Indo-Europeans
Group of nomadic peoples who come from the steppes
steppes
Dry grasslands that stretched north of the Caucasus
Indo-Europeans
Primarily pastoral people who herded cattle, sheep, and goats
Indo-Europeans
Tamed horsed and rode into battle in chariots
migration
Movement of a people from one region to another
migration
Happened in waves over a long period of time
Hittites
A group of Indo-European speakers who occupied Asia Minor/Anatolia
Anatolia
Asia Minor
Anatolia
Huge peninsula in modern-day Turkey that juts out into the Black and Mediterranean seas
Anatolia
High rocky plateau that is rich in timber and agriculture
Hittites
Their empire dominated Southwest Asia for 450 years
Hittites
Adopted Akkadian as their language and borrowed ideas from Mesopotamians
Hittites
Excelled in the technology of war
Hittites
First in Southwest Asia to work with iron
Hittites
Their empire fell around the year 1190 BC
Aryans
Originated in India
Aryans
An Indo-European people whose homeland was somewhere between the Caspian and Aral Seas
Vedas
The sacred literature of the Aryans
Vedas
Four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions for performing rituals
Vedas
Rig Veda is the most important collection of these
Vedas
Were originally passed down orally before a written version existed
Brahmins
Priests in the Aryan caste system
Aryans
Had a caste system
castes
Social system in which the group one belongs too determines their role in society
castes
Emerged from Purusha
castes
Determine the work you do, whom you can marry, and with whom you can eat
Mahabharata
One of the great epics of India
Mahabharata
Reflects the struggles that took place in India as the Aryan kings worked to control Indian lands
Mahabharata
One part of this is the Bhagavad Gita