The Indo Aryan civilization in India

 

Much has been written and debated about the origins of the Aryans who came to India after the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization which came to an end around 1500 BCE. While some scholars favour the out of India origin of the Indo Aryans others favour that the Aryans originated in India. The word Aryan comes from the Sanskrit word ‘arya’ which means the noble ones. The Aryans migrated from their ancestral homes in central Asia corresponding to modern Russia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan.The timing of the Indo European migrations can be traced back to 4000 BCE in Europe when the speakers of Proto Indo European languages spread and dispersed through large parts of Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, and Greece, and a large part of northern India. This dispersal has been confirmed by linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and genetics. This explains the similarity between various languages like Sanskrit, Persian, Russian, Greek, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Punjabi, Assamese, Bengali, and Gujarati. We also notice a striking similarity in the use of the past tense in Russian and many Indo Aryan languages.

It has been claimed by many historians that the Aryans destroyed the Indus Valley civilization and that they entered India as invaders. The Aryans entered India after the demise of the Indus valley civilization around 1500 BCE and there is no direct evidence linking the Indo Aryans to the destruction of the Indus Valley civilization. The religion and the rituals of the Indo Aryans bears a striking resemblance to those of ancient Iranian religions and Greek religions. For example, the horse is considered as an indispensable trait of the Aryan culture and the term asva(horse) appears in the Rig Veda and in Zend Avesta the religious text of the Iranians. It also appears in Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and other Indo European languages. Similarly, the pit dwellings, sacrificial rituals, the svastika, language, and inscriptional evidence is a common feature among the speakers of the Indo Aryan languages.

The speakers of the Indo Aryan languages came to be identified by their tribal identity and subsequently, it gave rise to Jana and varna system of social differentiation. This system of social differentiation eventually gave rise to jatis or castes like the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras.Tribal conflicts were frequent among the Indo Aryans.The rajan(king) was expected to lead the tribes in battle against each other.The four Vedas namely the Rigveda, Yajurveda,Atharvaveda and Samaveda were composed in this period. Eventually, this formed the basis of the Vedic age which lasted from 1500 BCE to 500 BCE in ancient India.

The Roman Empire

 

The Roman empire was the most powerful empire in the history of Western civilization. Its transition from a republic to an empire was marked by a change in the form of rule. Initially, in the Roman republic, it was ruled by annually elected magistrates (Roman consuls) in cooperation with the Roman senate. The political upheaval of the 1^st century BC eventually led to rule by emperors. Rome endured a series of conspiracies, internal conflicts and civil wars beginning in the late 2^nd century BC and its power began to extend beyond Italy. This period is known as the crisis of the Roman republic.

The crisis of the roman republic was the period of social unrest and political instability from about 134 BC to 44 BC that led to the end of the roman republic and the beginning of the Roman empire. Towards the end of this era in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was dictator for a short time before he was assassinated by a group of senators. The senators wanted to restore the Roman republic and they feared the full concentration of powers in the hands of Julius Caesar would undermine the Roman republic. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the triumvirate of Lepidus, Octavian, and Mark Antony ruled over Rome. However, Octavian went to war against Antony in north Africa and after his victory in the battle of Actium(31BCE), he became Rome’s first emperor Augustus. The reign of Augustus ushered in a period of social stability and economic prosperity. The form of government was principate which combined few elements of a republic with that of a monarchy. The Pax Romana (Roman peace) was a 200-year time of peace and prosperity.

After the death of Augustus his heir Tiberius(14-37AD) assumed power and he continued his predecessor’s policies. It was during the rule of Tiberius that Jesus Christ was crucified. After Tiberius, the Roman empire was ruled by Caligula (37-41 AD), Claudius (41-54 AD), and Nero (54-68 AD). The first five rulers of the empire are known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty due to the two-family names they descended from (either by birth or due to adoption), Julius and Claudius. Claudius expanded Roman rule in Britain. Caligula and Claudius were both assassinated while on the throne. Nero’s suicide ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty and thus began the period of social unrest known as the rule of the four emperors. The four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. Following Nero’s suicide in 68 AD Galba assumed power but he proved incompetent to rule. He was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard. Otho succeeded him and records indicate that he was expected to be a good emperor. General Vitellius wanted the throne for himself and thus civil war began which ended in Otho’s suicide and the ascendancy of Vitellius on the throne. Vitellius did not prove fit for the throne and the throne subsequently passed to Vespasian who became the founder of the short Flavian dynasty. The Flavian dynasty was followed by the Nerva-Antonine dynasty who ruled over the Roman empire from 96 AD to 192 AD. These emperors were Nerva(96-98AD), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian (117-138), Antoninus Pius (138-161), Lucius Verus (161-169), Marcus Aurelius (169-180) and Commodus (180-192).

