Craig10e ch04 ppt_ops_final

Copyright © 2016, 2011, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Heritage of World Civilizations
Tenth Edition
Chapter 4
West Asia, Inner
Asia, and South Asia
to 1000 C.E.

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Learning Objectives (1 of 3)
West and Inner Asia to 1000 C.E.
4.1 The Ancient Background
• Trace the history of the Elamites and the Iranian peoples in
ancient West Asia.
4.2 The First Persian Empire in the Iranian Plateau (550–330 B.C.E.)
• Analyze the factors involved in the rise and stability of the
Achaemenid Empire.
4.3 The Seleucid Successors to Alexander in the East (ca. 312–63 B.C.E.)
• Summarize developments in the East under Seleucid rule.

4.4 The Parthian Arsacid Empire (ca. 247 B.C.E.–223 C.E.)
• Discuss the rise and decline of the Parthian Arsacid Empire and
the conquests and influences of the Indo-Greeks, Scythians, and
Kushans.
4.5 The Sasanid Empire (224–651 C.E.)
• Discuss the rise of the Sasanid Empire and its social, economic,
and religious institutions.
South Asia to 1000 C.E.
4.6 The First Indian Empire: The Mauryas (321–185 B.C.E.)
• Discuss the Maurya empire and its greatest leader, Ashoka.

4.7 The Consolidation of Indian Civilization (ca. 200 B.C.E.–300
C.E.)
• Describe Indian civilization in the post-Maurya period.
4.8 The Golden Age of the Guptas (ca. 320–550 C.E.)
• Describe Indian civilization in the Gupta era.
4.9 The Development of “Classical” Indian Civilization (ca.
300–1000 C.E.)
• Discuss social and religious life in “classical” Indian
civilization.

Introduction (1 of 2)
• From 600 B.C.E. to the rise of Islam in 700 C.E.,
strong centralized empires emerged in Asia.
• Cultural and political contacts increased in
Western Asia.
• The empire of the Achaemenids (ca. 539–330
B.C.E.) and the Seleucid Empire (312–125
B.C.E.) dominated Western and Inner Asia.

Introduction (2 of 2)
• Dynasty of the Sasanids in Iran (224–651 C.E.)
and Mauryas in India (321 B.C.E.–185 B.C.E.)
built sophisticated bureaucracies, professional
armies, and strong communication systems.
• This period was marked by sustained contact
from the Mediterranean to China,
dramatically increased contact among diverse
cultures, races, and religious traditions, and
the rise of major religious traditions.

Global Perspective: Indo-Iranian Roles in
the Eurasian World before Islam (1 of 2)
• The Achaemenids and Sasanids in Iran and the
Mauryas and Guptas in India were counterparts
of the Roman-Byzantine world and Han China.
• The empires displayed cultural vibrancy,
economic prosperity, and wide dominion.
• These empires played an important role in
spreading religions, especially Buddhist traditions
across Asia.
• The post-Alexander states of West and Inner Asia
and Northwest India were important cultural
melting pots between the East and West.

Global Perspective: Indo-Iranian Roles in
the Eurasian World before Islam (2 of 2)
1. Why is a Eurocentric perspective not helpful for
understanding the world in the first millennium
C.E.? How does a global perspective offer a
better understanding of the development of
civilizations in this era?
2. Why did this period see a significant increase in
cross-cultural contacts? How were these
contacts manifested? Who participated in these
increased contacts?

Map 4–1: West and Inner Asia

Map 4–2: Eurasian Trade Routes ca. 100 C.E.

4.1 The Ancient Background
Learning Objective:
Trace the history of the Elamites and
the Iranian peoples in ancient West
Asia.

4.1.1 The Elamites
• The Elamites created an empire in western
Asia, and that empire was eventually
destroyed by the Assyrians.

