ANCIENT INDIA 2500 B.C.

What You Need To Know About Ancient India The river system and the physical setting The Indus Valley The Aryan invasions Hinduism and Brahmanism The caste system Buddha, Buddhism The Maurya empire Emperor Asoka

Ancient India Geography India is a subcontinent, separated by the rest of the continent by the Himalayan mountains. 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.

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 Around 1500 BC the Aryan people 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.

Aryans, Continued The Aryans then 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 Caste System Ancient Indian society was divided into four social classes, or varnas… The caste system determined many things about how people lived, it determined their job, what they ate, what they wore, where they lived, and who they married. People were born into their caste and had it for life.

The Caste System, cont’d 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.

Hinduism Hinduism evolved from the Aryans beliefs and from those of the people of India. The most important deities, or gods, in Hinduism are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The most important idea 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. o 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. BRAHMA SHIVA VISHNU

Buddhism Buddhism was introduced by 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.

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

Fun Facts! The city of Harappa was rebuilt 6 times due to flooding The game of chess began in India Ancient Indians invented the number system and zero They used anesthesia in medical procedures They were the first people to calculate pi