● Review Questions:

○ How did the geography of South Asia (India) impact its history?
■ The Indus River and The Ganges River helped nourish the soil and
provide good sources of water for civilization
■ The Himilayas, Hindu Kush(a part of the himalayas), as well as the
Sulieman Range and The Kirthar Ranges meanwhile provide a natural
barrier to protect borders while also restricting expansion.
■ The Malabar and Coromandel coasts meanwhile linked fishing and
trading communities to the rest of the afro-eurasia thanks to the indian
ocean.
■ The Vindhya and Deccan Plateua meanwhile separated the southern
parts of the indian peninsula from the rest of it, allowing for the rise of
separate kingdoms there.
■ Sirlanka, being an island that was somewhat close to india also helped
foster trade.
○ What are the limits of our knowledge of Harappan Civilization?
■ We have been unable to decipher their language, thus most of the
sources we can recover are untranslatable, leaving us to only speculate.
■ Bricks and other material from the site were also pilfered
○ How did kingdoms form during the Vedic Age?
■ Extended families would begin to form clans, clans would come together
to form tribes, and tribes would grow and expand as they established full
kingdoms.
○ Describe the varna and caste systems.
■ The Varna was a caste system that vedic society was sorted into, and
would persist through centuries. Varna determined your position in
society, what you would do. IT was hereditary, and determined how pure
or polluted you were.
● Brahmin;The Preists
● Kshatriya:The king and warriors
● Vaishya:The commoners
● Shudras:The menial laborers
○ Explain the early historical origins and basic beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism.
How do these religious traditions change over time?
■ Hinduism:Began with the rig veda and evolved into multiple forms. Is multi
faceted and is built upon the belief in dharma, a cosmic order, as well as
eternal death and rebirth from which one is reincarnated depending on
their karma.
● Vedic Brhaminism:The oldest version of hinduism, being directly
built on the rig vedas well as the bramanas and the upanishads
● Hinduism:Built upon the dharma scriptures, ethical and legal
scriptures that ask one to follow their varna.
○ Men are asked to follow their varna and go through four
stages of life
■ Student:Their youth, where they begin to study for
their occupation
■ Householder:Where they provide for their family
and contribute to society
 ■ Hermit:where upon completion of this goal, they
renounce their material desires and live on the
edges
■ Rennuncient:Where they wander, devoting
themselves to religion.
○ Women meanwhile are asked to be faithful to their father
then their husband,
○ Major gods:
■ Brahma;The creator
■ Vishnu:One who preserves existence, and takes on
mortal forms when there is great evil. Both Rama
and Arjuna are examples of these incarnations
■ Shiva:The destroyer who brings things to their
necessary end.
■ Bhuddism:A belief structure that life is characterized by suffering, and to
alieve this suffering is to discover nirvana. Based upon the eightfold path.
● Theravada Buddhism:Early Buddhism, based more directly upon
the teachings of Buddha. Based upon engaging in the eightfold
path, and ideally as a monk or nun.
● Mahayana Buddhism:Later buddhism, posits both there are many
paths to enlightenment, but also that there are those known as
Bodhivista, who forgo the final enlightenment to instead help
enlighten the masses.
○ How was the Mauryan Empire governed?
■ At the center were kings, who were advised by a council of ministers, and
high officials who would over see the state.
■ Further more, the empire was separated into different provinces and
districts, where officials were appointed to see to different matters.
○ How was India impacted by other regions of Afro-Eurasia, and how did it impact
them?
■ India had many interactions with different cultures as they traded or tried
to conquer the sub continent. Selucas, a general of Alexander the great,
failed to conquer india, but made peace with the mauryans,
■ The Kushan kingdom was founded by chinese migrants, and would be
useful in bringing buddhism to china. Kanishka also was careful to help
spread religious openmindedness.
○ Why is the Gupta period sometimes described as a classical age?
■ It is due to, thanks to this being a period of stability, that India managed to
provide many great works of art and scientific advancement.
○ What are the characteristics of early medieval India?
■ Regional Rulers forming after the fall of the gupta empire, patronising
hindu institutions and fostering local traditions. They also formed indian
fuedalism by giving land to officers, brahmin and temples. They adopted
titles to show their devotion to hinduism, and built temples in major urban
centers.
