How do civilizations rise and, ultimately, fall? U.S. students can have a difficult time understanding that empires come and go throughout the course of history. This volume explains how a once-flourishing civilization ran into decline, once foreign invaders took over the weakened government and spread their influence. Students will learn how India evolved into the country it is today. With engaging text, rich and colorful illustrations, and an enhanced e-book option, this title is a valuable resource for students researching reports.
This series will provide an examination of one of the worlds most fascinating and influential ancient civilizations. Titles in this series follow the birth, apex, and eventual decline of the civilizations of ancient India by covering daily life, culture, technology, governmental organizations, and belief systems. Readers will learn how this culture still exerts a powerful influence upon the world today and how its innovations continue to inform our modern world.
What is civilization? How civilizations arose at different locations of the world in the ancient period? Why have they declined and collapsed? Should one know about disappeared ancient civilizations as a matter of historical interest or for a laudable purpose? Does the popular saying "History repeats" give warning to the modern society? According to Law of Nature, everything born in the nature, grow, mature, decline and die. But intelligent and innovative. People can find ways and means to prevent it or at least prolong it by self renewal. A critical study of ancient civilizations will help to trace the causes for decline and fall of civilization and those causes can systematically be eliminated or contained to prevent decline of the contemporary civilization. It is the people who make and also break the civilization, so it is necessary for them to know as how to make changes to suit the emerging situations, so as to sustain the civilization and improve upon it. The present civilization which is technology oriented can continue to flourish and benefit the future generations if right steps are taken at right time to preserve it.
First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.
What do we really know about the Aryan migration theory and why is that debate so hot? Why did the people of Khajuraho carve erotic scenes on their temple walls? What did the monks at Nalanda eat for dinner? Did our ideals of beauty ever prefer dark skin? Indian civilization is an idea, a reality, an enigma. In this riveting book, Namit Arora takes us on an unforgettable journey through 5000 years of history, reimagining in rich detail the social and cultural moorings of Indians through the ages. Drawing on credible sources, he discovers what inspired and shaped them: their political upheavals and rivalries, customs and vocations, and a variety of unusual festivals. Arora makes a stop at six iconic places -- the Harappan city of Dholavira, the Ikshvaku capital at Nagarjunakonda, the Buddhist centre of learning at Nalanda, enigmatic Khajuraho, Vijayanagar at Hampi, and historic Varanasi -- enlivening the narrative with vivid descriptions, local stories and evocative photographs. Punctuating this are chronicles of famous travellers who visited India -- including Megasthenes, Xuanzang, Alberuni and Marco Polo -- whose dramatic and idiosyncratic tales conceal surprising insights about our land. In lucid, elegant prose, Arora explores the exciting churn of ideas, beliefs and values of our ancestors through millennia -- some continue to shape modern India, while others have been lost forever. An original, deeply engaging and extensively researched work, Indians illuminates a range of histories coursing through our veins.
Spengler's work describes how we have entered into a centuries-long "world-historical" phase comparable to late antiquity, and his controversial ideas spark debate over the meaning of historiography.
Originally published between 1920-70,The History of Civilization was a landmark in early twentieth century publishing. It was published at a formative time within the social sciences, and during a period of decisive historical discovery. The aim of the general editor, C.K. Ogden, was to summarize the most up to date findings and theories of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and sociologists. This reprinted material is available as a set, in the following groupings, or as individual volumes: * Prehistory and Historical Ethnography Set of 12: 0-415-15611-4: £800.00 * Greek Civilization Set of 7: 0-415-15612-2: £450.00 * Roman Civilization Set of 6: 0-415-15613-0: £400.00 * Eastern Civilizations Set of 10: 0-415-15614-9: £650.00 * Judaeo-Christian Civilization Set of 4: 0-415-15615-7: £250.00 * European Civilization Set of 11: 0-415-15616-5: £700.00
Description: In Indian history the decline of the Mauryan empire synchronised with large scale invasions leading to foreign occupation of northern India and parts of the Deccan. This also resulted in the infiltration of sizable foreign population. The political consequences of these invasions were indeed great and these have been adequately dealt with by scholars. The social consequences of foreign invasions have not, however, attracted the attention of scholars in the same measure. This book is an attempt to analyse and interpret these political upheavals in cultural terms. Food and drinks, dress ornaments and toilet, cults and cult objects, social organization and the caste system and social entertainments are primary to a society where the influence, if any, is most fundamental. These are, therefore, the aspects which have been taken up for studying the social impact of foreign invasions.