mauryan Empire
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Racial Hierarchy – 5 Varna “colors”
3 twice-born classes
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Brahmin – priestly class
Kshatriya – Warriors
Vaisya – Merchants/pastoralists
Sudras- peasants, artisans, manual laborers
Pariahs – out castes or untouchables
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Originated as a slave class
Collect trash, handled the dead, butchers & tanners
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The Jati
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Kin group
System of extended families that
originated in ancient india
Developed into a system in which each
jati is identified with a kinship group in a
specific area carrying out a specific
function
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Each jati identified with a particular Varna
Governed by a council of elders
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Economy
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Agriculture
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With Aryan rule and the invention of the iron
plow, the center of Indian civilization shifted
from the Indus to the Ganges
Individual farmers paid taxes
Sharecroppers and landless laborers
Trade
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Expanded to include the pacific rim. Middle
east and the Mediterranean Sea
2BCE money economy developed along with
banking
4 regulated religious
establishments
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Hindu temples and Buddhist
monasteries developed considerable
economic and political power
They also influenced a wide range of
public and private decisions made by
their devotees and the state attempted
to regulate the use of this wealth and
power
III. Escaping the Wheel of Life: The
Religious World of Ancient India
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Brahmansim
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Reincarnation
Karma
Dharma
Popular Religion
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Hindu Pantheon - 33, 000 deities
Trinity of primary gods
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Brahman – the Creator
Vishnu – the Preserver
Shiva – the Destroyer
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Buddhism: The Middle Path
6th Century BCE
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The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
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2. Buddism and Brahmanism
Nirvana
Bodhi
Middle Path
Stupas
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Asoka – Indias Buddhist
emperor
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260 BCE
He converted to Buddhism a religion
firmly committed to non violence
Conversion was a result of the carnage
he had created
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150,000 people were deported
100,000 killed and many times that
perished
Figure 2-3 p57
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Welfare programs
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Founding of hospitals
Planting of medicinal plants and trees
Building of some 84,000 stupas or
Buddha burial mounds and monasteries
Freedom of Religion
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respect the beliefs and practices of other
sects
Following his death, no emperor was
strong enough to maintain centralized
power
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V. The Exuberant World of
Indian Culture
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A. Literature
Sanskrit
Prakrit
Vedas
Upanishads
Mahabharata
Ramayana
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India after the Mauryas
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183 BCE last Maurya ruler overthrown
1 CE Kushan Kingdom
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