Pre-classical and Classical INDIA

The Vedic Age (1500 BCE - 500 BCE)

The foundations for Hinduism were established! The Vedic Age The foundations for Hinduism were established!

Aryan Migration pastoral  depended on their cattle. warriors  horse-drawn chariots.

Sanskrit writing

The Vedas written in SANSKRIT. Series of books written in SANSKRIT. Religious text is the Hindu core of beliefs Upanishads = establishes relationship of soul to Brahman Rig Veda  oldest work.

Varna (Social Hierarchy) Those with no caste: Untouchables What is a JATI? Brahmins Kshatriyas Jati = divisions of jobs within varnas Vaishyas Shudras Those with no caste: Untouchables

The Caste System SOCIAL CLASSES= Purusha’s mouth arms legs feet Brahmins SOCIAL CLASSES= Purusha’s mouth arms legs feet Kshatriyas Vaishyas Shudras

Maurya & Gupta India

The Maurya Empire 321 BCE – 185 BCE The Mauryan Empire encompassed almost all of the Indian subcontinent. 321 BCE – 185 BCE

CHANDRAGUPTA Chandragupta Maurya unified northern India. Extremely centralized! Divided empire into provinces & districts for tax assessments and law enforcement. Feared assassination  food tasters, slept in different rooms, etc. 301 BCE  gave up his throne & became a Jain. A Jain is a person who follows Jainism, a religion which focuses on complete non-violence.

Kautilya Chandragupta’s advisor. Wrote the Arthashastra: A guide for the king and his ministers Supports royal power. The great evil in society is anarchy. Therefore, a single authority is needed to employ force when necessary! Kautilya can be compared with Machiavelli, a European Renaissance writer who advocates strong royal power.

Ashoka 304-232 BCE Ashoka = most important ruler of Maurya Religious conversion after gruesome battle of Kalinga religiously tolerant Patronized Buddhism Conflict  how to balance Kautilya’s methods of keeping power and Buddha’s demands to become a selfless person? Ashoka is a ruler name which students must remember. He often appears on the AP exam multiple choice section.

Mauryan Empire under Ashoka – HUGE! Note that Ashoka placed his law code pillars across all of India – his authority was widespread.

Ashoka’s law code Note the pillar on the left! Written mostly in Sanskrit, but one was in Greek and Aramaic – Cosmopolitan (diverse) empire! Buddhist principles dominate his laws. Focus on: nonviolence, morality, & religious toleration Note the pillar on the left!

Turmoil & a power Vacuum: 220 BCE – 320 CE Tamils The Mauryan Empire gets divided into many kingdoms

Gupta Empire: 320 CE – 647 CE Gupta India was a much smaller empire. The Guptas controlled with CULTRAL INFLUENCE, not necessarily political power. Everyone admired their culture and tried to emulate it.

Gupta Rulers Chandra Gupta I Chandra Gupta II r. 320 – 335 CE Chandra Gupta II r. 375 - 415 CE Profitable trade of cotton & pepper Guptas were Hindu, not Buddhists Less centralized & smaller than Mauryan Theater State Note the names of the rulers - - they are trying to emulate the earlier Mauryan Empire, b/c the thought it was so great!

Xuanzang: Life in Gupta India Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the Silk Roads and visited India in the 5c. He was following the path of the Buddha. He reported the people to be happy, relatively free of government oppression, and inclined towards courtesy and charity. Other references in the journal, however, indicate that the caste system was rapidly assuming its basic features, including "untouchability," the social isolation of a lowest class that is doomed to menial labor. Don’t copy all of this info - - just read it and think about what we can learn from Fa-Hsien’s primary source. 1) Buddhism had spread all the way to China 2) the Gupta’s government was tolerant and good 3) the caste system was beginning to fully develop, including creating a permanent underclass

Empire under Chandra Gupta II

International Trade Routes during the Guptas Note: Gupta India was very economically influential…LOTS of cotton fabric exports

Extensive Trade spices silks cotton goods spices horses cotton Please do a ROUGH sketch of the outline map and note the main imports and exports cotton goods spices horses cotton

Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture. Gupta Art Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture.

500 healing plants identified Printed medicinal guides 1000 diseases classified 500 healing plants identified Gupta Achievements Printed medicinal guides Medicine Plastic Surgery Inoculations Gupta India Noted Achievements: medicine (c-sections, inoculations); math (decimals, concept of zero and pi; astronomy (round earth – not flat, 365 day solar calendar; C-sections performed Solar Calendar Astronomy Mathematics Decimal System The earth is round PI = 3.1416 Concept of Zero

The Decline of the Guptas Invasion by White Huns in the 500s = end of the Gupta Golden Age decline of Gupta empire - north India broke into many separate Hindu kingdoms ruled by rajputs Indian History: Unity v. Disunity Note the similarity in cause of the Gupta’s fall, in comparison with Rome and Han.