World History Chapter Three India & China (3000 B.C. – A.D. 500)

River Valley Civilizations

Objectives 1. Explain how geography influenced the development in India & China 2. Identify characteristics of these civilizations

Objectives 3. Explain political & social structures in these countries 4. Describe the role of religion 5. List the contributions of each civilization

III. The Arrival of the Aryans Floods, earthquakes & climate change weakened the civilization Arrival of the Aryans brought it to an end

A. Who Were the Aryans? Around 1500 B.C. Aryans, A group of Indo-European nomadic peoples, who came out of central Asia moved across the Hindu Kush mountain range Created a new Indian society based on Aryan culture & institutions

B. Aryan Ways of Life Pastoral people, with a strong warrior tradition Became farmers, using the iron plow & irrigation Developed irrigation systems

Aryan Ways of Life Had no written language Sanskrit - the first writing system of the Aryans, developed around 1000 B.C. (p.74) Wrote down religious rituals, legends & chants

Sanskrit

Aryan Ways of Life Rajas - An Aryan leader or prince (p.74) Carved out small states & fought one another

IV. Society in Ancient India Set of social institutions & class divisions

A. The Caste System Aryans social institutions & class divisions Caste system – a set of rigid categories in ancient India that determined a person’s occupation & economic potential as well as his or her position in society, based partly on skin color (p.75)

The Caste System Caste – on of the five major divisions of Indian classes in ancient times 1. Brahmans, priest class 2. Kshatriyas, warriors

The Caste System 3. Vaisyas, commoners 4. Sudras, peasants (darker-skinned natives) 5. Untouchables, trash collector & morticians (5%) of population

The Caste System http://www.krishna.org/images/Gita/plate42.jpg

B. The Family in Ancient India Basic unit of Indian society Extended family Patriarchal

The Family in Ancient India Ritual of suttee Required a wife to throw herself on her dead husband’s flaming funeral pyre

V. Hinduism Hinduism – the major Indian religion system, which had its origins in the religious beliefs of the Aryans who settled in India after 1500 B.C. (p.77) Vedas, collection of hymns & religious ceremonies

VI. Buddhism Buddhism – a religious doctrine introduced in northern India in the Sixth century B.C. by Siddartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, or “Enlightened One” (p.78) Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism

Section Two: New Empires in India

I. The Mauryan Dynasty 400 B.C. Persia threatened the Dynasty Alexander the Great invaded in 327 B.C.

A. The Founding of the Mauryan Dynasty Chandragupta Maurya 324 to 301 B.C. Highly centralized & impartial power Provinces, ruled by governors

B. The Reign of Asoka Asoka, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya *Asoka is considered the greatest ruler in the history of India Converted to Buddhism

II. The Kushan Kingdom & the Silk Road 100 B.C. founded by nomadic warriors, in Afghanistan Prospered on trade Silk Road – a route between the Roman Empire & China, so called because silk was China’s most valuable product (p. 83)

The Kushan Kingdom & the Silk Road Stretched from the city of Changan in China to Antioch a port city in Syria on the Mediterranean Sea

III. The Kingdom of the Guptas Chandragupta & son Samudragupta Dominate political force in northern India

The Kingdom of the Guptas Faxian, a Chinese Buddhist monk spent years in northern India The Gupta Empire actively engaged in trade with China, Southeast Asia & the Mediterranean Mines of gold, silver

Caves Prince Gautama

IV. The World of Indian Culture Literature, architecture and Science

A. Literature: A Lasting Legacy Vedas, earliest known Indian literature Epic poems: Mahabharata & Ramayana Recount deeds of great warriors

Literature: A Lasting Legacy Most famous poem, Bhagavad Gita The Ramayana was an account of the fictional ruler Rama Kalidasa most famous Indian author The Cloud Messenger

B. Architecture The pillar, marked sites pertinent to the Buddha’s life The stupa, burial mounds & held relics The rock chamber, carved out of mountainsides

stupa http://www.sudarshanaloka.org/images/stupa2.JPG

http://images. encarta. msn http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/000aa/000aab23.jpg

C. Science Astronomy Aryabhata, the most famous mathematician *Created Algebra Devised a decimal system of counting in tens Introduced the concept of zero