THE CHRONOLOGY OF CLASSICAL INDIAN CIVILIZATION
1500 – 1200 BCE Indo-Aryan pastoralists arrive; society patriarchal, patrilineal society: no public role for women
Push Dravidians out, settle country side; wealth measured in cattle; rule by warrior leaders
1500 – 500 BCE Vedic Age: collection of oral hymns, prayers, stories of gods, heroes, written in Sanskrit
Expansion of Aryan tribes southward, eastward; more clashes with local Dravidians (dasas)
1200 BCE Aryans introduce horses, chariots: no states; chiefs lead tribes, hierarchy of warriors, priests
1000 – 500 BCE Regional kingdoms arise with permanent capital cities, administrators
800 BCE
Castes arise: Kshatriyas (rulers), Brahmins (priests), Vashiya (herders), Shudra (laborers)
Aryans use iron; begin farming wheat, barley, rice – semi-free dasas as serfs in shudra caste
700 – 550 BCE
600 – 550 BCE
540 – 468 BCE
Sedentarism leads to rise of cities; only males inherit property; rise of craft industries, artisans
Law of Manu dictates social, gender, sexual, moral behavior; women subordinated to men
Brahmins dominate: Upanishads discuss religion: atman, karma, samsara, dharma, moksha
600 BCE Rise of craft, trade guilds; wealth amongst merchants; vaisaya caste accepts merchant jatis
6 th Century BCE 16 regional states emerge in Ganges; governments favor monarchies, aristocratic republics
6 th Century BCE Buddha teaches 4 Noble Truths, 8 Fold Path; denies need for rituals, castes for salvation
Teaches equality of persons seeking to achieve Nirvana; favored use of vernacular languages
Jains teach abandonment of wealth, goods, live as a hermit; deny castes, challenge Brahmins
520 BCE
Rise of Jain idea of sacredness of all life; Jains practice ahimsa or non-violence
Persian Empire conquered Indus Valley, introduced Persian style of government to India
327 BCE
Persians facilitate long term trade, established contacts between India, SW Asia
500 BCE Magadha emerged as dominant Ganges state; builds irrigation canals, favors rice production
5 th Century BCE Buddhism establishes monasteries; rich can help own salvation by endowing, helping monks
4 th Century BCE Women considered a minor before law; divorce prohibited; polygamy, patrilineal societies
Alexander the Great crushed Persia, Indus states: creates power vacuum in area when he left
Greek conquest links India to Greek culture; Indian spices, cloths enter Silk Road, SW Asia
321 BCE Chandragupta Maurya seized Magadha, conquered Indus, Ganges to create Mauryan Empire
Regulated trade, agriculture; centralized bureaucracy, tax collection, treasury; large army; spies
Arthashastra by Kautilya, Prime Minister: “the science of government is punishment”
300 BCE Mauryan army defeats Greek Seleucid empire to control Afghanistan, Northern India
3 rd Century BCE Indian merchants dominate Indian Ocean trade in textiles (calicos, muslins, cottons) spices
268 – 232 BCE Emperor Ashoka conquers Kalinga: empire at largest territorial extent; Pataliputra is capital
Roads link cities; architecture used stone, pillars, stupas, rock chambers; extreme decorations
Converts to Buddhism, uses state to support poor, orphans; sends out Buddhist missionaries
185 BCE
170 – 165 BCE
NW India conquered by Greek-speaking Bactrians; Mauryan Dynasty collapsed
Saka (Scythian) pastoral nomadic invasion of NW Asia intermix with Brahmin, Kshatriya castes
1 st Century BCE Buddhism split; Theravada teaches philosophy, self-salvation; Mahayana teaches faith, gods
Mahayana Buddhism becomes a salvation religion, spreads within India, to China by Silk Road
100 BCE to 50 CE Gandhara school of art blends Greek, Buddhist, Hindu traditions; Hindu art symbolic, ornate
100 BCE – 100 CE Era of temple building, devotional Hindu cults: Brahmins play role in everyday life of all castes
100 BCE – 225 CE Deccan dominated by Andhra Dynasty; synthesis of styles due to control of spice trade in area
Deccan states build irrigation projects, alter environment with dams, dikes to conserve water
52 CE St. Thomas introduced Christianity to Southern India across trade routes from Rome
1 st /3 rd Century CE Kushans establish empire in Northern S. Asia; facilitated trade between India, China
2 nd Century CE Greeks, Bactrians introduced coinage, money economy to India; banking arose as business
3 rd Century CE Decline of Silk Road = decline of merchants, lowering caste status; less money to Buddhism
320 CE Rise of Guptan Empire; decentralized empire relying heavily on regional aristocrats to rule
4 th /6 th Century CE Child brides, widow burning (sati) common; women tied to home (purdah); veils introduced
Popularization of less rigid Hinduism: devotion, emotion; rise of Vishnu, Shiva as chief deities
Gupta’s support Hinduism, castes; Brahmins replace Kshatriya as most important caste
5 th Century CE
Caste determined by dress; intermarriage of castes limited; untouchables increasing isolated
Chinese Buddhist monks, merchants travel on pilgrimage to India
Science, math excel: earth is sphere, rotates on axis, solar year; zero, decimal, number system
South India (Deccan) evolves as a Dravidian culture with Hinduism, Buddhism mixture
451 – 550 CE
606 – 648 CE
6 th Century CE
6 th Century CE
White Huns invade India, Guptan Empire collapsed as regional princes reassert independence
Harsha temporarily restores centralized empire, supported scholarship, Buddhism, piety
Kalidasa was a great literary genius of dramas, lyrics: emphasis on emotion, moods in works
Rise of Rajputs: Invaders who settled in India, intermarried with kshatriya; set up rival states

CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD
THEME
Patterns, impacts of interaction amongst major societies: trade, exchanges, diplomacy, war, and international organizations
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE
THEME
Changes in functions and structures of states, attitudes towards states, inc. identities, political parties (the political culture) and emergence of the nation-state
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE

CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD:
THEME
Impact of demography on people and the environment including migration, population growth and decline, disease, urbanization, environmental degradation, and agriculture
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE
THEME
Impact of technology including agricultural techniques, weaponry, manufacturing, transportation and communications systems, and inventions
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE

CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD
THEME
Religious, intellectual, cultural, and artistic aspects, developments, interactions among and within societies
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE
THEME
Systems of social, economic and gender structure including inequalities and work or labor systems
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 5 th CENTURY BCE
EARLY CLASSICAL
5 TH CENTURY BCE TO
100 CE
LATE CLASSICAL
100 TO 500 CE

NAME: _________________________ PERIOD: _______ DATE: ________________ to end of 100 CE
END
TIME
PERIOD
Date:
100 CE to
500 CE
Summarize the time period – use SCRIPTED. Do at least three themes
BEGINNING
TIME
PERIOD:
Dates:
Aryan Vedic Age to 5 th Century
BCE
Key continuities from previous period
Key changes from previous period
Explain why change or continuity occurred
INTERIM
TIME
PERIOD
Dates:
5 th Century BCE