South by Southeast Asia 600-1450

Political Structures in Southern India Since the fall of the Gupta, no single empire controlled the region for almost 1,000 years Chola Kingdom (850-1267): Was a major player in the Indian Ocean Trade Vijayanagar: Brought Hinduism back to Southern India, after first being Muslim.

Now on to Northern India Himalayas protected India from invasions from the north, but Muslims constantly invaded from the west Because Sind (the northwest region of India) was so far away from Dar al- Islam, it was never really in control Eventually, Delhi was conquered and the Delhi Sultanate was founded Never organized an efficient bureaucracy so policies were never really imposed, but they did have the jizya, but the smaller kingdoms played a major role

Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin (what they traded) West-coast Indian cities like Calcut, Quilon, and Camby became centers of trade India became known for it’s fabrics, cotton, high-carbon steel, and tanned leather Malaysia was known as the Spice Islands Swahili costal cities traded Slaves, ivory, and gold China exported silk and porcelain… aka fine china

Monsoons and Sailing Tech Used the Monsoon Winds in order to facilitate trade Invented the Lateen Sales, Stern Rudder, which led to the small wooden dhows to dominate the seas during this era

Religion in South Asia It was Islam vs. Hinduism: Islam = 1 god, geometric artwork, Hindu = many gods, images of gods. One has a cast system, the other doesn’t Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Hindu and Buddhist shrines as he tried to spread Islam, but discovered that Hindu and Buddhist subjects didn’t convert Low castes in some cases converted, and other corrupt Buddhist monks led some to leave Buddhism behind

Interaction of Islam and Hinduism Formed Sufis: mystics who did not focus on strict doctrines, instead emphasized individual personal connection Led to Hinduism focusing on a more personal relationship to an individual god Bhakti Movement: emphasized love and devotion to god, with poets like Mira Bai, and Guru Kabir

Social Structures India’s caste system is it’s strongest historical continuity Many who tried to escape a low caste failed to improve their status because higher jobs required more education, which converting to Islam didn’t help Islam didn’t change the way women were treated

Cultural Achievements in South Asia India scientific learning was translated into Arabic, such as algebra, geometry, and the Indian number system Mosques built across India, such as the Qutab Minar Urdu, a new language developed among Muslims in the region which is a blending of the grammatical pattern of Hindi, with the vocabulary of Arabic

Southeast Asia Many things were introduced through trade such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, Sanskrit, among others Srivijaya (670-1025) controlled the shipping hub from the Indian Ocean through China and became VERY wealthy

The Angkor Kingdom Lasted more than 500 years Kingdom was a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, which can be seen at the Angkor Wat temple