What empire became famous in ancient India. Ancient India. The peoples of ancient India

The period of the second half of the 1st millennium BC. in the history of India is important in many respects.

The most notable event in the political field was the formation of states of an all-India character, and in the field of ideology, the formation of Buddhism. These events were based on shifts in the sphere of material production and social relations that were not so noticeable at first glance.

Finding them out is the most difficult task for the historian, since none of the ancient civilizations of equal importance has left behind such meager sources for study.

For the period under consideration, however, epigraphic and numismatic data appear (both, however, are not numerous), evidence of ancient writers. But the huge religious and semi-religious literature contains very little historical data and is still often dated very roughly; there are no historical chronicles, political and economic documents of the palace and private archives, exactly dated monuments of the current legislation, etc. These unfavorable conditions for ancient Indian historiography must always be kept in mind.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. the mobility of the population - a consequence of the development of the Ganges valley - stops and is replaced by a state of relative stability. At that time, there were several dozen small and up to 16 larger states in North India. In the struggle for dominance, Koshala (in the modern state of Uttar Pradesh) with its capital first in Ayodhya and then in Shravasti, and Magadha (in the southern part of the modern state of Bihar) with its capital first in Rajagriha (modern Rajgir), then in Pataliputra (now Patna). Between them, in the main, a struggle for political hegemony unfolded. At the beginning of the 5th century BC. under the Magadhian king Ajatashatru, it ended with the victory of Magadha, which gradually intensified more and more and in the 4th century. BC. which became the core of the Nanda empire, uniting all the states of the Ganges valley and, possibly, part of South India into one political entity.

Information about the Nanda empire is not only scarce, but also inconsistent. And yet it is probably the most interesting phenomenon in ancient Indian history. All later sources with rare unanimity speak of the dynasty that reigned in it with hatred and contempt, rank it among the Shudras (i.e., representatives of the “lowest” social stratum), and its founder, Ugrasena Nanda, is called the son of a barber. Around 345 BC he overthrew the king of Magadha and reigned himself. Such an extraordinary event, given the socio-psychological atmosphere that existed at that time, could not remain a simple episode of the court chronicle, and Ugrasena met with strong opposition in the circles of the ruling nobility; this is evident from the fact that he is remembered as an ardent enemy and destroyer of the kshatriyas (well-born nobility). At the same time, it is clear that Ugrasena had to not only possess the outstanding qualities of a statesman, but also rely on some social strata opposed to the ruling nobility, otherwise he would not have been able to hold out for a long time. And he not only held out, but also subdued by military means a huge territory in the Ganges valley, created a state that they did not dare to attack in 327 BC. even the troops of Alexander the Great, who had previously marched victoriously throughout the Near and Middle East. But we do not have any data that would allow us to present a picture of the events that took place and judge their social character.

North-Western India during the VI - IV centuries. BC. consisted of a large number of small states. Territories west of the Indus at the end of the 6th century. BC. became part of the Achaemenid Empire. It is possible that the power of the Persian kings also extended to some territories east of the Indus, but how far inland it is impossible to even approximately indicate.

Alexander the Great after the destruction of the Achaemenid Empire and the falling away of the former Indian satrapies of this empire in 327 BC. invaded the interior of the country. Some of the states located here submitted voluntarily, while others put up fierce resistance. It is well known how difficult it was for Alexander, for example, his victory over one of the Punjabi kings - Poroy. Discouraged by this resistance and the difficulties of the campaign, Alexander's soldiers refused to follow him when he set out to attack the Nanda empire, about the power of which the Greco-Macedonians had heard a lot; they knew that on the left bank of the Ganges an army of 200,000 infantry, 80,000 horsemen, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 elephants was waiting for them, that is, more than ten times the army of Por.

In 325 BC Alexander left India, leaving subordinate rulers and Greek-Macedonian garrisons in the conquered part of the country.

The stay of the invaders on Indian soil turned out to be short-lived: already in 317 BC. their last detachment left the country. The reason for this was both the wars between the commanders of Alexander after his death, and the struggle of the Indians against foreign conquerors.

This struggle was led by Chandragupta Maurya. According to some sources, he was from the Shudras, but most sources indicate that he came from a well-born Kshatriya. In his youth, Chandragupta served the Nandas, but quarreled with the king and was forced to flee to the north-west of the country. Here he joined Alexander, persuaded him to invade the Ganges valley and promised easy success, since the king was of low birth and his subjects would not support him. But the attempt to deal with the enemy by proxy failed, since Alexander did not dare to continue the campaign further east.

After the death of Alexander and the ensuing confusion in his empire, Chandragupta succeeded in expelling the Greek Macedonians from the country and fortified himself in the northwest so that he could resume the fight against the Pandas. This time it was successful: Ugrasena's then-reigning son Dhana Nanda was around 317 BC. overthrown, and Chandragupta became king of Pataliputra. At all stages of Chandragupta's turbulent career, his faithful companion and adviser was the brahmin Chanakya, an ardent enemy of the Nandas. Chanakya was remembered in the legends as a cunning politician, therefore he (under the name Kautilya) was credited with compiling the famous work “Arthashastra” - “The Science of Politics”.

Despite the fact that many legends have been preserved about Chandragupta, only one fact of his 24-year reign is known for certain. Around 305 BC there was a military clash between him and Seleucus I Nicator, who invaded India. Apparently, the advantage remained on the side of Chandragupta, since Seleucus, in exchange for 500 elephants, was forced to cede to the enemy significant territories of modern Afghanistan and Iran; Chandragupta also received a daughter, Seleucus, as his wife. After that, the ambassador of Megasthea arrived at the court of Chaidragupta from Seleucus, leaving a description of India, which has not come down to us, but is well known from extensive quotations in the writings of other ancient writers.

After the 25-year reign of the son of Chandragupta Bindusara (293-268 BC), about which almost nothing is known, his son Ashoka (268 BC) reigned, during which the Mauryan Empire reached its greatest prosperity. .

The Mauryan Empire in the reign of Ashoka covered almost the entire Indian subcontinent, with the exception of the extreme south of the Deccan, as well as significant territories to the west of India. This empire was apparently created mainly by the military labors of his father and grandfather, since from the reign of Ashoka himself, only the conquest of Kalinga (modern Orissa) in the eighth year of the reign is known. The main task facing him was not the further expansion of the already huge empire, but its internal strengthening, rallying into a single whole a large number of peoples, differing in language, culture and level of social and economic development.

The most pressing was the need to organize management. The whole empire was divided into five main areas - pastoralities, usually ruled by members of the royal house: Magadha with the Ganges valley, which was under direct control from Pataliputra, the northwest with the center in the city of Taxila, the west (the city of Ujiyani), Kalinga (the city of Karelia). Tosali) and south (Suvariagiri). The governorships were divided into smaller administrative units. The king himself and the highest dignitaries systematically traveled around the provinces for inspection purposes.

It was essential to create the ideological foundation of the empire. Many tribal religions existed on its territory, which created numerous social and cultural barriers between the government and subjects and between the subjects themselves.

What was needed was a religion more in line with the new social and political conditions, capable of becoming one for the diverse population of a vast country. Buddhism was the best for this. Ashoka, whose religious policy is well known to us thanks to the numerous inscriptions he left on the columns and rocks, managed to cordon him off. He himself adopted Buddhism and with state support, generous gifts to the Buddhist community and the construction of places of worship contributed to its spread. The state for the first time under Ashoka began to establish control over the spiritual life of its subjects.

The state and religious policy of Ashoka met with constant resistance from local separatists and the Brahmin priesthood. The situation became especially aggravated in the last years of Ashoka's life; it is even possible that he was removed from actual power. After his death (231 BC), the weakening and disintegration of the empire began, accelerated by attacks from the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Around 180 BC the last representative of the Mauryan dynasty was overthrown and killed by his commander Pushyamitra, who founded the new dynasty of Shupgas. At this time, the power of the kings of Magadha apparently extended only to the Ganges valley and to the lands immediately adjacent to it from the south.

The Shupgi state had to repeatedly and not always successfully fight the Greco-Bactrians and the Indian states in the west, headed by the Greek dynashes.

In 68 BC in Magadha, another change of dynasty took place: the Kanvas came to power, about whose 45-year reign almost nothing is known.

The formation and one and a half century existence of the first all-Indian state of the Mauryans was of great importance. It was achieved (albeit by force) the political unification of the most diverse in ethnicity, language, level of development, nature of production and forms of culture of nationalities and tribes. This contributed to the overall economic development, the convergence of the constituent parts of the empire, and the exchange of cultural achievements.

India all this time was not subjected to enemy invasions. Foreign trade and political relations were established with the countries of the Mediterranean.

Until the beginning of our era, South India (the peninsular part of the country) lagged noticeably behind the North. This was a consequence of less favorable conditions for farming and for internal communications, greater remoteness from other centers of ancient civilizations. In the last centuries BC, the situation began to change.

The spread of iron tools allowed the local population to overcome difficulties in developing new lands, mining, developing marine industries and establishing maritime links with other countries (Africa, Ceylon, Southeast Asia). The stay of most of South India as part of the Mauryan Empire also contributed to the assimilation of the advanced North Indian experience by the local population.

Already in the Mauryan period, it is known about the existence in the extreme south of several states (Kerala, Chola, Pandya), which defended their independence, which testified to their sufficient maturity.

After the collapse of the empire, in the territories that previously belonged to it in South India, independent states also formed, some so strong that they themselves made conquest campaigns in Northern India (Kalinga, the state of the Satavahans).

