Sistem Perdagangan Harbour Peradaban

Peradaban Lembah Indus Peradaban Lembah Indus (IVC) adalah peradaban Zaman Perunggu (3300-1300 SM periode dewasa 2600-1900 SM) yang terbentang dari apa yang sekarang terjadi di Afghanistan timur laut ke Pakistan dan India barat laut. Seiring dengan Mesir Kuno dan Mesopotamia, ini adalah satu dari tiga peradaban awal Dunia Lama, dan tiga yang paling luas berkembang di lembah sungai Indus, salah satu sungai utama di Asia, dan Sungai Ghaggar-Hakra, Yang pernah melewati India barat laut dan Pakistan timur. Pada puncaknya, Peradaban Indus mungkin memiliki populasi lebih dari lima juta. Penduduk lembah sungai Indus kuno mengembangkan teknik baru dalam kerajinan tangan (produk akik, ukiran segel) dan metalurgi (tembaga, tembaga, timbal, dan timah). Kota-kota Indus dicatat untuk perencanaan kota mereka, rumah bata yang dipanggang, sistem drainase yang rumit, sistem pasokan air, dan kelompok bangunan non-hunian yang besar Peradaban Lembah Indus juga dikenal sebagai Peradaban Harappan, setelah Harappa, yang pertama dari situsnya Untuk digali di tahun 1920-an, di provinsi Punjab British India dulu, dan sekarang adalah Pakistan. Penemuan Harappa, dan segera setelah itu, Mohenjo-Daro, adalah puncak dari pekerjaan yang dimulai pada tahun 1861 dengan berdirinya Survei Arkeologi India di Raj Britania. Ekskavasi situs Harappan telah berlangsung sejak tahun 1920, dengan terobosan penting yang terjadi sebagai Baru-baru ini sebagai 1999. Ada budaya awal dan kemudian, sering disebut Harappan Awal dan Harappan Akhir, di wilayah yang sama dengan Peradaban Harappan. Peradaban Harappan kadang-kadang disebut budaya Harappan Dewasa untuk membedakannya dari budaya ini. Sampai tahun 1999, lebih dari 1.056 kota dan permukiman telah ditemukan, yang telah digali, terutama di wilayah umum Sungai Indus dan Ghaggar-Hakra dan anak-anak sungainya. Di antara permukiman tersebut adalah pusat kota utama Harappa, Mohenjo-daro (Situs Warisan Dunia UNESCO), Dholavira, Ganeriwala di Cholistan dan Rakhigarhi. Bahasa Harappan tidak dibuktikan secara langsung dan afiliasinya tidak pasti karena naskah Indus masih belum diketahui. Hubungan dengan keluarga bahasa Dravida atau Elamo-Dravida disukai oleh sebagian ilmuwan. Kronologi Fase matang peradaban Harappan berlangsung dari c. 2600 sampai 1900 SM. Dengan masuknya budaya pendahulu dan penerus - Harappan Awal dan Harappan Akhir, masing-masing - Peradaban Lembah Indus secara keseluruhan dapat berlangsung sejak abad ke-33 sampai abad ke-14 SM. Dua istilah digunakan untuk periodisasi IVC: Fase dan Eras. Harappan Awal Harappan, Harahap Murni, dan Akhir Harappan juga disebut era Regionalisasi, Integrasi, dan Pelokalan, masing-masing, dengan era Regionalisasi yang kembali ke periode Neolitikum Mehrgarh II. Penemuan di Mehrgarh mengubah keseluruhan konsep peradaban Indus, menurut Ahmad Hasan Dani, profesor emeritus di Universitas Quaid-e-Azam, Islamabad. Di sana kita memiliki keseluruhan urutan, sejak awal kehidupan desa yang tenang. Peradaban Lembah Indus mencakup sebagian besar wilayah Pakistan dan bagian barat laut India, Afghanistan dan Iran, membentang dari Balochistan di barat sampai Uttar Pradesh di timur, Afghanistan timur laut di utara dan Maharashtra di selatan. Geografi Lembah Indus menempatkan peradaban yang muncul di sana dalam situasi yang sangat mirip dengan yang ada di Mesir dan Peru, dengan lahan pertanian kaya dikelilingi oleh dataran tinggi, padang pasir, dan samudra. Baru-baru ini, situs Indus telah ditemukan di Provinsi Perbatasan Pakistan barat laut juga. Koloni IVC lainnya dapat ditemukan di Afghanistan sementara koloni terisolasi yang lebih kecil dapat ditemukan sejauh Turkmenistan dan di Gujarat. Permukiman pesisir meluas dari Sutkagan Dor di Western Baluchistan ke Lothal di Gujarat. Sebuah lokasi Lembah Indus telah ditemukan di Sungai Oxus di Shortughai di Afghanistan utara, di lembah Sungai Gomal di Pakistan barat laut, di Manda, Jammu di Sungai Beas dekat Jammu, India, dan di Alamgirpur di Sungai Hindon, hanya 28 km Dari Delhi Lokasi Lembah Indus paling banyak ditemukan di sungai, tapi juga di pantai kuno, misalnya, Balakot, dan di pulau-pulau, misalnya, Dholavira. Ada bukti adanya hamparan sungai kering yang tumpang tindih dengan saluran Hakra di Pakistan dan Sungai Ghaggar musiman di India. Banyak lokasi Lembah Indus (atau Harappan) telah ditemukan di sepanjang tempat tidur Ghaggar-Hakra. Diantaranya adalah: Rupar, Rakhigarhi, Sothi, Kalibangan, dan Ganwariwala. Menurut J. G. Shaffer dan D. A. Lichtenstein, Peradaban Harappan adalah perpaduan antara tradisi Bagor, Hakra, dan Koti Dij atau kelompok etnis di lembah Ghaggar-Hakra di perbatasan India dan Pakistan. Menurut beberapa arkeolog, lebih dari 500 situs Harappan telah ditemukan di sepanjang hamparan sungai kering di Sungai Ghaggar-Hakra dan anak-anak sungainya, berbeda dengan hanya sekitar 100 di sepanjang Indus dan anak-anak sungainya, menurut pendapat mereka, sebutan Indus Peradaban Ghaggar-Hakra atau peradaban Indus-Saraswati dibenarkan. Namun, argumen yang diilhami secara politis ini diperdebatkan oleh para arkeolog lain yang menyatakan bahwa kawasan gurun Ghaggar-Hakra tidak tersentuh oleh permukiman dan pertanian sejak akhir periode Indus dan karenanya menunjukkan lebih banyak tempat daripada yang ditemukan di alluvium lembah Indus kedua , Bahwa jumlah situs Harappan di sepanjang tempat tidur sungai Ghaggar-Hakra telah dibesar-besarkan dan bahwa Ghaggar-Hakra, bila ada, adalah anak sungai Indus, jadi tata nama baru itu berlebihan. Peradaban Harappan tetap yang benar, menurut penggunaan arkeologi umum untuk menamai peradaban setelah ditemukannya yang pertama. Munculnya Peradaban Awal Harappan Ravi Phase, dinamai di dekat Sungai Ravi di dekatnya, berlangsung dari sekitar tahun 3300 SM sampai 2800 SM. Hal ini terkait dengan Fase Hakra, yang diidentifikasi di Lembah Sungai Ghaggar-Hakra di barat, dan mendahului Tahap Kot Diji (2800-2600 SM, Harappan 2), dinamai menurut sebuah situs di Sindh utara, Pakistan, dekat Mohenjo Daro. Contoh paling awal dari naskah Indus berasal dari sekitar 3000 SM. Fase matang budaya desa sebelumnya diwakili oleh Rehman Dheri dan Amri di Pakistan. Kot Diji (Harappan 2) mewakili fase menjelang Harahap Mature, dengan benteng yang mewakili otoritas terpusat dan kualitas kehidupan yang semakin urban. Kota lain dari panggung ini ditemukan di Kalibangan di India di Sungai Hakra. Jaringan perdagangan menghubungkan budaya ini dengan budaya daerah yang terkait dan sumber bahan baku yang jauh, termasuk lapis lazuli dan bahan lainnya untuk pembuatan manik. Penduduk desa pada saat ini telah menjinakkan berbagai tanaman, termasuk kacang polong, biji wijen, kurma, dan kapas, serta hewan, termasuk kerbau. Komunitas Harappan awal beralih ke pusat kota besar pada tahun 2600 SM, dari mana fase Harappan yang matang dimulai. Pada 2600 SM, komunitas Harappan Awal telah berubah menjadi pusat kota besar. Pusat kota seperti Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro di Pakistan modern, dan Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, dan Lothal di zaman modern India. Secara total, lebih dari 1.052 kota dan permukiman telah ditemukan, terutama di wilayah umum Sungai Indus dan anak-anak sungainya. Budaya urban yang canggih dan berteknologi maju terbukti dalam peradaban Lembah Indus. Kualitas perencanaan kota kota menunjukkan pengetahuan tentang perencanaan kota dan pemerintah kota yang efisien yang mengutamakan kebersihan. Jalan-jalan kota besar seperti Mohenjo-daro atau Harappa ditata dalam pola grid yang sempurna, sebanding dengan New York saat ini. Rumah-rumah terlindungi dari kebisingan, bau, dan pencuri. Seperti yang terlihat di Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, dan Rakhigarhi yang baru ditemukan, rencana kota ini termasuk sistem sanitasi perkotaan pertama di dunia. Di dalam kota, rumah atau kelompok rumah mendapatkan air dari sumur. Dari sebuah ruangan yang tampaknya telah disisihkan untuk mandi, air limbah diarahkan untuk menutupi saluran pembuangan, yang berjajar di jalan-jalan utama. Rumah-rumah dibuka hanya untuk halaman dalam dan jalur yang lebih kecil. Sistem pembuangan kotoran dan drainase kuno Indus yang dikembangkan dan digunakan di kota-kota di seluruh Kekaisaran Indus jauh lebih maju daripada yang ditemukan di situs perkotaan kontemporer di Timur Tengah dan bahkan lebih efisien daripada di beberapa wilayah Pakistan modern dan India saat ini. Arsitektur maju Harappans ditunjukkan oleh galangan kapal, lumbung, gudang, platform batu bata, dan dinding pelindung yang mengesankan. Benteng besar kota-kota Indus yang melindungi orang-orang Harappan dari banjir dan penyerang lebih besar dari kebanyakan ziggurats Mesopotamia. Tujuan dari Citadel tetap diperdebatkan. Berbeda sekali dengan sezaman peradaban ini, Mesopotamia dan Mesir kuno, tidak ada struktur monumental besar yang dibangun. Tidak ada bukti pasti dari istana atau kuil, sesungguhnya, tentang raja, tentara, atau imam. Beberapa struktur dianggap sebagai lumbung. Ditemukan di satu kota adalah bak mandi besar yang sangat bagus, yang mungkin merupakan pemandian umum. Meskipun Benteng berdinding, namun jauh dari jelas bahwa bangunan ini bersifat defensif. Mereka mungkin telah dibangun untuk mengalihkan air banjir. Kebanyakan penghuni kota tampaknya adalah pedagang atau pengrajin, yang tinggal dengan orang lain yang melakukan pekerjaan yang sama di lingkungan yang terdefinisi dengan baik. Bahan dari daerah yang jauh digunakan di kota-kota untuk membangun segel, manik-manik, dan benda lainnya. Di antara artefak yang dibuat adalah manik-manik indah batu mengkilap yang disebut faence. Anjing laut memiliki gambar hewan, dewa, dll dan prasasti. Beberapa meterai digunakan untuk menanamkan tanah liat pada barang-barang perdagangan, namun mungkin ada kegunaan lain. Meskipun beberapa rumah lebih besar daripada yang lain, kota peradaban Indus luar biasa karena egalitarianisme mereka yang sesungguhnya. Misalnya, semua rumah memiliki akses terhadap fasilitas air dan drainase. Seseorang mendapat kesan masyarakat kelas menengah yang luas. Reruntuhan Harrappa pertama kali dijelaskan pada tahun 1842 oleh Charles Masson dalam Narrative of Various Journeys di Balochistan, Afghanistan, dan Punjab, di mana penduduk setempat berbicara tentang sebuah kota kuno yang memperluas tiga belas kosses (sekitar 25 mil), namun tidak ada kepentingan arkeologi yang melekat pada Ini selama hampir satu abad Pada tahun 1856, Jenderal Alexander Cunningham, yang kemudian menjadi jenderal survei arkeologi India utara, mengunjungi Harappa di mana para insinyur Inggris John dan William Brunton meletakkan jalur Perusahaan Kereta Api Indian Timur yang menghubungkan kota-kota Karachi dan Lahore. John menulis: Saya banyak berlatih dalam pikiran saya bagaimana kita bisa mendapatkan pemberat untuk jalur kereta api. Mereka diberitahu tentang sebuah kota kuno yang hancur di dekat garis, yang disebut Brahminabad. Mengunjungi kota, dia menemukannya penuh dengan batu bata yang terbakar dengan baik, dan, yakin bahwa ada sebuah tambang besar untuk pemberat yang saya inginkan, kota Brahminabad dikurangi menjadi pemberat. Beberapa bulan kemudian, ke utara, Johns saudara William Bruntons bagian dari garis berlari di dekat kota lain yang hancur, batu bata yang telah digunakan oleh penduduk desa di desa terdekat Harappa di tempat yang sama. Batu bata ini sekarang menyediakan pemberat sepanjang 93 mil (150 km) jalur kereta api yang berangkat dari Karachi ke Lahore. Pada tahun 187275 Alexander Cunningham menerbitkan segel Harappan pertama (dengan identifikasi yang keliru seperti huruf Brahmi). Itu adalah setengah abad kemudian, pada tahun 1912, bahwa segel Harappan lebih banyak ditemukan oleh J. Fleet, mendorong sebuah kampanye penggalian di bawah Sir John Hubert Marshall pada tahun 1921-22 dan menghasilkan penemuan peradaban di Harappa oleh Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni dan Madho Sarup Vats, dan di Mohenjo-daro oleh Rakhal Das Banerjee, EJH MacKay, dan Sir John Marshall. Pada tahun 1931, sebagian besar Mohenjo-Daro telah digali, namun penggalian berlanjut, seperti yang dipimpin oleh Sir Mortimer Wheeler, direktur Survei Arkeologi India pada tahun 1944. Di antara para arkeolog lainnya yang bekerja di lokasi IVC sebelum pembagian anak benua di 1947 adalah Ahmad Hasan Dani, Brij Basi Lal, Nani Gopal Majumdar, dan Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Setelah Pemisahan India, sebagian besar penemuan arkeologi diwariskan oleh Pakistan di mana sebagian besar berbasis IVC, dan penggalian mulai saat ini termasuk yang dipimpin oleh Sir Mortimer Wheeler pada tahun 1949, penasihat arkeologi untuk Pemerintah Pakistan. Pos-pos dari peradaban Lembah Indus digali sejauh Sutkagan Dor di Baluchistan, sejauh utara di Shortugai di Amu Darya (nama-nama kuno sungai itu Oxus) di Afghanistan saat ini, sejauh timur di Alamgirpur, Uttar Pradesh, India Dan sampai ke selatan seperti di Malwan, Surat Dist. India. Pada tanggal 11 Juli, banjir besar melanda Haryana di India dan merusak situs arkeologi Jognakhera, tempat peleburan tembaga purba ditemukan sejak hampir 5.000 tahun. Situs peradaban Lembah Indus terkena air hampir 10 kaki karena kanal link Sutlej Yamuna meluap. Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo Daro - Mound of the Dead - adalah situs arkeologi di provinsi Sindh, Pakistan. Dibangun sekitar tahun 2600 SM, ini adalah salah satu permukiman peradaban Lembah Indus kuno yang paling kuno, dan salah satu permukiman perkotaan paling awal di dunia, sejaman dengan peradaban Mesir kuno, Mesopotamia, dan Kreta. Mohenjo-daro ditinggalkan pada abad ke-19 SM, dan tidak ditemukan kembali sampai tahun 1922. Penggalian yang signifikan sejak saat itu dilakukan di lokasi kota, yang ditetapkan sebagai Situs Warisan Dunia UNESCO pada tahun 1980. Namun, situs tersebut saat ini terancam oleh Erosi dan restorasi yang tidak tepat. Kota Mohusto Daro yang berusia 4.500 tahun hancur karena Smithsonian - 18 Oktober 2013, Mohenjo Daro, pada saat itu, adalah kota terbesar di dunia. Kira-kira 4.500 tahun yang lalu, sebanyak 35.000 orang tinggal dan bekerja di kota besar tersebut, yang menempati 250 hektar di sepanjang sungai Pakis Indus. Mohenjo Daro duduk di bawah tanah selama ribuan tahun, peninggalan kuno peradaban Lembah Indus kuno. Tapi penggalian membuka kota ke elemen, dan sekarang, kata Telegraph, reruntuhannya mungkin hanya tersisa 20 tahun lagi. Catatan arkeologi pemerintah tidak memberikan jawaban segera untuk pusat kekuasaan atau penggambaran orang-orang yang berkuasa di masyarakat Harappan. Tapi, ada indikasi keputusan yang kompleks diambil dan diimplementasikan. Misalnya, keseragaman artefak Harappan yang luar biasa seperti terlihat pada gerabah, segel, timbangan dan batu bata. Inilah teori utama: Ada satu negara, yang memiliki kesamaan dalam artefak, bukti untuk permukiman yang direncanakan, rasio ukuran bata standar, dan pembentukan permukiman di dekat sumber bahan baku. Tidak ada penguasa tunggal kecuali beberapa: Mohenjo-daro memiliki penguasa yang terpisah, Harappa yang lain, dan sebagainya. Masyarakat Harappan tidak memiliki penguasa, dan semua orang menikmati status yang sama. Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi Orang-orang Peradaban Indus mencapai akurasi yang tinggi dalam mengukur panjang, massa, dan waktu. Mereka termasuk orang pertama yang mengembangkan sistem bobot seragam dan ukuran. Perbandingan objek yang tersedia menunjukkan variasi skala besar di wilayah Indus. Divisi terkecil mereka, yang ditandai dengan skala gading yang ditemukan di Lothal, sekitar 1.704 mm, divisi terkecil yang pernah tercatat pada skala Zaman Perunggu. Insinyur Harappan mengikuti pembagian pengukuran desimal untuk semua tujuan praktis, termasuk pengukuran massa seperti yang diungkapkan oleh bobot heksanya. Bobot chert ini berada dalam perbandingan 5: 2: 1 dengan bobot 0,05, 0,1, 0,2, 0,5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, dan 500 unit, dengan masing-masing unit dengan berat sekitar 28 Gram, mirip dengan English Imperial ounce atau Greek uncia, dan benda-benda yang lebih kecil ditimbang dalam rasio yang sama dengan unit 0.871. Namun, seperti pada budaya lain, bobot sebenarnya tidak seragam di seluruh area. Bobot dan ukuran yang digunakan di Kautilyas Arthashastra (abad ke-4 SM) sama dengan yang digunakan di Lothal. Harappan mengembangkan beberapa teknik baru dalam metalurgi dan menghasilkan tembaga, perunggu, timbal, dan timah. Keterampilan teknik Harappans luar biasa, terutama di bidang pembuatan dermaga. Pada tahun 2001, para arkeolog yang mempelajari sisa-sisa dua pria dari Mehrgarh, Pakistan, membuat penemuan bahwa orang-orang Peradaban Lembah Indus, sejak periode Harappan awal, memiliki pengetahuan tentang kedokteran gigi proto. Kemudian, pada bulan April 2006, diumumkan di jurnal ilmiah Nature bahwa bukti tertua (dan pertama awal Neolitik) untuk pengeboran gigi manusia in vivo (yaitu orang yang hidup) ditemukan di Mehrgarh. Sebelas mahkota molar yang dibor dari sembilan orang dewasa ditemukan di pemakaman Neolitik di Mehrgarh yang berasal dari 7.500-9.000 tahun yang lalu. Menurut penulis, penemuan mereka menunjukkan tradisi proto-kedokteran gigi pada budaya pertanian awal di wilayah tersebut. Sebuah batu ujian yang memiliki garis emas ditemukan di Banawali, yang mungkin digunakan untuk menguji kemurnian emas (teknik semacam itu masih digunakan di beberapa bagian India). Perdagangan dan Transportasi Perekonomian peradaban Indus tampaknya sangat bergantung pada perdagangan, yang difasilitasi oleh kemajuan teknologi transportasi. IVC mungkin merupakan peradaban pertama yang menggunakan transportasi beroda. Kemajuan ini mungkin termasuk gerobak sapi jantan yang identik dengan yang terlihat di seluruh Asia Selatan saat ini, juga kapal. Sebagian besar kapal ini mungkin kerajinan kecil dan rata, mungkin didorong oleh layar, mirip dengan yang bisa dilihat di Sungai Indus hari ini, namun ada bukti sekunder kerajinan seago. Arkeolog telah menemukan sebuah kanal besar yang dikeruk dan yang mereka anggap sebagai fasilitas docking di kota pesisir Lothal di India bagian barat (negara bagian Gujarat). Jaringan saluran yang luas, yang digunakan untuk irigasi, bagaimanapun juga telah ditemukan oleh H.-P. Francfort. Selama 43003200 SM periode chalcolithic (zaman tembaga), kawasan Peradaban Lembah Indus menunjukkan kemiripan keramik dengan Turkmenistan selatan dan Iran utara yang menunjukkan mobilitas dan perdagangan yang cukup besar. Selama periode Harappan Awal (sekitar 32002600 SM), kesamaan dalam tembikar, anjing laut, patung-patung, ornamen, dan sebagainya mendokumentasikan perdagangan kafilah secara intensif dengan Asia Tengah dan dataran tinggi Iran. Dilihat dari penyebaran artefak peradaban Indus, jaringan perdagangan, secara ekonomi, mengintegrasikan area yang luas, termasuk wilayah Afghanistan, daerah pesisir Persia, India utara dan barat, dan Mesopotamia. Ada beberapa bukti bahwa kontak dagang meluas ke Kreta dan mungkin ke Mesir. Ada jaringan perdagangan maritim yang luas yang beroperasi antara peradaban Harappan dan Mesopotamia pada awal fase Harappan tengah, dengan banyak perdagangan ditangani oleh pedagang perantara dari Dilmun (Bahrain modern dan Failaka yang terletak di Teluk Persia). Perdagangan laut jarak jauh semacam itu menjadi layak dengan pengembangan inovatif kapal papan yang dibangun, dilengkapi dengan satu tiang tengah yang mendukung berlayar dari anyaman atau kain. Beberapa permukiman pesisir seperti Sotkagen-dor (mengangkangi Sungai Dasht, sebelah utara Jiwani), Sokhta Koh (mengarungi Sungai Shadi, sebelah utara Pasni), dan Balakot (dekat Sonmiani) di Pakistan bersama Lothal di India memberi kesaksian bahwa peran mereka sebagai pos terdepan Harappan . Pelabuhan dangkal yang terletak di muara sungai yang membuka ke laut memungkinkan perdagangan maritim cepat dengan kota-kota Mesopotamia. Pertanian Sifat sistem peradaban penduduk Indus pada dasarnya masih merupakan masalah dugaan karena terbatasnya jumlah informasi yang bertahan selama berabad-abad. Beberapa spekulasi mungkin dilakukan. Penelitian sebelumnya (sebelum tahun 1980) sering berasumsi bahwa produksi pangan diimpor ke Lembah Indus oleh satu kelompok linguistik (Aryans) dan dari satu wilayah saja. Namun studi terbaru menunjukkan bahwa produksi pangan sebagian besar berasal dari Lembah Indus. Orang-orang Mehrgarh menggunakan gandum dan jelai yang diawetkan dan tanaman sereal yang dibudidayakan utamanya adalah jelai enam baris telanjang, tanaman yang berasal dari dua baris jelai. Arkeolog Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) menulis bahwa situs Mehrgarh menunjukkan bahwa produksi pangan adalah fenomena asli Asia Selatan dan bahwa data tersebut mendukung interpretasi urbanisasi prasejarah dan organisasi sosial yang kompleks di Asia Selatan berdasarkan pada masyarakat adat, namun tidak terisolasi. , Perkembangan budaya. Peradaban peradaban Indus pasti sangat produktif, ia mampu menghasilkan surplus yang cukup untuk mendukung puluhan ribu penduduk perkotaan yang tidak terutama terlibat dalam pertanian. Ini bergantung pada pencapaian teknologi yang cukup besar dari budaya pra-Harappan, termasuk bajak. Meski begitu, sangat sedikit yang diketahui tentang petani yang mendukung kota atau metode pertanian mereka. Beberapa dari mereka pasti menggunakan tanah aluvial yang subur yang ditinggalkan oleh sungai setelah musim banjir, namun metode pertanian sederhana ini tidak dianggap cukup produktif untuk mendukung kota. Tidak ada bukti irigasi, tapi bukti semacam itu bisa dilenyapkan akibat banjir yang berulang dan bencana. Peradaban Indus tampaknya bertentangan dengan hipotesis despotisme hidrolik tentang asal-usul peradaban kota dan negara. Menurut hipotesis ini, kota tidak dapat muncul tanpa sistem irigasi yang mampu menghasilkan surplus pertanian yang besar. Untuk membangun sistem ini, sebuah negara terpusat dan terpusat muncul yang mampu menekan status sosial ribuan orang dan memanfaatkan tenaga kerja mereka sebagai budak. Sangat sulit untuk membedakan hipotesis ini dengan apa yang diketahui tentang peradaban Indus. Tidak ada bukti tentang raja, budak, atau mobilisasi kerja paksa. Seringkali diasumsikan bahwa produksi pertanian intensif membutuhkan bendungan dan kanal. Asumsi ini mudah dibantah. Di seluruh Asia, petani padi menghasilkan surplus pertanian yang signifikan dari sawah berteras, lereng bukit, yang bukan bukan dari perbudakan melainkan tenaga kerja akumulasi banyak generasi manusia. Alih-alih membangun kanal, masyarakat peradaban Indus mungkin telah membangun skema pengalihan air, yang - seperti teras pertanian - dapat diuraikan berdasarkan generasi investasi tenaga kerja skala kecil. Selain itu, diketahui bahwa peradaban Indus mempraktekkan pemanenan curah hujan, sebuah teknologi kuat yang dibuahi oleh peradaban India klasik namun hampir terlupakan di abad ke-20. Harus diingat bahwa masyarakat peradaban Indus, seperti semua bangsa di Asia Selatan, membangun kehidupan mereka di sekitar musim hujan, pola cuaca di mana curah hujan tahunan terjadi dalam periode empat bulan. Di sebuah kota peradaban Indus yang baru ditemukan di India barat, para arkeolog menemukan serangkaian waduk besar, yang dipahat dari batu padat dan dirancang untuk mengumpulkan curah hujan, yang bisa memenuhi kebutuhan kota selama musim kemarau. Beberapa penelitian pasca-1980 menunjukkan bahwa produksi pangan sebagian besar berasal dari Lembah Indus. Diketahui bahwa orang-orang Mehrgarh menggunakan gandum dan jelai yang dijinakkan, 53 dan tanaman sereal yang dibudidayakan utamanya adalah jelai enam baris telanjang, tanaman yang berasal dari dua baris jelai (lihat Shaffer dan Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). Arkeolog Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) menulis bahwa situs Mehrgarh menunjukkan bahwa produksi pangan adalah fenomena asli Asia Selatan dan bahwa