Indus River Valley Religion
- Religion is widely contributed to the Aryan invasion somewhere between 1700-1200, B.C.E.
- The Aryan invasion brought religion to the region, sparking the formation of two of the largest religions on Earth today, Buddhism and Hinduism.
- The formation of these two prominent religions in this region proves how important religion was in the Indus River Valley civilization.
- Leading up to 100, B.C.E, the Indus River Valley underwent a large transformation, when the government started a movement to convert the population to Buddhism.
Indus River Valley Physical Geography
- The Indus River Valley is distinguished by its plain-like topography and its abundance of rivers.
- The plain strip of land stretches across Southern Asia, and includes the present-day countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. The flat land area made transportation extremely easy.
- The simple physical geography allowed settlers to come to India and move onto China.
- Another defining feature of the Indus River Valley is the two rivers that spread across it; Indus and Ganga.
- These rivers made transportation even more viable, and is where the first settlers established their ancient civilizations.
- The river provided irrigation, transportation, drinks, storage, and a perpetual resource for that civilization that would never be altered.
Indus River Valley Government
- The government of the Indus River Valley was run by different tribes.
- Typically 4-5 families formed one tribe.
- The tribe was then ruled by a chieftain, or raja. The raja often shared his power with a tribal council.
- Through the ages, the raja evolved from a warrior figure to a more religious, priestly figure.
- The raja would often have many advisors, most of which were either priests or warriors.