2.  Students will be able to:  Describe India, with an emphasis on the Aryan Migrations and the caste system  Essential Questions:  Why were physical geography and location important to the development of Indian Civilization?  What impact did the Aryans have on India?  Why was the caste system central to Indian culture?  What were the accomplishments of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires?

3.  Major Geographic Features  Ganges River  Arabian Sea  Deccan Plateau  Indus River  Indian Ocean  Western Ghats  Eastern Ghats  Bay of Bengal  Hindu Kush Mountains  Himalaya Mountains  Khyber Pass

4.  Indo-Europeans  Semi-nomadic peoples  From the Steppes- dry grassland, Caucasus Mountains  Pastoral people  Tamed horses, rode chariots  Language family  Indo-European languages were ancestors of modern language in Europe, SW Asia, and South Asia  Aryans spoke Sanskrit  Unexplained Migration  Not sure why Indo-Europeans moved  Migrations occur between 1700 B.C.E- 1200 B.C.E.

5.  2000 B.C.E.  Occupied Anatolia  Dominated SW Asia for 450 years  Conflict with Egyptians  Spoke Indo-European language, but adopted Akkadian  Blended own traditions with that of more advanced peoples  Example: law code but more forgiving  Excelled in technology and war  Superior chariots and iron weapons  Fell suddenly in 1190 B.C.E. due to invasions

6.  Aryans  1500 B.C.E. crossed into Indus Valley  Came through NW pass (Khyber Pass)Khyber Pass  India no longer “protected” by physical geography  No architectural evidence, left Vedas  Four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions  Oral tradition, accuracy was crucial  Caste System  Aryans  Nobles  Taller, lighter skin color, spoke different language  Pastoral, wealth in cows  Worshipped heroic nature gods  Dasas  Dark “referring to color of their skin”  Eventual word for slave  Town dwellers

7.  Became farmers  Use of iron helped created irrigation systems  Strong warrior tradition  Developed Sanskrit in 1000 B.C.Sanskrit  Between 1500-400 B.C. India was in a constant state of war

8.  First Caste System  Three social classes  Brahmins (Priests)  Warriors  Peasants/traders  Fourth class added  Laborers/craftsman  More rigid system  Class restrictions  Shudras did work Aryans did not want to  Varna (skin color) important  Rules  Complex divisions  Born into caste for life  Ritual purity  Untouchables

10.  Great epics of India  Reflect struggles of Aryans  Story of a great war  106,000 verses  Blending of cultures

11.  Mauryan Empire  Led by Chandragupta 321 B.C.E.  Unified North India through war  Bureaucratic government  Asoka  Chandragupta’s grandson  After a bloody war converted to Buddhism  Religious toleration  Built roads, improved communication, conditions along roads  Cared for the well-being of his people

12.  united north India politically for the first time by using a vast army of 639,000 soldiers  divided into four provinces, each with a prince and local districts  Asoka was violent at first, switched to Buddhist idea of “peace to all beings”  extensive roads, watering places and rest houses for travelers, religious toleration

13.  Asoka died in 232 B.C.E  Regional princes challenged imperial government  a flood of new people fleeing from Asia, who introduced new languages and customs

14.  Chandra Gupta I:  came to power by marrying an old royal family, took control in 320 CE  His son, Samudra Gupta, became king in 335 CE, expanded the empire through war and conquest  Chandra Gupta II  added Mediterranean trade to empire and used peaceful means to expand, like treaties and marriage

15.  perfected stable village life with specific districts for merchants, irrigation, and reservoirs  expanded throughout the Indian subcontinent and spread Hindu culture  advancements in astronomy, modern numerals, the zero, the decimal system, and the value of pi  important medical guides were compiled

16.  Chandra Gupta II died  a wave of Hunas invaders came into northern India  split into smaller kingdoms that were eventually overrun by Huns and other central Asian nomads

17.  Students will be able to:  Describe India, with an emphasis on the Aryan Migrations and the caste system  Essential Questions:  Why were physical geography and location important to the development of Indian Civilization?  What impact did the Aryans have on India?  Why was the caste system central to Indian culture?  What were the accomplishments of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires?