Mauryan Empire Linked To The Expansion Of The Caste System

The Mauryan Empire created a power vacuum that would fill the absence of Alexander the Great. In 320 B.C.E. Chandragupta Maurya began his conquest of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. However, the main figure of this dynasty was Ashoka, who ruled from 268 B.C.E. until 232 B.C. using a highly organized bureaucracy, not unlike the Chinese emperors. Following his death the empire went into decline, due in large part to financial problems. It eventually disappeared in 185 B.C.E. Economically, India consisted of large numbers of towns that provided not only manufactured goods but that also established markets that fostered trade from China to the Mediterranean. In many ways economics was linked to the expansion of the caste system.
Although there were originally only four ma-in castes, the sub‐castes, or jati, which number into the thousands, were often based on occupations.
This rigid system led to the development of other religions.
Founded by Vardhamana Mahavira, Jainism put forth the ideas of ridding oneself of selfish behavior. It also promoted nonviolence toward all living things. Jainism’s appeal was that it did not recognize the caste system, which resulted in greater equality for people, but eventually almost completely disappeared. The religion that closely followed however, Buddhism, is still practiced today.This religion started in the sixth century B.C.E. when Siddhartha Gautama, a young, rich Indian prince, gave up all of his wealth and went in search of enlightenment, and became known as the Buddha. The Buddha taught that by following the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold path one could end human suffering. Buddhism eventually spread in one of several forms to all of Asia. Ironically, for various reasons, it disappeared in India. Buddhism had great appeal because it was less demanding than Jainism while still not recognizing the caste system. It also used common vernacular (everyday) language. Buddhism was eventually replaced in India by Hinduism, which stressed the Bhagavad Gita and salvation by meeting caste
responsibilities.
Greek civilization began on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea in late 3rd millennium B.C.E.
By 2000 B.C.E. Indo‐European peoples moved into the Greece mainland and established a city at Mycenae, which became the center for and gave its name to the Mycenean civilization. The Myceneans expanded outward to overpower the Minoans and also establish colonies in Italy and Anatolia. This seafaring civilization became a center of Mediterranean trade and established colonies on some of neighboring islands; however by 1100 B.C.E. it had fallen under foreign control. The most important organizational unit in Greek civilization was the polis, or city‐state. Even though all Greeks shared a common language and culture, each city‐state developed distinct characteristics. Sparta, for example, was a military‐based culture, while Athens was the birthplace of democracy. As significant as the culture of Sparta was at the time, it is Athens’s system of democracy that made the most lasting contribution to world history. Athenian democracy was not comprehensive, being limited to free males who were Athenian citizens, but it was more democratic than any other system to that point in history. In addition to democracy, the Greek economy and society gave us many ideas that are still part of society today, including the Olympic Games, the poetry of Homer and Sappho, drama, and the beginnings of western philosophy. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others not only helped form Greek
society but also provided the basis for European philosophy into the 1700’s and influenced both Christianity and Islam. The best‐known Athenian was Pericles (443‐429 B.C.E.), the popularly elected leader of Athens whose reign brought some peace to Athens. It was during this period that the Greeks began to expand outward. They established colonies, spread trade, as well as the Greek language and culture. They also became involved in a of wars with the Persians. The Persian king, Xerxes, attempted to invade Greece but was defeated. However, as a result of this Persian invasion, the Greeks formed the Delian League to unite themselves against the Persians. When the Persian threat not longer existed, Athens still wanted to be the leader of the League. The result was a Greek society split into two factions, with Sparta on one side and Athens on the other. The two sides confronted each other in what was known as the Peloponnesian War. It was into these weakened Greek states that Alexander (the Great) of Macedon came. Between 336 B.C.E. and 323 B.C.E. he conquered Greece, Egypt, Syria and even moved into northern India (refer to chapter 9). After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C.E. his kingdom was divided into three parts, but his influence was felt for years to come.