Review

2. Review • Ancient Mesopotamia • Sumerians > Akkadians > Babylonians • Ancient Egypt • Old Kingdom > Middle Kingdom > New Kingdom • Indo-Europeans • Nomads • Hittites • Phoenicians • Israelites • New Empires • Assyrians • Persians

3. Ancient Civilization in India

5. Early Civilization in India • 3000-1500 BCE in the Indus River Valley (“Indus River Valley Civilization”) • Over a thousand settlements, two major cities (that we know of): • Harappa • Mohenjo-Daro

6. Cities • Harappa: 35,000 people • Mohenjo-Daro: 35,000-40,000 people • Carefully planned cities – broad streets (north/south) and smaller roads (east/west) • Walled neighborhoods, “large” houses (3 stories high) constructed of mud bricks • Public wells, bathrooms, drainage, trash chutes

7. Government & Economy • Connection between religious & political power • Rulers based on divine power • Royal palace and holy temple combined into a citadel (fortress) • Economy based on farming (relied on annual Indus River floods) • Traded with city-states in Mesopotamia via ship over the Persian Gulf

8. Decline of Indus Valley Civ. • Floods, earthquakes, change in climate, and change in course of Indus River caused decline • Final collapse came from Aryan invaders

9. Aryan Invasion (1500 BCE) • Indo-European nomadic people moved from central Asia – conquered Indus Valley Civ. • Excelled at art of war (common to nomadic people) and slowly conquered most of India • Major contributions to culture: • Sanskrit • Caste System • Hinduism

10. Aryan Society • Pastoral nomads – gave up for farming settlements in India • Developed written system of Sanskrit (1000 BCE) • Early India was “a world of warring kingdoms and shifting alliances” – competition between different rajas (princes) and chieftains

12. Family in Ancient India • Extended family, patriarchal • Women • Could not inherit property, serve as priests, or be educated • Suttee: dead are burned on funeral pyres and the wife was required to throw herself on her dead husband’s flaming pyre

13. Hinduism • Vedas – written collection of religious beliefs • Belief in single force in the universe: Brahman • 6th century BCE – idea of Reincarnation* • *Reincarnation provides a spiritual justification for caste system. • Goal: to merge with Brahman after death • Karma: what people do in their current lives determines where they will be in their next lives • Dharma: the divine law that must be followed • Yoga: method of physical training to lead to “oneness with God”

14. Shiva the Destroyer Brahma the Creator Vishnu the Preserver

15. Buddhism • 6th c. BCE – Siddhartha Gautama founds a new religion

16. Buddhism • Goal: to achieve nirvana (the end of the self and a reunion with the Great World Soul) • Four Noble Truths • Ordinary life is full of suffering. • This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves. • The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish goals and to see others as extensions of ourselves. • The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path.

17. The Middle/Eightfold Path • Right views • Right aspirations • Right speech • Right conduct • Right livelihood • Right effort • Right mindfulness • Right contemplation Dharma Wheel

18. Transition • Aryans brought little political unity – faced threats from Persia, the Greeks, and the Macedonians • Alexander the Great (Macedonian king) conquered India (327 BCE) but they soon left and gave rise to a new dynasty – the Mauryan Dynasty

19. Mauryan Dynasty • Founded by Chandragupta Mauryawho drove out foreign forces and established capital at Pataliputra (northern India) • Highly centralized, provinces ruled by governors, large army, secret police • Always feared assassination

20. Reign of Asoka • Flourished under grandson of Maurya • “Greatest ruler in the history of India” • Expanded trade – India became crossroads between East and West • Used Buddhism to guide his rule • Hospitals • Trees and shelters along road for travelers • Died in 232 BCE – decline – eventual collapse

21. Kushan Kingdom • 1st century CE – founded by nomadic warriors in north (rest of India – fighting kingdoms) • Masters of trade route: Silk Road • Route from eastern China to Mesopotamia (4,000 miles) • Carried luxury goods via camel caravans • Invaded by Persia in 3rd century CE

23. Kingdom of the Guptas • 320 CE – new kingdom in central Ganges Valley by Chandragupta – capital at Pataliputra • Empire expanded by son Samudragupta • Dominant political force throughout northern India; also established loose control over central India • New age of Indian civilization • Tolerance of Buddhism • Prosperity/trade • Large cities with temples along trade routes • Kings lived in luxury • Invaded by Huns (nomadic people from the northwest)

24. Ancient Indian Literature • Vedas (earliest; religious text) • Historical epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana • Bhagavad Gita (most famous section; sermon by Krishna setting forth emphasis on moral rightness)

25. Ancient Indian Architecture Mauryan Dynasty – spread of Buddhist architecture (especially reign of Asoka)

26. Ancient Indian Science • Recognized the Earth was round • Charted movements of the heavens • Mathematics • Aryabhata: most famous mathematician of Gupta Empire – one of the first scientists to use algebra – introduced the concept of zero