News update 15/03/2022 4
The ancient Indians hunted forest animals and domesticated some of them. We owe much to them that humanity has many varieties of domestic animals, from chicken to elephant.
Astorga – the European birthplace of chocolate
Carucedo lake stands out due to the Roman excavations of Las Médulas
Castrillo de los Polvazares – a Historic-Artistic Complex
Congosto and its Bárcena reservoir
Cornatel castle was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1949
León – the capital of the province
Molinaseca – a Historic-Artistic Site
Monastery of Saint Mary of Carracedo – a National Historical-Artistic monument
Monastery of San Pedro de Montes was founded around the year 635
Peñalba de Santiago and its rural architecture
Ponferrada and its Templar castle
Roman bridge known as Passo Honroso
Villafranca del Bierzo – a Historic-Artistic Site
Virgen de la Peña Sanctuary dates back to the 13th century
However, the inhabitants of India had to wage a constant struggle with the forests, not only clearing land for fields and gardens, but also fighting the advancing jungle from day to day, risking a poisonous snake or becoming a victim of a predator.
The rural population was very numerous. The peasants grew several varieties of wheat, barley, sesame, beans, rice, planted gardens. In dry times, they resorted to artificial irrigation. Archaeological excavations made it possible to establish that almost every peasant household had cows, goats, sheep and poultry. Many Indians kept dogs and cats. Of all domestic animals, cows were the most valued, considered the main wealth of the family. Often because of them there were even armed clashes.
Craftsmen settled in cities, and representatives of each profession lived on the same street. There were, for example, streets of weavers, potters, and jewelers. Household and temple utensils, weapons, production tools were made of bronze and copper. Gold and silver were used for jewelry. Trade flourished. Trade relations with Sumer were especially developed.
History is reluctant to reveal its secrets. But sometimes they become known almost by accident. Once an Indian archaeologist R.D. Banerjee led the excavations. Finding a wonderful monument of the II century. BC, he was very happy and tried to finish the work as soon as possible, when he suddenly discovered the remains of a more ancient culture a little deeper. Thus, the famous Mohenjo-Daro (Hill of the Dead), a whole city that existed more than 4 thousand years ago, arose from oblivion. An even more ancient city of Harappa was also found. By his name, everything created in that era is called the monuments of the Harappan culture.
Aguilar de Campoo – a Historic-Artistic Site
Church of San Juan Bautista – the most original church of all the Visigothic art in Spain
Frómista and its locks on the Canal of Castile
Monastery of Santa María la Real – an old abbey of the Premonstratensian order
Palencia – the capital of the province
Picos de Europa – the second most visited national park in Spain
Scientists have established that Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are the two largest cities of the ancient civilization, possibly the capitals of large political associations. At the highest point in the city stood a citadel, fortified with powerful walls, where people usually escaped from floods. Inside the citadel was a huge pool for ritual ablutions. With the help of a special device, fresh water was supplied here.
Béjar – a historical-artistic complex
Candelario and its architecture
Ciudad Rodrigo – a Historic-Artistic Site
Duques de Alba castle dates back to the 12th century
La Alberca was the first Spanish town to be declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1940
Ledesma – a historical-artistic complex
Miranda del Castañar – a historical-artistic complex
Salamanca – the capital of the province
Salamanca car museum and its collection
Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia – the highest Marian sanctuary in the world
The wide and straight streets of these cities are surprising, the extremely durable brick (even now it is difficult to split it), from which buildings were erected. The houses were two or even three stories high. Instead of windows, small holes were made in the thick walls for lighting: both the thickness of the walls and the tiny windows better protected from the Indian heat. Even the upper floors of the houses had running water to perform ablutions without leaving the dwelling.
