History 206: Midterm

What were the differences between the Gunpowder Empires?

Religious demographics (Mughals have Islam as the minority religion) Ruling ideology (Ottomats: tribal lineage, Safavids: bond of Shiism, Mughal: high Persian etiquette, expressions of loyalty, dynasty) Size (Mughals the largest with 70 mil people, then O, then S) Wealth (Mughals were the wealthiest, had robust agriculture, efficient revenue generation, expansionist, ever increasing source of revenue)

Jainism

Renunciate religion started by Mahavira (a privileged kshatriya who renounces and wanders for 13 years) . Believed karmic matter was sticky and accumulates thru passion, desire, hatred. Renounce to the point of self-starvation. Believe in ahimsa (noninjury). Karmic matter dissipates thru the 3 Jewels (right knowledge, faith, conduct).

Buddhism

Renunciate religion teaching that selfish cravings binds us to the wheel of Rebirth. If desire is renounced, deeds can continue to be performed without continuing to affect one's perpetual rebirth. Started by Siddharta Gautama, a kshatriya prince, (563-480 BCE) who wanders and attains enlightenment. Advocates for a middle way between the extremes of asceticism and self-indulgence.

Ajivika

Renunciate religion that was extremely ascetic. Ends 1400 CE.

Pinda

Rice ball. Dharmashastra rules say you cannot marry a relative to offers pinda to the same person (share a common ancestor).

Eight Fold Path (Buddhism)

Rightness if views, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, efforts, memories, meditation

Soma

Ritual drink mentioned in the Rig Vedas. In Vedas, Indra (god) is mentioned to always be drunk on soma.

Sutras (Rg Veda)

Rules for domestic & higher rituals. Construction of ritual spaces. Law books for behavior.

Iltutmish

SIL on Aibak who ruled the Delhi Sultanate under the Mamluk dynasty. He erected many shrines and mosques. Created a new coinage system and implemented the iqtadar system. Created a water-tank for welfare of pilgrims.

Adi Granth

Sacred scripture of Sikhism. The first version was compiled by Guru Arjun and included the hymns of his predecessors. The Granth took the place of the eternal Guru after the death of Guru Gobind Singh.

Puranas

Sacred text of Hinduism. Compilation of commentaries on a vast range of subjects.

Aryan

Semi-nomadic herdsmen who came from Central Asia to Indo-Gangetic plain. Had priests, kings (rajas), domesticated barley & wheat. Had lots of horses and cart-building. Cattle was a key component for milk and meat.

Kirtan

Sikhism: the singing of hymns from the scriptures in worship

Jagirdar

Someone who has authority over land revenue. Iqtadars were different cuz they also controled administrative and military stuff. Jagirs moved a lot and had a lot less power than iqtadars.

Vijaynagara

South Indian empire from 14th century CE to 17th century CE. Hindu empire that often found against the Gajapatis in the East. Was seen as oriental despot system -- cruel, sensual. Most powerful empire in South India. Deva Raya II incorporated Muslim officers into the army while Krishnadeva Raya defeated the Gajapatis and ensured that they pay tribute to the Vijaynagars.

Karmic matter

Sum of all our actions

Umayyads

Sunni caliphate that ruled the Muslim Empire from 661 to 750 after death of Ali. Established capital in Damascus.

Aranyakas

The Aranyakas made up the "Forest Treaties" of the Brahamanas (the commentaries on the Vedas).

Zamorin

The Hindu ruler in India; forced to give Commercial Treaty to da Gama.

Arthashastra

The famous ancient Indian book on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy. Advocated for calculating kingship. Appropriate conduct. Written by Kautilya (Brahman minister).

Varna

The four major social divisions in India's caste system: the Brahmin priest class, the Kshatriya warrior/administrator class, the Vaishya merchant/farmer class, and the Shudra laborer class. Fixed rankings. First three are twice-born.

