Indus Valley Civilization

Geography affects the develop in the area

• Himalayas and the Hindukush the north protect the area from invasions

• The Eastern and Western Ghats protect India along the coast

• Between the to southern mountains is the Deccan Plateau a relatively dry plains

• The two rivers systems provide fertile valleys in an otherwise dry area

Geography affects the develop in the area

• The Monsoons have a major affect on India’s climate

• There the Summer Monsoons (June through September) Wind blows from the south, southwest

• The Winter Monsoons October through February) Wind blows from the North Northeast

Monsoons

Early civilizations

• Between 3000 to 1500 BC early man flourished in the Indus and Ganges River valleys

• Over 2000 settlements have been discovered

• Two big cities developed along the Indus River, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro

Harappan or Indus Culture

• Harappa ‘s population was 35,000

• Mohenjo Daro’s population was 40,000

• High organized cities/obviously planned and laid out to a specific pattern

• Building 2 and 3 stories high• An advanced sewage system• Running water• Used brick as a building

material

Harappan or Indus Culture• Harappans trade with

other cultures such as Mesopotamia

• India provided the Harappans with resources such as copper lumber, precious metals and gems and cotton

• They mainly trade via the Persian Gulf

The End of the Harappan or Indus Culture

• Somewhere around 1800 BC the Harappan culture started to decline

• There is evidence of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes

• The course of the Indus river actually changed

The End of the Harappan or Indus Culture

• Then around 1500 BC a new group of people called the Aryans crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains

• They settled through out the Indus/Ganges River valleys and the Deccan Plateau

• They were a warrior people and conquered as they moved through India

Aryans

• Their language was a written language known as sanskrit

• They formed city-states and were often at war with each other

• Their leaders were called Rajas

• Patriarchal trace family along your father’s side

Aryans

• Man dominated society

• Only males could inherit property

• The oldest male in the household held legal authority over the whole family

• Marriages were often arranged

• Men could take a second wife

• Women practiced suttee

suttee

• The dead are cremated in India

• It was expected that woman was suppose to through herself on her husbands funeral pyre as he is cremated

• If a woman did not, she was a disgrace to her family

The Varnas

• The Aryans created a very strict social order

• The society was divided into 4 varnas or social groups

• The varnas would go on to become the Indian caste system

Varnas

Hinduism

• Began with the Aryans• Early evidence of the Aryan’s religion comes

from a collection of hymns, stories and religious ceremonies called the Vedas

• According to Hindu tradition there is an Ultimate reality or god called Brahman

• An individual self called an atman is part of Brahman

• Your atman’s goal is to become one with Brahman

Hinduism

• Hindu’s believe in reincarnation• Dharma- your duty in this life• Karma- the good or bad you do in this life• If you have good karma and dharma,

when you die you will be born in a higher level caste

• The goal is to move up the caste system and escape the wheel of life and become one with Brahman

Hindu Gods

Wheel of Life

Buddhism

• Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha or the Enlightened one)

• Rich son of a noble he was troubled by the pain suffering he saw in the world around him

• First he practiced ascetics or self denial

• Then he then found enlightenment through meditation

Buddhism

• Buddha said the material world was just an illusion

• Pain and suffering is based on the material world

• Let go of the material world and pain and suffering disappear

• You then reach bodhi which is universal wisdom

Buddhism

• Once you achieve bodhi you have taken a major step towards nirvana

• Nirvana is the ultimate reality and reunification with the universal soul

The Path to NirvanaFour Noble Truths: His journey to find the meaning of life had concluded. The Buddha realized that life is ruled by Four Noble Truths:

Life is filled with suffering

Suffering is caused by people's wants. Suffering can be ended if people stop wanting things, like more pleasure or more power. 

To stop wanting things, people must follow 8 basic laws, called the Eightfold Path

The Path to Nirvana

• The Middle Way: The Eightfold Path was designed to guide people without making life too strict or too easy. The Middle Way is the name Buddhists call lives guided by the laws of the Eightfold Path

The Road to Nirvana

The Noble Eightfold Path

                          

1. Right ViewWisdom

2. Right Intention

3. Right Speech

Ethical Conduct4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort

Mental Development7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

Mauryan Empire• Established by

Candragupta Mauryan

• Drove out the foreign invaders

• Created a centralized government based on provinces which were ruled by governors

Mauryan Empire

• Maurya’s grandson, Asoka, continued his good rule

• He converted to Buddhism and used the teachings of Buddha to rule his empire

• After Asoka’s death the empire began to decline

• By 183 BC the last Mauryan empire was assassinated and the empire collapsed

The Kushan Empire

• In the first century A.D a group of warrior tribes gained control of what is modern day Afghanistan

• They quickly spread through northern India creating the Kushan Empire

The Kushan Empire

• The Kushan Empire acted as a “middle man” the trade route between Rome and China called the “Silk Road”

• Items such as silk, ivory, spices tea, porcelain and textiles were traded along the rout

The Gupta Empire

• In 320 AD Candra Gupta established a new empire

• They continued trade along the “silk road”

• Hindu and Buddhist art expanded during this time period “the Golden Age of Indian Culture”

The Gupta Empire

• Temple building excelled during the Gupta Empire

The Fall of the Gupta Empire

• By 5th Century AD the Huns invades Northern India destroying the Gupta empire

• For the next several hundred years, India was ruled by small petty kingdom which constantly warred with each other

Indian Accomplishments

Literature • The Vedas series of religious chants and

stories that become the basis for Hinduism• The Mahabharata, a poem written down

about the great deeds of warriors (The Longest Poem in Written History)

• The Ramayana, a tale about a fictional ruler, Rama who is banished from his kingdom and later battles demons

Architecture

• Mauryan Empire-The Pillar, the Stupa and the Rock Vault

Science and Math

• Where astronomers and charted the stars

• Aryabhata one of the first mathematicians to used algebra

• Introduced the concept of zero and used 0 to represent it