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Homo Erectus

Homo Sapiens

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Homo sapiens, meaning wise man the species to which all modern human beings belong.

Homo sapiens is one of several

species grouped into the genus Homo, evolved between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. It is the only one that is not extinct.

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Neolithic Age is known as new Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age.

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Homo erectus meaning "upright man is an extinct species of hominine that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene. The species originated in Africa and spread as far as England, Georgia, India, Sri Lanka, China and Java.

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Developed mostly by the side of a river:

Ancient Mesopotemia (Tigris and Euphrateis) Egypt (Nile) Mioan (South of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea) India (Sindh) China ( Hwang-Ho)

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Sumer means "Land

of the Lords of the Sun" ... "Land of the Lords of

Brightness
Sumerian civilization was a great civilization developed and made a lot especially in the field of agriculture and construction (Sumerian) do not know much about the origins.

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Sumerians Scientists had assumed a lot of assumptions in their regard is that a lot of Iraqi researchers today preparing them from tribes who migrated from northern Iraq to the south, they stayed in the south when Estuarine Tigris and Euphrates rivers around the year 3200 BC. There are established cities are the best known independent kingdoms: Or "Ur", and Uruk "Uruk", and Oomma "umma" and others. And separating the

marshes between these cities, but the link between channels.

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The history of this astonishing sub- continent dates back to almost 75000 years ago with the evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens.

Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya Pradesh, India (c. 30,000 years old)

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India has a continuous civilization since time immemorial.

It is traditionally known as BHARATBARSA after the name of king BHARATA. It is a vast and great country with diverse culture and deep routed tradition and heritage.

Hindustan : Literally Land of Indus (river Sindh), is a popular name of Indian Subcontinent.

Like most other ancient civilization (Sumer, Egypt, Babylon and China) of the world Indian civilization also grew on the banks of a few rivers like :

The Sindh

The Ganges and Yamuna

The Krishna and Kaberi

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But the civilizations did not grow together all at a time but at different phases. The first was river Sindh. The Indus valley became the cradle of one of the earliest civilization.

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Civilization developed in the Indus Valley much as it

had in Sumer and Egypt. Foreign invaders had to

face the might of Sindh River great barrier to entire the golden land of BHARATBARSA .

Long after, in 4th BC Alexander crossed the

mountainous borders of western India and marched down into the Indus Valley.

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The Himalayas stood as a natural barrier to protect India against invasions. But, the passes in the northwest mountains such as the Khyber, Bolan etc., provided easy routes between India and Central Asia. From prehistoric times, many people came to India through these passes as invaders and immigrants. The Indo-Aryans, the Indo-Greeks, Parthians, Sakas, Kushanas, Hunas and Turks entered India through these passes.

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1500-800BC Aryan speaking tribes

migrated from northwest into

the subcontinent.

Aryans began to penetrate eastward, clearing forests and establishing tribal settlements along Gangaa and Yamunaa rivers.

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The Aryans in their crowded march found the catchment area of the Ganga and Yamuna to be far more fertile than the valley of the Sindh.

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The discovery of iron deposits in the Gangetic plain also added a strong stimulus to the Aryans to settle in this area. There was gradual decline of the importance of the river Sindh which fostered the development of the Ganga-Yamuna region

Yamuna River at Yamunatri

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The silvery Kaveri flows through the scenic forested

slopes of the Sahyadri and

Nilgiri ranges. The river of wisdom, she is referred to as

the Dakshina Ganga.

Sanctified by the Adi Shankarcharyaya, the greatest

philosopher-seer of India, the

Kaveri is the blessing of South India.

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There are prehistoric sites where many Neolithic sites have been unearthed . The rich and fertile areas of the

Kaveri and its tributaries, has been the source of

continued uninhibited human habitation, over the centuries. The ancient sites excavated on the bank of the Kaveri has established gradual evolution of the peasants into food producing and settled communities

responsible for the growth of civilization.

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The River Krishna, symbolizing

valour, rises in the boulder-strewn, verdant hills of Mahabaleshwar,

and flows through Maharashtra

and Andhra Pradesh, bringing plentitude to her basin, before

meeting the Bay of Bengal in the

east. Krishna, through the eyes of her undulating green waters, has

witnessed many epoch-making

chapters of Indias history.

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The earliest historical reference to this river is as Kannavenna, the southern boundary of the Mauryan Samrat Ashokas vast empire in 236 B.C. with a strategy of peace, non-violence and unparallel valour. The Vijayanagar Empire flourished on her banks in the 13th century and unfolded a golden era of Indias

history.

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The Vindhya and Satpura mountains along with Narmada and the Tapti rivers from the great dividing line between northern and southern India. The plateau to the south of the Vindhya Mountains is known as the Deccan plateau. It acted as a bridge between the north and south India. However, the dense forests in the Vindhya Mountains make this region isolated from the north.

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The history of ancient India is interesting because India proved to be a melting pot of numerous races. The preAryans, the Indo-Aryans, the Greeks,

the Scythians, the Hunas the Turks etc.

made India their home. Each ethnic group contributed its might to the making of Indian culture. All these peoples mixed up so inextricably with one another that at present none of them can be identified in their original form.

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India has emerged a multi religious and multicultural society. However, the underlying unity and integrity and the plural character of Indian society remain the real strength for the development of the country.

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It is an archeological site situated in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the

ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest

major urban settlements (during Bronze Age).

Mohenjo-daro Mound of the Dead

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The Indus Valley Civilization which thrived in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from 3000-1300 BCE (BRONZE AGE) was the first major civilization in India. Inhabitants of this era developed new techniques in metallurgy and had produced copper, bronze, lead and tin in Harappa and Mahenjodaro.

