Early Civilization in India
and
New Empires in India
Glencoe World History pages 71-86
Standards
• SSWH2 The student will identify the
major achievements of Chinese and
Indian societies from 1100 BCE to 500
CE.
• a. Describe the development of Indian
civilization; include the rise and fall of the
Mauryan Empire, the “Golden Age” under
Gupta, and the emperor Asoka.
Enduring Understandings and
Essential Questions
The student will understand that the culture of a society is the product of the religion, beliefs, customs, traditions, and
government of that society.
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How did early cultures develop?
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What was the impact of religion on the development of early societies?
The student will understand that as a society increases in complexity and interacts with other societies, the complexity of
the government also increases.
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How did the earliest societies create civilizations?
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In what ways did the interactions of early civilizations contribute to the greater complexity of their societies?
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What was the role of the earliest governments?
The student will understand that location affects a society’s economy, culture, and development.
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How did the physical features of a region affect the development of the beliefs, customs and traditions of that
society?
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How did the physical features of a region and limited natural resources necessitate trade between societies?
The student will understand that the movement or migration of people and ideas affects all societies involved.
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How did migration and movement lead to cultural diffusion?
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What changes are brought about by migrations of people?
Key Terms
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Sanskrit
Caste system
Hinduism
Karma
Buddhism
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Aristocracy
Mandate of Heaven
Silk Road
Nirvana
Places to Locate
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Indian Subcontinent
Himalaya
Ganges Rivers
Deccan
Persian Gulf
Hindu Kush
Indus River
India’s First Civilization
• Between 3000 and 1500 BCE, the valleys of the Indus River
supported a flourishing civilization that extended hundreds of
miles from the Himalayas to the coast of the Arabian Sea.
• Archaeologists have found remains of more than 1000
settlements in this region.
• Two of the ruins about 400 miles apart were sites of what
once were the major cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. An
advanced civilization flourished in these cities for hundreds of
years.
• Historians call it Harappa or Indus civilization.
Society in Ancient India
• The caste system of ancient India was a set
of rigid social categories that determined
not only a person’s occupation and
economic potential, but also his/her position
in society.
• In India, the word for caste is jati. There are
thousands of jati in India.
Social Classes or Varnas
In addition to jati, Indian society was broadly divided into 4
social classes called varnas.
1. Brahmans- members of the priestly class
2. Kshatriyas (KSHA-tree-uhz)- warriors. As society
changed, they often found new forms of employment.
3. Vaisyas (VYSH-yuhz) – commoners (Most were
merchants or farmers)
4. Sudras- Made up the great bulk of the Indian population;
Most were peasants and people who worked other at other
forms of manual labor
The Untouchables
• Lowest level of Indian society
• Not even considered part of the varna system
• Given menial, degrading tasks such as collecting
trash and handling dead bodies
• Made up about 5 percent of the total population of
ancient India
• Required to tap two sticks together so that others
could hear them coming and avoid them
Family in Ancient India
• Life in ancient India centered on the family, the most basic
unit in society.
• 3 generations lived under the same roof.
• Males were superior- only males could inherit property and
generally were the only ones educated
• Children were expected to take care of their parents when
they got older
• Marriage was arranged
• Ritual of suttee required women to throw themselves on the
pyre with their dead husbands
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
• At its height Harappa had 35,000 inhabitants and
Mohenjo-Daro had between 35-40,000.
• Both cities were carefully planned.
• Main, broad streets ran north to south.
• They were crossed by smaller east to west roads.
• Houses were different sizes but all had a square
courtyard, surrounded by rooms.
Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
•Most buildings
were constructed of
square, oven baked
mud bricks.
•Advanced drainage
system for
bathrooms carrying
waste to drainage
pits beyond city
walls.
Rulers and the Economy
• As in Egypt and Mesopotamia, Harappan rulers based
their power on a belief in divine assistance.
• Religion & political power were closely linked.
• Harappan economy was based primarily on farming.
