Trading System Of Harappan Zivilisation

Indus-Tal-Zivilisation Die Indus-Tal-Zivilisation (IVC) war eine Bronzezeit-Zivilisation (3300-1300 v. Chr. Reife Periode 2600-1900 v. Chr.), Die sich von dem heutigen Nordost-Afghanistan bis Pakistan und Nordwestindien erstreckt. Zusammen mit dem alten Ägypten und dem Mesopotamien war es eine von drei frühen Zivilisationen der Alten Welt und von den drei am weitesten verbreiteten Es blühte in den Becken des Indus, einer der großen Flüsse Asiens und des Ghaggar-Hakra, Die einst durch Nordwestindien und Ostpakistan kamen. Auf seinem Höhepunkt hat die Indus-Zivilisation eine Bevölkerung von über fünf Millionen gehabt. Die Bewohner des alten Indus-Flusstals entwickelten neue Techniken im Handwerk (Karneiprodukte, Siegelschnitzerei) und Metallurgie (Kupfer, Bronze, Blei und Zinn). Die Indus-Städte sind bekannt für ihre Stadtplanung, gebackene Ziegelhäuser, aufwendige Entwässerungssysteme, Wasserversorgungssysteme und Cluster von großen Nichtwohngebäuden Die Indus-Tal-Zivilisation ist auch bekannt als die Harappan-Zivilisation, nach Harappa, dem ersten seiner Standorte Um in den 1920er Jahren ausgegraben zu werden, in dem damals die Punjab-Provinz des britischen Indiens, und jetzt ist Pakistan. Die Entdeckung von Harappa, und bald darauf, Mohenjo-Daro, war der Höhepunkt der Arbeit, die 1861 mit der Gründung der archäologischen Erhebung Indiens im britischen Raj begann. Die Eruption der Harappan-Standorte ist seit 1920 im Gange, mit bedeutenden Durchbrüchen Vor kurzem als 1999. Es gab früher und später Kulturen, oft genannt Early Harappan und Late Harappan, in der gleichen Gegend der Harappan Civilization. Die Harappan-Zivilisation wird manchmal die reife Harappan-Kultur genannt, um sie von diesen Kulturen zu unterscheiden. Bis 1999 wurden über 1.056 Städte und Siedlungen gefunden, von denen 96 vor allem in der allgemeinen Region der Indus - und Ghaggar-Hakra-Flüsse und ihrer Nebenflüsse ausgegraben wurden. Unter den Siedlungen waren die großen städtischen Zentren von Harappa, Mohenjo-daro (UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe), Dholavira, Ganeriwala in Cholistan und Rakhigarhi. Die Harappan-Sprache ist nicht direkt bezeugt und ihre Zugehörigkeit ist unsicher, da die Indus-Schrift noch unentschieden ist. Eine Beziehung zur dravidischen oder elamo-dravidischen Sprachfamilie wird von einem Teil der Gelehrten begünstigt. Chronologie Die reife Phase der Harappan-Zivilisation dauerte von c. 2600 bis 1900 v. Chr. Mit der Einbeziehung der Vorgänger - und Nachfolgerkulturen - Early Harappan und Late Harappan - kann das gesamte Indus Valley Civilization vom 33. bis 14. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Gedient haben. Für die Periodisierung des IVC werden zwei Begriffe verwendet: Phasen und Eras. Die frühen Harappan-, reifen Harappan - und Spät-Harappan-Phasen werden auch als Regionalisierungs-, Integrations - und Lokalisierungs-Ära bezeichnet, wobei die Regionalisierungs-Ära bis zur neolithischen Mehrgarh-II-Periode zurückreicht. Entdeckungen bei Mehrgarh veränderten das gesamte Konzept der Indus-Zivilisation, nach Ahmad Hasan Dani, Professor emeritus an der Quaid-e-Azam Universität, Islamabad. Dort haben wir die ganze Sequenz, vom Beginn des abgesetzten Dorflebens. Die Indus-Tal-Zivilisation umfasste die meisten von Pakistan und Teile des nordwestlichen Indiens, Afghanistan und Iran, die sich von Balochistan im Westen bis Uttar Pradesh im Osten, nordöstlichen Afghanistan im Norden und Maharashtra im Süden erstreckten. Die Geographie des Indus-Tals setzte die Zivilisationen, die dort in einer sehr ähnlichen Situation zu Ägypten und Peru entstanden, mit reichen landwirtschaftlichen Ländern, die von Hochland, Wüste und Ozean umgeben sind. Vor kurzem wurden Indus-Aufstellungsorte in Pakistans Nordwestgrenze-Provinz auch entdeckt. Andere IVC-Kolonien finden sich in Afghanistan, während kleinere isolierte Kolonien so weit entfernt wie Turkmenistan und in Gujarat gefunden werden können. Küstensiedlungen erstreckten sich von Sutkagan Dor im westlichen Baluchistan bis hin zu Lothal in Gujarat. Auf dem Oxus River bei Shortughai im Norden Afghanistans, im Gomal-Tal im Nordwesten Pakistans, befindet sich ein Indus-Tal, bei Manda, Jammu am Beas-Fluss bei Jammu, Indien und bei Alamgirpur am Hindon-Fluss, nur 28 km Aus Delhi Indus-Tal-Standorte wurden am häufigsten auf Flüssen gefunden, aber auch auf der alten Seeküste, zum Beispiel Balakot, und auf Inseln, zum Beispiel, Dholavira. Es gibt Hinweise auf trockene Flussbetten, die mit dem Hakra-Kanal in Pakistan und dem saisonalen Ghaggar River in Indien überlappen. Viele Indus Valley (oder Harappan) Standorte wurden entlang der Ghaggar-Hakra Betten entdeckt. Unter ihnen sind: Rupar, Rakhigarhi, Sothi, Kalibangan und Ganwariwala. Nach J. G. Shaffer und D. A. Lichtenstein ist die Harappan-Zivilisation eine Verschmelzung der Bagor-, Hakra - und Koti-Dij-Traditionen oder ethnischen Gruppen im Ghaggar-Hakra-Tal an den Grenzen Indiens und Pakistans. Nach einigen Archäologen wurden mehr als 500 Harappan-Stätten entlang der ausgetrockneten Flussbetten des Ghaggar-Hakra-Flusses und seiner Nebenflüsse entdeckt, im Gegensatz zu nur etwa 100 entlang des Indus und seiner Nebenflüsse folglich der Appellation Indus Ghaggar-Hakra Zivilisation oder Indus-Saraswati Zivilisation ist gerechtfertigt. Diese politisch inspirierten Argumente werden jedoch von anderen Archäologen umstritten, die behaupten, dass das Wüstengebiet von Ghaggar-Hakra seit dem Ende der Indus-Periode von den Siedlungen und der Landwirtschaft unberührt geblieben ist und daher mehr Standorte zeigt, als es im Alluvium des Indus-Tals liegt Dass die Anzahl der Harappan-Stätten entlang der Ghaggar-Hakra-Flussbetten übertrieben worden ist und dass die Ghaggar-Hakra, als sie existierte, ein Nebenfluss des Indus war, so dass die neue Nomenklatur überflüssig ist. Harappan Zivilisation bleibt die richtige, nach dem gemeinsamen archäologischen Gebrauch der Benennung einer Zivilisation nach ihrem ersten Fundort. Entstehung der Zivilisation Die frühe Harappan-Ravi-Phase, benannt nach dem nahe gelegenen Ravi-Fluss, dauerte von ca. 3300 v. Chr. Bis 2800 v. Chr. Es handelt sich um die Hakra-Phase, die im Westen von Ghaggar-Hakra im Westen identifiziert wurde und vor der Kot Diji Phase (2800-2600 v. Chr., Harappan 2), benannt nach einer Stelle im Norden Sindh, Pakistan bei Mohenjo Daro. Die frühesten Beispiele des Indus-Skripts stammen aus etwa 3000 v. Chr. Die reife Phase früherer Dorfkulturen wird von Rehman Dheri und Amri in Pakistan vertreten. Kot Diji (Harappan 2) stellt die Phase vor, die zum reifen Harappan führt, mit der Zitadelle, die die zentrale Autorität und eine zunehmend städtische Lebensqualität darstellt. Eine weitere Stadt dieser Bühne wurde in Kalibangan in Indien am Hakra River gefunden. Handelsnetze verknüpften diese Kultur mit verwandten regionalen Kulturen und entfernten Quellen von Rohstoffen, einschließlich Lapislazuli und anderen Materialien für die Perlenherstellung. Die Dorfbewohner hatten zu diesem Zeitpunkt zahlreiche Kulturen, darunter Erbsen, Sesam, Datteln und Baumwolle, sowie Tiere, einschließlich der Wasserbüffel, domestiziert. Die frühen Harappan-Gemeinschaften wandten sich bis 2600 v. Chr. An große städtische Zentren, von wo aus die reife Harappan-Phase begann. Um 2600 v. Chr. Waren die frühen Harappan-Gemeinschaften in große städtische Zentren verwandelt worden. Solche städtischen Zentren sind Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro im heutigen Pakistan und Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar und Lothal im heutigen Indien. Insgesamt wurden mehr als 1.052 Städte und Siedlungen gefunden, vor allem in der allgemeinen Region der Indus Flüsse und ihrer Nebenflüsse. Eine anspruchsvolle und technologisch fortgeschrittene städtische Kultur zeigt sich in der Zivilisation des Indus-Tals. Die Qualität der kommunalen Stadtplanung schlägt die Kenntnis der Stadtplanung und der effizienten kommunalen Regierungen vor, die der Hygiene eine hohe Priorität einräumen. Die Straßen der Großstädte wie Mohenjo-Daro oder Harappa wurden in einem perfekten Rastermuster ausgelegt, vergleichbar mit dem heutigen New York. Die Häuser waren vor Lärm, Gerüchen und Dieben geschützt. Wie in Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro und dem vor kurzem entdeckten Rakhigarhi zu sehen war, beinhaltete dieser Stadtplan die weltweit ersten städtischen Sanitärsysteme. Innerhalb der Stadt erhielten einzelne Häuser oder Gruppen von Häusern Wasser aus Brunnen. Von einem Raum, der scheint, für das Baden beiseite gelegt zu sein, wurde Abwasser zu bedeckten Abflüssen gerichtet, die die Hauptstraßen auskleideten. Häuser öffnen sich nur zu Innenhöfen und kleineren Gassen. Die alten Indus-Systeme von Abwässern und Entwässerungen, die in den Städten im Indus-Imperium entwickelt und genutzt wurden, waren weitaus fortgeschrittener als irgendwelche in zeitgenössischen städtischen Gebieten im Nahen Osten und noch effizienter als die in einigen Gebieten des modernen Pakistan und Indiens heute. Die fortschrittliche Architektur der Harappans zeigt ihre beeindruckenden Werften, Getreidespeicher, Lagerhallen, Ziegelsteine ​​und Schutzmauern. Die massiven Zitadellen der Indusstädte, die die Harappaner vor Überschwemmungen und Angreifern schützten, waren größer als die meisten mesopotamischen Zigguraten. Der Zweck der Zitadelle bleibt diskutiert. In scharfem Kontrast zu diesen Zivilisationszeitgenossen, Mesopotamien und dem alten Ägypten wurden keine großen monumentalen Strukturen gebaut. Es gibt keine schlüssigen Beweise für Paläste oder Tempel, ja von Königen, Heeren oder Priestern. Manche Strukturen sind als Getreidespeicher gedacht. Gefunden in einer Stadt ist ein riesiges, gut gebautes Bad, das ein öffentliches Bad sein könnte. Obwohl die Citadels ummauert sind, ist es weit davon entfernt, dass diese Strukturen defensiv waren. Sie können gebaut worden sein, um Hochwasser zu umleiten. Die meisten Stadtbewohner scheinen Trader oder Handwerker zu sein, die mit anderen, die denselben Beruf in gut definierten Nachbarschaften verfolgen, lebten. Materialien aus entfernten Regionen wurden in den Städten für den Bau von Dichtungen, Perlen und anderen Objekten verwendet. Unter den Artefakten waren schöne Perlen aus glasiertem Stein namens Faence. Die Siegel haben Bilder von Tieren, Göttern usw. und Inschriften. Einige der Siegel wurden verwendet, um Ton auf Handelsgüter zu stempeln, aber sie hatten wahrscheinlich andere Verwendungen. Obwohl einige Häuser größer waren als andere, waren die Indus-Zivilisationsstädte für ihren offensichtlichen Egalitarismus bemerkenswert. Zum Beispiel hatten alle Häuser Zugang zu Wasser - und Entwässerungsanlagen. Man bekommt den Eindruck einer großen mittelständischen Gesellschaft. Die Ruinen von Harrappa wurden erstmals 1842 von Charles Masson in seiner Erzählung von verschiedenen Reisen in Balochistan, Afghanistan und dem Punjab beschrieben, wo die Einheimischen von einer alten Stadt reden, die dreizehn Moos (etwa 25 Meilen) ausdehnte, aber kein archäologisches Interesse anhielten Das seit fast einem Jahrhundert. Im Jahre 1856 besuchte General Alexander Cunningham, später Generaldirektor der archäologischen Umfrage von Nordindien, Harappa, wo die britischen Ingenieure John und William Brunton die ostindische Eisenbahngesellschaft führten, die die Städte Karachi und Lahore miteinander verbindet. John schrieb: Ich habe mir viel geübt, wie wir Ballast für die Linie der Eisenbahn bekommen sollten. Sie wurden von einer alten ruinierten Stadt in der Nähe der Linien, genannt Brahmanabad erzählt. Als er die Stadt besuchte, fand er ihn mit harten, gut verbrannten Ziegelsteinen, und überzeugt, dass es einen großen Steinbruch für das Ballast gab, das ich wollte, wurde die Stadt Brahmanabad auf Ballast reduziert. Ein paar Monate später, weiter nördlich, lief Johns Bruder William Bruntons Abschnitt der Linie in der Nähe einer anderen ruinierten Stadt, Ziegelsteine, von denen bereits von Dorfbewohnern in dem nahe gelegenen Dorf Harappa an der gleichen Stelle verwendet wurde. Diese Ziegelsteine ​​lieferten nun Schotter auf 93 Meilen (150 km) der Bahnstrecke von Karachi nach Lahore. Im Jahre 187275 veröffentlichte Alexander Cunningham