The period under review was marked by progress in all areas of the economy. In agriculture, the development of new lands, the development of artificial irrigation, and the expansion of the range of cultivated crops took place. It is known about the existence of large farms - the king, the nobility and the rich - many hundreds of hectares, with thousands of cattle, with a large number of forced laborers. The main task of animal husbandry is the rearing of draft animals.

Forest and sea industries remain the lot of the backward outlying tribes. From this period we already have some data to judge the forms of landed property. According to the levels of development of individual societies, these forms were not the same - from primitive collective to fully developed private ownership. But even in the most advanced societies, where there was not only the possession and use of land, but also all the main forms of alienation of land (donation, sale, inheritance), the state retained the right of ownership of uncultivated land, minerals and treasures, and the community - pastures and wastelands. In addition, both the state and the community retained the right to control all land transactions.

The most important evidence of technological progress is the development of handicrafts. There is a lot of information about the high level of development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, blacksmithing, weapons and jewelry, cotton weaving, wood, stone and bone carving, pottery, perfumery, etc. In each village there were several artisans who satisfied the modest needs of fellow villagers in industrial products , but the main centers of concentration of craft, especially in the production of complex and high-quality products and luxury goods, were cities. Here, artisans settled according to their specialties and had their own unions - shreni, who represented before the authorities and protected artisans from arbitrariness. Many large workshops, in which both forced laborers and hired workers were employed, belonged to the tsar (shipyards, spinning, weapons, jewelry).

The development of material production and its specialization led to an increase in trade. There was also a natural regional specialization: Magadha was famous for its rice and metals, the north-west of the country - barley and horses, the south - precious stones, pearls and spices, the west - cotton and cotton fabrics; Some cities outside this area - Varanasi, Mathura, etc. - also distinguished themselves by cotton weaving. Merchants were rich and respected people; like artisans, they united in shreni.

The state received considerable income from trade and therefore contributed to it by maintaining order in the market, controlling measures and trade transactions, and laying roads. The sovereigns themselves were big merchants, and the trade in some goods was their monopoly. Trade continued to expand with the countries of Southeast Asia, Arabia, and Iran.

The development of trade led to the expansion of monetary circulation. This is indicated by the finds of treasures, sometimes containing thousands of coins.

The most common currency was the pan, which varied greatly in weight and composition in different states and at different times.

In the north-west of the country, foreign coins were also in circulation - Persian, Greek, Greco-Bactrian.

There is a lot of data on usury. The minimum debt growth was 15% per year, while the lower the debtor's Varna was, the higher the interest could be taken, up to 60% from the sudra. But even this figure could increase significantly if a loan was given in kind, and not in money, if it was not secured by collateral, and so on. Debt enslavement could entail partial or complete deprivation of the debtor's freedom.

From the time of the decline of the Indian civilization to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. we do not know of a single city that even remotely resembles Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa. But since that time, a new flowering of cities begins. Ancient collectors were surprised at the huge number of cities in India, sometimes citing implausible numbers. Many cities grew out of villages, especially conveniently located in terms of communications, security, and the availability of natural resources (water, ores, pottery clay, wood, etc.). Others were founded by the state and were originally strongholds, fortresses, administrative centers.

Many of these cities still exist, sometimes under other or heavily changed names - Indraprastha (modern Delhi), Pataliputra (Patna), Shakala (Sialkot), Purushapura (Peshawar), and sometimes under the same or only slightly changed - Varanasi, Kaushambi, Nasik, Mathura and others. Among them were very large ones. So, judging by what the Greeks tell about the capital of Magadha, Patalinutra, its area should have been 25-30 square meters. km and, therefore, the population could reach up to 1 million people. The organizational structure of cities and the possible degree of their autonomy have not been clarified.

As in any other country, slavery in ancient India had its own characteristics, but its fundamental provisions were also characteristic of India. The Indian dasa was a slave in the most precise sense of the word: he was someone else's property, had no right to the results of his labor, the owner could execute him at will; slaves, like any other movable property, were sold, bought, inherited, given, lost, mortgaged. From cattle, as "four-legged", slaves differed only as "two-legged". The owner had an unconditional right to the offspring of the slave, regardless of who was the actual father. A variety of life circumstances made adjustments to these basic provisions: sometimes slaves were involved as witnesses in court, they were often allowed to accumulate material resources necessary to pay a ransom, the position of slaves varied significantly depending on the circumstances of enslavement, etc. But all this took place in other countries. The most important feature of ancient Indian slavery was the differences in the position of slaves and in the conditions of their liberation, which depended on their class-caste position before they lost their freedom.

The most abundant and constant source of slaves was, apparently, natural reproduction, i.e. the birth of slaves by female slaves. Such slaves were also the most convenient, since from childhood they got used to the slave share.

The enslavement of prisoners of war and camp servants captured by the victor, the capture of enemy slaves, and sometimes civilians, took place throughout the entire period of antiquity. Enslavement for debts, the sale and gift of oneself or the sale and gift of children and other free relatives became commonplace. They were also enslaved for certain crimes.

There were facts of abduction of people with the aim of enslavement, losing oneself to the free.

Slave labor was used in various spheres of the economy to an unequal extent. This depended on the specifics of production, on the number of slaves, on the strength of the state apparatus and its punitive organs, and much more. As a rule, the owners tried to use the labor of slaves in such jobs that provided permanent employment, ease of control, as well as those for which it was difficult to find free workers (especially difficult and dangerous work, ritually unclean, etc.). These conditions were most satisfied with work at home - threshing, cleaning grain and cotton, making flour, delivering water, caring for livestock, spinning, weaving, weaving, etc. For the same reason, the labor of slaves in the field was used in small farms less often than in large ones; in the latter, when listing the employed workers, slaves are invariably named first.

The performance of the duties of a domestic servant was also considered specific slave labor. Almost every even not very wealthy family had slave servants, and the houses of the rich were teeming with them - harem servants, palanquin carriers, messengers, gatekeepers, watchmen, cleaners, etc. The possession of such servants was considered necessary from the point of view of social prestige.

The existence of slave-owning relations did not exclude the existence of other forms of exploitation (rental relations, usurious bondage, hired labor in its form specific to antiquity), as well as social relations that were not at all based on exploitation. All of them experienced the influence of slavery, which ensured the maximum dependence of the exploited on the exploiter, necessary at that level of development of the productive forces. All relations in society were determined by the presence of slavery, by the fact that the exploitation of man by man in its most primitive and predatory form was established.

A person's personality became a commodity, even the younger members of the family were the object of commercial transactions. Accordingly, statehood changed due to the strengthening of punitive functions, ideology - due to the consecration of the power of the exploiters.

Slaves and slave owners were the two poles that determined the social structure of ancient Indian society. Between them were located, gravitating towards one or the other, the rest of the social strata. Thus, workers who lost their economic independence or civil rights and were forced to work for others inevitably formed intermediate social strata, in one way or another adjoining the class of slaves.

Every slave-owning economy strove to have as many slaves as it could use constantly. But the need for labor often changed (especially in agriculture from season to season), so the slave owners were interested in the presence in society of some kind of permanent reserves of cheap labor that could be used when it was needed and released. when it's not needed. Accordingly, it was possible to support such workers only during the period of work, and when they are not busy, they would have to take care of themselves.

In ancient India, such workers were called karmakars. They included everyone who was hired for a certain period - farm laborers, day laborers, itinerant artisans, even artists and doctors. Some household servants (not slaves) were also considered karmakars. Along with slaves, karmakars were widely used both in royal households (agricultural and handicraft), and in private - both large and small.

The Karmakars were not slaves, since they worked by agreement for a certain period of time and were paid according to the preliminary agreement. However, their work for others was a consequence not only of their good will, and even not only the result of poverty, but also of non-economic coercion, primarily class-economic regulation, which predetermined that they were obliged to work for others in accordance with their social status and could not claim for more. Therefore, despite some outward resemblance to the proletarians of capitalist society, they cannot be considered free sellers of their labor power.

The actual relations between employers and karmakars were ultimately determined by the leading form of exploitation - slaveholding. Since slavery was for the ancient era the most complete and effective form of use of dependence, the owners sought to at least partially equate wage workers with slaves.

Both of them seemed to employers as a total mass of dependent people, only they bought some for a term, and others forever. At work and in everyday life, they were often not separated from each other, and karmakars were considered almost the same property of the owner as slaves. Just like slaves, karmakars during the period of the agreement could be subjected to physical punishment up to mutilation.

Separate groups of Karmakars were very different from each other. Some (for example, working off a debt, permanent laborers) were closer in their actual position to slaves, others (apprentices, wandering artisans, short-term mercenaries) - further, but it can be said about all that if they have not yet become slaves, then they are completely free. also cannot be counted. The social structure was greatly complicated by the presence of traditional forms of dependence (patronage, older and younger in the clan, indigenous and alien population), which are still little studied.

Characteristic of the social system of India was the existence throughout the entire period of antiquity of a numerous stratum of the communal peasantry. This was a layer of free workers who were not exploited, since they possessed all the basic means of production.

In the most developed parts of India, arable land was private property, although the community controlled its use and disposal. The management was carried out, as a rule, by the forces of one family, however, with the then level of technical equipment and in the specific natural conditions of India, these families had to constantly maintain production ties.

Fighting floods and droughts, clearing arable land, protecting people and crops, building roads - all this required a collective effort.

The peculiarity of the community as a production team was that it also included some non-farmers who served the general and private needs of the community members - potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, scavengers, watchmen, etc. This made the community an independent economic organism, little affected by .

At the same time, it was an autonomous civil organization with its own village gathering, headman, scribe, priest-astrologer, who led the communal cult. Most of the court cases that arose in the community were resolved by arbitration - a meeting of community members or a headman; only the most serious crimes were tried in the royal court. The state used the communal administration as the lowest link in the tax apparatus, entrusting it with the collection of taxes. Villages were often fortified: they were surrounded by a strong fence, and the community members were always ready to repel the attacks of robbers and marauders.

