Transcript Ancient India

Classical India
AP Information
Indus River Valley
 Located on the Indian Subcontinent
(India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh)
 Geographic Factors:
 Bodies of Water: Bay of Bengal, Arabian
Sea, and Indian Ocean
 Mountains: Himalayas, Hindu Kush, and
Karakorum
 Important Rivers: Indus and Ganges
 Monsoons can cause crop failure and
famine
Ancient India
 Indus River fostered
the development of
civilization
 Major cities of
ancient India
 Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
Harappan Civilization
 Well-planned cities
 Extensive drainage systems and brick buildings with
bathrooms
 Highly productive farms with irrigation canals and
domesticated animals
 System of writing on clay seals (not deciphered)
 Animals were important – presence of animals on
artifacts
 Pottery and implements show similarities to
Sumerians
 Indus River Valley Civilization ended by invading
Aryans
Aryans & the Caste
System
AP World History
Aryans
 Excelled at the art of war
 Used iron (for plow &
weapons)
 Developed Sanskrit
(language) and Maharajas
 Conquered the Dravidians
 Introduced the Caste
System
 Were pastoralists/herders
Social system that people are born
into and there is no way to move
into a higher caste
 Four (4) main castes based
loosely on occupation
 Brahmin - priests
(highest)
 Kshatriya - warriors and
political leaders
 Vaishya - merchants and
farmers
 Sudra - laborers and
servants
Untouchables
 Members of what can be called the “5th
Caste”
 Perform jobs such as cleaning the
streets, transporting dead bodies, and
slaughtering animals.
 Also called “outcasts”
Mauryan & Gupta
Dynasties
AP World History
Similarities
 Rulers: Chandragupta (Maurya) & Chandra
Gupta (Gupta)
 Centralized governments
 Wars-violence
 Declines perpetuated because of invasions
 Patriarchal
 Literature
 Tamil people in southern India
 Advances: math - value of pi
Maurya Empire
 Chandragupta Maurya (1st ruler)
 Fierce warrior
 Fought Seleucus (Greek General) and won
 321 B.C. claimed throne – united north India
for the first time by 303 B.C.
 Relied on advisor named Kautilya (priest
who advocated tough minded policies);
divided empire into four (4) provinces
 Maintained large armies
 Levied high taxes
 Developed a large bureaucracy (w/a postal
“No, I’m not a girl!”
service)
 Highly autocratic – relied on personal &
military power
Maurya Dynasty
 Ashoka
 Grandson of Chandragupta who converted
to Buddhism
 Became king in 301 B.C.
 Tolerant of non-Buddhists; urged religious
toleration
 Extended Maurya rule & created extensive
road network
 Power vacuum created after his death
Gupta Empire (320-535 C.E.)
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Established by Chandra Gupta
Large empire
Uniform law code
Influence w/o constant fighting
(through intermarriage)
Greatest period of political
stability and flowering of Indian
civilization (astronomy,
mathematics, literature,
medicine, and trade)
Trade expanded to distant
regions (Silk Roads)
Was patriarchal (north) and
matriarchal (south – Tamil
groups)
Overturned by the Huns
Miscellaneous
 Literature – Panchantanta (Sinbad & Jack the
Giant Killer), Mahabharata & Ramayana (Aryan
epic poems composed in Sanskrit which include
myths, legends, philosophy, and moral stories) &
Upanishads (poems with mystical themes that
inspired Hindu ideas of divine forces and how
they formed the universe)
 Tamils – Southern Indians who traded cotton,
silks, and many other materials with the Middle
East and with Rome. Reflected strong merchant
spirit in classical India
Miscellaneous (cont.)
 Yoga – Hindu practice of meditation and
self-discipline which has the goal to free
the mind to concentrate on the divine
spirit
Trade & Commerce
 Jains turned to commerce to avoid
farming
 Traded for gold with the Roman
Empire; w/Persians
 Asoka’s successors taxed goods
sold by merchants
 Traded gems, spices, cotton, teak,
& ebony for horses from Arabia &
Central Asia; silk from China
 Emphasized trade more than
China
 Traded w/China, but had little
impact; more with Middle East &
Mediterranean
 Indian merchants traded cotton
textiles and bronze statuaries via
Indian Ocean
Science & Technology
 Maurya: Asoka built roads, hospitals,
veterinary clinics
 Gupta: arts & sciences flourished
 Gupta: developed principle of algebra,
infinity, and concept of zero; “Arabic
numerals”, negative numbers, square roots
 Astronomy: earth’s rotation around sun,
circumference of earth & planets; gravity
 Stupas built by Ashoka
 Panchatantra with “Sinbad the Sailor” and
“Jack the Giant Killer”
 Medicine: set bones, performed operations,
invented medical instruments; ethics,
cleanliness
 Epic poems: Mahabharata (100,000
verses) & Ramayana (24,000 verses)
 Upanishads
Social Classes
 Caste system made up of
varnas: Brahmans,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras,
& Pariah
 Only priests and warriors
could recite the Vedas
 Priests replaced warriors at
the top of the caste system
 Castes/varnas divided into
jatis based on occupation
 Castes promoted tolerance;
goes hand in hand with
Hinduism
Expansion & Conflict
 1500 B.C. - Aryan invasion (IndoEuropean hunter-herder migrants)
 500 B.C. – Persians under Darius I
conquer Indus River valley
 327. B.C. – Alexander the Great’s
armies make it to the Indus River
 Asoka builds empire through war;
renounces violence after much
bloodshed
 Kushans invade from northwest
 Gupta – invasion of the Huns
brings end to empire
Cultural Diffusion
 Buddhism spreads to other parts
of Asia especially China, Japan,
Korea, Middle East, & Sri Lanka
 Indian art influenced China
 Symbols for 1-9 adopted by
traders from Middle East;
became Arabic numerals that we
use today
 Hinduism influence spreads to
surrounding areas (Angkor Wat
in Cambodia is dedicated to
Vishnu)
 Hellenistic culture transferred to
India through Alex the Great’s
armies
 Stoicism stimulated by Buddhist
emissaries to Middle East
Women
 Men dominated the Aryan
world (patriarchal)  Aryan women had choice of
choosing husband;
 Indian women could remarry if
widowed; took part on social
affairs; high ranking boys and
girls could attend school; were
educated in household tasks
 Status of women declines after
Aryans arrive
 Gupta- women & mothers
highly respected, but had little
independence
Demographics & Disease
 Vaccinations for smallpox
 Mainly agricultural
 Untouchables considered
unclean as if they had a
contagious disease
 India’s population was
mostly farmers clustered
together for aid and
protection
 Most people lived in poverty
Racial & Ethnic Issues
Philosophies & Ideologies
Manufacturing
 Were the first to
produce cotton
calico, & cashmere
Literature
Revolts and Revolutions