2. Earliest History
⢠About 2500 B.C.,
Indus Valley
civilization arose on
the banks of the
Indus River, in what
is now Pakistan and
western India. Indus River
7. India
ďśIndia is considered a sub-continent
ďśPeople of the first civilization in India built
cities on the banks of the Indus River.
ďśIndian civilization began in the Indus
River Valley and spread through the
Ganges River Valley, then through the
Indian subcontinent. It continued with
little interruption because of its
geographic location.
8. ďśPhysical Geography and location were
dictated by physical barriers such as:
âThe Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and
the Indian Ocean made invasion more
difficult.
âMountain passes in the Hindu Kush
provided migration routes into the
Indian subcontinent.
âThe Indus and Ganges were the most
important rivers in the Indian
subcontinent
9. The Indus and Ganges River create a
fertile plain.
ďŹ
South Asia (modern India, Pakistan,
and Bangladesh) is separated from the
rest of Asia by tall mountains
(Himalayas, the Hindu Kush). Just
below the mountains are two large
plains that hold the Ganges and Indus
rivers.
ďŹ
These high mountains gave the
indigenous people safety from
invaders.
10. Geography presents challenges for the
Indus Valley
ďŹ
The rivers flooded each year and left soil
good for farming, but the floods did not
occur at the same time each year.
ďŹ
The regionâs weather caused problems
also. Each winter, strong winds blew dry
air across the area. Each spring, the
winds brought heavy rains. These were
called monsoons
11.
12. Early Indus Valley settlers developed
farming villages
ďŹ
Historians know that people were
farming along the rivers by about
3200BC.
ďŹ
Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro were
the 2 main cities
13. Capitals
⢠Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
âMight have been twin capitals
⢠Highly structured and well organized
⢠Traded with
Sumer
14. Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro
⢠These cities were large and carefully
planned
⢠Most houses were built with baked clay
bricks of a standard size, however mud and
unbaked bricks were found as well.
⢠Houses had a complex plumbing system,
with baths, drains, and water chutes that led
into sewers beneath the streets.
⢠Merchants used a uniform system of weights
and measures.
20. Planned plumbing and sewage
systems.
ďŹ
About 2500BC, while the Egyptians were
building pyramids, these people began
building their first cities.
ďŹ
In Mesopotamia, cities were a jumble of
streets laid down without thinking first.
ďŹ
In the Indus Valley, however, the builders
of cities followed a grid of streets. The
cities showed sophisticated careful
planning.
21. ďŹ
They built a strong area called a
citadel that was easy to defend
and held all the important
buildings. There were also
separate residential districts.
ďŹ
Buildings were constructed of
oven-baked bricks in standard
sizes, unlike the simpler, irregular
sun-dried bricks of the
Mesopotamians.
22. ďŹ
They also had sophisticated
systems for carrying water and
sewage. These systems could
rival any urban drainage system
built before the 19th century.
ďŹ
The uniformity in the citiesâ
planning and construction
suggests that the Indus peoples
had developed a strong central
government.
23. ďŹ
The Indus people valued personal
cleanliness and social sanitation.
ďŹ
They may have known that poor
sanitation could spread disease.
ďŹ
They realized that establishing a
citywide waste disposal system
would be more effective that
leaving waste disposal up to
individuals.
24. ďŹ
Proper sanitation was made
available to all classes, not
exclusively to the wealthy.
ďŹ
This may mean that the Indus
Valley people felt the
government had some
responsibility to provide
services for citizens.
25. Ruins reveal the character and trading patterns
ďŹ
The civilization of the Indus was
peaceful.
ďŹ
Few weapons have been found at the
sites of these ancient cities. This
suggests that warfare was not
common.
ďŹ
Because the houses were mostly like
one another, scholars think that the
Indus culture did not have sharp
differences between social classes.
26. Characteristics
⢠In the middle of the city was a large
hilltop structure, possibly a fortress.
