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Chapter 53: The Indosphere
As for India, we can see different dynasties rise and fall, with perhaps the Chalukyas continuing to dominate the Marathi areas, the Pratiharas in the Ganges valley and the Chola Empire rising to prominence in the southeast of the Subcontinent.
From the geopolitical point of view, one of the most important events was the general collapse and fragmentation of Gurjara- Pratihara Empire into a handful of states, such as the Paramaras, the Chandelas, the Kalachuris, the Tomaras and the Chauhans.
The most important powers were thus the Chaulukyas of Gujarat, the Chalukya state in central Deccan, the Chola Empire in Tamil Nadu, the Pratiharas of the Ganges and the Pala Empire in Bengal.
The spice trade with meant contact of the western Indian coast with the Middle East. Due to the continuation of this contact, the Chera state of Kerala, at the southwestern tip of India would convert to Nestorian Christianity en masse.
The growth of Saint Thomas Christians in southern India was possible as this region would not yet have been under stark influence from Hinduism. Further Christian communities would be founded in the region of the Konkani Coast around Goa and a few parishes would also be established in the Indus delta at the Sindhi Coast (1)
The "Persian Cross" in one of the churches
From the institutional point the view, the Nestorian Church in India would be divided into multiple metropolitan sees: with Cranganore in Kerala, Kalyan for the region of Kathiawar or Gujarat to include also the Indus river estuary and finally a metropolitan see on the Konkani coast. A fourth metropolitan see would be detatched from Cranganore to include the island of Ceylon, as there would indeed be a sizeable urban coastal Christian community, which however would not predominate in any one concrete region.
The second most important trading partner for the Subcontinent would have been Mazoun, establishing mostly trade posts in the Indus river delta and the Gujarat region. However, for the Mazdaki religion of Mazoun would be difficult to make inroads into the Subcontinent. For the Hindus, it was offensive, for it would do away with the caste system altogether. For the Jains and Buddhists, its hedonistic nature would be the polar opposite of the ascetic philosophy of the shramanic tradition.
Therefore, the only place where Mazdakis would establish a presence would be Debal, in the western Indus delta, very close to the the Mazouni coast itself, as well as Gwadar, a major port on the Makrani coast (2).
The heartland of Buddhist India would be the Gangetic plains, under the Pala and Pratihara Empires. The urban civilization of northern India would gradually continue to proceed in science. Key institutions in the process would be the major universities at Nalanda, Vikramasila and Odantapuri.
Nalanda was a major Buddhist university
The second major Buddhist region of India would be the western borderlands in the Indus valley, the parts of India most open to outside influences, chiefly through the Khyber Pass between Peshawar and Kabul, to a lesser extent also through the Bolan Pass between Quetta and lower Indus. The Indus valley itself has had a key role in the dispersion of Buddhism via the Silk Road, and the Gandhara region in upper Punjab was a cradle to Buddhism in Bactria, Sogdia and ultimately even in the Tarim Basin.
Unfortunately for the Buddhist communities in Gandhara , Buddhism failed to make deeper roots in Sogdia, and the Jagudid dynasty ruling over Kabulistan beyond the Khyber Pass appears to be devout Manicheans. One may blame this decline to better organization of the Denawar Manichean Church, whose institutions would very much be modelled after Christian ones, and those ultimately be modelled after the Zoroastrian State Church of the former Sassanid Empire.
Manichean Painting of the Buddha Jesus. Are you confused? Yes? So was everybody...
For Manicheans it would not be difficult to gain Buddhist converts, to the similarity of the faiths (3), as Mani claimed that Jesus, Buddha and Zoroaster would be venerable prophets; similarly the ascetic aspect would be very well retained in Manicheism as well.
Even without outside influences, Buddhism would be in decline in the Indian Subcontinent. This would be caused by the fact, that as the Subcontinent itself would fracture, so would religiosity. The kings and dukes would very well seek patron deities, with Brahmins legitimizing the local dynasties and helping them with the administration.
While Buddhist theologians would speak of the importance of non-violence, which would in practice delegitimize the whole Kshatriya, or warrior caste, the Brahmins would win them over. Furthermore, Buddhism would be in crisis for losing daily contact with the majority of lay population, not participating in rites of passage such as birth, death or weddings.
