What is the Indus civilization?
The Indus civilization was the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent—one of the world’s three earliest civilizations, along with...
Where did the Indus civilization begin?
The Indus civilization began in the Indus River valley, evolving from villages that used the Mesopotamian model of irrigated agriculture.
Where was the Harappan civilization located?
The Harappan civilization was located in the Indus River valley. Its two large cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were located in present-day Pakist...
How did the Indus civilization end?
It remains unclear how the Indus civilization came to an end, and its decline was probably not uniform. By the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, th...
When did the Indus civilization develop?
The Indus civilization developed in the 3rd millennium BCE, making it one of the earliest of the world’s civilizations, and it lasted into the 2nd...
What is the Indus civilization?
Indus civilization, also called Indus valley civilization or Harappan civilization, the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear dates of the civilization appear to be about 2500–1700 bce, though the southern sites may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium bce. Among the world’s three earliest civilizations—the other two are those of Mesopotamia and Egypt —the Indus civilization was the most extensive.
Where was the Indus civilization located?
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. See all videos for this article. The civilization was first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro (Mohenjodaro), near the Indus River in the Sindh (S ind) region. Both sites are in present-day Pakistan, in Punjab and Sindh provinces, ...
What are the social structures of the Indus?
Despite a growing body of archaeological evidence, the social and political structures of the Indus “state” remain objects of conjecture. The apparent craft specialization and localized craft groupings at Mohenjo-daro, along with the great divergence in house types and size, point toward some degree of social stratification. Trade was extensive and apparently well-regulated, providing imported raw materials for use at internal production centres, distributing finished goods throughout the region, and arguably culminating in the establishment of Harappan “colonies” in both Mesopotamia and Badakhshan. The remarkable uniformity of weights and measures throughout the Indus lands, as well as the development of such presumably civic works as the great granaries, implies a strong degree of political and administrative control over a wide area. Further, the widespread occurrence of inscriptions in the Harappan script almost certainly indicates the use of a single lingua franca. Nevertheless, in the absence of inscriptions that can be read and interpreted, it is inevitable that far less is known of these aspects of the Indus civilization than those of contemporaneous Mesopotamia.
What are the most famous artifacts of the Indus civilization?
Perhaps the best-known artifacts of the Indus civilization are a number of small seals, generally made of steatite (a form of talc), which are distinctive in kind and unique in quality, depicting a wide variety of animals, both real—such as elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, and antelopes—and fantastic, often composite creatures.
How many cities were there in the Indus civilization?
The Indus civilization is known to have consisted of two large cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, and more than 100 towns and villages, often of relatively small size. The two cities were each perhaps originally about 1 mile (1.6 km) square in overall dimensions, and their outstanding magnitude suggests political centralization, either in two large states or in a single great empire with alternative capitals, a practice having analogies in Indian history. It is also possible that Harappa succeeded Mohenjo-daro, which is known to have been devastated more than once by exceptional floods. The population was estimated to be 23,500–35,000 in Harappa and 35,000–41,250 in Mohenjo-daro. The southern region of the civilization, on the Kathiawar Peninsula and beyond, appears to be of later origin than the major Indus sites.
Where is the civilization of the Arabian Sea?
Subsequently, vestiges of the civilization were found as far apart as Sutkagen Dor in southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan, near the shore of the Arabian Sea, about 300 miles (480 km) west of Karachi; and at Ropar (or Rupar), in eastern Punjab state, northwestern India, at the foot of the Shimla Hills some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) northeast of Sutkagen Dor. Later exploration established its existence southward down the west coast of India as far as the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay), 500 miles (800 km) southeast of Karachi, and as far east as the Yamuna (Jumna) River basin, 30 miles (50 km) north of Delhi. It is thus decidedly the most extensive of the world’s three earliest civilizations, even though Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations both began somewhat before it.
Which civilization was the earliest known urban culture?
The Indus civilization was the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent—one of the world’s three earliest civilizations, along with Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
Where is the Indus Valley?
