India  Role of Geography

The Earliest Indus River Civilizations

Harappan India  Centered along the Indus River in NW India  Similar to Mesopotamia and Nile cultures  Agricultural economy

Aryan arrival  Came from Central Asia  Arrived ca BCE  Vedic Age, BCE:\  Epic stories of Varuna, the mighty god, and Indra, the warrior god  Connected with veneration of the god Shiva  Invasion of Alexander, 326 BCE

Hinduism  Vedic Age gave rise to Hinduism  Upanishads—philosophical speculations  Maya  Transmigration of Souls  Karma  Caste System

Hindu Castes Brahmins: Profs and priests Kshatriyas: Military leaders and politicians Vaishyas: Farmers, landlords, businessmen Sudras: Peasants, servants, laborers Untouchables (Dalit): Workers in polluting jobs (Officially outlawed in 1949) Untouchables (Dalit): Workers in polluting jobs (Officially outlawed in 1949)

Buddhism  Gautama Buddha (563 BCE-483 BCE)  “middle way”  Restored the ethical content to Karma  The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an inherent part of existence; that the origin of suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving; that attachment and craving can be ceased; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and therefore suffering.  The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.  Spread under King Asoka (ca. 250 BCE); virtually unknown in India by  Theravada (South East Asia) and Mahayana Buddhism (China and Japan)

Mauryan Empire  First Indian dynasty to control India  Chandragupta Maurya drove out Greeks  Grandson, Ashoka, consolidated control (r )  Buddhist convert  Edicts of Ashoka  India fell into disunity and regionalism

Ashoka India (3C BC)

Gupta India  CE in northern India  Less militaristic than Mauryan state  Golden Age  Helped spread a uniform law code  Hinduism crystalized during this time  Aryabhata—Archimedes of India

Indian Government  Did not develop the traditions of China,or the inquiry of Greece and Rome  Altered between regional and national unity  Not particularly elaborate systems  Local villages the key to social cohesion

Coming of Muslim Rulers  Babur the Tiger (1526)—subordinated Hindu chieftains to his rule.  Mughal Dynasty controlled India until British Imperialists seize power.  Mughal Dynasty under Akbar ( ) brings order and stability to Hindu Country  Din Ilahi  Akbar’s successors squander wealth and attempt to impose Sharia on Hindu population.

Akbar the the Moghul Conqueror of India ( )

The Spread of the Mughal Empire

Contemporary India

The Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in the 17C

Brahma: The Creator

Lord Krishna or Vishnu: The Preserver

Lord Shiva: The Destroyer

“Twining of the Creeper” from the Kamasutra

Image of Buddha from 13C