chapter 15 Flashcards
india and the indian ocean basin (105 cards)
1
Q
Who was a shipmaster from Siraf who told many tall tales of his travels, and compiled a book called “Book of Wonders of India”?
A
Buzurg ibn Shahriyar
2
Q
How many stories were in Buzurg ibn Shahriyar’s “Book of Wonders of India”?
A
136
3
Q
What group of nomadic invaders disrupted the Gupta administration beginning in 451 CE?
A
White Huns
4
Q
How old was King Harsha when he came to the throne?
A
16
5
Q
Who was King Harsha’s contemporary (in China)?
A
Emperor Tang Taizong
6
Q
What religion did King Harsha practice?
A
Buddhism
7
Q
Harsha spent much of his reign…?
A
On horseback; travelling throughout his realm to solidify alliances with local rulers
8
Q
How did King Harsha’s empire eventually fall?
A
- Local rulers had established their authority too securely in India’s regions for Harsha to overcome them (he had little authority over them)
- He fell victim to an assassin and left no heir to maintain his realm
9
Q
How did Islam reach northern India by military?
A
Arab forces had entered India a lot earlier, but they conquered Sind and incorporated it into the Umayyad empire, and this region stood on the fringe of the Islamic world.
10
Q
Where was Sind?
A
the Indus River Valley in northwestern India
11
Q
Why did Muslim merchants congregate in the Gujarat region?
A
The port city of Cambay; it was the most important trading center in India throughout the millenium from 500-1500 CE
12
Q
Where did the Muslim Turks enter the Abbasid realm?
A
Migrating into Byzantine Anatolia, others moved into Afghanistan
13
Q
Where did Mahmud of Ghazni build the city of Ghazni?
A
near Kabul in modern-day Afghanistan
14
Q
True or False: Mahmud of Ghazni supported historians, mathematicians, and literary figures at his court
A
TRUE
15
Q
Where did Mahmud of Ghazni annex several states in his raiding expeditions in northern India?
A
Northwestern India and the Punjab
16
Q
True or False: Mahmud of Ghazni was interested in ruling the lands that he raided and plundered.
A
FALSE; he had less interest in conquering and ruling India than in plundering wealth stored in its many well-endowed temples
17
Q
When did Mahmud infamously destroy the great Somnath Hindu Temple of Gujarat?
A
1025
18
Q
What temple did Mahmud of Ghazni infamously destroy in 1025?
A
The Somnath Hindu Temple of Gujarat
19
Q
True or False: Mahmud’s raids encouraged Indians to turn to Islam
A
FALSE
20
Q
Where was the capital of the sultanate of Delhi?
A
Delhi
21
Q
How long did the sultanate of Delhi rule northern India?
A
more than three centuries
22
Q
True or False: the sultans of Delhi were patrons of the arts and literature
A
TRUE
23
Q
Where did the sultanate of Delhi often conduct raids to attempt to expand their authority?
A
In the Deccan region of southern India–they never overcame Hindu resistance
24
Q
Who did the sultanate of Delhi depend on to carry out their policies and advance their interests in local regions?
A
Hindu kings
25
Of the 35 sultans of Delhi, how many perished to the hands of assassins?
19
26
Where did the sultans play a large role in establishing Islam?
The Bengal region
27
What region did the Chola kingdom rule for more than four centuries?
the Coromandel coast
28
What bodies of water did the Chola navy dominate?
From the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea
29
True or False: Chola rulers allowed for considerable autonomy for local and village institutions
TRUE; so long as they maintained order and delivered tax revenues on time
30
True or False: Chola rulers were more interested in building a powerful state than in realizing profits that came from the domination of trade in the Indian Ocean basin
FALSE; its vice versa
31
Who expelled Chola officials from Ceylon?
Native Sinhalese forces
32
Who founded the kingdom of Vijayanagar?
brothers Harihara and Bukka from the sultanate of Delhi
33
What religion did Harihara and Bukka renounce in their efforts to establish rule in southern India?
Islam; they converted back to Hinduism
34
How did the kingdom of Vijayanagar fall?
It fell to an alliance of Muslim kingdoms
35
Where did the Chola kingdom rule predominantly?
Southern India
36
During the spring and summer, which direction do moisture-laden winds bring rainfall?
Moisture-laden winds from the southwest bring most of India's rainfall
37
During the autumn and winter, which direction do cool and dry winds blow?