The communities had little to do with the political life of their state. The isolation of the community and the political difference between town and country are also noted by the Greek Megasthenes (reported by Strabo): “The farmers are exempted from military service, their work is not disturbed by anything; they do not go to the city, they do not do any other business, they do not carry out any public duties.

A closed and stable community had a retarding effect on the development of society; remnants of communal ownership of land delayed the formation of private land ownership, property and social differentiation. Being an autonomous social organism, the community prevented the growth of the inter-district division of labor, commodity production and trade. A dense network of customs and traditions entangled the worker, causing inertia and technical stagnation.

The community, for all its strength, was not immutable. It was influenced by slavery, class-caste division, private property aspirations, slave-owning ideology. In different parts of the country, this impact was not the same. In the most developed states, the community itself began to act as a collective exploiter in relation to its slaves and servants and turned into a collective of small slave owners.

Although the ruling classes and the state strove to maintain the system of varnas in an unchanged state, varnas changed and adapted to new conditions. The basic principles have been preserved: the presence of four varnas, the inequality of their rights and duties, belonging to varnas by birth, the existence of important restrictions in communication between them. However, over time, the actual position and especially wealth becomes more and more important for assessing the social significance of a person.

This is especially noticeable in the frequent departure from traditional activities. The decisive factor for a Brahmin is the performance of priestly duties, but now more and more Brahmins are farmers, shepherds, artisans, healers, healers and even servants. Only the Brahmin priests remained exempt from taxes, the rest paid them. Other ancient privileges (exemption from the death penalty and corporal punishment, bondage for debts) also extended to non-priest Brahmins to a lesser extent, and they eventually lost their Brahmin status.

In India, there were no temples and temple farms, there was no organization of brahmins even on a local scale. Consequently, there were no economic and political prerequisites for their supremacy in ancient Indian society, although the varna of the Brahmins was considered the highest. But the Brahmins, as ideologists of the ruling class, keepers and interpreters of ancient traditions, performers of cult actions, continued to occupy an important place.

The Kshatriyas were considered the second Varna due to their spiritual purity, but the military, political and economic power was in their hands. Yet here, too, changes can be found. Many Kshatriya families weakened, and their members became harem guards, bodyguards of nobles, and some traders and artisans. The well-born nobility is often pushed aside by the servants. This is especially evident in the example of the emergence of royal dynasties from other varnas, such as the Shudryan Nandas and the Brahmin Kanvas.

The stratification process also affected the cooking of vaishyas. Wealthy Vaishyas (especially from merchants) occupy places in the state apparatus as trade agents of the king, tax collectors, employees in the royal economy and treasury, etc. Such vaishyas made their way to the top of the slave society; the majority of them, as engaged in manual labor and constituting the main tax-paying estate, were getting closer and closer to the Shudras, whose social status was gradually rising.

The Sudras did not achieve equality. For them, there were restrictions in the choice of profession and place of residence, more severe punishments by the court, they were subjected to restrictions in religious rituals. And yet, although the authors of legal treatises did their best to emphasize the humiliation of the Shudras, their actual position changed, primarily because they constituted the main productive population of the growing cities. There are many examples of wealthy sudras hiring servants from twice-born and even brahmins. If even royal dynasties from the Shudras appear, then the more often there should have been facts of occupation by Shudras and a less noticeable, although previously unthinkable social position.

It is not for nothing that in many versions of the myth “About the Four Ages” it is bitterly stated (however, with the clear intention of exaggerating) that in the last sinful age of Kali, the Shudras become the main ones.

Significant changes have taken place in the field of ideology. Since the death of the Buddha at the beginning of the 5th c. BC. Buddhism has undergone significant changes. According to legend, the first Buddhist council took place during the life of the Buddha's disciples, and the charter of the monastic community (sangha) and the canon were formulated, taught in the form of Buddha's conversations, but it is not clear whether the charter and canon were already written down or only memorized. In any case, oral interpretations retained their significance for a very long time. The most ancient and most complete of the several existing Buddhist canons, revered by the most orthodox southern current, Theravada, was written down only in the 1st century BC. BC e., and no longer in the native ancient Indian dialect of Siddhartha Gautama himself, but in a later Pali language. Excerpts from another canon or canons have been preserved - in the Sanskrit original, and more often in translation into Tibetan, Chinese and other languages.

At the beginning of the IV century. BC. there has been a discrepancy between more orthodox, conservative philosophical Buddhism and openly religious movements, where the Buddha appeared already in the form of a deity, and not only the historical Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, but the mythical, supposed Buddhas of previous eras, each of which could be addressed with prayers for help . Both currents convened separate councils, and there were many "unorganized" oral interpreters of the doctrine.

Along with the Buddhist, there were other creeds that promised a path to salvation. Some, such as the teachings of Devadatta, broke away from primary Buddhism, others existed independently and perhaps earlier than Buddhism, such as Jainism. The Jains rejected the teaching of the Buddhists about the eternal variability of being and considered matter to be immutable, but, dividing it into “living” (where, in addition to organic life, they included fire, air, etc.) and “non-living”, like the Buddhists, they preached ahinsu - the prohibition to kill alive. One group of Jains, in their extreme asceticism, even rejected clothing; it is possible that even earlier than the time of Alexander the Greeks heard about her, who told about the “wise men” (gymposophists) of India, who were different from the Brahmins. There were also other teachings along with the traditional cults of the Vedic religion.

It was Buddhism, which actively denied ethnic, class and tribal differences, that turned out to be the most acceptable ideological basis for the empire, which destroyed traditional partitions with its existence. Along with the poor and outcasts to Buddhism since the 5th century. BC. the rich and the higher nobility began to adjoin.

The monastic communities received from them significant land and money donations (and at Buddhist councils, the acceptance of alms in gold was vainly proclaimed a sin). By the time the Mauryan empire was established, Buddhism already had many adherents. Ashoka himself adopted Buddhism (apparently in a more orthodox, "southern" form) and contributed to its spread in every possible way. Under him, the wanderings of Buddhist preachers outside the realm of the Mauryas begin. An important cultural achievement of the period under review was the widespread dissemination of literacy, especially among the townspeople.

Accurately dated written monuments date back to the 3rd century BC. BC, but it is so perfect that it assumes several centuries of preliminary development. Attempts to connect this letter with the writing of Harappa failed: apparently, it arose quite independently. At the same time, written literature appeared in different languages. Some religious texts are recorded (for example, the “Buddhist Canon”), collections of rules for everyday life and customary law (dharmasutra), which became the beginnings of legal literature, collections of instructions in politics, in particular, the main parts from the “Arthashastra” that has come down to us. As a result of the great importance that this literature (especially religious) acquired, linguistics developed. The works of the ancient Indian grammarians Panini (V-IV centuries BC) and Patanjali (II century BC) in their scientific level represent such a high achievement that scientists in no other country of the ancient world could approach .

The emergence of theater and dramaturgy can also be attributed to this time. It is known about the existence of professional singers, musicians, dancers, actors, organized into permanent troupes.

From the descriptions of the Greeks, we know about the existence of majestic buildings during the Mauryan period.

But the main building material in the Ganges valley was wood, and therefore few architectural monuments of this period have survived (only stone buildings have survived). Such are the buildings of the early period of the city of Taxila, the oldest cave temples (1st century BC) in different parts of the country, etc. Varanasi with the image of four lions, is the emblem of the Indian Republic), the carved fence around the Great Stupa in the city of Sanchi, etc. testify to the technical and sculptural skill of ancient Indian sculptors. In connection with the development of Buddhism, the construction of stupas began - memorial structures of a barrow nature, intended for storing Buddhist shrines.

The empire of Alexander the Great began to fall apart immediately after his death. The Indian possessions of yesterday's conqueror of the world, which appeared after a successful one, also "budded off" almost immediately.

The anti-Macedonian uprising was led by a man named Chandragupta, according to legend, does not belong to the tribal nobility, but (i.e., the poor) and literally "made himself" only at the expense of his own labor and innate abilities. In his youth, Chandragupta served under the king Magadhi Dhana Nanda, but eventually fled to the Punjab, where he met with Alexander the Great, and somehow got his support. Subsequently, (most likely around 324 BC) he organized a campaign in Magadha, overthrew King Dhana Nanda and took the throne himself, laying the foundation for a dynasty, the rule of which is associated with the formation of the most powerful state in the history of ancient India.

According to the family name of Chandragupta, the dynasty he founded was called Maurya. Information has been preserved that a brahmin played a large role in the overthrow of the Nanda dynasty and the accession of Chandragupta Kautilya(Chanakya), who later held the position of chief adviser to Chandragupta, an outstanding statesman, a supporter of strong royal power.

Chandragupta Maurya, Founder of the Indian Maurya Empire

It is likely that Chandragupta succeeded in subjugating the whole of northern India, but the concrete data on his conquest activities have hardly reached us. Another clash with the Greek-Macedonians belongs to the time of his reign. Around 305 BC e., the king of the so-called. Seleucid empires (Middle Eastern possessions of the former empire of Alexander) Seleucus I tried to repeat the campaign of Alexander the Great, but when he invaded India, he met with a completely different political situation, since Northern India was already united. The campaign of Seleucus was unsuccessful, instead of the expected conquests, he had to cede significant territories to Chandragupta (the territories of present-day Afghanistan and Balochistan), and gave his daughter to the Indian king as a wife.

It should be noted that Seleucus did not particularly grieve having become related to his eastern neighbor - Chandragupta gave him 500 war elephants, which later helped Seleucus greatly in the numerous wars that he started.

