Ancient India Flashcards
How did India’s mountains and surrounding water influence its development?
It limited contact between the subcontinent and the world.
What did the people of India depend on the summer monsoon to do?
Provide seasonal rain
How did archaeologists know that Mohenjo-Daro was carefully planned?
The streets separated regular blocks of homes and buildings
When the Aryan and Indian cultures blended, what religion resulted?
Hinduism
According to the Hindu belief of reincarnation, faithful followers of Hinduism will what?
Be born into a higher position
What was the cure for human suffering that Buddha taught?
To give up selfish desires
Why is Asoka considered one of India’s greatest leaders?
He was a kind ruler who thought of his people as children
What two important rivers start in the Himalaya Mountains?
- Indus River
- Ganges River
What is the biggest mountain range in the world?
Himalaya Mountains
What is India?
A subcontinent
What are the two types of monsoons?
Summer and winter monsoons
What is the Hindu Kush?
A mountain range
What are the two main things about the Indus River?
- Crosses Himalayas
- empties into the Arabian Sea
What are the two main things about the Ganges River?
- cuts through the Himalayas
- empties into the Bay of Bengal
What are the two powerful cities in India?
- Mohenjo-Daro
- Harappa
What does nirvana mean?
Everlasting peace
What religion has priests?
Buddhism
What are monks?
Men in monasteries
Monks usually become what?
Missionaries
What do Hindus and Buddhists both believe in?
- wrong to harm living creatures
- nonviolence
- dharma
- rebirth
What are 4 things about Chandragupta?
- founder of Maurya Empire
- his armies overflew many countries
- Arthasatra - book of advice
- had spies
- 9,000 war elephants
- economic success
- farming
- trade w/ Greece, China, Rome
- afraid of being killed
- gave throne to son
- starved himself to death
- his rule brought order and peace
- Chandragupta’s son died
- Asoka took control
What are 4 things about Asoka?
- means without sorrow
- built greatest empire ever seen
- warlike
- lead his army south to Kalinga
- bloody battle
- gave up war and violence
- converted to Buddhism
- gave up hunting
- thought of his people as children
- built hospitals
- trees and wells everywhere
- so that travelers & animals have water
- writings of moral advice
- laws were carved on stone
- Asoka sent missionaries
- at the time of Asoka’s death India was united
What are four things about Mohenjo-Daro?
- city was built above ground level
- like New Babylon
- drainage system
- brick streets
- Indus River - canals next to river that directed the water
- trade
- unknown language
- polytheistic
- local people left
- when MD was in ruins local people from other places named MD after a god - also Harappa
What are three important things about Aryans?
- horse drawn chariots
- Indus and Aryan combined culture
- Aryan conquered Indus valley
- spread to east
- learned to make iron tools and weapons
- knowledge came from Venus
- shepards and warriors
- nomads
What is the Vedus?
Books of Knowledge
What does vedus mean?
Knowledge
What was the Indian social caste?
- Brahmans (priests)
- warriors, nobles
- artisans, merchants
- farmers, laborers, servants
What are the major things about Hinduism?
- people from India and Aryans combined culture = Hinduism
- Brahman
- different people = different ways of approaching gods
- polytheistic
- no certain person who invented Hinduism
What are the three most important Hindu gods and goddesses?
- Brahma the Creator
- Vishnu the Preserver
- Shiva the Destroyer
What was the Upanishads?
Hindu religious text
What is rebirth of the soul?
Reincarnation
Who founded Buddhism?
Siddhartha Gautama
What does Buddha mean?
The awakened one
What was Buddha’s Way?
- suffering exists
- caused by selfish desires
- to stop suffering stop selfish desires
- do this by following the Middle Way
- unselfish to other people
