indian ocean basin

Indian Ocean Basin600-1200

Post Classical Age: 1st Phase

What regions (zones of development)

will this include?South AsiaEast AfricaSoutheast Asia

Indian SubcontinentInnovative Site –

Indo-Gagnetic PlainVedic Age

Maurya & Gupta Empires

New Zone of ‘Civilization’

Horn of AfricaRed Sea Connections

Sub-Saharan locations

New Zone of ‘Civilization’

Mainland and IslandLinks to South China

Sea

Why the Indian Ocean Basin?

How is its development important for our understanding of World History?

ROUTES AND USE OF MONSOONS

GOODS EN ROUTE

What is the nature of the governments working this trade?

Politics in the Indian Ocean Basin600-1200

South Asia: Crisis of Late AntiquityWhite Huns from central Asia invaded and disrupted Gupta rule after 550…

• India’s only degree of central political unity –the Gupta Kings - ceased to exist

Political make-up of South Asia

a divided subcontinent South More peaceful politically

fragmented Dominated by

loosely controlled kingdoms…

Chola (850-1267) • Cultural

Indianisation of parts of Southeast Asia

• Roots of Tamil Identity

North Political

turbulence Intermittent

war Assimilation

of new invaders

Sub-Saharan Africa…

Tribal Communities influenced by outside contacts

Outside the West….

Ethiopia

Christianity in Africa• Ethiopia 4th Century• Kingdom of Axum• Isolated from other Christian

communities• Increasingly reflected

African traditions– Evil spirits populate the world

Further South: Swahili Trading city states• >1,500 miles from

Mogadishu in the north to Sofala in the south

• 1000 to 1500 -prosperous towns and cities

• evolved from small agricultural villages to create surpluses for trading

• created an elite merchant class (merchant oligarchy*)

• *Aristocratic nobles

Southeast AsiaCivilization Spreads

Rivers:

Mekong

Irrawaddy

Red

Chao Phraya

South China Sea

Straits

of Malacca

of Sunda

Archipelago

Philippines

Indonesia

Mountains/Highlands?

Rainforests

Monsoonspages 378 - 381

Southeast Asian Development• Characterize Geography (Location, Place, Interaction

peo./env., Movement, Region)• Beginnings of Civilization? Unique traditions?• Discuss extent and timing of Indian Influences.• Discuss extent and timing Chinese Influences.• What major political entities dominate the region

in the 1st phase of the Post Classical Age?• What changes were taking place by 1200?

Southeast Asian Development:

Unique to Southeast AsiaOrigins unclear- Bronze metallurgy • language • Women’s rights• Nuclear Families• Cultivation of spices

Indian InfluencesAdopted administrative and cultural traditions of India

• Hinduism & Buddhism• Embrace Hindu

literature: encouraged shared values

Chinese InfluencesChinese border: Vietnam- Tributary State

• Civil service• Bureaucracy • Buddhism• Confucianism

Political Development & Evidence• City States modeled after Indian Administration,

gave way to a degree of centralization

FUNAN

Trung Sisters

Rebellion in Classical Age –

Han Period

Changes by 1200…looking forward

• Arab traders• Introduction of

Islam, among island regions

Southernization

Lynda Shaffer

Southernization In what way does Shaffer’s interpretation

challenge traditional views about historical development?

In what way does Shaffer’s interpretation support our tradtional understanding of westernization and ‘the rise of the West’?

Ibn BatuttaJourney to far parts of the

Post Classical World

Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354

I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], being at that time twenty-two years of age [22 lunar years; 21 and 4 months by solar reckoning], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Mecca] and the Tomb of the Prophet [at Medina].

I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travelers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home. As my parents were still alive, it weighed grievously upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow.

On reaching the city of Tilimsan, whose sultan at that time was Abu Tashifin, I found there two ambassadors of the Sultan of Tunis, who left the city on the same day that I arrived. One of the brethren having advised me to accompany them, I consulted the will of God in this matter, and after a stay of three days in the city to procure all that I needed, I rode after them with all speed. I overtook them at the town of Miliana, where we stayed ten days, as both ambassadors fell sick on account of the summer heats. When we set out again, one of them grew worse, and died after we had stopped for three nights by a stream four miles from Miliana. I left their party there and pursued my journey, with a company of merchants from Tunis.