The northern part of the Indus Valley, with its tributaries, forms the Punjab region of South Asia, while the lower course of the river ends in a large delta in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan. The river has historically been important to many cultures of the region.
What were the kingdoms of the Indus Valley?
Early historical kingdoms that arose in the Indus Valley include Gandhāra, and the Ror dynasty of Sauvīra. The Indus River came into the knowledge of the West early in the classical period, when King Darius of Persia sent his Greek subject Scylax of Caryanda to explore the river, c. 515 BC.
Why are dolphins dying in the Indus River?
Over the years factories on the banks of the Indus River have increased levels of water pollution in the river and the atmosphere around it. High levels of pollutants in the river have led to the deaths of endangered Indus river dolphin. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has ordered polluting factories around the river to shut down under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. Death of the Indus river dolphin has also been attributed to fishermen using poison to kill fish and scooping them up. As a result, the government banned fishing from Guddu Barrage to Sukkur.
Why did the Indus River dolphin die?
Over the years factories on the banks of the Indus River have increased levels of water pollution in the river and the atmosphere around it. High levels of pollutants in the river have led to the deaths of endangered Indus river dolphin. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has ordered polluting factories around the river to shut down under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. Death of the Indus river dolphin has also been attributed to fishermen using poison to kill fish and scooping them up. As a result, the government banned fishing from Guddu Barrage to Sukkur.
How much water does the Indus Delta have?
Indus delta. Originally, the delta used to receive almost all of the water from the Indus river, which has an annual flow of approximately 180 billion cubic metres (240 billion cubic yards), and is accompanied by 400 million tonnes (390 million long tons) of silt.
How many fish are there in the Indus River?
The Indus River basin has a high diversity, being the home of more than 180 freshwater fish species, including 22 which are found nowhere else. Fish also played a major role in earlier cultures of the region, including the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation where depictions of fish were frequent. The Indus script has a commonly used fish sign, which in its various forms may simply have meant "fish", or referred to stars or gods.
What does Sindhu mean?
The meaning of Sindhu as a "large body of water, sea, or ocean" is a later meaning in Classical Sanskrit. A later Persian name for the river was Darya, which similarly has the connotations of large body of water and sea.
What is the Indus Valley?
The region that is drained by the Indus River and its tributaries served as the site of the famous Indus Valley Civilization. The principal cities of the Indus valley civilization, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were located along the banks of the river. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the Indus Valley civilization extended from the northeastern part of Afghanistan to Pakistan and the northwestern part of India. Archaeologists have discovered over 1,052 cities and settlements of the civilization in this region. The Persian Empire became the first Western Empire to annex the Indus Valley. The river was also crossed by the invading armies of Alexander the Great. Later, the Indus Valley was dominated by several empires including the Mauryans, the Kushans, and the Muslim rulers like Babur, Mahmud of Ghazni, and Mohammed Ghori.
Where does the Indus River flow?
The Indus River originates close to Lake Mansarovar on the northern slopes of the sacred Kailash Mountain Ranges in the Tibetan Plateau. The headwaters of the Indus River start at the meeting point of the Sengge Zangbo (“Lions Mouth”) and the Gar Tsangpo rivers that drain the high Gangdise Shan and the Nganglong Kangri Mountain ranges of southwestern Tibet. The river then flows northwestwards through the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh and the Gilgit-Baltistan region of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. After crossing the northern and western sides of the Nanga Parbat massif, the river then flows westwards and turns in the south and southwest directions to enter the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Indus then flows as a rapid mountain stream till it reaches the Tarbela Dam reservoir. Just above the city of Attock, the river flows at an elevation of 600m and is crossed by its first rail and road bridge. The Indus then cuts across the Salt Range and enters the Punjab region of Pakistan. After receiving its major tributaries in the Punjab region, the Indus River and flows across the plains in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Indus River finally drains into the Arabian Sea via the large Indus River Delta near the port city of Karachi.
