Developments in South, Southeast Asia, and the Americas

Developments in South and Southeast Asia

• Perspective of Lal Ded (1320–1392): Known as Mother Lalla and born in Kashmir, northern India. Her poetry illustrates cross-religious interactions:
      * "What the books taught me, I've practised. What they didn't teach me, I've taught myself. I've gone into the forest and wrestled with the lion. I didn't get this far by teaching one thing and doing another."
      * She was a Hindu whose emphasis on personal experience appealed to Muslims, specifically Sufis.
• Religious Interactions: The meeting of Hindus and Muslims shaped thought, politics, economics, art, and architecture. Despite Islamic presence, decentralized Hindu kingdoms remained significant.
• Buddhism Presence: Prominent in Sinhala dynasties (modern Sri Lanka) and major Southeast Asian kingdoms.

Political Structures in South Asia

• Historical Unity: South Asia was only occasionally unified. Following the collapse of the Gupta Dynasty in $550$, which ended the "Golden Age" or "Classical Era," the region remained disunited for most of the next $1,000$ years.
• Cultural Unity: Hinduism provided a cohesive cultural fabric; people respected similar scriptures and core beliefs despite differing local traditions.
• Southern India Political Structures:
      * Chola Dynasty (850–1267): Reigned for over $400$ years. In the $11^{th}$ century, it extended rule to Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka).
      * Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646):
          * The name means "the victorious city."
          * Founded by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, from the Delhi Sultanate.
          * The brothers were born Hindu, converted to Islam for upward mobility, and returned to Hinduism when they left Sultanate control to establish their own kingdom.
          * Existed until the mid-$1500s$ when overthrown by Muslim kingdoms.
• Northern India Political Structures:
      * Rajput Kingdoms: Formed after the Gupta fall in northern India and present-day Pakistan. These were led by competing clans, preventing a centralized government.
      * Vulnerability: Lack of centralization made kingdoms susceptible to Muslim attacks via northwest mountain passes.
      * Islamic Invasions:
          * $8^{th}$ Century: Invaded modern Pakistan; changes were limited due to isolation from the center of Dar al-Islam.
          * $11^{th}$ Century: Forces plundered Hindu and Buddhist shrines and erected mosques on holy sites.
      * Delhi Sultanate (13th–16th Centuries):
          * Conquered Delhi and much of northern South Asia; reigned for $300$ years.
          * Jizya: A tax imposed on all non-Muslim subjects, which caused resentment.
          * Bureaucracy: Never organized an efficient bureaucracy like the Chinese, making policy imposition difficult in diverse lands.
          * Defense: Successfully defended against Mongol onslaughts from the northwest.
          * Transition: Lost power in $1526$ to the Mughals, who traced ancestry to the Mongols.

Religion and Social Structure in South Asia

• Theological Contrasts:
      * Hinduism: Polytheistic, replete with deity imagery, hierarchical caste system, several sacred texts.
      * Islam: Monotheistic, disapproves of visual representations of Allah, emphasizes equality of believers, looks only to the Quran.
• The Arrival of Islam:
      * Initially forceful but later more peaceful through trade and voluntary conversion.
      * Proselytization: Islam is a universalizing religion that actively seeks converts.
      * Conversion Drivers: Muslim merchants marrying local women; low-caste Hindus seeking social mobility (similar to Christianity in the Roman Empire); Disorganized Buddhists (monasteries raided/corrupted).
• Social Realities:
      * Caste Stability: The caste system lent stability to a decentralized land and accommodated newcomers through subcastes based on occupation (functioning like workers' guilds).
      * Lack of Mobility: Most low-caste converts failed to improve their status, as escaping the caste grip required better education and jobs, not just a new faith.
      * Gender: Islam did not drastically alter gender relations in South Asia; both traditions often confined women to separate social spheres. In Southeast Asia, women maintained more independence after conversion.

Cultural Interactions in South Asia

• Intellectual Exchange: Arab astronomers and mathematicians built on Indian knowledge; Indian developments in algebra and geometry were translated into Arabic.
• Numeral System: The "Arabic numerals" system originated in India.
• Architecture:
      * Qutub Minar: A mosque built over a Hindu temple using materials from religious shrines. Features a gigantic leaning tower, the tallest structure in India, symbolizing Islamic influence.
      * Syncretism: Combines Hindu temple tower styles with Islamic domes.
• Language: Urdu developed, melding Hindi grammar with Arabic and Farsi vocabulary. It is now the official language of Pakistan.
• The Bhakti Movement:
      * Started in the $12^{th}$ century in southern India; focused on emotional attachment to a specific deity rather than ritual or text.
      * Nondiscriminatory: Appealed to women and low-caste individuals.
      * Mira Bai: Famous $16^{th}$ century female poet.
      * Mysticism: Similar to Sufi Muslims; emphasizes inner reflection and personal relationship with the divine.

Southeast Asia

• Indian Influence: Contact began as early as $500 ext{ B.C.E.}$ through merchants trading gold, silver, textiles, and spices. Trade introduced Hinduism and Buddhism.
• Sea-Based Kingdoms:
      * Srivijaya Empire (670–1025): Hindu kingdom on Sumatra; prospered by charging fees for ships traveling between India and China.
      * Majapahit Kingdom (1293–1520): Buddhist kingdom on Java with $98$ tributaries; controlled sea routes.
• Land-Based Kingdoms:
      * Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lanka): Founded by north Indian immigrants; became a center of Buddhist study by the $3^{rd} ext{ century B.C.E.}$. Monastic life was popular for men and women. Weakened by Indian invaders and internal conflicts.
      * Khmer Empire / Angkor Kingdom (802–1431):
          * Based near the Mekong River; prospered through complex irrigation/drainage systems allowing rice harvest several times a year.
          * Angkor Thom: Capital with Hindu artwork; later rulers added Buddhist artwork without destroying Hindu pieces.
          * Angkor Wat: Majestic Buddhist temple complex half a mile from Angkor Thom.
          * Invaded by the Sukhothai Kingdom (Thais) in $1431$.
• Islam in Southeast Asia:
      * First converts were local merchants in the $700s$. Most popular in urban centers. Today, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population.
      * Sufi Missionaries: Tolerant of local faiths, allowing people to honor local deities while being Muslim.

