1. CHEE – Lecture on South Asia
Ancient World History
Pakistan, India,
Nepal, Sri Lanka (Ceylon),
Bangladesh, Bhutan

2. Gandhi (1869-1948)
in South Africa (1893-1915)
Satyagraha or Soul Force

3. South Asia – India & Pakistan

4. Complex Society?

5. TIMELINE – South Asia
200,000 YA Paleolithic communities
8-7000 BCE Agriculture begins in South Asia
5000 BCE Cotton cultivation, domestication of chickens
3300-1500 Harappan society
3300 BCE Harappan writing
2300-1750 Trade with Mesopotamians
1900-1500 Harappan decline
1500
Aryan migration to India
1500-500 Vedic Age
1400-900 Composition of the Rig Veda
1000
Aryan migrations into the Ganges River valley
Emergence of varna distinctions
1000-500 Formation of regional kingdoms in northern India
800-400 Composition of the Upanishads (Indian reflections and dialogues
reflecting Hindu concepts)
750
First Aryan cities in the Ganges valley
500
Aryan migrations to the Deccan Plateau

6. Harappan Society - Dravidians

7. Indus River

8. Harappan Society –
Dravidian peoples
8-7000 BCE
Beginning of agriculture
5000 BCE
Cotton cultivation
Domestication of chickens
Harappan writing (or 2300)
Harappan decline
3300 BCE
1900 BCE
Still under water*

9. UNESCO – 1920s
Save Mohenjo-Daro Stamps

10. Major Dravidian cities (Pakistan)
• Harappa
• Mohenjo-Daro
– 70 smaller sites
excavated
(total 1,500)

11. Mohenjo-Daro

12. Mohenjo-Daro artefacts
seal
Dancing girl
Priest-king

13. Mohenjo-Daro
• Population c. 40,000
• Center with city walls, citadel,
granary, tax collections, market
places, temples
• Private bathrooms, showers &
toilets with city sewage system
• Weights, measures,
architectural styles
• Specialized labor
• Trade with Persia,
Mesopotamia via ships (cotton,
pepper, pearls & gems)

14. Harappa
artist rendition
Excavated site

15. Harappa
fertility deities

16. Aryans “noble people”
Language groups
1. Afro-Asiatic – (ancient Egyptian, Semitic, Hebrew, Arabic)
2. Austronesian – greatest reach of the language groups – from
Hawaii-New Zealand- Southeast Asia -Madagascar…
3. Indo-European – Aryans – (Greek, Sanskrit, Latin)
4. Sino-Tibetan – China to Tibet
Some groups do not fit these categories and appear unrelated, or
there are so many…
5. New Guinea, 1/5 of the world’s languages
6. Or in North America with native Americans.

17. Aryans Arrived 1500 BCE
o Called themselves the “noble
people”
o Indo-Europeans with horses,
cattle, sheep & goat
o Sang religious hymns in
Sanskrit called the Vedas
The Aryan God, Indra

18. The Aryan God, Indra
Indra killed a dragon who lived in
the sky and hoarded water in the
clouds. As the dragon fell, his
weight caused such turmoil in the
sky to bring rain and filled the
rivers in India

19. 1500-500 BCE – Vedic Age
Veda - means wisdom or
knowledge the priests needed to
carry out their religious
functions.
– frequent Aryan attacks on
Dravidians
– Varna – or Caste
(Portuguese) means color
– Aryans – “Wheat-colored”
– Dravidians, darker

20. The Caste System ~ 1000 B.C.E*
(social hierarchy instead of a large imperial state)
1. Brahmins - priests
2. Kshatriyas - warriors & nobles
3. Vaishyas - artisans & merchants
4. Shudras - landless peasants & serfs
*the untouchables – those who handle the dead/animals.
*jati – subcastes
*created centuries later

21. Aryan Migrations to Ganges River ~1000 BCE

22. 800-400 BCE The Upanishads
Disciples “sitting in front of” a sage to
discuss religious ideas
Brahman – universal soul (each person is
a part)
Samsara - the transmigration of the soul
Karma – the sum of good and bad deeds
that determine one’s position in the
next life (plant/animal)
Moksha – the ultimate goal of obtaining a
deep dreamless sleep with permanent
liberation from physical incarnation).
Blending of Aryan & Dravidian values.