Chandragupta died, probably around 298 BC. e. About his successor and son Bindusara Apart from the name, almost nothing is known. It can be assumed that he not only retained all his possessions, but even significantly expanded them at the expense of the states of South India.

Probably, a reflection of the active conquest of Bindusara is his nickname Amitraghata, What means " enemy destroyer". his son Ashoka(about 273 - 236) before accession was the governor in the northwestern, and then the western part of the state.

Ashoka inherited a huge state from his father. During his reign, he annexed another state of South India - Kalingu(modern Indian state of Orissa).

“One hundred and fifty thousand people were driven away from there, one hundred thousand were killed and many times more died”, - Ashoka himself tells about this in one of the inscriptions that have survived from his time. With the subjugation of Kalinga, Ashoka began to reign over all of India, except for the extreme, southern part of the peninsula.

The peoples of ancient India

The south and north of India, at that time, were not completely different lands inhabited by different tribes, but much more - in fact, these areas were not connected at all with each other and their development proceeded completely independently of each other.

In general, South India lagged behind North India in development; in fact, the primitive communal system was ended here only after the subordination of the region to the kings of Magadha. At the same time, of course, it cannot be argued that before the formation of the Mauryan Empire, a continuous Stone Age reigned in the south of Hindustan. Not at all, there were states here, sometimes quite strong, among which the states of such peoples as Kalingi, andhry, cholas, pandyas And Kerala.

Power Kalings(corresponding approximately to the territory of the present state of Orissa) was quite strong, its conquest was given to Ashoka with great difficulty.

Andhras inhabited an area roughly corresponding to the territory of the modern state of Andhra and the eastern part of the state of Hyderabad (Telingana). The territory of the Andhras under Ashoka was part of the Mauryan Empire, but it is difficult to establish when the Andhras were subordinated to the Mauryas.

Further south of the country of the Andhras was a land which in ancient times was called tamiliad; it was inhabited by various Tamil tribes; the process of development of slavery took place here independently of North India. People chola inhabited the eastern part of the present state of Madras. To the west of it lived pandyas. Kerala, related to the Tamils, inhabited mainly the territory of the present state of Travankur-Cochin. We know almost nothing about the social and political structure of these peoples.

It is known that only these three Indian peoples were able to defend their independence and did not submit to the powerful kings of Magadha from the Mauryan dynasty. By that time, they already had fairly strong state formations.

The Andhras, who gained independence immediately after the death of Ashoka, quickly extended their power over most of the peninsula; the capital of their state was the city Nasik. Their further strengthening was temporarily stopped Kalangami.

The Kalingas, who also became independent shortly after the death of Ashoka, under the leadership of King Kharavela (end of the 3rd century BC) inflicted a number of defeats on the Andhras. However, by the middle of the 1st c. BC e. The Andhras outnumbered the Kalingas in military power, and the Andhra state began to predominate in South India at that time.

The Mauryan Empire in different years - the entire northern part of the state - the merit of Chandragupta, the southern "piece" (Parinda) - his son Bindusara, and to the east (the territory of Kalinga) - the grandson of Ashoka. The dotted line in the east of the country is the border of the former Macedonian possessions of Alexander

Internal organization of the Mauryan Empire

Even before the unification of the states of India under the rule of the Mauryas, state power was in the nature of the so-called. "Eastern Despotism". In the Mauryan Empire, this form of state was further developed. Among the population, the cult of the king was supported in every possible way and the doctrine of the divine origin of royal power was spread. However, the deification of the personality of the king did not prevent the fact that palace intrigues, coups, civil strife were the most common phenomena in ancient India. According to ancient writers, the king of Magadha was forced to change his bedroom every night in order to confuse possible conspirators.

The king, although he ruled alone, had advice with him - parishad, consisting of representatives of the noblest families of the aristocracy. Parishad - naturally was not something like a modern parliament, and had only "advisory" functions.

To manage a large state, there was a numerous and complex apparatus that served the royal office, the tax department, the military department, the mint, and the royal economy. The top officials were: chief mantrin head of the royal administration senapati- commander of troops purohita- head priest dharmadyaksha- the main authority on legal proceedings and the interpretation of laws, an astrologer, etc.

An important role in the government of the country was played by secret informants, whose leadership was directly in the hands of the king. Tsarist officials were paid either in money or, more often, in kind.

The basis of the state administrative division was the village - gram. The next largest territorial unit was ten villages, two dozen united into twenty, five twenty - into a hundred, ten hundred - into a thousand. At the head of all these administrative districts, with the exception of the grama, were salaried officials. The highest of them, which were in charge of a thousand villages, were directly subordinate to the king.

The entire territory of the Mauryan state was divided into governorships, with the exception of Magadha, which was under the jurisdiction of the king himself. The governors were relatives or close confidants of the king, but they were not rulers, but rather observers, since the Mauryan state was a complex complex of states and tribes, the rulers of which were in various relationships of dependence; the internal administration of these dependent and subject states and tribes remained autonomous.

In addition, free farmers had to work a certain number of days a year on the construction of public buildings ( vishti labor tax). Artisans were obliged to hand over part of their production to the king in the form of a tax, and also, in some cases, to work for the king; the sources mention the obligation of artisans to work for the king one day a month. Craftsmen of certain specialties (for example, gunsmiths) were required to hand over all their products to the state.

An important source of income for the royal treasury was indirect taxes. Trade transactions were subject to numerous duties ( shulka), levied by a carefully organized tax apparatus; evasion of payment of trade duties was punished very severely, up to the death penalty. The judicial system was very primitive, criminal cases were dealt with by the head of the executive branch in the given district. Some of the most important cases were dealt with personally by the king. The sentence was carried out immediately.

Arbitration was used to resolve civil cases. The most common punishment was self-mutilation, especially for violating the right to private property and for causing bodily harm; but there is already a tendency to replace the punishment of this kind with monetary fines.

This period includes the first attempts to codify customary law. "Collections of Laws" - dharma sutras And dharmashastra were not codes of laws in the modern sense; they were only instructions based on sacred texts and compiled by the Brahmin school.

Military organization of the Mauryan Empire

The army of the Indian king during the Mauryan Empire during the war consisted of his own troops, the troops of the allies and the militias of the tribes subordinate to the king. Sources claim that Chandragupta, in case of war, could raise an army of up to 600 thousand infantry, 30 thousand cavalry and 9 thousand elephants. But the standing army of Magadha was much smaller in number and consisted in peacetime of mercenaries who received a salary in kind or money.

The land army was staffed from four main branches of the military - infantry, cavalry, chariots And elephants, and war elephants were the main striking force in the battle. Each of these military branches had its own control system and its own command. In addition, there were still management of the fleet, as well as military facilities and supplies. The armament of the Indian army was varied, but the main weapon for all branches of the military was.

The development of agriculture, crafts and trade in the Mauryan Empire

The centralization of the state, as well as the general progressive course of technological progress, since the formation of the Mauryan empire in India, has led to serious shifts in the development of productive forces. The use of iron for the manufacture of tools was becoming quite common in India, and iron finally supplanted other materials. Agriculture reached a high level, with agriculture already clearly predominating, and cattle breeding was of secondary importance.

Along with the cultivation of field crops - rice, wheat, barley, as well as millet, legumes, sugar cane, cotton, sesame - horticulture and horticulture are of great importance.

Farmers also used irrigation methods, since agriculture also spread to territories not irrigated by river floods, as well as to territories poor in precipitation. Increasingly, artificial irrigation was used by means of canals, wells, ponds, although very large structures were still, apparently, rarely erected. Harvesting two crops a year from one field became more and more common.

The craft continued to develop and improve. Since that time and in subsequent periods of antiquity and the Middle Ages, India has been a supplier of handicraft products to other countries, and first of all, high-quality cotton fabrics. Indian artisans achieved great success in metallurgy, cold working of metals, in the processing of stone, wood, bone, etc. The Indians were able to build dams, water-lifting wheels, buildings of complex architecture. There were royal shipyards that built river and sea ships, as well as workshops for the manufacture of sails, ropes, gear, etc., weapons workshops, mints, etc.

Craftsmen inhabited mainly cities and were engaged in servicing the needs of the state and the needs of the slave-owning nobility in luxury items and in items that were not produced by slaves and servants in the household of this nobility. The city and the countryside were weakly connected by trade. The majority of rural residents in their free time from field work usually engaged in some kind of craft, most often spinning and weaving. In addition, there were rural artisans: blacksmiths, potters, carpenters and other specialists who fully satisfied the simple needs of the village. True, there are references to villages, all of whose inhabitants were famous as skilled craftsmen, but this is probably due to the proximity to the location of the source raw materials and the special conveniences of obtaining it: deposits of the corresponding clays or ores, the presence of forests with good construction and ornamental wood, etc. But the main occupation of the inhabitants in these villages was agriculture.

Despite the predominance of natural relations, trade was relatively developed. Trade deals, merchants and merchant caravans are mentioned very often in literary sources. Basically, trade was carried out in luxury goods: expensive fabrics, precious stones, jewelry, incense, spices; Salt was the most common trade item among consumer goods. Packed cattle and wheeled vehicles were used to transport goods. Of great importance were waterways of communication, especially the Ganges River.

Gradually develops trade with other countries. The main port for trade with Egypt was Bhrigukachcha (modern Broch, at the mouth of the Narbada); trade with Ceylon and Southeast Asia was conducted mainly through the port of Tamralipti (modern Tamluk, in West Bengal). Through the whole of northern India, from Magadha to the mountain passes in the northwest, there was a well-maintained road built under Chandragupta. It had not only military-strategic, but also great commercial importance, since it was the main highway connecting the Ganges valley and the Punjab with Iran and Central Asia.