○ Explain the history of the formation of Muslim states in India.
■ This was a process that took centuries, beginning in the 700s when the
sindh was taken and made into an islamic state.
■ Then, in the late 10th century, early 11th, Mahmud of Ghzna would foray
into north west india. Writings from this period would describ him as a
 plunderer, but he was likely doing as kings did, and waged war for wealth
to also prove his mettle as a king to provide stability.
■ Then in the late 12th century, Muhammad of Ghuri defeated a coalition of
indian kings, bringing part of it into his empire.
■ After hsi death, Ayabk, who he left in charge, would take control and form
the delhi sultanate.
● Terms to remember
○ Arthashastra:Treatise on statecraft written by Kautiyla, an advisor of
Chandragupta Mauryan.
○ Aryabhata:An astronomer who figured out earth rotates on an axis, provides a
scientific explanation for eclipses, calculated pie to 3.1416, and helped form a
decimal system.
○ Ashoka (Mauryan Empire):Grandson of Chandragupta Mauryan, created the
famous ashoka’s edicts, was critical in the spread of buddhism.
○ Atman:The true innermost essence of self.
○ Ayurveda:The compilation of indian medical texts, it provides an explanations for
the origins of diseases and ways to cure them.
○ Bay of Bengal:One of several bodies of water that helped foster trade into and
out of india
○ Bhagavad-Gita:Another indian epic, this being a chapter in the mahabharata,
focused on cousins who are fighting over a throne.
○ Bhuddism;Major religion formed in south asia, based upon the four noble truths
○ Brahman:That from which all existence proceeds from and returns to.
○ Brahmanas:handbook for rituals
○ Brahmin:The varna caste that were the priests. Meant to preform religious duties
such as orally transmiting the vedas, and pleasing the gods through sacrifice.
○ Brahmanism:Earliest form of hinduism, being built upon the rig veda, bramanas,
and the upanishads
○ Caste and Varna:
■ Varna:A system that separated the people of the vedics into separate
casts, of which there were four. These castes defined your position in
society and what you will do. It was also hereditary.
■ Caste System:A much stricter version of the above, including thousands
of traditions and rituals.
○ Chandragupta I (Gupta Empire):Founder of the Gupta empire, formed it through
conquest and strategic marriage alliances.
○ Chandragupta Maurya:Founder of the Mauryan empire, disposed the nada
dynasty of the maghdan kingdom.
○ Chola Kingdom:One of the more notable kingdoms in feudal india,
○ Coromandel Coast:One of two coasts where anumber of fishing villages layed.
Next to the bay of bengal, the arabian sea and the indian ocean, giving traders
access to afro-eurasia
○ Deccan Plateau:Massive plateau that formed much of the deccan peninsula, and
helped separate south india from north india
○ Delhi Sultanate:A sultanate that was the first major islamic state to rule over
india.
○ Dharma (Buddhist and Hindu):Universal law
■ Hinduism:Society built upon vedic principles and the caste system
■ Buddism:the truths taught by buddha.
○ Dharma Scriptures:Legal and ethical scriptures that form the basis of modern
hinduism, and posits that for, say a man, they most not only follow their varna,
but also pass through four phases of life, Student, Householder, Hermit, and
Rennucient.
○ Four Noble Truths:Basis of bhuddism
■ Suffering:Life is characterized by suffering in both a physical and
metaphysical sense as everything is unsatisfactory and temporary.
■ Origin:That the origin of suffering is an unquenchable thirst, that we
always need more.
■ Nirvana:The cure to this thirst. It means blowing out, and is the state that
buddhists look to find, to quell their desires and fears,
■ The eight fold path:A set of practices that can lead one to nirvana.
○ Ganges River:One of two major rivers in india that helped the harrapa civilization
thrive
○ Guilds:Professional organizations made up by members of a specific trade.
○ Gupta Empire:A powerful empire that reigned from 300 CE to 600 CE, and is
considered a classical age of India.
○ Harappan/Indus Valley Civilization:Ancient civilization of india, focused around
the indus river and it’s tributaries. Lasted from roughly 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE,
peaking from around 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.
○ Hindu Kush:a lower part of the himalayan mountain range
○ India:Subcontinent that makes up most of south asia, named after the indus river.