das erste Harappan-Siegel (mit einer falschen Identifizierung als Brahmi-Briefe). Es war ein halbes Jahrhundert später, im Jahre 1912, dass mehr Harappan-Siegel von J. Fleet entdeckt wurden, was eine Ausgrabungskampagne unter Sir John Hubert Marshall 1921-22 veranlasste und die Entdeckung der Zivilisation in Harappa durch Sir John Marshall, Rai, zur Folge hatte Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni und Madho Sarup Vats, und bei Mohenjo-daro von Rakhal Das Banerjee, EJH MacKay und Sir John Marshall. Im Jahre 1931 war viel von Mohenjo-Daro ausgegraben worden, aber die Ausgrabungen wurden fortgesetzt, wie das von Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Direktor der Archäologischen Untersuchung Indiens 1944, geführt wurde. Unter anderen Archäologen, die an IVC-Standorten vor der Teilung des Subkontinents arbeiteten 1947 waren Ahmad Hasan Dani, Brij Basi Lal, Nani Gopal Majumdar und Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Nach der Teilung von Indien wurde der Großteil der archäologischen Funde von Pakistan vererbt, wo der größte Teil des IVC basierte, und Ausgrabungen aus dieser Zeit gehören die von Sir Mortimer Wheeler im Jahre 1949 geführten, archäologischen Berater der Regierung Pakistans. Die Vorposten der Indus-Tal-Zivilisation wurden so weit westlich wie Sutkagan Dor in Baluchistan ausgegraben, so weit nördlich wie bei Shortugai auf dem Amu Darya (die irdischen alten Namen war Oxus) im heutigen Afghanistan, so weit östlich wie bei Alamgirpur, Uttar Pradesh, Indien Und so weit nach Süden wie in Malwan, Surat Dist. Indien. Am 11. Juli trafen schwere Überschwemmungen Haryana in Indien und beschädigten die archäologische Stätte von Jognakhera, wo alte Kupferverhüttungen aus fast 5000 Jahren gefunden wurden. Die Indus-Tal-Zivilisation wurde von fast 10 Fuß Wasser getroffen, da der Sutlej Yamuna-Link-Kanal überlaufen war. Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo Daro - Hügel der Toten - ist eine archäologische Stätte in der Provinz Sindh, Pakistan. Erbaut um 2600 v. Chr. War es eine der größten Siedlungen der alten Indus-Tal-Zivilisation und einer der weltbesten großen städtischen Siedlungen, zeitgleich mit den Zivilisationen des alten Ägypten, Mesopotamien und Kreta. Mohenjo-Daro wurde im 19. Jh. V. Chr. Verlassen und wurde erst 1922 wiederentdeckt. Seither wurde an der Stelle der Stadt, die 1980 zum UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe erklärt wurde, eine bedeutende Ausgrabung stattgefunden Erosion und unsachgemäße Wiederherstellung. Die 4.500-jährige Stadt Mohenjo Daro zerbröckelt Smithsonian - 18. Oktober 2013 Mohenjo Daro war wahrscheinlich zu seiner Zeit die größte Stadt der Welt. Vor etwa 4.500 Jahren lebten und arbeiteten so viele wie 35.000 Menschen in der massiven Stadt, die 250 Hektar am Pakistans Indus-Fluss einnimmt. Mohenjo Daro saß seit Tausenden von Jahren unter dem Boden, eine erhaltene Reliquie der alten Indus-Zivilisation. Aber die Ausgrabung hat die Stadt den Elementen ausgesetzt, und nun, sagt der Telegraph, können die Ruinen so wenig wie 20 Jahre übrig haben. Regierung Archäologische Aufzeichnungen liefern keine unmittelbaren Antworten für ein Zentrum der Macht oder für Darstellungen von Menschen an der Macht in der Harappan Gesellschaft. Aber es gibt Hinweise auf komplexe Entscheidungen, die getroffen und umgesetzt werden. Zum Beispiel die außerordentliche Einheitlichkeit der Harappan Artefakte, wie in Töpferwaren, Dichtungen, Gewichte und Ziegeln deutlich. Dies sind die Haupttheorien: Es gab einen einzigen Staat, angesichts der Ähnlichkeit in Artefakten, der Beweis für geplante Siedlungen, das standardisierte Verhältnis der Ziegelgröße und die Etablierung von Siedlungen in der Nähe von Rohstoffquellen. Es gab keinen einzigen Herrscher, aber mehrere: Mohenjo-Daro hatte einen separaten Herrscher, Harappa einen anderen und so weiter. Harappan-Gesellschaft hatte keine Herrscher, und jeder genoß gleichberechtigt. Wissenschaft und Technik Die Menschen der Indus Civilization haben eine große Genauigkeit bei der Messung von Länge, Masse und Zeit erreicht. Sie gehörten zu den ersten, die ein System von einheitlichen Gewichten und Maßnahmen entwickelten. Ein Vergleich der verfügbaren Objekte zeigt eine große Skala in den Indus-Gebieten an. Ihre kleinste Teilung, die auf einer Elfenbein-Skala in Lothal liegt, war etwa 1.704 mm, die kleinste Division, die jemals auf einer Skala der Bronzezeit aufgezeichnet wurde. Harappan-Ingenieure folgten der dezimalen Teilung der Messung für alle praktischen Zwecke, einschließlich der Messung der Masse, wie durch ihre Hexaedergewichte aufgedeckt. Diese Chertgewichte betrugen im Verhältnis von 5: 2: 1 mit Gewichten von 0,05, 0,1, 0,2, 0,5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 und 500 Einheiten, wobei jede Einheit etwa 28 war Gramm, ähnlich der englischen Kaiserunze oder griechischen Uncia, und kleinere Gegenstände wurden in ähnlichen Verhältnissen mit den Einheiten von 0,871 gewogen. Jedoch, wie in anderen Kulturen, waren die tatsächlichen Gewichte nicht einheitlich im gesamten Gebiet. Die Gewichte und Maße, die später in Kautilyas Arthashastra (4. Jh. V. Chr.) Verwendet wurden, sind die gleichen wie die in Lothal. Harappans entwickelte einige neue Techniken in der Metallurgie und produzierte Kupfer, Bronze, Blei und Zinn. Die Ingenieurfertigkeit der Harappan war bemerkenswert, vor allem in den Baugrößen. Im Jahr 2001 machten Archäologen, die die Überreste von zwei Männern aus Mehrgarh, Pakistan, studierten, die Entdeckung, dass die Leute der Indus-Tal-Zivilisation aus den frühen Harappan-Perioden Kenntnisse der Prototionszählung hatten. Später, im April 2006, wurde in der wissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift Nature angekündigt, dass der älteste (und erste frühe neolithische) Beweis für das Bohren von menschlichen Zähnen in vivo (d. H. Bei einer lebenden Person) in Mehrgarh gefunden wurde. Elf gebohrte Molarkronen von neun Erwachsenen wurden auf einem neolithischen Friedhof in Mehrgarh entdeckt, der von 7.500-9.000 Jahren datiert. Nach den Autoren zeigen ihre Entdeckungen auf eine Tradition der Proto-Zahnheilkunde in den frühen Bauernkulturen dieser Region. In Banawali, das wahrscheinlich für die Prüfung der Reinheit des Goldes verwendet wurde (ein solches Verfahren wird noch in einigen Teilen Indiens verwendet), wurde ein Berührungsstein mit Goldstreifen gefunden. Handel und Verkehr Die Industrie der Indus-Zivilisationen scheint sich erheblich vom Handel zu distanzieren, was durch große Fortschritte in der Verkehrstechnologie erleichtert wurde. Das IVC kann die erste Zivilisation gewesen sein, um den Radverkehr zu benutzen. Diese Fortschritte können Ochsenkarren enthalten haben, die identisch sind mit denen, die überall in Südasien heute gesehen werden, sowie Boote. Die meisten dieser Boote waren vermutlich kleine, flache Bodenfahrzeuge, die vielleicht von Segeln angetrieben wurden, ähnlich denen, die man heute auf dem Indus sehen kann, aber es gibt sekundäre Beweise für Seeschifffahrt. Archäologen haben einen massiven, ausgegrabenen Kanal entdeckt und was sie als Docking-Anlage an der Küstenstadt von Lothal im westindischen Indien (Gujarat-Staat) betrachten. Ein umfangreiches Kanalnetz, das zur Bewässerung genutzt wird, wurde aber auch von H.-P. Francfort Während der 43003200 v. Chr. Der chalolithischen Zeit (Kupferalter) zeigt das Indus-Tal-Zivilisationsgebiet keramische Ähnlichkeiten mit Süd-Turkmenistan und Nord-Iran, die auf eine beträchtliche Mobilität und Handel schließen. Während der frühen Harappan-Periode (ca. 32002600 v. Chr.), Ähnlichkeiten in Töpferwaren, Robben, Figuren, Ornamenten usw. dokumentieren intensiver Karawanenhandel mit Zentralasien und dem iranischen Plateau. Nach der Ausbreitung von Indus-Zivilisationsartefakten, die Handelsnetze, wirtschaftlich integriert ein riesiges Gebiet, einschließlich Teile von Afghanistan, die Küstenregionen von Persien, Nord-und Westindien und Mesopotamien. Es gibt Hinweise darauf, dass sich die Handelskontakte auf Kreta und möglicherweise nach Ägypten erstrecken. Es gab ein umfangreiches maritimes Handelsnetz, das zwischen den Harappan - und Mesopotamischen Zivilisationen bereits in der mittleren Harappan-Phase tätig war, wobei viel Handel von Mittelsmännern aus Dilmun (moderner Bahrain und Failaka im Persischen Golf) abgewickelt wurde. Ein solcher Langstrecken-Seehandel wurde mit der innovativen Entwicklung von Planken-Wasserfahrzeugen, die mit einem einzigen zentralen Mast ausgestattet waren, der ein Segel aus gewebten Sträuchern oder Tuch stützte, möglich. Mehrere Küsten-Siedlungen wie Sotkagen-dor (auf dem Fluss Dasht, nördlich von Jiwani), Sokhta Koh (astride Shadi River, nördlich von Pasni) und Balakot (in der Nähe von Sonmiani) in Pakistan zusammen mit Lothal in Indien zeugen von ihrer Rolle als Harappan Handels-Außenposten . Flache Häfen an den Flussmündungen der Flüsse, die sich in das Meer öffnen, erlaubten einen lebhaften Seeverkehr mit mesopotamischen Städten. Landwirtschaft Die Natur der Indus-Zivilisationen landwirtschaftlichen System ist immer noch eine Frage der Vermutung aufgrund der begrenzten Menge an Informationen überleben im Laufe der Jahrhunderte. Einige Spekulationen sind jedoch möglich. Frühere Studien (vor 1980) gingen oft davon aus, dass die Nahrungsmittelproduktion von einer einzigen sprachlichen Gruppe (Arier) und einem einzigen Gebiet in das Indus-Tal importiert wurde. Aber neuere Studien deuten darauf hin, dass die Nahrungsmittelproduktion im Indus-Tal weitgehend einheimisch war. Schon die Mehrgarh-Leute benutzten domestizierte Weizen und Gerste und die Hauptkultivierte Getreideernte war nackte sechsreihige Gerste, eine Ernte aus zweireihiger Gerste. Der Archäologe Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) schreibt, dass der Standort Mehrgarh zeigt, dass die Nahrungsmittelproduktion ein indigenes südasiatisches Phänomen war und dass die Daten die Interpretation der prähistorischen Urbanisierung und der komplexen sozialen Organisation in Südasien als auf der Grundlage von indigenen, aber nicht isolierten Daten unterstützen , Kulturelle Entwicklungen. Indus Zivilisation Landwirtschaft muss schon sehr produktiv gewesen sein, denn es war in der Lage, Überschüsse zu produzieren, die ausreichen, um Zehntausende von städtischen Bewohnern zu unterstützen, die nicht primär in der Landwirtschaft tätig waren. Es beruhte auf den beträchtlichen technologischen Errungenschaften der vor-harappanischen Kultur, einschließlich des Pfluges. Dennoch ist sehr wenig über die Bauern bekannt, die die Städte oder ihre landwirtschaftlichen Methoden unterstützt haben. Einige von ihnen nutzten zweifellos den fruchtbaren alluvialen Boden, den die Flüsse nach der Hochwassersaison hinterlassen haben, aber diese einfache Methode der Landwirtschaft wird nicht als produktiv genug angesehen, um Städte zu unterstützen. Es gibt keine Beweise für die Bewässerung, aber solche Beweise könnten durch wiederholte, katastrophale Überschwemmungen ausgelöscht worden sein. Die Indus-Zivilisation scheint der hydraulischen Despotismus-Hypothese des Ursprungs der städtischen Zivilisation und des Staates zu widersprechen. Nach dieser Hypothese konnten Städte nicht ohne Bewässerungssysteme entstanden sein, die in der Lage sind, massive landwirtschaftliche Überschüsse zu erzeugen. Um diese Systeme zu bauen, entstand ein despotischer, zentralisierter Staat, der den sozialen Status von Tausenden von Menschen unterdrücken und ihre Arbeit als Sklaven nutzen konnte. Es ist sehr schwierig, diese Hypothese mit dem zu bezeichnen, was über die Indus-Zivilisation bekannt ist. Es gibt keine Beweise für Könige, Sklaven oder gezwungene Mobilisierung der Arbeit. Es wird oft davon ausgegangen, dass die intensive landwirtschaftliche Produktion Dämme und Kanäle erfordert. Diese Annahme wird leicht widerlegt. Während Asiens produzieren Reisbauern erhebliche landwirtschaftliche Überschüsse aus terrassenförmig angelegten, hügeligen Reisfeldern, die nicht aus der Sklaverei resultieren, sondern aus der akkumulierten Arbeit vieler Generationen von Menschen. Anstatt Kanäle zu bauen, können die Indus-Zivilisation Menschen Wasserumleitungsprogramme gebaut haben, die - wie die Terrassenlandwirtschaft - durch Generationen