From the northeast
38
True or False: southern India is humid with conditions to support their agriculture without reliance on rivers and irrigation systems
FALSE: southern India is a arid land without rivers like the Indus or the Ganges that can serve as sources for large-scale irrigation. Irrigation systems were crucial.
39
What was particularly impressive about irrigation systems in southern India?
Monumental reservoirs lined with brick or stone that captured the rains of the spring and summer months and held them until the dry season, when canalas would carry the water into thirsty fields
40
By 1500, what was the population of the Indian subcontinent?
105 million
41
What staple foods were self-sufficient in most regions of the Indian subcontinent?
Rice, wheat, barley, and millet
42
What specialized crops grew well/could be found only in certain regions of India?
Iron, copper, salt, pepper, spices, condiments
43
What coastal towns in southern India flourished with trade as invasions and conflicts disrupted northern India?
Calicut and Quilon
44
What did southern Indians use their growing wealth for?
Constructing elaborate Hindu temples
45
List some services that Hindu temples provided for communities around them.
- organized agricultural activities
- coordinated work on irrigation systems
- maintained reserves of surplus production to use in times of need
- provided basic schooling for boys
- employed brahmins, attendants, musicians, servants, and slaves
- served as bankers and made loans
46
What kind of ship was favored by India, Persian, and Arab sailors?
Dhows
47
What kind of ship from China and southeast Asia in the India Ocean?
Junks
48
True or False: during the age of sail, it was possible to make a round trip across the Indian Ocean without spending months at distant ports waiting for winds to change.
FALSE; merchants usually conducted their trade in stages
49
What merchants exchanged goods at Cambay, Calicut, or Quilon for goods to take back west with the winter monsoon?
Merchants coming from east Africa or Persia
50
What merchants traded their cargoes for goods to ship east with the summer monsoon?
Mariners from China or southeast Asia
51
Why was India a natural site for emporia and warehouses?
It stood in the middle of the Indian Ocean basin
52
In the Bay of Bengal and the China seas, what vessels were most prominent?
Malay and Chinese vessels
53
For centuries, Indian artisans enjoyed a reputation for manufacture of what?
fine cotton textiles
54
What were some other industries that emerged in post classical India?
sugar refining, leather tanning, stone carving, carpet weaving, iron and steel production
55
What were Indian artisans particularly well known for the production of?
High-carbon steel, which held lethal cutting edge, high demand for knives and swords
56
Where was the kingdom of Axum founded?
In the highlands of northern Ethiopia about the first century CE
57
How did the Kingdom of Axum come to power?
- displaced Kush as Egypt's principal link to southern lands
- sent Nubian kingdom into economic and political decline
- invaded Kush and destroyed capital city of Meroe
- adopted Christianity and established distinctive church-maintaining relations with Christian communities in Egypt and Mediterranean basin
58
In their round of territorial expansion, what territories did the kingdom of Axum include?
modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen in southern Arabia
59
From the sixth to ninth century CE, what was the most prominent port in east Africa?
Adulis; funneling gold, ivory, and slaves from sub-saharan Africa to Egypt, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean basin
60
Why was the Kingdom of Axum important?
It was able to maintain its independence and prosperity largely because of its participation in trading networks of the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
61
In the absence of central government the___________helped to maintain order in local communities by providing guidance on individuals' roles in society and their relationships with others.
caste system
62
As________peoples or Muslim merchants pursued opportunities in India, they gained recognition as distinct groups under the umbrella of the caste system.
Turkish
63
What was the word for 'subcastes'?
jati
64
What were merchant/workers' guilds?
Subcastes of workers and merchants organized themselves in powerful guilds to represent their interests. Their wielded economic influence and specialized in particular types of commerce.
65
By the_________th century CE, the caste system had become the principal basis of social organization in southern India.
11
66
In 1196, Muslim forces overran the city of_______and ravaged schools where Xuanzang and other foreign pilgrims studies with the world's leading Buddhist philosophers and theologians.
Nalanda
67
Who was Vishnu? What did Vishnu symbolize?
One of the most important deities of the Hindu pantheon; Vishnu was the preserver of the world, a god who observed the universe from the heavens and who occasionally entered the world in human form to resist evil or communicate his teachings.
68
What did Shiva symbolize/who was Shiva?
Shiva was both a god of fertility and a destructive deity; he brought life but also took it away when its season had passed
69
Hindus embraced new religious cults warmly because they promised_____.
Salvation
70
When did religious cults originate in HIndu society?
When individuals identified Vishnu or Shiva with a local spirit or deity associated with a particular region or a prominent geographic feature.
