Under PART 2: The Classical Period 1000 BCE - 500 BCE (Chapters 2-5)
Ch.3 (Classic Civilization: India)
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| 1531504657 | Ramayana | One of two classical Hindu epics written in Sanskrit telling of the banishment of Rama from his kingdom and the abduction of his wife by a demon and Rama's restoration to the throne. | 1 | |
| 1531504658 | Aryans | Indo-European speaking nomads who entered India from the Central Asian steppes between 1500 and 1000 BC after the fall of Harappan Culture, vedas from this time show the subjugation of the the existing inhabitants and institution of the caste system | 2 | |
| 1531504659 | Brahmans | One of the varnas in the Hindu caste system; the priestly class (in charge of the religious ceremonies that were so important in Indian society), also called Vedic Preists, were the dominant force in Indian Society during the Classical Era. | 3 | |
| 1531504660 | varnas | The four social divisions or castses of the Aryan Society that included from top to bottom: 1)priests (Brahmins), 2) rulers or warriors; 3) farmers, craftspeople, traders; 4) workers and servants (Sudras); Castes later fragment into thousands of categories. | 4 | |
| 1531504661 | Buddha | An Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position. After becoming an 'enlightened' ascetic under a bo tree (the meaning of Buddha) he enunciated the principles of Buddhism. |  | 5 |
| 1531504662 | Buddhism | The teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth, provided the most powerful challenge to the brahmans and many of the ancient Vedic beliefs and practices, also helped establish the Mauyran Empire. |  | 6 |
| 1531504663 | Alexander the Great | Successor of Philip II; successfully conquered Persian Empire prior to his death in 323 BCE; attempted to combine Greek and Persian cultures, Spread Hellenistic Culture. |  | 7 |
| 1531504664 | Sanskrit | a sacred Indo-European, Indic language, in use since c1200 b.c. as the religious and classical literary language of India. | 8 | |
| 1531504665 | Veda | (from the Sanskrit word for 'knowledge') any of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism written in early Sanskrit | 9 | |
| 1531504666 | Rig- Veda | A collection of 1,028 Sanskrit hymns composed about 1500 BC or earlier; Hinduism's oldest sacred text. | 10 | |
| 1531504667 | Mahabharata | Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries BCE; previously handed down in oral form. | 11 | |
| 1531504668 | Upanishads | Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority; religion/mysticism, also stressed the very shallowness of wordly concerns | 12 | |
| 1531504669 | Untouchables | the name of the group of people in the caste system that were the outcasts of society; were not considered a part of Indian society or the caste system, also called pariahs | 13 | |
| 1531504670 | Indra | Chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking warrior. Also known as the God of Thunder and strength | 14 | |
| 1531504671 | Caste System | A Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life, a set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society | 15 | |
| 1531504672 | Chandragupta Maurya (340-298 BCE) | King and founder of the Mauryan Empire, he seized power along the Ganges River following Alexander the Great's Incursion. Was the first of the Mauryan Rulers to unify the entire subcontinent, he was highly autocratic. His grandson was Ashoka | 16 | |
| 1531504673 | Ashoka (268-232 BCE) | Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India.He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing. Believed in Dharma. He honored HInduism, but sent Buddhist missionaries around South Asia. After his death the empire began to disintegrate and new invaders ( Kushans) from the Hindu Kush Mountains surfaced. | 17 | |
| 1531504674 | Ashoka's Edicts | A collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty during his reign from 272 to 231 BC. |  | 18 |
| 1531504675 | Dharma | A Hindu/Buddhist concept that was a guide to living in this world and at the same time pursuing spiritual goals. According to dharma a person should accept and live within ones caste. Although the Buddhist notion of dharma is that one should seek to decrease suffering. | 19 | |
| 1531504676 | Kushans | Dynasty that succeeded the Mauryas in northwestern India; sponsors of Buddhism; empire did not extend to Ganges River valley., came into central India from northwest; greatest king: Kanishka, converted to Buddhism but hurt religions population; | 20 | |
| 1531504677 | Gupta Empire 319-535 BCE | The dynasty the succeeded the Kushans in the 3rd century CE in classical era India; built empire that extended to all but the southern regions of Indian subcontinent; less centralized (and smaller) than Mauryan Empire; claimed divine rule; demanding system of taxation; established many universities; developed a postal service. | 21 | |
| 1531504678 | Hinduism | A body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a lack of central founder. developed gradually. | 22 | |
| 1531504679 | Gurus | Brahmans who served as teachers for the princes of the imperial court of the Guptas. |  | 23 |
| 1531504680 | Vishnu | The Brahman, later Hindu, god of sacrifice; widely worshipped, who, in the trinity of gods, is the Preserver. |  | 24 |
| 1531504681 | Shiva | The Brahman, later Hindu, god of destruction and reproduction; worshipped as the personification of cosmic forces of change. |  | 25 |
