HIST 101 History of World Civilizations I University of Montevallo, Fall 2009 Adjunct Instructor Jill Cooley Lecture 4 September 14, 2009 Ancient India ca BC

Lecture 4: Outline Indus River Valley – Geographical features – Harappan civilization – Vedic Aryans Invasions of India – The Persians – Alexander the Great and the Seleucid Empire The Mauryan Empire

Lecture 4: Key Terms Indus River Harappan civilization Harappa Mohenjo-Daro Public sanitation Harappan script Cotton weaving Vedic Aryans Sanskrit Raja Brahman Kshatriya Vaishya Shudra The Vedas Rig Veda Upanishads Aramaic script Seleucus Chandragupta Mauryan Empire

Ancient India Important cities: Harappa Mohenjo-Daro Geographical Features: Indus River

Harappan Cities

Harappan Artifacts

Harappan’s Leave Around BC, begin to abandon cities… Probable reason for them leaving: The river’s course started to change thus they left and spread themselves amongst smaller villages Another reason they may have left is because they may have been invaded and ran out…

Aryans After the Harappan’s left, the Vedic Aryans took over 1800 BC the Aryans come into the picture Sanskrit is their form of writing developed later on Did not occupy cities, they were still somewhat nomadic b/c they were herders Lived in tribal units (extended family units) Tribes led by “Raja” who were elected based upon military skill & played no religious role Religion conducted by “Brahman” Polytheistic & made sacrifices & sometime consumed drinks with toxins Women play little to no role and have very few rights Eventually came to dominate area and Begin to settle around 1000 BC Various tribes came to form 16 kingdoms By this point a very strict hierarchy had developed: 1 st Brahman, 2 nd Kshatriya (nobility, king, raja), 3 rd Vaishya (middle class tribesman), 4 th Shudra (servants, mostly whom had been conquered elsewhere)

Aryans… Classes did not intermingle Best known for religious writings “Vedas” composed between 1500 BC – 500 BC (not histories) 4 texts total; the 1 st is Rig Veda ( describes their previous militaristic culture) Vedas later become basis for holy books Later works are referred to as the “Upanishads” 500 BC (elaborate more of spirituality and a settled culture) Kingdoms persist until 513 BC when the Persians invade

Mauryan Empire

Lecture 4—Timeline Time PeriodPolitical DevelopmentImportant Points ca BCHarappan civilizationPlanned cities, public sanitation system, cotton weaving ca BCVedic Aryan migrationsSemi-nomadic herders ca BCRig Vedic periodRig Vedic hymns composed; Aryans settle ca BCLate Vedic AgeTerritorial expansion; Brahmanic Age; Epic Age 513 BCPersian invasionAdopted Aramaic script 326 BCAlexander the Great invasion Seleucid Empire BCMauryan EmpireNative rebellion led by Chandragupta