Indus River

Valley
and
The Aryans
Pre-Aryan India:
Indus River Valley Civilization
 The Indus River
 Silt-enriched water from mountain ranges
 Major society built by Dravidian peoples,
3000-2500 BCE
 Cultivation of cotton before 5000 BCE, early
cultivation of poultry
 Decline after 1900 BCE
 Major cities:

Harrapa (Punjab region

Mohenjo-Daro (mouth of Indus River)
 70 smaller sites excavated (total 1,500)
The Harappan Civilization 3300 BCE - 2400 BCE
Mohenjo-Daro
Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro
Indus River Valley

http://www.harappa.com/index.html
ARYANS
 ARYANS
Who were the Aryans
&
Where did they come from?

 Germans (Anglo-Saxons), Celts, Slavs (Russians.), Kurds,

Persians ("Iran" = "Aryan"), Afghans, Aryans of India, etc.
form an ethnic continuum within a language family which
anthropologists and linguists call Indo-Hittite, Hattian,
Indo-European, or simply ARYAN.
ARYANS
 Group of nomadic tribes
 Tall, fair haired, with clear cut features, they
settled in Punjab, in the Indus Valley River region.
 Fought with the original people of Indus Valley
Civilization, who were dark skin and known as
Dasyus or Dravidians
 The superiority of the Aryans resulted in the
Dravidian submission and retirement to the south.
 The Aryan society was very well organized, ruled
by a Monarch
ARYANS

 Practiced the four Vedas.

 Caste system was introduced and practiced, based on
one’s profession:
 Brahmins: Priests, teachers, intellectuals
 Khsatriyas: Warriors, soldiers
 Vashya: Traders, merchants, peasants
 Shudras: People in service of others
Varna (Social Hierarchy)

Brahmins

Kshatriyas

Vaishyas

Shudras

Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables

 s t e
C a Brahmins

Th e
t em Kshatriyas

Sy s
Vaishyas
 The Head & Face
 The Shoulders & arms
 The Stomach
 The feet. Shudras
 The Vedas
 1200 BCE-600 BCE.
 written in SANSKRIT.
 Hindu core of
beliefs:
 hymns and poems.
 religious prayers.
 magical spells.
 lists of the gods
Rig Veda  oldest work.
work and goddesses.
Sanskrit
writing
Cultural Impact of Aryans
 The culture of the Aryan period exist today and
has been an integral part of Hindus all over the
world.

 All Hindus accept Vedas as their most sacred

scripture.

 Hindu religion originated with Aryans

 With the invasion of Persian kings Cyrus and

Darius in the 500 BC, there were significant
changes and commingling of Aryan and Persian
culture.
 Aryan period ended At the end of 322BC.
 Buddhism

 Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)

 Mauryan Empire
BUDDHISM
 Buddhism

 Gautama Buddha was the founder

 His original name was Siddharth Gautama Buddha.
 Siddharth means one who has accomplished.
 Buddha means the Awakened One.
 He was also called Sakyamuni, i.e. the sage of the tribe of
Sakya.
 He was born in the year 563 B.C. in the village of Lumbini
near Kapila Vastu, within the present borders of Nepal.
 He was married at the age of sixteen to Yasoddhra.
Buddhism
 According to legend,
an astrologer foretold his father, the king, that young
Gautama would give up the throne & luxury & renounce
the world the day he would see four things:
(i) an old man,
(ii) a sick man,
(iii) a diseased man
(iv) a dead man.

Hence, the king confined Gautama in a special palace

which was provided with all worldly pleasures.
Buddhism

 At the age of 29 after the birth of his first son,

Gautama on the same day saw
 an old man,
 a sick man,
 a diseased man
 a dead man.
The impact of the dark side of life made him
renounce the world that same night and he left
his wife and son and became a penniless
wanderer.
At the age of 35, one evening as he sat beneath a giant fig tree
(Bodh tree), he felt that he had found the solution to his
problem and felt that he had attained enlightenment.
Thus, he came to be known as ‘Gautama’, ‘The Buddha’, or 'The
Enlightened One
Buddhism is divided into two sects:

•Henayana

Buddhism is divided into two sects

•Mahayana
1. Hinayana
2. Mahayana.
Alexander the
Great
356-323 B.C.E.
Empire of Alexander
Alexander the Great
356-323 B.C.E.

 Persian and Greek Invasion

The Persian Invasion in 500BC, and the
invasion of Alexander the Great of
Greece in 327 BC, changed the Indian
culture for ever.

The most significant impact of this period was:

(1) Cultural mixing.
(2) Establishment of contacts with foreign
countries.
The Mauryan
Empire
The Mauryan Empire

 Chandra Gupta Maurya (322-301 B.C.)

 Bindusara (298-272 B.C.)

 Ashoka (273-233 B.C.)

Mauryan Coins
Cultural Impact of Mauryans

 Origin of non-violence in India

 Ashoka promoted non-violence, along with

Buddhism.
 Spread of Buddhism to neighboring countries of

China,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
Japan, etc.
 Education and Intellectual movement.
 The Maurya
Ta
Empire is
mi
ls divided into
many kingdoms.
 Gupta Period (320 AD – 480 AD)

 After the decline of Mauryans, Gupta rulers rose to

power
 The Gupta period in Indian history is known as the
Golden Age of India.
 Era of the most advanced civilization, flush with
wealth, higher education, trade with foreign
countries, and an overall happy life.
 Religious tolerance and freedom of worship
 Period of Hindu renaissance.
 Extensive Trade:4c

sp
ic
es

rice & s
whe a
t silk o ods
h o r se s n g
cotto
spices
& ivo r y
gold
o o d s
o t t o ng
c gold & ivory
 Impact of the Gupta Period

 Emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism, but Gupta

rulers showed a preference for Hindu religion.
 Music, architecture, sculptures and painting were at
its best.
 Various copper statues images of Buddha reflect the
craftsmanship of the Gupta period.
 After the death of the last Gupta ruler in 570 AD,
the Gupta empire declined and broke off.
 1000 diseases
500 healing classified PI = 3.1416
plants identified Decimal
System
Printed
Concept
medicinal guides
of Zero
Plastic
Medicine Mathematics
Mathematics
Surgery
Medicine

Inoculations
C-sections Gupta Solar
performed India Calendar

Astronomy
Astronomy
Literature
Literature
The earth
is round
Kalidasa
 The Decline of the Guptas

 Invasion of the White Huns in the 4c signaled

the end of the Gupta Golden Age, even though
at first, the Guptas defeated them.
 After the decline of the Gupta empire, north
India broke into a number of separate Hindu
kingdoms and was not really unified again until
the coming of the Muslims in the 7c.
Foreign Invasions

Due to its wealth and culture, India has attracted foreigners

throughout its history:

 Persian invasion in 500BC

 Greek Invasion in 327 BC
 Turks in 1175AD
 Mughal in 1526
 Portuguese in 16th century
 Dutch and French in 17th century
 English in 18th through 20th century