During the rule of Commodus, the empire went in to decline. After his death, the Severan dynasty came to power whose rule was tumultuous, and following the collapse of the Severan dynasty the Roman empire suffered due to the crisis of the Third century which was characterized by invasions, economic disorder, civil strife, and plague. Aurelian (270-275) again went to the task of stabilizing the empire. His successor Diocletian(284-305) completed the work of fully restoring the empire, Diocletian divided the empire into four regions each ruled by a separate emperor, the Tetrarchy. The Tetrarchy eventually collapsed and Diocletian abdicated along with his co-emperor. Finally, an order was restored by Constantine the Great who was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and he established Constantinople(Istanbul) as the new capital of the Eastern Roman empire later called the Byzantine empire. During the rule of the Constantinian and the Valentinian dynasties the empire was divided into two parts east and west with dual capitals in Rome and Constantinople. The last emperor to rule over both east and west was Theodosius I who died in 395 AD after making Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

The Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the early 5^th century due to Germanic migrations. The Romans were successful in resisting these migrations most notably of Attila. The Western Roman Empire finally collapsed due to this migration in 476 AD when the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate to Odoacer the Germanic warlord. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire known as the Byzantine empire continued for the next 1000 years when it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453.

The Romans have left a legacy in innovations and inventions. The days of the week and months of the year all come from Rome. The aqueducts, colosseum of Rome in Italy, and advancements in the construction of roads and buildings can be traced to the Romans. The military of the Romans consisted of mercenaries and hired soldiers and were equipped with the latest advancements in technology. The status of women in the Roman empire was considerably good though women could not hold office and women retained property though they still were under their husband’s authority. The language of the Romans was Latin and during the rule of the Roman emperors, the birth certificates and wills of Roman citizens had to be written in Latin. The political ideals of republicanism and the architecture of the Romans have influenced many buildings in Europe and the USA notably the Capitol building in Washington in the USA and the classical architecture in Italy.

The Hundred Years war

The Hundred Years war was a conflict that took place between England and France from 1337 to 1453. The causes of the conflict were the English claims over the French throne and the dispute over the succession of the English crown. The origin of the conflict was the duchy of Guyenne which originally belonged to the English kings but remained a fief of the French crown and the closest relatives of the Capetian king Charles IV who belonged to the English crown and hence the kings of England claimed the kingdom of France.

In the first half of the 14^th century England and France were the most powerful monarchies in Western Europe and France was the largest and richest country in Western Europe. England was also organized and it rivaled France. Technically the English kings were the vassals of the kings of France and the English kings which were Normans and the Angevin was also French. Thus, the French monarchs wanted to keep a check on the growth of English power. England too possessed holdings in France but by 1337 only the province of Gascony was in English hands. In 1328 Charles IV of France died without an heir to the throne and hence the crown passed directly to his closest relative his nephew Edward III of England. But the French rejected Edward III claims to the French throne and instead wanted a Frenchman for the crown of France. Thus, the French Crown went to Charles IV’s cousin Philip VI.

Thus, eventually, war broke out between England and France in which the English led by their king Edward III and his son defeated the French. However, by 1378 the French under King Charles the wise had taken back the lands ceded to King Edward in the treaty of Bretigny signed in 1360. The dispute over Guyenne and Gascony which belonged to England was also the high point of the conflict. Joan of Arc provided a decisive moment in the war and considerably boosted the French morale. The major battles of the war were fought at Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and the siege of Orleans in 1429. The emergence of Joan of Arc in the siege of Orleans turned the tide of war against the English. However, she was eventually executed by the English. At the Battle of Castillon fought on 17 July 1453 the English were decisively defeated by the French. Finally, in the treaty of Picquigny signed in 1475 the war came to an end with Edward III renouncing his claim to the French throne.

