The Indo Europeans & The beginnings of Hinduism and Buddhism

1. The Indo Europeans & The beginnings of Hinduism and Buddhism Indo-Europeans migrate into Europe, India, and Southwest Asia and interact with peoples living there.

2. Indo Europeans Migrate • Characteristics of Indo-Europeans • Nomadic, pastoral people; tamed horses, rode chariots • May have come from the steppes—dry grasslands north of the Caucasus mountains • An Unexpected Migration • 1700-1200 B.C.E. Indo-Europeans migrated, moved in all directions (visual)

3. The Hittites • The Hittites Arrival • A group of Indo-European speakers • Take control of Anatolia (Asia Minor) around 2000 B.C.E. • City-States join to form empire; dominate Southwest Asia for 450 years • Hittites Adopt and Adapt • Borrowed ideas from Mesopotamian culture; adopted Babylonian language • Chariots and Iron Technology • Hittites skilled in war, spread iron technology by trade and conquest • Empire falls around 1190 B.C.E. after attacks from northern tribes.

4. Aryans Transform India The Aryan People Indo-European people, enter Indus River Valley before 2000 B.C.E. Sacred writings, the Vedas, reveal much of their culture A Cast System Develops Aryans physically distinct from people of India. (a lighter complexion) Four castes, or groups based on occupation, develop Brahmins (Priests) Warriors Traders and landowners Peasants People are born into their cast for life Hundreds of subgroups arise later

5. Hinduism Hinduism—unlike religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam—cannot be traced back to one founder with a single set of ideas. Many beliefs were brought by the Aryans, which settled in India, and the 2 cultures combined. Both the Vedas and the Upanishads are counted among Hinduism’s sacred books. Though there are variations in the types of Hinduism people practice most worship the three-in-one god known as “Brahman,” which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer).  The goal of Hindus in to achieve both; moksha (MOHK• shah), a state of perfect understanding of all things; and Nirvana- Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths. Hindus today are free to choose the deity they worship or to choose none at all. Most, however, follow a family tradition that may go back centuries. They are also free to choose among three different paths for achieving moksha. They are the path of right thinking, the path of right action, or the path of religious devotion.

6. Hinduism Continued Other Hindu beliefs include: The Caste System Reincarnation- (rebirth), an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until moksha is achieved. karma—good or bad deeds—follows from one reincarnation to another. Karma influences specific life circumstances, such as the caste one is born into, one’s state of health, wealth or poverty, and so on. Together, the beliefs of Hinduism and its caste structure dominated every aspect of a person’s life. These beliefs determined what one could eat and how one ate it, personal cleanliness, the people one could associate with, how one dressed, and so on. Many variations have developed from Hinduism over the years, and many non-Hindu cults and religious movements gained their inspiration from Hinduism.

7. Buddhism Buddhism developed out of the same period of religious questioning that shaped modern Hinduism Founder of Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama The goal of the religion is to achieve Nirvana through Enlightenment- true wisdom. In order to achieve enlightenment one must also understand the 4 noble truths as well as follow the eightfold path. 4 Noble Truths Suffering exists There is a cause for suffering There is an end to suffering In order to end suffering, you must follow the Eightfold Path.

8. Judaism The Phoenicians lived in a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea that was later called Palestine. The area of Palestine called Canaan was the ancient home of the Hebrews, later called the Jews. Most of what we know about the early history of the Hebrews is contained in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Jews call these books the Torah and consider them the most sacred writings in their tradition. In the Torah, God chose Abraham to be the “father,” or first, of the Hebrew people. The Bible tells how Abraham and his family roamed for many years from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan. Unlike the other groups around them, who were polytheists, the Hebrews were monotheists- they only believed in one god. They believed in the 10 Commandments given to Moses, which guided aspects of everyday life.