Aibak

Turkic general in Ghurid army who was a prolific builder and built many mosques in Delhi. Made Delhi the first bulwark of Mongols. He was the founder of the Mamluk dynasty and the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanates. He built the Qutb Minar.

Ghaznavids

Turkish tribe under Mahmud of Ghazni who moved into northern India. Comprised of sophisticated mamluk leaders. Elites. Raided India cuz they were wealthy. Paid their army in cash.

Renunciatory tradition (religious)

Turning back on Vedas and shifting from sacrifice. Renunciate = renouncing Vedas.

Muhammad bin Qasim

Umayyad General who conquered Sindh in 710 CE and sought submission to his leadership. First use of dhimmi category.

Mamluks

Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries.

Dhamma

Universal law; ultimate truth; teachings of the Buddha, right conduct and social order.

Gavishti

Vedic term. Desire for cattle. Synonym for war.

West coast vs. East coast India

West (Malabar Coast): mountainous, no large scale empire, small trading communities East (Coromandel Coast): large territorial empires, stopover for ships to East Asia, fertile soil, full of Muslim communities, Islam makes its way to SE Asia from here.

Konkan Coast

Western coast of India that had a flourishing Arab mercantile system.

Daulatabad

Where the Tughluqs moved the capital, but eventually went back to Delhi because of lack of water and lack of support.

Mahabharata

Written after Mauryan but before Gupta. A great Indian epic poem, reflecting the struggles of the Aryans as they moved south into India. The Bhagavid Gita (Hindu) text was added to it in 100 BCE to 100 CE. (Dialogue between Krishna - an avatar of Vishnu - and Arjuna)

Kamasutra

Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered instructions on all aspects of life for higher-caste males, including grooming, hygiene, etiquette, selection of wives, and lovemaking. Suggests a need to talk about what is right and what is wrong.

Ibadat Khana

house of worship, built by Akbar in 1575 to facilitate religious discussion among Muslims, Brahmins, Parsis/Zoroastrians, Jains and Jesuit priests. Where Akbar held religious assemblies.

Upholder of the varnashrama dharma

leaders take this title in the Vij Empire

Untouchables

lowest class of people in the caste system of Hinduism, do all the dirty work of society

Niyati

mechanistically determined fate or destiny (Ajivika religion)

Mohenjodaro

one of the first major settlements in ancient India that became a center of the Indus valley civilization. Had a citadel and a granary (coordination!), residential areas (big & small width streets), shared sewage

Nirvana

permanent release from karmic traps

Patrilineal

relating to a social system in which family descent and inheritance rights are traced through the father

Matrilineal

relating to a social system in which family descent and inheritance rights are traced through the mother

Vahiguru

-name given to God in Sikhism

Dharma sutras

sutras on all that constitute dharma, generally the affairs of the world outside the realms of the household and religious ritual; often very early texts dating to the late Vedic period. Law books.

Aniconic

symbolic or suggestive rather than literally representational

Kalinga

territory in eastern India conquered by Ashoka in 261 BCE; 150,000 abducted and 100,000 killed; drove Ashoka to become a Buddhist

Brahmin

the highest of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of priests

Atman

the individual soul

Shudra

the lowest of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of servants and laborers

Ahimsa

the principle of nonviolence toward all living things

Brahmacharya

the student stage

Vaishya

the third of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of producers, such as farmers, merchants, and artisans

Five Pillars of Islam

true Muslims were expected to follow (principle of Salvation): belief in Allah, pray 5 times a day, giving of alms, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime

Impact of Mughal Empire

1) New level of settled agriculture 2) Increased military capabilities 3) Fostered geographic integration -- regular revenue system and mapped empire thru surveys 4) Fostered aesthetic forms w lasting influences (art, architecture, music, tombs, gardens)

Mauyran Empire

321 BCE. Empire in classical times that was founded by Chandragupta Mauyra and reached its peak under Ashoka (all India except southernmost tip and western territories).

