Transcript AP World History Chapter 3

AP World History
Chapter 3
Classical Civilization India
Aryan Civilization
• Indo European people who migrated across
Europe and Asia.
• No Archeological record of early Aryans.
• Priests called Vedas kept oral stories that were
passed down for generations.
• The Vedas oral histories were written down
around 1500 B.C.E
Aryan Society
• Aryans loved fighting, drinking, and playing dice.
• They broke their society into four groups.
– Brahmins or Priests.
– Kshatriyas or Warriors.
– Vaisyas or merchants, artists, farmers and herders.
– Sudras or natives conquered by Aryans.
• Later the for groups were divided by economic
status.
• Slowly castes developed subdividing the people.
Aryan Religious Beliefs
• Aryans were polytheistic.
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Indra = God of Thunder, War= Weapon Thunderbolt.
Varuna = God of Order.
Agni = God of Fire = Messenger.
Brahman = God of all things.
Mystics = People who seek spiritual things.
Rajahs = Elected warrior leaders.
Nomads to Farmers
• The Aryans began to settle in villages then
cities.
• Rajahs became hereditary monarchs.
• By 500 B.C.E many Rajahs controlled a new
civilization of both Aryans and natives.
• Written language of Sanskrit began to appear.
Mahabharata
• India’s greatest epic poem.
• Story of Aryans fighting each other.
• Five royal brothers fight one battle that lasts
18 days.
Ramayana
• The hero Rama must rescue Sita his beautiful
bride from the demon king Ravana.
• The monkey general Hanuman helps Rama
rescue Sita.
• Rama = ideal king.
• Sita = ideal women.
Classical Age India
• Alexander the Great.
• We learn about the
Maurya empire from a
Greek diplomat.
Chandragupta, Maurya Empire
• The first leader who conquered northern
India.
• The empire was maintained by a well
organized Bureaucracy.
• The government built roads, harbors,
collected taxes, and had royal courts.
Asoka
• The most honored Maurya emperor.
• He conquered the Deccan region at the cost of
100,000 dead.
• He then converted to Buddhism.
• He stopped all conquest and became a
vegetarian.
• He built stone pillars announcing peace and
prosperity and helped unite a divided people.
Advances
• Literature.
– Fables, and folk tales in the Sanskrit language
– Most famous play was Shakuntala.
• Art.
– Murals or wall paintings, Sexually vivid.
• Architecture, stone temples, stupa’s or domes.
– Lots of carvings.
• Physicians.
– Plastic surgery.
– Vaccination of people against small pox.
• Math.
– Concept of Zero.
– Decimal system based on 10.
Kushan Empire
• Nomadic Empire that spread rapidly across
the northern empire.
• The Kushans adopted elements of the
Hellenistic culture of Bactria.
• They adopted the Greek alphabet to suit their
own language
Gupta Destroyed
• About the time of the Roman Empires collapse the
White Huns overran the Gupta empire.
• India split into many kingdoms for almost a 1000
years.
Many Gods or One
• Hinduism has no founder but grew out of
many cultures and people.
• One of the worlds most complex religions.
“God is one, but wise people know it by many
names.”
• Brahman is the one god but people worship
him as thousands of different gods.
Hindu Beliefs
• Reincarnation
– Rebirth of the soul.
– Can be reborn up or down in the cast system.
• Gurus
– Great knowledge leads people as a teacher.
• Mystics
– Religious leaders
Varuna God of the Sky
Hindu Sacred Texts
• Bhagavad-Gita.
– Teaches duty over personal desires and ambitions.
The Goal of Life
• Every person on earth has a atman or
Brahman.
• The goal is to achieve moksha or union with
your Brahman.
– You must free yourself of selfish desires.
– It may take several lives to obtain.
– Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul.
Karma and Dharma
• Karma deals with all actions in this life that
affect his or her status in the next life.
• All existence is ranked. Humans are at the top
then comes animals, plants, and rocks.
• Dharma is the duties that each class of people
must accomplish to progress.
Opposition to the Brahmins
• Some people rejected traditional Hinduism for
a more extreme form.
Early Life
• The early life of Gautama was spent in a
palace surrounded by luxury.
• Prince Gautama married and had a son.
• Gautama was sheltered by his father who did
not want him to become a traveling holy man.
The Search
• Gautama was riding one day and came across a dead
man, a sick person, and an old man.
• He left his family to find a place without suffering.
“why is their so much suffering in life?”
• He sat under a tree for 48 days pondering the
mystery of life.
• he answered the question, his name changed to
Buddha. “the enlightened one.”
• Nirvana and Moksha.
Four Noble Truths
• All life is filled with pain and suffering.
• The cause of suffering is the desire for things
that are really illusions, such as riches, power,
and long life.
• The cure for suffering is to overcome desire.
• Overcome desire by following the Eightfold
Path.
Buddhism and Hinduism Compared
• Both Buddhism and Hinduism believe in the
cycle of rebirth.
• Buddhism grew out of Hinduism.
• Both stress non-violence.
Buddhist Sacred Texts
• The Tripitaka or “Three Baskets of Wisdom”
– “Overcome evil with good.”
– “Overcome the liar with truth.”
Two Sects of Buddhism
• Theravada: Followed the original teachings of
Buddha closely.
• Mahayana: Worship Buddha even though
Buddha taught the people not to worship him.
• Afterlife with many heavens and hells.
Decline of Buddhism in India
• Hinduism eventually absorbed some Buddhist
ideas.
• Hinduism added Buddha to their long list of
Gods.
• Muslim armies destroyed the few remaining
Buddhist centers of learning in the North.
Priest Morning Rituals
The Upanishads
• The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an
early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known.
• All Upanishads have been passed down in oral tradition.
Kamasutra
• It presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living.
• A book on practical advice on sex.
Stupa’s
• A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics,
typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place
of worship.
Economy and Society
Patriarchal
• arranged marriages
• companionate
Textiles
• Iron working
• Steel
• Long-distance trade
Indian Influence
• Spread Via trade
• Buddhism
China and India
• Contrasts
• Indian sensuality v. Chinese restraint in art
• India more rigid socially
• Similarities
• large peasant classes
• patriarchy