von kleinen Arbeitsinvestitionen ausgearbeitet werden können. Darüber hinaus ist bekannt, dass Indus Zivilisation Menschen regen Niederschlag Ernte, eine starke Technologie, die von der klassischen indischen Zivilisation zum Tragen gebracht wurde, aber fast im 20. Jahrhundert vergessen. Es sollte daran erinnert werden, dass Indus-Zivilisation Menschen, wie alle Völker in Südasien, baute ihr Leben um den Monsun, ein Wetter Muster, in dem die Masse von einem Jahr Niederschlag tritt in einem Vier-Monats-Zeitraum. In einer kürzlich entdeckten Indus-Zivilisationsstadt im westindischen Indien entdeckten Archäologen eine Reihe von massiven Stauseen, die aus festem Gestein gehauen und entworfen wurden, um Niederschläge zu sammeln, die in der Lage gewesen wären, die Bedürfnisse der Stadt während der Trockenzeit zu erfüllen. Einige Studien nach dem Jahr 1980 deuten darauf hin, dass die Nahrungsmittelproduktion im Indus-Tal weitgehend einheimisch war. Es ist bekannt, dass die Leute von Mehrgarh domestizierte Weizen und Gerste benutzten, 53 und die Hauptkultivierte Getreideernte war nackte sechsreihige Gerste, eine Ernte aus zweireihiger Gerste (siehe Shaffer und Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). Der Archäologe Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) schreibt, dass der Standort Mehrgarh zeigt, dass die Nahrungsmittelproduktion ein indigenes südasiatisches Phänomen war und dass die Daten die Interpretation der prähistorischen Urbanisierung und der komplexen sozialen Organisation in Südasien als auf der Grundlage von indigenen, aber nicht isolierten Daten unterstützen , Kulturelle Entwicklungen. Andere, wie z. B. Dorian Fuller, deuten jedoch darauf hin, dass es etwa 2000 Jahre gedauert hat, bevor der Nahöstliche Weizen nach südasiatischen Bedingungen akklimatisiert wurde. Indus-Skript Es ist seit langem behauptet worden, dass das Indus-Tal die Heimat einer literarischen Zivilisation war, aber dies wurde vor kurzem aus sprachlichen und archäologischen Gründen herausgefordert. Über 400 Indus-Symbole wurden auf Dichtungen oder keramischen Töpfen und über ein Dutzend anderer Materialien gefunden, darunter ein Schild, das anscheinend einmal über dem Tor der inneren Zitadelle der Indus-Stadt Dholavira hing. Typische Indus-Inschriften sind nicht mehr als vier oder fünf Zeichen lang, von denen die meisten (abgesehen vom Dholavira-Schild) exquisit winzig am längsten auf einer einzigen Fläche sind, die weniger als 1 Zoll (2,54 cm) Quadrat ist, ist 17 Zeichen lang Das längste auf jedem Objekt (auf drei verschiedenen Gesichtern eines Massenproduktes gefunden) trägt nur 26 Symbole. Es wurde vor kurzem darauf hingewiesen, dass die Kürze der Inschriften in jeder bekannten vormodernen literarischen Gesellschaft unvergleichlich ist, einschließlich jener, die ausgiebig auf Blätter, Rinde, Holz, Tuch, Wachs, Tierhäute und andere verderbliche Materialien schrieben. Basierend auf diesen Beweisen, eine umstrittene jüngste Arbeit von Farmer, Sproat und Witzel (2004), argumentiert, dass das Indus-System nicht die Sprache kodiert, sondern stattdessen auf eine Vielzahl von nicht-linguistischen Zeichen-Systemen, die weitgehend im Nahen Osten verwendet wurden . Es wurde auch gelegentlich behauptet, daß die Symbole ausschließlich für ökonomische Transaktionen verwendet wurden, aber diese Behauptung lässt das Aussehen der Indus-Symbole auf viele rituelle Gegenstände, von denen viele in Schimmelpilzen produziert wurden, unerklärt werden. Keine Parallelen zu diesen Massenprodukten sind in allen anderen frühen Zivilisationen bekannt. Fotos von vielen Tausenden von erhaltenen Inschriften werden im Corpus of Indus Seals and Incriptions (1987, 1991) veröffentlicht, herausgegeben von A. Parpola und seinen Kollegen. Die Veröffentlichung eines endgültigen dritten Bandes, das die in den 20er und 30er Jahren von Hunderten von verlorenen oder gestohlenen Inschriften aufgenommenen Fotos veröffentlichen wird, zusammen mit vielen in den letzten Jahrzehnten entdeckten, ist seit mehreren Jahren bekannt, hat aber noch keinen Weg gefunden In Druck. Jetzt müssen die Forscher die Materialien im Corpus durch das Studium der winzigen Fotos in den Ausgrabungsberichten von Marshall (1931), Mackay (1938, 1943), Wheeler (1947) oder Reproduktionen in neueren zerstreuten Quellen ergänzen. Der Begriff Indus Script bezieht sich auf kurze Zeichenfolgen, die mit der Harappan-Zivilisation des alten Indiens verbunden sind (die meisten Indus-Standorte sind in der heutigen Nordwestindien und Pakistan verteilt), die zwischen 26001900 v. Chr. Verwendet wurden und sich aus einer früheren Form des Indus-Skripts entwickelten Bescheinigt um 3300 v. Chr. Sie sind am häufigsten mit flachen, rechteckigen Steintabletten genannt Dichtungen verbunden, aber sie sind auch auf mindestens ein Dutzend anderer Materialien gefunden. Die erste Veröffentlichung eines Harappan-Siegels datiert bis 1875 in Form einer Zeichnung von Alexander Cunningham. Seitdem wurden weit über 4000 symboltragende Objekte entdeckt, einige so weit wie Mesopotamien. Nach 1900 v. Chr. Endet die Verwendung der Symbole, zusammen mit der letzten Phase der Harappan-Zivilisation. Einige frühe Gelehrte, beginnend mit Cunningham im Jahre 1877, dachten, dass das Drehbuch der Archetyp der Brahmi-Schrift von Ashoka war. Heute werden Cunninghams-Behauptungen von fast allen Forschern abgelehnt, aber eine Minderheit von meist indischen Gelehrten fährt fort, für das Indus-Skript als Vorgänger der Brahmischen Familie zu argumentieren. Es gibt über 400 verschiedene Zeichen, aber viele sind gedacht, um kleine Modifikationen oder Kombinationen von vielleicht 200 grundlegenden Zeichen zu sein. Häuser waren ein oder zwei Geschichten hoch, aus gebackenem Ziegelstein, mit flachen Dächern, und waren nur identisch. Jeder wurde um einen Hof gebaut, mit Fenstern mit Blick auf den Innenhof. Die Außenwände hatten keine Fenster. Jedes Haus hatte sein eigenes privates Trinkwasser und sein eigenes Badezimmer. Lehmrohre führten von den Bädern zu den Abwasserkanälen unter den Straßen. Diese Abwasserkanäle wurden in fast Flüsse und Bäche abgelassen. Harappan-Städte entwickelten sich nicht langsam, was darauf hindeutet, dass jeder, der diese Städte gebaut hat, an einem anderen Ort gelernt hat. Als die Indus überschwemmten, wurden die Städte übereinander umgebaut. Archäologen haben mehrere verschiedene Städte entdeckt, eine über den anderen gebaut, jeder baute ein wenig weniger geschickt. Das Geschickste war unten. Es scheint, dass Bauherren weniger fähig oder weniger an Perfektion im Laufe der Zeit interessiert wuchsen. Dennoch ist jede Stadt ein Wunder, und jeder ist für seine Zeit weit fortgeschritten. Ihre Städte wurden überall in Gittern angelegt (gerade Straßen, gut gebaute Häuser) Diese Leute waren unglaubliche Bauarbeiter. Wissenschaftler haben gefunden, was sie denken, sind riesige Stauseen für Süßwasser. Sie haben auch festgestellt, dass auch das kleinste Haus am Rande jeder Stadt mit jenen Städten zentrale Entwässerungssystem verbunden war. (Ist es möglich, dass sie nicht nur Abwasser abtropfen lassen, sondern auch ein System, um frisches Wasser in ihre Häuser zu pumpen, ähnlich dem modernen Sanitär, Männer und Frauen, die in bunten Roben gekleidet sind, Frauen trug Schmuck aus Gold und Edelstein und sogar Trug Lippenstift Unter den Schätzen, die gefunden wurden, war eine Statue von Frauen, die ein Armband tragen (Armbänder mit ähnlichen Entwürfen sind heute in Indien getragen.) Kleidung war zum größten Teil, ähnlich für Männer und Frauen. Das Grundkostüm der alten Gesellschaft war ein Länge des Tuches um den unteren Teil des Körpers gewickelt, und ein lockeres Kleidungsstück für den Oberkörper, das gewöhnlich eine andere Länge des Stoffes war, ein Kopfschmuck wurde auch vor allem von den Männern getragen, Frauen in der vedischen Gesellschaft trugen eine Vielzahl von Kleidungsstücken (Dhoti), mit einer Bluse (Choli) und Schal, zweitens ist ein Sari, der eine Länge des Stoffes ist, die um den Körper gewickelt ist, mit dem losen Ende (Pallu), das über die Schulter geworfen wird Choli würde mit diesem getragen werden. Das letzte Kleidungsstück wurde vor allem von Stammesfrauen getragen. Die Adivasi ist eine Länge des Stoffes, die um die Taille gebunden ist, ohne Oberbekleidung. Männer hatten auch eine Wahl in ihrer Kleidung aber nicht so vielfältig wie die Frauen. Männer trug gewöhnlich einen Dhoti, der eine Länge des Stoffes um die Taille gewickelt ist. Dies könnte als Rock gelassen werden oder durch die Beine gebracht und in ein Hosen Typ Kleidungsstück gemacht. Männer des Südens trugen selten Hemden, aber Männer des Nordens trugen ein gepasstes Oberkleid. Männlicher Kopfschmuck war auch eine Länge des Gewebes, um den Kopf gewickelt, genannt Turban. Frauen trug manchmal auch den Turban. Aufgrund der großen Fläche von Indien sind viele Unterschiede in der Kleidung entstanden, vor allem wegen der Klimaunterschiede. Die südlichen Indianer trugen viel weniger als im kälteren Norden. Frauen im Süden trug selten ein Oberkleid. Nördliche Frauen nahmen ein gepasstes Oberkleid an, das unter dem losen Anzug getragen werden sollte. Kleidung wurde aus Ressourcen in jeder Region gefunden. Baumwolle und Wolle waren am häufigsten, da Seide nicht aus China eingeführt wurde, bis um das 1. Jahrhundert B. C.E. Die Leute genossen auch aufwendige Stickereien und Verzierungen. Gold ist das bevorzugte, obwohl es auch eine Fülle von Silber und Edelsteinen gab. Entertainment A beautiful small bronze statue of a dancer was found, which tells us that they enjoyed dance and had great skill working with metals. In the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro, scientists have found the remains of a large central pool, with steps leading down at both ends. This could have been a public swimming pool, or perhaps have been used for religious ceremonies. Around this large central pool were smaller rooms, that might have dressing rooms, and smaller pools that might have been private baths. Some of the toys found were small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string. Musical instruments include the Sarangi, Sitar, Tabla, Tambora, and Tanpura. Since Vedic times, Indians had been required to correctly recite, the Vedas. The correctness in recitation was very important as the Vedas were, in those days, transmitted through memory (Smriti) and were learned through hearing (Shruti). This kind of an emphasis on recitation the correct pronunciation lead to studies in phonetics and sound manipulation. This was the birthplace of Indian Musical Raga (metre) and Swaras (rhymes). That Music in ancient India was given considerable recognition is illustrated by the fact that Saraswati, the Indian goddess of learning is shown to be holding a musical instrument (Veena) in her hand. Traditionally, vocal music in India has tended to be devotional music (Bhakti-geet), and temples have been places where musicians used to practice music to please the deity and the devotees. Indian vocal music is broadly divided into two schools - the Hindustani or north Indian school and the Carnatic or South Indian school. As far as instrumental music goes there is a general identity of instruments that have been used. The main Indian musical instruments are the Sarod, the Veena, the Sarangi, the Tambora, the Harmonium, the Ghata, the Tabla, the Tanpura, the Satar, etc. As compared to art and architecture Indian music has had less impact on the outside world. This was so as most of Indian musical instruments require specialized material and craftsmanship for their manufacture. And in the absence of transmission of these skills and the absence of trade in musical instruments, Along with the necessity of long and arduous practice which was required to master these instruments, made the transmission of music a difficult task. However, as far as, devotional vocal music goes, Indian musical traditions did travel to the countries of South east Asia. The instrumental and vocal music of Korea has many elements of Indian music, which it received along with the Buddhist invocative and devotional songs and slokas (religious couplets). Along with Buddhism, some Indian musical instruments like the flute (bansi), temples bell (Ghanta), etc. went to the countries of