ANCIENT INDIA Ca 1500 BCE to 550 CE

ANCIENT INDIA Ca. 1500 BCE to 550 CE

POST-H ARAPPAN CULTURE I. The Vedic Period (ca. 1200 – 500 BCE) A. “Aryan Invasion” 1. movement through the Hindu Kush Mountains and into the Indus Valley beginning by 1400 BCE 2. reach Ganges Plain (northcentral India) starting around 1000 BCE B. Aryan Culture 1. Formerly nomadic, Indo. European cultural group 2. Origins – a nomadic group of tribes from Central Asia or Europe 3. Language – Sanskrit *. one of the classical Indo-European languages (with Greek and Latin)

4. Indo-Aryan Society a. our knowledge of it comes from the four great books written by the Aryans called the Vedas (“books of knowledge”) 1. revealed texts (śruti– that which is heard) 2. include the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda b. Settlement Patterns: small, independent villages or city-states 1. Each village/city-state was led by a Raja (i. e. prince) and council of elders 2. Aryan villages/city-states often fought with and/or traded with one another

b. Agricultural Diet 1. Cattle, sheep, goats a. Cattle was main staple of the diet and the basis of wealth b. Later, the consumption of cattle was banned 2. barley, cucumbers, bananas c. Patriarchal Society 1. men are rulers of society and household 2. women were expected to be subservient to men

d. Caste System – strict social hierarchy with endogamy 1. The Five Varnas - Social Classes (and their duties) a. Brahmans – Priests 1. study and teach the Vedas 2. perform religious ceremonies b. Kshatriyas – Warriors and rulers 1. study the Vedas (but weren’t allowed to teach them) 2. lead the government 3. lead the army c. Vaisyas – Commoners: merchants, artisans, farm owners 1. tend herds/care for land 2. make and sell useful products 3. not allowed to hear or recite the Vedas d. Sudras – Unskilled laborers, servants 1. serve other classes/varnas 2. work farm fields 3. not allowed to hear or recite the Vedas 4. possibly originally made-up of the descendants of the Harappans

e. Pariahs 1. perform tasks considered unclean or unsuitable for other varnas 2. also known as “untouchables” or “outcasts” (as this is not a varna) 3. not allowed to hear or recite the Vedas 4. lived outside of villages and shunned by other varnas 2. Jati – Subdivisions of the five varnas based on occupation a. This subdivision came into existence sometime by 500 BCE b. each had rules of social interaction, living space, and

C. Other Developments of the Aryans 1. Iron Metallurgy – for weapons and agricultural tools 2. Long Distance Trade networks 3. Literature – The Mahabharata and The Ramayana 4. Development of Hinduism* *we’ll come back to this in a while.

PRE-MAURYAN PERIOD II. Between about 500 – 324 BCE A. Small, regional kingdoms (called mahajanapadas) in the Ganges Plain area *. Many traded with other civilizations B. “Foreign” Control of parts of the Indus Valley by: 1. the Persians (under Darius I) in the 500 s BCE 2. Alexander the Great in the 300 s BCE

FIRST GREAT INDIAN EMPIRE III. The Mauryan Empire (ca. 324 – 185 BCE) A. Creation of the Mauryan Empire by Chandragupta Maurya (ruled 324 – 301 BCE) 1. he becomes leader of Magadha (one of the independent kingdoms in the Ganges Plain region) via military coup. 2. he then led forces that removed the Hellenistic and native Indian rulers from the independent kingdoms of Northern India, unifying these lands under his control by 321 BCE.