Calicut

A city of southwest India on the Malabar Coast. It was the site of Vasco da Gama's first landfall in India (1498) and was later occupied by Portuguese, British, French, and Danish trading colonies. It was the most prominent place in European view of India. It linked Europe with the exotic Eastern world. Had multi-ethnic traders trading pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cloth.

Indus Valley

A civilization extending from what today is now Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River. Glory period was 2900 BCE to 1900 BCE. The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large non-residential buildings. By the Oxbow Lakes, banks get higher after floods and give a new layer of soil for crops.

Char Bagh Garden

A four part garden popularized under Mughal emperor Babur. Had religious and spiritual connotations.

Dravidian

A language family found primary in south India Came into Indian subcontinent from West Includes Tamil, Malayalam

Janapada

A large political district in India

Mansabdar

A member of the Muslim upper caste in India, which controlled the army and bureaucracy. Was required to supply certain # of men and horses to military campaigns by emperor. Some were paid in cash and others by jagir.

Cartaz

A pass that the Portuguese required of all merchant vessels attempting to trade in the Indian Ocean.

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that developed the first urban societies.

Islamicate

A work of art that does not refer directly to the Islamic religion, but rather to the culture historically associated with Islam and the Muslims.

Sapinda

According to Dharmashastra, one many not marry a sapinda, a relative who offers the pinda (rice bowl) to the same person, a relative with whom one shares a common ancestor

Counter-Reformation

After the Protestant Reformation, the Catholics had a resurgence called the counter-reformation.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God--divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the shari'a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin.

Pali

An ancient language of India, similar to Sanskrit but more commonly understood, and used in the writing of the earliest Buddhist texts; most important for Theravada Buddhism

Malabar

An area in the southwest of India that was influenced early by Islamic seafaring traders and later by European colonizers and traders is known as the _____ Coast. This southwestern coast is known for its historical role in spice trading, especially black pepper, as well as for its monsoon-driving rainfall.

Zamindar

An aristocrat who was a land-owner during Mughal empire. Akbar granted them mansabs and were allowed to extract money using jagirs (land grants).

Mahavira

An extreme aesthetic who founded the religion Jainism and thought of several Hindu concepts, such as karma, in a very concrete way.

Vedas

Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism -- four Samhitas and all the commentaries. Elite text. Reflects the beliefs and practices of the religious aristocracy. Deification of nature and multiple deities. Consists of gods, celestial beings, wives, demons, sprits.

Harrapan Civilization

Another name for the Indus River Valley civilization; known for advanced cities of Mohenjo-Daro

Moral causation (Karma)

Asserts that deeds (karma) caused migration of soul from one body to another. Moral value of one's acts determining how you are reborn.

Battle of Paniput

Battle between Babur and Lodhi Sultan then allowed Babur to take over and create Mughal Empire.

Four Means

Doctrine in the Arthashastra during Magadha times. Outlined the four ways a king should deal with a problem: conciliation, gifts, sowing dissention, and force.

The four Yugas

Doctrine of cyclical time thru which the world passes. In each succeedings age, morality (dharma) declines, life shortens, and suffering increases.

Batavia

Dutch fortress located after 1620 on the island of Java

Tughluqs

Dynasty after Khilji. 1320-1412. Sultanate expands to South Delhi and built Tughlughabad in South Delhi. Then move to Daulatabad of Maharashtra. Then back to Delhi. Under Mohammad bin Tughluq, there was token currency, increase in land and taxes to 50%, greatest territorial extent of Sultanate rule (to Deccan), and peasant revolts.

Nanda Empire

Dynasty that ruled Magadha that included North India to east of the Indus basin. Mahapadma Nanda usurps power. Defeated Alexander.

Tantra/tantric

Esoteric form of Hinduism/Buddhism. Ritual contravention of morality -- breaking taboos. Wine fish, meat, parched grain, sex.

Patriarchal

Family structure described in Dharmashastras where all family members are under the authority of father or the most senior brother.

