Indus River Valley. Classical Indian Civilization Began in the Indus River Valley Spread into the Ganges River Valley Then spread through the Indian.

Indus River Valley

Classical Indian Civilization

• Began in the Indus River Valley• Spread into the Ganges River Valley• Then spread through the Indian

subcontinent

Geography

• The Indian civilization was protected from invaders by the physical barriers of the Hindu Kush and Himalayan Mountains and by the Indian Ocean

Harappan Civilization

• Arose around 2500 BC and lasted until 1700 BC

• Major cities were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro built around a citadel

Sites of Harappan Civilization

Indo-Aryan People

• Invaded the area around 1750 BC• Came from north of the Black and

Caspian Seas

Caste System

• A form of social organization introduced by the Indo-Aryans

• Based on occupations

Four levels of the caste system

• At the top – rulers and warriors• Next, Brahmins – the priests and

scholars• Then – the merchants, traders, and

farmers• Last – the peasants who worked the

fields owned by others

• There was a 5th group – Pariahs, or “untouchables”

Writing Style - Sanskrit

Characteristics of Indo-Aryan Society:

Government

• Tribes forms small city-states• Each state ruled by raja and his council

Social Life

• Complex system of social orders• Elaborate rules governed marriage

among the difference orders• Parent-arranged marriage favored• Marriage by purchase, by capture, and

by mutual consent recognized

Economy

• Mostly farmers• Wheat and barley major crops• Poor transportation and trading

methods sometimes limited trade• System of barter for goods

Mauryan and Gupta Empires

Mauryan Empire – Asoka

• Continued political unification of much of India

• Contributions: Spread of Buddhism, free hospitals, veterinary clinics, good roads

Gupta Empire

• Golden Age of classical Indian culture• Contributions: Mathematics (concept

of zero), medical advances (setting bones), astronomy (concept of a round earth), new textiles, literature

Hinduism

Hinduism

• Developed by the Indo-Aryans• The Vedas are the sacred Hindu texts• Became India’s major religion• Belief in many forms of one major

deity• Reincarnation: cycles of rebirths

• Dharma – means doing one’s moral duty in this life so that the soul can advance in the next

• Karma: the good or bad force created by a person’s actions. Future reincarnation based on present behavior

• Nirvana: a perfect peace; the goal of all Hindus – unite with Brahman

• Vedas and Upanishads – sacred writings

• A way of life rather than strictly defined rules

• Everyone has to find his or her own way to god

• When a person dies, the soul does not die, but reborn in another form – not necessarily human

• How one behaves in one life affects the next life

• Belief in a caste system in which a person is born into a set position and cannot change in present life

• Belief in religious tolerance