Bronze, copper, stone sculptures found by archaeologists help to imagine what the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro looked like. Here is a dancer at the temple - young, long-legged, slender, with many bracelets on her arm. And here is the priest. He is very handsome. His eyes are half closed - the priest is immersed in prayer. His robe, thrown over his left shoulder, is decorated with an ornament in the form of a sacred shamrock. Carefully cut hair is intercepted by a wide ribbon falling down the back; on the forehead is a round buckle. The sculpture is made of white steatite (a kind of talc), which has retained traces of red paste. The eyes are made of white mother-of-pearl and this makes them seem alive.
Coca – the birthplace of Roman Emperor Theodosius I
Coca castle – one of the best examples of Spanish Mudejar brickwork
Linares reservoir – a part of the Hoces del Río Riaza Natural Park
Maderuelo – a historical complex
Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso
Segovia – the capital of the province
Sepúlveda – a historical-artistic complex
The society of ancient India was divided into castes (the Indians call them "jatis", and scientists - "varnas"). Belonging to a caste was determined by the birth of a person and was inherited. Representatives of each caste were engaged from generation to generation in the same profession, worshiped the same gods, strictly followed the established rules in relation to each other and members of other castes. One of the hymns of the Rig Veda describes the emergence of castes as follows. There was a mythical first man Purush. Brahmins came from his mouth, kshatriyas from his hands, vaishyas from his thighs, and sudras from his feet. Shudras were considered "ekajati" - "once born." How could members of the first three castes be born twice? In childhood, over the boys of the first three castes, a complex rite of "upanayana" was performed, accompanied by a solemn putting on of the sacred thread "upavita". After that, the boy was considered born a second time. The Shudras were not honored with such a rite.
The most honorable place in society was occupied, of course, by the Brahmins, who performed priestly duties, as they knew the sacred doctrine. They were called "avadhya" - "inviolable". The killing of a Brahmin was considered the greatest crime.
The kings, the military nobility were represented by kshatriyas - "endowed with power." The well-known word “raja” (king, leader) refers specifically to kshatriyas.
El Burgo de Osma – a Historic-Artistic Site
La Cuerda del Pozo reservoir and its tourist activities
Monteagudo de las Vicarías and its castle
Soria – the capital of the province
Santa María la Real de Huerta – a Cistercian monastery
Free community members - farmers, cattle breeders, artisans, merchants - belonged to the Vaishyas.
The position of the Shudras in ancient Indian society was very difficult. They were not supposed to do anything except hard work everyday and humble service to the “twice-born”.
The development of ancient India sometimes seemed to be interrupted and went backwards. So, for example, in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. semi-nomadic tribes of the Aryans come and settle in India. Indian civilization is disappearing. There is a return to the primitive communal system. Only in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. states reappear. Cities also appear, but no longer large, characteristic of the Harappan culture, but small, very well fortified “puras”. The houses in them were stone, wooden, adobe, necessarily protected by an earthen rampart. Craftsmen reappear. Carpenters and blacksmiths enjoyed special respect among them.
Castle of La Mota belongs to the School of Valladolid
Medina del Campo – the capital of the Rueda Denomination of Origin
Tordesillas and its attractions
Valladolid – the capital of Castile and León
In the lower reaches of the Ganges was Magadha - the largest and most powerful state of that time. It reached its highest power in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. under the Mauryan dynasty, which united almost the entire territory of Hindustan under its rule. Favorable conditions arise for the development of the economy, the improvement of the political system, and the flourishing of culture.
In the IV century. AD a strong power of the Guptas arose, which existed for almost two centuries.
Nandas, Mauryas, Shungas, Kushans, Guptas - each of these Indian dynasties is interesting in its own way. The Nandas had one of the largest armies in the Ancient East. The first king of the Mauryan Empire was the legendary Chandragupta. Ka-nishka was the king of the vast Kushan Empire, through which the Great Silk Road passed in antiquity.
This fabulous country also attracted the great conqueror of antiquity, Alexander the Great (see the article “Philip II and Alexander the Great”). His army crossed the Hindu Kush and split up in the valley of the Coffen River (now Kabul). One part of it, led by Alexander, moved north, the other, under the command of Perdikkas and Hephaestion, crossed the Indus and prepared to give battle. However, the warriors were expected to have a plentiful meal and rest. The local raja Taxil not only did not intend to fight the Greek-Macedonians, but even gave them horses and elephants.
