Classical+India

Politics in Classical India:

For example, the Gupta dynasty claimed that they had been appointed by the Hindu gods to gain political support, similar to the "Mandate of Heaven" in chinese culture.However, though the Gupta imposed a taxation system, they did not create a central bureaucracy, instead allowing regional rulers whom they had defeated to maintain control so long as they were loyal to the Gupta.The Gupta spread uniform codes of law, and sponsored general services like road building and standardizing the sanskrit language, allowing them to be known as India's "Golden Age". For example, Chandragupta's chief advisor wrote an important treatise on politics devoted to helping leaders stay in power(much like Legalism in China).This manner of thinking encouraged efficiency in authority, but it did not spread political values or belief in the importance of political services.Instead, religion was looked to as a source of authority. This can be explained by the political aspect of the Indian Caste system. Because the church interpreted the caste system, they effectively controlled marriage,jobs, and social interactions.This religious encouragement made detailed political administration largely unnecessary.Because of the strong social divisions enforced by the caste system, no leader could command full loyalty from their subjects as their first loyalty was to other people of their caste.
 * Classical India did not develop the same solid political traditions of chinese civilization, or a high level of political interest as would characterize ancient Greece or Rome.However, the most defining feature of ancient Indian politics were their variety(from autocratic kings to democratic assemblies of noblemen).As a result of India's diverse regionalism, even it's greatest dynasties had very shaky beginnings.
 * However, the fact remains that the political system of India was not very elaborate.There was little formal political theory and few values or institutions that carried over between dynasties.(unlike China)

Economics: MI: Indian economy was very prosperous due to independant trading as well as being the "middleman" of the Silk road trade routes, though it did also produce it's own products for export.

The two major industries were textiles and steel. Artisans were also important due to crafting guilds.Agriculturally based and highly active traders on a large scale(continental).

Social: MI: Indian Social structure was heavily influenced by religion. Being that there was no separation of Church and state,religion took the leading in controlling people's lives. *See religion section for more details.* Due to the high intertwinement between these two subjects it has been suggested that Social be merged with Religion.



India Vs Chinese Politics
 * M.I.=However, the fact remains that the political system of India was not very elaborate.There was little formal political theory and few values or institutions that carried over between dynasties(unlike China).

In India, politics took a backseat to religion and social structure.However, in Han China, the government system was very elaborate and it's importance was stressed.However, both India and China retained the customs of monarchy, with a powerful emperor in control, although in Han China, the monarch's power was stressed due to military influence and and given more precedence over the people. However, in India, the political system's main distinguishing feature was it's variety(from autocratic kings to democratic assemblies of noblemen.China's bureaucratic structure, while based loosely around confucianism and legalist ideals, were often harsh and demonstrated a large level of social control due to their rigid structure.By contrast, India's rigid social structure left little need for heavy intervention via a strong government. Intelligence/Innovation:MI:Ancient India is not typically a civilization that receives a lot of publicity about inventions. However, as with any civilization that last for an extended period of time and flourishes, it has made some notable innovations. For example,while most ancient civilizations had thought thousands of years into the future, the Hindus have scriptures dealing with events spanning billions of years.Another important innovation is the development of a numbering system similar to what we refer to as the binary system. They were also the first to use 0 as a placeholder in numbers such as 809 and 89. While the Babylonians had a concept that was similar to zero, it was merely used as a placeholder and was often just a blank space.Also,As early as the sixth century, Indians talked of eclipses the revolving motion of the earth and the appearance of the Sun going round it, instead of the widely belived theories that the earth was the central body around which the sun orbited.

Religion: MI:Most knowledge about the classical period in India was recorded by the Aryans in books called the "Vedas. These contained epic poems as well as historical records.

In particular, the "Rig-Veda" was the main social influence, and attributed the caste system to the Gods. "When they divided the original man, into how many parts did they divides him?....The Brahman was his mouth, his arms were the warriors, his legs became the Vaisya, and his feet became the Sudra."The Aryans brought to India a religion of many Gods and Goddesses, whom all posessed many human qualities, similar to chinese or greek mythology. However, the Indian mythos posesses a unique interpretation of the natural world, being ruled not only by the gods, but also a basic divine force, as expressed in the "Upanishads".However, from Hinduism evolved Buddhism, which in time came to be dominant with the lower classes due to the teachings Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama and it's promise of salvation for all.

Interactions: MI: India was the entropot of civilizations at this time, while china was more isolated, only trading with the middle east.Both of the countries were influlenced with trading, for example, China's adoption of Buddhism. India had dominance of the world, spreading culture through trade instead of political takeovers. India was the most open to outside influence, and it was considered the middleman of trading, which linked many civilizations at the time. By trading, India helped spread it's culture on a global level. Technology:MI: Classical India was more connected with the world than China, making them able to pull ahead of China in technological advancements in miing and other areas.However, both had the same technology for agriculture. High levels in technology in smelting of iron and steel. They had medical advances such as bone-setting in casts and plastic surgery.They also made inoculations of smallpox, and realized how sterilization can aid medicine.

