World History

What is the story of the Hindu faith? The history of Hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it has no founder or date of origin. While most major religions derive from new ideas taught by a charismatic leader, Hinduism is simply the religion of the people of India, which has gradually developed over four thousand years. The origins and authors of its sacred texts are largely unknown. Although today's Hinduism differs significantly from earlier forms of Indian religion, its roots date back as far as 2000 BC, making it one of the oldest surviving religions. Because of its age, the early history of Hinduism is unclear. The most ancient writings have yet to be deciphered, so for the earliest periods scholars must rely on educated guesses based on archaeology and contemporary texts. In the last few decades, the history of India's religion has also become a matter of political controversy. The history of any nation (or individual) is an important part of its

Urban civilization first appeared in ancent India with the Indus Valley civilization in the early third millennium BC, in what is today Pakistan and north-west India . This was contemporary with other early civilizations of the ancient world, in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, and is one of the earlist civilizations in world history. It is famous for its large and well-planned cities. This civilization vanished again in the mid-2nd millennium BC. In the following thousand years, a people known as the Aryans, speaking an Indo-European language , moved into northern India from central Asia. They came into India as pastoral, semi-nomadic tribes led by warrior chieftains. Over time, they settled down as rulers over the native Dravidian populations they found there, and formed tribal kingdoms. This period of ancient Indian history is known as the Vedic age , as it was depicted in the earliest Indian writings, called the Vedas. It is also the formative period in which most of the b

TimeMaps History Atlas Iraq - 3500BC One of the most important developments in world history is taking place in Mesopotamia . Here, on the flood plains of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, the fertile soil brought down from the mountains by the great rivers has given rise to much denser populations than anywhere else in the world. The arid climate, plus dangerous spring floods, has called for the creation of large-scale irrigation systems, to channel and store water for crops, and to protect communities from the raging waters. Over the centuries, large communities with densely concentrated populations of many thousands of people have grown up. These are the first true cities in human history. To help them manage the economic life of these cities effectively, the priests who control them are gradually perfecting the first know

9. Mirza and Sahiba: Mirza and Sahiba is another Punjabi folk tale about Mirza, the son of a Kharal Jat land baron and Sahiba, the daughter of the chief of Kheewa of Sial tribe. They grew up together and fell in love. When they grew up Mirza had to go back to his home town and meanwhile Sahiba was forced to marry someone else. She wrote a letter to Mirza to come save her. Mirza went despite of warnings from his family and carried her away during her mehndi ceremony. Sahiba’s brothers chased them and eventually caught up and fought Mirza, killing him with a sword. When Sahiba saw this she killed herself with Mirza’s sword and the lovers became immortalized in folk history. 8. Dhola and Maru: The story of Dhola and Maru comes from Rajasthan though there are versions from Chhattisgarh as well. The story is of a prince Dhola and a princess Maru who are married in childhood. But when the father of Dhola dies in battle there is no one to remind him of his marriage. He grows up forge

According to Greek mythology, the love between Paris and Helen provoked the downfall of Troy. The story begins with the Trojan prince Paris being chosen to decide which of three goddesses – Hera, Athena and Aphrodite – is the fairest. He chose Aphrodite because in return she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. And the most beautiful woman was Helen of Sparta who, however, was married to King Menelaus. A few years later, Paris went to Sparta and took Helen to Troy by which he triggered the Trojan War. Paris was mortally wounded during the fall of Troy, while Helen returned to her husband in Sparta. Orpheus and Eurydice The ancient Greek mythological hero Orpheus is best known for his beautiful music which charmed everyone, even the stones and wild beasts. But he is also known for his deep love for his wife Eurydice. When she died from a snake bite, Orpheus decided to go to the Underworld and bring her back. With his music, he charmed the gods of the Hades and t

The Indus valley civilization saw its genesis in the holy land now known as India around 2500 BC. The people inhabiting the Indus River valley were thought to be Dravidians, whose descendants later migrated to the south of India. The deterioration of this civilization that developed a culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade can be attributed to ecological changes. The second millennium BC was witness to the migration of the bucolic Aryan tribes from the North West frontier into the sub continent. These tribes gradually merged with their antecedent cultures to give birth to a new milieu. The Aryan tribes soon started penetrating the east, flourishing along the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers. By 500 BC, the whole of northern India was a civilized land where people had knowledge of iron implements and worked as labor, voluntarily or otherwise. The early political map of India comprised of copious independent states with fluid boundaries, with increasing population and abu

In the religions of Africa, life does not end with death, but continues in another realm. The concepts of "life" and "death" are not mutually exclusive concepts, and there are no clear dividing lines between them. Human existence is a dynamic process involving the increase or decrease of "power" or "life force," of "living" and "dying," and there are different levels of life and death. Many African languages express the fact that things are not going well, such as when there is sickness, in the words "we are living a little," meaning that the level of life is very low. The African religions scholar Placide Tempels describes every misfortune that Africans encounter as "a diminution of vital force." Illness and death result from some outside agent, a person, thing, or circumstance that weakens people because the agent contains a greater life force. Death does not alter or end the life or the personality of an