23. Classical societies (500 BCE - 500 CE)
Characteristics –
• high degrees of internal organization,
• authority over extremely large regions
• elaborate influential cultural traditions

24. Classical Societies – Common Solutions
1. Vast territories - created transportation &
communication infrastructure &
bureaucracies
2. Military challenges – raised armies
3. Bureaucracy & military costs – Taxation
4. Equitable distribution of land and wealth?
5. Long-distance trade
6. Cultural & religious traditions

25. 520 BCE, Persian Emperor Darius conquers
parts of north-western India

26. South Asia – Classical society
o Buddhism
o Jainism
o and the continuing evolution of an
older religion, Hinduism, originating
from Vedic philosophy

27. Siddartha
Gautama,
the Buddha
“the enlightened one”
563-483 BCE
First-second century CE

28. Gautama, a
wealthy prince

29. The Great Departure
Gautama Leaves his Princely Life at Age 29
Sculpture from the 2nd century CE

30. Gautama, ascetic, undergoes a Fast
•to become an ascetic, nearly starves
himself.

31. Enlightenment
after 49 days of
meditation,
achieves
enlightenment

32. Buddhist Doctrine: The Dharma or the Four
Noble Truths:
1. life is pain,
2. this pain is caused by desire,
3. eliminating desire eliminates
suffering, and
4. following the Noble Eightfold
Path eliminates desire (right views,
intention, speech, action, livelihood,
effort, mindfulness, concentration)

33. The Noble Eightfold Path
called for leading a
balanced and
moderate life and
avoiding extremes.
Passionless Nirvana
(immortality, free
from reincarnation)
was the final goal.

34. Buddha and his Disciples
o Begins teaching new
doctrine c. 528 BCE
o Followers owned only
robes, food bowls
o Life of wandering,
begging, meditation
o Establishment of
monastic communities
34

35. Appeal of Buddhism
o Less dependence on Brahmins for ritual
activities
o No recognition of caste, jati status
o Philosophy of moderate consumption
o Public service through lay teaching
o Use of vernacular, not Sanskrit
35

36. JAINISM
Vardhamana Mahavira, 540-468 BCE
Abandoned privileged family to lead
ascetic life
Jains
oBelieve everything in the universe
possesses a soul
osweep earth, strain water, use slow
movements to avoid killing insects
opractice ahimsa (nonviolence)
oAhimsa continues to inspire
modern movements (Ghandi, Martin
Luther King Jr.)

37. Appeal of Jainism
o Rejected caste, jati distinctions
o Obvious appeal to underprivileged groups
o But asceticism too extreme to become a
mass movement
37

38. Hinduism
Bhagavad-Gita c. 300 BCE – 400 CE
“Song of the Lord” – Mahabharata, great epic poem

39. Hinduism
Hindu ethics – 4 principal aims of human life
1) dharma - obedience to religious & moral laws
2) artha – pursuit of economic well-being and
honest prosperity
3) kama - the enjoyment of social, physical and
sexual pleasure
4) moksha – the salvation of the soul
a proper balance of the first 3 would help an
individual attain moksha

40. India - Foreign Invasions
o 520 BCE Darius of Persia invades
o 327 BCE Alexander of Macedon
invades (& spreads Greek language,
culture)
Leaves a power vacuum

41. Alexander's Empire Conquers & Unifies the
Region, c. 327 B.C.E.

42. 321-185 BCE Mauryan Dynasty
321-297 BCE Chandragupta Maurya’s reign
Maurya (united India’s small kingdoms for the first time)

43. The Mauryan & Gupta Empires
321 BCE - 550 CE

44. Kautalya. Arthashastra - Regarding
war
• Arthashastra, a manual
on political statecraft &
administration
– Domestic policies
• Network of spies
• Regarding war - any
two states that share a
common border are
destined to fight
• three types of war:
(1) the war of righteous duty,
(2) the war for conquest, and
(3) the war for destruction.
Advisor Kautalya

45. Chandragupta Maurya
Legend: Chandragupta
retires to become a monk,
starves himself to death

46. Ashoka Maurya’s Reign 268-232 BCE
• Grandson of Chandragupta
• Conqueror & Governor
• Brought Mauryan Empire
to its height during reign,
268-232 BCE
• Created an efficient
bureaucracy & tax system
• Buddhist – sent
missionaries around the
region

47. Ashoka’s
Empire

48. 268-232 BCE Reign of Ashoka Maurya
India at its height
•
•
•
•
built roads,
promoted agriculture,
collected taxes efficiently,
created a well-run
bureaucracy
• Expanded empire to include
all of Indian subcontinent
except for south
• integrated Indian society

49. Ashoka’s Support of Buddhism
o Personal conversion to
Buddhism
o Disillusioned after violent
war with Kalinga
o Banned animal sacrifices,
mandated vegetarianism in
court
o Material support for
Buddhist institutions,
missionary activities

