AP World HistoryChapter 3

Classical Civilization India

Aryan Civilization

• Indo European people who migrated across Europe and Asia.

• No Archeological record of early Aryans.• Priests called Vedas kept oral stories that were

passed down for generations.• The Vedas oral histories were written down

around 1500 B.C.E

Aryan Society• Aryans loved fighting, drinking, and playing dice.• They broke their society into four groups.– Brahmins or Priests.– Kshatriyas or Warriors.– Vaisyas or merchants, artists, farmers and herders.– Sudras or natives conquered by Aryans.

• Later the for groups were divided by economic status.

• Slowly castes developed subdividing the people.

Aryan Religious Beliefs

• Aryans were polytheistic.• Indra = God of Thunder, War= Weapon Thunderbolt.• Varuna = God of Order.• Agni = God of Fire = Messenger.• Brahman = God of all things.• Mystics = People who seek spiritual things.• Rajahs = Elected warrior leaders.

Nomads to Farmers

• The Aryans began to settle in villages then cities.

• Rajahs became hereditary monarchs.• By 500 B.C.E many Rajahs controlled a new

civilization of both Aryans and natives.• Written language of Sanskrit began to appear.

Mahabharata

• India’s greatest epic poem.• Story of Aryans fighting each other.• Five royal brothers fight one battle that lasts

18 days.

Ramayana

• The hero Rama must rescue Sita his beautiful bride from the demon king Ravana.

• The monkey general Hanuman helps Rama rescue Sita.

• Rama = ideal king.• Sita = ideal women.

Classical Age India

• Alexander the Great.• We learn about the

Maurya empire from a Greek diplomat.

Chandragupta, Maurya Empire

• The first leader who conquered northern India.

• The empire was maintained by a well organized Bureaucracy.

• The government built roads, harbors, collected taxes, and had royal courts.

Asoka

• The most honored Maurya emperor.• He conquered the Deccan region at the cost of

100,000 dead.• He then converted to Buddhism.• He stopped all conquest and became a

vegetarian.• He built stone pillars announcing peace and

prosperity and helped unite a divided people.

Advances• Literature.– Fables, and folk tales in the Sanskrit language– Most famous play was Shakuntala.

• Art.– Murals or wall paintings, Sexually vivid.

• Architecture, stone temples, stupa’s or domes.– Lots of carvings.

• Physicians.– Plastic surgery.– Vaccination of people against small pox.

• Math. – Concept of Zero.– Decimal system based on 10.

Kushan Empire

• Nomadic Empire that spread rapidly across the northern empire.

• The Kushans adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of Bactria.

• They adopted the Greek alphabet to suit their own language

Gupta Destroyed

• About the time of the Roman Empires collapse the White Huns overran the Gupta empire.

• India split into many kingdoms for almost a 1000 years.

Many Gods or One

• Hinduism has no founder but grew out of many cultures and people.

• One of the worlds most complex religions.“God is one, but wise people know it by many

names.”• Brahman is the one god but people worship

him as thousands of different gods.

Hindu Beliefs• Reincarnation

– Rebirth of the soul.– Can be reborn up or down in the cast system.

• Gurus– Great knowledge leads people as a teacher.

• Mystics– Religious leaders

Varuna God of the Sky

Hindu Sacred Texts

• Bhagavad-Gita.– Teaches duty over personal desires and ambitions.

The Goal of Life

• Every person on earth has a atman or Brahman.

• The goal is to achieve moksha or union with your Brahman.– You must free yourself of selfish desires.– It may take several lives to obtain.– Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul.

Karma and Dharma

• Karma deals with all actions in this life that affect his or her status in the next life.

• All existence is ranked. Humans are at the top then comes animals, plants, and rocks.

• Dharma is the duties that each class of people must accomplish to progress.

Opposition to the Brahmins

• Some people rejected traditional Hinduism for a more extreme form.

Early Life

• The early life of Gautama was spent in a palace surrounded by luxury.

• Prince Gautama married and had a son.• Gautama was sheltered by his father who did

not want him to become a traveling holy man.

The Search

• Gautama was riding one day and came across a dead man, a sick person, and an old man.

• He left his family to find a place without suffering. “why is their so much suffering in life?”

• He sat under a tree for 48 days pondering the mystery of life.

• he answered the question, his name changed to Buddha. “the enlightened one.”

• Nirvana and Moksha.

Four Noble Truths

• All life is filled with pain and suffering.• The cause of suffering is the desire for things

that are really illusions, such as riches, power, and long life.

• The cure for suffering is to overcome desire.• Overcome desire by following the Eightfold

Path.

Buddhism and Hinduism Compared

• Both Buddhism and Hinduism believe in the cycle of rebirth.

• Buddhism grew out of Hinduism.• Both stress non-violence.

Buddhist Sacred Texts

• The Tripitaka or “Three Baskets of Wisdom”– “Overcome evil with good.”– “Overcome the liar with truth.”

Two Sects of Buddhism

• Theravada: Followed the original teachings of Buddha closely.

• Mahayana: Worship Buddha even though Buddha taught the people not to worship him.

• Afterlife with many heavens and hells.

Decline of Buddhism in India

• Hinduism eventually absorbed some Buddhist ideas.

• Hinduism added Buddha to their long list of Gods.

• Muslim armies destroyed the few remaining Buddhist centers of learning in the North.

Priest Morning Rituals

The Upanishads• The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an

early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known. • All Upanishads have been passed down in oral tradition.

Kamasutra• It presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living.• A book on practical advice on sex.

Stupa’s• A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics,

typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship.

Economy and Society

Patriarchal• arranged marriages• companionate

Textiles• Iron working• Steel• Long-distance trade

Indian Influence• Spread Via trade• Buddhism

China and India

• Contrasts• Indian sensuality v. Chinese restraint in art• India more rigid socially

• Similarities• large peasant classes• patriarchy