Foundations through The Classical Era: From Human Prehistory to Civilizations

Name______Period_____

Walker AP World History Ch 3Reading Study Guide #1 P.56-64

1. What empire ‘culminated’ India’s classic age?

Timeline P. 58

2. What were the years of the Vedic Age?______3. What event coincided with this?

4. When were the Vedas composed?______5. What were the years of the Epic Age?______

6. What were the years of the life of the Buddha?______

7. What were the Years of the Mauryan Empire? (Chandragupta Maurya-end of Ashoka’s reign)______

8. What were the years of greatest Buddhist influence in India?______

9. What were the years of the Gupta Empire?______

10. How did the Aryan invasions set the stage for new forms of Indian civilization?

11. What was India’s first empire?

12. How did India differ from China in its civilizational development?

13. How did geography impact the development of Indian civilization?

14. What famous Mediterranean conqueror invaded (but could not hold) India?

15. What mountain range separates India from East Asia?

16. What 2 river valleys in Northern India provided the bases of Indian agriculture & civilization?

17. Describe the impact and importance of the monsoon season/

18. How did Aryan beliefs evolve into current religious beliefs in India?

19. What is Sanskrit?

20. What were the Vedas? Why are they important?

22. Name the three most important Epic works.

23. What were the roots of India’s caste system (varnas)?

Briefly describe the role of each:

23. Kshatriyas

24. Brahmins

25. Vaisyas

26. Sudras

27. Untouchables

28. What were the Jati?

29. Describe the political climate of India’s regional state period.

30. When did Alexander the Great invade? Name the small border kingdom he established.

31. Who was Chandragupta Maurya?

32. What were the major accomplishments of the Maurya Dynasty?

33. What were the major accomplishments of Ashoka?

34. Why did he convert to Buddhism? What was the outcome?

35. Who were the Kushans? What did they do?

36. How were the Gupta rulers different than the Mauryan rulers?

37. How did the Maurya dynasty and the Guptas try to deal with regionalism?

38. How were politics in India viewed differently than politics in China, Greece and Rome and what served in place of political structures in India?

39. What were some of the general rules of India’s caste system and how did these change over time?

40. What were some of the positive effects of the caste system?

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