THE ARYANS

fair skinned originated somewhere near the Caspian and Black Sea

around 1500 B.C.

warlike people

 People were not unified under a single government shared the same language and traditions, but were

organized into small tribes or groups.

Each tribe was ruled by a chief known as a RAJAH Early Aryans: nomads Late Aryans: farmers

 Aryan world was ruled by men Women were subject to their husbands and were

considered their property.

Boys and Girls were allowed to attend schools and

receive an education.

 raised cattle, sheep, goats, and other animals. farmed crops, and probably traded with other tribes as

well as with their non-Aryan neighbors.

MOST IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF WEALTH:

the number of cattle that an individual owned.

cattle became so important in Aryan society that they

made it illegal to kill or eat them.

 Around 1200 B.C: Aryans developed a written language oral traditions that had been handed down were

recorded in sacred books

 social caste - a rank, or level within a society that tells

other members of the society how important each individual is.

ranks in their society were called VARNAS

Highest Varna were the priests, called Brahmans Brahmans were the only varna that were allowed to both read and also teach from the Vedas

Kshatriyas next most important varna made up of the warriors and rulers of villages. were allowed to study the Vedas, but they were not allowed to teach them to other people.
Vaisyas made up of artisans, merchants and farmers were not allowed study, nor teach from the Vedas.

Sudras servants of the other three varnas were responsible for doing the jobs that no one else wanted.
An individual was born into a varna, socialized only

with other members of their varna, married in their varna, and died a member of their varna. They could not move up or down within that rigid system. Thus, the varna you were born into would determine your lifestyle and what types of jobs would be open to you.

 duties of each varna duties depended both on the varna that an individual

belonged to, as well as on their age

 Indra, the god of war

Agni, the god of fire

Usha, the goddess of the morning

priests performed elaborate ceremonies in an effort to

both please them as well as gain their favor Religion slowly evolved, becoming more complex and rich with tradition and ceremony. Until religion grew to become Hinduism

 Mahabharata

long epic poem that is over 100,000 verses long

tells the story of two families and of their struggle for

power and control over the Aryans

Ramayana smaller epic poem over 24,000 verses. tells the story of a kind and goodly king and his wife

 written from 800 B.C. to 400 B.C.

recorded wisdom of generations of priests as they

search for religious meaning and truth.

 Upanishads taught that all living things possessed

within them are part of a universal spirit believed that because all things possessed a part of this spirit, that all living things were sacred and should not be killed. People practiced a series of mental and physical exercises known as yoga in order to achieve tranquility and bring them closer to the spirit

 believed that when a person died, they would be

reborn again, living many lives, until they perfected themselves Moksha state of perfection

 Siddhartha Gautama

most influential teacher

a Kshatriya prince

Age of 29 : -he began to tour his kingdom

-saw the state of poverty and sickness that many of the people lived in. left his wife and newborn son in search of truth and enlightenment

 developed by Gautama His followers began to call him the Buddha, or

Enlightened One.

 First noble truth:

All people, no matter how rich or poor, suffer pains and afflictions
Second noble truth:

People suffer these afflictions because they keep traveling through the endless cycle of rebirths, or reincarnation. He taught that these rebirths were caused by mankinds desires for different things.

 Third noble truth:

People could end their cycle of rebirths, and thus their suffering by ending their desires for things.
Fourth noble truth:

A person could eliminate their desires by following what he called the Eightfold Path.

 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

practice meditation

 to blow out a candle

a state of non-existence.
was not a place, like heaven, but rather an actual state

of non-existence.

 King : Bimsiara Magadha

Started around 550 B.C.

Bimsiara used armies, politics, and marriage to add

more territory to his kingdom In 321 B.C., a military leader by the name of Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Magadha king and declared himself the ruler of the Kingdom of Magdha.

 Chandragupta Maurya

developed infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and a

post office

 Chandragupta

golden era of Indian history: advances in art and

science were made Hindu became the religion of the state in the Gupta Empire, and leaders encouraged the people to follow the teachings in the sacred writings, especially the Upanishads. Their empire became the center of arts, learning, science and technology, astronomy and math for the region.