Developments in the Americas

• Context: Following the decline of the Olmecs (Mesoamerica) and Chavin (Andes), civilizations like the Maya, Aztec, and Inca arose.
• Nezahualcoyotl Quote: "I love the song of the mockingbird… But more than all I love my brother, man!"
• Mississippian Culture (700s/800s):
      * Located in the Mississippi River Valley. Built massive earthen mounds.
      * Cahokia: Largest mound in southern Illinois, over $100 ext{ feet}$ tall, covering $12 ext{ football fields}$.
      * Society: Rigid class structure: Great Sun (chief) > Priests/Nobles > Farmers/Hunters/Artisans/Merchants > Slaves (prisoners of war).
      * Matrilineal Society: Social standing determined by the woman’s side of the family (title passed to the sister's son).
      * Decline: Cahokia abandoned around $1450$. Theories: weather/flooding causing crop failure or European diseases.
• Chaco and Mesa Verde:
      * Chaco: Built large stone/clay structures with hundreds of rooms in the southwestern United States.
      * Mesa Verde: Built multi-story sandstone brick homes into cliff sides.
      * Declined in the late $13^{th}$ century due to a drier climate.

The Maya City-States

• Peak Period: $250 ext{ to }900 ext{ C.E.}$ Populated by up to $2 million$ people across Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala.
• Governance: City-states ruled by kings. Most were men, but women ruled if no male heir was available. Wars were fought for tribute and captives (human sacrifice) rather than territory.
• Sacred Kingship: Kings claimed divine descent; priests and scribes administered the state.
• Innovation/Technology:
      * Concept of zero in their number system.
      * Complex writing system and rubber plants use.
      * Astronomy: Linked to religion; pyramids like Chichen Itza used as observatories. This enabled calendars more accurate than contemporary Europe.

The Aztecs (Mexicas)

• Formation: Hunter-gatherers from the north who settled in central Mexico in the $1200s$.
• Tenochtitln (Founded 1325): Capital on a swampy lake island. Population: $200,000$. Featured aqueducts and the $150 ext{-foot}$ Great Pyramid.
• Chinampas: Floating gardens on Lake Texcoco for expanded food production.
• Government and Tribute:
      * Tribute System: Included food, cloth, firewood, feathers, beads, and jewelry.
      * Theocracy: Ruler was the "Great Speaker" (divine representative). Social hierarchy: Land-owning nobles > Scribes/Healers > Craftspeople/Traders (Pochteca handled luxury goods) > Peasants/Soldiers > Enslaved people.
• Religion: Pantheon of hundreds of deities (many with male/female aspects). Human sacrifice and blood-letting seen as atonement for gods' original sacrifice.
• Decline: Lack of wheeled vehicles/pack animals made agriculture inefficient. Overexpansion for sacrifice victims led to resentment among tribes, who later joined Spaniards in $1519$.

The Inca Empire

• Establishment: Pachacuti ("transformer") began conquering tribes near Cuzco, Peru, in $1438$. By $1493$, Huayna Capac consolidated territory from Ecuador to Chile.
• Government System:
      * Four provinces with governors and bureaucracy.
      * Mit'a System: Mandatory public service (men $15 ext{ to }50$) for agriculture and road building.
• Religion:
      * Inti: The sun god; most important.
      * Temple of the Sun (Cuzco): Core religious site.
      * Royal Ancestor Veneration: Mummified dead rulers "ruled" and kept property; new rulers had to conquer new land for their own wealth.
      * Animism (Huaca): Belief that stones, mountains, or bridges had supernatural powers.
• Achievements:
      * Quipu: Knotted strings for numerical records and messaging.
      * Waru Waru: Raised garden beds with drainage/irrigation channels.
      * Carpa Nan: Massive roadway system spanning $25,000 ext{ miles}$.
• Decline: Civil war of succession after Huayna Capac died, plus European diseases. Francisco Pizarro conquered the core in $1532$.

Comparison of American Civilizations

Questions & Discussion

• Think as a Historian: Identify Claims: Claims are statements asserted as truth that require evidence. Regarding Al-Beruni’s excerpt:
      1. [Hindus] are "haughty, foolishly vain…"
      2. "The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs…"
      3. "The present generation of Hindus is narrow-minded."
      4. "If you tell them of any science… they will think you to be both an ignoramus and a liar."
  Note: Scholars evaluate if such claims are based on informed opinions or overgeneralizations.
• Think as a Historian: Identify Evidence: Primary sources (e.g., Codex Magliabecchi) are first-hand records. An illustration of an Aztec sacrifice ritual offering a heart to the war god Huitzilopochtli provides evidence of religious centrality and political power display.
• Chapter Essential Question Reflection: Various beliefs (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Animism) were the primary drivers for state structures, social hierarchies (Caste, Matrilineal, Theocracy), and technological innovations (Qutub Minar, Angkor Wat, Quipu) across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.