south-east Asia. Even Europe owes certain instruments to India. Two popular European musical instruments namely the flute and violin are believed to be of Indian origin. Though we do not know about the process of transmission of these instruments, however in India the flute (bansi) and the violin (a variant of the Veena) are definitely indigenously Indian. A pointer to the fact that these instruments have been in usage in India since a very long time is that the bansi is associated with Sri Krishna and the Veena with the goddess Saraswati. This apart, in modern times the western musical instruments like the Tambourin and the Tambour are adaptations of the Indian Tambora and Tanpura. The names Tambourin and Tambour are also derived from the word Tambora. The Saralngi, another Indian musical instrument has also found its place in western music. The acceptance of these musical instruments in the west is also evident from the fact that the words Tambora, Sarangi and Tabla are mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary. Art and Culture Ancient Indias fine art and performing arts attest to this fact. This find expression in music, musical instruments, dancing, paintings and several other art forms. Music had a divine character in India and in recognition of that the Indian Goddess of learning, Saraswati is always shown holding a musical instrument, namely, the veena. Likewise, Krishna is associated with banshi, that is, the flute - a musical instrument, which traveled throughout the world from India. Indian devotional songs and reciting influenced religious recitations in several eastern countries, where the style was adopted by Buddhists monks. The India developed several types of musical instruments and forms of dancing, with delicate body movements and grace. Paintings have remained the oldest art form as found in several cave paintings across the globe. In India also, in places like Bhimbetka, a UNESCO declared world heritage site, pre-historic cave paintings have been discovered. In relatively recent times, paintings and carvings on rock had significantly developed, and many such rock carvings have been found dating to the period of the emperor Ashoka. Indian influences may be seen in paintings at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Sometimes, such paintings depict not only Buddha but Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. Ancient India had marvelous craftsmen, skilled in pottery, weaving, and metal working. Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, steatite have been found at the excavation sites. The pottery that has been found is of very high quality, with unusually beautiful designs. Several small figures of animals, such as monkeys, have been found. These small figures could be objects of art or toys. There are also small statues of what they think are female gods. They found bowls made of bronze and silver, and many beads and ornaments. The metals used to make these things are not found in the Indus Valley. So, either the people who lived in this ancient civilization had to import all of these items from some other place, or more probably, had to import the metals they used to make these beautiful things from somewhere else. A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. Seals have been found at Mohenjo-daro depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of yoga. A horned figure in a meditation pose has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the god Shiva. The very first works of visual art created in the Indian sub-continent were primitive cave or rock paintings. Many are assumed to exist, but the largest number of discoveries are in Central India, on sandstone rock shelters within a hundred mile radius around Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. these paintings are dated at around 5500 B. C. i. e. they are 1500 years old. Some of these paintings have been overlaid with later paintings and graffiti. The paintings generally depict animals, in scenes such as hunting. Human figures are also shown with bows and arrows, and swords and shields. The colors used An intricately carved pillar at Ellora in Maharashtra dating back to the 7th century. are made up of natural minerals and are in various shades of red and orange. These paintings are the forerunners of the frescos of a later age which are seen at Ajanta, Ellora and elsewhere in India. But unfortunately no well preserved art remains, to document the period between the coming of the Aryans i. e. 1500 B. C. to about the time of Buddha i. e. 550 B. C. We are told by the literary sources that the art of painting was practiced. In the Buddhist texts, elaborate palaces of kings and houses of the wealthy are described as being embellished with wall paintings. But actual evidence about this art is lost. How this art could have been, can be guessed from the paintings on stone surfaces found at Ajanta and Ellora which are said to have been done in around 400 A. D. These paintings at Ajanta and Ellora depict Buddhist tales from the Jatakas. Though the paintings are today 1500 years old, the paint has not only retained its color but also much of its luster. The technique of painting has been thus described by a student of Indian Art. The surface of the stone was first prepared by a coating of potters clay, mixed variously with cow dung, straw, and animal hair. Once this was leveled to a thickness of half an inch to two inches, it was coated with a smooth fine white lime plaster which became the actual painting surface. On the still-damp wall, the artist first laid out his composition with a red cinnabar line and then defined the subjects with an undercoat of grey or terre verte. This was followed by the addition of local colors, and once the whole wall was completely colored, a brown or black line restated the drawing to finish the composition. A last burnishing with a smooth stone gave it a rich lustrous surface. The colors which were natural and water soluble, consisted of purple, browns, yellow, blue, white, green, reds and black. Thus it is evident that the technique of painting had developed to an advanced level This monumental bull was carved in marble in the 3rd century B. C. It stood on a column built by Emperor Ashoka, which was inscribed with Buddhist edicts. of sophistication due which the paintings could survive for 1500 years. Though the colors used are supposed to have been derived from minerals and vegetables they had been treated to last long. The above description also illustrates how, complicated procedures of preparing the surface to be painted had evolved in India. This technique of painting had also spread to central Asia and South-east Asia. Some strains of Indian painting can even be identified in western church paintings and mosaics. Indian influence is clearly evident in the paintings at Bamiyan in Afghanistan and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Not only do these paintings depict the Buddha but also Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. The mention of the word dance conjures up images of Nataraja - Lord of Dance - as the Indian God Shiva is portrayed. Apart from Shiva even Ganesha and Srikrishna are associated with dance and music. India has many classical dance styles. The oldest text dealing with aesthetics covering various art forms including dance is the Natyashastra which is authored by Bharatamuni. All the Indian classical dance styles viz. Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathakali, Manipuri, etc. are derived from the Natyashastra. Some of these dance styles have evolved from folk dances and are intimately connected with the art of story telling. Most of these stories are drawn from our epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, tales from collections like the Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, Katha Sarit Sagara, etc. also from the subject matter of these dance styles. In fact the Kathak and Kathakali from U. P. and Kerala respectively, derive their names from the term Katha which in Sanskrit means a story. As the story is told in the form of dance, these dance styles can actually be called dance-dramas, the only difference is the absence of dialogues. The Charkul dance-drama of Central India revolves around a story generally from the Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Similar traditions of dance-dramas are prevalent in other parts of India too. In Maharashtra, you have the Dashavatara, in Karnataka you have the Yakshagana The Kathak dance of North India and the kthaali dance of Kerala also originated as dance dramas and derive their names from the Sanskrit work Katha which means a story. The story has to be told solely through actions and hence an elaborate pattern of facial expressions (Mudra), movement of hands (Hasta) and the simulation of various moods like anger (Krodha), envy (Matsara), greed (Lobha), lust (Kama), ego (Mada), etc. have been evolved. The mastery of perfect expression of these feelings by subtle movement of the lips and eyes forms the root of all the classical Indian dance styles. In fact the combination of the three qualities viz. expression, rhyme and rhythm i. e. Bhava, Raga, and Tala go into the determination of the term Bha-Ra-Ta, which is used as the name of one dance style viz. Bharata Natyam. The integration of Indian classical dance with the physical exercises of Yoga and the breath control of Pranayam has perfected the dance styles. Yoga especially had given the dance styles an excellent footwork which is called Padanyasa and Padalalitya. Another feature of these dance styles is that they are integrated with theology and worship. Traditionally these dances were patronized by the temples. During festivals and other religious occasions, these dances were performed in the temple premises to propitiate the deity. Thus the dance came to combine both art and worship. Even today every recital of any Indian classical dance begins with an invocation to Nataraja or Nateshwara the god of dance. In Indian folklore and legend, the God of Dance is himself shown to be dancing in a form called the Tandava. This has also been depicted in the statues and carvings in temples like, Khajuraho and Konark in Northern India, and at Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, etc. in the South. Indian dances have also evolved styles based on the Tandava like the Urdhra Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, etc. Indian classical dance found its way outside India, especially to the countries of Southeast Asia. The dance styles of Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, etc. have so heavily borrowed from the Indian classical dance traditions that to a casual observer there would seem to be hardly any difference between the two. While Western dance has not directly borrowed anything from Indian classical dance, it has borrowed from Indian folk dance through the medium of the Gypsies. The Gypsies as has been established today, migrated from India to the west many centuries ago. The Gypsies speak a language called Romany which has many common words with Indian languages. The religion of the Gypsies is a modified form of early Hinduism. The Gypsies seem to have been the Banjar nomads who are still found in India. Being a very carefree nomadic community the Gypsies earned their living by giving performance of folk dances, along with the pursuing of other nomadic activities. Gypsy dance has influenced western dance styles like the Waltz and the foxtrot. Even the American Break dance and other dances associated with jazz music have borrowed elements from the gypsy folk dance. The Gypsy folk dance, is itself a free flowing and care free dance, a modified version of which is found in the folk dances of many Adivasi and nomadic tribal communities in India. The origin of the Indian theatre or rather folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to religious ritualism of the Vedic Aryans. This folk theatre of the misty past was mixed with dance, ritualism, plus a depiction of events from daily life. It was the last element which made it the origin of the classical theatre of later times. Many historians, notably D. D. Kosambi, Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Adya