Category Ancient India

       You may have heard of the Aryans who invaded India thousands of years ago. The Aryans were a tribal and nomadic people who lived far away in Euro-Asia. They were unquestionably a tough people, and were fierce warriors.

       The Aryan culture was oriented around warfare, and they were very good at it. They were superb horsemen and rushed into battle in chariots. The Aryans were ruled over by a war chief, or Rajan.

       Somewhere in the early centuries of the second millennium BC, the Aryans began to migrate southwards in waves of steady conquest across the face of Persia, and the lands of India. There, they would take on the name ‘superior’ or ‘noble’ to distinguish themselves from the people they conquered. Their name is derived from the Indo-European root word, ‘ar’, meaning ‘noble’.

       The Aryans first settled along the Indus River, in the same place where the Harappan people had lived. They settled down, and mixed with the local Indian people. They lived there from about 1500 to 800 BC. It seems to be around this time that the caste system began in India.

       About 800 BC, the Aryans learned how to use iron for weapons and tools. Once the Aryans learned how to use iron, they used their new weapons to conquer more of India, and moved to the south and east into the Ganges river valley. The Aryans are also called Vedic people since they composed some important books that describe the life and religion of those days, known as the Vedas.

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       Can you imagine that the tall mountains of the Himalayas were once under the ocean? Yes, this amazing fact is true! Millions of years ago, all the continents were joined together to form a giant continent called Pangaea. Gradually, Pangaea split up into two continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland.

       These two continents were separated by a sea called the Tethys Sea. India, which was on Gondwanaland, later broke away and became an island. The Indian and the Eurasian plates collided with each other 20 to 30 million years ago, and as a result of this collision, the Himalayas started rising up. Since this area was once covered by the Tethys Sea, fossils of fish and other marine animals have been found on the icy cliffs of the Himalayas.

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       The Chalcolithic Age refers to the period after the New Stone Age. During this time, copper became an important material, along with stone. The Chalcolithic period is also known as the Copper Age. ‘Chalcos’ in Greek means copper.

       Chalcolithic Man relied less on hunting than the Neolithic Man. He focussed more on sheep and goat breeding, and the cultivation of wheat, barley, dates, olives and lentils. Houses during this period were built of sundried mud bricks with roofs made of wood, reeds and mud. Some houses were based on stone foundations, and many were planned around large courtyards.

       The walls of the houses were also used for artistic or ceremonial purposes. In many parts of the country, Chalcolithic cultures existed between 2000 and 1000 BC. Chalcolithic sites have been discovered in Rajasthan, south Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal, central and south India.

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      The Harappans were great traders and had a complex system of trade networks that made them very rich. They traded in shell, dried fish, fish grain, and pearls from the coast, as well as copper, tin, turquoise, ivory, precious and semiprecious stones from the hilly areas.

        Of course, grains, animals and wood were produced and traded from the rural areas. The Harappans had networks that extended into Central Asia, Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula. Through trade, the Harappan Civilization expanded its culture, and came into regular contact with faraway lands.

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       Like any civilizations in the world, the Harappan Civilization too had to face decline. Its glory finally diminished between 2000 and 1800 BC. We cannot really pinpoint one single reason.

       Climate changes may have played a role, since the Earth was becoming warmer during this time. The land became drier, and water for the cities ran short. It is also thought that earthquakes or fires may have destroyed many cities. The city of Mohenjo-Daro shows evidence of having been destroyed by fire. Other scholars feel that the population was wiped out by an epidemic or disease.

       It is also likely that the area became too large to be effectively controlled, encouraging attacks by outsiders. In any case, the nomadic Aryans invaded India around 1500 BC, destroying the Indus Valley Civilization, bringing to an end the most brilliant civilization of the ancient world.

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       Of the many parts of a Harappan city,  the citadel at the centre had a vital role to play. The citadel was the main part of the city, built on a raised platform. It was built of bricks and surrounded by a huge brick wall. The citadel consisted of public buildings, a bath, and granaries and quarters for providing shelter to the persons who taught religion. The remaining parts of the city were spread around the citadel. People went to the citadel for protection when the city was under attack.

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