data tersebut mendukung interpretasi urbanisasi prasejarah dan organisasi sosial yang kompleks di Asia Selatan berdasarkan pada masyarakat adat, namun tidak terisolasi. , Perkembangan budaya. Yang lain, seperti Dorian Fuller, bagaimanapun, menunjukkan bahwa dibutuhkan sekitar 2000 tahun sebelum gandum Timur Tengah disesuaikan dengan kondisi Asia Selatan. Indus Script Telah lama diklaim bahwa Lembah Indus adalah rumah peradaban yang melek huruf, namun ini baru saja ditantang pada dasar linguistik dan arkeologi. Lebih dari 400 simbol Indus telah ditemukan di segel atau pot keramik dan lebih dari selusin bahan lainnya, termasuk papan nama yang tampaknya pernah digantung di gerbang benteng dalam kota Indus Dholavira. Prasasti Indus yang khas tidak lebih dari empat atau lima karakter, yang sebagian besar (selain papan nama Dholavira) sangat kecil yang terpanjang pada satu permukaan, yang berukuran kurang dari 1 inci (2,54 cm) persegi, adalah 17 tanda panjang Terpanjang pada objek apapun (ditemukan pada tiga wajah berbeda dari benda yang diproduksi secara massal) hanya memuat 26 simbol. Baru-baru ini ditunjukkan bahwa singkatnya prasasti tidak ada bandingannya dalam masyarakat terpelajar pramodern manapun, termasuk yang banyak menulis tentang daun, kulit kayu, kayu, kain, lilin, kulit binatang, dan bahan-bahan yang mudah rusak lainnya. Berdasarkan sebagian dari bukti ini, sebuah makalah baru-baru ini yang kontroversial oleh Farmer, Sproat, dan Witzel (2004), berpendapat bahwa sistem Indus tidak menyandikan bahasa, namun dikaitkan dengan beragam sistem tanda non-linguistik yang digunakan secara ekstensif di Timur Dekat . Ini juga telah diklaim pada kesempatan bahwa simbol-simbol itu secara eksklusif digunakan untuk transaksi ekonomi, namun klaim ini meninggalkan tampilan simbol Indus yang tidak dapat dijelaskan pada banyak objek ritual, banyak di antaranya diproduksi massal dalam cetakan. Tidak ada kesamaan dengan prasasti yang diproduksi massal ini dikenal di peradaban kuno awal lainnya. Foto-foto banyaknya ribuan prasasti yang masih ada diterbitkan di Corpus of Indus Seal and Inscriptions (1987, 1991), disunting oleh A. Parpola dan rekan-rekannya. Publikasi dari volume ketiga terakhir, yang dilaporkan akan menerbitkan ulang foto yang diambil pada tahun 20an dan 30an dari ratusan prasasti yang hilang atau dicuri, dan banyak ditemukan dalam beberapa dekade terakhir, telah diumumkan selama beberapa tahun, namun belum menemukan jalannya. Ke cetak. Untuk saat ini, para periset harus melengkapi bahan-bahan di Corpus dengan mempelajari foto-foto mungil dalam laporan penggalian Marshall (1931), Mackay (1938, 1943), Wheeler (1947), atau reproduksi dalam sumber yang tersebar lebih baru. Istilah Skrip Indus mengacu pada senar simbol pendek yang terkait dengan peradaban Harappan di India kuno (sebagian besar situs Indus didistribusikan di India Barat Laut dan Pakistan Utara) yang digunakan antara tahun 26001900 SM, yang berevolusi dari bentuk awal naskah Indus Dibuktikan dari sekitar tahun 3300 SM. Mereka paling sering dikaitkan dengan tablet batu datar berbentuk persegi yang disebut anjing laut, namun juga ditemukan di setidaknya selusin bahan lainnya. Publikasi pertama dari segel Harappan tanggal 1875, dalam bentuk gambar oleh Alexander Cunningham. Sejak saat itu, lebih dari 4000 objek bantalan simbol telah ditemukan, beberapa di antaranya sejauh Mesopotamia. Setelah tahun 1900 SM, penggunaan simbol berakhir, bersamaan dengan tahap akhir peradaban Harappan. Beberapa ilmuwan awal, dimulai dengan Cunningham pada tahun 1877, mengira naskah itu adalah tipikal skrip Brahmi yang digunakan oleh Ashoka. Hari ini klaim Cunningham ditolak oleh hampir semua peneliti, namun sebagian kecil ilmuwan India terus memperdebatkan naskah Indus sebagai pendahulu keluarga Brahmic. Ada lebih dari 400 tanda yang berbeda, namun banyak yang dianggap sedikit modifikasi atau kombinasi mungkin dari 200 tanda dasar. Rumah itu tingginya satu atau dua lantai, terbuat dari batu bata yang dipanggang, dengan atap datar, dan hampir identik. Masing-masing dibangun di sekitar halaman, dengan jendela menghadap ke halaman. Dinding luar tidak memiliki jendela. Setiap rumah memiliki sumur minum pribadinya dan kamar mandi pribadinya sendiri. Pipa tanah liat mengarah dari kamar mandi ke selokan yang berada di bawah jalanan. Selokan ini dikeringkan ke hampir sungai dan sungai. Kota-kota Harappan tidak berkembang perlahan, yang menunjukkan bahwa siapa pun yang membangun kota-kota ini belajar melakukannya di tempat lain. Saat banjir Indus, kota-kota dibangun kembali di atas satu sama lain. Arkeolog telah menemukan beberapa kota yang berbeda, yang dibangun di atas yang lain, masing-masing dibangun sedikit kurang terampil. Yang paling terampil ada di bawah. Akan terlihat bahwa pembangun tumbuh kurang mampu atau kurang tertarik pada kesempurnaan dari waktu ke waktu. Namun, setiap kota adalah sebuah keajaiban, dan masing-masing sangat maju untuk masanya. Kota mereka terbentang di grid di mana-mana (jalan lurus, rumah dibangun dengan baik) Orang-orang ini adalah pembangun yang luar biasa. Para ilmuwan telah menemukan apa yang mereka anggap sebagai waduk raksasa untuk air tawar. Mereka juga menemukan bahwa bahkan rumah terkecil di tepi setiap kota dikaitkan dengan sistem drainase kota tersebut. (Mungkinkah mereka tidak hanya membuang air limbah, tapi juga memiliki sistem untuk memompa air tawar ke rumah mereka, mirip dengan pipa ledeng modern. Pria dan wanita mengenakan jubah warna-warni. Wanita memakai perhiasan emas dan batu mulia, dan bahkan Memakai lipstik Di antara harta yang ditemukan adalah patung wanita yang mengenakan gelang. (Gelang dengan desain serupa dipakai hari ini di India.) Pakaian untuk sebagian besar, serupa untuk pria dan wanita. Kostum dasar masyarakat kuno adalah Panjang kain yang dililitkan di bagian bawah tubuh, dan garmen longgar untuk bagian atas tubuh, yang biasanya merupakan kain panjang lainnya. Potongan kepala juga dipakai, terutama oleh para pria. Wanita dalam masyarakat Veda juga mengenakan berbagai pakaian. Yang pertama adalah gamis jenis rok (dhoti), dengan blus (choli) dan syal. Yang kedua adalah sari, yang merupakan panjang kain yang melilit di sekitar tubuh dengan ujung yang longgar (pallu) dilemparkan ke bahu. Choli akan dipakai dengan ini. Garmen terakhir Biasanya dipakai oleh wanita kesukuan. Adivasi adalah panjang kain yang diikat di pinggang tanpa pakaian bagian atas yang dikenakan. Pria juga punya pilihan di busana mereka meski tidak beragam seperti wanita. Pria biasanya mengenakan Dhoti, yang merupakan panjang kain yang melilit pinggang. Ini bisa dibiarkan seperti rok atau dibawa melalui kaki dan dijadikan garmen jenis celana. Orang-orang di selatan jarang mengenakan kemeja, tapi orang-orang di utara mengenakan pakaian dalam yang pas. Potongan kepala pria juga panjang kain, dililitkan di sekitar kepala, disebut Turban. Wanita terkadang memakai sorban juga. Karena luasnya India banyak perbedaan dalam pakaian muncul, terutama karena perbedaan iklim. Orang India selatan mengenakan jauh lebih sedikit daripada di utara yang lebih dingin. Wanita di selatan jarang mengenakan pakaian atas. Wanita utara mengenakan garmen atas yang pas dipakai di bawah pas longgar. Pakaian terbuat dari sumber daya yang ada di masing-masing daerah. Kapas dan wol adalah yang paling melimpah, karena sutra tidak diperkenalkan dari China sampai sekitar abad ke-1 SM. Orang juga menikmati bordir dan hiasan mewah. Emas menjadi pilihan, meski ada juga banyak permata perak dan permata berharga. Entertainment A beautiful small bronze statue of a dancer was found, which tells us that they enjoyed dance and had great skill working with metals. In the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro, scientists have found the remains of a large central pool, with steps leading down at both ends. This could have been a public swimming pool, or perhaps have been used for religious ceremonies. Around this large central pool were smaller rooms, that might have dressing rooms, and smaller pools that might have been private baths. Some of the toys found were small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string. Musical instruments include the Sarangi, Sitar, Tabla, Tambora, and Tanpura. Since Vedic times, Indians had been required to correctly recite, the Vedas. The correctness in recitation was very important as the Vedas were, in those days, transmitted through memory (Smriti) and were learned through hearing (Shruti). This kind of an emphasis on recitation the correct pronunciation lead to studies in phonetics and sound manipulation. This was the birthplace of Indian Musical Raga (metre) and Swaras (rhymes). That Music in ancient India was given considerable recognition is illustrated by the fact that Saraswati, the Indian goddess of learning is shown to be holding a musical instrument (Veena) in her hand. Traditionally, vocal music in India has tended to be devotional music (Bhakti-geet), and temples have been places where musicians used to practice music to please the deity and the devotees. Indian vocal music is broadly divided into two schools - the Hindustani or north Indian school and the Carnatic or South Indian school. As far as instrumental music goes there is a general identity of instruments that have been used. The main Indian musical instruments are the Sarod, the Veena, the Sarangi, the Tambora, the Harmonium, the Ghata, the Tabla, the Tanpura, the Satar, etc. As compared to art and architecture Indian music has had less impact on the outside world. This was so as most of Indian musical instruments require specialized material and craftsmanship for their manufacture. And in the absence of transmission of these skills and the absence of trade in musical instruments, Along with the necessity of long and arduous practice which was required to master these instruments, made the transmission of music a difficult task. However, as far as, devotional vocal music goes, Indian musical traditions did travel to the countries of South east Asia. The instrumental and vocal music of Korea has many elements of Indian music, which it received along with the Buddhist invocative and devotional songs and slokas (religious couplets). Along with Buddhism, some Indian musical instruments like the flute (bansi), temples bell (Ghanta), etc. went to the countries of south-east Asia. Even Europe owes certain instruments to India. Two popular European musical instruments namely the flute and violin are believed to be of Indian origin. Though we do not know about the process of transmission of these instruments, however in India the flute (bansi) and the violin (a variant of the Veena) are definitely indigenously Indian. A pointer to the fact that these instruments have been in usage in India since a very long time is that the bansi is associated with Sri Krishna and the Veena with the goddess Saraswati. This apart, in modern times the western musical instruments like the Tambourin and the Tambour are adaptations of the Indian Tambora and Tanpura. The names Tambourin and Tambour are also derived from the word Tambora. The Saralngi, another Indian musical instrument has also found its place in western music. The acceptance of these musical instruments in the west is also evident from the fact that the words Tambora, Sarangi and Tabla are mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary. Art and Culture Ancient Indias fine art and performing arts attest to this fact. This find expression in music, musical instruments, dancing, paintings and several other art forms. Music had a divine character in India and in recognition of that the Indian Goddess of learning, Saraswati is always shown holding a musical instrument, namely, the veena. Likewise, Krishna is associated with banshi, that is, the flute - a musical instrument, which traveled throughout the world from India. Indian devotional songs and reciting influenced religious recitations in several eastern countries, where the style was adopted by Buddhists monks. The India developed several types of musical instruments and forms of dancing, with delicate body movements and grace. Paintings have remained the oldest art form as found in several cave paintings across the globe. In India also, in places like Bhimbetka, a UNESCO declared world heritage site, pre-historic cave paintings have been discovered. In relatively recent times, paintings and carvings on rock had significantly developed, and many such rock carvings have been found dating to the period of the emperor Ashoka. Indian influences may be seen in paintings at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Sometimes, such paintings depict not only Buddha but Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. Ancient India had marvelous craftsmen, skilled in pottery, weaving, and metal working. Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, steatite have been found at the excavation sites. The pottery that has been found is of very high quality, with unusually beautiful designs. Several small figures of animals, such as monkeys, have been found. These small figures could be objects of art or toys. There are also small statues of what they think are female gods. They found bowls made of bronze and silver, and many beads and ornaments. The metals used to make these things are not found in the Indus Valley. So, either the people who lived in this ancient civilization had to import all of these items from some other place, or more probably, had to import the metals they used to make these beautiful things from somewhere else. A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. Seals have been found at Mohenjo-daro depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of yoga. A horned figure in a meditation pose has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the god Shiva. The very first works of visual art created in the Indian sub-continent were primitive cave or rock paintings. Many are assumed to exist, but the largest number of discoveries are in Central India, on sandstone rock shelters within a hundred mile radius around Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. these paintings are dated at around 5500 B. C. i. e. they are 1500 years old. Some of these paintings have been overlaid with later paintings and graffiti. The paintings generally depict animals, in scenes such as hunting. Human figures are also shown with bows and arrows, and swords and shields. The colors used An intricately carved pillar at Ellora in Maharashtra dating back to the 7th century. are made up of natural minerals and are in various shades of red and orange. These paintings are the forerunners of the frescos of a later age which are seen at Ajanta, Ellora and elsewhere in India. But unfortunately no well preserved art remains, to document the period between the coming of the Aryans i. e. 1500 B. C. to about the time of Buddha i. e. 550 B. C. We are told by the literary sources that the art of painting was practiced. In the Buddhist texts, elaborate palaces of kings and houses of the wealthy are described as being embellished with wall paintings. But actual evidence about this art is lost. How this art could have been, can be guessed from the paintings on stone surfaces found at Ajanta and Ellora which are said to have been done in around 400 A. D. These paintings at Ajanta and Ellora depict Buddhist tales from the Jatakas. Though the paintings are today 1500 years old, the paint has not only retained its color but also much of its luster. The technique of painting has been thus described by a student of Indian Art. The surface of the stone was first prepared by a coating of potters clay, mixed variously with cow dung, straw, and animal hair. Once this was leveled to a thickness of half an inch to two inches, it was coated with a smooth fine white lime plaster which became the actual painting surface. On the still-damp wall, the artist first laid out his composition with a red cinnabar line and then defined the subjects with an undercoat of grey or terre verte. This was followed by the addition of local colors, and once the whole wall was completely colored, a brown or black line restated the drawing to finish the composition. A last burnishing with a smooth stone gave it a rich lustrous surface. The colors which were natural and water soluble, consisted of purple, browns, yellow, blue, white, green, reds and black. Thus it is evident that the technique of painting had developed to an advanced level This monumental bull was carved in marble in the 3rd century B. C. It stood on a column built by Emperor Ashoka, which was inscribed with Buddhist edicts. of sophistication due which the paintings could survive for 1500 years. Though the colors used are supposed to have been derived from minerals and vegetables they had been treated to last long. The above description also illustrates how, complicated procedures of preparing the surface to be painted had evolved in India. This technique of painting had also spread to central Asia and South-east Asia. Some strains of Indian painting can even be identified in western church paintings and mosaics. Indian influence is clearly evident in the paintings at Bamiyan in Afghanistan and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Not only do these paintings depict the Buddha but also Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. The mention of the word dance conjures up images of Nataraja - Lord of Dance - as the Indian God Shiva is portrayed. Apart from Shiva even Ganesha and Srikrishna are associated with dance and music. India has many classical dance styles. The oldest text dealing with aesthetics covering various art forms including dance is the Natyashastra which is authored by Bharatamuni. All the Indian classical dance styles viz. Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathakali, Manipuri, etc. are derived from the Natyashastra. Some of these dance styles have evolved from folk dances and are intimately connected with the art of story telling. Most of these stories are drawn from our epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, tales from collections like the Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, Katha Sarit Sagara, etc. also from the subject matter of these dance styles. In fact the Kathak and Kathakali from U. P. and Kerala respectively, derive their names from the term Katha which in Sanskrit means a story. As the story is told in the form of dance, these dance styles can actually be called dance-dramas, the only difference is the absence of dialogues. The Charkul dance-drama of Central India revolves around a story generally from the Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Similar traditions of dance-dramas are prevalent in other parts of India too. In Maharashtra, you have the Dashavatara, in Karnataka you have the Yakshagana The Kathak dance of North India and the kthaali dance of Kerala also originated as dance dramas and derive their names from the Sanskrit work Katha which means a story. The story has to be told solely through actions and hence an elaborate pattern of facial expressions (Mudra), movement of hands (Hasta) and the simulation of various moods like anger (Krodha), envy (Matsara), greed (Lobha), lust (Kama), ego (Mada), etc. have been evolved. The mastery of perfect expression of these feelings by subtle movement of the lips and eyes forms the root of all the classical Indian dance styles. In fact the combination of the three qualities viz. expression, rhyme and rhythm i. e. Bhava, Raga, and Tala go into the determination of the term Bha-Ra-Ta, which is used as the name of one dance style viz. Bharata Natyam. The integration of Indian classical dance with the physical exercises of Yoga and the breath control of Pranayam has perfected the dance styles. Yoga especially had given the dance styles an excellent footwork which is called Padanyasa and Padalalitya. Another feature of these dance styles is that they are integrated with theology and worship. Traditionally these dances were patronized by the temples. During festivals and other religious occasions, these dances were performed in the temple premises to propitiate the deity. Thus the dance came to combine both art and worship. Even today every recital of any Indian classical dance begins with an invocation to Nataraja or Nateshwara the god of dance. In Indian folklore and legend, the God of Dance is himself shown to be dancing in a form called the Tandava. This has also been depicted in the statues and carvings in temples like, Khajuraho and Konark in Northern India, and at Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, etc. in the South. Indian dances have also evolved styles based on the Tandava like the Urdhra Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, etc. Indian classical dance found its way outside India, especially to the countries of Southeast Asia. The dance styles of Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, etc. have so heavily borrowed from the Indian classical dance traditions that to a casual observer there would seem to be hardly any difference between the two. While Western dance has not directly borrowed anything from Indian classical dance, it has borrowed from Indian folk dance through the medium of the Gypsies. The Gypsies as has been established today, migrated from India to the west many centuries ago. The Gypsies speak a language called Romany which has many common words with Indian languages. The religion of the Gypsies is a modified form of early Hinduism. The Gypsies seem to have been the Banjar nomads who are still found in India. Being a very carefree nomadic community the Gypsies earned their living by giving performance of folk dances, along with the pursuing of other nomadic activities. Gypsy dance has influenced western dance styles like the Waltz and the foxtrot. Even the American Break dance and other dances associated with jazz music have borrowed elements from the gypsy folk dance. The Gypsy folk dance, is itself a free flowing and care free dance, a modified version of which is found in the folk dances of many Adivasi and nomadic tribal communities in India. The origin of the Indian theatre or rather folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to religious ritualism of the Vedic Aryans. This folk theatre of the misty past was mixed with dance, ritualism, plus a depiction of events from daily life. It was the last element which made it the origin of the classical theatre of later times. Many historians, notably D. D. Kosambi, Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Adya Rangacharaya, etc. have referred to the prevalence of ritualism amongst Aryan tribes in which some members of the tribe acted as if they were wild animals and some others were the hunters. Those who acted as animals like goats, buffaloes, reindeer, monkeys, etc. were chased by those playing the role of hunters and a mock hunt was enacted. In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India nearly 4000 years back in the tribal Aryans of Rig Vedic times. There also must have existed a theatrical tradition in the Indus valley cities, but of this we have no literary numismatic or any other material proof. The origin of drama and the theatre has been told to us in an aptly dramatic manner by Bharatamui, the author of Natyashastra an ancient Indian text on dance and drama. Bharatamuni is said to have lived around the 4th century but even he is not aware of the actual origin of the theatre in India. He has cleverly stated in a dramatic manner that it was the lord of creation Brahma who also created the original Natyashastra (Drama). According to Bharatamuni, since the lord Brahma created the entire universe we need not question his ability in creating dramas. But Bharatamuni goes on to tell us that the original Natyashastra of Brahma was too unwieldy