Chapter 4: ANCIENT INDIA The Indus and Ganges River Valleys (SECTION 1)
I. Life in the Indus River Valley A. India’s Geographic Setting
1. subcontinent-large landmass that juts out from a continent 2. limited contact with rest of world
a. Himalaya Mountains b. Hindu Kush mountain range
c. Arabian Sea d. Indian Ocean
e. Bay of Bengal B. A Climate of Monsoons
1. monsoon-strong winds blow across region at certain times during year a. winterOct. to May—wind from NE, spreads dry air
b. summerMid June—wind from Indian Ocean, carries rain 2. People depended on summer monsoons for farming
C. Barriers and Pathways 1. Hindu Kush mountain range has passes to travel through
2. Rivers a. Indus—flows from Himalayas to Arabian Sea
b. Ganges—flows from Himalayas to Bay of Bengal II. Life in the Indus River Valley
A. Rich soil Surplus of foodpopulation grew B. Cities formed
1. Harappa 2. Mohenjo-Daro
C. Ancient City Planners 1. Carefully planned
2. Citadels-fortresses, the highest point 3. Built above ground level to prevent flooding
4. Many buildings: homes, workshops, storehouses, bathhouses 5. Grid-like streets-separated homes and buildings
6. Drainage system and canals
D. Life in Mohenjo-Daro 1. Merchants and artisans 2. Homes opened into courtyards
3. Had leisure time: toys, pets, games, music
4. Language, government, religion—unknown
5. Polytheistic 6. Traded w/ Mesopotamia
I. A Mysterious Decline A. Farmers left Indus valley
B. Don’t know why C. Newcomers from north settled valley
III. A New Culture Arises
A. Aryan Culture Spreads
1. Migrated-(moved ) from central Asia into India (around 2000 B.C)
2. Spread into Ganges valley
3. N. India learned to make tools/weapons from iron
4. Able to build farms, villages, cities
B. Aryan Life
1. Vedas-religious books “knowledge”
2. 3 main classes
a. Priests-“Brahmans”
b. Warriors/ nobles
c. Artisans/ merchants
d. Low-ranking class—farm workers, laborers, servants C. The Social Order
1. Caste (class) system
2. Each caste had special duties
3. Had to stay in parents’ caste
4. Could not leave casteWould become “outcast”
5. Still exists today, but less strict Hinduism in Ancient India (SECTION 2)
IV. The Beginnings of Hinduism
A. A Blend of Religions 1. Way of life for more than 850 million people
2. No one single founder
3. Brahman—1 single spiritual power—lives in everything
II. Hindu Gods and Goddesses 1. Most important gods:
a. Brahma—“the Creator,” –created Earth and everything on it
b. Vishnu—“the Preserver”—guides/ protects humans from disaster
c. Shiva—“the Destroyer”—responsible for creative/ destructive forces of the universe
2. Avatar—representation of a Hindu god/ goddess
V. The Teachings of Hinduism
A. The Upanishads 1. One of the Hindu religious texts
2. “sitting near a teacher”
III. Reincarnation 1. Rebirth of the soul
2. When a person dies, their soul is reborn in the body of another living thing
3. Good behavior is rewarded, bad behavior is punished
4. If a person leads a perfect (faithful) lifemay be freed from cycle and soul becomes one w/ brahman
IV. A Hindu’s Duties 1. Must obey dharma to escape the cycle
2. Dharma-religious and moral duties of each person
3. Ahimsa-nonviolence
4. Karma- caused by a person’s good and bad acts (“What goes around comes around”) VI. The Practice of Hinduism
V. The Yogas 1. Help free the soul from cares of the world, help soul unite w/ brahman
2. Physical activity
3. Selfless deeds
4. Learning the sacred writings
5. Honoring a personal god
VI. Private Devotion 1. Pray in public in temples
2. Show devotion at home
The Beginnings of Buddhism (SECTION 3)
VII. Siddhartha Gautama
A. Young prince had never witnessed old age, sickness, death
B. At 30, traveled outside palace and witnessed suffering and death
C. Gave up wealth, his family, his life to find the cause
D. After 7 years he discovered the answer
VIII. The Buddha and His Teachings
A. The Search for Understanding
1. meditated-focused mind inward to find spiritual awareness
2. Found answers to his questions
3. Was called Buddha or “Enlightened One”
4. Teachings known as Buddhism
B. The Middle Way
1. Buddhism teaches people to follow Eightfold Path, or Middle Way to be free from suffering
2. Avoid life of extreme pleasure or extreme unhappiness 3. Selfish desires cause suffering
C. Release from Reincarnation
1. Act unselfishly
2. Treat people fairly
3. Tell the truth
4. Avoid violence/ killing of any living thing
5. Follow Buddha’s path
a. Suffering will end
b. Can reach nirvana-lasting peace released from cycle of reincarnation
D. Followers of Buddhism
1. Believe all people are equal 2. Priests
3. Missionaries-people who devote their lives to religious groups, spreading their beliefs to others
IX. Buddhism Inside and Outside of India
A. Hindus and Buddhists: Shared Beliefs (and differences)
1. BOTH value non-violence
2. BOTH believe in dharma
3. BOTH believe in cycle or rebirth
4. Buddhists do not embrace texts of Hinduism
5. Most Hindus don’t worship Buddha as an avatar
B. Buddhism Spreads to Other Countries
1. Missionaries/ traders spread Buddha’s message through Asia
2. China, Koreas, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam Empires of Ancient India (SECTION 4)
X. The Rise of the Maurya Empire
A. Chandragupta Maurya-founded Maurya Empire
1. Strong armies overthrew kingdoms along Ganges, Indus River valley
2. Power extended through most of northern and central India
B. Absolute Rule
1. Chandragupta believed in having absolute power
2. Huge army, 9000 war elephants
3. Economic success from farming and trade w/ Greece, Rome, China
4. Chandragupta lived in fear
C. Chandragupta’s Legacy
1. Used wealth to improve empire
a. irrigation systems
b. cleared forests and produced more food
c. gov’t officials promoted crafts and mining
d. network of roads helped traders
2. Leadership brought order and peace
XI. Asoka’s Leadership
A. Asoka—Chandragupta’s grandson
B. The Battle of Kalinga
1. At first, Asoka was warlike, conquered new territories
2. 261 B.C., won bloody battle in Kalinga became sad afterwards
3. Gave up war/ violence
3. Freed prisoners/ restored land
4. Converted-(changed beliefs) to Buddhism 5. Spread message of Buddhism to people in empire
C. The Buddhist Ruler
1. Practiced teachings of Buddha
2. Thought of his people as his children
3. Built hospitals, dug wells
4. Issued writings of moral advice
5. Encouraged people to behave with tolerance-freedom from prejudice
6. Sent missionaries to Sri Lanka, China, S.E. Asia, Korea, Japan
XII. The Gupta Empire
A. After Asoka diedMaurya Empire weakened, split into smaller states
B. A.D. 320Gupta Dynasty rose to power
C. Built empire across northern India
D. Invasions from Central Asia weakened the empiresplit into small states
E. Advancements
1. Invention of printing cloth
2. Schools of philosophy
3. Math—invention of decimal point, system of numbers
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Additional Information to Study from:
-Review and Assessment—p. 131 in textbook
-Section Quizzes
-Chart/ Table notes from 2/28
-Buddhism notes (Eightfold Path, Middle Way, Four Noble Truths, etc.)
-Review “Indus Valley Field Trip”