⢠No temples, shrines or religious writings
have been found.
31. Disappearance
⢠Around 1700 BCE, the Harappan
civilization disappeared without a
trace.
⢠Order was replaced with sloppy work
and cities went into decline.
âSome have speculated that over
lumbering of the forests (fuel), volcanic
eruptions, or even a devastating
earthquake may have aided their
decline.
32. Aryan Invasion
⢠Indo-Aryan people invaded
sometime between 1500-1000 BCE
â In about 1750 BCE, tribes of Indo-European peoples
began to cross the Hindu Kush Mountains into
northwest India
⢠Information about
these peoples comes
from their writings, The
Vedas.
33. Indo-Aryan People
ďŹ
The Aryans, who spoke an early form
of Sanskrit, migrated through the
passes of the Hindu Kush mountains
and entered India.
ďŹ
Indo-Aryan People migrated into the
area, creating a rigidly structured
society (caste system) blended with
native beliefs.
ďŹ
Their sacred literature, the Vedas, left
a fairly reliable picture of Aryan life.
34. Vedas
⢠Language and writing of Indo-Aryans
â The language and writing of the Indo-Aryans was
called Sanskrit
⢠Vedas description of Aryans
âNomadic herders
âAryans loved to drink, eat, play music
and gamesâŚreal party people
âVery warrior-like
35.
36. Aryan Impact
ďŹ
The Aryans migrated into the
area, blended their beliefs with
those of the indigenous people,
and asserted their dominance
ďŹ
The Aryans were taller, lighter in
skin color, and spoke a different
language than the people they
found in India.
37. ďŹ
The Aryans were divided into
social classes: Brahmins (priests),
warriors, and peasants or traders.
ďŹ
Over time the Aryans made more
class restrictions. Varna, or skin
color, was a distinguishing feature
of this system.
ďŹ
This caste system influenced all
social interactions and choices of
occupations.
38. The Rise of Classical
Indian Civilization
⢠The merger between the older
Indus Valley civilization and the
Indo-Aryan culture produced the
Classical Indian Civilization.
39. The Rise of Classical
Indian Civilization
⢠It began in the Indus River Valley
and spread to the Ganges River
Valley, then through the Indian
Subcontinent. It continued with
little interruption because of its
geographic location.
43. Geographic Location
⢠Mountain passes like the Khyber
Pass and the Bolan Pass
provided migration and invasion
routes into the Indian
subcontinent.
44.
45. Geographic Location
⢠The Indus and Ganges Rivers
were the most important
rivers in the Indian
subcontinent.
48. Caste System
Due to this dominance, the
Aryans established a rigid
hereditary caste system, which
influenced all social interactions
and choices of occupations.
49. Caste System
âBrahmins â priests
âKshatriyas â warriors
âVaisyas â herders, farmers,
artisans and merchants
âSudras â servants and landless
farmers
50. Caste System
âUntouchables â Dravidians, the
people the Aryans conquered;
forced to do the worst jobs
(garbage collectors, animal hide
tanners, collectors of the dead)
52. ďŹ
Hinduism is an important contribution of
classical India and is still practiced today.
ďŹ
Hinduism influenced Indian society and
culture.
Hinduism
53. Hinduism
⢠Belief in many forms of one major God
(Polytheistic)
⢠Founded in India, no one founder,
spread along trade routes
⢠Holy Book: Vedas and Upanishads
â Sacred writings of Hinduism
54. Hinduism
⢠On the one hand, there is Brahman
â the unchanging, all-powerful
spiritual force that inhabits all beings
â Everything is an aspect, a facet, a piece
of Brahman; sort of the universal soul
⢠On the other hand, many Gods and
Goddesses
â Shiva, the Destroyer
â Vishnu, the Preserver
55. Hinduism
⢠Key Concepts
â Dharma: a personâs moral duty in life
â Karma: Knowledge that all thoughts and
actions result in future consequences
⢠Think Earl in âMy Name is Earlâ
â Reincarnation: Rebirth based on Karma
⢠The ultimate goal in Hinduism is Moksha - to stop the
endless cycle of rebirth and achieve final union with
Brahman.
