Transcript India*s First Empires * c. 1000B.C. * AD 500

INDIA’S FIRST EMPIRES –
C. 1000B.C. – A.D. 500
WORLD HISTORY, CHAPTER 5
IMPORTANT VOCABULARY
• Varnas
• Caste System
• Hinduism
• Reincarnation
• karma
• Dharma
• Buddhism
• Nirvana
• Silk Road
• Vedas
• pilgrim
CHAPTER 5, LESSON 1:
ORIGINS OF HINDU INDIA
GOAL: STUDENTS WILL KNOW THAT ANCIENT INDIAN SOCIETY AND RELIGIONS
WERE INFLUENCED STRONGLY BY ARYAN IDEAS
ORIGINS OF HINDU INDIA
• Between 1500 B.C. and 400 B.C., the spread of the Aryans and their
interactions with the indigenous Dravidians resulted in a new Indian culture.
• Two prominent features of this culture were:
• unique social class system
• the Hindu religion
SOCIAL CLASS IN ANCIENT INDIA
• The four Varnas
• Varnas was the name given by Aryans in Ancient India to a group of people in what was believed to be
an ideal social structure of four groups:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brahmins - priests
Kshatriyas – warrior-administrators
Vaisya – common folk (artisans, farmers, herdsman, etc.)
Sudras – duty is to serve the other classes
• Caste System
• A set of rigid categories in ancient India that determined a person’s occupation and economic potential,
•
as well as his or her position in society
Based partly on skin color
INDIA’S CASTE SYSTEM
Varnas
Meaning
of Title
Associated
Body Parts
Occupations
Brahmins
Possessor of
Brahma (a
Hindu god
Mouth: teach,
advise
Priests, learned
professions
Kshatriyas
Holders of
authority
Arms: defend,
protect
Warriors,
landowners,
rulers
Vaisyas
Those settled
on soil
Legs: supply
needs
Farmers,
merchants
Sudras
(meaning of
this word is
uncertain
Feet: support
society
Artisans,
laborers
WellKnown
Member
Rabrindranath
Tagor (18171905), Hindu
philosopher
Siddhartha
Guatama (c.
sixth century
B.C.), founder
of Buddhism
Mahatma
Ghandi (18691948), political
leader
Nammazhvar
(c. eighth
century A.D.), a
poet
CENTRAL IDEAS OF HINDUISM
• Hinduism is a major religious system, which had it origins in the religious
beliefs of the Aryans who settled India after 1500 B.C.
• Hinduism, along with Buddhism, included fundamental ideas that were crucial
in shaping the history of India and other civilizations
PRINCIPLES OF HINDUISM
• Reincarnation
• The idea that the soul/self is reborn after death
• Depending on the dedication and effort of the self, after some number of rebirths it will achieve its final goal of union with Brahman
• Karma
• Action and consequence
• A person’s intentional acts have consequences that will determine the person’s future condition in this life and the next life after
reincarnation
• Dharma
•
•
•
•
“order, truth, duty, law”
Requires all people to do their duty based on their status in society
Probably the most important concept of Hindu teachings
Defines duty and right behavior
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS OF HINDU INDIA
varnas
• Aryan social groups
caste
• Later system of social
structure
yoga
• A method of oneness
with Brahman
Chief
gods
Vishnu
Shiva
• Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva
Brahma
CHAPTER 5, LESSON 2:
BUDDHISM
GOAL: STUDENTS WILL KNOW THAT BUDDHISM, WHICH SHARES SOME BELIEFS
WITH HINDUISM, CAME TO RIVAL IT AS A RELIGION IN ANCIENT INDIA
BUDDHISM ORIGINS
•
A religious doctrine introduced in northern
India
•
Began in the fifth or sixth century B.C. that
appeared in northern India
•
Buddhism was the product of one man,
Siddhartha Guatama (a.k.a. Buddha or
“Enlightened One”), whose simple message of
achieving wisdom created a new spiritual
philosophy in India.
