India after the Guptas

1. India after the Guptas

2. Everybody Plays! A split developed among the followers of ________ in India. A The teachings of the Buddha came to be interpreted in different ways.

3. Everybody Plays! The school of _________ followed the original teachings of the Buddha. D. Mahayana Buddhism taught Nirvana as a true heaven, while followers of the school of Theravada saw Buddhism as a way of life – not a religion.

4. The decline of Buddhism • In the end, neither the Mahayana nor the Theravada sect of Buddhism remained popular in Indian society. By the seventh century, Theravada had declined rapidly. Mahayana was absorbed by a revived Hinduism, and later by a new arrival – Islam. • Buddhism was taken to China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Japan – where it has remained active. • Islam became popular in the northwestern corner of India.

5. The Eastward Expansion of Islam • Rebellious Turkish slaves founded a new Islamic state known as Ghazni, located in present-day Afghanistan. • Mahmud Ghazni, vowed to attack India every year and for the next 17 years his troops sacked India's cities and destroyed Hindu temples. These attacks left behind a legacy of hatred between Muslims and Hindus. • Mahmud Ghazni extended their rule throughout the upper Indus Valley and as far south as the Indian Ocean. • They were resisted by the Rajputs, who were Hindu warriors. However, Mahmud and his successors would overcome this resistance. By 1200, Muslim power had reached over the entire plain of northern India, creating a new Muslim state known as the Sultanate of Delhi.

7. Samarkand • During the 1300s, Mesopotamia and northern India were attacked by • B • TimurLenk was the ruler of Samarkand, a Mongol state. During the 1380s, TimurLenk conquered the region east of the Caspian Sea. • The death of TimurLenk removed a menace from the various states of India, and with his death the Delhi sultanate resumed power.

8. The Mughals • Babur ‑ completely overthrew the Delhi sultanate in 1526 and founded the Mughal Empire. • Akbar ‑ Babur's grandson • ruled an empire that covered the north and extended far south into the Deccan plateau. • practiced a policy of tolerance toward the Hindu majority and the few Christians. • allowed Rajput princes to hold government jobs • ended the hated, excessive taxation of Hindus • Shah Jahan ‑ Akbar's son • began to reverse the tolerant policies of his father • lived in great splendor and wealth ‑ fabulous palaces at Delhi, Agar and Lehore. (Red Fort at Delhi) • built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his beloved wife. • Aurangzeb ‑ Shah Jahan's son • attempted to stamp out Hinduism and create a purely Islamic state • ordered destruction of Hindu temples • reinstated heavy taxation of Hindus • prohibited Hindus from serving in high government positions.

9. The Mughals • While the Mughals lived in great splendor, the poor of India suffered greatly. They lived in mud houses, which offered little protection from the elements, and they were often hungry. • Except for Akbar's rule, the Mughals added to the bitter rivalry between Hindu and Muslim. Prior to the Muslim invasion, the Hindus had always been able to blend their beliefs with those of the invaders. However, the polytheistic Hindus were unable to reconcile their beliefs with the monotheistic beliefs of the Muslims. This Hindu‑Islamic conflict continues to affect South Asia to this day. Confidential

10. Indian Culture • Some of the greatest examples of Hindu temple art are the temples at _________. • A • One of the greatest masters of Sanskrit prose was ______, a seventeenth-century author who combined history and fiction in his work The Ten Princes. • A