○ Indian Feudalism:A form of fuedalism where kings would give land to their
officers, brahmin and temples.
○ Indo-aryans:Migrants who arrived from Afghanistan and settled in south asia.
Were pastoralists
○ Indo-Europeans:Language family that is thought to be the root of nine different
languages
○ Indra:God of the storms and war, king of the vedic gods, very beloved, source of
inspiration to the vedic people.
○ Indus River:The major river that helped the harrapa civilization thrive
○ Indo-Gangetic Plain:Large plain of fertile soil that made up northern india. It is
named after the indus and ganges rivers.
○ Kalidasa:One of the great indian poets and playwrights, who wrote the
recognition of shakunlata
○ Kanishka:One of the kings of Kushan, and known for being a great one who
handled a mixing of cultural influences carefully.
○ Karma:A universal law where good acts will bring a better rebirth and bad acts
will bring a worse one.
○ Kshatriya:King and warrior caste in the varna system. Their purpose was to lead
and fight.
○ Kushan Kingdom:One of the successor states after the fall of the mauryan
empire, formed from a group of migrants from south china.
○ Magadha:One of the most powerful of the kingdoms during the transition from the
vedic age to the mauryan empire age.
○ Mahayana Buddhism:Later buddhism, posits both there are many paths to
enlightenment, but also that there are those known as Bodhivista, who forgo the
final enlightenment to instead help enlighten the masses.
○ Malabar Coast:One of two coasts where fishing villages laid and also gave
access to the indian ocean, the arabian sea and the bay of bengal, opening up
afro-eurasia to traders
○ Mahmud of Ghazna:Islamic king who made early forays into northwestern india,
waging wars there.
○ Mauryan Empire:Influential empire that ruled much of india from 321 BCE to 184
BCE.
○ Mehrgarh:One of the smaller villages in the harrapan civilization, being made
from simple mud brick buildings, and raised sheep and barley wheat.
○ Mohenjo-Daro:Major harrapan city, from which we can see their urban planning,
and gain greater insight into their culture. Noted for multi-story buildings and
○ Pataliputra:Port town located on the ganges, later capital of the Magadha
kingdom
○ Punjab:The religion surrounding the upper indus and it’s many tributary rivers
○ Ramayana:Indian epic focusing on a virtuous hero known as Rama, and his trials
and tribulations.
○ Rig Veda:One of four vedas, this is an over 1000 hymns dedicated to the gods,
and was primarily used for religious purposes to please the ruling classes.
○ Samudragupta:Chandragupta I’s son, who helped bring the empire to it’s peak
through further conquest and advancements, establishing the system of tributary
overlordship.
○ Sanskrit:Language of the indo-aryans
○ Satavahana Kingdom:another successor state of the mauryans, based on the
deccan peninsula. They stuck closer to the varna system, and were founded by
former mauryan officials.
○ Seals (Harappan/Indus Valley Civilization):Various small objects with signs
imprinted on them. Due to the harappan language still being untranslated, we do
not know what they say.
○ Shudras:The menial laborers and lowest in the vedic varna.
○ Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha:The founder of buddhism, a prince who upon
seeing the suffering of the world sought out enlightenment, finding nirvana.
○ Sindh:The religion surrounding the lower indus and it’s many tributary rivers
○ South Asia:A sub continent connected to asia with it’s own original history, being
where several modern countries such as pakistan, india, bangledesh, etc exist.
○ Sri Lanka:A small island that helped further bolster trade, and also was the site of
several kingdoms and religious movements.
○ Theravada Buddhism:Early Buddhism, based more directly upon the teachings of
Buddha. Based upon engaging in the eightfold path, and ideally as a monk or
nun.
○ Transmigration:Us wandering through existence through various cycles of death
and rebirth
○ Tributary Overlordship:A system where conquered kings were still allowed high
positions in society as long as they served the greater empire.
○ Upanishads:One of two major texts of brahmism. This is more a record of
spiritual discussions and insights.
○ Vaishya:The middle class of the varna system, being the commoners who traded
and farmed.
○ Vedic Age:An era of indian history lasting from 1700 BCE to 600 BCE, featuring
the rise of various vedic kingdoms, as well as early forms of hinduism and the
caste system. Began to be formed as the indo-aryans migrated into india.
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