... from the Earth and Its People chapter 7:
- "The Vedic Age, 1500-500 b.c.e." (p. 174)
- "The Rise of Hinduism" (p. 181)
- "The Mauryan Empire, 324-184 b.c.e." (p. 184)
- "The Gupta Empire, 320-550 c.e." (p. 186)
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Carlos De León
Social Studies Department Chair
Luther Burbank High School
17 comments:
It is hard for historians and scientist to find out how people in the Indus Valley lived because of the lack of writing from that period. One of the reasons was because most of the writing was not deciphered. This society had to succumbed aaround 1900 B.C.E. This period was called the Vedic Age. Therefore the Indian civilization was based on the Vedic Age. Many hostorians believe that nomadic people migrated to Northwestern India around 1500 B.C.E but others say it was earlier.
''It is tempting to trace many of the characteristic features of later Indian civilization back to the Indus Valley civilizationof the third and early second millennia B.C.E , but proof is hard to come by because the writing from that period has not yet been deciphered.''
The Earth and Its People
Chapter.7 ''The Vedic Age''
In 1500 BCE the Vedic Age came about, named after the Vedas – a religious text that provided a large sum of information during this era. (pg. 174-175) Now, in the Vedic there is a conflict between the light-skinned Indo-Europeans and the Dark-Skinned Dravidians. (pg. 176) Overtime, the concern of skin color in Indian Society had eventually evolved a system of Varna – color/class. Within this Varna there were four different classes that and individual could be in: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and the Shudra. Lastly, there were the untouchables whom were excluded from the class system and avoided due to the type of work they did. With this, came Jati, or the caste system-birth groups, where the main was idea was, “you are where you deserve to be, the only way to improve your lot in the next cycle would be to accept your current station and duties” (pg. 177)
With the adjustments of the Vedic Religion, Hinduism had evolved. Its main focus was personal devotion to a score of deities, allowing multiple ways of worship. I this religion there are two main deities, Vishnu the protector and Shiva the destroyer. As a male, in this religion there comes in their life of acceptance of religious responsibility, where one goes through stages to reach moksha – liberation. (pg. 182-183)
At the time of this region, two Empires had come about whom had both took control of the Kingdom of Magadha- The Mauryan Empire (324-184 BCE) and the Gupta Empire 320-550 BCE). (pg. 184 & 186) Of the two, the Mauryan Empire had a much stronger military defense system allowing for greater expansion. (pg. 186) Furthermore, with the Mauryan Empire, came the acceptance of religious tolerance being that Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta converted to Buddhism after conquering the Kalinga and seeing the pain experienced by these individuals.(pg. 184) As for the Gupta empire, they two were religiously tolerant, though predominately Hindu. (pg. 187) Though, it doesn’t speak of the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Empire fell like many of the past – exhaustion of constant invasion of nomadic individuals. ( pg.189)
The Vedic Age- The Vedic Age lasted from 1500 to 500 BCE. It was named after Vedas, a religious text. One thing I found interesting was that they used a system that went based on the color of their skin. The light ones were of the highest class (the Brahims) and the darkest ones were usually of the lowest class (the untouchables) (EIP, p. 177)
The Rise of Hinduism- Hinduism is a religion practiced by many people in Southern Asia today. This section really intrigued me. Many Hindues of the higher classes that were tipically young men or women went through the Ideal Life Cycle. (EIP, p. 183)
The Mauryan Empire- The Mauryan Empire lasted from 324 to 184 BCE. It was India's first centralized empire. The individual by the name of Ashoka (who was the gandson of Changdragupta)really fasinated me. He was once a man who was engaged in military campains, but then after seeing the deaths that were caused as a result to the fighting and the pain he felt from his troops, he converted to Buddhism to preach nonviolence. This young man changed his ways of life based on what the world revealed to him through conflict. He is indeed a "towering figure in Indian history." (EIP, p. 184
The Gupta Empire- The Gupta Empire was started in 320 and ended in 550 CE. One piece of information really grabed my attention. The fact that the Indian mathematicians invented the concept of zero and the numbers we used today is really facinating. The numbers we use throughout each day of our lives all originated here in the Gupta Empire. (EIP, p 186)
The main focus of these particular sections is the roots, religions, and empires of India. In India one of the most important time periods was the Vedic Age (IEP, p. 174-178). The Vedic Age, in my opinion, was the base structure of what India was later to be. Another section was about Hinduism (IEP, p. 181-183). The rest talked about the Mauryan Empire (IEP, p. 184) and the Gupta Empire (IEP, p. 186-189). Throughout these particular readings one of the most interesting things to me was the Vedic Age and the influences it had on everything else. The Vedic Age was the foundation of India. For example, the Vedic Religion was the foundation of Hinduism. This period defined what India would be for years and years to come. Knowing now about all of the empires, religion, and customs that came with this period, it is very easy to compare with the other empires and see that many things stayed the same. Because the Vedic Age had such a great influence on India, I think it’s safe to say that this is the period that brought most change to India. This is where religion, social life, knowledge, and culture changed. I believe that these changes were such a huge impact on everyone that small details in their lives were changed. The Vedic Age seems to be the time where great milestones were reached.
