India After the Indus ValleyFrom Aryans to Guptas

Who Were the Aryans???• Aryans - Indo European group that migrated

from the middle of Eurasia– Passed thru Khyber Pass about 1500 BC

– What is the Khyber Pass???• Aryans come to India and find people who

are different from them– Aryans were light skinned and spoke a different

language and had a different religion– Non-Aryans they call dasas which meant dark

(due to their skin color)• Dasa would later come to mean slave

• Differences will create classes quickly

The Caste System is Born• Aryans had 3 classes

– Brahmin (priests) – upper class– Kshatriyas (warriors) – middle class– Vaisyas – (farmers, craftspeople, traders) – lower class

• Eventually non-Aryans were a class– Called shudras – laborers, servants, and farm workers– They did the jobs Aryans did not want to do

• Varna – related to skin color- becomesthe basis of this system; the classes were called varnas– Later they would be called ‘castes’

• This starts the caste system

The Four Castes of India

Aryan/ Indian god known as Brahma

Rituals & Religion of the Caste

• Aryans were polytheistic – Believed in heroic nature gods (ex.

Thunder)

• Castes or classes gave role in society– People born into caste for LIFE– Determines your friends, wife, job, etc.– Only way to change caste was through

reincarnation – couldn’t change your status during your life

Rituals & Religion of the Caste

• Ritual purity a major part of religion– Eating / cleaning habits keep soul clean

• Untouchables - people in society who were seen as less than any caste– Jobs made them dirty and ‘untouchable’– Grave diggers, butchers, etc.– If someone from another caste touched

these people, they would automatically be reincarnated as an Untouchable themselves!!!

The Spread of the Aryans• Aryans begin spreading

east & south– Spread east to Ganges River– Spread south into the rest of

India

• Mahabharata- epic poem that told of stories of Aryan spread– Tells of mixing between the

Aryans & non-Aryans

• Dominated the area of India from 1500BCE to 500BCE

The Mauryan Empire Emerges• The Mauryan Empire

– Takes power around 320 BCE

• Chaundragupta Maurya is the leader– Unifies all of Northern India for 1st time– Creates a bureaucratic government– What is a bureaucracy???

• Asoka (Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson)– Brings India to its greatest heights – Turns away from war; spreads Buddhism

instead• Practiced religious tolerance - people choose

– Built road systems, hospitals, etc.

The Gupta Empire Emerges• Chaundra Gupta (no relation) comes

to power around 320 AD– Brings Indian culture to its new peak– Also brings Hindu religion to its peak

• Indian society is patriarchal– Means eldest male rules the family

• Indian civilization prospers from both trade and conquest

• Create incredible advancements during this time period

Gupta Empire Advancements• Math

– Creates the concept of zero

• Medicine– Book of over 1000 diseases diagnosed– Surgeries performed, set bones

• Astronomy– Proved the earth was round

• New Products– Spices, gems, woods, traded silks****Used the Silk Roads for trading****

• Literature– Khalidasa- famous playwright and writer