1. Israelites
Began Judaism, history and religious beliefs recorded in written form in the Hebrew Bible.
Emerged as a distinct group of people, organized in tribes, who established a united kingdom known as Israel.
Wise King Solomon of Palestine, made Jerusalem capital of Israel. Known for building a temple in the city of Jerusalem. Expanded the army and encouraged trade. Upon his death the kingdom split.

2. Jewish Beliefs
One God called Yahweh, the creator of the world and everything in it.
Monotheistic –belief in only 1 God
Believe that made a covenant (contract) with them. He promised to guide them if they obeyed the law of God stated in the 10 Commandments.
Believed that certain religious teachers called prophets were sent by God. They taught social justice.

3. Confucius believed that social order, harmony, and good government could be restored in china if society were organized around five basic relationship.
1. Ruler and Subjects
2. Father and Son
3. Husband and Wife
4. Older brother and Younger brother
5. Friend and Friend
A code of proper conduct regulated each of these relationships.
Ex. Rules should practice kindness and virtuous living, in return, subject should be loyal and law-abiding.

4. Confucianism was never a religion, but it was an ethical system, a system based on accepted principles of right and wrong. It became the foundation for Chinese government and social order. In addition, the ideas of Confucius spread beyond China and influenced civilizations throughout East Asia.

5. Mongol Religion & Gov’t.
Buddhism and Daoism-world not real=illusion.
From India to China in 1st Century
Imperial court gets upset b/c of land and serfs-Tang Dynasty destroys temples and makes monks/nuns “get back to work” –non religious work.
Confucianism  Neo-Confucianism
Response to Buddhism's and Daoism influence on people.
Teaches that the world is real not an illusion and that fulfillment comes from participation in material world

11. Buddhism in India Two schools of Buddhism decline in India
Theravada vs. Mahayana
Theravada: followers of Buddha’s teachings, saw Buddhism as a way of life and attaining nirvana
Mahayana: less strict, viewed Buddhism as a religion and Buddha as a devine figure
Devotion to Buddha = salvation after death
Hinduism and Islam become increasingly popular around 600 AD
Over 80% of modern India follows Hinduism

12. Islam in South Asia Buddhism travels to East and SE Asia
Where it remains active today
Later 10th Century
Islam expands into India
Fall of Gupta Empire
Islamic armies moved into India to take new lands
Islamic stated, called Ghazna, arose in NW India
Mahmud of Ghanza (a leader) seizes land in Indus River valley

13. Muslim Tensions Muslim rulers and Hindu subjects
Tolerate each other’s differences
Most ppl were peasant farmers
Paid share of harvest to city-dwelling rulers
Trade continued despite warfare and cultural strife
Architecture of temples flourished w/ conflict
Literature
Prose fiction pops up, The adventures of the Ten Princes by Dandin