Chapter 6: India and Southeast Asia 1500 B.C.E.-600 C.E.

Chapter 6: India and Southeast Asia 1500 B.C.E.-600 C.E.

AP World History

I. Foundations of Indian Civilization, 1500 B.C.E.-300 C.E. A. The Indian Subcontinent

1. India has three topographical zones: (1) the northern mountainous zone, (2) the Indus and Ganges Basins, and (3) the peninsula.

2. The pennisula has the following sub regions; tropical Kerala coast, Coromandel coast, flat area of Tamil Nadu, and the island of Sri Lanka.

3. This geographical diversity has made it very difficult for any political power to unify all of India for any great length of time

B. The Vedic Age 1. After the fall of the Indus Valley civ. Indo-European warriors

migrated to India. 2. The oral tradition of these light skinned tribes tell of a violent

struggle between themselves and the darker-skinned Dravidian speaking Dasas.

3. This struggle led to the creation of the “varna.” 4. 1. Brahmin(priests/scholars), 2. Kshatriya (warriors), 3. Vaishya

(merchants), 4. Shudra (peasant/laborer), and the untouchables. 5. The four varna were then divided into hereditary occupational

groups called jati and were arranged in order of hierarchy. 6. Belief in reincarnation that each individual’s atman will be reborn in

another body after death. 7. Your station in your next life depends on one’s actions (karma) 8. Vedic religion emphasized the worship of male deities through

sacrifice. 9. Women could study lore and participate in rituals, they could own

land, and they married in their middle or late teens.

C. Challenges to the Old Order: Jainism and Buddhism 1. People who reacted against the rigid social hierarchy went to the

forest to achieve moksha-liberation fro the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

2. Jainism was founded by Mahavira. 3. Jainism practiced non-violence and went to extremes not to kill any

living thing. 4. Siddathra Gautama founded Buddhism. 5. To achieve nirvana-release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth

a person had to have moderate living, self-discipline, and rebirth. 6. After the death of Buddha his followers showed reverence for

bodhisattvas and the religion broke into the Mahayana school of new beliefs, and the Theravada school of original teachings.

In order to eliminate their desires for worldly things, and thus end the cycle of rebirths, the Buddha taught his people to follow eight principals. These eight principals were to know the truth, resist evil, say nothing that might be hurtful, respect life, free the mind from evil, work in service towards neighbors, control evil thoughts, and practice meditation.

D. The Rise of Hinduism 1. Hinduism combined the old vedic religion, elements of

Dravidian cultures such as personal religious devotion, fertility rituals, and symbolism along with elements of Buddhism.

2. Sacrifice became less important. 3. Vishnu the preserver. 4. Shiva the destroyer. 5. These gods and countless others were understood

manifestations of a single divine source. 6. Worship centered on temples and included puja. 7. Religious duties depended on gender, social status, and

age. 8. Hinduism appealed to people’s need for a direct

connection. 9. Became more popular than Buddhism because of less

constraints.

II. Imperial Expansion and Collapse, 324 B.C.E.-650 C.E. A. The Mauryan Empire, 324 B.C.E.-184 B.C.E.

1. Founded by Chandragupta. 2. Guided by a Machiavellian brahmin, Kautilya. 3. Walled capital and moated city of Patalipura. 4. 25 percent tax on agricultural products. 5. Ashoka the most famous emperor converted to

Buddhism because he was shaken by the carnage caused by his brutal wars.

6. The edicts of Ashoka were inscribed in rocks and pillars at various points throughout the empire.

B. Commerce and Culture in an Era of Political Fragmentation 1. Was accompanied by economic development in

which guilds of artisans and merchants played a dominant role.

2. The Bhagavad-Gita addressed the contradiction between duty to society and duty to one’s own soul. This contradiction can be resolved when one takes disciplined action without regard for personal benefit and realizes that this is a service to the gods.

3. Southern India (three Tamil kingdoms Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras) had great artistic development and Northern India established an independent state in Deccan.

C. The Gupta Empire 320-550 C.E. 1. Began with the Kingdom of Magadha and brought Northern and

Central India under one control. 2. Army controlled core of empire, but provincial administration

controlled their posts almost independently. 3. Theater state because of lack of military power. 4. Intellectuals came up with concept of zero and invented so-called

Arabic numerals. 5. Women lost right to inherit and own property, married very young,

and widows were often required to burn themselves on there husband’s funeral pyre (sati).

6. Dominated by Hinduism, but was characterized by religious toleration.

7. Linked to the outside rule by extensive trade networks. 8. Collapsed under the financial burden of defense against the Huns. 9. Southern India was ruled by the warrior kingdoms of Pallavas and

the Cholas.

III. Southeast Asia 50-1025 C.E. A. Geography, Resources, and Early Civilization

1. Southeast Asia has three ecological zones: Indochina Mainland, Malay Peninsula, and the islands.

2. Natural resources included fertile agricultural lands, dependable monsoon rains, and several growing seasons a year.

3. Early inhabitants practiced swidden agriculture and domesticated important crops and animals such as rice, soybeans, sugar cane, chickens and pigs.

4. Malay peoples migrated from southern China and continued into the Pacific islands.

5. Trade brought Hindu/Buddhist culture. 6. First major state to appear was Funan in the Mekong

river delta. 7. Dominated due to the isthmus of Ka until new trade routs

bypassed Funan.

IV. Comparative Perspectives

A. Comparison of Sources1. The ancient history of India is

derived more from religious artifacts and religious writings than in other areas of the ancient world.

2. Indians belief in cyclical creation and recreation of the world left them with little use for keeping a written record of a brief moment in time.

B. Diversity and Unity Within India 1. Political and social division has been the norm in

India due to the topographical and environmental diversity of the subcontinent.

2. Unified under strong central governments such as the Mauryan and Gupta kings who came to dominance by controlling metal resources and trade routes.

3. Used elaborate class and caste structures to organize their diverse populations.

4. Hinduism is derived from southern Dravidian cultures and Buddhism and is less fixed than the practices of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.