and obscure to be of any practical use. Hence, Bharatamuni, himself took up the task of making Natyashastra simple, intelligible and interesting. Thus the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni was supported to be understood by lay people. So the Natyashastra of Bharatamunii is not the oldest text on dance and drama, as Bharata himself says that he has only simplified the original work of lord Brahma. The Natyashastra assumes the existence of many plays before it was composed, and says that most of the early plays did not follow the rules set down in the Natyashastra. But the Natyashastra itself seems to be the first attempt to develop the technique or rather art, of drama in a systematic manner. The Natya Shastra a tells us not only what is to be portrayed in a drama, but how the portrayal is to be done. Drama, as Bharatamuni says, is the imitation of men and their doings (loka-vritti). As men and their doings have to be respected on the stage, so drama in Sanskrit is also known by the term roopaka which means portrayal. According to the Natyashastra all the modes of expression employed by an individual viz. speech, gestures, movements and intonation must be used. The representation of these expressions can have different modes (vritti) according to the predominance and emphasis on one mode or another. Bharatamuni recognizes four main modes viz. Speech and Poetry (Bharati Vritti), Dance and Music (Kaishiki Vritti), Action (Arabhatti Vritti) and Emotions (Sattvatti Vritti). Bharatamuni also specifies where and how a play is to be performed. In ancient India plays were generally performed either in temple-yard or within palace precincts. During public performances, plays were generally performed in the open. For such public performances, Bharatamuni has advocated the construction of a mandapa. According to the Natyashastra in the construction of a mandapa, pillars must be set up in four corners. With the help of these pillars a platform is built of wooden planks. The area of the mandapa is divided into two parts. The front part, which is the back stage is called the r angashrishu. Behind the ranga-shirsha is what was called the nepathya-griha, where the characters dress up before entering the stage. Bharatamuni has also specified that every play should have a Sutradhara which literally means holder of a string. The Sutradhara was like the producer-director of today. Every play had to begin with an innovation of God. This invocation was called the poorvaranga. Even today, plays in Indian languages begin with a devotional song called Naandi. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata can be called the first recognized plays that originated in India. These epics also provided the inspiration to the earliest Indian dramatists and they do even today. One of the earliest Indian dramatists was Bhasa whose plays have been inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Bhasas date cannot be definitely ascertained, but that he lived before Kalidasa is proved by the latters reference to Bhasa as one of the early leading playwrights. As Kalidasa lived in the 4th century, Bhasa should have lived in the early centuries of our era. Bhasa was a natural dramatist who drew heavily from the epics, but Kalidasa can be called an original playwright. Kalidasa has written many plays, some of which are AbhijananShakuntalam, Kumarsambhavam, Meghadutam and Malavikagnimitram. Kalidasa was the court playwright at the Gupta court. He lived at Ujjaini, the capital of the Guptas and was for some days the Gupta ambassador at the court of the Vakatakas at Amaravati where he wrote the play Meghadutam. The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti. He is said to have written the following three plays viz. Malati-Madhava, Mahaviracharita and Uttar Ramacharita. Among these three, the last two cover between them the entire epic, Ramayana. Bhavabhuti lived around the 7th century A. D. when Sanskrit drama was on its decline, mainly due to the lack of royal patronage. The last royal patron of Sanskrit drama seems to be king Harshavardhana of the 7th century. Harshavardhana is himself credited with having written three plays viz. Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. But nevertheless despite lack of patronage two more leading playwrights came after Bhavabhuti, they were Shudraka whose main play was the Mricchakatikam, and the second dramatist was Rajashekhara whose play was titled Karpuramanjari. But the decline of Sanskrit theatre is evident from the fact that while Mricchakatikam was in Sanskrit, the Karpuramanjari was in Prakrit which was a colloquial form of Sanskrit. Rajashekhara has himself said that he chose to write in Prakrit as the language was soft while Sanskrit was harsh. Sanskrit plays continued to be written up to the 17th century in distant pockets of the country, mainly in the Vijayanagara empire of the South. But they had passed their prime, the later Sanskrit dramas are mostly imitations of Kalidasa or Bhavabhuti. As in the case of the other fine arts, the Indian theatre has left its mark on the countries of South-east Asia. In Thailand, especially it has been a tradition from the middle ages to stage plays based on plots drawn from Indian epics. This had been so even in Cambodia where, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Similar, bas reliefs are found at Borobudur in Indonesia. Thus, the Indian theatre has been one of the vehicles of enriching the culture of our neighboring countries since ancient times. Epic Poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written on the Indian sub-continent. Written in Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi, it includes some of the oldest epic poetry ever created and some works form the basis of Hindu scripture. The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, occasionally termed Mahakavya (Great Compositions), refer to epic poems that form a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse was and remained until very recently the preferred form of Hindu literary works. Hero-worship was and is a central aspect of Indian culture, and thus readily lent itself to a literary tradition that abounded in epic poetry and literature. The Puranas, a massive collection of verse-form histories of Indias many Hindu gods and goddesses, followed in this tradition. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa, also based on the Ramayana. It is considered a great classic of Hindi epic poetry and literature, and shows the author Tulsidas in complete command over all the important styles of composition - narrative, epic, lyrical and dialectic. He has given a human character to Rama, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu, potraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king. Sports and Games Decline, Collapse and Legacy Around 1900 BCE, signs of a gradual decline begin to emerge. People started to leave the cities. Those who remained were poorly nourished. By around 1800 BC, most of the cities were abandoned. By around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. In 1953, Sir Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the Aryans. As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-Daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts. However, scholars soon started to reject Wheelers theory, since the skeletons belonged to a period after the citys abandonment and none were found near the citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994 showed that the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not violent aggression. Today, many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus Civilization was caused by drought and a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. It has also been suggested that immigration by new peoples, deforestation, floods, or changes in the course of the river may have contributed to the collapse of the IVC. Previously, it was also believed that the decline of the Harappan civilization led to an interruption of urban life in the Indian subcontinent. However, the Indus Valley Civilization did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggest that material culture classified as Late Harappan may have persisted until at least c. 1000-900 BCE and was partially contemporaneous with the Painted Grey Ware culture. Harvard archaeologist Richard Meadow points to the late Harappan settlement of Pirak, which thrived continuously from 1800 BCE to the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great in 325 BCE. Recent archaeological excavations indicate that the decline of Harappa drove people eastward. After 1900 BCE, the number of sites in India increased from 218 to 853. Excavations in the Gangetic plain show that urban settlement began around 1200 BCE, only a few centuries after the decline of Harappa and much earlier than previously expected. Archaeologists have emphasized that, just as in most areas of the world, there was a continuous series of cultural developments. These link the so-called two major phases of urbanization in South Asia. A possible natural reason for the IVCs decline is connected with climate change that is also signaled for the neighboring areas of the Middle East: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE, linked to a general weakening of the monsoon at that time. Alternatively, a crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system. A tectonic event may have diverted the systems sources toward the Ganges Plain, though there is complete uncertainty about the date of this event, as most settlements inside Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have not yet been dated. The actual reason for decline might be any combination of these factors. New geological research is now being conducted by a group led by Peter Clift, from the University of Aberdeen, to investigate how the courses of rivers have changed in this region since 8000 years ago, to test whether climate or river reorganizations are responsible for the decline of the Harappan. A 2004 paper indicated that the isotopes of the Ghaggar-Hakra system do not come from the Himalayan glaciers, and were rain-fed instead, contradicting a Harappan time mighty Sarasvati river. A research team led by the geologist Liviu Giosan of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also concluded that climate change in form of the easterward migration of the monsoons led to the decline of the IVC.77 The teams findings were published in PNAS in May 2012. According to their theory, the slow eastward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the civilization to develop. The monsoon-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons. As the monsoons kept shifting eastward, the water supply for the agricultural activities dried up. The residents then migrated towards the Ganges basin in the east, where they established smaller villages and isolated farms. The small surplus produced in these small communities did not allow development of trade, and the cities died out. In the aftermath of the Indus Civilizations collapse, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the Cemetery H culture. At the same time, the Ochre Colored Pottery culture expanded from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation a practice dominant in Hinduism today. Historical Context and Linguistic Affiliation The Indus Vally Civilization has been tentatively identified with the toponym Meluhha known from Sumerian records. It has been compared in particular with the civilizations of Elam (also in the context of the Elamo-Dravidian hypothesis) and with Minoan Crete (because of isolated cultural parallels such as the ubiquitous goddess worship and depictions of bull-leaping). The mature (Harappan) phase of the IVC is contemporary to the Early to Middle Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East, in particular the Old Elamite period, Early