South by Southeast Asia600-1450
Political Structures in Southern India
• Since the fall of the Gupta, no single empire controlled
the region for almost 1,000 years
• Chola Kingdom (850-1267):
Was a major player in the
Indian Ocean Trade
• Vijayanagar: Brought Hinduism back to Southern
India, after first being Muslim.
Now on to Northern India• Himalayas protected India from
invasions from the north, but Muslims constantly invaded from the west
• Because Sind (the northwest region of India) was so far away from Dar al-Islam, it was never really in control
• Eventually, Delhi was conquered and the Delhi Sultanate was founded
• Never organized an efficient bureaucracy so policies were never
really imposed, but they did have the jizya, but the smaller kingdoms played a major role
Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin (what they traded)
• West-coast Indian cities like Calcut,
Quilon, and Camby became centers of
trade
• India became known for it’s fabrics,
cotton, high-carbon steel, and tanned
leather
• Malaysia was known as the Spice
Islands
• Swahili costal cities traded Slaves,
ivory, and gold
• China exported silk and porcelain…
aka fine china
Monsoons and Sailing Tech
• Used the Monsoon
Winds in order to
facilitate trade
• Invented the Lateen
Sales, Stern
Rudder, which led
to the small
wooden dhows to
dominate the seas
during this era
Religion in South Asia• It was Islam vs. Hinduism: Islam =
1 god, geometric artwork, Hindu = many gods, images of gods. One has a cast system, the other doesn’t
• Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Hindu and Buddhist shrines as he tried to spread Islam, but discovered that Hindu and Buddhist subjects didn’t convert
• Low castes in some cases converted, and other corrupt Buddhist monks led some to leave Buddhism behind
Interaction of Islam and Hinduism
• Formed Sufis: mystics who did not focus on strict doctrines, instead
emphasized individual personal connection
• Led to Hinduism focusing on
a more personal relationship to an individual god
• Bhakti Movement: emphasized love and devotion to god, with poets
like Mira Bai, and Guru Kabir
Social Structures• India’s caste system is it’s
strongest historical
continuity
• Many who tried to escape a low caste failed to improve their status
because higher jobs required more education,
which converting to Islam didn’t help
• Islam didn’t change the
way women were treated
Cultural Achievements in South Asia
• India scientific learning was
translated into Arabic, such as
algebra, geometry, and the
Indian number system
• Mosques built across India,
such as the Qutab Minar
• Urdu, a new language
developed among Muslims in the region which is a blending
of the grammatical pattern of
Hindi, with the vocabulary of
Arabic
Southeast Asia• Many things were
introduced through trade such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, Sanskrit, among others
• Srivijaya (670-1025) controlled the shipping hub from the Indian Ocean through China and became VERY wealthy
The Angkor Kingdom• Lasted more than 500 years
• Kingdom was a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, which can be seen at the Angkor Wat temple