Global Studies
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Civilizations of India Notes
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
General

Existed from 2500 - 1500 BCE along the Indus River in what is today Pakistan

A collection of city-states, including Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

Most people were farmers, craftsmen, or traders
Achievements

Build brick buildings and walls

Developed a system of plumbing with baths and sewers

Government controlled granary served as a bank
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Used bronze tools and weapons
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Had a system of uniform weights and measures

Used the wheel

Entertainment included chess and dice

Domesticated chickens and cotton
Writing

Used pictographs, a system of picture writing

Many clay seals with animals and pictographs were discovered
Religion

Believed in Mother Goddess

Animals were sacred and holy

Priests had important positions in society
Decline

May have been cause by climate change- Saraswati River drying up?

Descendants are called Dravidians and live in southernmost India
ARYANS
General

Existed from 1500-500 BCE

Light skinned nomads from the Caucus Mountain who spread into Europe and South Asia

They were cow herders- their word for war translated to lets go get some cows
Achievements

Brought iron tools and chariots from the Middle East

Set up kingdoms ruled by rajahs (princes)
Language

Developed the Sanskrit language
Religion

They were polytheistic and started Hinduism and the caste system

Their holy books were the Vedas

Made religious sacrifices to the gods- food and water
MAURYA EMPIRE
General

Set up by Chandragupta in 322 BCE

Dominated the northern plain and were the irst kingdom that united most of the
subcontinent
Achievements

Created a postal system, road system, and irrigation
Asoka, India’s greatest king

Chandragupta’s grandson

The turning point of his life was after he won a great battle but was very bloody

He converted to Buddhism and helped spread it

He united diverse peoples under the banners of ahisma (nonviolence) and dharma
(kindness and compassion)

Asoka had his edicts or laws inscribed in stone

Symbols associated with Asoka are the dharma wheel (on India’s flag today) and the lions
GUPTA AGE

United most of India from 320-550 CE

A time of peace and prosperity and is considered India’s golden age
o Mathematics- developed Arabic numbers, the zero, and infinity
o Science- astronomy, calendar, physics, and chemistry
o Medicine- surgery, instruments, medicine
o Literature- poetry and plays
o Art and Architecture- includes the Ajanta Cave Temples
MUGHAL EMPIRE
General

Descendants of the Mongols

Invaded India from Persia under Babur in 1526
Religion

Mughals were Muslim
o Sources of Hindu-Muslim conflict

Polytheism vs. monotheism

Caste vs. religious equality

Sacred cow vs. food
Akbar the Great

Greatest Mughal ruler
o Ruled from 1555-1603
o Mughal golden age
o Promoted religious tolerance

Married a Hindu

Abolished tax on Hindus

Hindus given government jobs

Wanted to create a “universal” religion
Blending of culture

Urdu- Combined Persian and Hindi languages, but written in Arabic script

Indians absorbed Persian legends and myths

Persian culture influenced music, painting and architecture
Taj Mahal

Commonly considered most beautiful building in the world

Best example of Indo-Islamic architecture

20,000 craftsman worked for 22 years

Built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal

Helped bankrupt empire and lead to Mughal decline
Decline and Fall

Decline coincided with the arrival of the British

Last Mughal emperor was deposed and exiled in 1857