Early Indian History

Indus Valley Civilization

• first civilization on the subcontinent

• Existed from 2500 BC to 1500 BC

• Modern day Pakistan

Why did a civilization develop there?

• Indus River providing water

“Harappans”

• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

  • Systems of irrigation, roads, etc.

• Utilized municipalities

• Metallurgy - the Bronze Age

• Early systems of mass, length, and time

• Canals, docks, first use of the wheel?

The Aryans

• Warlike people from the Caucasus Mountains

• Some think they invaded the Indus Valley Civilization, others think that it was already declining

• Iron weaponry (Middle East)

Vedas - the “oral” religious traditions of the Aryans

• songs, hymns, prayers, rituals

• Polytheism

• Sanskrit - a language/ writing style developed by the Aryans

• Indra and Varuna - Gods mentioned in the Vedas

  • Indra - “she” was a human-like warrior goddess and eventually became the god of water and rain

  • Varuna - “he” was a strict figure and punisher. Underwater world?

This provided the basis for what modern religion?

Hinduism

Other Aryan Contributions

• rajah - a hereditary chief, Rani is the female equivalent

• Varna - early stratification system that eventually became the “caste” system

  • Means “color” in Sanskrit

The Mauryas Empire

• conquered pretty much all of india in 321 BC from the Hindu Kush to the Bay of Bengal. We call this area the “Northern Plains”!

• Their capital was Pataliputra

• Ruled by a family that lasted many generations, AKA a dynasty

• Chandragupta was a great leader of the Mauryas Empire

  • Extremely paranoid

  • Promoted trade, irrigation, roads, etc

Asoka

• Military Emperor of the Mauryan Empire who ruled through violence and malice from 269-233 BC

• Witnessed a battle where 100,000 were killed

• This changed him; he then became peaceful and accepted/ spread Buddhism

• Buddhism might not exist today without Asoka!

The Gupta Empire

• led by Chandragupta I - he was a wannabe! He united the North and traded with China

• Kalidasa - a famous poet of the Gupta Empire

  • “Shakuntala”

• They invented the concept of “0” - zero!

Muslims Invade India

• Muslims came from the Middle East to modern day India

  • Put Muslim leaders in power called Sultans

  • Muslims forced Hindus to pay a tax but they did not have to pay if they converted to Islam

• Firuz Tughlak was one of the first great sultans in India known for his building construction

  • 30 colleges, 100 hospitals, 50 dams, 200 new towns; all done in a 37 year period

The Mughal Empire

• Tamerlane (AKA Timor) was a great Mongol leader that destroyed Delhi in 1938 … and then left to conquer other lands

• His grandson, Babur, formed the Mughal Empire in India in 1526

• Mongol influence is evident everywhere because of their Euro-Asiatic conquests!

• Mughal is the Persian word for Mongol

• Urdu was a language formed by a diffusion of Persian and Hindi

Akbar

• India’s greatest leader, from 1556-1605

• He was a Muslim (Mughal) and married a Hindu princess

• Promoted religious tolerance amongst all the religious groups in India and pursuit of wisdom

The Taj Mahal

• Built by Shah Jahan (“King of the World”) who was the grandson of Akbar

  • Took 22 years to build with over 20,000 workers

  • Mughal ruler blending Muslim and Hindu architecture

• Built it as a tomb for the death of his wife when she passed away having their 15th child

How does Imperialism begin in India?

During the time of Mughal Empire . . .

• they started trading with the French and British . . . It was the age of exploration

• Trade was competitive. The Mughals (Indians) were making lots of money off of trading with the Europeans

• Britain and France wanted to kick each other out of the Subcontinent so they could have full access to its riches

• Britain starts building their own trading posts along the coastline of India

The British East India Company

• formed by Robert Clive

• One of the first joint-stock companies

• They had their own military - sepoys

• Successfully drove the French out of India through economic power and military might

• Because India was ruled by the Mughal empire, at first, European trading in the country was limited

• Because the Mughal empire declined in the 1700s, the BEIC was able to gain control of much of India

• In 1765 Mughal emperor gives Britain the right to collect taxes in India

Important question - what were some of the reasons the British colonized Africa?

• British Imperialism in India - motivated by a need for raw materials and new markets prompted by the Industrial Revolution

• Most valuable crop to British culture: TEA

The Sepoy Rebellion

• Sepoys: Indian troops serving in the British army

• There was a rumor that gun cartridges and bullets were greased with cow and pig fat . . .

• The sepoys took offense to this and rebelled! But the British quickly decimated the rebellion . . .

Britain takes direct control of India after the Sepoy Rebellion

• after the Sepoy Mutiny, in 1858 the British government took direct command of India, form the East India Company - marks the end of the Mughal Empire

• Raj was the term used to describe any part of India under British rule, from 1757 to 1947

• The Governor General - Highest British officer governing India before 1858 - reported to the BEIC Viceroy - highest British officer in India after 1858 - reported to the crown

• 1876 - Queen Victoria declared herself the Emperess of India