South by Southeast Asia600-1450

Political Structures in Southern India

• Since the fall of the Gupta, no single empire controlled

the region for almost 1,000 years

• Chola Kingdom (850-1267):

Was a major player in the

Indian Ocean Trade

• Vijayanagar: Brought Hinduism back to Southern

India, after first being Muslim.

Now on to Northern India• Himalayas protected India from

invasions from the north, but Muslims constantly invaded from the west

• Because Sind (the northwest region of India) was so far away from Dar al-Islam, it was never really in control

• Eventually, Delhi was conquered and the Delhi Sultanate was founded

• Never organized an efficient bureaucracy so policies were never

really imposed, but they did have the jizya, but the smaller kingdoms played a major role

Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin (what they traded)

• West-coast Indian cities like Calcut,

Quilon, and Camby became centers of

trade

• India became known for it’s fabrics,

cotton, high-carbon steel, and tanned

leather

• Malaysia was known as the Spice

Islands

• Swahili costal cities traded Slaves,

ivory, and gold

• China exported silk and porcelain…

aka fine china

Monsoons and Sailing Tech

• Used the Monsoon

Winds in order to

facilitate trade

• Invented the Lateen

Sales, Stern

Rudder, which led

to the small

wooden dhows to

dominate the seas

during this era

Religion in South Asia• It was Islam vs. Hinduism: Islam =

1 god, geometric artwork, Hindu = many gods, images of gods. One has a cast system, the other doesn’t

• Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Hindu and Buddhist shrines as he tried to spread Islam, but discovered that Hindu and Buddhist subjects didn’t convert

• Low castes in some cases converted, and other corrupt Buddhist monks led some to leave Buddhism behind

Interaction of Islam and Hinduism

• Formed Sufis: mystics who did not focus on strict doctrines, instead

emphasized individual personal connection

• Led to Hinduism focusing on

a more personal relationship to an individual god

• Bhakti Movement: emphasized love and devotion to god, with poets

like Mira Bai, and Guru Kabir

Social Structures• India’s caste system is it’s

strongest historical

continuity

• Many who tried to escape a low caste failed to improve their status

because higher jobs required more education,

which converting to Islam didn’t help

• Islam didn’t change the

way women were treated

Cultural Achievements in South Asia

• India scientific learning was

translated into Arabic, such as

algebra, geometry, and the

Indian number system

• Mosques built across India,

such as the Qutab Minar

• Urdu, a new language

developed among Muslims in the region which is a blending

of the grammatical pattern of

Hindi, with the vocabulary of

Arabic

Southeast Asia• Many things were

introduced through trade such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, Sanskrit, among others

• Srivijaya (670-1025) controlled the shipping hub from the Indian Ocean through China and became VERY wealthy

The Angkor Kingdom• Lasted more than 500 years

• Kingdom was a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, which can be seen at the Angkor Wat temple