• Indus River flooded every year, providing rich soil for
the growing of wheat, barley, and peas.
• This Indus valley civilization carried on extensive trade
with city-states in Mesopotamia.
• Much of this trade was carried by ship via the Persian
Gulf, although some undoubtedly went by land.
Mauryan Empire
• In 324 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya came to power. He
drove out the foreign forces and established his capital
in Northern India.
• The government was highly centralized. He had a large
army and a secret police that followed his orders.
• It is rumored that he was always afraid of
assassination; ordering all food to be tasted in his sight
and never sleeping in the same bed two nights in a
row.
The Reign of Asoka
• Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya
• Considered to be the greatest ruler in the history of
India
• After his conversion to Buddhism, he used these
ideals to govern his rule.
• The empire flourished during Asoka’s reign
• After his death in 232 BCE, the Mauryan Empire
began to decline.
The Golden Age under Gupta
• 320 AD, a local prince Chandragupta (no relation to the
earlier Chandragupta Maurya) created a new state in the
Central Ganges Valley.
• Eventually the new kingdom became the dominant political
force throughout northern India.
• It established loose control over Central India as well, thus
becoming the greatest state in India since the Mauryan
Empire.
• Under a series of efficient monarchs- especially
Chandragupta II, who reigned from 375-415- the Gupta
empire created a new age of Indian civilization.
Golden Age under Gupta Empire
• A Chinese travel Faxian admired the Gupta leaders,
their tolerance of Buddhism,
• Actively engaged in trade with China, Southeast
Asia, and the Mediterranean and encouraged
domestic trade.
• Cities famous for their temples as well as for their
prosperity rose along the main trade routes.
• The Gupta rulers lived in luxury and earned large
profits from the trade.
Hinduism
• Originated with the Aryan people who settled in
India after 1500 BC
• Believed in the existence of a single force in the
universe, a form of ultimate reality or God, called
Brahman.
• By the sixth century BC, the idea of reincarnation
had appeared in Hinduism.
• Reincarnation is the belief that the individual soul is
reborn in a different form after death.
Hinduism Continued…
• After a number of existences in the earthly world, the
soul reaches its final goal in a union with the
Brahman.
• Important to this process is the idea of karma, the
force generated by a person’s actions that determines
how the person will be reborn in the next life.
• The concept of karma is ruled by the dharma or divine
law. The law requires all people to do their duty.
Hinduism Continued…
• Hindus developed yoga, a method of
training designed to lead to union with God
• There are hundreds of deities in the Hindu
religion, including three chief ones: Brahma
the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva
the Destroyer
• Hinduism is still the religion of the vast
majority of Indian people today.
Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha
• The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama,
known as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.
• Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 BC and
was the son of a ruling family.
• He was raised in a wealthy family, married and had
a child.
• He became aware of suffering and gave up his royal
clothes, shaved his head, and abandoned his family
to find the true meaning of life.
Buddhism
• Appeared in the sixth century BC
• The pain, poverty, and sorrow that afflict human
beings are caused by their attachment to things of
this world. Once people let go of their worldly cares,
pain and sorrow can be forgotten.
• Then comes bodhi, or wisdom.
• Achieving wisdom is the key step to achieving
nirvana, or ultimate reality- the end of self or a
reunion with the Great World Soul.
Four Noble Truths
1. Ordinary life is full of suffering.
2. This suffering is caused by our desire to
satisfy ourselves.
3. The way to end suffering is to end desire
for selfish goals and to see others as
extensions of ourselves.
4. The way to end desire is to follow the
Middle Path.
The Middle Path or Eightfold
Path
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Right view
Right intention
Right speech
Right Action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right concentration
Siddhartha Gautama
• Rejected Hindu division of human beings
into rigidly defined castes
• Buddhism appealed to the downtrodden
peoples at the lower end of the social scale
• Forbade his followers to worship either his
person or his image
• Many Buddhists therefore see it as a
philosophy rather than a religion