Review• Ancient Mesopotamia

– Sumerians > Akkadians > Babylonians• Ancient Egypt

– Old Kingdom > Middle Kingdom > New Kingdom• Indo-Europeans

– Nomads– Hittites– Phoenicians– Israelites

• New Empires– Assyrians– Persians

Ancient Civilization in India

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”

Brahma the Creator Vishnu the Preserver Shiva the Destroyer

Buddhism

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

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.

The Middle/Eightfold Path

• Right views• Right aspirations• Right speech• Right conduct• Right livelihood• Right effort• Right mindfulness• Right contemplation

Dharma Wheel

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

Mauryan Dynasty• Founded by Chandragupta

Maurya who drove out foreign forces and established capital at Pataliputra (northern India)– Highly centralized,

provinces ruled by governors, large army, secret police

– Always feared assassination

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

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

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)

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)

Ancient Indian Architecture

Mauryan Dynasty – spread of Buddhist architecture (especially reign of Asoka)

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