1. What are the four Regional/Continent wide Empires in South Asia
The four regional/continental wide empires in South Asia were the Mauryan, Gupta, Kushan, and Bactrian Empires.
2. Which leader supported Buddhism? Which empire supported Hinduism?
Ashoka Maurya supported Buddhism. The Gupta Empire supported Hinduism.
3. What major texts were codified during this period?
The Vedas, Mahabharata and Ramayana were the major texts that were codified during this time period.
Key Concepts: Each of these events happened one after the other. It all started with the growth of states and empires, which may have occurred after a successful expansion through war. After the growth of the empire, trade routes were established, which lead to a more advanced level of communication to other neighboring states. With more communication with other civilizations, religious ideas and culture were spread.
1. Identify and explain 1 way outside forces laid the groundwork for the Mauryan Empire?
Around the time of 500 BCE, the Magadha Empire emerged as the most important state in northeastern India. In the following two centuries, the kings of Magadha conquered their neighboring states, gaining control of Indian commerce passing through the Ganges valley. In late 320 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya seized small regions of Magadha and then gradually worked his way toward the center. From there, the Mauryan Empire expanded under Chandragupta and Ashoka’s rule.
2. Why were the older Vedic Practices no longer appealing to the people of South Asia? Explain
The older Vedic Practices were no longer appealing to the people of South Asia because Buddha and the Buddhist monks avoided the use of Sanskrit, the literary language of the Vedas, because they preferred vernacular tongues that reached a much larger popular audience.
3. Explain the two features that lead to the creation of contemporary/popular Hinduism during this time?
Popular Hinduism drew inspiration from the Vedas and Upanishads. Popular Hinduism evolved into a faith that met the needs of the people and addressed their interests.
The epic poems, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavad Gita developed Hindu values. Ramayana is a love and adventure story between Sita and her
Beginning in the 5th century, Buddhism became a very popular form of religion throughout Asia. Because this was such a diverse and widely followed religion, it introduced many different architectural and innovational developments that had influence from Buddhism, but depending on the region, the styles changed. Also, High officials, like Ashoka, whose’ primary influence came from Buddhism, created practices for his people to follow and live by to bring peace to his kingdom. As this religion was gaining popularity throughout Asia, the transformation that it took was very diverse and long term.
Interesting hook. Political systems and religions, two major patterns in the ancient world, are all based off of that society’s philosophy, or the way they thought. The sharing of these philosophies is how societies change, grow, and evolve. The many travels and travelers portrayed in the book When Asia was the World, by Stewart Gordon, give one key
two empires developed from India after the Indus Valley civilization had vanished. The Mauryan empire
As the classical period emerged, religion as well as other cultural influences had been some of the main aspects of much of how history was shaped during this time period. Many religions had sprung up during this time period such as Judaism, which was a monotheistic religion and had developed with the codification of the Hebrew scriptures. This religion reflected the cultures of different regions such as Mesopotamia. The Jewish states were conquered by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Romans during this time period as well. Another religion important to this time period is the Vedic religion Hinduism, which had originated in India. This religion was
Scholars stressed that the role of Indian colonizers brought Hinduism to reflect the ideology that emphasizes on Southeast Asia. Hinduism spread throughout India by certain people and territory (Strayer, 183). Hinduism became part of the Indian civilization for the different people that migrated or invaded into Southeastern Asia (Strayer, 133).
8. Indian influence registered in Southeast Asia by causing political change. Its rulers became more ambitious due to the wealth accrued and tried to construct larger more centrally governed cities and states. Local people were attracted to foreign religious ideas like Confucianism or Buddhism.The inland states of Southeast Asia were more reliant on domestically preduced rice particiaped in international trade and many of them flourished. Trade also spread Indian culture across Southeast Asia. Indian alphabets were used to write numbers and Indian artistic forms provided models for Southeastern sculptures. Southeast Asia also adopted the Indian philosophy of rulers being “good-kings” and having good morals. Rulers
What made Asia one of the most influential, intercontinental, and powerful nations during the ancient world? Was it the spread of new religion? The bustling trade? Or was it the knowledge and communication spread throughout the continent? In the book When Asia was the World, Stewart Gordon analyses journals, primary text, and personal accounts of life in Asia during this time. We see the view of the world through merchants, traders, scholars, philosophers, travelers, and generals, from 500 – 1500 CE. Although this book seems like it is emphasizing the importance of travel in the ancient world, it is actually about how trade spread valuable goods, services, and knowledge that made Asia the center of civilization.
The Gupta Empire wasn’t always there. It never became an empire until after 500 years of invasion and turmoil. That was when a heroic leader arose, Chandra Gupta, and created the Gupta Empire.
Write an essay of 1,000 – 1,250 words that analyzes key beliefs in Hinduism by addressing the following concepts:
Hinduism and Buddhism are among the oldest traditions in the world. Incidentally, both traditions have their roots in India. Since their beginning, both traditions have co-existed peacefully and even spread beyond India in similar patterns. Most people have scattered information about the traditions and make assumptions that they are similar. However, they also have clear distinguishing features. This paper intends to study the similarities and contrasts between the two traditions in various contexts. First, the traditions will be compared and contrasted based on how they began. The development processes of both religions will then be contrasted. The paper will then discuss the similarities and differences between the two religions based on the social and the political roles they played.
What elements of earlier belief systems do you see integrated into Hinduism? What were the external conditions (environmental/societal/political/economic etc.) which gave rise to the origination of Hinduism? What was it about this time period? Location? Population?
In what ways was the Gupta dynasty associated with Hinduism? Why were the southern kingdoms more stable after the collapse of the Gupta, c. 600 CE than they had been before?
Even though the modern perception of Hinduism as a whole was popularized by the West and the Indian elite, the commencement of ideas and practices of the ancient religion can be dated back as early as 2500 BCE ( Mittal and Thursby, 2006, 22), long before the colonial impact of the West on the Orient.
Modern Hinduism has an expansive history that is difficult to summarize. Because the religion built upon itself over the years, it is practically impossible to discuss modern Hinduism without elaborating on how we arrived at this point. Unlike many mainstream religions, Hinduism does not have one founder that can be credited. Instead, historians can only trace the pathway through civilizations that led to the development of this complex religion. From it comes the birth of Buddhism, which shapes culture and how religion is practiced throughout China and Japan. While both religions are entwined with each other, their methods and attitude towards salvation have numerous differences, but still possess a similar overarching theme that salvation can be achieved through the continual struggle to end suffering.
Despite being the fact the hinduism was not a single tradition, it incorporated a lot of “Indian cultural patterns into a recognizable system” (Ways of the world, 197) ,