The document discusses the early Indus Valley civilization that developed along the Indus River from around 3300 BCE to 1900 BCE. The civilization built well-planned cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro that had structures like bathrooms and organized streets. Though their writing system has not been deciphered, the Indus Valley culture engaged in trade and appeared uniform without major social divisions. The civilization eventually declined around 1500 BCE as the Aryans entered the region.

1. 2.3 Planned Cities on the Indus
Main Idea: The first Indian civilization built well-
planned cities on the banks of the Indus River.
Why It Matters Now: The culture of India today has
its roots in the civilization of the early Indus cities.

2. Planned Cities on the Indus
Along with Mesopotamia, China and Egypt, the Indus
Valley Civilization was one of the four early civilizations
of the Old World. The civilization started around 3300
BCE and continued till about 1900 BCE.

3. Vocabulary
Subcontinent
Himalayas
Indus and Ganges Rivers
Monsoon
Thar Desert
Deccan Plateau
Eastern and Western Ghats
Indus Valley Civilization
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta
Ashoka

4. Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
Indian Subcontinent
Landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangledesh.
Natural borders made of land or water.
i.e. The mountains in the north limited contact with other lands.

5. Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
The subcontinent is divided into three major zones: northern plain,
Deccan plateau, and coastal plains.

6. Geography of India: Himalayas
The Himalayas are mountains that separate India from China.
The Himalayas are the highest mountains on the surface of the earth.
The Himalayas have passes which allows travelers to enter India.
The Himalaya mountains
are located in the
northernmost part of the
Indian subcontinent and
extend roughly east to west
over 1,500 miles. The
Himalayas are the highest
mountain range in the
world. Mount Everest, the
world's highest mountain,
is part of the Himalayas
and rises to 29,028 feet and
is still rising.

7. Geography of India: Indus and Ganges Rivers
India has two major rivers, the Indus and the Ganges River which
provide water sources and creating fertile land in the Indus River
Valley.
The name “India” is derived from the Indus River. An early
civilization developed along the banks of the Indus River.
The Ganges River is an important river in India. It is a sacred or
holy river for Hindus.

8. The Ganges River is an important river in
India. It is a sacred or holy river for Hindus.

9. Geography of India: Environmental Challenges
Rainfall along the Indus was unpredictable.
• Floods
• Droughts
• River can change course.

10. Geography of India: Monsoons
Monsoons are seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons
• Winter winds are dry.
During the winter monsoon’s wind blows cold, dry air from the
north.
• Summer winds bring rain
During Summer the monsoons bring warm, wet air from the
Arabian Sea. Which causes heavy rains and can cause
flooding.

12. Geography of India: Thar Desert
The Thar Desert (pronounced TAR) is located in the northwest part
of the Indian subcontinent and is approximately 500 miles long and
250 miles wide.
The Thar, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is mostly sand and
is intensely hot in the summer.
It receives very little rain and the sparse plant life that exists on its
plains includes scrubby forest and grasses.

13. Geography of India: The Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is located in the southern part of the Indian
subcontinent and covers an area of several hundred thousand
square miles.
Great granite rocks and plateaus cover much of the area.
The hilly portion of the Deccan is covered with either sparse forest
or short, scrubby vegetation.

14. Geography of India: Eastern and Western Ghats
Eastern and Western Ghats are highlands near the east and west
coasts of the Indian subcontinent. Each range forms an edge of the
Deccan Plateau.
• The Eastern Ghats are of moderate elevation and contain forests
of hardwood trees and the climate is substantially wet.
• The Western Ghats are higher than the Eastern Ghats and
contain thick hardwood forests and tropical plant life, but
relatively drier than the Eastern Ghats.
Western Ghats Mountain Range Eastern Ghats Mountain Range

15. Civilization Emerges on the Indus
Indus Valley Civilization
Evidence of agricultural and domesticated animals indicates that the
earliest arrivals came about 7000 B.C.
By 3200 B.C., people began farming in villages along Indus River.

16. Planned Cities: Harappa
India’s earliest civilization is called the Harappan civilization.
It developed in the Indus River Valley and lasted from 3000 to 1500
B.C.
Harappa was not the only urban center. More than 1000 cities and
settlements have been discovered along the Indus River and its
tributaries.

17. Planned Cities: Mohenjo-Daro
Six hundred miles to the southwest of Harappa was the largest city
of Ancient Indus, Mohenjo-Daro.
The name means “Mound of the Dead” but so far no archaeologist
has not found a cemetery in the area.

18. Planned Cities
III. The cities showed signs of urban planning.
A. Cities were built on mud-brick platform to protect against
flood waters.
B. Every brick was the same size.
C. Brick walls protected city.
D. Streets in grid system are 30 feet wide.
E. Lanes separate rows of houses (which feature bathrooms and
a sewage systems.)

19. The Mauryan Empire
I. Chandragupta’s Rule
A. Around 323 B.C., Chandragupta, founder of Mauryan Empire.
B. Chandragupta believed “The Science of Material Gain” gave
him the right to rule over people with complete control.
1. Used money to create a large army.
2. He was a harsh ruler.
3. Had a brutal secret police that reported crime and corruption
within the empire.
4. Heavy tax on all farmers who raised food.
C. Under his reign India enjoyed great success and prospered.