4.1.2 The Iranian Peoples
• Aryan pastoralists settled on the Iranian plateau
around 1100 B.C.E.
• The most prominent of these settlers were the
Medes and Persians.
• The rise of the Persian Achaemenids from the
seventh century B.C.E. led to the end of Median
supremacy.
• Many of the institutions developed in the ensuing
Achaemenid Empire derive from Median
practices.

4.1.3 Ancient Iranian Religion
• Ancient Iranian religion focused on a moral
order.
• The religions worshipped the supreme
heavenly deity Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord.”
• These religious traditions in the early second
millennium had substantial regional
variations.

4.1.4 Zoroaster and the
Zoroastrian Tradition
• Zoroaster preached moral reform in an age of
materialism, political opportunism, and ethical
indifference.
• By the mid–fourth century B.C.E., the Zoroastrian
reform had spread into western and eastern Iran.
• The Iranian priestly clan of the Magi may have
integrated Zoroastrian ideas into their traditions.
• Zoroastrianism probably influenced Jewish,
Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist religious
concepts.

Document: A Hymn of Zoroaster about the
Spirits of Good and Evil
• What lesson or values does this passage
teach?
• Is there a conflict between the seeming
omnipotence ascribed to Ahura Mazda and
the existence of the Evil Spirit?
• How does the sharp choice offered here
compare to the Buddha’s Middle Path (see
“The ‘Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma’” in
Chapter 2)?

Zoroastrian Priests

4.2 The First Persian Empire in the Iranian Plateau
(550–330 B.C.E.)
Learning Objective:
Analyze the factors involved in the rise
and stability of the Achaemenid
Empire.

4.2.1 The Achaemenids
• Achaemenid rule in southwestern Iran (Persia)
dates back at least to Cyrus I (d. 600 B.C.E.).
• The rise of Iran as a major imperial civilization is
usually dated from the reign of Cyrus the Great
(559–530 B.C.E.).
• Cyrus ruled through local elites and institutions
rather than imperial administrative structures.
• Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenids
by 330 B.C.E.

Daric

4.2.2 The Achaemenid State
• Achaemenid rule was characterized by great stability.
• Rulers adopted the title Shahanshah, “king of kings,”
to justify their sovereignty under Ahura Mazda.
• The Achaemenids were tolerant of other cultural and
religious traditions.
• Cyrus’s state was replaced by a monarchy supported by
a noble class, professional armies, and an
administrative system of provinces ruled by governors
called satraps.

4.2.3 The Achaemenid Economy
• The Achaemenids created a coin-based
monetary system.
• Economic diversity, expanding trade, and
general prosperity underpinned the stability
of Achaemenid rule.

4.3 The Seleucid Successors to Alexander in the East
(ca. 312–63 B.C.E.) (1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Summarize developments in the East
under Seleucid rule.

4.3 The Seleucid Successors to Alexander in
the East (ca. 312–63 B.C.E.) (2 of 2)
• Alexander’s policies of Hellenic-Persian fusion
helped make Seleucid rule viable in many
eastern areas.
• During the second century B.C.E., Hellenistic
culture and law became new ideals among
Seleucid elites.
• Greek culture penetrated but did not displace
local social and cultural forms.

(1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Discuss the rise and decline of the
Parthian Arsacid Empire and the
conquests and influences of the Indo-
Greeks, Scythians, and Kushans.

(2 of 2)
• The steppe peoples from the Central Asian
steppes dominated the Iranian plateau from
about 250 B.C.E. to 300 C.E.
• The Parni, later known as the Parthians,
established an empire east of the Euphrates
by 129 B.C.E.
• The Parthians were oriented toward the
Hellenistic world until an Iranian revival in the
mid–first century C.E.

Parthian Warrior

4.4.1 Indo-Greeks
• The farthest reach of Hellenization in the East
came with the Indo-Greek rulers of Bactria.
• The Indo-Greeks probably helped spread
Buddhism from India to Central Asia.

