The Subcontinent and Its’ People India The Subcontinent and Its’ People

Ancient India The first civilizations within ancient India sprang up along the banks of the Indus River Later, civilization spread to the Ganges River Valley (Ganges River)

Where Indian Civilization Starts

India In Relation To Other Civilizations

Safety in India Ancient India was a fairly safe place because physical barriers made invasion difficult Mountains to the north are the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush Surrounded on three sides by waters of the Indian Ocean

Mountain Passes People did migrate into ancient India by using mountain passes in the Hindu Kush mountains Mountain passes are routes through mountains that are easier to get through or over because they’re lower

The Indus River The Ganges River Ancient India’s two main rivers are the Indus River and the Ganges Rivers

Challenges of India The rivers flooded and provided good soil for farming, and that flooding was fairly predictable like Egypt’s Nile Much of India’s land is very low-lying, meaning it floods easily

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18894509 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19705569

Monsoons Blow The region’s weather caused problems also. Each winter, strong winds blew dry air across the area. Each spring, the winds brought heavy rains. These seasonal winds (both the hot dry air and moist rain) are called monsoons

Early Cities No one is exactly sure how people first got to India It’s possible people came from Africa by boat, or came through the Hindu Kush using mountain passes Earliest agriculture evidence shows people in India in 7000 B.C. Villages around the Indus by 3200 B.C.

Asia Africa

Early Cities By 2500 B.C., while Egyptian were building pyramids the first major cities in India were being built Along the Indus River the two largest early Indian cities were Harappa Mohenjo-Daro

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro Large, well-planned cities Streets and buildings laid out in a grid Fortified area called a citadel Separate residential areas of town Buildings made of oven-baked bricks Sophisticated plumbing and sewage system within the city

What Mohenjo-Daro may have looked like Harappa ruins from above

Mohenjo-Daro Plumbing Nearly every house was connected to a drainage system Wastewater from bathing and toilet runs down clay drains into a sewer under the streets Manhole covers give workers access, just as they do today Such technology wouldn’t be seen until the 19th century

Indus Culture Uniform housing- not much divide between rich and poor Sewage and drainage available for all Believed cleanliness was important Few weapons found = probably a peaceful people Organization suggests a strong central government

The End of Indus Culture Because we don’t know the language of the ancient Indus people and there are few ruins to examine, we don’t know what happened to them Around 1750 B.C. the cities began to decline The rivers may have moved The earth may have become overworked Maybe a natural disaster Maybe attack/invasion

The Aryan Invasion Around 1500 B.C. just as Indus culture was winding down, the Aryans crossed the Hindu Kush and migrated into India Aryans began to dominate the people already living in India Aryans were taller, lighter skinned, and spoke a different language than the people they found already living in India

Aryan Domination The Aryans began to totally dominate the people they met in India Installed a caste system to divide people into classes Top three classes were different Aryans, bottom class were native Indians

Caste System Brahmins- Priests Kshatryias- Warriors Vaishyas- Merchants Sudras- Peasants Untouchables- Out of caste system

Caste System The caste system influenced your entire life Varna, or skin color, determined a lot You were born into your class and could not get out of it It determined what job you would do for life It determined who you could marry It determined who you could hang out with Body part of your caste is linked to the type of work you do and the dignity attached to that type of work. Link 1 Link 2

The Mauryan Empire About 1000 years after the first Aryans entered India, the first empire began to take shape A man named Chandragupta Maurya defeated a Greek army that had invaded and by 303 B.C. set up the Mauryan Empire across northern India

The Mauryan Empire When Chandragupta Maurya died, his son took over and continued to expand the empire by unifying areas under his control Upon his death, Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson, Asoka assumed the throne and expanded the Mauryan Empire to its biggest extent and power

Asoka Asoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, was the greatest emperor of the Mauryan Empire Shortly after becoming emperor Asoka fought a long, bloody war to conquer the region of Kalinga (south India). Horrified by the slaughter (more than 100,000 people died) Asoka no longer wanted to fight or conquer other territories He converted to Buddhism, rejected violence, and ruled by moral example. Most importantly, he sent missionaries to spread Buddhism across India and throughout Asia, including China.

The Mauryan Empire Politically unified most of India Spread Buddhism (which was founded in India) to other parts of the world via missionaries Provided free hospitals to citizens Created veterinary clinics Built good roads

Another Empire Rises After Asoka died, the empire fell apart There was 500 years of invasion and instability in India Finally, around 320 A.D. a second great empire in India is formed Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya) started a new empire in northern India: The Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire Under the Gupta Empire Indian culture flourished and expanded like never before Contributions include: Math = concept of zero Medicine= set broken bones, nose surgery Astronomy= proved Earth round 1000 years before Columbus Textiles= silk and cloth Literature= Poetry, plays, dances