Kelsey Harrelson

Chapter 3 Outline
1.) Buddha Creator of a major Indian and Asian religion; born in 6 th century
B.C.E as son of local ruler among Aryan tribes located near Himalayas;
became an ascetic; found enlightenment could be achieved only by
abandoning desires for all earthly things.
2.) Alexander the Great Successor of Philip II; successfully conquered Persian
empire prior to his death in 323 B.C.E; attempted to combine Greek and
Persian cultures.
3.) Himalayas Mountain region marking the northern border of the Indian
subcontinent; site of the Aryan settlements that formed small kingdoms or
warrior republics.
4.) Monsoon Seasonal winds crossing Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia;
during summer bring rains.
5.) Aryan Indo-European nomadic pastoralists who replaced Harappan
civilization; militarized civilization.
6.) Sanskrit The scared and classical Indian language.
7.) Vedas Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred
books from the 6th century B.C.E.
8.) Mahabharata Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty;
written down in the last centuries B.C.E; previously handed down in oral form.
9.) Ramayana One of the great epic tales from classical India; traces
adventures of King Rama and his wife, Sita; written 4 th to 2nd centuries.
10.)
Upanishads Epic poems with a more mystical religious flavor.
11.)
Varnas Clusters of caste groups in Aryan society; four social castesBrahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, and peasants; beneath four Aryan
castes was group of socially untouchable Dasas.
12.)
Untouchables Low social caste in Hindu culture; performed tasks that
were considered polluting street sweeping, removal of human waste, and
tanning.
13.)
Indra Chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking
warrior.
14.)
Chandragupta Maurya A young soldier that seized power along the
Ganges river.
15.)
Mauryan Dynasty established in Indian subcontinent in 4 th century
B.C.E following invasion by Alexander the Great.
16.)
Ashoka Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; completed conquests of
Indian subcontinent; converted to Buddhism and sponsored spread of new
religion throughout his empire.
17.)
Dharma- The caste position and career determined by a persons birth;
Hindu culture required that one accept ones social position and perform
occupation to the best of ones ability in order to have a better situation in
the next life.
18.)
Kushans -

19.)
Guptas Dynasty that succeeded the Kushans in the 3 rd century C.E;
built empire that extended to all but the southern regions of Indian subcontinent; less centralized than Mauryan Empire.
20.)
Kautilya Political adviser to Chandragupta Maurya; one of the authors
of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare.
21.)
Vishnu The Brahman, later Hindu, god of sacrifice; widely
worshipped.
22.)
Shiva Hindu, god of destruction and reproduction; worshipped as the
personification of cosmic forces of change.
23.)
Gurus Originally referred to as Brahmans who served as teachers for
the princes of the imperial court of the Guptas.
24.)
Reincarnation The successive attachment of the soul to some
animate form according to merits earned in previous lives.
25.)
Kamasutra Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered
instructions on all aspects of life for higher-caste males, including grooming,
hygiene, etiquette, selection of wives, and love making.
26.)
Stupas Stone shrines built to house pieces of bone or hair and
personal possessions said to be relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist
architectural forms.
27.)
Scholar gentry Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the
local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as
governors of China.

1.) Why was Indian civilization influenced by climate and geography?

-Geography influenced Indian civilization because India was frequently open
to nearby influences from places such as the Middle East Indias land includes
mountain ranges as well as agricultural regions. The separate regions created
diversity in regards to economics as well as influencing language differences.
The climate in India is extremely hot (it can rise to 120 F) and also includes
summer monsoons, which becomes a major part in farming and agriculture.
However, the monsoons were never constant from one year to the next,
influencing the civilization to change their lifestyle annually based on the
amount of rainfall.
2.) How did Aryan invasion lay the foundation for Indian civilization?
-The Aryans came into India, taking over everything and shaping it to their
customs. They laid down the foundation by using new customs that the
Indian civilization adapted to and they then became a part of the culture.
Including things to form their society such as, family forms, caste system,
religion, and the ability to write.
3.) How did the 2 major empires unite large parts of India?
-The Mauryan Empire took control of the Ganges River and this is where the
uniting of India began. These rulers unified the continent by maintaining large
armies. They also developed a substantial bureaucracy which is the
government of India. They sponsored a postal service which was a major

contribution to India becoming united as a whole. The Gupta Empire

expanded their influence and created political stability for the whole country.
Overall both empires advanced the economy and cultural life, in turn uniting
India.
4.) Why did local and regional governments dominate in India?
-The local and regional government dominated because the Guptas believed
having a local ruler would ensure loyalty with the people. They placed less
emphasis on government because Indias political culture was not elaborate.
Their religion did not stress the important of politics and instead they focused
on the authority being held by the priests.
5.) How did Hinduism and Buddhism influence arts and sciences?
-Both Hinduism and Buddhism influence art in sculptures and statues, which
are created as shrines to Buddha. The art shows appreciation to nature which
is a key part in both religions. Classical India was formed and influenced
science by supporting the work science, and even mathematics. The
circumference of the Earth was calculated, medical research was done, and
lecture halls were created all by the influence of the religions in the time of
classical India.
6.) How did the caste system structure Indias social framework?
-The caste system became a base for Indias entire culture, and described
many key features for the Indian lifestyle. It assigned people to jobs, which
would obviously impact the social framework considering typically the people
you work with live in the same social class as you in regards to the money
aspect. The rights of women were limited and men were granted an insane
amount of power, shifting the social framework to be controlled by all men.
The caste system influenced daily lives of everyone and impacted the
structure of society as a whole.
7.) How did India develop extensive internal and maritime trade?
-India put a big emphasis on trade in general, and the merchants of trade
would have enjoyed a pretty high status in regards to the caste system.
These merchants traveled far by land and by sea, allowing them to develop
extensive trade alone. They would trade different types of luxuries and obtain
different things from different regions of the world, India being important
because of their resources and developing relationships across the globe.
They would trade their goods as well as active culture to larger places, and
developed a caravan trade with China.
8.) Why was patriarchy so important in family life?
-Patriarchy means that the man holds the power, and is extremely influential
in the family life because it gave all decisions to the father or husband.
However this way of life did not follow the idea that loving relationships
modified family life and that there was supposed to be mutual emotional
support. The patriarchy practice was important because in their eyes it
promoted well-being and the women would stay subordinate.

9.) Explain Indias artistic and cultural influence on other areas of the world?
-The cultural influences were a major impact on other areas of the world,
because Hinduism and Buddhism became persuasive ways of life all around.
These religions would impact the ways of life that people were used to living,
because of the concepts and accepted beliefs that are held to a standard.
Their creativity became a noticeable influence as temple construction began
to follow the Indian style and their ethical thinking helped saved countries
from downfall.
10.)
Compare and contrast China and India with regards to politics, social
systems and cultures?
-China and India can be compared in regards to their civilizations, they both
relied on the peasant class and their merchant activity played a secondary
role. They also both rested their political power with those who owned land
and both countries also enforced a patriarch way of life. However these two
countries also shared differences, a major one being religion. India believed in
a primary religion all around, while China enforced separate religious and
philosophical views that would make the two ways of life different. The
Chinese also had higher expectations of how the emotional interactions
between family members should be The Indians cultural emphasis involved
social rigidly while the Chinese were more focused on otherworldly things.
There were even differences in science, India ventured more toward
mathematics while China wanted to be involved in more discoveries based
around how the world works.