Dynastic to Ur III Mesopotamia, Prepalatial Minoan Crete and Old Kingdom to First Intermediate Period Egypt. After the discovery of the IVC in the 1920s, it was immediately associated with the indigenous Dasyu inimical to the Rigvedic tribes in numerous hymns of the Rigveda. Mortimer Wheeler interpreted the presence of many unburied corpses found in the top levels of Mohenjo-Daro as the victims of a warlike conquest, and famously stated that Indra stands accused of the destruction of the IVC. The association of the IVC with the city-dwelling Dasyus remains alluring because the assumed timeframe of the first Indo-Aryan migration into India corresponds neatly with the period of decline of the IVC seen in the archaeological record. The discovery of the advanced, urban IVC however changed the 19th-century view of early Indo-Aryan migration as an invasion of an advanced culture at the expense of a primitive aboriginal population to a gradual acculturation of nomadic barbarians on an advanced urban civilization, comparable to the Germanic migrations after the Fall of Rome, or the Kassite invasion of Babylonia. This move away from simplistic invasionist scenarios parallels similar developments in thinking about language transfer and population movement in general, such as in the case of the migration of the proto-Greek speakers into Greece, or the Indo-Europeanization of Western Europe. It was often suggested that the bearers of the IVC corresponded to proto-Dravidians linguistically, the breakup of proto-Dravidian corresponding to the breakup of the Late Harappan culture. Today, the Dravidian language family is concentrated mostly in southern India and northern and eastern Sri Lanka, but pockets of it still remain throughout the rest of India and Pakistan (the Brahui language), which lends credence to the theory. Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola concludes that the uniformity of the Indus inscriptions precludes any possibility of widely different languages being used, and that an early form of Dravidian language must have been the language of the Indus people. However, in an interview with the Deccan Herald on 12 August 2012, Asko Parpola clarified his position by admitting that Sanskrit-speakers had contributed to the Indus Valley Civilization. Proto-Munda (or Para-Munda) and a lost phylum (perhaps related or ancestral to the Nihali language) have been proposed as other candidates. The civilization is sometimes referred to as the Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization or Indus-Sarasvati civilization by Hindutva groups. or the Indus-Sarasvati civilization. Write articles for Gateway for India History of India and its civilization dates back to at least 6500 BC which perhaps makes the oldest surviving civilization in the world. India has been a meeting ground between the East and the West. Through out its history many invaders have come to India but Indian religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb all of them. All the while, these local dynasties built upon the roots of a culture well established. India has always been simply too big, too complicated, and too culturally subtle to let any one empire dominate it for long. Based on archeological findings, Indian history can be broadly divided into five phases: 1. Saraswati (Harappan) civilization : 6500 BC - 1000 BC or also called Vedic period in history of India. 2. Golden period of Indian History : 500 BC - 800 AD 5. Modern India . 1947 - till date Vedic period and Golden Period of Indian History Ancient Indian History (Vedic Period) Earliest historical evidence from Mehargarh (north-west Indian sub-continent) shows beginning of civilization in India at around 6500 B. C. It is the earliest and largest urban site of the period in the world. This site has yielded evidence for the earliest domestication of animals, evolution of agriculture, as well as arts and crafts. The horse was first domesticated here in 6500 B. C. There is a progressive process of the domestication of animals, particularly cattle, the development of agriculture, beginning with barley and then later wheat and rice, and the use of metal, beginning with copper and culminating in iron, along with the development villages and towns. It has been suggested by some historians that an Aryan Invasion of Indian subcontinent took place around 1500-1000 B. C. However, current archeological data do not support the existence of an Indo Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in the pre or proto-historic periods (David Frawley ). The people in this tradition were the same basic ethnic groups as in India today, with their same basic types of languages. Two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, and Mohenjodaro on the Indus during excavations in 1920. The remains of these two cities were part of a large civilization and well developed ancient civilization, which is now called by historians as Indus Valley Civilization, or Saraswati Civilization . Later Harappan (Sarasvati) civilization 3100-1900 BC shows massive cities, complex agriculture and metallurgy, sophistication of arts and crafts, and precision in weights and measures. They built large buildings, which were mathematically-planned. The city planning in those ancient cities is comparable to the best of our modern cities. This civilization had a written language and was highly sophisticated. Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter with thousands of residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them. This Sarasvati civilization was a center of trading and for the diffusion of civilization throughout south and west Asia, which often dominated the Mesopotamian region. Mehrgarh, Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan and Lothal are peripheral cities of the great Sarasvati civilization with more than 500 sites along its banks awaiting excavation. The year 4500 B. C. marks Mandhatrs defeat of Druhyus, driving them to the west into Iran. 4000-3700 B. C. was the Rig Veda period. In 3730 B. C. the Battle of Ten Kings - occurred. That was the age of Sudas and his sage advisors, Vasistha and Visvamitra. From 3600 to 3100 B. C. was the late Vedic age during which Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas were composed. 3100 B. C. is the probable date of the Mahabharata, composed by Vyasa. At this time, a tectonic plate shift resulted in river Yamuna which was a tributary of river Saraswati shifted its course and Saraswati became smaller. It was the beginning of Kali Yuga . In 1900 B. C. another tectonic plate shift made Saraswati lose Sutlej. This dried up Sarasvati, causing massive exodus of people towards the Ganga valley in east, whence arose the classical civilization of India. Post-Harappan civilization 1900-1000 BC shows the abandonment of the Harappan towns owing to ecological and river changes but without a real break in the continuity of the culture. There is a decentralization and relocation in which the same basic agricultural and artistic traditions continue, along with a few significant urban sites like Dwaraka . This gradually develops into the Gangetic civilization of the first millennium BC, which is the classical civilization of ancient India, which retains its memory of its origin in the Saraswati region through the Vedas. David Frawley and other modern scholars propose: 1. 6500-3100 BC, Pre-Harappan, early Rig Vedic 2. 3100-1900 BC, Mature Harappan 3100-1900, period of the Four Vedas. 3. 1900-1000 BC, Late Harappan, late Vedic and Brahmana period Buddha and Mahavira : The sequence of development in the literature does not parallel a migration into India but the historical development of civilization in India from the Sarasvati to the Ganges. In the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. In the same another religion called Jainism was founded by Mahavira . Around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward, conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who came as far as the Beas River, where he defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops (undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind garrisons to keep the trade routes open. Although Indian accounts to a large extent ignored Alexander the Greats Indus campaign in 326 B. C. Greek writers recorded their impressions of the general conditions prevailing in South Asia during this period. A two-way cultural fusion between several Indo-Greek elements-especially in art, architecture, and coinage--occurred in the next several hundred years. North Indias political landscape was transformed by the emergence of Magadha in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain. As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one Indias greatest dynasties, the Maurya. In 322 B. C. Magadha, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya . began to assert its hegemony over neighboring areas. Chandragupta, who ruled from 324 to 301 B. C. was the architect of the first Indian imperial power-the Mauryan Empire (326-184 B. C.)--whose capital was Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna, in Bihar. Situated on rich alluvial soil and near mineral deposits, especially iron, Magadha was at the center of bustling commerce and trade. The capital was a city of magnificent palaces, temples, a university, a library, gardens, and parks, as reported by Megasthenes, the third-century B. C. Greek historian and ambassador to the Mauryan court. Legend states that Chandraguptas success was due in large measure to his adviser Kautilya . the Brahman author of the Arthashastra (Science of Material Gain), a textbook that outlined governmental administration and political strategy. There was a highly centralized and hierarchical government with a large staff, which regulated tax collection, trade and commerce, industrial arts, mining, vital statistics, welfare of foreigners, maintenance of public places including markets and temples, and prostitutes. A large standing army and a well-developed espionage system were maintained. The empire was divided into provinces, districts, and villages governed by a host of centrally appointed local officials, who replicated the functions of the central administration. Ashoka . was the most trusted son of Bindusara and grandson of Chandragupta. During his fathers reign, he was the governor of Ujjain and Taxila. Having sidelined all claims to the throne from his brothers, Ashoka was coroneted as an emperor. He ruled from 269 to 232 B. C. and was one of Indias most illustrious rulers. Under the great king Ashoka the Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, Ashoka extended the Maurya Empire to the whole of India except the deep south and the south-east, reaching out even into Central Asia. Ashokas inscriptions chiseled on rocks and stone pillars located at strategic locations throughout his empire--such as Lampaka (Laghman in modern Afghanistan), Mahastan (in modern Bangladesh), and Brahmagiri (in Karnataka)--constitute the second set of datable historical records. According to some of the inscriptions, in the aftermath of the carnage resulting from his campaign against the powerful kingdom of Kalinga (modern Orissa), Ashoka renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of nonviolence or ahimsa, espousing a theory of rule by righteousness. His toleration for different religious beliefs and languages reflected the realities of Indias regional pluralism although he personally seems to have followed Buddhism. Early Buddhist stories assert that he convened a Buddhist council at his capital, regularly undertook tours within his realm, and sent Buddhist missionary ambassadors to Sri Lanka. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it collapsed only 100 years after his death. Under his reign Buddhism spread to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Central Asia, Burma. For propagation of Buddhism, he started inscribing edicts on rocks and pillars at places where people could easily read them. These pillars and rocks are still found in India, spreading their message of love and peace for the last two thousand years. To his ideas he gave the name Dharma . Ashoka died in 232 BC. The capital of Ashoka pillar at Sarnath is adopted by India as its national emblem. The quotDharma Chakraquot on the Ashoka Pillar adorns our National Flag. After the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire in the second century B. C. South Asia became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. Indias unguarded northwestern border again attracted a series of invaders between 200 B. C. and A. D. 300. The invaders became quotIndianizedquot in the process of their conquest and settlement. Also, this period witnessed remarkable intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by cultural diffusion and syncretism. The Indo-Greeks, or the Bactrians, of the northwest contributed to the development of numismatics they were followed by another group, the Shakas (or Scythians), from the steppes of Central Asia, who settled in western India. Still other nomadic people, the Yuezhi, who were forced out of the Inner Asian steppes of Mongolia, drove the Shakas out of northwestern India and established the Kushana Kingdom (first century B. C.-third century A. D.). The Kushana Kingdom controlled parts of Afghanistan and Iran, and in India the realm stretched from Purushapura (modern Peshawar, Pakistan) in the northwest, to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in the east, and to Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) in the south. For a short period, the kingdom reached still farther east, to Pataliputra. The Kushana Kingdom was the crucible of trade among the Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Roman empires and controlled a critical part of the legendary Silk Road. Kanishka . who reigned for two decades starting around A. D. 78, was the most noteworthy Kushana ruler. He converted to Buddhism and convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir. The Kushanas were patrons of Gandharan art, a synthesis between Greek and Indian styles, and Sanskrit literature. They initiated a new era called Shaka in A. D. 78, and their calendar, which was formally recognized by India for civil purposes starting on March 22, 1957, is still in use. The Classical Age - Gupta Empire and Harsha . Gupta age - Under Chandragupta I (320-335), empire was revived in the north. Like Chandragupta Maurya, he first conquered Magadha, set up his capital where the Mauryan capital had stood (Patna), and from this base consolidated a kingdom over the eastern portion of northern India. In addition, Chandragupta revived many of Asokas principles of government. It was his son, however, Samudragupta (335-376), and later his grandson, Chandragupta II (376-415), who extended the kingdom into an empire over the whole of the north and the western Deccan. Chandragupta II was the greatest of the Gupta kings and called Vikramaditya. He presided over the greatest cultural age in India. From Pataliputra, their capital, he sought to retain political preeminence as much by pragmatism and judicious marriage alliances as by military strength. The greatest writer of the time was Kalidasa . Poetry in the Gupta age tended towards a few genres: religious and meditative poetry, lyric poetry, narrative histories (the most popular of the secular literatures), and drama. Kalidasa excelled at lyric poetry, but he is best known for his dramas. The Indian numeral system--sometimes erroneously attributed to the Arabs, who took it from India to Europe where it replaced the Roman system--and the decimal system are Indian inventions of this period. Aryabhattas expositions on astronomy in 499 A. D. gave calculations of the solar year and the shape and movement of astral bodies with remarkable accuracy. In medicine, Charaka and Sushruta wrote about a fully evolved medical system. Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone setting, and plastic surgery including skin grafting. The Guptas fell prey, however, to a wave of migrations by the Huns, a people who originally lived north of China. Beginning in the 400s, the Huns began to put pressure on the Guptas. In 480 AD they conquered the Guptas and took over northern India. Western India was overrun by 500 A. D. and the last of the Gupta kings, presiding over a vastly diminished kingdom, perished in 550 A. D. Over the decades Huns gradually assimilated into the indigenous population and their state weakened. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatories. Gradually, one of them, Prabhakar Vardhana, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over all other feudatories. Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. After the death of Prabahakar Vardhan in 606 A. D. his eldest son, RajyaVardhan, became king of Kananuj. Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16 after his brother Rajya Vardhana was killed in a battle against Malwa King Devigupta and Gauda King Sasanka. Harsha, quickly re-established an Indian empire. From 606-647 AD, he ruled over an empire in northern India. Harsha was perhaps one of the greatest conquerors of Indian history, and unlike all of his conquering predecessors, he was a brilliant administrator. He was also a great patron of culture. His capital city, Kanauj, extended for four or five miles along the Ganges River and was filled with magnificent buildings. Only one fourth of the taxes he collected went to administration of the government. The remainder went to charity, rewards, and especially to culture: art, literature, music, and religion. The most significant achievements of this period, however, were in religion, education, mathematics, art, and Sanskrit literature and drama. The religion that later developed into modern Hinduism witnessed a crystallization of its components: major sectarian deities, image worship, bhakti (devotion), and the importance of the temple. Education included grammar, composition, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. These subjects became highly specialized and reached an advanced level. Because of extensive trade, the culture of India became the dominant culture around the Bay of Bengal, profoundly and deeply influencing the cultures of Burma, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. In many ways, the period during and following the Gupta dynasty was the period of quotGreater India, quot a period of cultural activity in India and surrounding countries building off of the base of Indian culture. The history of the Kingdom of Kanauj after the death of Harshavardhana can be said to have been uncertain till the year 730 AD, when Yashovarman is said to have ruled till 752 AD. This was followed by the Ayudha dynasty which comprised three kings. The first was Yajrayudha who is said to have ruled in about 770 AD. After Ayudhs, Prathihara King Nagabhatta II annexed Kannauj. North and north west part of India after Harsha Vardhana was mostly controlled by Pratihara Kings while Central India and part of South was mostly under Rashtrakutas dynasty (753-973 AD ). Pala Kings (750-1161 AD) ruled the Eastern part of India (present Bengal and Bihar). The Pala empire was founded in 730 AD. They ruled over parts of Bengal and Bihar. Dharmapala (780-812 AD) was one of the greatest kings of the Pala dynasty. He did much to restore the greatness of Pataliputra. The Nalanda university was revived under their rule. The Palas had close trade contacts and cultural links with South-East Asia. In the early twelfth century, they were replaced by the Sena dynasty. In early 13th century, Tughan Khan defeated the Sena king, Laxman. After this defeat the Nalanda University was destroyed. The greatest ruler of the Pratihara dynasty was Mihir Bhoja . He recovered Kanauj (Kanyakubja) by 836, and it remained the capital of the Pratiharas for almost a century. He built the city Bhojpal (Bhopal). Raja Bhoja and other valiant Gujara kings, faced and defeated many attacks of the Arabs from west. Between 915-918AD, attack by a Rashtrakuta king, to the weakening of the Pratihara Empire and also who devastated the city of Kannauj. In 1018 AD, Mahmud of Gazni sacked Kannauj then ruled by Rajyapala Pratihara. The empire broke into independent Rajput states. Dantidurga laid the foundation of Rashtrakuta empire. The Rashtrakutas empire was the most powerful of the time. They ruled from Lattaluru (Latur), and later shifted the capital to Manyaketa (Malkhed). Amoghavarsha (814-880 A. D) is the most famous Rashtrakuta kings. His long reign was distinguished for its royal patronage of Jainism and the flourishing of regional literature. Indra III, great-grandson of Amoghvarsha defeated the Pratihar king Mahipala. Krishana III was the last great king of Rashtrakuta dynasty. Rashtrakutas were great patrons of art and architecture. Krishana I, built the Kailasa Temple at Ellora. The caves at Gharapuri (Elephanta near Mumbai) were also built by this dynasty. The South Indian Rulers During the Kushana Dynasty, an indigenous power, the Satavahana Kingdom (first century B. C.-third century A. D), rose in the Deccan in southern India. The Satavahana, or Andhra, Kingdom was considerably influenced by the Mauryan political model, although power was decentralized in the hands of local chieftains, who used the symbols of Vedic religion and upheld the varnashramadharma . The rulers, however, were eclectic and patronized Buddhist monuments, such as those in Ellora (Maharashtra) and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh). Thus, the Deccan served as a bridge through which politics, trade, and religious ideas could spread from the north to the south. Further south were three ancient Tamil kingdoms - Chera (on the west), Chola (on the east), and Pandya (in the south)--frequently involved in internecine warfare to gain regional supremacy. They are mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as lying at the fringes of the Mauryan Empire. Peninsular India was involved in an eighth-century tripartite power struggle among the Chalukyas (556-757) of Vatapi, the Pallavas (300-888) of Kanchipuram, and the Pandyas (seventh through the tenth centuries) of Madurai. Their subordinates, the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from 753 - 973 AD, overthrew the Chalukya rulers. Although both the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms were enemies, the real struggle for political domination was between the Pallava and Chalukya realms. The Satvahanas (also known as Andhras) established their kingdom in the Deccan after the decline of Maurya Empire. The kingdom was in the present Maharashtra state. The founder of the Satvahana dynasty was Simuka in 40 B. C. Satakarni I was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. Satakarni I allied with powerful Marathi chieftain and signaled his accession to power by performing ashvamedhas (horse-sacrifice). After his death, the Satvahana power slowly disintegrated under a wave of Scythian invasion. The Satvahana dynasty lasted until the 3rd century AD. They established a capital at Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu state) and came to hold sway in the south. They were defeated by the Guptas in about 360 AD but continued to rule until the Cholas finally conquered their lands. They ruled from the 4th century to the 9th century although some remnants survived till 13th century. The dynasty was at its peak under Mahendra-Varman I (600-630 AD), when architecture flourished, notably in temples such as Mahabalipuram. During the 7th and the 8th centuries, this dynasty ruled over a region extending from center of Andhra Pradesh far to the Kaveri River Later, in the 9th century, the Pallava themselves were definitely conquered by the Chola from Tanjore and became their vassals. They were the longest ruling