India’s First Empires

India 3000 b.c.- 500 a.d.3000-1500 B.C. early civilization.

◦Indus River Valley-modern Pakistan; served as the cradle of Indian civilization.

◦Two Regions- The Northern Plain & Deccan Plateau.

◦ Three Rivers: Ganges River, Indus River and Brahmaputra -important to Indian culture.

◦Himalaya –highest mountains in the world. Karakorum, Hindu Kush

India’s First CivilizationHarappa and Mohenjo-Daro

◦Two Indian civilizationsRulers Divine Right

◦Religion and Political Power tied together.

Economy based on farming.Extensive trade

AryansWho were the Aryans?

◦Indo-Europeans who came south across the Hindu Kush mountain range.

Pastoral people with strong warrior tradition.◦Nomadic people who developed their

own written language called SANSKRIT

Rajas: princes who controlled small kingdoms in India.

India’s Social SystemCaste System

◦Rigid social categories.◦Based on a person’s occupation and

extended family network.Social Classes (varnas)

Brahmans= in charge of religious ceremonies.

Kshatriyas= warriors Vaisyas= commoners (merchants and

farmers) Sudras= peasants/labor Untouchables= not considered human

Family in IndiaFamily basic unit of society.

◦Extended family.Superiority of males.Guru: teacher (generally only males

were educated.Divorce was not allowed.Arranged marriages (with dowry)Suttee: a ritual in which a wife threw

herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

Mauryan (MAH-oor-yuh) Dynasty321 BCE – 185 BCE Chandragupa Maurya

◦Centralized governmentEmpire divided into provinces,

◦Ruled by governorsLarge army and a secret police

◦Political assassinations…

AsokaChandragupta’s grandson.Greatest ruler in history of India.

◦Converted to Buddhism(set up hospitals, and shelters for travelers).

◦Trade expanded

Asoka’s Pillar

Guptas (320 CE – 535)Dominant in northern India after the

Mauryan Empire.Chandra Gupta- leader of Gupta, the second empire. Admired for their tolerance of Buddhism

and prosperity of the country. Much wealth came from pilgrims. “Golden Age of India”

◦Arts, mathematics, literatureIndian families patriarchal.

◦Southern India were matriarchal. Invaded by Huns from the northwest

After the GuptasBelievers of Buddhism split.

◦Theravada- “teachings of the elders” Way of life, not a religion, Understanding oneself is the chief way to gain

virvana.◦Mahayana- stressed that nirvana could be

achieved through devotion to the Buddha. Believed Theravada too strict, Buddhism is a religion, not a philosophy, Buddha divine Nirvana a true heaven

Both declined.

Expansion of Islam in IndiaIn Northwest India.

◦Division of the subcontinent into mostly Hindu India and two Islamic states, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Expansion of IslamIslam arrived when there was a lot of

division in India.◦India had been divided into 70 states

(and they fought each other constantly!)10th century Islamic expansion.

◦New Islamic state known as Ghazni (in Afghanistan) is founded.

◦By 1200, Muslim power had reached over the entire plain of northern India. A new Muslim state known as the Sultanate

of Delhi was formed.

Timur LenkMilitary force crossed the Indus

River and raided the capital of Dellhi.◦100,000 Hindu prisoners were

massacredTimur Lenk (Tamerlane)

◦Mongol ruler in Samarkand. ◦1380s placed the entire region east

of the Caspian Sea under his authority and then occupied Mesopotamia.

◦Died in 1405

Islam and Indian SocietyStrict separation b/w Muslim

ruling class and Hindu population.Many Muslim rulers were

intolerant of other faiths.◦Peaceful means to convert people to

Islam, but some destroyed Hindu temples.

Economy and Daily Life Peasant farmersLanded elites and merchants

lived in cities.Farming and trade were

important.

Indian CultureTemples (Hindu)

Indian CultureSanskrit Prose

◦6-7th centuries.◦Dandin

The Ten Princes Created a fantastic world.