20. Emperor Ashoka
II. Rule under Ashoka
A. Chandragupta who gave up throne, 301 BC. and his grandson Ashoka
became emperor.
B. During the early years of his rule he was involved in the policy of expansion
and an aggressive campaign to conquer the rest of the subcontinent.
C. Through warfare, the Mauryan Empire expanded and included most of
India.

21. Emperor Ashoka
II. Rule under Ashoka
D. Ashoka would however go through a major transformation in
his life, one that would completely change his outlook and
policies. It took place at the battle of Kalinga; a bloody war in
which thousands of soldiers were killed appalled Ashoka
1. Asoka became so troubled by massive bloodshed of his
conquests that he converted to Buddhism.

22. Collapse of Mauryan Empire
III. Ashoka's complete move away from violence was perhaps what
weakened the empire.
A. Once an empire of its size was without a strong ruler or an
army, the disintegration that took place could only be
expected.
B. After Ashoka's death the Mauryan Empire began to decline.
1. India once again disintegrated into a series of smaller
kingdoms and it was not until 320 AD, almost five hundred
years later when the Gupta dynasty founded India's next
major empire.

24. Foundations of Ancient Indian Religions
I. Buddhism
A. Founded after, Gautama, the Buddha or ("enlightened one")
1. One of India's greatest teachers around 500 B.C.
B. The teachings of Buddha
1. A life of great kindness, truthfulness, and unselfishness.
2. An individual can reach, “Nirvana,” through everyday
meditation. Union with the universe and release from the cycle
of rebirth.
3. Living things go through cycles of reincarnation “rebirth.”
Buddha's ideas and teachings spread to China and Japan.

26. Foundations of Ancient Indian Religions
II. Hinduism
A. All life is sacred
1. Animals respected
a. Cow is sacred
B. Most Hindus are vegetarians
C. Basic beliefs
1. World is evil
2. Reincarnation after death (animal or human)
3. Soul purified by completion of caste duties
4. Reverence for animals
5. Escape world’s evils through prayer

27. The Caste System and Daily Life
I. Caste System
A. Caste rules governed every aspect of life; where people lived,
what they ate, how they dressed, and what work they did.
1. People knew they could not change their status in this life.
2. However, they believed that they could reach a higher state
in a future life by fulfilling the duties of their present caste.
B. Each caste had its own leaders and its own occupation, and
caste members cooperated to help one another.

28. The Caste System and Daily Life
II. Caste system with four main classes:
A. Brahmins (priests and the king)
B. Kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats - rulers)
C. Vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, and merchants)
D. Shudras (peasants and serfs)

29. Gender Roles
• Men worked within their designated caste social class.
• Women were valued because of their ability to produce offspring
and nurse.
• When children were old enough, they adopted their parents' role.

30. Sanskrit
I. Sanskirt
A. The most important and primary sacred language of Ancient
India
B. A writing system of 400-600 symbols that have yet to be
deciphered.
C. The letters of the Indus alphabet were arranged in a systematic
way.
1. These letters were classified due to the location of the sound
in the vocal cords.

31. Ancient Indus Seals
I. Ancient Indus Seals
A. Over 3500 seals have been found.
B. They usually were made from soft clay and then baked hard.
C. Indus Valley merchants used the seals as labels.
D. Not everything written on them is understood by archaeologists.

32. The Indus and the Swastika
The swastika is a cross with its arms bent at right angles to either the
right or left. In the 20th century, a black swastika became the hated
symbol of the Nazis in Germany. But the swastika is in fact an
ancient symbol of goodness, and appears on seals found in the Indus
Valley cities.
The name 'swastika' comes from an ancient language called
Sanskrit, and means 'good to be'. It was a 'good luck' sign for
Hindus, and to Buddhists it meant 'rebirth'. Ancient swastikas have
been found on Hindu architecture, on coins from Mesopotamia, in
the ruins of the city of Troy (Turkey), and in other Asian, European
and Native American cultures.

33. 1
a

35. 1
a

36. 1
a

37. Vocabulary
Subcontinent
Himalayas
Indus and Ganges Rivers
Monsoon
Thar Desert
Deccan Plateau
Eastern and Western Ghats
Indus Valley Civilization
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta
Ashoka
Buddhism
Nirvana
Reincarnation
Hinduism
Caste System

39. • Language
– Had writing system of
300 symbols, but
scientists cannot
decipher it
• Culture
– Harappan cities appear
uniform in culture, no
great social divisions
– Animals importance to
the culture; toys suggest
prosperity

41. • Role of Religion
– Priests closely linked to rulers
– Some religious artifacts reveal links to modern
Hindu Culture
• Trade
– Had thriving trade with other peoples, including
Mesopotamia.

42. Indus Valley Culture Ends
• Harappan Decline
– Signs of decline begin around 1750 B.C.E.
– Earthquakes, floods, soil depletion may have
caused decline
– Around 1500 B.C.E., Aryans enter area and
become dominant