Chapter 6: India and Southeast
Asia 1500 B.C.E.-600 C.E.
AP World History
I. Foundations of Indian Civilization,
1500 B.C.E.-300 C.E.
 A. The Indian Subcontinent
 1. India has three topographical zones: (1) the
northern mountainous zone, (2) the Indus and
Ganges Basins, and (3) the peninsula.
 2. The pennisula has the following sub
regions; tropical Kerala coast, Coromandel
coast, flat area of Tamil Nadu, and the island
of Sri Lanka.
 3. This geographical diversity has made it
very difficult for any political power to unify all
of India for any great length of time
 B. The Vedic Age
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1. After the fall of the Indus Valley civ. Indo-European warriors
migrated to India.
2. The oral tradition of these light skinned tribes tell of a violent
struggle between themselves and the darker-skinned Dravidian
speaking Dasas.
3. This struggle led to the creation of the “varna.”
4. 1. Brahmin(priests/scholars), 2. Kshatriya (warriors), 3. Vaishya
(merchants), 4. Shudra (peasant/laborer), and the untouchables.
5. The four varna were then divided into hereditary occupational
groups called jati and were arranged in order of hierarchy.
6. Belief in reincarnation that each individual’s atman will be reborn in
another body after death.
7. Your station in your next life depends on one’s actions (karma)
8. Vedic religion emphasized the worship of male deities through
sacrifice.
9. Women could study lore and participate in rituals, they could own
land, and they married in their middle or late teens.
 C. Challenges to the Old Order: Jainism and
Buddhism
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1. People who reacted against the rigid social hierarchy went to the
forest to achieve moksha-liberation fro the cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth.
2. Jainism was founded by Mahavira.
3. Jainism practiced non-violence and went to extremes not to kill any
living thing.
4. Siddathra Gautama founded Buddhism.
5. To achieve nirvana-release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth
a person had to have moderate living, self-discipline, and rebirth.
6. After the death of Buddha his followers showed reverence for
bodhisattvas and the religion broke into the Mahayana school of new
beliefs, and the Theravada school of original teachings.
In order to eliminate their desires for worldly things, and thus end the cycle of rebirths, the Buddha taught his
people to follow eight principals. These eight principals were to know the truth, resist evil, say nothing that might
be hurtful, respect life, free the mind from evil, work in service towards neighbors, control evil thoughts, and
practice meditation.
 D. The Rise of Hinduism
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1. Hinduism combined the old vedic religion, elements of
Dravidian cultures such as personal religious devotion,
fertility rituals, and symbolism along with elements of
Buddhism.
2. Sacrifice became less important.
3. Vishnu the preserver.
4. Shiva the destroyer.
5. These gods and countless others were understood
manifestations of a single divine source.
6. Worship centered on temples and included puja.
7. Religious duties depended on gender, social status, and
age.
8. Hinduism appealed to people’s need for a direct
connection.
9. Became more popular than Buddhism because of less
constraints.
II. Imperial Expansion and Collapse,
324 B.C.E.-650 C.E.
 A. The Mauryan Empire, 324 B.C.E.-184 B.C.E.
 1. Founded by Chandragupta.
 2. Guided by a Machiavellian brahmin, Kautilya.
 3. Walled capital and moated city of Patalipura.
 4. 25 percent tax on agricultural products.
 5. Ashoka the most famous emperor converted to
Buddhism because he was shaken by the carnage
caused by his brutal wars.
 6. The edicts of Ashoka were inscribed in rocks and
pillars at various points throughout the empire.
 B. Commerce and Culture in an Era of Political
Fragmentation
 1. Was accompanied by economic development in
which guilds of artisans and merchants played a
dominant role.
 2. The Bhagavad-Gita addressed the contradiction
between duty to society and duty to one’s own soul.
This contradiction can be resolved when one takes
disciplined action without regard for personal benefit
and realizes that this is a service to the gods.
 3. Southern India (three Tamil kingdoms Cholas,
Pandyas, and Cheras) had great artistic development
and Northern India established an independent state in
Deccan.
 C. The Gupta Empire 320-550 C.E.
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1. Began with the Kingdom of Magadha and brought Northern and
Central India under one control.
2. Army controlled core of empire, but provincial administration
controlled their posts almost independently.
3. Theater state because of lack of military power.
4. Intellectuals came up with concept of zero and invented so-called
Arabic numerals.
5. Women lost right to inherit and own property, married very young,
and widows were often required to burn themselves on there husband’s
funeral pyre.
6. Dominated by Hinduism, but was characterized by religious
toleration.
7. Linked to the outside rule by extensive trade networks.
8. Collapsed under the financial burden of defense against the Huns.
9. Southern India was ruled by the warrior kingdoms of Pallavas and
the Cholas.
III. Southeast Asia 50-1025 C.E.
 A. Geography, Resources, and Early Civilization
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1. Southeast Asia has three ecological zones: Indochina
Mainland, Malay Peninsula, and the islands.
2. Natural resources included fertile agricultural lands,
dependable monsoon rains, and several growing seasons a
year.
3. Early inhabitants practiced swidden agriculture and
domesticated important crops and animals such as rice,
soybeans, sugar cane, chickens and pigs.
4. Malay peoples migrated from southern China and
continued into the Pacific islands.
5. Trade brought Hindu/Buddhist culture.
6. First major state to appear was Funan in the Mekong
river delta.
7. Dominated due to the isthmus of Ka until new trade routs
bypassed Funan.
IV. Comparative Perspectives
 A. Comparison of Sources
1. The ancient history of India is derived
more from religious artifacts and religious
writings than in other areas of the ancient
world.
 2. Indians belief in cyclical creation and
recreation of the world left them with little use
for keeping a written record of a brief moment
in time.
 B. Diversity and Unity Within India
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1. Political and social division has been the norm in
India due to the topographical and environmental
diversity of the subcontinent.
2. Unified under strong central governments such as
the Mauryan and Gupta kings who came to dominance
by controlling metal resources and trade routes.
3. Used elaborate class and caste structures to
organize their diverse populations.
4. Hinduism is derived from southern Dravidian
cultures and Buddhism and is less fixed than the
practices of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.