PERSIAN Chart Forsouth Asiapost-Classical Civilizations

PERSIAN Chart forSouth AsiaPost-Classical Civilizations

ERA: 600– 1450 / Delhi Sultanate
Mameluk Dynasty / Hellenistic Empire
POLITICAL

Muslims took over parts of Indus Valley early in the 8th Century (during the Umayyad Dynasty).
By the early 13th century they established the Dehli Sultanate.
The Muslim rulers allowed the “native” Hindus and Buddhists to keep their beliefs, though they had to pay taxes.
Muslim empire NOT tied to Baghdad.
Sultans commanded an army of 3,000.
the leaders for the next 300 years called themselves “sultans”, however they never fully controlled the regional Hindu leaders.
Sultans never established a permanent bureaucracy

After the Peloponnesian Wars in Greece, Alexander the Great from Macedonia conquered Greece; united the multiple Greek city-states for the first time in their history.
He created an empire that stretched from Greece to Indiacontributing to the spread of Greek culture.
Alexander the Great conquered the rival Persian (Achaemenid) Empire in the 300s B.C.E. and became the new emperor of the Persian Empire.
Relied on Persian satrapies (governors of provinces) to administer the lands he conquered; didn’t live long enough to implement a plan for his own government

ECONOMIC

Trans-regional trade
Caravan trade flourished from Persia to the West, and sea lanes were widely traveled through the Med, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea, causing a cosmopolitan culture; linked Persia and Bactria (Afghanistan)
Gems and jewelry, perfumes and aromatic oils – overland trade routes
Bulkier goods traveled the Mediterranean Sea lanes & the Indian Ocean

RELIGIOUS

Islamic government
By 1500 C.E. about a quarter of the population converted to Islam
Sufi’s were the most effective agents of conversion to Islam
some Buddhists ,low-caste and outcastes converted to Islam because of egalitarian aspects
some converted to Islam to avoid taxes
to respond to the “threat” of losing converts to Islam, Hindus started BHAKTI cults (open to women & untouchables) where mystical practices involved chants and drugs
Growth in Hindu devotional cults that offered salvation and moral thought, due to the influence of Islam and Buddhism

Most popular Hellenistic philosophers addressed needs by searching for personal peace and tranquility.
Epicureans: Pleasure as the greatest good (satisfaction with life and self from the surrounding world)
The Skeptics: Refused to take strong positions on political, moral, and social issues because of uncertainties with knowledge
The Stoics: Individuals had a duty to aid others and lead virtuous lives
Rising popularity of religions involving salvation

SOCIAL

Muslim princes adopted regal practices that were Hindu-like and contrary to the Quran
Muslims developed a type of caste system
With the growth of trade, new merchant sub-castes formed in the form of workers’ guilds
women forced to marry at a young age and could not remarry. Ritual of SATI practiced (widows burned when husband died)
Traditionalist Hindus and Traditionalist Muslims strongly condemned the apparent mingling of Muslim & Hindu traditions
South Asia remained the least converted of Muslim territories

Alexander encouraged his officers to marry Persian women, to create a new ruling class of Greek, Macedonian, and Persian ancestry (died before it became a formal policy).

INTERACTIONS

Interaction between Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and outcastes extensive, but assimilation never widespread
Muslims maintained power with armies
most invaders of India eventually became “Indian” / not the Muslims
problem between Muslims & Hindus major conflict today.
Interactions through trade with Southeast Asia heavily influenced Southeast Asian society. Political and cultural traditions began to match those in South Asia. South Asian rulers adopted the term raja for their rulers, Hindu deities became popular, Sanskrit became the language of business, the city of Angkor was a reflection of the Hindu world, and later Buddhist influence will be added (Angkor Wat). Islam was also spread to Southeast Asia through Islamic merchant communities. It became popular with the growth of Melaka, a significant port.

The spread of Hellenism (Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultural blend/diffusion) was the greatest legacy from the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Alexander’s death resulted in the split of the Hellenistic Empire into three parts:
Antigonid Empire: Greece and Macedonia (until the Romans conquered it); city-states struggled against rule but became wealthy from trade; overpopulated Greek areas caused large number of colonists to travel to new cities in the Seleucid Empire.
Ptolemaic Empire: Egypt (until the Romans conquered it); wealthiest of the empires; Ptolemaic (Greek and Macedonian) overlords left Egyptian society alone and focused on the organization of agriculture, industry, tax collection maintaining irrigation networks, monitoring the cultivation of crops, and payment of taxes; focused wealth on the city of Alexandria
Seleucid Empire: (Persia) in Southwest Asia (until conquered by the Parthian dynasty); numerous cities founded by Alexander welcomed Greek and Macedonian colonists who became administers in the imperial bureaucracy.

ARTS

some religious poetry written by women (Kabir) and were written in the regional languages
pictures and poetry of bhaki movement show personalized devotion

Hellenism blended Greek math, science, philosophy, literature, governance, architecture, and art with existing forms with Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultures.
Achievements in math: Euclid and Pythagoras
Achievements in medicine: Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Oath
Important advances in shipbuilding and navigation
Engineering accomplishments of Archimedes (lever & pulley)

ENVIRONMENTAL

Muslims controlled a large area of India, but their it was never an extension of the Middle East Muslim empire
The sultans established their capital at Delhi, a strategic site controlling access from Punjab to the Ganges valley.

Alexander the Great burned the Achaemenid palace at Persepolis in 331 B.C.E.
Alexandria became the cultural capital of the Hellenistic world (located in Egypt), but had about 70 cities; large harbor that allowed for 1,200 ships; became the most important port in the Mediterranean; considered to be a megalopolis (people of different ethnic religious and cultural traditions conducted their affairs; site of the famous museum and library based on traditional of education