SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA:

SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA:

Trade, Religion, Politics, and Cultural Affinities<= /b>

Brief Historical Context of Northern and Southern India<= /b>

     * Northern India

        =      - Gupta Empire (primarily Buddhist): King Harsha

- Muslim incursions: Arab forces (7= 11 A.C.E. – Sind annexation); Muslim   merchants (roughly 500-1000 = A.C.E - Gujarat); Turkish-speaking peoples’ invasions (1001 A.C.E.. - Mahmu= d of Ghazni) and the founding of the Sultanate of Delhi (1206 – 1526 A.C.E= .)

     * Southern India

h= ttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Chola_map.png

- Chola Kingdom (primarily Hindu: 850= -1267 A.C.E.): political structure; presence in the Indian Ocean basin;

- Vijayanagar Kingdom (primarily Hind= u: 1336-1565 A.C.E.): “city of      victory= 221;; eventual fall to alliance of Muslim kingdoms

Environment, Agriculture, and Trade in the Subcontinent<= /b>

      * Monsoons: extreme rain, extreme aridness

      * Irrigation systems (especially needed in Southern India)

- significant increase in food produc= tion (results in massive population growth)

- artificial lake near Bhopal (approx= . 250 square miles)

     * = Food staples sufficient; specialized trade commodities vary by region=

- iron, copper, salt, pepper, spices,= etc., all endemic only to certain parts of the&n= bsp; subcontinent; growth of internal and external trade as a result of lopsided availability of goods and commodoties

* Trade and agricultural production

&nb= sp;    - facilitated by Hindu temples in Chola Kingdom

1) Hindu temple authority vast

a) collected various agricultural rev= enues

b) provided education<= /p>
      = ;      - growth of large ocean vessels for trade

      = ;            &n= bsp;     1) dhows and junks

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Inhambane-dhow.JPG

2) growth of emporia – “t= rading in stages” benefit Indian centers of trade

- Indian centers of trade composed of= a menagerie of peoples, religions, and commodities; “nodes” for t= rade from East Africa to East Asia (Indian Ocean basin)

= ;           1) Indian textiles

= ;           2) Southeast Asian spices (cardamom)

= ;           3) horses, dates (Southwest Asia)

= ;           4) gold and ivory (East Africa)

Religion in the Subcontinent

     * = Growth of Islam in India; Hindu caste system still prevalent

      = ;      - caste system fluid, not rigid; basis of social (and economic) organization<= o:p>

      = ;            &n= bsp;     1) provided distinct roles for individuals in a loosely governed area

2) Muslim newcomers develop methods of dealing with caste

3) jati - subcaste: workers’= ; guilds&nbs= p;

     * Buddhism in India: exit stage left

- 1196 A.C.E – Muslim Turkic in= vaders overrun Nalanda, center of Buddhist &= nbsp; theological study; small pockets of Buddhism remain only<= /b>

     * = Growth of devotional Hinduism and Islam

      = ;      - Hinduism: Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer AND creator)

1) devotion would lead to union with = gods and salvation (moksha - the breaking of samsara, birth/rebirth cycle)

2) Two schools of thought:

a) Shankara espoused less devotion an= d more disciplined and logical reasoning (beyond ceremonial devotion)

b) Ramanuja espoused personal union w= ith deity through devotion would lead to salvation (and popularizes cult devoti= on)

      = ;      - Islam: Sufism, Islamic mysticism,

1) Islam viewed as the religion of th= e conqueror; monotheistic (thus completely different from Hinduism)

      = ;            &n= bsp;     2) Appealed to lower-caste Hindu

3) Sufism: allowed for veneration of non-Muslim rituals and spirits; attempted to provide a bridge between two diametrically opposed religions (Hinduism and Islam)

a) growth of bhakti movement: a= ttempt to erase distinction between Hinduism and Islam

1) Guru Kabir – professed that Vishnu, Shiva and Allah were all manifestations of the same entity

