1. Classical INDIA

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

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

5. Sanskrit writing

6. The Vedas  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.

7. Varna (Social Hierarchy)Shudras Vaishyas Kshatriyas Those with no caste:  Untouchables Brahmins What is a JATI?

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

10. The Maurya Empire 321 BCE – 185 BCE

11. CHANDRAGUPTACHANDRAGUPTA  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.

12. KautilyaKautilya  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!

13. 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?

14. Mauryan Empire under Ashoka – HUGE! HUGE!

15. Ashoka’s law code  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!

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

17. Gupta Empire : 320 CE – 647 CE

18. Gupta Rulers  Chandra Gupta I  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

19. 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.

20. Empire under Chandra Gupta II

21. International Trade Routes during the Guptas

22. Extensive Trade Extensive Trade spices spices horses cotton cotton goods silks

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

24. Medicine Mathematics Astronomy Printed medicinal guides 1000 diseases classified Plastic Surgery C-sections performed Inoculations 500 healing plants identified Decimal System Concept of Zero PI = 3.1416 Solar Calendar The earth is round Gupta India Gupta Achievements

25. 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