The document outlines a plan to discuss major developments and societies in the Indian subcontinent from 3000 BCE to 300 CE. Key topics included the Harappan civilization, the influx of Indo-European Aryans, the development of the caste system and major religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It also summarizes the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta and Ashoka, and the subsequent fragmentation of the subcontinent into regional kingdoms from 185 BCE to 300 CE.

2. Plan for Today:
• Discuss major developments and societies of the Indian
Subcontinent from 3000 BCE to around 300 CE
• First Settlement and the Harappan Civilization (c. 2500-1500 BCE)
• The influx of Indo-European Aryans (1500-500 BCE)
• The Caste System and Brahmanism
• Major Religions
• Hinduism
• Jainism
• Buddhism
• The Mauryan Empire (513 BCE-185 BCE)
• The reign of Ashoka
• Fragmentation (185 BCE-300 CE)

3. Earliest Settlement
Note: The area discussed today is often referred to as India. This is in reference to the
Subcontinent, rather than the present day country. The territory discussed is mostly in present
day Pakistan, India, Nepal, and to a lesser extent their neighbors.
• In 1921 archaeologists discovered evidence of a thriving bronze-age
civilization at Mohenjo-daro, in present day Pakistan
• Later discoveries showed that this civilization covered a wide territory
along the Indus River Valley and coastline in present day Pakistan and India
• This was given the name the Harrapan Civilization (after another ancient
city was discovered near the town of Harrapa, Pakistan)
• It was larger than the contemporary Egyptian and Sumerian Kingdoms
• Had its own written language that has not been deciphered yet
• Had remarkable consistency in buildings and artifacts across vast distances
• What did they have that other contemporary kingdoms did not?

4. • Seems to have lasted around
a millennium, began
declining around 2000 BCE
• Stone docks were discovered
at Lothal in the southeast
• Decline seems to have been
gradual, but there is
currently no definitive
explanation to why it
disappeared

5. Indo-European Influx
• In a similar fashion to the Hittites (earlier in present day Turkey),
and the Medes and Persians (in present day Iran), the Aryans
were a group of Indo-Europeans that came to the Indian
subcontinent from Eastern Europe/the Caucasus.
• They did not constitute a concerted effort or unified kingdom
• Each group was led by a Raja and fought to subdue local groups
not for immediate economic gain, but because they saw
themselves as religious crusaders
• They spoke (and later wrote) an early version of Sanskrit and
their religious and societal beliefs were passed down in Vedas
(the earliest was the Rig Veda)

6. Aryans (cont.)
• As their numbers grew they became more settled and stationary
• Brahmins (their priests) worked with the local Rajas in
noble/religious alliances, where both legitimized each other
• By 513 BCE there were 16 major Aryan kingdoms in Northern India
and many other small ones
• The Caste System develops out of the traditional divisions of Aryan
society (Priests, Warriors, Common Folk, Conquered Subjects) and
turns into the Varnas of Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warriors and
officials), Vaishya (merchants), and Shudra (peasants and laborers)
• The Varnas were also tied to religion in the Rig Veda, with the gods
dividing the body of man into the four groups

7. Ancient Aryan Religious Beliefs
• Brahmanism (not the same as Brahmins)
• The Upanishads trace the development of philosophy alongside Aryan
society
• The universe is cyclical, with a constant cycle of death and rebirth
• Brahman represents the unchanging ultimate reality
• Samsara is the transmigration of souls (what do we often call this?)
• Karma is the ledger of the good and bad during a person’s life
• It was not the place of someone to aspire to more during this life
• If you were in a lower Varna you could only move up in your next life
• The eventual goal was to live a life so good that you broke the cycle and realized
Brahman

8. Major Religions - Jainism
• Started by Vardhamana Mahavira (son of a minor Raja)
• Began to grow around 520 BCE)
• Often overshadowed by Buddhism and Hinduism
• Accepted the concepts of Karma and Samsara
• Believes all things have a soul and therefore destruction should be
avoided
• Vegetarians
• Usually ascetic and minimalist, cannot be farmers
• Could attain enlightenment through avoidance of evil thoughts and temptations
• Developed key characteristics of non-violence that would later influence Ghandi
(and through him Dr. MLK Jr.)
• Currently has between 4-5 million followers

9. Major Religions - Buddhism
• Siddhartha Gautama – also the son of a Raja, also from the warrior
class
• Began along a similar path to Jainism and ascetic Hinduism but
developed differences
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-_cJU-pFwQ

10. Major Religions - Hinduism
• Was the most direct descendant of the older Brahman traditions
• Where Jainism retained Karma and Samsara and Buddhism was
most concerned with a balanced “middle path,” form of Dharma
(moral law) Hinduism retained all of these concepts
• The Dharma of Hinduism was much more closely tied to remaining within
the Caste that you were born into within this life
• It retained the importance of the Vedas and incorporated a large pantheon
of gods, to whom (unlike in older Brahmanism) you did not need a priest to
interact with
• Inspired the keeping of major epics (the Puranas, the Mahabharata (which
includes the Bhagavad Gita), and the Raymana.

11. Comparing and Contrasting
• How do Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism compare to each other?
• How do they compare to
Zoroastrianism? Or Judaism?
A note on Languages
Sanskrit is an early Indo-European language
This chart shows how there are still recognizable
connections between the Indo-European
languages despite the extreme differences in
grammar, alphabets, and structures of these
languages.

12. Mauryan Empire
• Remember the Persians? They conquered
the territory of the Indus River Valley by 513
BCE
• The chaos and fear that this caused among
many smaller kingdoms assisted in
Chandragupta (a king of a Northern
kingdom) being able to take over other
kingdoms in the Indian peninsula
• Likewise, this new empire was able to
expand again when the Greeks (under
Alexander the Great) conquered the
Persians
• Interacted with the Greeks and their
successors in the region, taking some land
as they collapsed
• Chandragupta became a Jain later in his life
and turned away from violence

13. Ashoka and the spread of Buddhism
• Ashoka was Chandragupta’s grandson
• Did not inherit the empire, but rather took it from his brother
• Continued to expand the Mauryan Empire through warfare for
the first nine years of his reign
• Embraced Buddhism after overtaking the Kalingan
Kingdom in particularly bloody fashion
• Built many stupas to
honor Buddha
• Sent out missionaries
of Buddhism

14. Fragmentation
• After Ashoka’s death the Mauryan Empire declines and fragments
• For nearly 500 years (185 BCE to 300 CE) regional kingdoms and
foreign invaders would rule different pieces of the Indian
subcontinent
• There continued to be trade with Greeks and Romans and
advances in science, math, and philosophy
• The Code of Manu was written sometime in the 2nd or 3rd century
and recorded family, caste, and commercial Indian laws

15. Wrapping things up
• Take out a piece of paper
• Write your name on it.
• Write the most interesting thing you learned from the reading or
presentation today OR write one major question you still have.
• For next time - Read Chapter 4 – Ancient China
• See you Thursday!