WHGCEs Middle School Series - Session 7 Part II Craig Benjamin

1. W3 WHG Era 3 – Classical Traditions, World Religions, and Major Empires, 1000 B.C.E./B.C. to 300 C.E./A.D.Part Two: INDIA WHGCEs Middle School Series - Session 7 Part II Craig Benjamin Chandragupta – First Emperor of India

2. To Include • Part One: The Vedic Age • Part Two: Chandragupta and the Mauryans

3. PART ONEThe Vedic Age(1500-1000 BCE • Indo-European invaders spoke a language called Sanskrit • Called themselves Aryan (noble people) to distinguish them from the indigenous peoples • They were pastoral nomads: as such they represent the second wave of Bronze Age I.E. pastoral invasions that dramatically influenced ancient Eurasia • Between 1500 and1000 BCE they occupied the Punjab, took up agriculture and came to dominate the region • Assimilated indigenous populations, or drove them south to join the darker-skinned Deccans

4. Chariots • Even though they were cattle herders, they were an advanced militarized people who fought from chariots drawn by horses • The Aryans had learned to harness horses to wagons and chariots, which proved to be devastating war machines when used against people with no knowledge of horsepower Aryan Invaders and their Chariots library.thinkquest.org

5. Early Aryan Religion • Aryans worshipped their gods with sacrificial rituals accompanied by singing and recitation of hymns called ric (composed by the seers the Brahmins who could communicate with the gods) • Between 1400 and 900 BCE Aryan priests gathered together 1,028 of these hymns into a collection called the Rig-Veda, which has beenused in worship for over 3,000 years • Veda means knowledge – so ‘hymns of knowledge’ – the knowledge priests needed to carry out their functions

6. Rig-Veda important evidence source for early Aryan culture • Food and animals sacrificed to • the gods in return for long life, health, offspring, victory in war, and eternal life in heaven • Most popular gods: • Indra (storm god of warriors) • Agni (benevolent god of fire) • Varuna (the sky god and king • of the gods) • Mitra (the sun-god) later worshipped as Mithra by the Persians and Romans The Rig-Vedas www.culture.fr/culture Mithra sacrificing a bull in the presence of the sun and Moon (Roman 1st C. CE)

7. Early Aryan Society • Rig-Vedas describe a society of tribes headed by a war lord or raja (like Latin word rex, for king) • Aryans clashed repeatedly with the Dravidians, particularly in the Indus Valley, destroying cities and irrigation systems • Aryan chiefdoms also fought ferociously among themselves • After establishing themselves in the Punjab, they eventually spread out over most of India • Once settled they became more reliant on agriculture, and tribal structures evolved into more complex, permanent political institutions • They did not build large imperial states, but established smaller regional kingdoms

8. Origins of the Caste System • The term castecomes from a Portuguese word, and refers to a hereditary, unchangeable social class • When the Portuguese arrived in the 16th Century CE they noticed the sharp social distinctions of Indian society, and called them castes • After about 1000 BCE the Aryans increasingly recognized four main social classes (or varnas) • Brahmins(priests) • Kshatriyas (nobility and warriors) • Vaishyas(commoners, artisans and merchants) • Shudras (landless peasants and serfs) www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/ brahmins Brahmin

9. Untouchables • Later the Aryans added the ‘untouchables’ • These were people who performed the most menial and dirty occupations: • Scavengers • Butchers • Cleaners • Tanners (who also handle dead animals) • They were called the ‘untouchables’ because their touch defiled members of the other castes A few of India’s 250 million untouchables www.yorku.ca/ycom/gazette

10. Castes deeply influenced the lives of Indians throughout their history • Within one’s caste one intermarried and cared for ones fellows • However the system was somewhat flexible - if individual vaishyas or shudras turned to a new line of work, it was possible to move up or down the hierarchy • Caste system also enabled foreigners to find a place in India society, as they became members of and adopted the rules of particular castes • In India to this day individuals are identified more closely with their caste (known as jati) than with their cities or states Castes and Social Mobility

11. Later Vedic Age (1000-600 BCE) • Most evidence comes from later Hindu epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, plus archaeology • Aryans continued their slow spread east and south • Occupied the Kurukshetra (land between the Indus and Ganges watersheds, which later became the sacred Vedic heartland); and the Doab (land between the two rivers of the Yamuna and Ganges); headed south towards the Vindhya Mountains • Many fabled battles and noble deeds were supposed to have taken place in the Kurukshetra, as told in the great Hindu epics – Classical Age of India Vindhya Mountains pittsford.monroe.edu

12. Religious Developments in the Later Vedic Age • Vedic ‘Golden Age’ for the Brahmins • Rig-Veda hymns set to music; spectacular sacrifices took place; sacred rituals and formulas evolved that, if properly uttered, solved life’s problems. • Brahmins gained great power, their chanting of the Vedas came to be called a mantra, which even kings had to depend on for energy to keep the world going • Only the priests possessed the sacred knowledge to perform the essential rituals and ensure prosperity and success Ancient sacred mantra set in stone www.asianart.com

13. Later Vedic Political Structures • Aryans learned iron smelting (probably from Mesopotamia), which increased agricultural output and made warriors more lethal • Independent city-states emerged in the eastern Ganges, each with their own armies and powerful kings • Most ruled by maharajas (‘great kings’), who had councils of advisors, but possessed unlimited power • Lived in palaces and collected tribute to sustain their courts and armies, plus construct monumental architecture Maharaja of Cooch Behar coochbehar.nic.in