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Gradually Indus Valley civilization led to a stagnant society and fell easy prey to foreign invasion Harappa and Mahenjodaro were overrun by Kassites who

were a barbarian tribal race and ultimately left.

For about 900 years history of India was almost unknown

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1500 800 BC Aryans began to penetrate eastward, clearing forests and establishing tribal settlements along Gangaa and Yamunaa rivers.

The Indus Civilization collapsed under might of the Aryan and what happened during next nine hundred years or so of Indian history is almost unknown.

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The Vedic period is distinguished by the Indo-Aryan culture which was associated with the texts of Vedas, sacred to Hindus, and that were orally composed in Vedic Sanskrit.

Four VEDAS are

Rigveda Yajurveda Sama-Veda Atharva-Veda

Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century

Position of women was very high in Vedic Society

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Varnashrama-dharma duties
performed according to the system of four varnas (social divisions)

and four ashrams (stages in life).

Focus is on responsibilities (which naturally fulfill the rights of others).

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Four varnas brahmanas (priests, teachers, and intellectuals), kshatriyas (police, army, and

administration), vaishyas (farmers, merchants, and

business people), shudras (artisans and workers).

Four ashrams student life, household life, retirement, and renunciation.

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BUDDHISM

Buddhism is a world religion, which arose in and around ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now in Bihar, India), and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who has the Indian Sanskrit name "Siddhrtha Gautama" and the Indian pali name Siddhattha Gotama Buddha (literally the Awakened One. Buddhism spread outside of Magadha starting in the Buddha's lifetime.
Goutam Buddha

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The Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord

Buddha, and particularly to the

attainment of Enlightenment. The first temple was built by The Indian Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BC, and the present temple dates from the 5th century or 6th century AD. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period.

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Jainism is India's sixth-largest religion and is practiced throughout the whole country.

Like most ancient Indian religions,

Jainism has its roots from the Indus Valley Civilization, reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India
MAHVIR JAIN

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Aryabhata or Aryabhata was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy.

Aryabhata has been the first to declare that the moon did not possess any light of its own and derived its light from the Sun and both the Moon as well as the Earth rotates round the sun to complete its axis.

His main contributions which are noted in number of texts

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Ramayana

and

Mahabharata

The Ramayana is one of the great epics of India. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon, considered to be itihsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being the Mahabharata.

The authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa.

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Alexander , King of Macedon,

reached India in 327BC where he

got stiff resistance from King Porus.

He died in 322 BCE and his

annexed empire in India was owned

by his Generals after his death.

Chandraguptas accession to thrown

after defeating the Generals made

the beginning of the great Mourya Empire.

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Chandragupta, a northern Indian prince,

founded the Mauryan Kingdom, which

stretched from the Indus to the Ganges and included what is now Afghanistan.

Chandragupta devised a new system of government which was based on a combination of Egyptian, Greek and Indian ideas.
Silver coin of Seleucus I Nicator, who fought Chandragupta Maurya, and later made an alliance with him.

Setting up his capital at Patna, he created a firm central authority.

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The Maurya Empire was a

geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 322 to 185 BCE. The Empire was founded in 322 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya.

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The Maurya empire reached its peak at the time of emperor Aoka, who himself converted to Buddhism after the Battle of Kaliga. Emperor Aoka the Great (304 BCE232 BCE) was the ruler of the Maurya Empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE.

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100 To 200 AD the most famous king was Kanishka

Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushana dynasty who ruled an empire extending from Turfan in the Tarim Basin to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. His kingdom was known as Gandhara. The Buddhist art spread outward from Gandhra to other parts of Asia. He greatly encouraged Buddhism.

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Cholas rule forms an important part in the history of South India. It saw remarkable progress in almost all spheres of life such as polity, culture and economy. In 9th century, the Cholas gained control and overthrew the Pallavas. They ruled in the south of India from the 9th to 13th Century. The Indian Chola Empire conquered not only south of India but also extended their empire over the seas and ruled parts of the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

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There were many developments in the culture and society during the Chola Empire. The main center for cultural and social gatherings was the temple. The temple was an institution in itself. The temple courtyard functioned as a school where students were taught the ancient Vedas and Holy Scriptures.

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Author of : Meghadtam Kumrasambhava Abhijna shkuntalam Ritusamhara

Shakuntala stops to look back at Dushyanta, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).

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The Kushana dynasty was over thrown by Gupta Empire

In the 4th and 5th centuries India was unified under Gupta Empire The first king was Chandra Gupta I (reigned from 320-336 AD) Theirs were well maintained government with peace and prosperity, which lasted for about two hundreds years. The Gupta rule brought a Hindu renaissance, that is a resurgence not only of the Hindu faith and caste system, but also of learning art and science poetry and play writing flourished.

Samudra Gupta the Great, and Chandra Gupta II the Great were amongst the notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty

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A coin created by Samudragupta I to commemorate the Ashvamedha ritual. The tethered horse is depicted on

the left; the queen, carrying ritual equipment, is on the

right.

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The last Gupta King SkandaGupta resisted Hun attack several

times but Gupta Empire was overrun by the Huns.

After Gupta Empire for a long time India was in a state of complete anarchy for the next three hundred years.

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India was no more than a sub-continent

populated here and there by small communities speaking different dialects and owing loyalties to no central government.

There was a short revival under king

Harshavardhan but when he died his kingdom broke up. In about 700 the first Moslem Arabs invaded.

After Gupta empire India was scattered ands

was without any central rule. After Harshavardhan it was the end of ancient age in India and beginning of medieval age.

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