•
Buddhism became a rival to Hinduism in India
and also spread to other regions of Asia
BUDDHISM TEACHINGS
• The Buddha’s followers adhere to his teachings, the
dharma meaning “divine law”
• The Dharma’s aim is to end suffering in the world
• This goal is called Nirvana which is the end of the self
and a reunion with the Great World Soul
• Nirvana can be achieved only by understanding the
Four Noble Truths and practicing the Eightfold Path
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
Ordinary life is full of
suffering
Suffering is caused by
our desire to satisfy
ourselves
The way to end
suffering is to end
desire for selfish goals
and to see others as
extensions of ourselves
The way to end desire
is to follow the
Eightfold Path
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Right View:
• Knowing the Four Noble Truths
2. Right Intention
• Resolving to reach Enlightenment
3. Right Speech
• Speaking truthfully and with kindness
4. Right Action
• Leading a normal life
5. Right Livelihood
• Working in a responsible and harmless way
6. Right Effort
• Ceaseless, unwavering striving to Enlightenment
7. Right Mindfulness
• Controlling our thought
8. Right Concentration
• Meditating to see the world how it is
BUDDHA’S KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
• Rejected
• Life of ease, extreme self-denial, the caste system, gods
• Accepted and/or Taught
• Suffering as a fact of life, the philosophical world as illusion, reincarnation, meditation,
karma, the Noble Truths, the Middle Path (Eightfold Path)
CHAPTER 5, LESSON 3:
THE MAURYANS AND THE GUPTAS
GOAL: STUDENTS WILL KNOW THAT NEW INDIAN EMPIRES GREW RICH
THROUGH TRADE AND LEFT A LASTING LEGACY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
THE MAURYANS AND THE GUPTAS
• From around 1500 B.C. to 400 B.C. numerous small kingdoms challenged one
another, preventing peace in India.
• In order to confront invaders they united creating three new Indian empires.
• The Mauryan Empire
• The Kushan Empire
• The Empire of the Gupta
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Founded by Candragupta Maurya
• Ruled from 324 B.C. to 301 B.C.
• Paranoid about assassination (never slept in the same place twice in a row)
• Well organized and highly centralized
• Divided his empire into provinces, ruled by governors he appointed
• Large army, a vast network of spies, and a secret police
• Asoka succeeded his grandfather’s and is considered the greatest ruler in the history of India.
• Converted to Buddhism which guided his rule
• Set up hospitals for the welfare of the people and animals
• Supported Buddhist missionaries who travelled throughout India and into China
THE KUSHAN EMPIRE
•
Prospered from trade
•
•
•
Most trade was between the Roman Empire and China
Shipped along the routes known as the Silk Road, so called because silk was China’s most
valuable product
Kushan culture was shaped by surrounding societies such as China, Persia and the
Roman Empire but held on to a distinct Indian culture.
•
•
•
Adapted the Greek alphabet for their language
Practiced both Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as Zoroastrianism from Persia
Developed a calendar based on the sun and the moon
THE EMPIRE OF THE GUPTAS
• Became one of the most influential political force in northern India
• Under a series of efficient monarchs, especially Candra Gupta II, created a golden age of
Indian culture
• Traded with China, Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean and also encouraged domestic
trade in cloth, salt and iron
• Gupta rulers were very wealthy
• Awoke to music, drank from ruby cups with lutes playing while dining with their guests
• Much of their wealth came from religious trade from pilgrims (people who travel to religious
places)
Mauryan
Empire
• Centralized
empire
• Guided by
Buddhist
ideals
• Major trade
crossroads
Kushan
Empire
• Covered
northern
India
• Prospered
from trade
Guptas
• Golden age
of Indian
culture
• Active in
trade
• Prosperous
empire
INDIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Literature
• Vedas: the earliest known Indian literature, which contain religious chants
and stories
• Mahabhrata and Ramayana: two epic stories that were compiled over
many centuries
Architecture
• Carved stone pillars
• Stupas
• Rock-cut caves
Science, Math, and Technology
• Algebra
• Astronomy
• Metalworking