Chapter Summary on India:India's unique culture was created due to it's geographic location and it's early history, particularly it's invasion by Alexander the Great, the Persian empire, and trade with the middle east, unlike China who avoided this due to isolation.However, Indian civilization was also shaped by a "formative period" called the Vedic and Epic ages, which totally destroyed the original Indus river valley civilization.Aryan ideas and social formation became very influential as the Aryans became more accustomed to agriculture, and emphasized tight village structure.This helped give rise to the Caste system, and allowed Hinduism to be one of the few polytheistic religions which is still widely practiced today.Towards the end of the epic age(4th century BC), the plains of India were divided into 16 major states, when Chandragupta Maurya took power around the Ganges river around the time Alexander the Great invaded the border state of Bactria.He maintained a large army, and created India's first bureaucracy, and while it was highly autocratic it served it's purpose very effectively, allowing Chandragupta to die peacefully at an old age.However,his grandson Ashoka would become even more famous. While extremely bloodthirsty in battle, he ultimately converted to Buddhism, believing it's guiding ethics "Dharma" would help discipline the diverse Indian People.While this worked for a time, after Ashoka, the Mauryan empire fell apart, giving rise to the Kushan and eventually Gupta empires.Overall, the Gupta empire was the most stable, lasting over 200 years, although it's size was greatly diminished in proportion to what the Mauryan kings controlled.

New Vocabulary:


 * Aryans ||  An originally nomadic people who invaded India.As they defeated the orginal Indus/Ganges River-Valley civilizations and became more used to agriculture, their culture had become increasingly influential. They considered the native Indian people inferior, and their villages became increasingly close-knit, giving rise to the Caste system.  ||
 * Ashoka ||  Grandson of Chandragupta (269-232BC) who was originally a provincial governor.He was engaged in the study of nature and heavily influenced by Hinduism as well as Buddhism.He greatly expanded the Mauryan empire, and was known for his bloodthirsty conquest.  ||
 * Gupta ||  The next dynasty of India, which would bring about several centuries of peace. While the Gupta would never produce a single highly influential ruler like the Maurya, they did have greater overall impact.The Gupta mainly expanded their territory though marriage, rather than war, unlike the Maurya.  ||
 * Caste system ||  The Indian Caste system originated from the Aryan religion, as well as their strict social structure, and was originally developed as a  ||
 * Hinduism ||  Also known as the Brahmin religion, Hinduism was originally brought into india by the Aryans. It is a religion of many gods and goddesses who controlled natural forces, but posessed human qualities.  ||
 * Sanskrit ||  The first literary language of the new Aryan cultural influence. As most of what we know about Indian culture and history comes from the Aryans,this was the first form of writing, as previous histories had been passed on orally.  ||
 * Upanishads ||  Epic poems with a mystical religious flavor, which helped Hinduism become more elaborate, incorporating ideas of life after death, reincarnation, and a basic divine force.  ||
 * Dharma ||  Law of Moral consequences. A kind of ethical guide, used by Ashoka to attempt to unite his diverse people under Buddhism.  ||
 * Buddhism ||  A religion started by the Indian Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, who built on the ideology that there were not only gods, but a basic divine force, and that it was desirable to achieve fusion with this force through reincarnation until the point of perfection/enlightenment.  ||
 * Tamils ||  Southern Indians who traded cotton silk, dyes, gold, drugs, and ivory, earning large amounts of money. They brought back pottery, wine, metal, slaves, and gold from Rome and the middle east.They also had heavy trade with southeast asia.  ||
 * Chandragupta Maurya ||  A young soldier who seized power near the Ganges-river area.He was the first of the Mauryan dynasty, who helped unify most of India. He maintained a large army, with a central bureaucracy and postal service.(322 BCE).  ||
 * Gurus ||  Indian mystics who often gathered disciples around them, seeking communion with the divine force. Hinduism had clear tension between the fixed rules of conduct and ceremony, and the more unorthodox religious approach of these holy men.  ||
 * Bhagavad Gita ||  A classic sacred hymn where a warrior is sent to do battle against his own family. Fearful of killing them, he is advised by Brahma that he must fulfill his duties, and that he will not be truly killing the victims as they shall return to the divine force.  ||

Fall of Classical India:

The classicla period of India, beginning with the Aryan invasion, lasted slightly longer than that of China or Rome. Even when the period had ended after the fall of the Gupta Dynasty, a modicum of order still remained in India, based on achievements of the classical period, such as: Religion, art/literature, and social structure.The classical Indian civilization is renowned for being able to still retain influence and survive, under long periods of occupation and invasion.Skanda Gupta(Chandragupta II's Grandson), was able to drive the invaders, the Hephthalites, back**,** into the Sassanian Empire, where they were to defeat the Sassanid army and kill the Sassanid king, Firuz. Skanda Gupta succeeded his father in 455. Then the Hephthalites returned, and he spent much of his reign of twenty-five years combating them, which drained his treasury and weakened his empire. Skanda Gupta died in 467, and after a century and a half the cycle of rise and disintegration of empire turned again to disintegration. Contributing to this was dissention within the royal family. Benefiting from this dissention, governors of provinces and feudal chieftains revolted against Gupta rule. For awhile the Gupta Empire had two centers: at Valabi on the western coast and at Pataliputra toward the east. Seeing weakness, the Hephthalites invaded India again -- in greater number. Just before the year 500, the Hephthalites took control of the Punjab. After 515, they absorbed the Kashmir, and they advanced into the Ganges Valley, the heart of India, raping, burning, massacring, blotting out entire cities and reducing fine buildings to rubble. Provinces and feudal territories declared their independence, and the whole of north India became divided among numerous independent kingdoms. And with this fragmentation India was again torn by numerous small wars between local rulers.([])