⢠Caste system organized society into classes
â Class systems based on occupation and family lineage
56. Beliefs of Hinduism
ďŹ
Belief in many forms of one major God
ďŹ
Reincarnation: rebirth based on karma
ďŹ
Karma: Knowledge that all thoughts and
actions result in future consequences
ďŹ
Vedas and Upanishads: Sacred writings
ďŹ
Hinduism spread along major trade
routes
57. Buddhism
ďŹ
Founded by Siddhartha Gautama in a
part of India that is in present-day
Nepal.
ďŹ
Asoka, king of Indiaâs Mauryan
Empire in 269 BC, sent his
missionaries throughout Asia
spreading Buddhism from India to
China and other parts of Asia.
ďŹ
It is because of Asoka that Buddhism
became a major faith.
58.
59. Beliefs of Buddhism
ďŹ
Founder: Siddhartha Gautama
(Buddha- âenlightened oneâ)
ďŹ
Four Noble Truths (everything in life is
suffering, the cause is selfish desires,
to end suffering you must end desires,
overcome desires by the Eightfold
Path)
ďŹ
Eightfold Path to Enlightenment
(following this path leads to Nirvana, a
release from selfishness and pain)
60. Buddhism
⢠Founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama
(Buddha)
â Asokaâs missionaries and their writings spread of
Buddhism from India ď China/Asia
⢠No Deity â The Buddha did not teach a deity
⢠Holy Book â no one book (writings like Perfection
of Wisdom Sutras)
⢠Basic Concept:
â Humans struggle to achieve virtuous life of Buddha.
â Persons achieve complete happiness (nirvana) by
eliminating their attachment to worldly things (personal
decisions).
61. Buddhism â 4 Noble Truths
Siddhartha taught 4
main ideas that
he had
understood in his
enlightenment - 4
Nobel Truths
1.Everything in
life is suffering
and sorrow
62. Buddhism
2. The cause of all suffering is
peopleâs selfish desire for
temporary pleasures of this world.
64. Buddhism
4. The way to
overcome such
desires and
attain
enlightenment
is to follow the
Noble Eightfold
Path.
65. Buddhism
Eightfold Path to Enlightenment
Right Views
Right Intentions
Right Speech
Right Action/Conduct
Right Livelihood
Right Endeavor
Right Mindfulness
Right Mediation
Goal of Buddhism:
enlightenment
66. Mauryan Empire- Asoka
⢠Chandragupta gained power in the Ganges
Valley and then conquered northern India.
⢠His son and grandson later added much of
the Deccan area in the south to the empire.
⢠Chandragupta had specially trained women
warriors guard his palace.
⢠Chandragupta's grandson, Asoka, is the
most honored emperor.
67. Asoka
⢠Shortly after becoming emperor Asoka
fought a long, bloody war to conquer the
region of Kalinga.
⢠Horrified by the slaughter- more than
100,000 people died- Asoka no longer
wanted to fight or conquer other territories.
⢠He converted to Buddhism, rejected
violence, and ruled by moral example.
⢠Most importantly, he sent missionaries to
spread Buddhism across India and
throughout Asia, including China.
68. Contributions of the Mauryans
⢠Political unification of much of India
⢠Spread Buddhism
⢠Free hospitals
⢠Veterinary clinics
⢠Good roads
69. Gupta
ďŹ
During the reign of the first three
Guptas, India experienced a period
of great achievement called: The
Golden Age of classical Indian
Culture.
70. India's Golden Age - Gupta
During this time Indian people made
significant contributions to world
civilizations in the area of
~mathematics- concept of zero
~medical advancements- set bones
~astronomy- concept of earth as round
~new textiles
~literature.