Indian Ocean Basin600-1200
Post Classical Age: 1st Phase
What regions (zones of development)
will this include?South AsiaEast AfricaSoutheast Asia
Indian SubcontinentInnovative Site –
Indo-Gagnetic PlainVedic Age
Maurya & Gupta Empires
New Zone of ‘Civilization’
Horn of AfricaRed Sea Connections
Sub-Saharan locations
New Zone of ‘Civilization’
Mainland and IslandLinks to South China
Sea
Why the Indian Ocean Basin?
How is its development important for our understanding of World History?
ROUTES AND USE OF MONSOONS
GOODS EN ROUTE
What is the nature of the governments working this trade?
Politics in the Indian Ocean Basin600-1200
South Asia: Crisis of Late AntiquityWhite Huns from central Asia invaded and disrupted Gupta rule after 550…
• India’s only degree of central political unity –the Gupta Kings - ceased to exist
Political make-up of South Asia
a divided subcontinent South More peaceful politically
fragmented Dominated by
loosely controlled kingdoms…
Chola (850-1267) • Cultural
Indianisation of parts of Southeast Asia
• Roots of Tamil Identity
North Political
turbulence Intermittent
war Assimilation
of new invaders
Sub-Saharan Africa…
Tribal Communities influenced by outside contacts
Outside the West….
Christianity in Africa• Ethiopia 4th Century• Kingdom of Axum• Isolated from other Christian
communities• Increasingly reflected
African traditions– Evil spirits populate the world
Further South: Swahili Trading city states• >1,500 miles from
Mogadishu in the north to Sofala in the south
• 1000 to 1500 -prosperous towns and cities
• evolved from small agricultural villages to create surpluses for trading
• created an elite merchant class (merchant oligarchy*)
• *Aristocratic nobles
Southeast AsiaCivilization Spreads
Rivers:
Mekong
Irrawaddy
Red
Chao Phraya
South China Sea
Straits
of Malacca
of Sunda
Archipelago
Philippines
Indonesia
Mountains/Highlands?
Rainforests
Monsoonspages 378 - 381
Southeast Asian Development• Characterize Geography (Location, Place, Interaction
peo./env., Movement, Region)• Beginnings of Civilization? Unique traditions?• Discuss extent and timing of Indian Influences.• Discuss extent and timing Chinese Influences.• What major political entities dominate the region
in the 1st phase of the Post Classical Age?• What changes were taking place by 1200?
Southeast Asian Development:
Unique to Southeast AsiaOrigins unclear- Bronze metallurgy • language • Women’s rights• Nuclear Families• Cultivation of spices
Indian InfluencesAdopted administrative and cultural traditions of India
• Hinduism & Buddhism• Embrace Hindu
literature: encouraged shared values
Chinese InfluencesChinese border: Vietnam- Tributary State
• Civil service• Bureaucracy • Buddhism• Confucianism
Political Development & Evidence• City States modeled after Indian Administration,
gave way to a degree of centralization
FUNAN
Trung Sisters
Rebellion in Classical Age –
Han Period
Changes by 1200…looking forward
• Arab traders• Introduction of
Islam, among island regions
Southernization
Lynda Shaffer
Southernization In what way does Shaffer’s interpretation
challenge traditional views about historical development?
In what way does Shaffer’s interpretation support our tradtional understanding of westernization and ‘the rise of the West’?
Ibn BatuttaJourney to far parts of the
Post Classical World
Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354
I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], being at that time twenty-two years of age [22 lunar years; 21 and 4 months by solar reckoning], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Mecca] and the Tomb of the Prophet [at Medina].
I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travelers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home. As my parents were still alive, it weighed grievously upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow.
On reaching the city of Tilimsan, whose sultan at that time was Abu Tashifin, I found there two ambassadors of the Sultan of Tunis, who left the city on the same day that I arrived. One of the brethren having advised me to accompany them, I consulted the will of God in this matter, and after a stay of three days in the city to procure all that I needed, I rode after them with all speed. I overtook them at the town of Miliana, where we stayed ten days, as both ambassadors fell sick on account of the summer heats. When we set out again, one of them grew worse, and died after we had stopped for three nights by a stream four miles from Miliana. I left their party there and pursued my journey, with a company of merchants from Tunis.
Understanding the traditions and contributions of the
Indian Ocean BasinReligion, Gender and Family
Arts and Intellectual LifeLabor Systems
Racial and Ethnic Constructions
In Battuta's Footsteps…
Putting it all together…
LABOR AND INDUSTRY
ARTS, ARCHITECTURE, INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
RACIAL, ETHNIC CONSTRUCTS
GENDER, FAMILY
INDIAN OCEAN BASIN
In the absence of singular central governments, what
brought this region together, and what were the
consequences of these connections?