dynasty of Indian history. They ruled the southern most part of India and the capital of the Pandya kings was Madurai (Tamil Nadu). First Indian Ambassador from Pandya Dynasty is sent to Rome. (26 BC). The dynasty extended its power into Kerala (southwestern India) and Sri Lanka during the reigns of kings Kadungon (ruled 590- 620 A. D), Arikesar Maravarman (670-700 A. D), Varagunamaharaja I (765-815A. D), and Srimara Srivallabha (815-862 A. D). Pandya influence peaked in Jatavarman Sundaras reign 1251-1268 A. D. After forces from the Delhi sultanate invaded Madurai in 1311, the Pandyas declined into merely local rulers. After Satvahan, the next great empire in the Deccan was the Chalukya empire. Pulakesin I, first ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. Pulakesin II was the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. He consolidated his authority in Maharashtra and conquered large parts of the Deccan. His greatest achievement was his victory against Harshvardhan in 620. However, Pulakesin II was defeated and killed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in 642. His capital Vatapi was completely destroyed. His son Vikramaditya was also as great a ruler. He renewed the struggle against Pallavas and recovered the former glory of the Chalukyas. In 753A. D, his great grandson Vikramaditya II was overthrown by a chief named Dantidurga. Chalukyas constructed many temples at Aihole. Some Ajantha caves were also built during this period. During Rashtrakutas rule, the Chalukyas were a minor power. For 200 years, they survived the Rashtrakutas. In 973 AD Tailap Chalukya of the Kalyani branch gained power and restored the Chalukyan rule. They gained supremacy for about 200 years to be partitioned into: Yadavs of Deogiri, Kaktiyas of Warangal and Hoysalas of Belur. Yadavas extended their authority over a large territory. Their capital was situated at Chandor (Nasik district). They built the Deogiri fort in 11th century. Marathi language received the status of a court language in Yadava rule. The Yadava king Singhana was great patron of learning Sant Dnyaneshwar belonged to this age. In 1294, Alla-ud-din Khilji laid four sieges to Deogiri. Finally, the Yadavas were defeated and the strong fort of Deogiri fell into the hands of Muslim rulers. The riches of Deogiri were looted. By 1310 the Yadav rule came to an end. Telgu language and literature flourished under Kakatiyas. They also built many forts. The last king Prataprudra defeated Allaudin Khilji when he was first attacked in 1303. In 1310, after another war, he agreed to pay heavy tributes to Malik Kafur (Alladins general.) In 1321 Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq marched with a large army, and took Prataprudra as a prisoner to Delhi. Prataprudra died on the way to Delhi. Thus ended the glorious rule of Kaktiyas. King Sala was the founder of Hoysala dynasty. Hoysalas built as many as 1500 temples. The style of their architecture became famous as the Hoysala style. Most famous are the temples of Belur and Halebid with intricate carvings. Allaudin Khilji, defeated this kingdom between 1308-1312.Join The Better India on Facebook 16 Fascinating Facts about Mohenjodaro and Indus Valley, a Civilisation Far Ahead of its Time I n the late 1820s, a British explorer in India named Charles Masson stumbled across some mysterious ruins and brick mounds, the first evidence of the lost city of Harappa. Thirty years later, in 1856, railway engineers found more bricks, which were carted off before continuing the railway construction. In the 1920s, archaeologists finally began to excavate and uncover the sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The long-forgotten Indus Valley civilization had, at last, been discovered. Thousand of years ago, the Indus Valley civilization was larger than the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia combined. Many of its sprawling cities were located on the banks of rivers that still flow through Pakistan and India today. Here are a few mind-boggling facts about this civilization. 1. Oldest in the World Scientists from IIT-Kharagpur and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have recently uncovered evidence that the Indus Valley civilization is at least 8,000 years old and not 5,500 years old as earlier believed. This discovery, published in the prestigious Nature journal on May 25, 2016, makes it not just older than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations but also the oldest in the world 2. Mohenjodaro and its Great Bath Mohenjodaro translates to the 8216Hill of the Dead8217 or the 8216Mound of the Dead8217 in Sindhi. The Great Bath of Mohenjodaro, a watertight pool perched on top of a mound of dirt, is enclosed within walls of baked bricks. This bathing pool (and another one at Dholavira) suggests that Harappans valued cleanliness. There are even small changing rooms surrounding the Great Bath, with an attached bath area in each room 2. An Undeciphered Script The most intriguing of all undeciphered scripts in the world, the Indus script is made up of partially pictographic signs and various human and animal motifs that include a puzzling 8216unicorn8217. These have been found inscribed on miniature steatite seals, terracotta tablets and occasionally on metal. Linguistic experts and scientists have been trying to decipher this challenging script for decades as it could hold the key to the secrets of this mysterious culture. 3. Great Granaries Of Harappa Evidence of several granaries, massive buildings with solid brick foundations and sockets for wooden superstructures, have been found in excavations of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Rakhigarhi. All the granaries were built close to the river bank so that with the help of boats, grains could be easily transported. The Great Granary at Harappa also had a series of working platforms with circular bricks nearby that were probably used for threshing grain. 4. World8217s Earliest Known Dockyard at Lothal A vital and thriving trade centre of Indus Valley civilization, Lothal had the world8217s earliest known dockyard. Spanning an area 37 meters from east to west and nearly 22 meters from north to south, the dock connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river, which was the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the Saurashtra peninsula. In those days, the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea. 5. Fire Altars of Kalibangan Kalibangan, which literally means black bangles, lies along the left bank of the dried-up bed of river Ghaggar in Rajasthan. Other than giving the evidence of the earliest ploughed agricultural field ever revealed through an excavation, Kalibangan also has several fire altars, which suggest that the Harappans believed in the ritualistic worship of fire. 6. A Game Like Chess Evidence suggests that the people of Indus Valley Civilization loved games and toys. Flat stones with engraved grid markings and playing pieces have been found, which shows that the Indus people may have played an early form of chess. Dice cubes with six sides and spots have also been found by archaeologists, which suggest that they may have invented the dice too. 7. Town Planning A well-planned street grid and an elaborate drainage system hint that the occupants of the ancient Indus civilization cities were skilled urban planners who gave importance to the management of water. Wells have also been found throughout the city, and nearly every house contains a clearly demarked bathing area and a covered drainage system. 8. Urban Life The city8217s prosperity and stature are evident in the artefacts, like beads, jewellery, and pottery recovered from almost every house, as well as the baked-brick city structures themselves. Not everyone was rich but even the poor probably got enough to eat. The cities lack ostentatious buildings like palaces and temples, and there is no obvious central seat of government or evidence of a ruler. Also, the lack of many weapons shows that the Indus people had few enemies and that they preferred to live in peace. 9. A Love of Fashion The most commonly found artefact in the Indus Valley civilization is jewellery. Both men and women adorned themselves with a large variety of ornaments produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals and gemstones to bone and baked clay. Excavated dyeing facilities indicate that cotton was probably dyed in a variety of colours (although there is only one surviving fragment of coloured cloth). Use of cinnabar, vermillion and collyrium as cosmetics was also known to them. 10. Intriguing Figurines Terracotta, steatite and metal figurines of girls in dancing poses show the presence of some dance form as well as skilled craftsmanship. The most interesting and famous figurines recovered from Indus Valley excavations are the bronze Dancing Girl, the steatite Bearded Priest King and the terracotta Wheel Cart. 11. Trade Without Money The seals and weights recovered from the ruins of several Harappan cities suggest a system of tightly controlled trade. Trade through barter (not money) was very important for the Indus civilization and their main trading partner was Mesopotamia. There is evidence that people in Mesopotamian cities like Ur owned distinctively Harappan luxury goods such as beads, pottery, weapons and tiny carved bones. 12. The Seal of Pashupati Mahadev Thousands of engraved seals and amulets have been discovered from Harappan sites, usually made of steatite, agate, chert, copper, faience and terracotta. A famous seal displays a figure seated in a posture reminiscent of the lotus position and surrounded by animals. It depicts a revered deity of the Indus culture, Pashupati Mahadev, who is considered to be the precursor to the Vedic god Shiva. 13. Worship of Mother Goddess It is widely accepted that the Harappan people worshipped a Mother Goddess, in addition to other fertility and phallic symbols. The recovery of a large number of Mother Goddess figurines, from almost every excavated site, suggests that Mother Goddess worship or the fertility cult was widespread and popular in the civilization. 14. Strange Burials The evidence of the disposal of the dead at Harappa is quite unique and interesting. Excavations have yielded 57 burials of different types, in which bodies were disposed of in brick-lined rectangular or oval pits cut into the ground along with the grave goods such as jewellery, seals, and pottery. In Ropar, a man was found buried with a dog 15. Mysterious Massacre of Mohenjodaro Excavations down to the streets of Mohenjodaro revealed 44 scattered skeletons, sprawled on the streets as if doom had come so suddenly they could not even get to their houses. All the skeletons were flattened to the ground, including a father, a mother and a child who were found still holding hands. Lying in streets in contorted positions, within layers of rubble, ash and debris, archaeologists have concluded that these people all died by violence, but what caused the violence still remains unexplained. 16. Decline and Decay Archaeologists have long wondered about the sudden decline of the Indus Valley civilization. There is no convincing evidence that any Harappan city was ever burned, severely flooded, besieged by an army, or taken over by force from within. It8217s more likely that the cities collapsed after natural disasters or after rivers like Indus and Ghaghra-Hakkar changed their course. This would have hampered the local agricultural economy and the civilization8217s importance as a centre of trade. The continuing excavations and anthropological work have the potential to lend more insight into the disappearance of this enigmatic civilization. Like this story Have something to share Email: email160protected. or join us on Facebook and Twitter (thebetterindia). To get positive news on WhatsApp, just send 8216Start8217 to 090 2900 3600 via WhatsApp.