Joint family

Family structure described in Dharmashastras where all family property is jointly owned. After father's death, property can be partitioned among the males.

Extended family

Family structure described in Dharmashastras. Extended: 3 generations or more including married sons, unmarried daughters

What were the impacts of the Delhi Sultanate period?

Growth of cities (Islamic leadership was urban). Considered the 3rd wave of urbanization. Use of money -- token currency. High quality coins with strong trade networks. Revenue farming system of Iqta (land to military leader who collects revenue, pays loyalty to Sultan) Increase in building trades, fine arts (lots of monuments) Incorporation of South Asia into sphere of cosmopolitan Islam

Magadha

Kingdom under Nanda dynasty. Spread its power across India. Command center of expanding empire and emporium of riverine trade. Where Alexander's army committed mutiny. Part of the 2nd wave of urbanization in 600 BCE. Had taxes, army, money. Period when kshatriya kings were dominant in society. Role of Brahmin changed to sense that maybe all this wasn't necessary.

Munda

Language family in East India. Spoken by tribal groups. Related to Austro-Asiatic language family.

Upanishads

Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmins to restore religious authority. Uses the story of Brahma. Alters creation story with Cosmic Man who dismembers himself into four varnas: head (Brahmin), arms (kshatrya), Legs (vaishya), Feet (shudras). The first three are "twice-born." First time we see caste society.

Ashoka

Leader of the Mauryan dynasty of India who conquered most of India but eventually gave up violence and and devoted life to policy of dharma (paternal guidance of subjects' welfare). Under Ashoka, the Mauryan empire reached its greatest extent -- including all of Indian subcontinent except the southernmost tip and West. Developed watering holes, shady places to rest.

Gotra

Lineages or clans, usually by virtue of exogamous patrilineal/matrilineal descent.

Dhimmi

Literally "people of the book"; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories. Had to pay a jizya (poll tax) and a Kharaj (land tax)

Monsoon

Major winds in the Indian Ocean that blew into India for half the year, and blew away from India for the other half. Helped facilitate trade in the Indian Ocean. People came from Red Sea to stop in Southern Peninsula of India when monsoon winds were against them on their way to China.

Theravada

More conservative Buddhism coming out of the Buddhist schism. Scriptures are in Pali.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. Entered India and wrote about travels.

Ghurids

Muhammad Ghuri took over 1150-1206 CE. Replaced the Ghaznavids at end of the 12 century. Muhammad Ghuri was the last sultan before the Delhi sultanate. Ghurid army was super cosmopolitan with great ethnic diversity. Rendered intention to say more permanently through minarets. Ghuris established territories cuz Mongols were going to sack the West. Armies led by Mamluk generals. Make it to Bay of Bengal along Ganges. Known for taking land.

Sultan

Muslim ruler

Kautilya

Political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; one of the authors of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare.

Jizya

Poll tax that non-Muslims had to pay when living within a Muslim empire

St. Francis Xavier

Portuguese Jesuit who, by 1550, baptized thousands of souls in India, Indonesia and Japan - in areas of Portuguese influence. Followed da Gama & Albuquerque.

Pedro Cabral

Portuguese explorer whose mission it was to loot and sink ships and take Indians captive. Cabral attacked Calicut after Arab merchants attacked a Portuguese factory.

Mansab

Rank given to imperial officers

Rajput

Regional princes in N-western India; gained power after collapse of Gupta empire. Fought each other a lot.

Moksha

Release from karmic traps -- salvation from endless turning of Rebirth wheels

Circle of States

Doctrine in Magadha Arthashastra that said the enemy's neighbor is conqueror's natural ally.

Fatehpur Sikri

City of Victory planned by Akbar in the 16th century.

Cochin

City on the SW coast of India where Francisco de Almeida (Viceroy of India) created a fortified city in the 16th century. Vasco de Gama died here.

Coromandal

Coast on the East side of southern India peninsula. Large territorial empires like Cholas in modern day Tamil Nadu. Was a stopover for ships to East Asia. Was agrarian with fertile and rich soil.

