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Indus River Valley

Indus River Valley. Classical Indian Civilization. Began in the Indus River Valley Spread into the Ganges River Valley Then spread through the Indian subcontinent. Geography.

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Indus River Valley

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  1. Indus River Valley

  2. Classical Indian Civilization • Began in the Indus River Valley • Spread into the Ganges River Valley • Then spread through the Indian subcontinent

  3. Geography • The Indian civilization was protected from invaders by the physical barriers of the Hindu Kush and Himalayan Mountains and by the Indian Ocean

  4. Harappan Civilization • Arose around 2500 BC and lasted until 1700 BC • Major cities were Harappa and MohenjoDaro built around a citadel

  5. Sites of Harappan Civilization

  6. Indo-Aryan People • Invaded the area around 1750 BC • Came from north of the Black and Caspian Seas

  7. Caste System • A form of social organization introduced by the Indo-Aryans • Based on occupations

  8. Four levels of the caste system • At the top – rulers and warriors • Next, Brahmins – the priests and scholars • Then – the merchants, traders, and farmers • Last – the peasants who worked the fields owned by others

  9. There was a 5th group – Pariahs, or “untouchables”

  10. Writing Style - Sanskrit

  11. Characteristics of Indo-Aryan Society:

  12. Government • Tribes forms small city-states • Each state ruled by raja and his council

  13. Social Life • Complex system of social orders • Elaborate rules governed marriage among the difference orders • Parent-arranged marriage favored • Marriage by purchase, by capture, and by mutual consent recognized

  14. Economy • Mostly farmers • Wheat and barley major crops • Poor transportation and trading methods sometimes limited trade • System of barter for goods

  15. Mauryan and Gupta Empires

  16. Mauryan Empire – Asoka • Continued political unification of much of India • Contributions: Spread of Buddhism, free hospitals, veterinary clinics, good roads

  17. Gupta Empire • Golden Age of classical Indian culture • Contributions: Mathematics (concept of zero), medical advances (setting bones), astronomy (concept of a round earth), new textiles, literature

  18. Hinduism

  19. Hinduism • Developed by the Indo-Aryans • The Vedas are the sacred Hindu texts • Became India’s major religion • Belief in many forms of one major deity • Reincarnation: cycles of rebirths

  20. Dharma – means doing one’s moral duty in this life so that the soul can advance in the next • Karma: the good or bad force created by a person’s actions. Future reincarnation based on present behavior • Nirvana: a perfect peace; the goal of all Hindus – unite with Brahman • Vedas and Upanishads – sacred writings

  21. A way of life rather than strictly defined rules • Everyone has to find his or her own way to god • When a person dies, the soul does not die, but reborn in another form – not necessarily human

  22. How one behaves in one life affects the next life • Belief in a caste system in which a person is born into a set position and cannot change in present life • Belief in religious tolerance

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