Title: Discussion Questions
1Discussion Questions
- What were some of the major empires in India and
what were their characteristics? How and why did
these empires differ from those of China? - What were the major castes in India? How did they
develop and later impact Indian Society? - What were the major Indian religions discussed in
the chapter? Which were the most popularly
followed?
2(No Transcript)
3The Indian Subcontinent
4India Before the Mauryan Dynasty
- Darius - 520 BCE, NW India (Gandhara)
- Persian rule
- Alexander the Great 327 BCE to India
- Alexander departed
- Power vacuum
5Kingdom of Magadha
http//manojji.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/300px-m
agadha.gif
6Kingdom of Magadha
- Abt 6th c. BCE 6th c. CE
- Central Ganges plain
- Little centralized authority
- Agriculture
- Trade in Ganges valley, Bay of Bengal
- NE India
7The Mauryan and Gupta empires321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.
8Mauryan Dynasty, 323 185 BCE
- Power vacuum
- Chandragupta Maurya
- Conquered Magadha
- Kingdom Bactria to Ganges to Deccan
- 1st unified Indian empire
9Mauryan Empire
10Chandraguptas Government
- Advisor Kautalya
- Arthashastra
- Spies
11Ashoka Maurya, 268-232 BCE
- Grandson of Chandragupta
- High point
- Expanded empire
- Conquered Kalinga
- Pataliputra
- Centralized bureaucracy
- Roads, irrigation, Banyan trees
http//static.howstuffworks.com/gif/willow/history
-of-india0.gif
12Asoka and Buddhism
13Decline of the Mauryan Empire
- Economic crisis
- Bureaucracy, military - expensive
- Little tax revenue
- Empire fragmented
- Disappeared by 185 BCE
14Regional Kingdoms Bactria Kush
http//wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thu
mb/0/07/Greco-BactrianKingdomMap.jpg/250px-Greco-B
actrianKingdomMap.jpg
15Regional Kingdom Bactria
- NW India (today between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan,
and Tajikistan) - Greek rulers
- Culture trade
16Regional Kingdom Kush
- Nomads overthrow Greeks
- N. India/Central Asia
- C. 1-300 CE
- Trade, silk road
17The Mauryan and Gupta empires321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.
18The Gupta Dynasty
- Magadha
- Chandra Gupta (Could this be more confusing???),
c. 320 CE - Decentralized
19Gupta Decline
- White Huns, 5th c. CE
- Fragmentation regions
- Local kingdoms until Mughals - 16th c.
20Economy
- Iron-working from 1000BCE
- Small workshops
- Trade intense
- Export cotton, gems, pepper
21Economy Long-Distance Trade
- Persians
- Roads
- Alexander - west to Macedon
- Kush mountains, silk roads
22Economy Trade Routes
23Economy Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin
- Sea trade
- Monsoon
- Spices - Indonesia, SE Asia
- Asia to Persian Gulf and Red Sea, Mediterranean
(Rome)
24Society Gender Relations
- Patriarchy
- Child marriage
- Women - private sphere
- Some exceptions
25Society Caste
- Brahmins (priests)
- Kshatriyas (warriors, aristocrats)
- Vaishyas (Peasants, merchants)
- Shudras (serfs)
26Society Jati
- Economic diversification
- Guilds or sub-castes
- Courts
- Community support
27Society Wealth
- Some upward mobility
- Status - wealth vs. varna
28Religion
- Resentment of caste
- 6th-5th c. BCE new religions
- Charvakas atheists
- Jainists
- Buddhists
29Jainism
- Vardhamana Mahavira, 540-468 BCE
- Wealthy, later ascetic
- Concern for all beings
- Detachment
30Ahimsa
- Soul
- Non-violence, selflessness
- Modern Ahimsa movements (Gandhi, Martin Luther
King Jr.)
31Appeal of Jainism
- Rejected caste, jati
- Underprivileged
- Too extreme to become a mass movement
32Early Buddhism
- Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563-483 BCE. Wealthy,
Kshatriya - Suffering age, sickness, death
- Became a monk to understand suffering
33Gautamas Search for Enlightenment
- Meditation, asceticism
- Buddha the enlightened one
34The Buddha and his Followers
- Taught, c. 528 BCE
- Robes, food bowls
- Wandering, begging, meditation
- Monastic communities
35Buddha and his Disciples
36Buddhist Doctrine The Dharma
- Four Noble Truths
- Life is suffering
- End to suffering
- Removing desire removes suffering
- Eight-fold path
37Appeal of Buddhism
- Brahmins less necessary
- Caste, jati status unimportant
- Moderate consumption
- Public service
- Vernacular, not Sanskrit
- Stupas
38A Buddhist Monastery
Monks share faith with lay members
39Ashokas Support of Buddhism
- Converted?
- Disillusioned after war
- Banned animal sacrifices
- Vegetarianism
- Donations
40Variations of Buddhist thought Mahayana
- Buddhism widely accepted, 3rd c. BCE 1st c. CE
- Buddha divine
- Bodhisattvas
- Donations - pious
41Spread of Buddhism
- Mahayana
- India, China, Japan, Korea, central Asia
- Theravada
- Ceylon, Burma, Thailand
42Nalanda
- Buddhist Monastery
- Quasi-university
- During Gupta dynasty
- Spread Indian thought
43Emergence of Popular Hinduism
- Mahabharata
- Ramayana
- Vishnu and incarnations
44Mahabharata
- 100,000 verses Hindu life
- Sharma, kama, artha, karma, and moksha
- Still popular
CITATION Unknown creator. "Mahaaharatakana
Bharatavarshaca nakasa." Poona, India. Courtesy
of the Library of Congress, Geography and Map
Division, ID G7631.E31992.U5.
45The Bhagavad Gita
- Part of Mahabharata
- Song of the Lord
- Final form c. 400 CE
- Arjuna and Krishna
46Hindu Ethics
- Dharma
- Artha
- Kama
- Moksha
- Upanishads and Brahmin ritual less important
47Popularity of Hinduism
- Gradually replaced Buddhism in India (by 1000
C.E.) - Gupta leaders supported