Labbais

Community of Muslims in Tamil Nadu who were elite and had great maritime trade and shipping. Emphasized links to Arabia. Shared religious concepts w other Hindi and Christian communities.

Chandragupta Maurya

Creater of Mauryan Empire in 320 BCE. Extended empire into Punjab. Fights Seleucids to obtain Afghanistan.

Rakshas

Demon found in the Veda

Devotionalism

Devotionalism emphasizes a personal connection to God -- rather than working thru a Brahminical priest. Vishnu and Shiva are central to Devotionalism. The upanishads are the corpus of the Vedas.

Goa

Indian city developed by the Portuguese as a major Indian Ocean base; developed an important Indo-European population. Also the center for the Catholic inquisition.

Guru Nanak

Indian religious leader who founded Sikhism in dissent from the caste system of Hinduism. Similar to the Buddha in that he received God's message. Guru Nanak writes his compositions which will eventually become the Adi Granth/Guru Granth. He also establishes the Gurudwara (the Sikh temple).

Iqta

Instituted under the Khilji dynasty. A system of assigning revenue collection to a local officer. Land that is revenue paying to maintain loyalty to the sultan.

Roberto Nobili

Italian Jesuit missionary who goes to India and proselytizes. He learned the native South Indian languages of Tamil, Telegu, and Sanskrit.

The five "Ks" (Sikhism)

Kesh (uncut hair) Kara (a steel bracelet) Kanga (a wooden comb) Kaccha (cotton underwear) Kirpan (steel sword)

Krishnadeva Raya

Key leader in Vij Empire who defeats the Gajapatis and ensure they pay tribute to Vijnagaras. Is also the king that Domingo Paes meets.

Devaraya II

Key leader in Vij Empire who incorporates Muslim officers into army.

Mahayana

"Great Vehicle" One of Buddhism's sects that integrated laypeople into the community. OK with depictions of Buddha.

Guru Granth

"Guru Book"; the main scripture of Sikhism, also known as the Adi Granth, the "First Book." First compiled by Guru Arjun then added the compositions by the 9th Sikh Guru. The Guru Granth is the sacred scripture and is considered the eternal-living guru and the embodiment of the 10 gurus.

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law.

Umma

The community of all Muslims

Khalsa

"Pure ones." An order within Sikhism to which most Sikhs belong, founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

Delhi Sultanate

(1206-1526 CE) The successors of Mahmud of Ghazni mounted more campaigns, but directed their goals to creating this empire.

Akbar

(1542-1605) Son and successor of Humayan; oversaw building of military and administrative systems that became typical of Mughal rule in India; pursued policy of cooperation with Hindu princes; attempted to create new religion to bind Muslim and Hindu populations of India (rescinded jizya tax). Increased accuracy of land records and standardized taxation based on yield. Placed zamindars in charge of revenue collection who were locals who OWNED the land. Created mansab system.

Rg Veda

(Hinduism Veda) Oldest of the Vedas (1500-1200 BCE), contain 1,028 hymns, chants, devotional writing to various deities.

Jajmani

- the system of patron-client relations - lower castes provide services to higher castes for shares of harvest

Vijaynagar Kingdom

1336/1346 CE to 1646 CE in South India. Seen as oriental despot system (cruel, mercurial, sensual). STRONG -- most powerful empire in South India. Economy was based on agriculture. Seen as a Bullwark of Hinduism in the South.

Bahmani Sultanate

1347-1518 CE. By Zafar Khan after the Tughluqs moved the capital back to Delhi from Daulatabad. Developed a system based on the Delhi Sultanates. Deccan eventually breaks up into several Muslim sultanates.

