Lecture # 07Topic: History of Pakistan I (2500BC-712AD)

• Recap of lecture # 06:• Annual Rainfall- Its Distribution and types, • Seasons, • Rural and Urban Areas, • Differences between Rural and Urban Way of Life, • Important Cities of Pakistan, • Provincial Setup of Pakistan• Social life in Pakistan• Today’s topic: History of Pakistan I (2500BC-712AD)

Topic: History of Pakistan I (2500BC-712AD)

Why learn history?•It is fascinating to learn about how people lived in the past•History teaches us to learn from past•‘People who do not learn from history have to repeat it’•History teaches us to understand the modern world

Why learn history?

• To look at sun• Sun dial• Water clock• Important event• BC (Before Christ)• AD (Anna Domini which is Latin word for ‘year of

our Lord’)

Cont.

• Years BC are counted backwards and year AD in the normal way.

• Muslims calendar start from the event of ‘Hijra’ and based on the movement of moon

• Concept of stone age, metal age, fertile crescent empires, modern age etc

Historical Background of PakistanIndus Valley Civilization 2500-1500 BC

• 2500-1500BC: The Indus Valley Civilization or Harappian Civilization was at its peak and was possibly the largest of all ancient civilizations in terms of population.

• Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were two of the many urban parts of this civilization that had trade connections with various places in Iran, Afghanistan, Mesopotamia/Iraq, and many parts of India including Bombay and New Delhi.

Cont.

Cont.

Special features of Indus valley CivilizationMohenjo-Daro & Harappa: 2500 BC•Agriculture: wheat, cotton, corn, pluses• Industry: a.Tools of copper, bronze, and stone, b.Textile (cotton and silk cloth) c.Sophisticated pottery and other kinds of cooking and serving utensils

Cont.

Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa: 2500 BC•Architecture/Construction:Three-story brick houses were built in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa •Trade and Business:They had trade relations with various places in Iran, Afghanistan, Mesopotamia/Iraq, and many parts of India including Bombay and New Delhi.

The Aryan Civilization: 3000-2000 BC• A group of warrior nomads, the Aryans, began to

migrate into the Indus Valley region around the time that the Harappan Civilization began to decline.

• The nomadic Aryans were a cattle-breeding society, and they learned how to live as settled agriculturists from the remaining Harappan people.

Cont.

The Persian Empire: 520 BC

• From 539 BC to 331 BC, the Persian Empire was the most powerful state in the world. Ruled from Persia (now Iran), it stretched from Egypt to India. It had rich resources of water, fertile farmland, and gold.

• The Persians worshiped a fire god, Zoroaster. They employed special spies, known as “the king’s ears,” But some spies became powerful, and joined with enemies of the empire, such as Alexander the Great, the Greek leader who conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC.

Cont.

Alexander- the great: 336 -323 BC

• Aged twenty-five, Alexander the Great defeated the combined might of the Persian Empire and became the richest ruler in the world but he died at the age of 32.

• That brief but systematic empire-building campaign changed the world. It spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia. Historians call this era the "Hellenistic period."

Cont.

The Mauryan Empire & Asoka: 269 -233• Greek control over the area along the Indus weakened

after the withdrawal of Alexander and certainly after his death in 323 B.C.

• This unstable state of affairs must have provided Chandragupta with an opportunity to conquer and annex the territories.

• Ashoka was the third emperor of the Mauryan Empire, he ruled from 269-233 BC and promoted Buddhism.

Cont.

The Greeks & Ghandhara Civilization: 175 - 160 BC

• The Greek king , conquered the Kabul River Valley around 175 BC. & re-built Taxila and Pushkalavati as their twin capital cities in Gandhara.

• They were followed in 75 BC by Iranian nomads from Central Asia, and in about 50 BC by the powerful Parthians.

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• After defeating the Greeks in 53 BC, the Parthians ruled the northern Pakistan area. During their era of trade and economic prosperity, the Parthians promoted art and religion.

• The Gandhara School of art developed, which reflected the glory of Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian art traditions.

The Kushans: (the next wave of invaders from central Asia): 50 AD• The Kushana king, ruler of nomad tribes from Central

Asia, overthrew the Parthians in 64 AD and took over Gandhara.

• The Kushans further extended their rule into northwest India and Bay of Bengal, south into Bahawalpur.

• They made their winter capital at Purushapura, the City of Flowers, now called Peshawar, and their summer capital north of Kabul.

Cont.

cont.• The Kushans, made the northwest frontier of

subcontinent part of their empire around 50 A• The empire was wealthy, gaining substantial

revenue by controlling most of the major Asian land trade routes.

• Very high quality coins made from gold earned by trading with the Roman Empire was used to pay for luxury goods such as spices, silk and metalwork.

GUPTA EMPIRE OF INDIA (320-720 AD)• In the later part of the third century, Kushan power

declined.• Chandragupta I was a princely ruler in one of the

kingdom. He established one of the most fertile and richest kingdoms in the heartland of the former Mauryan Empire. During the time of the Gupta Empire , Indians enjoyed a Golden Age in the arts, sciences and religion. Hinduism flowered and expanded throughout India.

Cont.

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• The Hindu epic writings of the Ramayana and the Mahabbarata were completed and spread to all in the Empire.

• Hindu temples and shrines were built throughout the lands ruled by the Guptas. Sanskrit poetry, drama and art grew in importance, resulting in the Gupta period to be known as the classical age of Indian culture and arts.

HUNS Invasions

• Wars of succession and invasions from the Huns resulted in the gradual decline of the Gupta Empire. The Empire split up but Gupta rulers continued to rule Magadha in a minor capacity until 720.

• HUNS terrorized the Chinese for years before many migrated to the banks of the Volga River in Central Asia.

Huns Invasions

Cont.

• It is debatable if these affects were good or bad, but it is impossible to deny the Huns shaped the world we live in today.

• Muslims arrival in Subcontinent.

Muhammad bin Qasim 712 AD

• Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi (Arabic: بن محمد was an (c. 31 December 695–18 July 715) (قاسمUmayyad general

• who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born & raised in the city of Taif (in modern day Saudi Arabia). Qasim's conquest of Sindh and Punjab laid the foundations of Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent.

Cont.

Summary

• Why learn history?• Why learn history?• Indus Valley Civilization 2500-1500 BC • Special features of Indus valley Civilization• Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa: 2500 BC• The Aryan Civilization: 3000-2000 BC• The Persian Empire: 520 BC

summary• Alexander- the great: 336 -323 BC• The Mauryan Empire & Asoka: 269 -233• The Greeks & Ghandhara Civilization: 175 - 160 BC• The Kushans: (the next wave of invaders from

central Asia): 50 AD• Gupta Empire (320-720 AD)• HUNS Invasions• Muhammad bin Qasim 712 AD

• If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. Pearl Buck

• The challenge of history is to recover the past and introduce it to the present. David Thelen

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