50. Ashoka – Buddhist Stupa Sanchi, India

51. Changes in Buddhist thought
3rd c. BCE – 1st c. CE
– Buddha considered divine
– Institution of
Boddhisatvas (“saints” or
enlightened beings)
– Charitable donations to
monasteries regarded as
pious activity
51

52. A Buddhist Monastery
52

53. Decline of the Mauryan Empire
o Economic crisis follows
death of Ashoka
o High costs of
bureaucracy, military not
supported by tax revenue
o Frequent devaluations of
currency to pay salaries
o Mauryan Empire
abandoned & disappears by
185 BCE

54. The Gupta Empire 320 CE –550 CE because of the
White Huns Invasion
India would not be reunited for a thousand years until
the Mughal Dynasty of the sixteenth century

55. Lecture: South Asia Part II:
India and the Indian Ocean World

56. Buzurg ibn Shahriyar’s
Book of the Wonders of India. 953
Buzurg – tenth century
shipmaster from the Persian
Gulf, Siraf
oWrote 136 stories
oTall tales & realistic ones
oIndian king who converted to Islam
& studies Islamic law
oJewish rags to riches after traveling
to India & China

57. The trading world of the
Indian Ocean basin

58. Cross-Cultural Trade in the
Indian Ocean Basin
• Trade increases in post-classical period
• Larger ships
– Dhows, junks
• Improved organization of agricultural efforts
• Establishment of Emporia
– Cosmopolitan port cities serve as warehouses
for trade
• Specialized products developed (cotton, highcarbon steel)

59. Population Growth in India
120
100
80
60
Millions
40
20
0
600 CE
800 CE
1000 CE
1500 CE

60. Economic Development and Social
Distinctions
• The growth of long-distance trade and
manufacturing encouraged the rise of towns.
• India connected to the larger imperial states in China,
Persia, and southwest Asia
• Society became strongly patriarchal, and works such
as the Mahabharata and Ramayana portrayed women
as weak-willed.
• Child marriages became increasingly common.

61. Society: Gender Relations
• Patriarchy entrenched
• Child marriage common (8 year old girls
married to men in 20s)
• Women encouraged to remain in private
sphere
61

62. Social Order
Caste system from Aryan
times
– Brahmins (priests)
– Kshatriyas (warriors,
aristocrats)
– Vaishyas (Peasants,
merchants)
– Shudras (serfs)
62

63. Castes and Guilds
• Increasing economic diversification
challenges simplistic caste system
• Jatis formed: guilds that acted as sub-castes
• Enforced social order
– “outcastes” forced into low-status employment
63

64. Wealth and the Social Order
• Upward social mobility possible for
Vaishyas, Shudras (peasants & serfs)
• Wealth challenges varna (caste) status
64

65. Religions of Salvation in
Classical India
• Social change generated resentment of caste
privilige
– e.g. Brahmins free from taxation
• 6th-5th c. BCE new religions and philosophies
challenge status quo
• Charvakas: atheists
• Jainists, Buddhists
65

66. Spread of Mahayana Buddhism
• Mahayana (“greater vehicle”), newer
development
– India, China, Japan, Korea, central Asia
• Hinayana (“lesser vehicle,” also
Theravada), earlier version
– Ceylon, Burma, Thailand
66

67. Mahayana Buddhism flourished because of
education institutions
Nalanda
oBuddhist Monastery
oQuasi-university: Buddhism,
Hindu texts, philosophy,
astronomy, medicine
oPeak at end of Gupta dynasty
oHelped spread Indian thought
o E.g. mathematical number
zero

68. Emergence of Popular Hinduism:
Bhagavad-Gita Centuries of revisions,
final form c. 400 CE
“Song of the Lord”
Dialogue between Arjuna and
Krishna during civil war
oComposition of epics from older
oral traditions - Mahabharata,
Ramayana
oEmphasis on god Vishnu and his
incarnations
“Song of the Lord” – Mahabharata, great epic poem

69. Hindu Ethics
• Emphasis on meeting class obligations
(dharma)
• Pursuit of economic well-being and honesty
(artha)
• Enjoyment of social, physical and sexual
pleasure (kama)
• Salvation of the soul (moksha)
69

70. Popularity of Hinduism
o Popularity grew for
devotional cults like
Vishna, preserver of the
world, & Shivu, fertility
deity
o Gradually replaced
Buddhism in India
70