Rangacharaya, etc. have referred to the prevalence of ritualism amongst Aryan tribes in which some members of the tribe acted as if they were wild animals and some others were the hunters. Those who acted as animals like goats, buffaloes, reindeer, monkeys, etc. were chased by those playing the role of hunters and a mock hunt was enacted. In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India nearly 4000 years back in the tribal Aryans of Rig Vedic times. There also must have existed a theatrical tradition in the Indus valley cities, but of this we have no literary numismatic or any other material proof. The origin of drama and the theatre has been told to us in an aptly dramatic manner by Bharatamui, the author of Natyashastra an ancient Indian text on dance and drama. Bharatamuni is said to have lived around the 4th century but even he is not aware of the actual origin of the theatre in India. He has cleverly stated in a dramatic manner that it was the lord of creation Brahma who also created the original Natyashastra (Drama). According to Bharatamuni, since the lord Brahma created the entire universe we need not question his ability in creating dramas. But Bharatamuni goes on to tell us that the original Natyashastra of Brahma was too unwieldy and obscure to be of any practical use. Hence, Bharatamuni, himself took up the task of making Natyashastra simple, intelligible and interesting. Thus the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni was supported to be understood by lay people. So the Natyashastra of Bharatamunii is not the oldest text on dance and drama, as Bharata himself says that he has only simplified the original work of lord Brahma. The Natyashastra assumes the existence of many plays before it was composed, and says that most of the early plays did not follow the rules set down in the Natyashastra. But the Natyashastra itself seems to be the first attempt to develop the technique or rather art, of drama in a systematic manner. The Natya Shastra a tells us not only what is to be portrayed in a drama, but how the portrayal is to be done. Drama, as Bharatamuni says, is the imitation of men and their doings (loka-vritti). As men and their doings have to be respected on the stage, so drama in Sanskrit is also known by the term roopaka which means portrayal. According to the Natyashastra all the modes of expression employed by an individual viz. speech, gestures, movements and intonation must be used. The representation of these expressions can have different modes (vritti) according to the predominance and emphasis on one mode or another. Bharatamuni recognizes four main modes viz. Speech and Poetry (Bharati Vritti), Dance and Music (Kaishiki Vritti), Action (Arabhatti Vritti) and Emotions (Sattvatti Vritti). Bharatamuni also specifies where and how a play is to be performed. In ancient India plays were generally performed either in temple-yard or within palace precincts. During public performances, plays were generally performed in the open. For such public performances, Bharatamuni has advocated the construction of a mandapa. According to the Natyashastra in the construction of a mandapa, pillars must be set up in four corners. With the help of these pillars a platform is built of wooden planks. The area of the mandapa is divided into two parts. The front part, which is the back stage is called the r angashrishu. Behind the ranga-shirsha is what was called the nepathya-griha, where the characters dress up before entering the stage. Bharatamuni has also specified that every play should have a Sutradhara which literally means holder of a string. The Sutradhara was like the producer-director of today. Every play had to begin with an innovation of God. This invocation was called the poorvaranga. Even today, plays in Indian languages begin with a devotional song called Naandi. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata can be called the first recognized plays that originated in India. These epics also provided the inspiration to the earliest Indian dramatists and they do even today. One of the earliest Indian dramatists was Bhasa whose plays have been inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Bhasas date cannot be definitely ascertained, but that he lived before Kalidasa is proved by the latters reference to Bhasa as one of the early leading playwrights. As Kalidasa lived in the 4th century, Bhasa should have lived in the early centuries of our era. Bhasa was a natural dramatist who drew heavily from the epics, but Kalidasa can be called an original playwright. Kalidasa has written many plays, some of which are AbhijananShakuntalam, Kumarsambhavam, Meghadutam and Malavikagnimitram. Kalidasa was the court playwright at the Gupta court. He lived at Ujjaini, the capital of the Guptas and was for some days the Gupta ambassador at the court of the Vakatakas at Amaravati where he wrote the play Meghadutam. The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti. He is said to have written the following three plays viz. Malati-Madhava, Mahaviracharita and Uttar Ramacharita. Among these three, the last two cover between them the entire epic, Ramayana. Bhavabhuti lived around the 7th century A. D. when Sanskrit drama was on its decline, mainly due to the lack of royal patronage. The last royal patron of Sanskrit drama seems to be king Harshavardhana of the 7th century. Harshavardhana is himself credited with having written three plays viz. Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. But nevertheless despite lack of patronage two more leading playwrights came after Bhavabhuti, they were Shudraka whose main play was the Mricchakatikam, and the second dramatist was Rajashekhara whose play was titled Karpuramanjari. But the decline of Sanskrit theatre is evident from the fact that while Mricchakatikam was in Sanskrit, the Karpuramanjari was in Prakrit which was a colloquial form of Sanskrit. Rajashekhara has himself said that he chose to write in Prakrit as the language was soft while Sanskrit was harsh. Sanskrit plays continued to be written up to the 17th century in distant pockets of the country, mainly in the Vijayanagara empire of the South. But they had passed their prime, the later Sanskrit dramas are mostly imitations of Kalidasa or Bhavabhuti. As in the case of the other fine arts, the Indian theatre has left its mark on the countries of South-east Asia. In Thailand, especially it has been a tradition from the middle ages to stage plays based on plots drawn from Indian epics. This had been so even in Cambodia where, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Similar, bas reliefs are found at Borobudur in Indonesia. Thus, the Indian theatre has been one of the vehicles of enriching the culture of our neighboring countries since ancient times. Epic Poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written on the Indian sub-continent. Written in Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi, it includes some of the oldest epic poetry ever created and some works form the basis of Hindu scripture. The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, occasionally termed Mahakavya (Great Compositions), refer to epic poems that form a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse was and remained until very recently the preferred form of Hindu literary works. Hero-worship was and is a central aspect of Indian culture, and thus readily lent itself to a literary tradition that abounded in epic poetry and literature. The Puranas, a massive collection of verse-form histories of Indias many Hindu gods and goddesses, followed in this tradition. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa, also based on the Ramayana. It is considered a great classic of Hindi epic poetry and literature, and shows the author Tulsidas in complete command over all the important styles of composition - narrative, epic, lyrical and dialectic. He has given a human character to Rama, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu, potraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king. Sports and Games Decline, Collapse and Legacy Around 1900 BCE, signs of a gradual decline begin to emerge. People started to leave the cities. Those who remained were poorly nourished. By around 1800 BC, most of the cities were abandoned. By around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. In 1953, Sir Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the Aryans. As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-Daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts. However, scholars soon started to reject Wheelers theory, since the skeletons belonged to a period after the citys abandonment and none were found near the citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994 showed that the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not violent aggression. Today, many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus Civilization was caused by drought and a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. It has also been suggested that immigration by new peoples, deforestation, floods, or changes in the course of the river may have contributed to the collapse of the IVC. Previously, it was also believed that the decline of the Harappan civilization led to an interruption of urban life in the Indian subcontinent. However, the Indus Valley Civilization did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggest that material culture classified as Late Harappan may have persisted until at least c. 1000-900 BCE and was partially contemporaneous with the Painted Grey Ware culture. Harvard archaeologist Richard Meadow points to the late Harappan settlement of Pirak, which thrived continuously from 1800 BCE to the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great in 325 BCE. Recent archaeological excavations indicate that the decline of Harappa drove people eastward. After 1900 BCE, the number of sites in India increased from 218 to 853. Excavations in the Gangetic plain show that urban settlement began around 1200 BCE, only a few centuries after the decline of Harappa and much earlier than previously expected. Archaeologists have emphasized that, just as in most areas of the world, there was a continuous series of cultural developments. These link the so-called two major phases of urbanization in South Asia. A possible natural reason for the IVCs decline is connected with climate change that is also signaled for the neighboring areas of the Middle East: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE, linked to a general weakening of the monsoon at that time. Alternatively, a crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system. A tectonic event may have diverted the systems sources toward the Ganges Plain, though there is complete uncertainty about the date of this event, as most settlements inside Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have not yet been dated. The actual reason for decline might be any combination of these factors. New geological research is now being conducted by a group led by Peter Clift, from the University of Aberdeen, to investigate how the courses of rivers have changed in this region since 8000 years ago, to test whether climate or river reorganizations are responsible for the decline of the Harappan. A 2004 paper indicated that the isotopes of the Ghaggar-Hakra system do not come from the Himalayan glaciers, and were rain-fed instead, contradicting a Harappan time mighty Sarasvati river. A research team led by the geologist Liviu Giosan of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also concluded that climate change in form of the easterward migration of the monsoons led to the decline of the IVC.77 The teams findings were published in PNAS in May 2012. According to their theory, the slow eastward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the civilization to develop. The monsoon-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons. As the monsoons kept shifting eastward, the water supply for the agricultural activities dried up. The residents then migrated towards the Ganges basin in the east, where they established smaller villages and isolated farms. The small surplus produced in these small