The victory of France in the Hundred Years War brought to an end the English dreams of a joint monarchy and the rise of national feeling in England and France. The war led to the transformation of France from a feudal monarchy to a centralized state. With the war’s end, England lost all its continental possessions leaving it with only the province of Calais

The Pre-Columbian history of North America

North America is usually considered as the northernmost part of the American continent which comprises the modern countries of USA, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland and the Caribbean countries. The name America is taken from Amerigo Vespucci the Italian navigator and explorer who was the first to explore the continent of America. While discussing the history of North America scholars often overlook the history of North America before its discovery by Christopher Columbus in the late 15^th century. Though Europe, Asia, and Africa were marked by the rise and fall of empires and civilizations this was not the case with America. Before the arrival of European powers, significant civilizations and indigenous American cultures existed in North America. In this article, we will be discussing the Pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of the North American countries.

The continents of North and South America began to take its current form millions of years ago separated from Eurasia and Africa by thousands of kilometers of the ocean except for a tiny stretch of shallow water, the Bering Strait. The Bering Strait connected Alaska (northwestern North America) to Siberia in the Pleistocene era (last ice age). As the ice receded in the last ice age it allowed the movement of early humans. Between 15000 and 13000 years ago the ice cap began to retreat opening an ice-free north-south corridor eventually opening the way from Alaska to the interior of northwestern North America. However, the exact movement of peoples and the pattern of migration is the subject of much debate among archaeologists. The first humans to inhabit North America was known as the Paleo Indians. They lived by hunting and fishing and they hunted mammoths, Mastodon, giant sloths, and horses to extinction. This period was known as the Archaic period and it lasted roughly from 8000BCE to 1000BCE. Numerous archaeological cultures and sites have been identified such as the Clovis culture, Dorset culture, Woodland period, Adena culture, Olmec civilization, Mississippian culture. In the Arctic region of Canada, the indigenous tribes of North America were the Aleut, Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Pueblo peoples, Mandan, Hidatsa and other Pre-Columbian cultures formed large settlements, even cities such as Cahokia in what is now Illinois.

In Canada, the indigenous peoples are known as Aboriginal peoples including First Nations and Inuit whereas in the USA the indigenous peoples are known as Native Americans or American Indians and Alaska natives. The earliest humans in North America which are known through archaeological investigations indicate that they developed complex societal hierarchies, chiefdoms and they were organized in tribes. The Paleo Indians spread out through modern Canada and the USA and their dispersal is confirmed by archaeological finds. The Hopewell tradition, the Inuit, Yupik, Iroquois, the Mississippian cultures, Oasis America, and Adena culture in Canada and the USA are the main archaeological sites related to Paleo Indians. These pre-Columbian cultures and indigenous peoples of North America were discovered by the Vikings (Norse) in their expedition led by Leif Erikson in the year 1000AD.However, the greater part of Europe was unaware of these indigenous civilizations until the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

When the Europeans arrived in the late 15^th century many natives of North America were organized into tribes or confederations. Also, extensive Pre-Columbian sedentary societies existed in what is now the USA. In Mexico and Latin America, the Pre Columbian civilizations were the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, Mixtec, Huastec, Pure Pecha, Toltecs, and Aztecs. The early inhabitants of the Americas practiced agriculture and cultivated corn, potatoes, avocado, and pumpkins. They had extensive trade contacts in the case of Mexico but in the case of Canada and USA the natives built earthen mounds and developed large ceremonial centers. These mounds have been discovered archaeologically such as at Louisiana in USA(3700BCE-3100BCE).From the Europeans perspective American civilizations at the time of European contact were advanced in astronomy and mathematics and had well-populated cities.In Mexico and Cuba, the Taino, Ciboney, Maya, and Aztec civilizations were the most advanced cultures and civilizations and historians agree that the Mayans and Aztecs built large cities, had trade contacts, and possessed an advanced calendar and astronomical knowledge unrivaled by any other civilization. The architecture of the Mayans and Aztecs in Mexico is proof of their accomplishment in architecture.

By the time of the conquest of North America by the Europeans in the late 15^th and 16^th century by Britain, France, and Spain many of these cultures and civilizations had long faded into obscurity and many were forcibly assimilated by the Europeans. In the centuries of conquest by the Europeans, many of these native tribes, kingdoms and civilizations came to an end due to diseases introduced by the Europeans to which they had no immunity like smallpox and measles.