Gajapatis

1434-1541 CE. Major force in East India -- called "Lords of the War Elephants." A Hindu dynasty that worship Jagannath (avatar of Vishnu) -- thinking that God is the actual king and the kinds ruled in his names. Wealthy and well-armed, traded with Bengal. Bothered the VIjaynagaras

Mahajanapada

500 BCE. The 16 kingdoms/small states that were comprised of multiple tribes

Brahmana

800-600 BCE. Prose works that expounded ritual context and significance of Vedas. Include Forest treatises and Upanishads. Dialogues between brahmin priests and kings.

Brahma

A Hindu god considered the creator of the world.

Mahmud of Ghazni

A Mamluk who created the Ghaznavid Empire (977-1186). Raided India for loot.

Vasco de Gama

A Portugese sailor who was the first European to sail around southern Africa to the Indian Ocean. Arrives in 1498 in Calicut and meets the Zamorin of Calicut. Eventually monopolizes and militarily enforces trade out of India.

Safavids

A Shi'ite Muslim dynasty that ruled in Persia (Iran and parts of Iraq) from the 16th-18th centuries that had a mixed culture of the Persians, Ottomans and Arabs.

Alexander of Macedon

Beginning in 326 BCE -- Led troops across Indus into Taxila. Encountered Magadha empire under Nanda dynasty. Army mutinied after hearing reports of war elephants.

Brahmanical

Belonging to the highest caste of priests.

East India Companies

British, French, and Dutch trading companies that obtained government monopolies of trade to India and Asia; acted independently in their regions.

Boddhisattva

Buddhist monks who reached enlightenment, but stayed in world to assist others achieve nirvana

Abbasids

Caliphate that ruled much of the Muslim Empire from 750 to about 1250. Had capital in Baghdad. Disorganized rule. Sacked by Mongols in 1258.

Gandharvas

Celestial beings found in the Vedas

Apsaras

Celestial nymphs in the Vedas

Khande de Pahul

Ceremony of the Double Edged Sword that initiates men into the khalsa. Men take Singh surname and women take Kaur surname and have to observe conduct of 5 K's.

Babur

First Mughal emperor in India who loved the natural world. Ruled in the 16th century. Was most famous for taking Kabul leading him into India. Builds Bagh-i-Wafa a 4 part garden known as a charbagh. Had spiritual and religious connotations. Babur fought the last Delhi sultan Lodi at Paniput in 1526 and won. When he goes to Delhi, he pays religious respects to ancestors by circumambulating their tombs. Babur moves the capital to Agra and splits the treasury between his two sons: Humayan and Kamran.

Inquisition (Goa)

Forced conversions to Catholicism in the Portuguese port town of Goa. The Portuguese burnt many people at the stake.

Ottomans

Founded in 1299. Turkish empire belonging to Gunpowder empire.

Siddharta Gautam

Founder of Buddhism who had a vision at age 29 and achieved moksha. Pictured sitting under Bodhi tree. Preaches to sangha (community of Buddhist monks and nuns)

Chaturanga

Four Limbed army. Conceptualizes army as a well-oiled, organized body. Unified force with functional parts (foot soldiers, cavalry, chariots, elephants). Spoke to new statecraft.

Who gained and who lost in the Delhi Sultanates?

Gain: Hindu and Jain moneylenders prospered, many sultans had large debts Lost: Local rajas, Hindu/Buddhist/Jain polities replaced by Turk, Afghan, Persian leaders, also Brahmans, temple priests lost source of patronage

Harmindar Sahib

Golden Temple in Amritsar. It is the holiest Gurudwara and surrounds a man made pool. It was created by Guru Ram Das.

Megasthenes

Greek ambassador who wrote detailed descriptions of Chandragupta's capital. Writes "Indika" an over-exaggeration.

Sangha

Group order of monks and nuns with a communal infrastructure

Jati

Groups of lineages or clans in relations of marriageability. Usually endogamous, also called "caste". You only marry into your own jati. There are thousands of these and are localized to particular regions. Jatis trace back (theoretically) to varna

Deccan Sultanate

Highly multicultural groups of Muslim dynasties that emerged after the breakup of the Bahmani Sultanate. Tensions between the deccanis (Indian born nobles/Sunnis) and Afaqis (foreign born from Iran/Shiites).