71
In the tenth century,________ kings took the dancing Shiva as their family god and spread the cult's popularity throughout southern India.
Chola
72
What were the Upanishads?
ancient texts from India that were composed orally in Sanskrit between about 700 B.C.E. and 300 B.C.E.
73
Who was Shankara?
An Indian devotee of Shiva who took it upon himself to digest all sacred Hindu writings and harmonize their sometimes contradictory teachings into a single, consistent system of thought.
74
What did Shankara stand for/emphasize?
Only by disciplined logical reasoning could human beings understand the ultimate reality of Brahman (the impersonal world-soul of the Upanishads)
75
Who was Ramanuja?
A devotee of Vishnu who challenged Shankara's insistence on logic.
76
What did Ramanuja stand for?
His thought reflected the deep influence of devotional cults, believed that intellectual understanding of ultimate reality was less important than personal union with the deity.
- genuine bliss came from salvation and identification of individuals with their gods
77
What text did Ramanuja follow?
The "Bhagavad Gita"
78
Why did Islam not initially not appeal to Indians?
Often arrived in cultural baggage of conquering peoples
- Muslim conquerors generally reserved important political and military positions for their Arab, Persian, and Turkish companions
- conquerors offered little incentive for Indians to convert to Islam
79
Why did some Indians adopt Islam?
In the hopes of improving their positions in society; ex. Hindus of lower castes for example hoped to escape discrimination by converted to a faith that recognized the equality of all believers
80
What was the Bhakti movement?
It was a cult of love and devotion that ultimately sought to erase the distinction between Hinduism and Islam
81
Where did the bhakti movement emerge?
In southern India during the twelfth century--it originally encouraged traditional piety and devotion to Hindu values
82
Who was a blind weaver who was one of the most famous bhakti teachers. He taught that Shiva, Vishnu, and Allah were all manifestations of a single, universal deity.
guru Kabir
83
On the model of India states, southeast Asian adopted________as the principal form of political authority.
Kingship
84
What aspects of Indian society did southeast Asian states not adopt?
- didn't show enthusiasm for caste system
- continued acknowledging deities and nature spirits that they had venerated fro centuries
85
What aspects of Indian society did southeast Asian states adopt?
Ruling elites readily adopted Hinduism and Buddhism because they reinforced the principle of monarchical rule.
86
What was the first state known to have reflected Indian influence?
Funan
87
What regions did Funan dominate?
lower reaches of Mekong River and parts of Vietnam and Cambodia
88
What was the capital city of Funan?
port of Oc Eo
89
How did Funan grow wealthy?
Control over Isthmus of Kra (where merchants transported trade goods between China and India) from which they drew enormous wealth
90
What did Funan use its profits for?
Constructing elaborate system of water storage and irrigation
91
What is the Sanskrit term for "king"?
Raja
92
What language did Funan administrators and bureaucrats conduct business in?
Sanskrit
93
How did Funan collapse?
- bitter power struggle weakened Funan internally
- external attacks from Chams and Kmers dominated region
- intricate irrigation system fell into ruin
94
On what island was the kingdom of Srivijaya based?
Sumatra
95
How did the kingdom of Srivijaya gain its wealth?
Levying taxes on ships passing through the region--maintained an all-sea trade route between China and India that eliminated need for crossing Isthmus of Kra
96
How did the kingdom of Srivijaya fall?
Chola kingdom eclipsed it in the eleventh century
97
What kingdoms dominated affairs in southeast Asia in the decline of the kingdom of Srivijaya?
Kingdoms of Angkor, Singosari, and Majapahit
98
Where was the kingdom of Angkor based?
Cambodia
99
Where was the kingdom of Singosari and Majapahit based?
Island of Java
100
Where was the kingdom of Srivijaya based
Palembang in southern Sumatra
101
Where did the kingdom of Angkor build their capital city
Angkor Thom
102
What were the Khmer kings known for?
Construction of magnificent monuments and elaborate temples
103
When Marco Polo visited the island of Sumatra, what did he notice?
Residents of the towns and cities had converted to Islam, whereas those living in the countryside retained their inherited traditions
104
Who founded the state of Melaka?
Paramesvara, a rebellious prince from Sumatra
105
What was Islam like in southeast Asia?
Islam didn't enter southeast Asia as an exclusive faith, ruling elites still honored other traditions and rarely pushed their subjects to convert to Islam---adopted Islam less as an exclusive and absolute creed than as a faith that facilitated their dealings with foreign Muslims and/or provided additional divine sanction (approval, permission) for their rule
