Transcript Ancient Civilizations

Review
• Ancient Mesopotamia
– Sumerians > Akkadians > Babylonians
• Ancient Egypt
– Old Kingdom > Middle Kingdom > New Kingdom
• Indo-Europeans
–
–
–
–
Nomads
Hittites
Phoenicians
Israelites
• New Empires
– Assyrians
– Persians
Ancient Civilization in India
Early Civilization in India
• 3000-1500 BCE in the
Indus River Valley
(“Indus River Valley
Civilization”)
• Over a thousand
settlements, two major
cities (that we know
of):
– Harappa
– Mohenjo-Daro
Cities
• Harappa: 35,000 people
• Mohenjo-Daro: 35,000-40,000 people
• Carefully planned cities – broad streets
(north/south) and smaller roads (east/west)
• Walled neighborhoods, “large” houses (3
stories high) constructed of mud bricks
• Public wells, bathrooms, drainage, trash
chutes
Government & Economy
• Connection between religious & political
power
– Rulers based on divine power
– Royal palace and holy temple combined into a
citadel (fortress)
• Economy based on farming (relied on annual
Indus River floods)
• Traded with city-states in Mesopotamia via
ship over the Persian Gulf
Decline of Indus Valley Civ.
• Floods, earthquakes, change in climate, and
change in course of Indus River caused decline
• Final collapse came from Aryan invaders
Aryan Invasion (1500 BCE)
• Indo-European nomadic people moved from central
Asia – conquered Indus Valley Civ.
• Excelled at art of war (common to nomadic people)
and slowly conquered most of India
• Major contributions to culture:
– Sanskrit
– Caste System
– Hinduism
Aryan Society
• Pastoral nomads – gave up for farming
settlements in India
• Developed written system of Sanskrit (1000
BCE)
• Early India was “a world of warring kingdoms
and shifting alliances” – competition between
different rajas (princes) and chieftains
Family in Ancient India
• Extended family, patriarchal
• Women
– Could not inherit property, serve as priests, or be educated
– Suttee: dead are burned on funeral pyres and the wife was
required to throw herself on her dead husband’s flaming pyre
Hinduism
• Vedas – written collection of religious beliefs
• Belief in single force in the universe: Brahman
• 6th century BCE – idea of Reincarnation*
– *Reincarnation provides a spiritual justification for caste
system.
• Goal: to merge with Brahman after death
• Karma: what people do in their current lives
determines where they will be in their next lives
• Dharma: the divine law that must be followed
• Yoga: method of physical training to lead to “oneness
with God”
Brahma the Creator
Vishnu the
Preserver
Shiva the
Destroyer
Buddhism
• 6th c. BCE – Siddhartha Gautama founds a
new religion
Buddhism
• Goal: to achieve nirvana (the end of the self and
a reunion with the Great World Soul)
• Four Noble Truths
– Ordinary life is full of suffering.
– This 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 Middle Path.
The Middle/Eightfold Path
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Right views
Right aspirations
Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right contemplation
Dharma Wheel
Transition
• Aryans brought little political unity – faced
threats from Persia, the Greeks, and the
Macedonians
• Alexander the Great (Macedonian king)
conquered India (327 BCE) but they soon left
and gave rise to a new dynasty – the Mauryan
Dynasty
Mauryan Dynasty
• Founded by
Chandragupta Maurya
who drove out foreign
forces and established
capital at Pataliputra
(northern India)
– Highly centralized,
provinces ruled by
governors, large army,
secret police
– Always feared
assassination
Reign of Asoka
• Flourished under grandson of
Maurya
• “Greatest ruler in the history of
India”
• Expanded trade – India became
crossroads between East and West
• Used Buddhism to guide his rule
– Hospitals
– Trees and shelters along road for
travelers
• Died in 232 BCE – decline – eventual
collapse
Kushan Kingdom
• 1st century CE – founded
by nomadic warriors in
north (rest of India –
fighting kingdoms)
• Masters of trade route:
Silk Road
– Route from eastern
China to Mesopotamia
(4,000 miles)
– Carried luxury goods via
camel caravans
• Invaded by Persia in 3rd
century CE
Kingdom of the Guptas
• 320 CE – new kingdom in central
Ganges Valley by Chandragupta –
capital at Pataliputra
• Empire expanded by son
Samudragupta
• Dominant political force throughout
northern India; also established
loose control over central India
• New age of Indian civilization
– Tolerance of Buddhism
– Prosperity/trade
– Large cities with temples along trade
routes
– Kings lived in luxury
• Invaded by Huns (nomadic people
from the northwest)
Ancient Indian Literature
– Vedas (earliest; religious text)
– Historical epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana
• Bhagavad Gita (most famous section; sermon by
Krishna setting forth emphasis on moral rightness)
Ancient Indian Architecture
Mauryan Dynasty – spread of Buddhist architecture
(especially reign of Asoka)
Ancient Indian Science
– Recognized the Earth
was round
– Charted movements of
the heavens
– Mathematics
• Aryabhata: most famous
mathematician of Gupta
Empire – one of the first
scientists to use algebra
– introduced the
concept of zero