Ancient India

1
Ancient India
Indus River Valley Civilization
2
Geography

• Subcontinent
• Separated from the rest of Asia by mountains
• Himalayas Hindu Kush
• Indus River
• Hot humid climate
• Monsoons

3
Harappan Civilization

• Named after modern city of Harappa, Pakistan
• 2300-1700 B.C.
• Mohenjo Daro
• Located 300 miles apart
• Cities were protected by large fortresses
• Brick streets, storehouses, workshops, market
  stalls, houses, and public wells

4
Harappan Achievements

• Very advanced
• Houses had bathrooms with indoor plumbing
• Pottery, jewelry, ivory objects, cotton clothing
• Developed a system of weights and measures
• Developed Indias first writing system
• Kings, strong central govt
• Ended around 1700 B.C. for unknown reasons

5
Aryan Invasion

• Invaded from Central Asia
• Nordic white people
• Skilled warriors
• Chariots, other advanced weapons
• 1200 B.C. conquered all of Indus Valley and
  Ganges River Valley

6
Aryan Invasion

• Knowledge comes from religious writings called
  VEDAS
• Collection of poems, hymns, myths, and rituals
  written down
• Mainly religious, but some describe the invasion
  of India
• Nomadic people
• Governed by RAJAS

7
Aryan Language

• First settlers did NOT read or write
• Had to memorize the VEDAS
• If forgotten, would be lost forever
• SANSKRIT started as only a spoken language
• Developed in written form later
• No longer spoken today, but basis for many South
  Asian languages

8
Jainism

• 4 principles
• Injure no life, tell the truth, do not steal, own
  no property
• Practice nonviolence
• Comes from the belief that everything is alive
  and in the circle of rebirth
• Also do not eat ANY food that comes from animals

• Some who were unsatisfied with Hinduism left to
  begin new religion
• Based on the teachings of Mahavira
• Unhappy with the control of the religion by the
  Brahmins
• Too much emphasis on rituals

9
Famous nonviolent protesters
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mohandas Gandhi
10
Buddhism

• Quest for true happiness
• Human suffering comes from 3 things
• Wanting what we like but do not have
• Wanting to keep what we like and already have
• Not wanting what we dislike but have

• Rules of Buddhism
• Four Noble Truths
• Eightfold Pathway

11
Mauryan Empire

• Candragupta Maurya
• Army of 600,000 soldiers, thousands of war
  elephants, and chariots
• Paid heavy taxes for protection
• 301 B.C. decided to become a Jainist monk
• Passed throne to son

12
Mauryan Empire

• Asoka (grandson of Candragupta)
• 270 B.C. became king
• Strongest of all Mauryan emperors
• Converted to Buddhism
• Improved the lives of people in his kingdom
• Encouraged the spread of Buddhism, sent
  missionaries around Asia
• Died in 233 B.C.
• Mauryan empire fell shortly after

13
Gupta Rulers

• Buddhism spread while Hinduism declined in the
  500 years after the Mauryan rule
• Gupta Dynasty A.D. 320
• Reunited India
• Candra Gupta I (not related to Candragupta
  Maurya)
• Invaded and conquered northern India
• Rulers were Hindu, so Hinduism flourished
• Also supported the teachings of Buddhism and
  Jainism

14
Gupta Society

• A.D. 375 Candra Gupta II
• Society reached high point during his rule
• Stretched empire across entire northern part of
  India
• Economy prospered
• Believed strict social order of caste system
• Womens role was to marry and have children,
  women could not even choose their own husbands
• Rule remained strong until invasion by the Huns
  in late 400s A.D., by middle 500s empire ended

15
Indian Achievements

• Temples started as small stone structures, 1 or
  2 rooms Gupta temples were topped with huge
  towers covered with carvings of the god
  worshipped inside
• Some temples were carved out of mountainsides!

16
Paintings and Sculpture

• Painting was a greatly respected occupation
• Many were paid to create works of beauty and
  significance
• Show us daily life and ceremonies
• Created sculptures of the Buddha
• Fat Buddha is Hotei a chinese buddha NOT THE
  buddha similar to Santa

17
Religious Epics

• Mahabharata one of the worlds longest literary
  works struggle between two families for control
  of a kingdom
• Bhagavad Gita famous passage within the
  Mahabharata
• Ramayana story of Vishnu coming to Earth as
  Rama to rid the world of demons

18
Scientific Advances

• Metallurgy science of working with metals
• Created alloys
• Iron
• Iron Pillar near Delhi
• Hindu-Arabic numerals
• First to create zero
• Medical manuals
• Practiced inoculation
• Astronomy 7 of 9 planets knew sun was a star
  planets revolved around it
• Earth was a sphere with an axis
• Predict eclipses