Ptolemy

His ideas on science influenced Muslim and European scholars from Roman times until the Scientific Revolution. He was a Greco-Roman writer famous as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Greek, and held Roman citizenship.

Asceticism

Holding back on pleasure. Work on body and mind to attain some end.

Ashvamedha

Horse sacrifice. Reliant on Brahman/Priest to execute it.

Chakravartin

Ideal universal ruler. "One who turns the wheel"

Mehrgarh

In modern day Pakistan located near the Bolan Pass-- where first people settled. It was Neolithic farming community. Pre-urban Indus Valley site. Evidence of domestication of animals and multi-room houses.

Nayamkara

In the Vij Empire...like Iqta since it was revenue assignment but was revocable and changeable. Taxes also on selling/transport of goods, grazing animals. One is expected to give gifts to the King.

Mapillas

Native Muslim community in South Asia.

Was the Vijaynagar Empire a Hindu bulwark against Muslim rule?

No, there really wasn't a concept of Hindu religion yet. Vij was more multi-cultural and were extending what the Sultanates put in place (like iqta/nayamkara). Also their key rivals are the Gajapatis who are Hindu. There was also broad incorporation of Muslim sultanates w revenue practices and military personel. There was even an Islamic quarter in Hampi (the capital city).

Indo-Aryan

North Indian language family that is a subset of Indo-European. Descended from Sanskrit and brought to India by Aryans in 1400 BCE. Includes Punjabi, Hindi

Akbarnama (Abdul Fazl)

Official chronicle of Akbar's reign written by Abu Fazl. Shows how the ideals of kingship are shifting. Emperors are thought to have quasi-divine powers. The Mughal king is seen as glorified and emanating light.

Satya

One of the vows (in addition to ahimsa or non-violence) that Jain monks and nuns take. Satya means truth.

The Hijra

The Migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in A.D. 622, marking the founding of Islam

Neolithic

The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution. It follows the Paleolithic period.

Kshatrya

The second of the four classed of the caste system, traditionally made up of warriors and administrators.

Gobind Singh

The tenth guru and the one who established the Khalsa (the initiated Sikhs), came up with the 5 K's, and compiled the Guru Granth known as the final and eternal guru.

Twice born

The upper three castes whose males go through a "re-birth" ceremony when they come-of-age at around 12. Become initated by conferral of the sacred thread as they enter student stage. Common duty is to study the Vedas, offer sacrifices, and give religious gifts.

Dasyu

These are people depicted as the enemies of the Aryans.

Din-i_Ilahi

This is the religion Akbar created during his Mughal rule. It sought to combine philosophies of Islam and Hinduism. Most of all, it encouraged tolerance. Akbar was famous for rescinding the jizya tax on non-Muslims.

Shramanas

Those who renounce. Give up attachment to all material things and social relationships, including family (must be celibate).

Ramdaspur

Town built by Guru Ram Das

Kuru

Tribe in the heartland of the Vedas. 500 BCE. Most of Vedic literature happened here.

Panchala

Tribe in the heartland of the Vedas. 500 BCE. Most of Vedic literature happened here.

Stupa

a Buddhist shrine, usually dome-shaped

Yoga sutras

a compilation of yoga practices for the spiritually advanced elite, attributed to the sage Patanjali

Jagir

a type of feudal land grant in South Asia at the foundation of its Jagirdar system.

Raja

an Indian prince

Sanskrit

an Indo-European, Indic language, in use since 2nd millennium BCE as the religious and classical literary language of India.

Samhita

collection of hymns (there are four in the Vedas)

Purusha

cosmic man sacrificed and split into 4 to create caste system

Prajapati

creator figure in Hinduism

Achaeminid Empire

early Persian Empire that would conquer the Middle East, set up administrative practices that would be copied by others afterwards, and fight with the Greeks

Nayaka

elite warrior