The growth of trade led to the emergence of metallic money. Back in the first centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e. pieces or bundles of pieces of copper, silver or gold of a certain weight (nishka) were used as money. In the V - IV centuries. BC e. silver coins appeared, called karshapana, or dharana. It is possible that a copper coin appeared even earlier. However, the simple exchange of goods seems to have continued to be an important form of trade.

In the Mauryan Empire, trade was subject to strict regulation by the state. Special officials monitored the correctness of weights and measures, the order in the market. For fraud, for the sale of substandard products, etc., the perpetrators were punished, most often - fines. The king himself was also engaged in trade; his goods and on his behalf were traded by special royal servants, who were in charge of a whole staff of merchants. An interesting introduction at that time was the tsarist monopoly on the trade in certain goods: mining products, salt, and alcoholic beverages.

Cities of Ancient India during the Mauryan Empire

At that time in ancient India there were a large number of populous, rich and relatively comfortable cities. Of the most important cities, the capital of Magadha should be noted. Pataliputru(modern Patna), Rajagrihu(modern Rajgir), Varanasi(modern Benares), Takshashilu(Taxila among the ancient Greeks; now only ruins remain of the city), port cities Bhrigukachha And Tamralipti.

Illustrious in the Mahabharata Hastinapur- the capital of the Kauravas, and Indaprastha the capital of the Pandavas (the modern city of Delhi), as well as sung in the Ramayana Ayodhya already lost their meaning.

The cities in the Ganges valley were not distinguished by their majestic appearance. The palaces of the rich were built of wood and only occasionally of brick, and the dwellings of the poor were completely huts, so very few remnants of cities have survived. Even the capital of Magadha, Pataliputra, which, according to the ambassador of Seleucus in India, Megasthenes, was about 15 km long and about 3 km wide, was surrounded by walls with 570 towers, but the walls and towers were wooden.

City government, the collection of duties from merchants and taxes from artisans, etc., was subordinated to the state of city employees. Craftsmen and merchants in cities were organized by profession into corporations ( shreni). At the head of each shreni was an elected foreman - Shreshthin responsible for the timely execution of duties by members of the Shreni.

Buddhism in the Mauryan Empire

The peak of power, as well as the most advanced system of managing state affairs, was achieved by the Mauryan Empire of India during the reign of King Ashoka, who ruled around 268-232. BC e .. The ideological basis of the multi-tribal state was Buddhism, which by this time proved its suitability as a nationwide religion.

Ashoka himself accepted Buddhism and contributed to its spread in every possible way. In 253 BC. e. he convened a Buddhist council in Pataliputra, probably the first, because the legend of two Buddhist councils in the 5th and 4th centuries. BC e. are unreliable. The task of this council was to form Buddhism into a single whole, both in terms of doctrine and in organizational terms, to make the Buddhist church a powerful weapon in the hands of the state. At the council, the canonical foundations of Buddhism (religious literature, ritual, unified organizational principles of the Buddhist community, etc.) were approved in the form in which it had developed in India by that time, and the heresies that had arisen by that time were also discussed.

Numerous legends have preserved memories of Ashok as the builder of Buddhist monasteries and stupas- buildings that store any relic associated with the Buddha. These traditions claim that Ashoka built 84,000 stupas. Due to the abundance of Buddhist monasteries ( vihara, or bihara) behind Magadha in the middle of the century the name was established Bihar.

An important historical event of this period are the inscriptions of Ashoka, carved on rocks and columns. There are more than thirty of them preserved in various parts of India. The inscriptions in the form of the king's prescriptions contain instructions, mostly in the spirit of morality. In addition, the inscriptions emphasize the need to obey the authorities, the servants of the king, parents and elders. The implementation of these instructions was to be monitored by a special staff of officials headed by dharmamanthrin- adviser to the king on affairs dharma(“Law”, in the sense of the “Law of piety” - this is how Buddhists usually called their religion).

The time of Ashoka is characterized by the activation of Mauryan foreign policy. Closer ties are being established with the Hellenistic states (the inscriptions of Ashoka mention ties with Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Epirus), as well as with some states of Southeast Asia. At that time, the practice of introducing Buddhism abroad was widely used. This strengthened the political influence of the Mauryas. Buddhist missionaries were used for this. They were sent on the initiative and with the support of the government far beyond the borders of India, which led from the 3rd century. BC e. to the spread of Buddhism in Ceylon, and then in Burma, Siam and Indonesia.

In connection with the spread of Buddhism, a monastic community arose - sangha- quite well organized, with firm discipline, with a monastic hierarchy. Only slaves were not accepted into the sangha; all the free were accepted without distinction of their social status, but the leading position in the sangha was occupied by people from noble and wealthy families.

In general, for a country like the Mauryan Empire, Buddhism fit perfectly. Among the poor, Buddhism enjoyed success due to the preaching of the spiritual equality of all the free, and also due to the democratic nature of the Buddhist sangha. Wealthy townspeople were attracted to Buddhism by the fact that it did not require any sacrifices, or mandatory entry into the sangha, or significant changes in lifestyle. The Buddhist cult was simpler, clearer, the sermon was delivered in ordinary spoken languages.

Bihar - a Buddhist monastery from ancient India

The fall of the Mauryan Empire

The Indian Maurya Empire was not a monolithic political entity - its various parts were completely different from each other, not in culture, not in language. In addition to this, a strong difference in the natural conditions of the interior regions led to uneven development of the economy. That is why, despite all efforts, King Ashoka was never able to create a single centralized state.

Soon after the death of Ashoka - in 236 - the disintegration of the Mauryan empire began; probably the sons of Ashoka are already beginning to divide it among themselves.

The last representative of the Mauryan dynasty, still held in Magadha, - Brihadratha was about 187 BC. e. overthrown and killed by his warlord Pushyamitra who founded Shung dynasty.

Along with internal reasons that determine the fragility of states of this kind, a significant role in the collapse of the Mauryan empire was played by the conquests of Greco-Bactrians and Parthians in India. At the beginning of the II century. BC e. during the reign Demetrius The Greco-Bactrians subjugated the valley of the Kabul River and part of the Punjab.

Demetrius and his successors were titled on coins as "Kings of the Indians". They made predatory raids into the neighboring regions of India. There are references in the sources that the king Menander in his campaigns in the Ganges valley he reached Pataliputra itself, but he still failed to subdue Magadha.

After the collapse of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in the territory of North-Western India, a very peculiar state was formed with its capital in the city Jackal(modern Sialkot, in Punjab), in which the Greeks were kings, the nobility consisted of Greeks and to a large extent - from the natives of Central Asia, and the bulk of the population was Indian. However, the conquerors soon disappeared into the local population, leaving no trace of their stay in the country. According to Indian sources, Menander had already become a Buddhist. His successors bore purely Indian names; the coins they issued had both Greek and Indian inscriptions.

About 140 - 130 years. BC e. the Hellenistic states in Bactria were defeated by the tribes that were part of the powerful Massagetae confederation in Central Asia, which are usually called in the historical literature by the Chinese name - yuezhi. At the end of II - beginning of I century. BC e. these tribes, who invaded India and were called here Shakas or Sakas, subjugated a large part of North-Western India, and possibly even a part of Central India.

At the beginning of the 1st century n. e. part of northwestern India was subject to the Parthians. Here a large state arose with its capital in Taxila, independent of Parthia or dependent only nominally. It is known that the Parthian title of satrap as early as the 1st - 2nd centuries. n. e. worn by some rulers of small states in Western and Central India. Whether they were in any way dependent on the Parthian kings is impossible to say with certainty. Some small states, mainly in Central India, were ruled by kings who considered themselves descendants of the Shakas. This situation continued until the 4th century. n. e.

ANCIENT EASTERN CIVILIZATION

Theme Goals:

• Understand the historical conditions for the emergence and features of the social system of the ancient Eastern states;
• Show despotism as a political system of ancient Eastern states;

Topic questions:

1. Ancient Egypt.
2. Ancient Babylon.
3. Ancient India.
4. Ancient China.

Despotism (from other Greek δεσποτία ) unlimited power.

Despot (from other Greek δεσπότης lord

By "oriental despotism" is meant such a form of state power and at the same time suchpolitical regimewhen: a) the powers of the head of state are unlimited; b) secular and church authorities are united in one person; c) the exercise of power is the work of a numerous bureaucratic apparatus; d) the suppression of the individual, the absence of freedoms, the most humiliating servility make every person, including a formally free person, a slave to “order”, tradition, and faith.

1. Ancient Egypt.

The state of Ancient Egypt was formed in the northeastern part of Africa, in the Nile River Valley, where agriculture was associated with the annual floods of the Nile and the construction of irrigation facilities and the use of slave labor. Class society in Egypt developed in the first half of and not IV thousand BC, and the state was formed in the second half O fault of this millennium. It was called the state of the nomes, which arose in Upper Egypt, which then conquers all of Egypt. and pet.

The history of ancient Egypt is divided into a number of periods:

Early Kingdom (3100-2800 BC);

Ancient or Old swarm kingdom (about 28002250 BC);

Average color stvo (about 2250-1700 BC);

New Kingdom (circa 15801070 BC);

Late kingdom ( 7th century BC VI in BC).

Periods between Ancient, Middle and N O Your kingdoms were the time of the economic and political decline of Egypt.New Kingdom Egypt the first world power in history to conquer neighboring nations. In her with O becoming Nubia, Libya, Palestine, Syria and other rich regions with tee . At the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt falls into decline, becomes the prey of the conquered e Lei, first the Persians, then the Romans.

social order: Main economic and society n a cell in ancient Egypt was a rural community, inside k o which was the stratification of society, the intensification of villages b economy, the appropriation of the surplus product first by the communal elite, then by the centralized state stvom.

