Jacob Online

Changes were underway in India during the period of the Late Bronz Age   and the Iron Age. The Vedas were written, and ancient Indian culture, society, and religion were all being transformed. One of the major transformations took place in the political organization of the subcontinent – janapadas were forming and altering the way people lived. The Vedic period in India is traditionally dated to between 1500 and 500 BC. This period succeeded the Indus Valley Civilization, and in turn was succeeded by the Maurya Empire. It was a culturally and religiously significant time, as it was during this era that the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were being composed. Politically speaking, the Vedic period, specifically towards the end of it, saw the formation of various Indian states in the north that are known as janapadas. Over time, these states would develop into 16 major states, which are collectively known as the mahajanapadas. Etymology of Janapada ...

Migrations and Settlements : India, as is well known, derives its name from the Sindhu (Indus) and the earliest civilisation of this country which was predominantly urban had its cradle in the valley of the same river, called the Indus civilisation. Far different is the picture of another civilisation which had its principal home higher up in the Indus valley called the Vedic or Rig Vedic culture. The people who evolved this culture called themselves Aryas or Aryans and were probably an invading or immigrant people, whose first arrival in India is dated a little earlier than 1500 B.C. We do not find clear and definite archaeological traces of their advent. The Aryan migration to Indian was not a single concerted action, but one covering centuries and involving many tribes In the Rigveda, the land where the Vedic Aryans lived is called by the name of Sapta-Sindhu or the ‘land of the seven rivers’ which included the Indus or Sindhu with its principal tributaries on t...

The descendants of the ancient Aryan race spread over wide areas of Europe and Asia. From the earliest Aryan language, classical languages as Sanskrit, Latin and Greek came into being. From these languages again, several other languages developed. They all form the Aryan family of languages. The Earliest Home of the Aryans: Nobody can say exactly which place on earth was the earliest home of the Aryan people. To some Indian scholars, the Aryans were the original inhabitants of India and they did not come to this land from outside. On the other hand, some patriotic European scholars believe that the Aryans originally lived on the shores of the far-away Baltic Sea. Majority of historians, however, believe that the early Aryans lived in that region of Europe which now comprises such places as Austria, Hungary and Bohemia. From their original home the ancient Aryans spread away to different places. Going south and westward they divided themselves into several branches and e...

After the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization , another glorious civilization flourished in India. The people who were responsible for the evolution of this civilization called themselves Aryas or Aryarns . Arya ’ literally means the man of ‘ noble character ’, and the “ free-born ”. They belonged to the group of people known as Indo-Europeans . They entered into India from the north-west . They spoke the Indo-European languages from which modern languages like Sanskrit , Persian , Latin , Greek , Celtie , Gothic have developed. Originally, the Aryans seem to have lived somewhere in the area east of the Alps , known as Eurasia . European Origin : The early Aryans were familiar with certain animals such as goats , dogs , pigs , cows , horses etc. and also with the trees like pine , maple , oak , willow , birch  etc. which are found in Europe. This led to suggest the European origin of the Aryans. It is generally believed that they migrated to India and other ...