Along with King Taxil, history has preserved the name of the brave King Pora, the ruler of a powerful state in northwestern India, who, despite the numerical superiority of the aliens, decided to give them an open battle. In 326 BC there was a fierce battle. The Indian army was defeated. Bleeding, Por stood before the conqueror and demanded that he be treated as a king should be treated. Alexander, admired by his courage, not only returned Porus his possessions, but even presented new lands.
Alexander failed to conquer all of India. In the conquered territories, he left governors. The last of them, Evdem, left India in 317 BC, that is, already 6 years after the death of Alexander the Great. The contact of the two cultures turned out to be short-lived, but it did not go unnoticed: the influence of Greek culture is noticeable in the beautiful images of North Indian Gandharian sculpture.
Benavente and the Church of Santa María del Azogue
Monastery of Santa María de Moreruela – a Cistercian monastery
Puebla de Sanabria – a historical complex
Sanabria lake – the largest glacial lake in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula
Zamora – the capital of the province
In the II century. BC e. India broke up into many state formations, unable to repel the constant raids of the Parthians, Scythians and other nomads.
Indian history is full of surprises. To learn about one of them, let's go back a little. In 268 BC the Indian throne was occupied by the powerful ruler of the Mauryan dynasty Ashoka (“Deprived of sorrow”). He established diplomatic and trade relations with many countries of the West and East. Under him, the state became one of the largest in the East. In his youth, he did not differ in the softness of his temper and even earned the nickname Chanda-Ashoka ("Cruel Ashoka"). In the eighth year of his reign, he defeated the state of Kalinga (the territory of the modern Indian state of Orissa), received additional political and commercial advantages. It seemed that the great king was destined to continue to wage wars and strengthen his power.
However, Ashoka’s rock edict, left for posterity, read: “... And no matter how many people at the time when the Kalingans were subdued, killed or died, or taken away from there, even a hundredth of this number, even a thousandth of it now burdens the thought Pleasing to the gods ”(as Ashoka called himself). He repented of what he had done.
Albacete – the largest and the most populated city in Castilla-La Mancha
Alcalá del Júcar and its castle
Carcelén castle dates from the 14th century
Chinchilla de Montearagón and its attractions
Chinchilla de Montearagón Castle is located in one of the most strategic places in Spain
Ashoka, once merciless, in another edict instructs: "And if anyone harms, the Delightful One considers that it is necessary to spare, as much as possible to forgive." The unexpected metamorphosis of Ashoka is explained by the fact that the king became an adherent of Buddhism, a religion that arose in India in the 6th century. BC, and began to follow its rules.
India is also the birthplace of Hinduism, one of the oldest religions on earth, which originated in the 4th millennium BC. A distinctive feature of Hinduism is polytheism. The ancient Indians believed that the gods, like people, love delicious food, beautiful clothes, they are also friends and quarrel. Surya (god of the sun), Dyaus-Pitar (god of the sky), Ushas (goddess of the dawn), Parjanya (god of thunder), Sarasvati (goddess of the river of the same name), Agni (god of fire) are considered the gods of the most ancient origin. Indra was especially revered - the lord of rain, who defeated Vritra - the demon of drought. Later, the main gods of the Indians were Brahma (the beginning of all beginnings in the world), Shiva (the destroyer) and Vishnu (the guardian).
Alcázar de San Juan and its mills
Alhambra castle may have an Umayyad origin
Almagro – a historic-artistic complex
Calatrava la Nueva – a medieval castle and convent
Campo de Criptana and its windmills
Ciudad Real and its attractions
Doña Berenguela castle – a former Moorish fortress
Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park
Palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz – the headquarters of the General Archive of the Spanish Navy
Peñarroya castle dates back to 1198
Villanueva de los Infantes – National Historic Site
The ancient Indians imagined Vishnu as a beautiful young man reclining on the mythical snake Shesha, which swims in the waters of the cosmic ocean. Vishnu has four arms, in which he holds a conch, a wheel, a club and a lotus flower. Vishnu has the gift of transforming himself into animals and humans. Once, turning into a dwarf, Vishnu came to the demon king Bali and asked him to give him as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing, Bali willingly gave permission, but soon regretted it: the dwarf grew to a gigantic size and covered the sky with the first step, and the earth with the second. Seeing the horror of Bali, the magnanimous Vishnu did not take the third step.
