Ancient India Indo-Europeans, Aryans, and Hittites

1. Ancient India Indo-Europeans, Aryans, and Hittites Ancient India Indo-Europeans, Aryans, and Hittites

2. India Timeline Mauryan Empire Chandragupta Mauryan Empire Asoka Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa Gupta Empire King Chandragupta I Gupta Empire Collapses Vedic Period – Aryan Invaders Golden Age of India Buddhism 500 years of turmoil 269 BC – 232 BC 2600 BC 1500 – 1000 BC 600 BC 321 BC 5th Century AD 321 AD

3. Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa • India’s1stcivilizations. • Started in 2,600BC. • Called the Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan Civilization. Map of ancient Mohenjo-Daro.

4. Geography Geography • Ganges river – forms a fertile farming valley. • Indus river- farming region that produces wheat. • Climate is impactedby monsoons.

5. Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa • 1st to make cotton. • City was developed on a grid system. • Advanced drainage and sewage systems. • Supported a population of 35,000-40,000. Ended suddenly – no one knows why. Images of ancient Mohenjo-Daro.

6. Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa These images reflect the careful planning that went into the design of this ancient city. Images of ancient Mohenjo-Daro.

7. Indo European and Aryan Migrations Indo European and Aryan Migrations • Floods, earthquakes or changes in climate weakened civilizations, and by 1500 BC, waves of Aryan invaders migrated throughout the region.

8. Geography Geography • Migration was made possible via the Khyber Pass through the Hindu KushMtns. • Himalayas-highest mountains in the world. Hindu Kush Himalayas Khyber Pass Label the Hindu Kush Mtns, the Himalayas and the downward path through the Khyber Pass.

9. Indo European and Aryan Invaders Indo European and Aryan Invaders • The Vedic Period - 1500-1000 BC- Invaders breached the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush Mtns. • Conquered the Indus valley region of India. • War-like and pastoral people.

10. Indo European and Aryan Invaders Indo European and Aryan Invaders • Aryan Kings or Leaders were called “Rajas” – (“princes”) • India was made of warring kingdoms and shifting alliances. An Indian Raja and Princess.

11. Indo European and Aryan Invaders Indo European and Aryan Invaders • Iron tools – plow, etc, made them good farmers. • They produced: rice, wheat, barley, millet. • Spices included: cinnamon, pepper, and ginger.

12. Indo European and Aryan Invaders Indo European and Aryan Invaders • Writing – Sanskrit • Sanskrit was a status symbol of education and wealth. • Only the higher castes were taught to read and write Sanskrit. Selections from the Rig Veda above, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

13. Indo-European Languages Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavik Greek Indo-Iranian Hittite Armenian Slavik Baltic Indic Iranian Polish Czech Russian Ukrainian Macedonian Latvian Lithuanian Hindi Urdu Punjabi Bengali Persian Kurdish Italic Germanic Celtic Latin Danish Swedish Norwegian English Dutch Afrikaans German Breton Welsh Irish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic French Portuguese Spanish Italian Romanian

14. Religions in India Religions in India • The dominant religion in the region is Hinduism which was brought in by the original Aryan invaders. • With the birth of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) in 600 BC, the religion of Buddhism was also introduced in India.

15. Religions in India Religions in India • Aryans brought with them a strong oral tradition, and religion. • These became the foundation for the religion of Hinduism. • They established a social institution and class system – caste system. Vedas

16. The Caste System The Caste System • Impact of the Caste System • Position in society based on skin color. • Occupation, and economic status are determined by your caste. • This will also determine who you marry.

17. Aryan Social Classes Aryan Social Classes • Brahmins – priests • Kshatriyas – rulers and warriors • Vaishyas – artisans and traders • Shudras – laborers and servants • You are born into a caste for life. • It determines: who you will marry, the job you will have, and the people you are allowed to associate with. • Higher castes are concerned with ritual purity.

18. The Untouchables The Untouchables The lowest social class were known as untouchables because they did the dirtiest work that was considered unclean and impure. They were butchers, gravediggers, and trash collectors.

19. Family Life in India Family Life in India • Patriarchal – men are educated and allowed to inherit. • Women - nostatus, and daughters were an financial drain. (Dowry). • Suttee – wife throws herself onto the pyre of her dead husband. A Hindu widow commits sati above. A Rajput girl – right.

20. Alexander the Great Alexander the Great • After 400 B.C., India faced new threats from the west–first from Persia, Greece, and Macedonia, under Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. • Alexander left quickly, but his invasion gave rise to the 1stIndiandynasty. Alexander’s battle with Porus on the Jhelum.

21. Mauryan Empire Mauryan Empire • 321 BC - King Chandragupta established one of the greatestHinduempires – the Mauryan Empire. • He created a large army – 60,000soldiers, 30,000cavalry, and 9,000elephants. King Chandragupta

22. Mauryan Empire Mauryan Empire • The Mauryan Empire stretched from modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the Ganges river in the east. • His grandson, Asoka would be the next great ruler of India. Extent of Mauryan Empire under Asoka

23. Mauryan Empire Mauryan Empire • The “founding Father” for India, was Mauryan ruler, Asoka who ruled from 268 BC -232 BC. • Asoka added to his empire through a bloody battle at Kalinga. • Saddened over the loss of life, Asoka turned to Buddhism for comfort. Asoka Maurya above. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

24. Mauryan Empire Mauryan Empire • “Along the roads, wells have been dug and trees planted for the use of men and beasts.” • “I must promote the welfare of the whole world, and hard work…whatever may be my great deeds, I have done them in order to discharge my debt to all beings.” • Asoka’s edicts – pillar edicts and rock edicts. Map of Asoka’s rock edicts

25. Mauryan Empire Mauryan Empire • Asoka sent missionaries to other lands, spreading Buddhism. • Carved royalmessages on stonemonuments that stood as “billboards” throughout his empire. • His empire collapsed50 years after his death, but to this day, his impact and legacy on India is powerful. Asoka’s Chakra – chosen 2,000 years later for India’s flag.

26. Kingdom of the Guptas Kingdom of the Guptas • 500 years later-Chandragupta, (no relation to the 1st Chandragupta), established a new kingdom in 320 A.D. He was called the Great King of Kings. • The Gupta period was India’s Golden Age. • Arts,sciences and trade flourished. Map of the Gupta Empire-413 AD

27. Kingdom of the Guptas Kingdom of the Guptas • Aryabhata was the Gupta Empire’s most famous mathematician. • He was one of the first scientists known to have used algebra. • Indian mathematicians also introduced the concept of zero. Aryabhata

28. Kingdom of the Guptas Kingdom of the Guptas • The Guptas postulated that the Earth was notflat, but rotated on its axis. • Astronomers calculated the solar year and the movement of bodies in space. • In medicine, the Guptas knew how to setbones, and perform minor skin grafts.

29. Kingdom of the Guptas Kingdom of the Guptas • They traded salt, cloth, and iron domestically and as far away as China and the Mediterranean. • In the 5th century A.D., invasion by nomadicHuns from the northwest weakened the empire. Trade in the ancient world brought many cultures and kingdoms together. Silk road was 4,000 miles.

30. Contributions of India Contributions of India • Writing – Sanskrit • Many of the World’s Languages • 3-Religions/Eastern Philosophies of: Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. • Spice merchants and tradesmen.