Southeast Asia

     * Mainland Southeast Asian Kingdoms

1) Funan &= #8211; Port of Oc Eo, “capital” of Funan (Khmer) kingdom (approx. 1st-6^th centuries A.C.E.

a) lower = Mekong delta; location now due to sultification; rediscovered in the last 100 years (along with Roman coins!)

b) import= ant port; connection to the wider= Indian Ocean basin between East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
2) Khmer E= mpire (802-1431 A.C.E.) ht= tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AngkorWat_Westview_Keiwo.JPG

a) combin= ation of Hindu devotional cults and Mahayana Buddhism (today, primarily Theravada Buddhism)

        &= nbsp;   1) Deva-raja – (Hindu) God-k= ing system

b) temple-building “agri-empire”

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Karta_AngkorWat.PNG=

1) Angkor Wat (“City Temple”)

        &= nbsp;   2) Angkor Thom (“Great City”)

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;   a) Bayon

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;   b) Baphuon

c) massive irrigation networks

d) empire= assumes the same role as Funan, but on a larger territorial scale (most of Mainland Southeast Asia)

e) Khmers= abandon Angkor Wat due to invasions by Thai forces in 1431

            3) Sukhothai Kingdom (Thai Kingdom - 1238-1448 A.C.E.)

http://= en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wat_Phra_Phai_Luang.jpg

a) former imperial Khmer outpost, populated by Thai and Lao

           &nbs= p;            b) Buddhist kingdom

1) (Buddh= ist) Pha-khun kingship, not Deva-raja; though, Indian/Brahmin religious ceremonies remain

c) assume= s much of the former territory of the Khmer Empire, but does not focus on maritime tr= ade

     * Maritime South= east Asia

1) Srivija= ya (7^th-13^th century A.C.E.)

ht= tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Borobudur_Northwest_View.jpg

a) Hindu/Buddhist trading Empire on island of Sumatra

           &nbs= p;            b) important center of trade between the Indian subcontinent and East Asia

           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           1) exported goods such as camphor and teak

           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           2) as a port-of-call, levied taxes on all transmit merchants

c) power diminished by Chola merchants; Chola Kingdom becomes a more popular trade n= ode between Southwest Asia and East Asia

2) Majapah= it (1293-1527 A.C.E.)

           &nbs= p;            a) Hindu/Buddhist trading empire on island of Java

b) replaces Srivijaya as a trading center

c) barely= any evidence survives detailing its history (mainly from epic poetry, Javanese = and Chinese inscriptions)

     * Indian Legacies – to what degree?

            1) Statecraft

           &nbs= p;            a) monarchial system for legitimation of power

           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           1) Hindu God-King v. Buddhist King

ht= tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Norodom_king_of_Cambodia.jpg

2) Sultan= ates – syncretic idea of authority between indigenous beliefs and Islam

            2) Religions

           &nbs= p;            a) syncretic religious systems

           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           1) mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Animism practices

           &nbs= p;            b) Hindu caste system is not transplanted to Southeast Asia

            3) “Arts”

           &nbs= p;            a) Ramayana variations found throu= ghout the region

from Bali:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DWEsfevRfjCI&feature=3Drelated

from Cambodia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Du= ZQQ1NSlD4o&feature=3DPlayList&p=3DFF46E85A3161482B&index=3D8

           &nbs= p;            b) architecture has obvious parallels with Indian architecture

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Plaosan_Temple_Guardi= an.jpg

4) Writing= systems and languages

a) Most S= outheast Asian scripts are based on South Indian scripts, or are derivations of scri= pts which are originally based on Indic scripts (e.g., Thai based on Khmer, whi= ch is originally based on an Indic script)

from Burma:

http://en.= wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Burmese_alphabet.svg

from India (Brahmi script)<= /p>
http://en.wikipedia.= org/wiki/Image:Asoka1.gif

b) most political, religious and administrative terms are based on Sanskrit (and st= ill are today!)

1) Khmer = Empire epigraphic evidence: both Sanskrit (regal language) and Khmer/Cambodian (mundane language)

&nbs= p;