What are the rivers that feed the Indus River?
The Indus River is fed by numerous glaciers and small rivers of the Himalayan, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram Mountain ranges. Some of the major tributaries of the Indus include the Zanskar River, the Shyok River, the Shigar River, the Gilgit River, the Astor River, the Kabul River, the Kurram River, the Gomal River, the Jhelum River, the Chenab River, the Beas River, the Ravi River, and the Sutlej River. The five major tributaries of the River Indus – Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, and Sutlej (“Panjnad”), give the name to the region of Punjab (“the land of five rivers”) that is divided between the countries of India and Pakistan. Adjacent to the town of Tatta, in Pakistan’s Sindh Province, the Indus divides into many distributaries that form a large delta before draining into the Arabian Sea. The Indus River Delta covers an area of more than 7,800 sq. km and extends along the coast for about 120km.
What is the average annual flow of the Indus River?
The river is also prone to flooding during the monsoon season. The estimated annual flow of the Indus River is 243km 3, which is about two times that of the Nile River and three times that of the combined Tigris -Euphrates Rivers. Therefore, Indus is considered one of the world’s largest rivers in terms of average annual flow. It is also one of the world’s few rivers to exhibit a tidal bore.
What is the largest river in Asia?
Also referred to as the “Sindhu”, the Indus River is a long transboundary river in the Continent of Asia that is shared by the countries of China, India, and Pakistan. Rising in Western Tibet, the river flows for more than 3,180km and is considered as one of the world’s largest rivers and the longest river in Pakistan. The Indus river ’s total drainage area is approximately 1,165,000 sq. km, of which 453,000 sq. km falls within the Himalaya n ranges, the Karakoram Range, and the Hindu Kush mountains, while the remaining part lies in the desert plains of Pakistan.
How many countries are in the Indus Basin?
The Indus River and its tributaries together make up the Indus Basin, which spans four countries (China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) and supports a population of about 300 million people. The Indus River provides water to the Indus submarine fan, which is considered the planet’s 2 nd largest sediment body.
Where is the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers?
The Confluence of Zanskar and Indus Rivers in Leh, Ladakh, India.
What is the name of the Indus Valley?
The Indus Valley Civilisation is named after the Indus river system in whose alluvial plains the early sites of the civilisation were identified and excavated. Following a tradition in archaeology, the civilisation is sometimes referred to as the Harappan, after its type site, Harappa, the first site to be excavated in the 1920s; this is notably true of usage employed by the Archaeological Survey of India after India's independence in 1947.
How did the Indus Valley villages develop?
(2012), the slow southward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the Indus Valley villages to develop by taming the floods of the Indus and its tributaries. Flood-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons leading to summer floods. Brooke further notes that the development of advanced cities coincides with a reduction in rainfall, which may have triggered a reorganisation into larger urban centers.
How long did the Indus Valley civilization last?
With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures – Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively – the entire Indus Valley Civilisation may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE.
How many Indus symbols are there?
Between 400 and as many as 600 distinct Indus symbols have been found on stamp seals, small tablets, ceramic pots and more than a dozen other materials, including a "signboard" that apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the Indus city of Dholavira. Typical Indus inscriptions are no more than four or five characters in length, most of which (aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are tiny; the longest on a single surface, which is less than 2.5 cm (1 in) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on any object (found on three different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of 26 symbols.
What was the Indus civilization?
The Indus civilization was roughly contemporary with the other riverine civilisations of the ancient world: Egypt along the Nile, Mesopotamia in the lands watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris, and China in the drainage basin of the Yellow River and the Yangtze. By the time of its mature phase, the civilisation had spread over an area larger than the others, which included a core of 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) up the alluvial plain of the Indus and its tributaries. In addition, there was a region with disparate flora, fauna, and habitats, up to ten times as large, which had been shaped culturally and economically by the Indus.
Where did the Indus Valley civilization originate?
