MARC ANGELO V.

BANTUG III-BSLM

Description of the development of civilization

1) Describe Mohenjo daro & Harappa

-The Indus Valley Civilization (also known as Harappan culture) has its earliest roots in
cultures such as that of Mehrgarh, approximately 6000 BCE. The two greatest cities,
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged circa 2600 BCE along the Indus River valley.

-The civilization, with a writing system, urban centers, and diversified social and
economic system, was rediscovered in the 1920s after excavations at Mohenjo-daro
(which means "mound of the dead") in Sindh near Sukkur, and Harappa, in west Punjab
south of Lahore.

Mohenjo-daro:

-in ancient times was most likely one of the largest of the ancient Indus Valley
Civilization. It was the most developed and advanced city in South Asia, during its peak.
The planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the
Indus valley.

-The Mohendro-daro ruins were one of the major centers of this ancient society. At its
peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of
well over five million.

Harappa:

-The site of the ancient city contains the ruins of a Bronze Age fortified city, which was
part of the Cemetery H culture and the Indus Valley Civilization, centered in Sindh and
the Punjab. The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents—considered
large for its time.

-The ancient city of Harappa was greatly destroyed under the British Raj, when bricks
from the ruins were used as track ballast in the making of the Lahore-Multan Railroad.

-In 2005 a controversial amusement park scheme at the site was abandoned when
builders unearthed many archaeological artifacts during the early stages of construction
work. A plea from the prominent Pakistani archaeologist Ahmed Hasan Dani to the
Ministry of Culture resulted in a restoration of the site
2) Aryan Vedic era

Dateline: Circa 1200 BC-600BC

-The Vedic Age gets its name from the four Vedas or religious-philosophical hymns that
were composed by the Aryan people, in Sanskrit language, when they came to India.

-The Rig Veda is the oldest of the four Vedas and provides a vivid insight into the life of
the early Vedic period. The other three collections of hymns are the Sama Veda, the
Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda, which were written later.

-All the four Vedas, according to the great poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore are "a
poetic testament of a people's collective reaction to the wonders and existence…a people
of vigorous and unsophisticated imagination awakened at the dawn of civilization to a
sense of inexhaustible mystery that is implicit in life." These hymns with their social,
religious and philosophical doctrines, laid the foundation of the Hindu way of thought
and Hindu religion.

History:

-The arrival of the Aryans in India around 1200 BC signalled the beginning of a new
phase in Indian history, The Vedic Age.

-This particular period is significant in Indian history, the society that they set up still
exists in some form or the other in today’s India.

-This is also the first time in Indian history for which we have written records, since the
Indus Valley Civilization script remains undeciphered.

-The Vedas while not necessarily accurate do offer us a clue about the period.

The Aryans are believed to be of Central Asian origin who descended into the plains of
India through the mountain passes of present day Afghanistan.

-The Aryans entered directly, bypassing Western Asia and Iran.

-They first spent a few generations in Afghanistan before finally descending into the
plains.

-This is substantiated by the Vedas, which do not mention West Asia or Iran, but do
mention the names of some of the rivers of Afghanistan.

-With the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization the Aryans became the dominant
civilization of the region.
-However they were less advanced then their predecessors as they had yet to develop
urban living. Their entry may be perceived as a step back in the development of Indian
civilization but they made tremendous contributions in developing religions and
philosophy.

-The philosophy behind Hinduism got a definite shape during this period.

-The Aryan period may not have been the glorious age in a distant past when Gods
mingled with men that it is sometimes thought to be, but the Aryans did make
tremendous contribution in the development of society.

-Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages of India was developed during this period. Many
institutions of Indian life, especially those of the Hindus, trace their origins to this period.

EARLY VEDIC PERIOD

The people of the early phase of the Vedic age were semi-nomadic and subsisted on large
herds of domesticated cattle and farm animals. They moved their settlements from one
pastoral area to another and lived on agrarian and dairy products obtained from cattle. As
the requirements and needs of these communities grew with the gradual rise in
population, they settled down as full-time farmers. They brought large tracts of fertile
land of North India under the plough, driven by oxen.

These communities were generally clan or tribe-based and were governed by a tribal
chief. The office of the tribal chief was not hereditary and he had to perform his duties in
consultation with a group of wise men or the entire tribe. The strength of the Aryan tribes
was derived from the Jana (people) and not the Janapada (land). The tribal chief and the
warriors under him protected the people, while the priest and his juniors catered to the
religious and ritual demands of the clansmen. Religious rituals were performed mainly to
protect crops or cattle and to ensure victory in battle.