Indo Europeans had a great influence on India.During the Vedic Age, which lasted from 1500 to 500 B.C.E, India was under the dominance of the Indo Europeans. This group created major beliefs such as the caste system called Varna.The Vedic religion which was created by the Indo European later evolved into Hinduism.Hinduism still kept beliefs such as the Vedic the caste system.Hinduimsm overpowered other religion such as Budhism. Even though tolerance was present Hindism became the Predominant religion during the Gupta Empire. ~The Earth and Its Peoples pgs.174,177,181,187.
In chapter 7, I thought that in ancient India, some people were treated harshly because of their class and skin color. “Over time there evolved a system of Varna - literally “color,” though the word came to indicate something to “class.” Indians believed in Karma and had the saying, “ You are where you deserve to be, and the only way you improve your lot in the next cycle of existence is to accept your current station and its attendant duties.” One fact that surprised me the most was how a young man reaches manhood he will pass four stages to achieve moksha, and only a young man from the classes (Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya ) can pass through the four stages. “ In the course of a virtuous life he has fulfilled his duties to society and then his duties to himself, so by the end of his life he is so disconnected from the world that he can achieve moksha ( liberation).” My thoughts on the Mauryan Empire were that it was greatly ruled by Chandragupta and a crafty elderly named Kautilya, because they both did something that had a good impact on the Mauryan empire, Chandragupta expanded the Maurya Empire and Kautilya wrote the Arthashastra. My supporting evidence was, “In the late fourth century B.C.E Chandragupta Maurya, a young man who may have belonged to the Vaishya or Shudra class, gained control of the kingdom of Magadha and expanded it to the Mauryan Empire - India’s first centralized empire.” My evidence supporting Kautilya was, “This coldly pragmatic guide to political success and survival advocates the so called mandala (circle) theory of foreign policy: my enemies my friend. It also relates a long list of schemes for enforcing and increasing the collection of tax revenues, and is prescribes the use of spies to keep watch on everyone in the kingdom.” As for the Gupta Empire, its was very much alike to the Maurya empire because of the Guptas founder, Chandra Gupta. My evidence was, “Clear proof that the founder of this empire consciously modeled himself on the Mauryans is the fact that he called himself Chandra Gupta, borrowing the very name of the Mauryan founder.” I also thought that the Indian mathematics had a major impact on human history, because they developed zero. My evidence supporting that they invented zero was, “The Indian system of place-value notation was far more efficient than the unwieldy numerical systems of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and the invention of zero was the profound intellectual achievement.” “It has to be ranked as one of the most important influential discoveries in human history.”
