ANCIENT INDIA

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ANCIENT INDIA

• 2500 B.C.

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Things You Need To Know About Ancient India

• About the river system and the physical setting
• About the Aryan invasions
• About Hinduism and Brahmanism
• About the caste system
• About Buddha
• About the Maurya empire
• About Emperor Asoka

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Ancient India Geography

• India is a subcontinent, separated by the rest of
  the continent by the Himalayas. India can be
  divided in two, the northern plains, a flat low
  plain and the Deccan, a land with many hills. Up
  in northwest India is the Thar Desert. The
  Himalayas provided natural protection from
  northern invasions. The Indian Ocean and the
  Arabian Sea provided protection for the west and
  the east.

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The River System

• The main river in Ancient India was the Indus
  River. The Indus River deposited fertile soil
  during annual flooding. The source of the Indus
  River is in the Himalayas.

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The Aryan Invasions

• At about 1500 BC the Aryans began to migrate into
  India from the dry plains near the black sea.
  Nobody really knew who they were, their name
  meant noble, but scientists believe that they
  were warriors and herders. They also do not know
  why they left their homeland, but it may have
  been because of overpopulation. They moved into
  Mesopotamia, then across Persia, and then decided
  to settle on the Punjab plain which is now in
  Pakistan. At first they were herders but over
  time they adapted into farmers and became more
  and more like the Indian people.

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The Maurya Empire

• Chandugragupta Maurya ordered land to be cleared
  and swamps drained to help out farmers, he
  improved the roads, and he did this by using
  taxes. This helped out the richer people but the
  common people suffered, because they could not
  pay them. He was very mean, but this helped him
  expand his empire, this made the overworked and
  overtaxed people thought of him as a cruel man.
  Knowing that people hated him, he feared he was
  in danger, and he was very cautious, he slept in
  different rooms each night, and he had his
  servants taste his food first for poison. He had
  a grandchild who became one of the greatest
  rulers of India, his name was Asoka.

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Emperor Asoka

• As a young ruler he was very cruel, but after he
  conquered Kalinga in 261 BC his life changed, he
  began to hate violence and he became a Buddhist.
  He then made Buddhism the state religion and
  built Buddhist temples and sent out missionaries.
  Asoka had commands carved into stone pillars and
  they were posted all across his empire. Some
  pillars still stand today.

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The Caste System

• The Aryan society was divided into four classes,
  or varnas. The highest are Brahmans, priests,
  second is Kshatriyas, warriors, third is
  Vaishyas, farmers, merchants, and craftsmen,
  fourth, the lowest is Shudras, they are servants
  or slaves.

1st BRAHMAN 2nd KSHATRIYAS 3rd VAISHYAS 4th
SHUDRAS
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The Caste System cont.

• The cast system determined many things about
  how people live, it determines their job, what
  they eat, what they wear, where they live, and
  who they marry. People are born into their caste,
  and have it for life. The Indian legend is that
  the castes emerged from body parts of Purusha the
  first human being.

BRAHMANS Head, they perform religious
ceremonies, and offer sacrifices to the god.
Passed down info through WORD. KSHATRYAS Arms,
took charge of the army and government. Use arms
to FIGHT. VAISHYAS Legs, merchants, farmers, and
craftsmen. They traded, tended cattle, lent
money, like a bank, and farmed. Much
TRAVEL. SHUDRAS Feet, very poor and uneducated.
On their FEET begging.

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Hinduism
BRAHMA
SHIVA

• Hinduism evolved from the Aryans beliefs and from
  those of the people of India. The most important
  deities, or gods, in Hinduism were Brahma,
  Vishnu, and Shiva. The most important thing in
  Hinduism is how you act to other living things
  and what you do. They believe that each living
  thing has a soul that is reincarnated into
  another thing. Dharma, religious duty, and Karma,
  actions, decide the new caste they are
  reincarnated into, if you do well at both
• you move up and not so good you move
• down.

VISHNU
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Buddhism

• Buddhism was introduced Siddhartha Gautama, a
  prince who believed in Hinduism except if you are
  good and pure you no longer have to go through
  the cycle of reincarnation. These ideas
  eventually formed into Buddhism. One day
  Siddhartha went in the shade of a tree and
  meditated on the idea of suffering and once he
  found what he wanted, became Buddha.

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Buddhism cont.

• Buddha spread his teachings to northern India
  with followers becoming monks. Each monk
  meditated for multiple hours every day. The first
  written versions of Buddhas teachings were made
  around 200 and 100 BC. Buddhas teachings were
  centered around the Four Noble Truths. 1 said
  that suffering is part of life. 2 says that
  wanting things is the root of suffering. 3 says
  becoming wise and not wanting things takes away
  suffering. 4 is a guide to living with the
  eightfold path.

 
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Fun Facts!

• The city Harappa was rebuilt 6 times due to
  flooding
• The game chess began in India
• Ancient Indians invented the number system and
  zero
• They used anesthesia
• No slavery was known of
• They were the first ones to calculate pi
• It held the worlds first university
• They came up with navigation

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Slideshow By
THE END
Gracie Hernandez
Mrs. Schoenthaler