Indian Trade
people in China, West Asia, Africa, and Europe spent most of their time farming
in northern China people farmed mostly wheat and in southern China people farmed mostly rice
there was trade between China and the West
many people shipped silk to the West and imported gold
some traders went south to India and some went along the northern Silk Road through Turkestan and Uzbekistan
all around the world this was a time of unification and they came together by trading with each other and building empires
the great empires formed during the last years before Christ
Silk Road: A road that consists of several different branches that follow a path of oasis towns around the edges of foreboding deserts and harsh mountain ranges, and then reconnect in the city of Kashgar
Silk Road
trade route around Asia, Mediterranean, European area and Africa
Chinese traded silk on the route
India traded fabrics, spices, dyes, ivory
Deities-
Thousands of lesser deities or devas
3 main or great deities, the Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
They stood for the creation, the present, and destruction and recreation respectively
Hinduism is the 3rd largest and oldest religion in the world.
there was no single founder of hinduism
They worship in a temple
most scriptures are written in sanskrit
eight important hindu festivals
Principals-
Hinduism includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescription of daily morality based on karma dharma societal norms
is more about intellectual and philosophical points of view rather than beliefs
formed by diverse traditions and has no single founder
often called the oldest living religion
Scripture-
Shruti(heard): it is believed that ancient Hindus, called Rishis, heard the truths of the universe from the things around them and translated them into words that humans could understand. Made up of Vedas and Upanishads
Smirti(memorized): poetry and epics, explains truths through symbolism and mythology, rules
Brahma-Known as the creator of the world and the Vedas, the Hindu Scripture
Wife is Saraswati, commonly known as the mother of the Vedas
Father of Manu, who all humans are descendants of
Vishnu-Commonly known as narayana
described as having the divine color of water filled clouds
four armed and holding a lotus
he is the god of the present
Shiva-Destroyer or transformer among the Trimurti
is known as the most powerful god in Hinduism
Has 5 important works:Creator, preserver, destroyer, concealer, and revealer
also commonly known as Rudra
often depicted slaying demons
involved deeply in meditation usually
Military Conquests-
Historians consider these conquers of this time the bloodiest chapter of human history
there was a lot of good rulers during this time period
500 BC-the ascetic prince Mahavira founds Jainism in northern India
The Magadha dynasties- three dynasties: Shishunaga, Nanda, and Maurya
Mauryan Armies were made up of four parts, the chariot, elephants, infantry and archers
The Chola dynasty dominated the southern part of India around 500 BC
Himalayan mountains split Indian from the rest of Asia, leaving many of the Indian Kingdoms open for battle for dominance
At the peak of the Mauryan empire, they had 75000 soldiers
most warfare was between the Indian Kingdoms
As military of India advanced, so did many other things such as elephants and bamboo bows
they made advances in weaponry and armor
Alexander the Great planned to take over India so he could get to the "great outer sea" which he believed was on the other side of India
The deserts of India were mainly controlled by highly skilled mounted warriors, called Rajput's
The Shishunaga dynasty were the first to use catapults
The bow was the main and most deadly weapon for Indian Military
Mauryan dynasty have 600000 infantry men
The Mauryan empire was the first to unite all of India
The Mauryan empire was made up of chariots, elephants infantry (largest part of the force) and archer
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