71. Temporary restoration of Unified rule in North
India under King Harsha (r. 606-648 CE)
King Harsha (r. 606-648 CE)
oYoung, energetic, and able
oBuddhist, but also
religiously tolerant
oGenerous support for poor
oPatron of the arts
o Wrote three plays
oAssassinated, no successor
able to retain control

72. Islam arrives in India through
Conquest & Trade
o 711 - Arabs conquer Sind (northwest India), Abbasid Dynasty to
1258
o Arabic trade with India predates
Islam
o Muslim merchants at the coast
married Indians, establishing local
Muslim communities in India
o E.g. Cambay
o Migrations of Turkish-speaking
peoples from Central Asia
o Delhi Sultanate c.1300

73. The Sultanate of Delhi
ruled northern India from 1206-1526
o Consolidated the raiding
territory of Mahmud of Ghazni
(Afghani Turk), 1001-1027, who
built mosques on top of Hindu
and Buddhist temples after
destroying them
o Built capital at Delhi, with a
weak administrative structure
o Relied on the cooperation of
Hindu kings
o Assassinated 19 out of 35
Sultans

74. Hindu Kingdoms of Southern India
• Chola Kingdom, 8501267
– Maritime power
– Not highly centralized
• Kingdom of
Vijayanagar
– Northern Deccan
– Originally supported by
Sultanate of Delhi
– Leaders renounce Islam
in 1336
– Yet maintain relations
with Sultantate

75. Temples and Indian Society
Temples and Indian Society
•More than religious centers
•Center of coordination of
irrigation, other agricultural
work
– Some Temples had large
landholdings
•Education providers
•Banking services
Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora

76. Challenges to Caste and Society
•
•
•
•
Migrations
Growth of Islam
Urbanization
Economic development
– Development of Jati (subcastes)
– Similar to worker’s guilds
• Caste system expands from north to south
• Promoted by Temples, educational system

77. Decline of Buddhism
• Buddhism displaced as Turkish
invasions destroy holy sites, temples
• 1196 Muslim forces destroy library of
Nalanda
– Thousands of monks exiled

78. Development of Hinduism
• Growth of devotional cults
– Esp. Vishnu, Shiva
• Promise of salvation
• Especially popular in southern India,
spreads to north

79. Devotional Philosophers
• Shankara, Brahmin philosopher of 9th c. CE
– Devotee of Shiva
– Synthesized Hindu writings in Platonic form
– Preferred rigorous logical analysis to
emotional devotion
• Ramanuja, Brahmin philosopher 11th-early 12th
c.
– Challenges Shankara’s emphasis on intellect
– Laid philosophical foundations of
contemporary Hinduism

80. Conversion to Islam
• 25 million converts by 1500 (1/4 of total
population)
• Possibilities of social advancement for
lower-caste Hindus
– Rarely achieved: whole castes or jatis
convert, social status remains consistent

81. The Bhakti Movement
• Attempt to bring Hinduism and Islam
closer together
• 12th c. southern Hindu movement,
spread to north
• Guru Kabir (1440-1518)
– Taught that Shiva, Vishnu, Allah all
manifestations of one Deity
– Largely unsuccessful

82. Indian Influence in Southeast Asia
• Influence dates from
500 BCE
• Evidence of Indian
ideas and traditions
– Kingship
– Religions (Hinduism,
Buddhism)
– Literature
• Caste system not as
influential

83. Early States of Southeast Asia
• Funan
– Lower Mekong River,
1st-6th c. CE
• Kingdom of Srivijaya
– Centered in Sumatra,
670-1025 CE
• Kingdom of Angkor
– Cambodia, 889-1431 CE
– Magnificent religious
city complexes

84. The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia
•Early populations of Muslim
traders
•Tenth Century – Islam
prominent, while retaining
Hindu or Buddhist traditions
•Fifteenth Century – state of
Melaka with a powerful navy
became Islamic

85. Kingdom of Angkor
– Cambodia, 889-1431 CE
– Magnificent religious city complexes

86. Later states of Southeast Asia: Angkor,
Singosari, and Majapahit, 889-1520 C.E.
•Early populations of
Muslim traders
•Tenth Century – Islam
prominent, while retaining
Hindu or Buddhist traditions
•Fifteenth Century – state of
Melaka with a powerful
navy became Islamic

87. State of Melaka
(Modern Indonesia’s Sumatra)
o Founded late 14th c.
CE by rebellious
prince of Sumatra
o Dominated maritime
trade routes
o Mid-15th c. converts to
Islam

88. Copyright 2014 Professor
Chee
Professor Chee does not endorse other
slideshare presentations. Please read
textbook Bentley et al.