History Notes

• Arthasastra
• Book on How To Rule a Country By Being A Dick
• Who is credited for writing the Arthasastra?
• Kautilya
• When was the Arthasastra Written?
• 300 BCE to 200 CE
• Who was the third emperor of the Mauryan Empire?
• Ashoka
• Ashoka
• Wanted to peacefully overtake other areas
• Buddhist
• His reign was from 269 to 232 BCE
• He killed ninety-nine of his brothers
• He fought for years to be the leader
• Ashoka after the Kalinga War...
• Changes his image
• Doesn't Change His Actions
• What were Ashoka's Rock Edicts?
• A series of rules written on stone pillars:
• Don't Kill
• Don't Sacrifice
• Give Welfare to All
• Spread Dharma
• What Did Chandragupta do to Unite the Mauryan Empire?
• Split the area into four provinces
• Had Advisory Councils
• Additional Systems that exist to keep order in the Mauryan Empire
• Janapadas
• Existing in rural areas
• Family system that act as local rulers
• Broker Trade Deals
• Work on Public Works
• Enforce Justice System
• Panchagat
• Five Men who had the most power and influence in a particular city or town, who:
• Broker Trade Deals
• Work on Public Works
• Enforce Justice System
• Caste System Tied to Hinduism
• Way of Works
• Pulisani
• Public Relations Officers
• Traveled Around The Empire
• Reported Public Opinion Back to the Emperor
• Undercover Informants
• Public Relations Officers
• Who Could Punish People
• Used Primarily Against the Elites
• Could be Bribed
• Dharma Officials
• Travel the Empire
• Tell People How To Follow the Dharma
• Make Sure People Follow the Dharma
• Go to Every House In The Empire
• Why Did The Mauryan Empire Tank?
• Ashoka's sons battled for control
• Starting a civil war
• Money became devalued
• Outside trade was endangered  
• The Mauryan Empires Enforced More Control Than the Persian Empire
• What is the Purpose of Having Many Ways to Unite a Civilization, Even Without An Empire?
• They keep order when there is no empire
• These exist regardless of whether there is an empire
• Why Did Buddha Stop Being A Prince To Become An Ascetic?
• The Prince Sees Pain and Suffering on the Streets
• And He Begins to Think of Why People Are In Pain and Why They Suffer
• Buddha makes it his job to stop pain and suffering
• Samsara
• The wheel of reincarnation 
• Dharma
• Moral Law
• The universal way
• The way the universe is supposed to be
• Your duty
• Your place in the universe
• Your role in society
• Ashoka's Definition of Dharma
• To Be A Good Citizen By Following His Edicts
• Kharma
• Bad deeds act as a weight on your soul
• Darius
• Military badass, ruler
• Ezana
• Was a very religious ruler, who claimed that his power came from Ahura Mazda
• Axsum Empite
• How Long Did the Axsum Empire In Ethiopia Last?
• 200 BCE to 650 CE
• Tradition
• Orally Spread
• African Climate and Trade
• Climate
• Climate can sustain these foods:
• Tef
• Kind of like wheat
• Millet
• Grain that looks like a fox's tail
• Coffee
• Originally was only in Yemen
• The rest of the world only gets into to coffee in the 17th century
• Savana
• Largest part of Africa
• Covers 55% of Africa
• Grassland
• Has Rain Fall
• Sahara
• Is Hot
• Has salt
• Desert
• Trade
• Red Sea
• Allows for better trade throughout Africa
• Greece and Rome
• Huge training partners
• Languages
• They spoke Arbic and but for the most part Ge'ez
• They also could speak the language of the individuals they traded with
• The introduction of christrianity shifted trade
• Axum: State and Religion
• State
• They had a King of Kings System
• Kings paid taxes to the main king
• Minted the first coins in the world, with christrian crosses on them
• Religion
• Main God
• Mahrem
• Believed they had a covenant with Yahweh
• They believed that Sheba and Solomon had sex with eachother, and stole the Ark of the Covenant
• They are Monophysites
• They believe that Jesus is God
• The oldest gospels in the world are in Ethiopia
• Decline of the Axsum Empire
• African Diseases in The African Rainforest
• Betse
• Gives you a sleeping sickness, that kills you
• Malaria
• Where was a lot of gold in Africa?
• The Rainforest