1. SACHEM NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
CLASSICAL INDIA
SACHEM NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
AP WORLD HISTORY 9
DR. AFXENDIOU

2. India - Geography
India is a peninsula, located on the south Asian subcontinent.
Features:
Mountains
Himalayas
Hindu Kush
Khyber Pass
Deccan Plateau
Indo-Gangatic Plains
Rivers
The Indus and Ganges Rivers make up a large area that stretches 1,500 miles across Northern India called the Indus-Ganges Plain or Indo-Gangetic Plain.
Monsoons – seasonal winds
Winter (October to May)
Summer (June to September)
Problems – hard to predict, heavy rains cause flooding

3. Physical Map 1

4. Physical Map 2

6. Effect of Geography
India open to influences from the early civilizations of the Middle East and the Mediterranean
Allowed for interaction with Persian Empire, which affected art and political ideas
invasion by Alexander the Great brought Hellenistic culture
Despite connections with other civilizations, India had relative isolation because of surrounding mountains that set it apart from the rest of Asia - subcontinent
geological divisions within the subcontinent made full unity difficult
led to greater diversity than found in China
Regions: Agricultural regions of Indus and Ganges
Herding economy of mountainous northern regions
Trading and seafaring economy in the southern
coastal rim separated from the rest of the country
by mountains and the Deccan plateau
racial, cultural and language differences

7. Aryan Influences Arrival:
Origin:
The Aryans were light-skinned, Indo-European nomadic hunters and herders from central and northern Asia who adopted agriculture in the plains of the Indus and Ganges Rives
Arrival:
Around 1500 BC, these tribes migrated south through Khyber Pass
Contributions:
Literary epics developed by Aryans – Vedas the sacred books of Hinduism
entrenched Aryan ideas about society and family and began to give shape to the Caste system
Caste system (Varna) – has been suggested that the caste system was a way of allowing the newcomers (Aryans) to coexist with the native populations (seen as inferior)
Sanskrit – written language
Aryan Routes To India

8. Social Classes: Varnas
In order to separate Aryans from non-Aryans, a Rigid Class System emerged.
Varna or skin color was a distinguishing feature of this system
As time when on, people were born into their caste for life. Caste determines:
The job you hold
The person you marry
The people with whom you eat
The clothes you wear

9. HINDUISM Hindu Trinity Brahma Vishnu Shiva Origin
Classical Theory or Emerging Theology
Texts
the Vedas and the Upanishads, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism
Beliefs &Goals
release from repeated reincarnation (rebirth of the soul)
Karma – good or bad deeds – follows you through reincarnation
Dharma – the duties and obligation of your caste
Deities
worshipped at shrines
the divine trinity, representing the cyclical nature of the universe, are
Brahma the creator
Vishnu the preserver
Shiva the destroyer
Hindu
Trinity
Brahma
Vishnu
Shiva

10. millions of local deities
Brahma
Vishnu
Shiva
The Preserver
millions of local deities
The Destroyer
world of humans:
dharma
fulfillment of life roles
karma
death
reincarnation

11. BUDDHISM Founded: in southern Nepal in the 5th and 6th centuries B.C.
Siddharta Gautama, known as the Buddha (Enlightened One).
Key Beliefs
meditation and the practice of good religious and moral behavior
leads to Nirvana, the state of enlightenment,
Reincarnation – the soul is reborn over and over based on Karma
Four Noble Truths
Life is full of pain and suffering.
Human desire causes this suffering.
By putting an end to desire, humans can end suffering.
Humans can end desire by following the Eightfold Path.
Eightfold Path
Wheel of Life represents the endless cycle of life through reincarnation.
Each of its eight spokes represents one of the teachings of the Eightfold Path.

12. Political Institutions
Most persistent political feature of India is regionalism
However, some centralization did occur
Example: Gupta promotion of Sanskrit and law code
Caste system provided local control and regulation often fulfilled by government

13. Why regionalism?
PEOPLE IDENTIFY WITH THEIR REGIONAL LEADERS RATHER THAN EMPIRE.
ALLEGIANCE IS CLOSE TO HOME NOT TO A FAR OFF CAPITAL

14. Political Structure India was divided into regional city states
Invasion ( by Alexander the Great) helped lead to some unity
Two major empires emerged in Classical India
Maurya and Gupta

15. The Mauryan Empire 321 B.C. – 232 B.C.
Two major empires of Classical India – The Mauryan and Gupta Empires
The Mauryan Empire B.C. – 232 B.C.
Founder: Chandragupta Maurya
Defeats Alexander the Great (Greece)
United India under one ruler
Maintained HUGE army: over 600,000
Set up bureaucracy that included a postal service
Autocratic form of government
Asoka – 301B.C. – Chandragupta’s grandson
Greatest ruler of Mauryan
Extended Mauryan conquest – bloody campaigns
Following a bitter battle with heavy casualties, he converts to Buddhism.
Religious Toleration – still honors Hinduism
Sends missionaries out to spread Buddhism
Built extensive road network
Planted trees along routes for shade
Every 9 miles dug a well and built rest houses
Changed his rule to be more humanistic
Decline
Imperial kingdoms regain independence following Asoka’s death

16. The Gupta Empire 320 – 500 CE Chandragupta II (375 - 415 CE) Founder:
Chandragupta Maurya I (no relation)
Under the next 3 Emperors
society was ordered in accordance with Hindu beliefs. 
peace and prosperity enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors.
Chandragupta II ( CE)
The Golden Age of India (next slide)
Expands Empire
Achievements
Decline
Death of CG II
series of invasions
Weak leaders
many of their cultural and intellectual achievements were saved and transmitted to other cultures and live on today.

17. The Gupta Empire: India’s Golden Age
Math
concept of zero
decimal system based on the number 10
Calculated the value of pi (3.14)
Arabic Numerals (0-9) 
Medicine –  
plastic surgery
vaccine against smallpox
Architecture
Stone temples to gods
Stupas (shrines)
Arts & Literature Gupta literature consists of fables and folktales written in Sanskrit. 
stories spread west to Persia, Egypt, and Greece
became the basis for many Islamic literary works such as, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and his Magic Lamp.