The early Vedic religion was based on nature worship. Sun, moon, wind, rain, and other
natural phenomena were worshipped as gods. Prayers were organized and gods were
invoked by chanting of religious hymns and mantras. Animal sacrifice was a common
practice. Ritual sacrifices and prayers were offered to gods for the well being of people
and cattle and to grant more wealth and to be kind to them. Cow was not considered a
sacred animal, but there were frequent struggles between various tribes over the control
of cows.

The early Vedic people did not have rigid differences of caste; the only demarcation was
between the Aryans (white-skinned people) and the non-Aryans or the Dasa (slaves or
dark-skinned people).
THE LATER VEDIC AGE

The later part of the Vedic Age is also termed as the Epic Age (1000 BC-600 BC), when
the two great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Upanishads were written. The
society and polity described in these epics are not mythological; they have deep historical
roots.
-The Ramayana and Mahabharata deal with social, political, and religious aspects of life
and contain within them the broad principles of Hindu religion.
-The Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of the Mahabharata, deals solely with the basic
concepts of Hinduism.
-The Upanishads are socio-philosophical treatises, dealing with the functioning and
governance of society.
-The people in the Later Vedic period began to live in large self-sustained settlements,
which were fortified and protected by warriors.
-The agrarian area controlled by these settlements also grew in size.
-The increase in population led the people in this period to move further down into the
southern part of India, which has been mentioned in Ramayana.
-These people also settled into large tracts of the Ganga-Yamuna plains, after clearing
large forested tracts.
-The later Vedic period is characterized by evolution of hereditary form of kingship,
where the tribal chief's son became the future chief, and so on.
-The power and prestige of the priests also increased, as they were closely associated
with the tribal rulers.
-Idol worship and the cult of sacrifice gained prominence during this time. Hindu
religion, which evolved in this period, was an amalgamation of hymns, rituals, nature
worship, which led to the formation of a large pantheon of gods and goddesses.

3) Caste system (Name the different classes and describe)

The society had four main castes:

Brahmins
- led the society in conducting religious duties and educating people.
- (scholars, teachers and priests)

Kshatriyas
-warriors protecting the clan and those who ruled it
- (Rulers, administrators, and warriors)

Vaishyas
- were petty businessmen and peasants
- (agriculturists and traders)

Shudra
-they performed menial jobs like scavenging, fishing and removing dead bodies.
- (artisans and service providers)
Untouchables
-who are literally "outcastes," without a varna, and were regarded as
"untouchable" because they are ritually polluting for caste Hindus.
-Some Untouchable subcastes are regarded as so polluted that members are
supposed to keep out of sight and do their work at night: They are called
"Unseeables."

4) Maurya empire

-The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive and powerful empire in ancient
India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. Originating from the kingdom
of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the
empire had its capital city at Pataliputra.

-The Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the
Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western
India taking advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal
westward by Alexander the Great's Greek and Persian armies. By 320 BC the empire had
fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by
Alexander.

-It was one of the world's largest empires in its time. At its greatest extent, the empire
stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east
stretching into what is now Assam. To the west, it probably reached beyond modern
Pakistan, annexing Balochistan and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the
modern Herat and Kandahar provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and
southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded a small
portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga, till it was conquered by
Ashoka. Its decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BC
with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.

-Under Chandragupta, the Mauryan Empire conquered the trans-Indus region, which was
under Macedonian rule. Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I, a
Greek general from Alexander's army. Under Chandragupta and his successors, both
internal and external trade, and agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and
expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance,
administration and security. After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced half a
century of peace and security under Ashoka. Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social
harmony, religious transformation, and expansion of the sciences and of knowledge.
Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of Jainism increased social and religious renewal and
reform across his society, while Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism has been said to have
been the foundation of the reign of social and political peace and non-violence across all
of India.
-Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, West
Asia and Mediterranean Europe.

-Chandragupta's minister Chanakya wrote the Arthashastra, one of the greatest treatises
on economics, politics, foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war, and religion
ever produced in India.

-Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra and the Edicts of Ashoka are
the primary sources of written records of the Mauryan times. The Lion Capital of Asoka
at Sarnath, is the national emblem of India.

5) Gupta empire

-was an Ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and
covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty
was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under
leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. This period
is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and
discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic,
mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is
generally known as Hindu culture. Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II
were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty.

The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architectures, sculptures and
paintings. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata,
Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, Vatsyayana and Prashastapada who made great
advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new
heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural
center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions
in Burma, Sri Lanka, Malay Archipelago and Indochina.

The earliest available Puranas are also thought to have been written around this period.
The empire gradually declined because of many factors like the substantial loss of
territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the
invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the
6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. A minor line of the
Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These
Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana king Harsha, who established an empire
in the first half of the 7th century.