In the Vedic Age the societies were partiarical.There was a bitter rivalry betweem them and the Aryas."The societies, like those of other Indo-European peoples were patriarachal."The Vedic religion evolved into Hinduism around the fourth century C.E. India's first cetralized empire was the Mauryan Empire.There capital was Pataliputra.They were governed by six committees such as manufactoring, trade, sales, taxes, the welfare of foreigners, and the registration of births and deaths. "...expanded it into the Mauryan Empire-India's first centralized empire." The Gupta Empire grew out of the kingdom of Magadha.The Gupta were bureaucracy and intelligence network. "...passed from father to son in families of high-ranking members of the civil and military administrations."
I think the most interesting part that I read during this weeks reading is the rise of Hinduism. When a prince who has been hidden from illness, age, and death, finally escapes from his kingdom, he finally discovers what he has been missing this whole time. For every person he comes across who has aged, become ill, or who has even died, he is astonished and requires an explanation from his assisstant. Finally he comes across what appears to be a monk who has followed the teachings of Hinduism and has reached Nirvana, which is the self ending of ressurection, and he wants to follow the teaching of hinduism himself and follow the Eight Fold Path so that he too can reach nirvanna and end his cycle of ressurrction. As he finds nirvana, he becomes the influence of hinduism by becoming Buddha.
"The Rise of Hinduism" (p. 181)
The Vedic Age, named after Vedas religious texts, was the time when leisure time was valued the most. This was the time of chariot racing and creation of new technologies. It was cruel the way social classes were divided. Carnage and Jati were very racial social division.Hinduism was a huge rise. It was a mimixture of different traditions. This showed a bit of unoriginality and some kindbo of approval for the other cultures because their ideas were being used. The God's were altered in identity and relationships with humanity. The Mauryan Empire was first rubbed by Chandragupta then by his son Ashoka and its ironic to think that both did good controlling but in different ways. Another empire was the Gupta which I think admired the Mauryan. Odd to think it was almost just like a replica ruled by a different person with the same name.
This chapter talks about the start of the Indian empire. Talks about how the class were made (E&IP Page 177 paragraph 3). It also talks about the srise of hinduism, it talks about how thier gods changed from othe relgions (E&IP page 181 paragraph 3)
The Vedic Age 1500-500 B.C.E. - This period that lasted about a thousand years started with the migration of Indo-European groups into northwest India. The foundations of the Indian civilizations happen during the Vedic Age. In Indian families the father had complete rule, he was the patriarch. Indian society was divided by the system of Varna which separates people by color. The four classes were " Brahmin, which were the priests, Kshatriya, which were officials and warriors, Vaishya, which were merchants and landowners, and the Shudra, which were peasants and landowners.(the earth and its peoples page 176) This shows how in India the classes were inspired by Religion, which was a great part in their lifes.
The Rise of Hinduism- The religion of Hinduism evolved from the Vedic religion. It is the religion of hundreds of millions of people in South Asia today. The Hinduism religion offers many ways to worship gods. It also involves the bathing with sacred water as believed from the Ganges river.(earth and its peoples page 183) Hinduism is very important because not only is it a very major religion, but it also brings the basis to many customs of other religions.
The Mauryan Empire 324-184 B.C.E. - At the beggining the landscape of north India was separated into different kinship groups and independent states. The kingdom of Magadha began to be superior to the others due to the wealth, which was based on agriculture, iron mines, and trade. Chandragupta Mauryan gained control of the kingdom of Magadha and then expanded it into the Mauryan Empire.(earth and its peoples page 184) This emperor may have been inspired by Alexander the Great and his Empire. During this empire a tax had to be payed which benefited the government and the kings. This empire is important because first of all it was one of the first empires in India and second it united people as a whole, which later played a role on how Indian people lived their lifes.
The Gupta Empire 320-550 C.E. - The same as the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Empire grew out of the kingdom of Magadha. (earth and its peoples page 186) This empire was inspired by the Mauryan Empire in many ways like for example the name of the founder was Chandra Gupta which is similar to the founder of the Mauryan Empire. This shows how the later empires such as the Gupta took many similar aspects as the Mauryan empire. " Great Kings of Kings " (earth and its peoples page 186) states this thought that the empires would in a way follow the Mauryan. The importance of the Gupta Empire is that it brought new specializations with the help of the royal Gupta. These specializations would benefit not only India but also the whole world, since many systems and concepts were invented and later spread and used in many areas.