Understanding the traditions and contributions of the

Indian Ocean BasinReligion, Gender and Family

Arts and Intellectual LifeLabor Systems

Racial and Ethnic Constructions

In Battuta's Footsteps…

Putting it all together…

LABOR AND INDUSTRY

ARTS, ARCHITECTURE, INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

RACIAL, ETHNIC CONSTRUCTS

GENDER, FAMILY

INDIAN OCEAN BASIN

In the absence of singular central governments, what

brought this region together, and what were the

consequences of these connections?

Recognizing Continuity throughout the Indian Ocean Basin

Movement and Economic Integration

Travel & TradeDhowsJunkers

Monsoon WindsLateen Sails

Larger ships could access longer routes and bigger cargo

Dhows (Indian) Junks (Chinese)

India served as middle – ground

Cities: Cambay, Calicut, QuilonStorage, clearinghouseCosmopolitan centers:(Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist)

Cosmopolitan Islamic cultural centers in East Africa- Swahili city states: Moghidishu, Kilwa, Sofola

Urban DevelopmentCosmopolitan centers

Kollam

Khambhat

Production & Specialization

Most agricultural regions self-sufficient

Millet, wheat, barley, rice

Productive growth led to… increasing specialization

Iron, copper, spices- Indian specialization (cotton textiles, sugar refining)

Political fragmentation did not prevent production & trade between states

In East Africa: ivory from the south, gold from the western interior frankincense and myrrh from northern Africa. (Prosperous Slave trade)

Population growth (India) expansion of irrigation & surplus farming

600 CE 53 million people1500 CE 105 million people

Hindu Temple Economy

Served as economic and social centersUltimately, crucial to success of economy

large agricultural landsEmployed hundreds of peopleDelivered tax receipts to local governmentServed as bankers &cooperated with merchant guilds

basic schooling for boys

Ensured caste rules

Indian Ocean Slave trade

Evolved around the Indian Ocean basin Slaves were taken from interior mainland East Africa by

coastal ‘elite’ AfricansOrigins in 2nd century, lasted until the early 20th centuryPeak and spread of trade occurred in Post classical

Period as part of Arab trade routesSold in markets in the Arabian Peninsula and the

Persian Gulf

Cultural Diffusion and Integration

Recognizing Differences

Architectural Pursuits

Angkor Wat

Hindu Temple- to- Buddhist Stupa

Khmer KingdomPeak - 9th to 13th CenturyHindu & Buddhist TraditionsAngkor (city) served as seat of power

Angkor Wat• Temple complex• Built in 12th Century• first Hindu - dedicated to the

god Vishnu• Later replaced by Buddhist

followers• high classical style of Khmer

architecture

Dravidian Style Temple Architecture

Religious Communities

Heavily Islamicized communities • coastal merchants• Part of Islamic conquests

Animistic, Hindu and/or Buddhist traditions

INDIA: Introduction of IslamConversion to Islam developed slowly

overtime…

By 1500 – 25% of South Asians were Muslim, • Lower Caste levels (conversion en mass)- not effective in

changing status• Promise of salvation in Islam attracted Hindus & Buddhists

NORTHERN TERRITORIES

Religion of Invaders, but no incentives from Muslim Conquerors

SOUTHERN TERRITORIES

Merchant communities, through marriages, economic incentive

Gender Roles & Social Constructions

Diffusion & Integration

Merchants on

‘the rise’

Cultural Blending & Religious Conversions

Merchant Guilds in IndiaMerchant Aristocracy in East AfricaTrading Kingdoms in SEA

• Swahili (Arab & Bantu)• Animistic & Islamic• Islamic Mosques, Hindu Temples or

Buddhist Stupas???• Gender Expectations as part of

Religious Beliefs?

Diffusion & Integration

India: Converging ethnicities, expanding Caste

Adaptation of South Asian Culture• Caste regulations extended into far parts of

subcontinent

• Migrating peoples added to sub-caste levels – assimilation within a few generations

• Merchant/artisan jati –emerged as powerful new caste (Merchant guilds)– Wealthy– Political power

Cultural Blending in East Africa

Swahili Identity • Complex : African or

Asian?• African in ethnic origin• Arab and/or Indian in

culture

Food & Dress

Storytelling, poetry & literature

Music, art, painting

Local traditions/experiences mixed with established protocols

Gender Studies…

Limited Dowries

Racial & ethnic Inter-

marriage

Polygamy

Marriage as temporary

arrangements

Hindu Traditions…Law of ManuBhakti Poets

Family life central to Dharma

Women as Mother & Wife

Bhakti – rebellious

INDIAN OCEAN BASIN

Diversity & ContinuityDiffusion & Integration

Economic Prosperity & InnovationRoots of Modern development, maybe?

No ‘big government’ to lay claim to success…