Life in classical india

1. Life in classical india • Objectives for Today’s Discussion/Lecture: • What was the impact of the early kingdoms of India? • How did these early empires impact the Silk Road and Indian Ocean Trade Routes? • What factors led to the rise of other religious practices in India?

2. What was the impact of the early kingdoms of classical India(1500 B.C.E. to 320 C.E.)? For most of history, India was divided into small regional kingdoms and not unified under one ruler. Let’s revisit where we have been. • - 1500 BCE TheAryans established themselves in the Punjab then spread east and south establishing communities throughout the Indian subcontinent. • 520 BCE Cyrus the Achaemenid brought increased Persian trade and the introduction of new techniques of administration. • 327 BCE Alexander of Macedon invaded, bringing chaos and destroying political organization.

3. - BCE 321 Chandragupta Maurya expanded the empire into present-day Afghanistan and into central and eastern India. • 268 BCE AshokaMaurya (Chandragupta’s grandson) began a campaign to conquer the Indian subcontinent. The Mauryan Dynasty temporarily unified India.

4. Highly organized bureaucracy • Central treasury • Public works projects • Centralized laws on pillars throughout the empire • Ashoka converted to Buddhism; established monasteries and missionaries to spread religion throughout Asia AshokaMauryan’s Legacy

5. 182 B.C.E. For two centuries after the fall of the Mauryan empire, Greek-speaking conquerers from Bactria (Alexander of Macedon’s heirs) mingled with local people in northwest India. • 1 C.E. Kushans, nomadic conquerers from central Asia embraced modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, northern India. How did the regional empires that followed impact the future of India?

6. -Under Chandra Gupta and his successors, the Guptas controlled every area except the Deccan Plateau and the southern tip of India. • The Guptas left governance in the provinces to local allies. • For two centuries, there was stability under the Guptas. • White Hun invasions from the northwest split the Gupta empire into its original regions. • Once again, India became a continent of many kingdoms. The Guptas 320-550 C.E.

7. Questions to Consider: • How did these early empires compare to China’s early empires? • Why does it matter? What was their impact?

8. AshokaMaurya – spread of Buddhism in India • Greco-Indian kingdom of Bactria – helped maintain Silk Road trade • Guptas – maintained peace and prosperity in northern areas So what was the legacy of these influences? Interregional trade networks of the silk roads depended on the peace provided by these early empires.

9. Interregional Networks of the Silk Road

10. What was the impact of the Indian Ocean Trade Routes and the Silk Road?

11. What was the influence of the Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade networks on India and its partners? • India Made an Attractive Trading Partner: • cotton clothes • Shipbuilding • textile industry • hydraulic engineering • glassmaking • iron smelting, • advanced mathematics • medical and veterinary sciences • alchemy • astronomy

12. What factors led to the rise of other religious practices in India? • Vaishyas and shudras grew wealthy through trade and were able to challenge the Brahmans, who were traditional leaders of society. • Thinkers began to question the authority of Brahman and traditional Aryan ideas about the caste system. • This paved the way for Jainism and Buddhism. • Question: Are Hinduism and the Caste System one and the same? • No! The caste system is a social structure that was established by the Aryans; Hinduism is a religion.

13. Classical GreeceToday’s Objecives • Why was the polis, or city-state, so critical to classical Greek society? • What were the enduring elements of cultural Greek society?

14. Classical GreeceWho were the Minoans? • Minoan society developed on Crete approximately 2000 B.C.E. • Trade olive oil and wine • Established colonies • Mined copper • Created beautiful frescoes • Built luxurious palaces and homes Palace at Knossos on Crete

16. Who were the Mycenaeans? • Mycenaean Society developed from Indo-European roots in Peloponneus, the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. • Considered “thugs of the Mediterranean • Overpowered Minoans, taking over their palaces, goods, and trade routes. • Mycenaeans fought a war with the city of Troy in 1200 BCE; served as inspiration for the Illiad and the Odyssey.

17. The Greek polis, or city-state, developed out of the political chaos of the 11th century B.C.E. • These local government institutions first served as forts. • Over the centuries, the poleis became cultural and economic centers, as well as political basis for classical Greek civilization. • Each polis was independent. • Sparta and Athens are the two most famous Greek poleis.

18. What were some of the enduring cultural developments of classical Greek society? • Socrates focused on questioning to uncover truths about human ethics and morality. • Plato ‘s The Republic discussed the idea of a government by elected representatives. • Aristotle’s wrote about the physics of matter. • Euclid became known as the father of geometry. • Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of a spherical earth. • Ptolemy, the cartographer, refined Aristotle’s view of the cosmos.