The social structure in ancient Egypt did not remain unchanged e over many millennia of its history. Image O the main classes intensified at the end IV millennium BC At this time, the dominant social stratum is formed as part of the tribal aristocracy, priests, wealthy communities. n nicknames-peasants. This stratum is increasingly separated from the bulk of the free communal peasants, from which the aristocrats are formed. O the elite of the peasants.

It gradually takes over the function of managing a complex irr And system, contributes to the creation of a single centralized O bathroom state. Its economic and political power is growing.From the time of the Old Kingdom, royal decrees have been preserved that establish the rights and privileges of temples and temple settlements. e ny, evidence of royal grants of land plots to the aristocracy and temples.

Various categories of dependent forced persons worked in the royal households and the households of the secular and spiritual nobility: A would be prisoners of war, fellow tribesmen, "servants of the king."Slaves in Egypt were sold, bought, passed on by inheritance, as a gift, but sometimes they were planted on the ground and endowed with property and took part of the harvest. Egyptians also practiced self-sale for debts, turning criminals into slaves.

During the period of the Middle Kingdom, there was a development of trade with Syria, Nubia, the growth of cities, the expansion of agricultural production.This led to the growth of the tsarist economy and the strengthening of the positions of the private slave-owning economy, the transformation of rural communities into taxable units.Among the community-peasants, naz s fallen nejes (small), strong nejes stand out, ra With considering the rights of private landowners. Slaves, deprived poor, ruined e sya community members-peasants, the poorest sections of the urban population were p A fighting force of the royal-temple farms, Egyptian aristocracy, wealthy communities n nicknames and rich artisans.

Strengthening the exploitation of free commune peasants and various categories of the disadvantaged poor of the city, etc. e jealousy, slaves leads to an extreme aggravation of social contradictions at the end of the Middle Kingdom, which was expressed in a major uprising of the working masses against the existing system. This is a witness b refers to the contradiction between the slave state R property and the main mass of free crosses exploited by it b jan.

The social structure of ancient Egypt further complicates T Xia in the New Kingdom, when Egypt turns into a huge de R zhavu an empire headed by an all-powerful pharaoh-despot. The position of the ruling class changes depending on its official hierarchy and being close to the pharaoh and his court. With gain unlimited vl A As early as in the Middle Kingdom, a system of redistribution of labor force was being formed. This system is strengthened in the New Kingdom by e censuses of the population in order to determine the tax, staffing the army according to age categories: youths, youths, men, old people.Architect, jeweler, artist relation and whether to the category of masters, which gave him the right to official ownership of land and and given private property.

Officials, masters were opposed to "ordinary people", whose position was not much different from the position of slaves, only they could not be beaten or sold as slaves.

Political system:The ancient Egyptian state was centralized at almost all stages of its development, for and With except for short periods of its decay.Even in the Old Kingdom, the features of oriental despotism are manifested, warehouse s a centralized bureaucratic apparatus is established, on which the pharaoh relies. The pharaoh is given the sacred title of "son of the sun god", a particularly solemn ritual of their about rowing. As a symbol of the greatness of the pharaohs, the famous pyramids are built, which suppress the imagination of people, at shroud them sacred fear and reverence before the throne.

Ancient Egypt reaches its greatest power during the period of the New Kingdom, when the theocratic e sky despotism, strong and effective power of the center, completely d who repaired the management of the communities.

The power of the pharaoh in ancient Egypt was inherited T woo. The pharaoh was considered the high priest and the god from whom A hung ostensibly harvest, justice and security. Every social b Any protest against the king was considered a crime against religion. The pharaoh, as the bearer of the highest state power, had the right to the land fund of the state. He could grant land along with state slaves to the nobility, officials, priests, craftsmen, etc. The pharaoh headed the centralized administration A tive apparatus, appointed all senior officials, granted them lands, titles.Officials at the same time could deal with the host th religious, military and judicial de I am pregnant.

The royal court played a special role in the administration of the state.The development of the functions of the state apparatus can be evidenced by changes e denial of the powers of the first assistant of the pharaoh jati. Jati snach A la priest of the city the residence of the ruler, at the same time the head of the royal palace, in charge of court ceremonial, office I riy of the pharaoh. Over time, the jati exercises control over all administration in the country in the center and locally, disposes of the land fund, the entire water supply system, concentrates the highest military power, and exercises the highest judicial functions. to tsiya. He reports everything to the king.

In ancient Egypt, there was still a so-called. institute of "obedient to the call" , which included major dignitaries, free and slaves, each in his own group."obedient to the call" these are those who could directly listen and had to follow the order of St. about his master.

In the system of governing bodies, a special role was played by a group of "big ones obedient to the call of the tsar" - courtiers, great nobles, statesmen, bodyguards of the tsar. They headed all the highest departments in the state, in which their "obedient to the call" served. They were in charge of three T you the military, tax and public works departments.

local government: The old kingdom is the unification of n e large rural communities headed by community elders and b community councils Jajats. Community councils, I consisting of representatives of prosperous peasants, were local judicial, economic and administrative authorities.They registered acts of land transfer, monitored the state of the network and With artificial irrigation, for the development of agriculture. In the middle tsa Thus, due to the strengthening of the central apparatus, both community councils and nomarchs representatives of small states lost their independence, in the New Kingdom the country was divided into regions and into two large districts Southern and Northern Egypt, headed by royal governors.

Army : There are no creatures in the Old Kingdom of the regular army A lo. The army was created in case of military operations to capture slaves, livestock, and other property from the militias throughout the country. Participation in such military campaigns was a matter of b nym. There were no personnel officers.

Development of foreign trade, expansion of the borders of the state at the expense of neighboring territoriesdemanded the construction of the border h strongholds, strongholds, the fleet, and at the same time the regular army. Very early in Egypt, a special b military departmentthe "house of weapons", which was in charge of the armament of the army, the construction of fortresses, the construction of ships.For special valor and merit, soldiers were awarded land plots, slaves, and cattle. In Egypt, career officers began to form early, the royal guard - the personal guard of the king. In the New Tsar In connection with an active foreign policy, a large combat-ready army is being created, special military exercises and training of soldiers are being carried out, and along with cavalry and infantry, such a type of troops as a war chariot is being created. Army First also served as a police officer. In the era of the New Kingdom, it became l hire special police officers i dy.

Judiciary: The court at all stages of the development of Egyptian society was not separated from the administration.In the Old Kingdom, the functions of m e local courts are concentrated mainly in the communal bodies themselves O departments that resolve disputes about land and water, regulate family and inheritance relations. In the nomes, the royal judges were nomarchs, who bore the titles of "priests of the goddess And us". The highest supervisory functions over the activities of the royal at the day was carried out by the pharaoh himself or jati. He headed the highest court of the "six chambers" in the capital, and in the New Kingdom call e gyu of 30 judges. The pharaoh could appoint an emergency judicial board from his proxies to investigate secret cases related to state criminals, conspiracies against him.Temples also had certain judicial functions. P e The decision of the priest-oracle, who had great religious authority, could not be challenged by royal officials.

2. Ancient Babylon.

Occurrence during II thousand BC ancient Babylonian state at the endowment was preceded by a long history of the formation of the class O society and state in Mesopotamia, where in IV thousand BC agriculture began to develop, associated with the holding and R rigging works.

The first city-states began to emerge here at the end IV early III thousand BC on the site of permanent settlements but businessmen. The growth of agricultural and handicraft production h leadership contributed to the strengthening of Mesopotamian cities, social differences were clearly outlined, a tribal aristocratic O kratiya, a royal-temple economy was formed, based on the appropriation of communal land.

In cities, the simplest administrative apparatus is developing, And wrestling with irrigation issues, land accounting, temple management th society, cult, public works, which then becomes the apparatus of the city-state with new functions to tions.

The class stratification affected, first of all, two tribal groups inhabiting Mesopotamia: the Sumerians and the Akkadians., with which various other tribal groups have merged, retaining the name A of its main parts Sumer in the South and Akkad in the North.

The first center of the Sumerian civilization was Uruk. Akkad was the oldest of the cities founded by the Semites. O married on the banks of the Euphrates, under the reign of Sargon at the end of the 24th century. BC, which became the center of the first political unification of the northern and southern parts of Mesopotamia. Having created relatively b a vast centralized Akkadian-Sumerian power, Ca R Gon took the title of "king of Sumer and Akkad", "king of the four countries of the world." In the XXIIXX centuries. BC. it is replaced by the modern Sumerian dyn and stiya Ur.

A special place in the history of the country belongs to ancient Babylon. n kingdom, which reached its peak under King Hammurabi (17921750 BC), whose borders stretched from Persia d Gulf to Syria. Babylon has been repeatedly subjected to our e due to the influence of mountain tribes, it was destroyed, each time it rose from the ruins, but in the III century. BC. effectively terminates its beings a nie.

Social The main structure of Babylon was distinguished by its particular complexity, which was associated with the multistructural nature of its economy, with A the perfection of class education and a relatively high level of commodity-money relations.

The most clear social boundaries, undisguised forms of class-antagonistic contradictions manifested themselves here and do slaves and slave owners.Slavery left its mark A current on social relations, ideology, psychology, the law of Babylon.At the same time, slave labor in Babylon never prevailed in any of the branches of production. He was one of t And pov forced labor.

In the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, the slave increasingly acted as a tenant landowner.Some slaves led their master th free, had a family, owned lands, houses, sometimes significant movable property, took and gave loans, sold and bought slaves and hired freemen to work, in we stepped in court. Conducting his household, the slave was obliged to pay a kind of dues to his master every month.