The Vedic age was important because it introduced India to a cast system. The system was called varna and it was based on color and the separation of different classes within varna. there were 4 different groups within varna and those groups were even more subdivided by different jati, or birth groups. Every person in each class of varna had certain jobs to do. the belief in riencarnation helped strengthen the cast system because the class they were born into was supossedly caused by their karma from their past life.
The Vedic Age was a civilization that has it's agricultire and the irrigation sysyems the people also used iron for tools. There were two major rivals that were the Aryas and the Dasasduring the Waring States period.(EIP pg177) BY this we know that there wasn't always peace. There was varna with had to do alot with color, people with whiter color were ussaully at the top. The Vedic religion changed to Hinduism, it isn't cleary know how the change was made.(EIP pg181) They worshiped many gods and had different ways of approaching them. Each person had his or her own duty. The Mauryan Empire was the first empire and it was expanded by Chandragupta. Chandragupta must have been very powerful. The Gupta Empire was found by Chandra Gupta and it was va=ery similar to the Mauryan.(EIP pg186)
The vedic age, the rise of Hinduism, the Mauryan empire, and the Gupta empire were all involved in the foundation of Indian civilization.
The vedic age was named after the Vedas, and is an ancient text that gave information between 1500 to 500 b.c.e. Hinduism (a wide variety of beliefs) now has hundreds of millions of people in south Asia today. The Mauryan empire was India's first centralized empire. And finally the last is the Gupta empire which was a very powerful empire that controlled most of the Indian subcontinents using the military and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture.
These four subjects all had something to do with India in some way and were all very important to make India what it is today.
The Vedic Period is one of major milestones in the history of India. This period brought about a multitude of changes in the lifestyle of people. "The foundations for Indian civilization were laid in the Vedic Age." Page 175. The migration of the Aryans to the Indian sub continent is what triggered off the Vedic Age. Because of these scriptures, the base of Hinduism in India was founded and with time, spread throughout. Two empires that were founded were the Gupta and Mauryan Empire. Overall, the achievements of the Gupta Empire were many and can still be felt in today’s modern society. Although it was not quite so big an empire as Asoka’s, the Gupta Empire lasted longer and became the Indian’s classical period. On the other hand, the rise of the Great Mauryan Empire was a unique event in the History of India. It was the first Empire in the Indian sub-continent came into existence by unifying fragments of territory. The Gupta Empire fell due to invasion and the Mauryan Empire fell due to not having a strong king after Ashoka and because the military was inactive.
the vedic age lasted from 1500 c.e to 500 b.c.e.and was between India and Southwest Asia. Different events happened in this time period. For example in the vedic age in India there was the rise and the fall of the Gupta empire. The rise of hinduism made in India but was spread over the southern part of asia. The were the three gods and the goddess. They were Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi.The Mauryan empire from 324 till 184 was Indias first centralized empire. They guided themselves by the mandala theory. Ashoka coverted his people into buddism. The Gupta Empire from 320-550 c.e. ruled the northern part of India. There control was not as centralized as the Mauryan empire but was stronger though.
India is known as a "subcontinent" because it is large in both breadth and length. its cut off from Asia only by the Himalayas. this region can be divided into three distinct topographical zones. the rim if mountains looming over India's northern frontier, shields them from cold Arctic winds and gives it a subtropical climate.
The process of the religion Vedic was transformed into Hinduism by the fourth century c.e. is largely hidden from all humanity. Their gods were altered in both identity and in their relationships with humanity.
In around 600 b.c.e. separate kinship groups and independent states dotted the landscape of north India. the first centralized empire was Mauryan Empire. Tradition holds that Kautilya, a crafty elderly Brahmin, guided Chandragupta in his conquests and consolidation of power.
In the early fourth century c.e. a new imperial entity took shape in northern India. this new empire enjoyed the same strategic advantages as its Mauryan predecessor, sitting astride important trade routes, exploiting the agricultural productivity of the Ganges Plain.
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