Brief History
- The first civilization to develop along the Indus River is the Harappan
- Civilization started around 2300 BC and ended around AD 500
- Most of the settlements were beside rivers, and the two largest were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
Geography
- Indian peninsula is a huge mass and well defended
- Today, the area of the Indus Valley civilization stretches across the land of present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan and to protect the civilization, they had natural borders which were mountains and the Arabian Sea
Economy
- They traded with the people in Mesopotamia and Southern India
- They traded for raw materials and products including pottery, stamps, seals, and statues
- Wheat and barley were the most common crops grown but they also grew rye, cotton, and rice
Social Structure
- The Brahmin class included the King and the priests
- The Kshatriya class included the warriors and aristocrats
- The Vaishya class included cultivators, artisans, and merchants
- The Shuudra class included peasants and serfs
Government
- The Aryan political system was different than the Harrapans
- Aryans lived in small communities and no single authority existed
- Each community had a leader, often a skilled warrior and called a raja
- Aryans groups often fought each other, mostly because they didn't get along well with each other
Beliefs/Religion
- The Aryan religion was based on the Vedas
- The Vedas then blended with ideas from other cultures and created Hinduism
- In Hinduism, people believed that souls are born and reborn many times
- Siddhartha Gautama was dissatisfied with the teachings of Hinduism and went on a journey, having discussions with people about wisdom and had followers, which were the first people to believe in Buddhism
Advancements/Achievements
- The Harrapans made India's first writing system
- Harrapans were especially skilled at city planning
- They were also skilled artisans. They made pottery, vessels, jewelry, and ivory objects
Architecture
- The Harrapans built two very similar cities, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
- They had skilled planners and engineers, building these two cities with defense in mind. They built towering fortresses, so defenders could look down at the city
- Harrapans built huge sewer systems to prevent their city from flooding and installed plumbing in many of the buildings