Recognizing Continuity throughout the Indian Ocean Basin
Movement and Economic Integration
Travel & TradeDhowsJunkers
Monsoon WindsLateen Sails
Larger ships could access longer routes and bigger cargo
Dhows (Indian) Junks (Chinese)
India served as middle – ground
Cities: Cambay, Calicut, QuilonStorage, clearinghouseCosmopolitan centers:(Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist)
Cosmopolitan Islamic cultural centers in East Africa- Swahili city states: Moghidishu, Kilwa, Sofola
Urban DevelopmentCosmopolitan centers
Kollam
Khambhat
Production & Specialization
Most agricultural regions self-sufficient
Millet, wheat, barley, rice
Productive growth led to… increasing specialization
Iron, copper, spices- Indian specialization (cotton textiles, sugar refining)
Political fragmentation did not prevent production & trade between states
In East Africa: ivory from the south, gold from the western interior frankincense and myrrh from northern Africa. (Prosperous Slave trade)
Population growth (India) expansion of irrigation & surplus farming
600 CE 53 million people1500 CE 105 million people
Hindu Temple Economy
Served as economic and social centersUltimately, crucial to success of economy
large agricultural landsEmployed hundreds of peopleDelivered tax receipts to local governmentServed as bankers &cooperated with merchant guilds
basic schooling for boys
Ensured caste rules
Indian Ocean Slave trade
Evolved around the Indian Ocean basin Slaves were taken from interior mainland East Africa by
coastal ‘elite’ AfricansOrigins in 2nd century, lasted until the early 20th centuryPeak and spread of trade occurred in Post classical
Period as part of Arab trade routesSold in markets in the Arabian Peninsula and the
Persian Gulf
Cultural Diffusion and Integration
Recognizing Differences
Architectural Pursuits
Angkor Wat
Hindu Temple- to- Buddhist Stupa
Khmer KingdomPeak - 9th to 13th CenturyHindu & Buddhist TraditionsAngkor (city) served as seat of power
Angkor Wat• Temple complex• Built in 12th Century• first Hindu - dedicated to the
god Vishnu• Later replaced by Buddhist
followers• high classical style of Khmer
architecture
Dravidian Style Temple Architecture
Religious Communities
Heavily Islamicized communities • coastal merchants• Part of Islamic conquests
Animistic, Hindu and/or Buddhist traditions
INDIA: Introduction of IslamConversion to Islam developed slowly
overtime…
By 1500 – 25% of South Asians were Muslim, • Lower Caste levels (conversion en mass)- not effective in
changing status• Promise of salvation in Islam attracted Hindus & Buddhists
NORTHERN TERRITORIES
Religion of Invaders, but no incentives from Muslim Conquerors
SOUTHERN TERRITORIES
Merchant communities, through marriages, economic incentive
Gender Roles & Social Constructions
Diffusion & Integration
Merchants on
‘the rise’
Cultural Blending & Religious Conversions
Merchant Guilds in IndiaMerchant Aristocracy in East AfricaTrading Kingdoms in SEA
• Swahili (Arab & Bantu)• Animistic & Islamic• Islamic Mosques, Hindu Temples or
Buddhist Stupas???• Gender Expectations as part of
Religious Beliefs?
Diffusion & Integration
India: Converging ethnicities, expanding Caste
Adaptation of South Asian Culture• Caste regulations extended into far parts of
subcontinent
• Migrating peoples added to sub-caste levels – assimilation within a few generations
• Merchant/artisan jati –emerged as powerful new caste (Merchant guilds)– Wealthy– Political power
Cultural Blending in East Africa
Swahili Identity • Complex : African or
Asian?• African in ethnic origin• Arab and/or Indian in
culture
Food & Dress
Storytelling, poetry & literature
Music, art, painting
Local traditions/experiences mixed with established protocols
Gender Studies…
Limited Dowries
Racial & ethnic Inter-
marriage
Polygamy
Marriage as temporary
arrangements
Hindu Traditions…Law of ManuBhakti Poets
Family life central to Dharma
Women as Mother & Wife
Bhakti – rebellious
INDIAN OCEAN BASIN
Diversity & ContinuityDiffusion & Integration
Economic Prosperity & InnovationRoots of Modern development, maybe?
No ‘big government’ to lay claim to success…