1. India After the Indus Valley
From Aryans to Guptas

2. Who Were the Aryans???
Aryans - Indo European group that migrated from the middle of Eurasia
Passed thru Khyber Pass about 1500 BC
What is the Khyber Pass???
Aryans come to India and find people who are different from them
Aryans were light skinned and spoke a different language and had a different religion
Non-Aryans they call dasas which meant dark (due to their skin color)
Dasa would later come to mean slave
Differences will create classes quickly

4. The Caste System is Born
Aryans had 3 classes
Brahmin (priests) – upper class
Kshatriyas (warriors) – middle class
Vaisyas – (farmers, craftspeople, traders) – lower class
Eventually non-Aryans were a class
Called shudras – laborers, servants, and farm workers
They did the jobs Aryans did not want to do
Varna – related to skin color- becomes the basis of this system; the classes were called varnas
Later they would be called ‘castes’
This starts the caste system

5. The Four Castes of India
Aryan/ Indian god known as Brahma

6. Rituals & Religion of the Caste
Aryans were polytheistic
Believed in heroic nature gods (ex. Thunder)
Castes or classes gave role in society
People born into caste for LIFE
Determines your friends, wife, job, etc.
Only way to change caste was through reincarnation – couldn’t change your status during your life

7. Rituals & Religion of the Caste
Ritual purity a major part of religion
Eating / cleaning habits keep soul clean
Untouchables - people in society who were seen as less than any caste
Jobs made them dirty and ‘untouchable’
Grave diggers, butchers, etc.
If someone from another caste touched these people, they would automatically be reincarnated as an Untouchable themselves!!!

8. The Spread of the Aryans
Aryans begin spreading east & south
Spread east to Ganges River
Spread south into the rest of India
Mahabharata- epic poem that told of stories of Aryan spread
Tells of mixing between the Aryans & non-Aryans
Dominated the area of India from 1500BCE to 500BCE

9. The Mauryan Empire Emerges
Takes power around 320 BCE
Chaundragupta Maurya is the leader
Unifies all of Northern India for 1st time
Creates a bureaucratic government
What is a bureaucracy???
Asoka (Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson)
Brings India to its greatest heights
Turns away from war; spreads Buddhism instead
Practiced religious tolerance - people choose
Built road systems, hospitals, etc.

10. The Gupta Empire Emerges
Chaundra Gupta (no relation) comes to power around 320 AD
Brings Indian culture to its new peak
Also brings Hindu religion to its peak
Indian society is patriarchal
Means eldest male rules the family
Indian civilization prospers from both trade and conquest
Create incredible advancements during this time period

11. Gupta Empire Advancements
Math
Creates the concept of zero
Medicine
Book of over 1000 diseases diagnosed
Surgeries performed, set bones
Astronomy
Proved the earth was round
New Products
Spices, gems, woods, traded silks
****Used the Silk Roads for trading****
Literature
Khalidasa- famous playwright and writer