| 1531504682 | Reincarnation | The Hindu or Buddhist doctrine that person may be reborn successively into one of five classes of living beings (god or human or animal or hungry ghost or denizen of hell) depending on the person's own actions | 26 | |
| 1531504683 | Nirvana | in Buddhist teachings, the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an impersonal beatitude | 27 | |
| 1531504684 | Silk Road | An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire. Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay. | 28 | |
| 1531504685 | Shiva | a famous hindu deity | 29 | |
| 1531504686 | Bhagavad gita | The Bhagavad Gita, The Song of the Bhagavan, often referred to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. | 30 | |
| 1531504687 | enlightenment | to become enligted in budda ways, a movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions | 31 | |
| 1531515490 | Mauryan Empire (324-184 BCE) | The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes. | 32 | |
| 1538861051 | Influences of Indian Classical Civilization | India was frequently open to influences from the Middle East and even the Mediterranean world. Unlike China, India was invaded from the Middle East which forced India to adapt to other civilizations (e.g. Alexander the Great). | 33 | |
| 1538861052 | Indian Geography | Is a subcontinent because of the placement of the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountains (A subcontinent being a large self-contained land mass). Passes in the Hindu Kush allowed periodic invasions. Desert exists in northwest and coastal mountains in the south created separate regions. This results in racial and language diversity in India not seen in China. | 34 | |
| 1538866995 | Indus River | A river in South Asia that flows from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea., the location of the first river valley civilization of India | 35 | |
| 1538866996 | Ganges River | A river of South Asia that flows southeast from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, part of Indo-Gangetic Plain, holy to hindus, creates fertile land | 36 | |
| 1538866997 | Monsoon | A wind system that switches direction seasonally and brings dry and wet seasons, especially the Asiatic monsoon that brings wet and dry seasons to India and southern Asia. The unpredictability of monsoons (years of crop abundance and years of famine) greatly affected the Indian world view. | 37 | |
| 1538873706 | Vedic Age (ca.1500-500 BCE) | (ca.1500-500 BCE) Age in which the Aryans flourished. Named for the Vedas. Period witnessed the Indo-Aryan development of the caste system and the Brahman religion and the writing of great epics that represent the earliest form of Indian literature. Also when civilization moves into the Gangetic Plain. | 38 | |
| 1538873707 | Vedas (6th Century BCE) | Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism. Means "knowledge." | 39 | |
| 1538959468 | Epic Age (1000-500 BCE) | 1000-500 B.C.E. in India. The two important epics of the time were Mahabharata and Ramayana. | 40 | |
| 1538959469 | Aryan Invasion 1500 BCE | Beginning around 1500 BC, waves of Aryan immigrants from Iran invaded northern India, encountering little resistance from the indigenous people of the Indus valley. The Aryan simple nomadic lifestyle evolved as they absorbed many of the customs, beliefs, and cultures of the more sophisticated people they conquered. | 41 | |
| 1538970542 | Jati | A subset of the Indian caste system. Focused on specific occupationally based places in society; most if not all Hindus fell into this system of division. Jati were very exclusive, but they tended to offer a measure of social stability. Members of a jati held distinctive occupations and were tied to their social status by birth. | 42 | |
| 1538997734 | Kanishka (120-162 CE) | Leader of the Kushan Empire in Classical India, 120-162 CE, Created Therarvists and Mahayanists, Considered "Second Ashoka" Warrior before converting to Buddhism Had deep support of Buddhism. Actually hurt Buddhism in India because it was associated with foreign rule | 43 | |
| 1539218315 | Political Cycles of Classical India | Alternated between widespread empires and a network of smaller kingdoms. Regional rule did not necessarily cause instability. Economic and cultural advancements occurred in both periods. | 44 | |
| 1539224955 | Scientific Achievements of Golden Age of Gupta Empire | Invented the concept of zero and negative numbers; University at Nalanda; calculated the length of the solar year; calculated the circumference of earth; predicted and explained eclipses; identified seven planets; inoculation of small pox; importance of sterilization; | 45 | |
| 1539253728 | Artha | Hindu concept for the pursuit of economic well-being and honest prosperity. | 46 | |
| 1539253729 | Karma | "action": the moral law of cause and effect of actions; determines the nature of of one's rebirth | 47 | |
| 1539253730 | Tension in Hinduism | Religion of ceremonies and rules of conduct versus the religion of mystical holy men who seek a direct connection with the divine. | 48 | |
| 1539283926 | brahma | A divine force that is part of everything in the world. | 49 | |
| 1539283927 | yoga | (practices for "yoke" or union with true self) a way, or path, or liberation, to reunite with your real self. Trying to peal away our layers to reach the core of which we really are (Atman). | 50 | |
| 1539325494 | Role of women in Classical India | As with other agricultural societies, women had limited rights to property; girls were often married away to older men whom they did not know. | 51 |