In addition, two more separate groups existed in Babylon: the Avilums, who occupied the highest position and the Mushk e numes serving the king and enjoying a special legal status but a shield.

Among the free, the exploiting elite stood out (ca R sky and temple officials, merchants, usurers), which does not take into account A took part in production, but enriched itself at the expense of dependent tenants and communal peasants by renting land, hiring other at the gig. Debt bondage was a common form of dependence, sometimes leading debtors into trouble. b.

The laws of Hammurabi include a merchant-tamkar. It included not only merchants, but also usurers and creditors, Nah O Being in the royal service, the Tamkars made major trade transactions, pooled capital, created trade organizations, banks. in sky houses.

Craftsmen (blacksmiths, carpenters, brewers, etc.) A enjoyed some independence. User Independence A the organization of certain "scientific" professions, such as sp e socialists on "exorcism", predictors of the future, doctors, scribes.

Political system:In Mesopotamia, the earliest form of state organization was city-states.The first Mesopotamian city-states were led by And tel king, who was called ensi ("heading the family", "founding the temple") or lugal ("big man", "owner I in", "sir"). In the cities, community meetings were convened and with O the branches of elders who elected rulers and overthrew them, determined them by l nomochia.

Himself community meetings belonged to the legislative, financial, judicial functions and the functions of maintaining b social order.

The ruler of the city was the head of the communal cult, was in charge and R rigation, temple and other public construction, led the army, presided over the council of art A Reishin or in the people's assembly.

Under King Sargon and his successors, the central authority, headed by the king himself, increased. The power of the king became hereditary T venous and divine.The royal power reached its highest degree of concentration in the ancient Babylonian kingdom.Hammurabi already enjoyed formally unlimited legislative power. He is in s became the head of a large administrative apparatus. In his hands were concentrated huge economic, political and O functions. However, communal governing bodies, councils of elders, community gatherings with ur e involved in administrative, financial, judicial functions To tions, the function of maintaining public relations about a row.

Some of the most ancient cities in Babylon (Nipur, Si P par, Babylon) had a special legal status, the inhabitants of their mo G whether to be exempt from taxes, labor service, about the service.

Judiciary: In Old Babylonian society before Ha m murapi the leading place belonged to the temple and communal at the ladies , their advice or meetings.

These courts had no jurisdiction over the royal people. Under Hammurabi, royal courts were introduced in all large cities, which considered the cases of royal people. There was no court at all second instances.

Along with the professional courts of the king, there were O former judicial positions of heralds, police or bailiffs, judicial messengers and scribes. Judicial full temples also had urine, which played an important role in taking oaths, in certifying the legality of transactions, etc. The temple council included Yu representatives of the people's congregations a ny.

Army: Strengthening royal power in the Sumerian cities state at The kingdoms were facilitated by the presence of their rulers of a certain military force, the creation of a standing army.

The transformation of King Sargon into the ruler of a mighty state T wa was greatly facilitated by the creation of a regular th ska from among the small landowners-communes receiving an additional allotment for their service from the royal e shallow.

Under Hammurabi, the final separation of the standing army from communal land ownership takes place.Warrior (redum, bairum) floor at cherishes an allotment of royal land, providing for him and his family. In about Indian allotments were excluded from any turnover, any deal of a warrior regarding land was considered null and void. Even after being captured, the warrior retained the right to a land allotment, part of the A the stack was kept for his young son. For violating discipline P Lines and disclosure of secrets were severely punished by warriors. Service during And new was considered "eternal".

In addition to archers and heavily armed infantry, there were also detachments of chariots. For military valor, commanders of rewards A were occupied by lands, exempted from taxes and bearing other burdens news.

3 . Ancient India.

One of the ancient and original civilizations in the world is a highly developed culture in the Indus Valley, which has developed over IV thousand years ago with centers in Harappa and Mahenjo-Daro. U s it is assumed that still in III thousand BC there were large cities-centers of handicraft production, developed agriculture, trade, property stratification of the population. We have reached literary monuments of religious content - the Vedas, which later became the sacred books of the Hindus, as well as works of but the native epic (second half II thousand BC middle I millennium BC). According to the Vedic period, more fully characterize T the emergence and development of the class b societies in the Ganges valley, penetration into the territory of India from the north-west of various Indo-Aryan tribes.

More numerous and diverse historical information relating to the so-called Magadhian-Maurian period (second half I millennium BC I V. AD) the period of formation and existence of the largest city in the entire Ancient East O state formation Mauryan Empire (IV century BC II century AD). Among the literary monuments of this period, a special place is occupied by the ancient political treatise Arthashastra, appendix And given to Kautilya, adviser to the founder of the Maurya Empire, Chan d ragupta, as well as a number of religious-ritual and legal Brahmin compilations dharmasutras and dharmashastras, best known under the name "Laws of M A well" (II century BC - II century AD).

The process of class stratification of the ancient Indian society began in the bowels of the disparate tribes of the communities, which led to you division of stronger clans that seized the reins e nia, military protection and priestly duties, the transformation of the tribe n noah top in the tribal aristocracy, the development of social and property inequality.

The growth of social class differences in ancient India led to the formation of special class groups - varnas: brahmins (priests n servants, priests), kshatriyas (warriors, rulers), vaishyas (landowners, artisans) and shudras (servants, slaves).Their folding was facilitated by various circumstances knowledge and monopolization of the administration of religious ceremonies, Vedic hymns, A military wars, etc.Brahmins and kshatriyas were presented as more full-fledged, sovereign, and for their maintenance, shares were regularly deducted from the agricultural product, which received and the title of bali (tax), ever-increasing and becoming a form of state R natural exploitation of ordinary community members-peasants.Primitive tribal state images A nia developed in ancient India in I millennium BC They were small state formations, in which O Some of the tribal administrations developed into state administrations. These were monarchies, where the supremacy Yu The Brahmins, or oligarchic Kshatriya republics, played an important role, where they ruled in O the power of the kshatriyas.

The lands of the conquered tribes became the main source of forms And formation and development of state property, part of O swarm was the royal land, cultivated by slaves, hung And my tenants, the other part was transferred to the nobility, to the persons of the administrative apparatus in the form of official temporary O vaniya in "feeding".

They exploited communal peasants, slaves and incomplete V community residents the ruling class and the communal top sh ka.

The property rights of communities in India were exceptionally th strength. The community had an almost unlimited right to With communal land management: sell, lease, etc. A rite it especially to temples.The communal property included pastures, irrigation facilities, and roads. The community collectively responsible for collecting the rent-tax received part of the fees from the community. And cow-peasants in their favor.

Communal landownership coexisted with private peasantry n landownership or landownership of a large family, to O toray could sell, donate, rent. Full community n nick the landowner himself could be an exploiter of slaves, landless hired workers. Howeverslave labor all over Dre V her India was not predominant.

Legal status of certain groups of the population: Rights your monuments give a vivid pictureclass-caste division V of the society of India, which has acquired its most complete form here. This was expressed in the social, religious and legal status of representatives of individual varnas. The Shudras believe were "once-born" and were removed from religious b rows of sacrifices. Brahmins, kshatriyas and vaishyas as "twice-born" had privileged rights. The severity of the punishment was also determined depending on the and ness to one or another varna and caste.

A special place in the social division of the ancient Indian community e the estates were occupied by slaves. The laws of Manu indicate seven ranks of p A bov and seven sources of slavery: captured (prisoner of war), slave for maintenance A nie, born in the house, bought, donated, inherited and a slave by virtue of punishment.The right of the owner to dispose of the life and death of the slave was universally recognized in ancient India. The slave was sold, pawned, rented out, etc.

The Laws of Manu mention kshatriyas, vaisyas, brahmin cowherds, brahmin artisans, actors, servants who A or different social status.

Political system:The first major states on those R The territories of India began to take shape in VI IV centuries. BC. Victory in IV V. BC. Magadha in the northeastern part of the country gradually led to the creation of the vast Mauryan empire. Its borders stretched from Kashimir and the Himalayas in the North to Ma th sura in the South, from the areas of present-day Afghanistan in the West to the Bay of Bengal in the East.

The Mauryan Empire was formed as a result of wars, the conquest of a number of tribes and peoples, the establishment of vassal relations between and do Magadhoy and individual principalities. This centralization R leaned on military strength and a flexible policy of unifying the country. The empire includedsemi-autonomous states,retained their governing bodies, customs. These are vassal books I states and republican states-communities, g and we are Singhs.

In the Mauryan Empire, the struggle of two tendencies did not stop: towards the establishment of autocratic rule and towards separatism, h fragmentation. Because of this, the central military-administrative apparatus in India was relatively weak compared to others. at among the states of the Ancient East, which was closely connected with the preservation of an important role in the state of the organs of the communal self O management. Even in the monarchical states of India, the power of the ancient Indian kings was not despotic in the full sense of the word. Religion, for example, excluded legislators b functions of Indian kings, asserted the inviolability and immutability n the validity of Vedic law. The Vedas could only be interpreted by a sage A mi. Only under the strong king Ashoka did the government decree begin to be included among the sources of law."God-pleasing" king e the religion prescribed a special obligation (dharma) to protect A clan and, protecting the people, make him pay bali (tax).The king administered justice, led a d the ministerial apparatus, could be the guardian of minors, widows, the sick, fight against art And calamity, famine.

The royal officials were divided into higher dignitaries (mantrina, mahomatry), workers of the royal economy and the treasury, h And novnikov for military and naval affairs, supplying the army, chief V judge, advisers to the king, for the upbringing of his children, etc.The position of officials was hereditary, which resulted A lo from the caste system.