3. he rules in a very paranoid way: a. plants spies everywhere in his kingdom b. official food tasters c. never sleeps in the same bed two nights in a row d. has anybody suspected of treason tortured and killed 4. establishes ruling principles of the Mauryan Empire (written in the Artha-sastra) based on: a. Hindu philosophy– brutally practical (include a manual for assassination!) b. “policy of the scepter” (Big stick theory) 5. establishes the Mauryan government system in his kingdom a. Capital – Patliputra (now known as Patna) b. Kingdom divided into provinces – each ruled by a royal governor appointed by the ruler. c. Provinces divided into districts – each ruled by an official appointed by the royal governor d. Districts contain villages – each has a village leader

B. The Reign of Ashoka (269 – 232 BCE) 1. At first, he continued the brutal, militaristic takeover of northern and central India carried on by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, and his father, Bindusara. 2. 260 BCE – Ashoka converted to Buddhism a. because he was disturbed by his own brutality (especially during the conquest of Kalinga) b. sends out Buddhist missionaries throughout his kingdom and to other areas – this causes the eventual spread of Buddhism throughout Asia

ASHOKA’S REPENTENCE “ Wh at ha ve I done? If this is a victory, what' s a defe at then? Is this a victory or a d efe at? Is this justice or injustice? Is it g alla ntry o r a rout? Is it valor to ki ll i nno cent c hi ldren and women? Did I do i t t o wid en the empire and for prosp erity or to destroy the ot her's ki ng dom a nd splendor? “One h as lo st her husband, someone else a fa ther, so meone a child, som eo ne an unb orn infant. . What's this de bris of the corpses? Ar e these the m arks o f vic tory? ”

c. uses the principles of Buddhism in the rest of his reign 1. Issues “Rock Edicts” a. has several stone pillars and tablets placed throughout his kingdom b. on each is an official statement (edict) from Ashoka outlining his new policies and ideas based on Buddhist principles 2. appoints “officials of righteousness” who make sure that everybody in all castes and areas are treated fairly 3. orders the building of hospitals for people and animals (with free medicine) 4. creates “rest stops” along roads within the Empire 5. revises the legal code of the Empire 6. encouraged trade and industry 7. allowed freedom of religion within the Empire 3. Ashoka dies in 232 BCE – Maurayan Empire starts to decline C. 185 BCE – the last Mauryan Emperor is assassinated, the Mauryan empire splits up

INTER-IMPERIAL FRAGMENTATION IV. Intermediate Periods (ca. 185 BCE – 320 CE) A. India fragments into independent kingdoms (again) B. Influx of nomadic groups, who settle in and rule over some areas of India C. The Silk Road – runs through Northern India and incorporates several of these independent kingdoms in the system

THE GOLDEN AGE V. The Gupta Empire (ca. 320 – 550 CE) – “India’s Golden Age” A. Much smaller territory controlled than that of the Mauryans (only north-central India) B. Famous Emperors: 1. Chandra Gupta I (r. 320 – 335 CE) –first Gupta Emperor, who united several kingdoms (creating the Gupta Empire) a. used marriage alliances to expand empire 2. Samudra Gupta (r. 335 - 375 CE) a. military leader, conquered over 20 kingdoms (“Indian Napoleon”) b. patron of the arts, considerate of faiths other than Hinduism 3. Chandra Gupta II (r. 375 -415 CE) – Emperor during the height of the Gupta Empire

C. Government/Economic Organization 1. Emperor ruled from the capital (Patliputra) 2. Emperor generates income from: a. taxes from provinces – based on agriculture and trade (along the Silk Road) b. monopolistic control over salt and minerals 3. Empire divided into provinces – each ruled by a royal governor *. governed loosely, as long as they paid their taxes to the Empire

D. Culture 1. Hinduism made the official religion of Gupta Empire *. But Guptas allowed religious freedom 2. Arts (especially Hindu-related) - flourished due to the patronage of Gupta rulers a. Literature (plays and philosophical books) – written in Sanskrit *. Kalidasa – the “William Shakespeare of India” wrote poems and plays during this period b. Architecture and Sculpture – especially in the form of Hindu temples 3. Universities (e. g. Nalanda University) – attended by students from all over Asia 4. New Technologies/Developments a. Medicine – Inoculation, basic surgery b. Mathematics – base 10 number system (“Arabic numerals”), concepts of zero and infinity 5. Decline in the status of women a. arranged marriages become common b. high respect, but little power for women E. End of the Gupta Empire – caused by invasions by the Huns