EQ: WHY WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANCIENT INDIA UNIQUE? Similar to the Hellenistic culture, the ancient Indian civilization was a combination of other people, not just one type. This meant that there was bound to be a few different cultures living in one area. When the Aryans arrived in india, they not only added the caste system but also brought their beliefs.
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Why is the geography of India important? India is a subcontinent on a plateau, meaning it is on top of a flat hill. India is also cut off from china with the Himalayas. This meant that invaders would have to break through the mountains and scale the plateau just to get to india so this gave a huge defensive bonus. This also may have cut off the ease of trade.
What is the Caste System & what role did the Aryans play in its development? The caste system is a system in India that discriminates the rich from the poor. At birth, you are given a role and you must stick with tat role. Some roles are horrible, and no one will speak with you, others are great, and everyone will worship you. This system was brought from Europe by the Aryans. The Aryans decided that they needed a way to keep a profile each person so the caste system was created.
What do Hindus Believe? The Hindus are the followers of Hinduism. Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world. Hindus believe in 1000's of gods. Hindus also believe in Karma and Darma. Karma is the belief that if you do good, good will come back to you in reincarnation. Darma is the belief that everyone does their duties in life to be reincarnated well. The Aryans brought hinduism with them when they traveled to India.
What do Buddhist believe? Buddhism was started when a man named Siddhartha Gautama left his temple for the first time. He traveled around his kingdom in India and discovered something he knew nothing of. He say homeless people, starving people, and dying people. He discovered suffering. Sid wanted to know what purpose suffering had in this world, so he sat under a tree and meditated, searching for an answer to his riddle. He meditated for 49 days straight, without eating or getting up. After these days, he understood why there was suffering. There was suffering because people desired too much. He decided to spread what he found for 40 years. He was now called the Buddha. Eventually, Buddha did die, but his disciples spread his religion now called buddhism. His diciples were split into two groups and changed the religion. One group kept it the same as before his death, but others changed it and worhsipped buddha as a god instead of a teacher.