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) extended from Pakistan's Balochistan in the west to India's western Uttar Pradesh in the east, from northeastern Afghanistan in the north to India's Gujarat state in the south. The largest number of sites are in Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir states in India, and Sindh, ...
What caused the Civilization to scatter its population eastward and southward?
Gradual drying of the region's soil during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but eventually weaker monsoons and reduced water supply caused the civilisation's demise, and to scatter its population eastward and southward.
What are the two largest settlements in the Indus Valley?
Their written legacy remains a puzzle to be solved. Important settlements grew in the Indus Valley. The two largest were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
What was the Indus River?
The Indus society rose at roughly the same time as Mesopotamia, and came to its height between 2600 and 2500 BC. Today, the Indus River basin covers southeast Pakistan, along the frontier with India. The rivers of this area provided basic transport and water for people, and enabled the local agriculture. Wheat, barley and rice were grown, as was ...
What were the crops grown in the Indus?
Archaeologists have unearthed granaries, simple homes, baths, and even citadels (or forts) in the Indus communities.
What were the two largest cities in Mesopotamia?
The two largest were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Each of these cities may have been home to 35,000 people, an impressive population for the time. Remains of goods from Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley have been found in both civilizations, therefore trade was active between them.
Which sea separates Africa from the Arabian Peninsula?
The mouth of the Red Sea that separates Africa from the Arabian peninsula
What is the passage that led early humans out of Africa?
A passage, known as the levant, that lead early humans out of Africa
Why did humans change land?
Humans began dramatically changing land in order to farm on it
Overview
The Indus is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The 3,180 km (1,980 mi) river rises in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, and flows south-by-southwest through Pakistan, before emptying into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi.
Etymology and names
This river was known to the ancient Indians in Sanskrit as Sindhu and the Persians as Hindu which was regarded by both of them as "the border river". The variation between the two names is explained by the Old Iranian sound change *s > h, which occurred between 850 and 600 BCE according to Asko Parpola. From the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the name passed to the Greeks as Indós (Ἰνδός). It was adopted by the Romans as Indus. The name India is derived from Indus.
Description
The Indus River provides key water resources for Pakistan's economy – especially the breadbasket of Punjab province, which accounts for most of the nation's agricultural production, and Sindh. The word Punjab means "land of five rivers" and the five rivers are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, all of which finally flow into the Indus. The Indus also supports many heavy industries and provides the main supply of potable water in Pakistan.
History
The major cities of the Indus Valley civilisation, such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, date back to around 3300 BC, and represent some of the largest human habitations of the ancient world. The Indus Valley Civilisation extended from across northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India, with an upward reach from east of Jhelum River to Ropar on the upper Sutlej. The coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor at the Pakistan, Iran border to Kutch in modern Gujarat, In…
Geography
• Gar River
• Gilgit River
• Gomal River
• Hunza River
• Kabul River
Geology
The Indus river feeds the Indus submarine fan, which is the second largest sediment body on the Earth. It consists of around 5 million cubic kilometres of material eroded from the mountains. Studies of the sediment in the modern river indicate that the Karakoram Mountains in northern Pakistan and India are the single most important source of material, with the Himalayas providing the next largest contribution, mostly via the large rivers of the Punjab (Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Bea…
Wildlife
Accounts of the Indus valley from the times of Alexander's campaign indicate a healthy forest cover in the region. The Mughal Emperor Babur writes of encountering rhinoceroses along its bank in his memoirs (the Baburnama). Extensive deforestation and human interference in the ecology of the Shivalik Hills has led to a marked deterioration in vegetation and growing conditions. The Indus valley regions are arid with poor vegetation. Agriculture is sustained largely due to irrigation wor…
Economy
The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the Punjab and Sindh plains – it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical since rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. Irrigation canals were first built by the people of the Indus Valley civilisation, and later by the engineers of the Kushan Empire and the Mughal Empire. Modern irrigation was introduced by the British East India Company in 1850 – the construction …