India’s First Empires

1. India’s First Empires

2. India 3000 b.c.- 500 a.d. • 3000-1500 B.C. early civilization. • Indus River Valley-modern Pakistan; served as the cradle of Indian civilization. • Two Regions- • The Northern Plain & Deccan Plateau. • Three Rivers: Ganges River, Indus River and Brahmaputra • -important to Indian culture. • Himalaya–highest mountains in the world. • Karakorum, Hindu Kush

3. India’s First Civilization • Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • Two Indian civilizations • Rulers Divine Right • Religion and Political Power tied together. • Economy based on farming. • Extensive trade

4. Aryans • Who were the Aryans? • Indo-Europeans who came south across the Hindu Kush mountain range. • Pastoral people with strong warrior tradition. • Nomadic people who developed their own written language called SANSKRIT • Rajas: princes who controlled small kingdoms in India.

5. India’s Social System • Caste System • Rigid social categories. • Based on a person’s occupation and extended family network. • Social Classes (varnas) • Brahmans= in charge of religious ceremonies. • Kshatriyas= warriors • Vaisyas= commoners (merchants and farmers) • Sudras= peasants/labor • Untouchables= not considered human

6. Family in India • Family basic unit of society. • Extended family. • Superiority of males. • Guru: teacher (generally only males were educated. • Divorce was not allowed. • Arranged marriages (with dowry) • Suttee: a ritual in which a wife threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

7. Mauryan (MAH-oor-yuh) Dynasty • 321 BCE – 185 BCE • ChandragupaMaurya • Centralized government • Empire divided into provinces, • Ruled by governors • Large army and a secret police • Political assassinations…

8. Asoka • Chandragupta’s grandson. • Greatest ruler in history of India. • Converted to Buddhism(set up hospitals, and shelters for travelers). • Trade expanded

9. Asoka’s Pillar

10. Guptas (320 CE – 535) • Dominant in northern India after the Mauryan Empire. • Chandra Gupta- leader of Gupta, the second empire. • Admired for their tolerance of Buddhism and prosperity of the country. • Much wealth came from pilgrims. • “Golden Age of India” • Arts, mathematics, literature • Indian families patriarchal. • Southern India were matriarchal. • Invaded by Huns from the northwest

11. After the Guptas • Believers of Buddhism split. • Theravada- “teachings of the elders” • Way of life, not a religion, • Understanding oneself is the chief way to gain virvana. • Mahayana- stressed that nirvana could be achieved through devotion to the Buddha. • Believed Theravada too strict, • Buddhism is a religion, not a philosophy, • Buddha divine • Nirvana a true heaven • Both declined.

12. Expansion of Islam in India • In Northwest India. • Division of the subcontinent into mostly Hindu India and two Islamic states, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

13. Expansion of Islam • Islam arrived when there was a lot of division in India. • India had been divided into 70 states (and they fought each other constantly!) • 10th century Islamic expansion. • New Islamic state known as Ghazni (in Afghanistan) is founded. • By 1200, Muslim power had reached over the entire plain of northern India. • A new Muslim state known as the Sultanate of Delhi was formed.

14. TimurLenk • Military force crossed the Indus River and raided the capital of Dellhi. • 100,000 Hindu prisoners were massacred • TimurLenk (Tamerlane) • Mongol ruler in Samarkand. • 1380s placed the entire region east of the Caspian Sea under his authority and then occupied Mesopotamia. • Died in 1405

15. Islam and Indian Society • Strict separation b/w Muslim ruling class and Hindu population. • Many Muslim rulers were intolerant of other faiths. • Peaceful means to convert people to Islam, but some destroyed Hindu temples.

16. Economy and Daily Life • Peasant farmers • Landed elites and merchants lived in cities. • Farming and trade were important.

17. Indian Culture • Temples (Hindu)

18. Indian Culture • Sanskrit Prose • 6-7th centuries. • Dandin • The Ten Princes • Created a fantastic world.