ancient India Flashcards
(33 cards)
Indus Valley Civilizations - timeline
- 2500 BCE - 1700 BCE
- was static for 800 years (because the potter forms and techniques remained the same throughout civilization)
Indus Valley Civilizations - geography
- Two major centres, Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa.
- Both cities were situated in what is now Pakistan.
- Mohen-jo-daro on the banks of the Indus proper and Harappa four hundred miles north on the banks of the river Ravi.
nuclear zone, zones of isolation, route zones
- Nuclear zone - self contained, socio-cultural regions located in the plains and river basins.
- Zones of isolation - Areas located some distance from main cultural centers
- Route zones - Key strategic areas and trade routes between nuclear zones
Indus Valley Civilization - trade
yeet idk
Indus Valley Civilization - writing/record keeping
- writing was preserved on square and rectangular seals cut out from steatite
- seals with script were used for stamping
- the concept of animal sacrifice, worship of the pipal tree, the bull, and Indian god Shiva were on the seals
Indus Valley Civilizations - reasons for demise
- It disappeared due to recurring floods
- foreign invasions
- changes in climate
- population growth
- disease and geological changes.
- The Indu people gradually merged into other cultures.
Aryan Arrival - origins
- came from Central Asia
- primarily made chariots, tools and weapons. They mastered the art of using horse-chariots for war and heavy transportation using ox-carts.
- origins began outside of the Indian subcontinent and migrated into the region Anatolia from Central Asia around 1500 BCE.
- It is theorized that the society began to disappear when the river changed it’s patterns, or dried up.
Texts of Ancient India - vedas
- Earliest existing literature of the Aryans
- Hindu sacraments of birth, marriage, and death are blessed by the chanting of verses from the Vedas, which contain invocations to the gods.
Texts of Ancient India - rig vedas
- oldest Vedic Sanskrit hymns Questions the origins of the gods, and the universe.
Texts of Ancient India - Upanishads
Texts that focus on philosophical questions like the afterlife, and the search for individual salvation. They reveal the identity of the individual soul (atman) in relation to the soul of the universe (brahman) and other metaphysical state
Texts of ancient India - The Bhagavad Gita
- a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna.
Brahmins
- aryan priest class
Hinduism - origins
- originally referred to as the people of the Indus River in northern India
- Europeans gave the name Hindu to the religion of the people who lived there as well
- Hinduism is 3000 years old
Hinduism - what is it
- religion and way of life
- everything we do has religious meaning
- ## good or bad actions decide in what form they will be reborn in their next life
Hinduism - teachings and beliefs
- Brahman is the origin of everything and is everywhere and everything
- it lives in the “atman” or soul
- ## They may only worship Brahman, or many hundreds of gods and goddesses.
Three main Hindu gods
- Brahma (white, the creator, sits on swans and lotus flowers)
- Vishnu (blue, the preserver, enters the world when evil threatens to overcome good, appears as human and animals, two avartas are Rama and Krishna)
- Shiva (destroyer, crushes evil so good can follow, caught water of the Ganges River in his hair so they could not harm the earth, lord of dance)
Hindu - caste system
- Hindu society was divided into severals levels or castes
- people could not change their caste
- belonging to upper or lower class decides job, where they live, and who they can marry,
Hindu - reincarnation
- the soul does not die with the body
- the soul is reborn into another life
- ## karma applies to reincarnation
Delhi Sultanate
- ## A Muslim sultanate based mostly in Delhi. Lasted A.D. 1206-1526. Controlled the northern plain from Sindh to Punjab to Bengal
Mughal rulers 1
All-ud-din’s(A.D. 1296 - 1320) - Revenue demands, constituting as much as half as the produce of peasants. banned public drinking. spy network. wage and price control introduced. severe punishment for malpractice from police.
Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlug- introduced copper currency establish political presence in the south.
Language - Sanskrit
Sanskrit is a language of ancient India with a history going back about 3,500 years. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism.
Persian influence on Hindu society
- Persian court etiquette was adopted by the Hindu’s
- persian (from Iran) became the language of diplomacy and was used for correspondence by both elite Hindu and Muslims
zizya
poll tax paid by non-muslims. non-muslims regarded as second class citizens, allowed people to live in protective custody in Muslim Land
aryavarta
- another name which refers to India.
- the oldest one but not much in common use these days. In ancient texts, there is sufficient usage of the word “Aryavart”. … Aryavarta, theancient name of country ‘India’ means Abode of the Aryans