High in the Himalayas on Mount Kailash, the god Shiva lives. His appearance is formidable - Shiva is entwined with cobras, dressed in a tiger skin, wears a necklace of skulls. He is many-sided and many-armed, on his forehead is an all-withering third eye. As the legend says, saving people, Shiva drank poison, and his neck turned blue. Therefore, it is often called "Blue-throated". Shiva has a trident in his hand, and he always performs accompanied by the bull Nandin. Shiva and his wife Parvati, which means "Goryanka", have two sons. The first is the four-armed Ganesha, an elephant-headed man riding a rat. Until now, Ganesha is revered as the god of wisdom and good luck. His brother, the war god Skanda, has six heads. He rides a huge peacock, holding a bow in one hand and arrows in the other.
The ancient Indians deified animals. The sacred cow Surabhi was especially revered, which means “Good-smelling” in translation. According to legend, this cow resides in the paradise of the god Indra. The Indians worshiped snakes - nagas. In modern India, there is a state called Nagaland - "Land of Serpents".
In ancient India, it was customary to visit holy places. It was considered a special virtue to visit Hardvar, the place where the Ganges River flows out onto the plain, and at least once in a lifetime, no matter how far a person lives, to bathe in its sacred waters.
Archaeological Park of Segóbriga
Belmonte castle – one of the most emblematic in Spain
Garcimuñoz castle and its architecture
Toba reservoir on the Júcar river
Uña lagoon – a part of the Serranía de Cuenca natural park
The invaluable heritage of the great Indian culture is the Mahabharata - a huge collection of legends, fairy tales, traditions, religious and philosophical texts. The author of this grandiose work is unknown. There are many stories in the Mahabharata, the main one of which tells about the struggle of two royal families - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. In a long dispute, the Pandava brothers won, but not without divine help: the chariot of one of them, the brave and powerful Arjuna, was ruled by his mentor the great Krishna. The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna before the battle is depicted in the Bhagavad Gita (Divine Song), which is considered the most sacred part of the Mahabharata. Some parts of the Bhagavad-gi-you sound quite modern:
Whoever has conquered himself is his own ally, Whoever does not control himself, he, being at enmity, is hostile to himself.
The epic poem Ramayana, in contrast to the Mahabharata, is a single and coherent work attributed to the poet Valmiki. The Ramayana tells about the eldest son of King Dasaratha, Rama, who, due to the deceit of one of the royal wives, is forced to go into exile with his brother Lakshman and his faithful wife Sita. They lived in the forest, eating roots and fruits. The king of demons, the evil Ravana, kidnapped Sita and carried him away. In a terrible rage, Rama, united with the monkey leader Hanuman, kills the kidnapper and frees the beautiful Sita. Returning to the capital, Rama becomes king.
Almonacid de Zorita and its attractions
Entrepeñas reservoir and its water activities
Galve de Sorbe castle was built in the 15th century for the house of Zúñiga
Guadalajara and its attractions
Jadraque castle dates to the late 15th century
Monastery of Santa María de Monsalud – an old Cistercian monastery
Molina de Aragón and its castle – one of the biggest in Spain
Recópolis – an ancient city of Visigothic origin
Sigüenza – a historic-artistic complex
Torija castle first built by the Knights Templar in the 11th century
Zorita de los Canes castle was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931
"Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" can be called an encyclopedia of the life of Ancient India: there is so much information about the country, people's customs, government and culture.
The ancient Indians were versed not only in literature, but also in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. It was they who gave the world chess.