Greco-Buddhist Art

4.4.2 Scythians
• Beginning around 130 B.C.E., Scythian tribes
overran northeastern Iran, ending the Indo-
Greek dominance.

4.4.3 Kushans
• The Kushan kingdom of was one of four major
centers of civilization in Eurasia around 100
C.E.

Chronology: Iran to the Third Century C.E.

4.5 The Sasanid Empire (224–651 C.E.) (1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Discuss the rise of the Sasanid Empire
and its social, economic, and religious
institutions.

4.5 The Sasanid Empire (224–651 C.E.) (2 of 2)
• Sasanids were a Persian dynasty who claimed
to be the rightful Achaemenid heirs.
• The center of the Roman Empire shifted east
to Byzantium in the early fourth century C.E.
• This shift led to 350 years of conflict between
the Byzantines and the Sasanids.

Sasanid Victory

4.5.1 Society and Economy
• The basis of the Sasanid economy was
agriculture.
• The Sasanids also heavily taxed the lucrative
caravan and sea trade in their territory.
• The empire’s many urban centers and its
foreign trade relied on a money system.
• The Sasanids invented the concept of the
check as a financial instrument.

Map 4–3: International Trade Routes in
Gupta and Sasanid Times

4.5.2 Religion
• The Sasanids institutionalized Zoroastrian ritual
and theology as state orthodoxy.
• The Manichaean worldview centered on a
radically dualistic and moralistic view of reality.
• Manichaeism spread westward to challenge the
Christian church and eastward along the Silk Road
to vie with Buddhism.
• Nestorian Christianity was protected by the
Sasanids and spread eastward into China.

Document: Tansar’s Defense of His King,
Ardashir I
• Why might Tansar be an apologist for
Ardashir I?
• What can be inferred about the
relationship between religious and
imperial authority under the Sasanids?

Manichaean Priests

Nestorian Christianity in China

4.5.3 Later Sasanid Developments
• The Mazdakite movement at the end of the
fifth century aimed to end inequality.
• Mazdak and his most important followers
were massacred in 528.

Chronology: Sasanid Iran

4.6 The First Indian Empire: The Mauryas
(321–185 B.C.E.)
Learning Objective:
Discuss the Maurya empire and its
greatest leader, Ashoka.

4.6.1 Political Background
• The basis for an empire in North India was the
rise of regional states and commercial towns
between the seventh and fourth centuries
B.C.E.
• Magadha dynasty dominated until it was
replaced by the Nandas dynasty.
• The Nandas were in turn replaced by the
Maurya clan.

4.6.2 The Mauryas (1 of 2)
• The Maurya Empire was the first true Indian
empire.
• Chandragupta Maurya (r. ca. 321–297 B.C.E.)
founded the empire.
• He built his empire with the advice of his
Brahman minister, Kautilya.
• Chandragupta’s son, Bindusara (r. ca. 297–272
B.C.E.), conquered the Deccan.

4.6.2 The Mauryas (2 of 2)
• The greatest Maurya leader, Ashoka (ca. 272–
232 B.C.E.), extended control over the whole
Indian subcontinent except the far south.
• Ashoka converted to Buddhism and spread
Buddhist teaching.
• He eventually moved toward “conquest by
righteousness (dharma).”
• After Ashoka’s death, local dynasties seized
power in many areas.

Map 4–4: Southwest Asia and India ca. 250 B.C.E.

Document: The Edicts of Ashoka
• What does Ashoka suggest is the role of the
monarch?
• What is his concept of “conquest”?
• What does he think of those of other faiths and
want for them?
• What reforms does Ashoka propose, and why?
• Can you reconcile his expressed abhorrence of
killing with his words to the forest tribes?
• How do these edicts compare to other
approaches to law, leadership, and government?

Chronology: India from the Sixth Century B.C.E.
to the End of Maurya Rule

4.7 The Consolidation of Indian Civilization
(ca. 200 B.C.E.–300 C.E.) (1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Describe Indian civilization in the post-
Maurya period.