Local government system: included 5 large provinces headed by princes, border provinces n tions ruled by other members of the royal family, districts, headed e my district chiefs.

Rural areas were divided into 4 types: consisting of 800, 400, 200 and 100 villages, headed by the respective governors. i mi. Their duties included: collecting taxes, overseeing O side by side, carrying out agricultural irrigation works and some about others.

Court: In India, there were two systems of courts royal and intracommunal.

The highest court was the court, in which the king himself participated with the Brahmins and "experienced advisers" or substitute Yu his judicial panel of three Brahmins, appointing e my king.

In all administrative units, a judicial board of three judicial ranks was appointed. Special courts And commit criminal offenses. Most cases With looked at by communal caste courts, which have survived to this day I'm running out of time.

Army : She played a huge role in plundering other peoples, seizing foreign lands and increasing the wealth of the king, who himself led the advancing army.

The army was recruited from hereditary warriors, mercenaries And kov and persons supplied by merchants, dependent allies, vass A lamy. The army was caste. She acted as a defender of public order and state security. with weariness.

1. Ancient China.

Ancient Chinese society was distinguished by the early development of fe O distant relationship.In the history of ancient China, periods named tsars are distinguished. T reigning dynasties:

Shang (Yin) period (XV III XI I centuries. BC.),

the Zhou period (XI I 221 BC),

Qin period (221 BC 207 BC),

Han period (206 BC 220 AD).

These periods differ from each other by different levels of social And social, economic and political development, various stages e the stump of the decomposition of the tribal system and the growth of land ownership, commodity-money relations, they accompany There were long-term, incessant wars between various parts of China, which weakened the country and led to the realization of the need to unite the peoples of China, peace for them.The Confucian religion, which became in the 5th century, also called for the unification of the country. BC. watered And the ideology of a united unified empire of China.

Thus, in the last centuries BC. In China, there is a confrontation between two trends in the development of society: the development Yu large private ownership of land andnon-economic form of exploitation of peasant tenants, hired workers And kov, slaves, on the other formed a wide layer of hearth T nogo peasantry, directly subordinate to the state. It's b s there are two possible ways of development of the country. But she chooses the second path, the bearer of which is the kingdom of Qin, which created a single centralized state. This was also facilitated by the R we are the philosopher and statesman Shang-Yang, who was allowed e for the free purchase and sale of land, a land tax was introduced, a clear administrative-territorial division was carried out, blood feuds were prohibited, food And measures and weight, etc.

State orders, foundations of public state T The military structure of Qin China was then transferred to the Han Empire, which actually survived in the imperial A Torsk China before the bourgeois revolution of 1911 1913.

The main features of the social system of ancient China:Ancient China of Shan-Yin (XV III XII centuries BC) and the early Zhou periods (XIX centuries BC) was characterized by the transition from a communal-clan society to a class society and the presence of three social strata:

1. ruling tribal aristocracy with supreme pr A leader, with his relatives and close associates, local rulers I mi, with their relatives and associates, heads of tribal and large family e dynia;
2. free communal peasants;
3. disenfranchised slaves.

The land belonged to the community.Communal land use was organized according to the system"well fields".All lands were divided into two categories: "public" fields and "private" fields.The "public" field was cultivated jointly by the whole community, the entire harvest went to the headman of the community and then to the king. "Private" fields were in the individual use of the family, and the entire crop was at her disposal. Later on, it happens once establishment of communal ownership of land and class formation(by the 3rd century BC). The main operated mass consisted of h landed or landless free peasants, sharecroppers, slaves, serfs, hired workers, handicrafts n nicknames.

The exploiting class was also heterogeneous. It consisted of titled nobility, from ranked officials and nobles. T nyh large landowners and merchants.

These classes occupied different positions in China.

Political system:The despotic features of government took shape even in Yin China, where they practiced the throne O legacy and legacy of office.

In early Zhou China, the power and personality of the Wang was finally sacralized. He bears the title of "son of heaven", "father and mother" of St. O their subjects. Van- high priest. The control center was O wang rec. Close to the wang stood the zai stewardpalace artisans, temples of Van's ancestors; shanfu, whether serving h the needs of Wang, Zhouhouspecific rulers.

In Qin-Han China, centralized empires of the type of eastern despotism were formed, headed by a monarch (emperor O rum). In his hands was concentrated the fullness of the military, legislation A telny, executive and judicial authorities, the appointment of all senior officials of the central and local administration and ratov.

The central apparatus of the empire included a number of departments: finance O war, military, judicial, rituals, agriculture, department and m peratorsky palace, palace guards. Each department performed its functions within its powers and responsibilities. oh stee.

For example, the department of rites, led by the supreme priest e As a result, it served social cohesion, education of the population in the spirit of recognizing the inviolability and sanctity of the existing order. Ve R The god priest controlled the activities of the church founded in 124 BC. imperial academy, which trains high-ranking officials. Thus, he acted as the "Minister of Images a niya".

Local management:State forms of exploitation of the taxable peasantry required a clear administrative-territorial division. Even in the middle of the IX century. BC. appeared And the first elements of territorial division were formed. okr were introduced at ha, which are tax and military units.

Qin-Han China was divided into regions or districts, those into counties, counties into volosts, and volosts into communities lower admin. And strative-territorial units. At the head of the regions were governors, counties and volosts officials, city self-government Council of Elders, communities - headman ("fathers of the old th tire").

Military-bureaucratic control extended to org A ny local government. Mutual surveillance system n troll, responsibility acted at all levels: from the rural community to senior officials. The censorship organs were "eyes and ears a mi" emperor.

Army: She played a huge role in ancient China, which e divided by frequent wars and peasant uprisings. isto h nicknames report 14 armies at the disposal of the van. The position of army group commander was hereditary. The army was stationed in military settlements and camps, which O The eye was assigned land as an economic base. In a R the mission was taken by men from 23 to 56 years old. They passed the annual d cooking, were obliged to carry out garrison service during the year and serve in the militia at the place of residence for a month of the year.

For the protection of state borders without specifying the terms of service and first of all, the guilty officials would be sent, P nicknames who lost their freedom, hostages for debts, vagrant merchants V tsy and only last of all free landowners. A permanent army was gradually formed, the number of O swarm in 140 AD reached 20 thousand people and which, with O kept at the expense of the treasury. The police were also assigned to the army.

Court: In the Qin Empire, there were special courts in e houses and provincial courts, whose functions are not clearly defined e dealt primarily with criminal offences. Except t O First, all administrative bodies had judicial power. The county administration was considered the lowest court, the second instance n tion the governor of the province, as the last resort the emperor himself.

Ancient India: dynasties, empires, rule of India.

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Five thousand years ago, in the north-west of India (in Harappa and Mohenjo-Dar), life was already in full swing, cities were built, merchants traded, artisans produced elegant and useful things, cultural workers entertained the working people. The rest of the territory of India was deserted: rare tribes lived in the Stone Age, and on the site of modern megacities and coastal resorts there were swamps and impenetrable jungles.

A thousand years have passed - the ancestors of modern Indians began to slowly drain the swamps and cut through the virgin forests. After all, the Iron Age came, and people learned how to mine ore, produce iron and make tools from it. Over the next five hundred years, virtually the entire Ganges valley was developed and settled.

Separate communities and small states were at war with each other for access to the main waterway, until they were united (by capture, of course) by the rulers of Magadh. And on time!

In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great invaded India. He quite easily captured the surroundings of the Indus, but the lands on the banks of the Ganges were not given to him. Indian counter-propaganda worked clearly and effectively: rumors about huge armies and thousands of ferocious war elephants forced the Macedonian army to go over to open defiance of their leader - Alexander had to accept and retreat to Persia.

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First Indian Empire

After the retreat of Alexander the Great, power in Madagha was seized by Chandragupta Maurya as a result of a bloody battle in which a million people, one hundred thousand horses and ten thousand elephants took part. Thus was formed the first Indian empire - the Mauryan Empire, stretching from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal.

At the end of his life, Chandragupta abandoned the throne, indulged in voluntary fasting in the spirit of Jain ascetic traditions, which is why he died. A temple still stands on the site of his death.

Ashoka's reign

The empire grew and developed, goods were transported along safe roads and rivers, diplomatic ties with neighbors made it possible to maintain peace in the region. An era of prosperity began, the highest point of which was the reign of Ashoka, who subjugated a little more territory and actively spread Buddhism in his subordinate lands. As a progressive monarch, Ashoka banned forced labor, built universities and hospitals, and fought for the preservation of the environment and rare species of animals.

Half a century after Ashoka's death, the Mauryan empire fell. During the parade, the last Mauryan king was wickedly murdered by the commander of Shunga, who proclaimed himself the ancestor of a new dynasty. The persecution of Buddhists began, the destruction of temples. Fortunately, Shunga's power did not last long.

Greeks and Scythians

The dynasty fell and the Indo-Greek kingdom arose on the territory of India. For the next two centuries (180 BC - 10 AD), the Greeks ruled India. They were swept away by a wave of Scythians who came from the north - the Indo-Scythian kingdom arose, which existed until it was replaced by the Kushan kingdom.

Kushan kingdom

The first Kushan ruler, Kujula Kadphis, modestly called himself the king of kings. His son continued his father's conquests, and as a result, the empire captured the territories of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. Caravans of spices, precious stones, sugar and ivory moved overland to Rome and China. Sea traders sailed on their ships to Alexandria. Customs has become a significant source of income. Cities were built, and urban customs and habits spread to the countryside. Buddhism, supported by the authorities, became the most popular religion. The empire lasted until the third century AD, and then slowly began to disintegrate.