14. Indian Villages Three pillars of Indian society today – the village, caste system and extended family – appeared during the later Vedic Age www.reelproductions.net Indian villages consist of families governed by a headman and a council of elders. Each village was/is autonomous (provided they paid their taxes to the raja) evangelbible.org/ photos

15. Vedic Patriarchal Society • Third pillar of society was/is three-generation family, ruled by patriarchy • Seniority brought status to men and women, but children the property of the father • Women were placed as explicitly subordinate to men - required a male protector. Could not inherit property, nor take part in religious sacrifices. • This emphasis on respect for men, elders and stable communal organization (within the village and family) has dominated Indian society ever since www.dharmafilms.com

16. PART TWO: The Mauryan Empire (320 – 185 BCE) • Late in the 6th Century Darius extended the Achaemenid Persian Empire into the Indus valley • Then, in 326 BCE Alexander crossed the Iranian Plateau and invaded Pakistan and Northern India • He defeated Porus, a powerful ruler in the Indus Valley, and then pressed on as fare as Beas • Intent upon conquering all of India, Alexander was only stopped by his own troops, who were so weary they refused to advance any further, staging a mutiny in Beas Alexander defeats Porus 19th C Painting

17. Death of Alexander - Rise of Chandragupta • Alexander returned to the west and died soon afterwards (323 BCE) leaving his generals to divide his vast empire between them • In India, although his visit was short, his effect was profound • Alexander’s destruction of the numerous petty states of the Punjab created a power vacuum in the region • This facilitated the conquest of the region in the late 320s BCE by a powerful ruler from the Ganges Valley - an ambitious adventurer named Chandragupta - the first emperor of India!

18. Chandragupta and the Mauryan Empire • The advent of Chandragupta marked the beginning of a new era in India history • After seizing northern state of Magadha in 321 BCE, Chandragupta conquered most of northern India, and founded the Mauryan dynasty which lasted until 185 BCE • Brilliant general and a superb administrator. Defeated Alexander’s general Seleucus in 305, gaining all territories east of Kabul, and also established a highly efficient imperial administration By the end of the 4th Century BCE Chandragupta’s empire embraced all of northern India, from the Indus to the Ganges

20. Mauryan Imperial Administration • Seleucus’ ambassador Megasthenes wrote a detailed account of Chandragupta, which has provided much of the evidence for Mauryan society and politics • Mauryan professional army included 700,000 soldiers, 10,000 chariots and 9,000 elephants; also an enormous secret service joseph_berrigan.tripod.com Mauryan army and their war elephants take on the Seleucids

21. From Megasthenes account we learn that Chandragupta established his capital at Pataliputra (Patna) • 18 square miles in area (largest city in the world?) with massive walls surrounded by a deep trench used for defense and sewerage Pataliputra

22. Empire and Law • Empire divided into provinces, districts and villages • Extensive legal code (administered by a series of courts) allowed for royal intervention in all matters • Chandragupta himself heard cases while having his daily massage • Chandragupta also feared conspiracies and lived a secluded life

23. Treatise on Material Gain: Mauryan Economy • Chandragupta’s chief adviser (Kautyala) left evidence of the era in a book called Treatise on Material Gain • Praised royal power as source of stability; highly critical of anarchy • Sanctioned the use of force against weaker kings, and the making of treaties with equals (a forerunner of the sort of advice Machiavelli would offer European princes in the Renaissance) • Economy based on mining, manufacturing, timber, cattle breeding, road construction and trade • Bazaars of Pataliputra full of goods from Turkey and China • Economy based on irrigation agriculture with effective crop rotation

24. Ashoka • Chandragupta’s son and grandson expanded Mauryan Empire into Deccan • Grandson Ashoka (d.233 BCE) is the most renowned of all Indian rulers • Inclined towards peace, detested war. As a Buddhist he was committed to non-violence (but did not renounce violence until he had completed his conquests) • Had edicts carved on rocks and stone pillars erected all over his empire; the oldest surviving written documents in Indian history • Made Buddhism state religion, but did not persecute the Brahmins and Hindus www.arrakis.es/~ruteol

25. Decline of the Mauryans • Following Ashoka’s death in 233, a series of weaker kings presided over the disintegration of the Empire • The Later Mauryan Empire suffered from acute financial and economic difficulties, partly through paying the salaries of a huge army and bureaucracy • By 185 the subcontinent was fragmented again: the north was overrun by invaders, and the south gained independence – the Mauryan Empire had simply disappeared

26. Bactrian Greeks Menander • India was not to be reunited again for another 500 years, when the Guptan dynasty achieved power in 320 CE • In the interim, a series of foreign invaders added new racial and cultural elements to Indian society • In Bactria (ancient Afghanistan) a series of strong Greek kings ruled the remnants of Alexander’s empire. In 183 one of these kings (Demetrius) crossed the Hindu Kush and occupied the Punjab • From his capital at Taxila he ruled Afghanistan and Pakistan as Greek kingdoms, strongly encouraging interregional trade • The farthest outpost of Hellenistic civilization - Greek temples, coinage and language common in the region • Greco-Bactrian kings were in turn influenced by Indian culture, and Menander became a Buddhist www.ebooks.at/menander Coin of Menander www.columbia.edu

27. Kushans Rule the North until c.220 CE • In the 130s Bactria was over run first by Scythians, then by a group of migrating Indo-Europeans who had come from Western China, the Yuezhi • Eventually the Yuezhi established the Kushan Empire, which ruled much of Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India from c. 40 BCE to 220 CE • Kushans directly responsible for an incredible increase in trans-Eurasian cultural exchange, during the important Silk Roads Era • See separate presentation on the Silk Roads Later!