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Southern Miss HIS 101H - India's Golden Age

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HIS 101H 1nd Edition Lecture11Outline of Last Lecture I. Creation of India II. BuddhismIII. EmpiresOutline of Current Lecture IV. Guptan EmpireV. Introduction to romeCurrent LectureI. India’s Golden ageA. The Guptan Empire [Doc 4.19]• Founded by merchant family, they presided over a Hindu revival• Capital again at Patiliputra• Less trade with West, but more with Asia• Much of what we know about Gupta comes from the journals of a Chinese monk traveler named Faxian (workbook)• Last of the great Indian empires • Center of religion• Beginning of a world trade center• Rome is in declineB. Guptan achievements - Golden Age of Sanskrit Literature as seen in works of Kalidasa, poet & playwright & writing of the Kamasutra, a guide for male behavior by Vatsayana- Major breakthroughs in science & math including calculation of pi & creation of Arabic numerals & decimals- Invented chessC. Social Life• Standard of living great for elites, who had many diversions• Not quite so good for peasants, but still probably better than most places• Women’s status declined as Hinduism & caste system became more constrictiveD. Guptan fallThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.• Wiped out by White Huns [Iranians or Central Asians] around 550 BC• Though India was temporarily reunited under Empire of Harsha (r. 606-648), his state would not outlive its founder’s death and India was fragmented for several hundred yearsE. Legacies of classical India• Consider India’s role as pivot of early world trade system• Scientific & technological achievements including inventing algebra & smallpox vaccinations!• Colorful religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity• Overall villagers were prosperous & productive & there was little slaveryII. Rome and Its EmpireF. Foundation myths• Refugees from Troy? (Aeneas, hero of Virgil’s Aeneid)• Romulus & Remus—Two orphans who were nursed & raised by wolves• Romulus was name of first verifiable king (ca. 753-715 BC)G. Actual beginnings• Indo-Europeans first migrated to Rome around 1000 BC• Had some contact with Greece from 800 BC• Ruled by Etruscans, a warrior people whose origins are unclear• Romans adopted Etruscan alphabet, military tactics, and engineering skillsJ. Creation of the republic• Etruscans supposedly overthrown in 509 BC by rebellion started by a man whose wife had been raped by son of the Etruscan king• Actually was a power struggle between various groups that resulted in oligarchy, though it was called a republicK. The constitution • Favored the wealthy aristocrats who staffed the Senate• But technically Senate was advisory body• Lower class citizens could serve in various assemblies• By 450 BC legal codes protected rights & property of all classes of peopleL. Republic government • Plebeians, ordinary citizens, could elect their own reps, called tribunes• Two chief execs, or Consuls, were elected by Centuriate Assembly, dominated by wealthy• Dictators could serve in emergencies for no longer than 6 months• Govt & society relied heavily on patron-client relationships (clients formed entourages)M. The military• Army based on service of citizen-farmers, some of who became professionals• Strength was in famed infantry legions of 5000-6000 men, supported by cavalry, archers,& skirmishers (phalanx=96 men)• By 400 BC Rome dominated central Italy• Within 40 years it was expanding south, and by 200 BC east & west as wellN. Administration of Conquered Lands• Varied by place• Some allowed citizenship for local elites• Some places local govts left alone• Garrisons in othersO. The Punic Wars, 264-146 BC• Rome vs. Carthage• Involved allies (Macedonia) and new strategies• Rome built navy• Carthaginian general Hannibal brought war elephants to Italy via Spain & won many victories till he was forced to return to Carthage where he was defeated by Scipio in 202 BC• But Rome prevailed in the end, salting Carthage & enslaving its survivorsP. Urban life• Rich lived on hills around city, surrounded by elegance and beauty with artwork, fountains etc.• Poor lived in crowded, multi-storied tenements that were filthy & dangerous• Forum was center of political & cultural lifeQ. Expansion • From 167 BC Rome conquered Macedonia & Greece, then moved to Mediterranean• But conquests brought repression & widening social inequities• Slavery expanded & dispossessed farmers moved to Rome swelling population to over 1 million and exacerbating existing tensions (Slave revolts like Spartacus 73-71 BC)—He rallied 70,000 slaves & ravaged city—Revolt was crushed & 6000 were crucifiedR. Power Struggle• 133 BC—Tribune Tiberius Gracchus tries to limit estate size & redistribute land to poor• Senate opposes plan & he is assassinated• His brother, Gaius, later pushed through reforms, but he, too, was killed• 107 BC—General Marius becomes consul & threatens Senate with army; he is killed by another general, Sulla, & SenateS. Fall of the republic• 77 BC—Pompey emerges and gains special power from Senate• Cicero argues for return to Republic• Julius Ceasar, formerly Pompey’s ally, takes over govt in 49 BC & ends Republic after winning lands in Gaul & gaining popular acclaim—Pompey assassinated in Egypt; Cleopatra brought back to Rome w/Ceasar• Packs Senate & army with his


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