communities did not allow development of trade, and the cities died out. In the aftermath of the Indus Civilizations collapse, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the Cemetery H culture. At the same time, the Ochre Colored Pottery culture expanded from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation a practice dominant in Hinduism today. Historical Context and Linguistic Affiliation The Indus Vally Civilization has been tentatively identified with the toponym Meluhha known from Sumerian records. It has been compared in particular with the civilizations of Elam (also in the context of the Elamo-Dravidian hypothesis) and with Minoan Crete (because of isolated cultural parallels such as the ubiquitous goddess worship and depictions of bull-leaping). The mature (Harappan) phase of the IVC is contemporary to the Early to Middle Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East, in particular the Old Elamite period, Early Dynastic to Ur III Mesopotamia, Prepalatial Minoan Crete and Old Kingdom to First Intermediate Period Egypt. After the discovery of the IVC in the 1920s, it was immediately associated with the indigenous Dasyu inimical to the Rigvedic tribes in numerous hymns of the Rigveda. Mortimer Wheeler interpreted the presence of many unburied corpses found in the top levels of Mohenjo-Daro as the victims of a warlike conquest, and famously stated that Indra stands accused of the destruction of the IVC. The association of the IVC with the city-dwelling Dasyus remains alluring because the assumed timeframe of the first Indo-Aryan migration into India corresponds neatly with the period of decline of the IVC seen in the archaeological record. The discovery of the advanced, urban IVC however changed the 19th-century view of early Indo-Aryan migration as an invasion of an advanced culture at the expense of a primitive aboriginal population to a gradual acculturation of nomadic barbarians on an advanced urban civilization, comparable to the Germanic migrations after the Fall of Rome, or the Kassite invasion of Babylonia. This move away from simplistic invasionist scenarios parallels similar developments in thinking about language transfer and population movement in general, such as in the case of the migration of the proto-Greek speakers into Greece, or the Indo-Europeanization of Western Europe. It was often suggested that the bearers of the IVC corresponded to proto-Dravidians linguistically, the breakup of proto-Dravidian corresponding to the breakup of the Late Harappan culture. Today, the Dravidian language family is concentrated mostly in southern India and northern and eastern Sri Lanka, but pockets of it still remain throughout the rest of India and Pakistan (the Brahui language), which lends credence to the theory. Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola concludes that the uniformity of the Indus inscriptions precludes any possibility of widely different languages being used, and that an early form of Dravidian language must have been the language of the Indus people. However, in an interview with the Deccan Herald on 12 August 2012, Asko Parpola clarified his position by admitting that Sanskrit-speakers had contributed to the Indus Valley Civilization. Proto-Munda (or Para-Munda) and a lost phylum (perhaps related or ancestral to the Nihali language) have been proposed as other candidates. The civilization is sometimes referred to as the Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization or Indus-Sarasvati civilization by Hindutva groups. or the Indus-Sarasvati civilization. Write articles for Gateway for India History of India and its civilization dates back to at least 6500 BC which perhaps makes the oldest surviving civilization in the world. India has been a meeting ground between the East and the West. Through out its history many invaders have come to India but Indian religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb all of them. All the while, these local dynasties built upon the roots of a culture well established. India has always been simply too big, too complicated, and too culturally subtle to let any one empire dominate it for long. Based on archeological findings, Indian history can be broadly divided into five phases: 1. Saraswati (Harappan) civilization : 6500 BC - 1000 BC or also called Vedic period in history of India. 2. Golden period of Indian History : 500 BC - 800 AD 5. Modern India . 1947 - till date Vedic period and Golden Period of Indian History Ancient Indian History (Vedic Period) Earliest historical evidence from Mehargarh (north-west Indian sub-continent) shows beginning of civilization in India at around 6500 B. C. It is the earliest and largest urban site of the period in the world. This site has yielded evidence for the earliest domestication of animals, evolution of agriculture, as well as arts and crafts. The horse was first domesticated here in 6500 B. C. There is a progressive process of the domestication of animals, particularly cattle, the development of agriculture, beginning with barley and then later wheat and rice, and the use of metal, beginning with copper and culminating in iron, along with the development villages and towns. It has been suggested by some historians that an Aryan Invasion of Indian subcontinent took place around 1500-1000 B. C. However, current archeological data do not support the existence of an Indo Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in the pre or proto-historic periods (David Frawley ). The people in this tradition were the same basic ethnic groups as in India today, with their same basic types of languages. Two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, and Mohenjodaro on the Indus during excavations in 1920. The remains of these two cities were part of a large civilization and well developed ancient civilization, which is now called by historians as Indus Valley Civilization, or Saraswati Civilization . Later Harappan (Sarasvati) civilization 3100-1900 BC shows massive cities, complex agriculture and metallurgy, sophistication of arts and crafts, and precision in weights and measures. They built large buildings, which were mathematically-planned. The city planning in those ancient cities is comparable to the best of our modern cities. This civilization had a written language and was highly sophisticated. Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter with thousands of residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them. This Sarasvati civilization was a center of trading and for the diffusion of civilization throughout south and west Asia, which often dominated the Mesopotamian region. Mehrgarh, Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan and Lothal are peripheral cities of the great Sarasvati civilization with more than 500 sites along its banks awaiting excavation. The year 4500 B. C. marks Mandhatrs defeat of Druhyus, driving them to the west into Iran. 4000-3700 B. C. was the Rig Veda period. In 3730 B. C. the Battle of Ten Kings - occurred. That was the age of Sudas and his sage advisors, Vasistha and Visvamitra. From 3600 to 3100 B. C. was the late Vedic age during which Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas were composed. 3100 B. C. is the probable date of the Mahabharata, composed by Vyasa. At this time, a tectonic plate shift resulted in river Yamuna which was a tributary of river Saraswati shifted its course and Saraswati became smaller. It was the beginning of Kali Yuga . In 1900 B. C. another tectonic plate shift made Saraswati lose Sutlej. This dried up Sarasvati, causing massive exodus of people towards the Ganga valley in east, whence arose the classical civilization of India. Post-Harappan civilization 1900-1000 BC shows the abandonment of the Harappan towns owing to ecological and river changes but without a real break in the continuity of the culture. There is a decentralization and relocation in which the same basic agricultural and artistic traditions continue, along with a few significant urban sites like Dwaraka . This gradually develops into the Gangetic civilization of the first millennium BC, which is the classical civilization of ancient India, which retains its memory of its origin in the Saraswati region through the Vedas. David Frawley and other modern scholars propose: 1. 6500-3100 BC, Pre-Harappan, early Rig Vedic 2. 3100-1900 BC, Mature Harappan 3100-1900, period of the Four Vedas. 3. 1900-1000 BC, Late Harappan, late Vedic and Brahmana period Buddha and Mahavira : The sequence of development in the literature does not parallel a migration into India but the historical development of civilization in India from the Sarasvati to the Ganges. In the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. In the same another religion called Jainism was founded by Mahavira . Around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward, conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who came as far as the Beas River, where he defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops (undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind garrisons to keep the trade routes open. Although Indian accounts to a large extent ignored Alexander the Greats Indus campaign in 326 B. C. Greek writers recorded their impressions of the general conditions prevailing in South Asia during this period. A two-way cultural fusion between several Indo-Greek elements-especially in art, architecture, and coinage--occurred in the next several hundred years. North Indias political landscape was transformed by the emergence of Magadha in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain. As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one Indias greatest dynasties, the Maurya. In 322 B. C. Magadha, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya . began to assert its hegemony over neighboring areas. Chandragupta, who ruled from 324 to 301 B. C. was the architect of the first Indian imperial power-the Mauryan Empire (326-184 B. C.)--whose capital was Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna, in Bihar. Situated on rich alluvial soil and near mineral deposits, especially iron, Magadha was at the center of bustling commerce and trade. The capital was a city of magnificent palaces, temples, a university, a library, gardens, and parks, as reported by Megasthenes, the third-century B. C. Greek historian and ambassador to the Mauryan court. Legend states that Chandraguptas success was due in large measure to his adviser Kautilya . the Brahman author of the Arthashastra (Science of Material Gain), a textbook that outlined governmental administration and political strategy. There was a highly centralized and hierarchical government with a large staff, which regulated tax collection, trade and commerce, industrial arts, mining, vital statistics, welfare of foreigners, maintenance of public places including markets and temples, and prostitutes. A large standing army and a well-developed espionage system were maintained. The empire was divided into provinces, districts, and villages governed by a host of centrally appointed local officials, who replicated the functions of the central administration. Ashoka . was the most trusted son of Bindusara and grandson of Chandragupta. During his fathers reign, he was the governor of Ujjain and Taxila. Having sidelined all claims to the throne from his brothers, Ashoka was coroneted as an emperor. He ruled from 269 to 232 B. C. and was one of Indias most illustrious rulers. Under the great king Ashoka the Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, Ashoka extended the Maurya Empire to the whole of India except the deep south and the south-east, reaching out even into Central Asia. Ashokas inscriptions chiseled on rocks and stone pillars located at strategic locations throughout his empire--such as Lampaka (Laghman in modern Afghanistan), Mahastan (in modern Bangladesh), and Brahmagiri (in Karnataka)--constitute the second set of datable historical records. According to some of the inscriptions, in the aftermath of the carnage resulting from his campaign against the powerful kingdom of Kalinga (modern Orissa), Ashoka renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of nonviolence or ahimsa, espousing a theory of rule by righteousness. His toleration for different religious beliefs and languages reflected the realities of Indias regional pluralism although he personally seems to have followed Buddhism. Early Buddhist stories assert that he convened a Buddhist council at his capital, regularly undertook tours within his realm, and sent Buddhist missionary ambassadors to Sri Lanka. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it collapsed only 100 years after his death. Under his reign Buddhism spread to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Central Asia, Burma. For propagation of Buddhism, he started inscribing edicts on rocks and pillars at places where people could easily read them. These pillars and rocks are still found in India, spreading their message of love and peace for the last two thousand years. To his ideas he gave the name Dharma . Ashoka died in 232 BC. The capital of Ashoka pillar at Sarnath is adopted by India as its national emblem. The quotDharma Chakraquot on the Ashoka Pillar adorns our National Flag. After the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire in the second century B. C. South Asia became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. Indias unguarded northwestern border again attracted a series of invaders between 200 B. C. and A. D. 300. The invaders became quotIndianizedquot in the process of their conquest and settlement. Also, this period witnessed remarkable intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by cultural diffusion and syncretism. The Indo-Greeks, or the Bactrians, of the northwest contributed to the development of numismatics they were followed by another group, the Shakas (or Scythians), from the steppes of Central Asia, who settled in western India. Still other nomadic people, the Yuezhi, who were forced out of the Inner Asian steppes of Mongolia, drove the Shakas out of northwestern India and established the Kushana Kingdom (first century B. C.-third century A. D.). The Kushana Kingdom controlled parts of Afghanistan and Iran, and in India the realm stretched from Purushapura (modern Peshawar, Pakistan) in the northwest, to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in the east, and to Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) in the south. For a short period, the kingdom reached still farther east, to Pataliputra. The Kushana Kingdom was the crucible of trade among the Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Roman empires and controlled a critical part of the legendary Silk Road. Kanishka . who reigned for two decades starting around A. D. 78, was the most noteworthy Kushana ruler. He converted to Buddhism and convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir. The Kushanas were patrons of Gandharan art, a synthesis between Greek and Indian styles, and Sanskrit literature. They initiated a new era called Shaka in A. D. 78, and their calendar, which was formally recognized by India for civil purposes starting on March 22, 1957, is still in use. The Classical Age - Gupta Empire and Harsha . Gupta age - Under Chandragupta I (320-335), empire was revived in the north. Like Chandragupta Maurya, he first conquered Magadha, set up his capital where the Mauryan capital had stood (Patna), and from this base consolidated a kingdom over the eastern portion of northern India. In addition, Chandragupta revived many of Asokas principles of government. It was his son, however, Samudragupta (335-376), and later his grandson, Chandragupta II (376-415), who extended the kingdom into an empire over the whole of the north and the western Deccan. Chandragupta II was the greatest of the Gupta kings and called Vikramaditya. He presided over the greatest cultural age in India. From Pataliputra, their capital, he sought to retain political preeminence as much by pragmatism and judicious marriage alliances as by military strength. The greatest writer of the time was Kalidasa . Poetry in the Gupta age tended towards a few genres: religious and meditative poetry, lyric poetry, narrative histories (the most popular of the secular literatures), and drama. Kalidasa excelled at lyric poetry, but he is best known for his dramas. The Indian numeral system--sometimes erroneously attributed to the Arabs, who took it from India to Europe where it replaced the Roman system--and the decimal system are Indian inventions of this period. Aryabhattas expositions on astronomy in 499 A. D. gave calculations of the solar year and the shape and movement of astral bodies with remarkable accuracy. In medicine, Charaka and Sushruta wrote about a fully evolved medical system. Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone setting, and plastic surgery including skin grafting. The Guptas fell prey, however, to a wave of migrations by the Huns, a people who originally lived north of China. Beginning in the 400s, the Huns began to put pressure on the Guptas. In 480 AD they conquered the Guptas and took over northern India. Western India was overrun by 500 A. D. and the last of the Gupta kings, presiding over a vastly diminished kingdom, perished in 550 A. D. Over the decades Huns gradually assimilated into the indigenous population and their state weakened. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatories. Gradually, one of them, Prabhakar Vardhana, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over all other feudatories. Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. After the death of Prabahakar Vardhan in 606 A. D. his eldest son, RajyaVardhan, became king of Kananuj. Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16 after his brother Rajya Vardhana was killed in a battle against Malwa King Devigupta and Gauda King Sasanka. Harsha, quickly re-established an Indian empire. From 606-647 AD, he ruled over an empire in northern India. Harsha was perhaps one of the greatest conquerors of Indian history, and unlike all of his conquering predecessors, he was a brilliant administrator. He was also a great patron of culture. His capital city, Kanauj, extended for four or five miles along the Ganges River and was filled with magnificent buildings. Only one fourth of the taxes he collected went to administration of the government. The remainder went to charity, rewards, and especially to culture: art, literature, music, and religion. The most significant achievements of this period, however, were in religion, education, mathematics, art, and Sanskrit literature and drama. The religion that later developed into modern Hinduism witnessed a crystallization of its components: major sectarian deities, image worship, bhakti (devotion), and the importance of the temple. Education included grammar, composition, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. These subjects became highly specialized and reached an advanced level. Because of extensive trade, the culture of India became the dominant culture around the Bay of Bengal, profoundly and deeply influencing the cultures of Burma, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. In many ways, the period during and following the Gupta dynasty was the period of quotGreater India, quot a period of cultural activity in India and surrounding countries building off of the base of Indian culture. The history of the Kingdom of Kanauj after the death of Harshavardhana can be said to have been uncertain till the year 730 AD, when Yashovarman is said to have ruled till 752 AD. This was followed by the Ayudha dynasty which comprised three kings. The first was Yajrayudha who is said to have ruled in about 770 AD. After Ayudhs, Prathihara King Nagabhatta II annexed Kannauj. North and north west part of India after Harsha Vardhana was mostly controlled by Pratihara Kings while Central India and part of South was mostly under Rashtrakutas dynasty (753-973 AD ). Pala Kings (750-1161 AD) ruled the Eastern part of India (present Bengal and Bihar). The Pala empire was founded in 730 AD. They ruled over parts of Bengal and Bihar. Dharmapala (780-812 AD) was one of the greatest kings of the Pala dynasty. He did much to restore the greatness of Pataliputra. The Nalanda university was revived under their rule. The Palas had close trade contacts and cultural links with South-East Asia. In the early twelfth century, they were replaced by the Sena dynasty. In early 13th century, Tughan Khan defeated the Sena king, Laxman. After this defeat the Nalanda University was destroyed. The greatest ruler of the Pratihara dynasty was Mihir Bhoja . He recovered Kanauj (Kanyakubja) by 836, and it remained the capital of the Pratiharas for almost a century. He built the city Bhojpal (Bhopal). Raja Bhoja and other valiant Gujara kings, faced and defeated many attacks of the Arabs from west. Between 915-918AD, attack by a Rashtrakuta king, to the weakening of the Pratihara Empire and also who devastated the city of Kannauj. In 1018 AD, Mahmud of Gazni sacked Kannauj then ruled by Rajyapala Pratihara. The empire broke into independent Rajput states. Dantidurga laid the foundation of Rashtrakuta empire. The Rashtrakutas empire was the most powerful of the time. They ruled from Lattaluru (Latur), and later shifted the capital to Manyaketa (Malkhed). Amoghavarsha (814-880 A. D) is the most famous Rashtrakuta kings. His long reign was distinguished for its royal patronage of Jainism and the flourishing of regional literature. Indra III, great-grandson of Amoghvarsha defeated the Pratihar king Mahipala. Krishana III was the last great king of Rashtrakuta dynasty. Rashtrakutas were great patrons of art and architecture. Krishana I, built the Kailasa Temple at Ellora. The caves at Gharapuri (Elephanta near Mumbai) were also built by this dynasty. The South Indian Rulers During the Kushana Dynasty, an indigenous power, the Satavahana Kingdom (first century B. C.-third century A. D), rose in the Deccan in southern India. The Satavahana, or Andhra, Kingdom was considerably influenced by the Mauryan political model, although power was decentralized in the hands of local chieftains, who used the symbols of Vedic religion and upheld the varnashramadharma . The rulers, however, were eclectic and patronized Buddhist monuments, such as those in Ellora (Maharashtra) and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh). Thus, the Deccan served as a bridge through which politics, trade, and religious ideas could spread from the north to the south. Further south were three ancient Tamil kingdoms - Chera (on the west), Chola (on the east), and Pandya (in the south)--frequently involved in internecine warfare to gain regional supremacy. They are mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as lying at the fringes of the Mauryan Empire. Peninsular India was involved in an eighth-century tripartite power struggle among the Chalukyas (556-757) of Vatapi, the Pallavas (300-888) of Kanchipuram, and the Pandyas (seventh through the tenth centuries) of Madurai. Their subordinates, the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from 753 - 973 AD, overthrew the Chalukya rulers. Although both the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms were enemies, the real struggle for political domination was between the Pallava and Chalukya realms. The Satvahanas (also known as Andhras) established their kingdom in the Deccan after the decline of Maurya Empire. The kingdom was in the present Maharashtra state. The founder of the Satvahana dynasty was Simuka in 40 B. C. Satakarni I was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. Satakarni I allied with powerful Marathi chieftain and signaled his accession to power by performing ashvamedhas (horse-sacrifice). After his death, the Satvahana power slowly disintegrated under a wave of Scythian invasion. The Satvahana dynasty lasted until the 3rd century AD. They established a capital at Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu state) and came to hold sway in the south. They were defeated by the Guptas in about 360 AD but continued to rule until the Cholas finally conquered their lands. They ruled from the 4th century to the 9th century although some remnants survived till 13th century. The dynasty was at its peak under Mahendra-Varman I (600-630 AD), when architecture flourished, notably in