4.7 The Consolidation of Indian Civilization
(ca. 200 B.C.E.–300 C.E.) (2 of 2)
• The centuries between the Mauryas and the
Guptas helped permanently shape India.

A Closer Look:
Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath

4.7.1 The Economic Base
• India became a center of world trade largely
because of Chinese and Roman demand for
Indian luxury goods.

4.7.2 High Culture
• In the arts, the great achievements of the
post-Maurya era were primarily inspired by
Buddhism.

4.7.3 Religion and Society
• Buddhist monasticism and popular Hindu
devotional cults thrived across the
subcontinent, including Buddhist stupas.
• The two masterpieces of Sanskrit culture and
Hinduism, the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana, probably took shape by 200 C.E.
• A cult of the person of Buddha developed.
• Buddhist lay devotion figured prominently in
Indian religious life.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi

(1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Describe Indian civilization in the
Gupta era.

(2 of 2)
• The Gupta era was a golden age of civilization
in the subcontinent.

4.8.1 Gupta Rule
• The first Gupta king was Chandragupta, who
extended his territory through marriage.
• Unlike the Mauryas, the Guptas usually
accepted a defeated ruler as a vassal prince.

Gupta Sculpture

Document: A Chinese Traveler’s Report on
the Gupta Realm
• What things about India seem to surprise
Faxian most?
• Is his image of Indian rule positive?
• How do his remarks speak to the prestige of
the Buddhist tradition and its monks in the
Indian state?
• What does he tell us about Indian society?

4.8.2 Gupta Culture
• Outside influence within Indian culture was
limited after the Gupta era.
• Much of Southeast Asia was heavily
influenced by Indian culture and religion.
• The Gupta era witnessed great advances in
the sciences and mathematics.

Map 4–5: Indian Influence in Southeast Asia, ca. 650

4.9 The Development of “Classical” Indian Civilization
(ca. 300–1000 C.E.) (1 of 2)
Learning Objective:
Discuss social and religious life in
“classical” Indian civilization.

4.9 The Development of “Classical” Indian Civilization
(ca. 300–1000 C.E.) (2 of 2)
• In Gupta times and after, Indian civilization
assumed its classical shape, its enduring
“Hindu” forms of social, religious, and cultural
life.

4.9.1 Society
• The fundamentally hierarchical character of
Hindu and Indian society solidified.
• The roles of karma and dharma became
fundamental within the lives of the people.
• Within the caste system there are further
distinctions, jatis.

4.9.2 Religion (1 of 2)
• The Gupta period and after saw the growth of
devotional cults of deities.
• The temple worship of a particular deity
became a basic form of Hindu piety.
• The tradition of ardent theism known as
bhakti, or “loving devotion,” developed within
Hinduism.

4.9.2 Religion (2 of 2)
• The two main strands of Buddhist tradition,
the Mahayana and the Theravada, formed.
• The Mahayana tradition taught that the
highest goal was to attain the status of a
bodhisattva, or “Buddha-to-be.”

Document: Devoting Oneself to Krishna
• How is the understanding of older Indian
religious practices and ideals (sacrifice, for
example) transformed here?
• How does the Lord Krishna present himself in
relation to other deities?
• Does the passage present a sharp dichotomy
between faith and works?
• What are the social implications of the
message here?

Document: The Bodhisattva Ideal
• The ideal of compassion for all beings is
central in the Mahayana. How is this
developed in the first passage?
• How is it used in the second to polemicize
against Theravada ideals?
• What might be the appeal of the bodhisattva
ideal as opposed to the older Arahant ideal?

The Buddhist Temple of Borobodur

Chronology: India from
the Gupta Age to ca. 1000

Map 4–6: Spread of Buddhist Traditions throughout
Southeast Asia

Dancing Shiva

Craig10e ch04 ppt_ops_final

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