temples such as Mahabalipuram. During the 7th and the 8th centuries, this dynasty ruled over a region extending from center of Andhra Pradesh far to the Kaveri River Later, in the 9th century, the Pallava themselves were definitely conquered by the Chola from Tanjore and became their vassals. They were the longest ruling dynasty of Indian history. They ruled the southern most part of India and the capital of the Pandya kings was Madurai (Tamil Nadu). First Indian Ambassador from Pandya Dynasty is sent to Rome. (26 BC). The dynasty extended its power into Kerala (southwestern India) and Sri Lanka during the reigns of kings Kadungon (ruled 590- 620 A. D), Arikesar Maravarman (670-700 A. D), Varagunamaharaja I (765-815A. D), and Srimara Srivallabha (815-862 A. D). Pandya influence peaked in Jatavarman Sundaras reign 1251-1268 A. D. After forces from the Delhi sultanate invaded Madurai in 1311, the Pandyas declined into merely local rulers. After Satvahan, the next great empire in the Deccan was the Chalukya empire. Pulakesin I, first ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. Pulakesin II was the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. He consolidated his authority in Maharashtra and conquered large parts of the Deccan. His greatest achievement was his victory against Harshvardhan in 620. However, Pulakesin II was defeated and killed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in 642. His capital Vatapi was completely destroyed. His son Vikramaditya was also as great a ruler. He renewed the struggle against Pallavas and recovered the former glory of the Chalukyas. In 753A. D, his great grandson Vikramaditya II was overthrown by a chief named Dantidurga. Chalukyas constructed many temples at Aihole. Some Ajantha caves were also built during this period. During Rashtrakutas rule, the Chalukyas were a minor power. For 200 years, they survived the Rashtrakutas. In 973 AD Tailap Chalukya of the Kalyani branch gained power and restored the Chalukyan rule. They gained supremacy for about 200 years to be partitioned into: Yadavs of Deogiri, Kaktiyas of Warangal and Hoysalas of Belur. Yadavas extended their authority over a large territory. Their capital was situated at Chandor (Nasik district). They built the Deogiri fort in 11th century. Marathi language received the status of a court language in Yadava rule. The Yadava king Singhana was great patron of learning Sant Dnyaneshwar belonged to this age. In 1294, Alla-ud-din Khilji laid four sieges to Deogiri. Finally, the Yadavas were defeated and the strong fort of Deogiri fell into the hands of Muslim rulers. The riches of Deogiri were looted. By 1310 the Yadav rule came to an end. Telgu language and literature flourished under Kakatiyas. They also built many forts. The last king Prataprudra defeated Allaudin Khilji when he was first attacked in 1303. In 1310, after another war, he agreed to pay heavy tributes to Malik Kafur (Alladins general.) In 1321 Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq marched with a large army, and took Prataprudra as a prisoner to Delhi. Prataprudra died on the way to Delhi. Thus ended the glorious rule of Kaktiyas. King Sala was the founder of Hoysala dynasty. Hoysalas built as many as 1500 temples. The style of their architecture became famous as the Hoysala style. Most famous are the temples of Belur and Halebid with intricate carvings. Allaudin Khilji, defeated this kingdom between 1308-1312.Join The Better India on Facebook 16 Fascinating Facts about Mohenjodaro and Indus Valley, a Civilisation Far Ahead of its Time I n the late 1820s, a British explorer in India named Charles Masson stumbled across some mysterious ruins and brick mounds, the first evidence of the lost city of Harappa. Thirty years later, in 1856, railway engineers found more bricks, which were carted off before continuing the railway construction. In the 1920s, archaeologists finally began to excavate and uncover the sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The long-forgotten Indus Valley civilization had, at last, been discovered. Thousand of years ago, the Indus Valley civilization was larger than the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia combined. Many of its sprawling cities were located on the banks of rivers that still flow through Pakistan and India today. Here are a few mind-boggling facts about this civilization. 1. Oldest in the World Scientists from IIT-Kharagpur and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have recently uncovered evidence that the Indus Valley civilization is at least 8,000 years old and not 5,500 years old as earlier believed. This discovery, published in the prestigious Nature journal on May 25, 2016, makes it not just older than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations but also the oldest in the world 2. Mohenjodaro and its Great Bath Mohenjodaro translates to the 8216Hill of the Dead8217 or the 8216Mound of the Dead8217 in Sindhi. The Great Bath of Mohenjodaro, a watertight pool perched on top of a mound of dirt, is enclosed within walls of baked bricks. This bathing pool (and another one at Dholavira) suggests that Harappans valued cleanliness. There are even small changing rooms surrounding the Great Bath, with an attached bath area in each room 2. An Undeciphered Script The most intriguing of all undeciphered scripts in the world, the Indus script is made up of partially pictographic signs and various human and animal motifs that include a puzzling 8216unicorn8217. These have been found inscribed on miniature steatite seals, terracotta tablets and occasionally on metal. Linguistic experts and scientists have been trying to decipher this challenging script for decades as it could hold the key to the secrets of this mysterious culture. 3. Great Granaries Of Harappa Evidence of several granaries, massive buildings with solid brick foundations and sockets for wooden superstructures, have been found in excavations of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Rakhigarhi. All the granaries were built close to the river bank so that with the help of boats, grains could be easily transported. The Great Granary at Harappa also had a series of working platforms with circular bricks nearby that were probably used for threshing grain. 4. World8217s Earliest Known Dockyard at Lothal A vital and thriving trade centre of Indus Valley civilization, Lothal had the world8217s earliest known dockyard. Spanning an area 37 meters from east to west and nearly 22 meters from north to south, the dock connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river, which was the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the Saurashtra peninsula. In those days, the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea. 5. Fire Altars of Kalibangan Kalibangan, which literally means black bangles, lies along the left bank of the dried-up bed of river Ghaggar in Rajasthan. Other than giving the evidence of the earliest ploughed agricultural field ever revealed through an excavation, Kalibangan also has several fire altars, which suggest that the Harappans believed in the ritualistic worship of fire. 6. A Game Like Chess Evidence suggests that the people of Indus Valley Civilization loved games and toys. Flat stones with engraved grid markings and playing pieces have been found, which shows that the Indus people may have played an early form of chess. Dice cubes with six sides and spots have also been found by archaeologists, which suggest that they may have invented the dice too. 7. Town Planning A well-planned street grid and an elaborate drainage system hint that the occupants of the ancient Indus civilization cities were skilled urban planners who gave importance to the management of water. Wells have also been found throughout the city, and nearly every house contains a clearly demarked bathing area and a covered drainage system. 8. Urban Life The city8217s prosperity and stature are evident in the artefacts, like beads, jewellery, and pottery recovered from almost every house, as well as the baked-brick city structures themselves. Not everyone was rich but even the poor probably got enough to eat. The cities lack ostentatious buildings like palaces and temples, and there is no obvious central seat of government or evidence of a ruler. Also, the lack of many weapons shows that the Indus people had few enemies and that they preferred to live in peace. 9. A Love of Fashion The most commonly found artefact in the Indus Valley civilization is jewellery. Both men and women adorned themselves with a large variety of ornaments produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals and gemstones to bone and baked clay. Excavated dyeing facilities indicate that cotton was probably dyed in a variety of colours (although there is only one surviving fragment of coloured cloth). Use of cinnabar, vermillion and collyrium as cosmetics was also known to them. 10. Intriguing Figurines Terracotta, steatite and metal figurines of girls in dancing poses show the presence of some dance form as well as skilled craftsmanship. The most interesting and famous figurines recovered from Indus Valley excavations are the bronze Dancing Girl, the steatite Bearded Priest King and the terracotta Wheel Cart. 11. Trade Without Money The seals and weights recovered from the ruins of several Harappan cities suggest a system of tightly controlled trade. Trade through barter (not money) was very important for the Indus civilization and their main trading partner was Mesopotamia. There is evidence that people in Mesopotamian cities like Ur owned distinctively Harappan luxury goods such as beads, pottery, weapons and tiny carved bones. 12. The Seal of Pashupati Mahadev Thousands of engraved seals and amulets have been discovered from Harappan sites, usually made of steatite, agate, chert, copper, faience and terracotta. A famous seal displays a figure seated in a posture reminiscent of the lotus position and surrounded by animals. It depicts a revered deity of the Indus culture, Pashupati Mahadev, who is considered to be the precursor to the Vedic god Shiva. 13. Worship of Mother Goddess It is widely accepted that the Harappan people worshipped a Mother Goddess, in addition to other fertility and phallic symbols. The recovery of a large number of Mother Goddess figurines, from almost every excavated site, suggests that Mother Goddess worship or the fertility cult was widespread and popular in the civilization. 14. Strange Burials The evidence of the disposal of the dead at Harappa is quite unique and interesting. Excavations have yielded 57 burials of different types, in which bodies were disposed of in brick-lined rectangular or oval pits cut into the ground along with the grave goods such as jewellery, seals, and pottery. In Ropar, a man was found buried with a dog 15. Mysterious Massacre of Mohenjodaro Excavations down to the streets of Mohenjodaro revealed 44 scattered skeletons, sprawled on the streets as if doom had come so suddenly they could not even get to their houses. All the skeletons were flattened to the ground, including a father, a mother and a child who were found still holding hands. Lying in streets in contorted positions, within layers of rubble, ash and debris, archaeologists have concluded that these people all died by violence, but what caused the violence still remains unexplained. 16. Decline and Decay Archaeologists have long wondered about the sudden decline of the Indus Valley civilization. There is no convincing evidence that any Harappan city was ever burned, severely flooded, besieged by an army, or taken over by force from within. It8217s more likely that the cities collapsed after natural disasters or after rivers like Indus and Ghaghra-Hakkar changed their course. This would have hampered the local agricultural economy and the civilization8217s importance as a centre of trade. The continuing excavations and anthropological work have the potential to lend more insight into the disappearance of this enigmatic civilization. Like this story Have something to share Email: email160protected. or join us on Facebook and Twitter (thebetterindia). To get positive news on WhatsApp, just send 8216Start8217 to 090 2900 3600 via WhatsApp.