Hinduism would thus come to dominate the vast majority of India from Maharashtra into the Deccan plateau, with different forms across the country. Major denominations would include Vaishnavite, Shaivite, Bhakti and Tantric being the major varieties.
The western regions of the Subcontinent, mainly the Marathi speaking regions, would continue to practice Jainism.
The larger Indian cultural sphere would also include the regions of Southeast Asia. The land connection there was rather difficult, to get through the Manipuri jungle – the only way there was through the Imphal Pass into Burma.
Travel by sea would be more practical, departing from the Pala Empire, running parallel to the Burmese coast to reach Thaton (4).
From the island of Ceylon and the Chola Empire, maritime traffic would often cross the Bay of Bengal horizontally, towards the Malay Peninsula, to Sumatra and further even to the Mekong Estuary.
The dominant power in the Islands of the Sea would be Srivijaya : a maritime empire commanding western Java, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and western and southern Borneo.
Baphuon is an example of Shaivite Hindu architecture in the Khmer Empire
The hegemon of the Further Indian peninsula would the Khmer Empire, ruling over the Mekong basin and also the Gulf of Thailand. Smaller nations in the area would include Thaton, Pegu, Bagan, Harapunchai (I did not invent that name) and Champa. Dai Viet and Dali, would, I believe be rather part of the Sinosphere.
It appears that a majority of these realms had adopted Theravada Buddhism from Ceylon, which has supplanted the locally influenced version of Hinduism, which would continue to predominate among the Champa, and on the island of Java. Furthermore, Hindu presence would still remain in Khmer Empire as well.
(1) Near Karachi
(2) However, I would argue that Balochistan is not technically part of India per se…
(3) I am thinking of Islam over here, as Muhammad also acknowledged the truth of Jesus´ministry… and just take a look at how many Christian areas became Muslim.
(4) On the Mon coast of southern Burma.
From the geopolitical point of view, one of the most important events was the general collapse and fragmentation of Gurjara- Pratihara Empire into a handful of states, such as the Paramaras, the Chandelas, the Kalachuris, the Tomaras and the Chauhans.
The most important powers were thus the Chaulukyas of Gujarat, the Chalukya state in central Deccan, the Chola Empire in Tamil Nadu, the Pratiharas of the Ganges and the Pala Empire in Bengal.
The spice trade with meant contact of the western Indian coast with the Middle East. Due to the continuation of this contact, the Chera state of Kerala, at the southwestern tip of India would convert to Nestorian Christianity en masse.
The growth of Saint Thomas Christians in southern India was possible as this region would not yet have been under stark influence from Hinduism. Further Christian communities would be founded in the region of the Konkani Coast around Goa and a few parishes would also be established in the Indus delta at the Sindhi Coast (1)
The "Persian Cross" in one of the churches
From the institutional point the view, the Nestorian Church in India would be divided into multiple metropolitan sees: with Cranganore in Kerala, Kalyan for the region of Kathiawar or Gujarat to include also the Indus river estuary and finally a metropolitan see on the Konkani coast. A fourth metropolitan see would be detatched from Cranganore to include the island of Ceylon, as there would indeed be a sizeable urban coastal Christian community, which however would not predominate in any one concrete region.
The second most important trading partner for the Subcontinent would have been Mazoun, establishing mostly trade posts in the Indus river delta and the Gujarat region. However, for the Mazdaki religion of Mazoun would be difficult to make inroads into the Subcontinent. For the Hindus, it was offensive, for it would do away with the caste system altogether. For the Jains and Buddhists, its hedonistic nature would be the polar opposite of the ascetic philosophy of the shramanic tradition.
Therefore, the only place where Mazdakis would establish a presence would be Debal, in the western Indus delta, very close to the the Mazouni coast itself, as well as Gwadar, a major port on the Makrani coast (2).
The heartland of Buddhist India would be the Gangetic plains, under the Pala and Pratihara Empires. The urban civilization of northern India would gradually continue to proceed in science. Key institutions in the process would be the major universities at Nalanda, Vikramasila and Odantapuri.
Nalanda was a major Buddhist university
The second major Buddhist region of India would be the western borderlands in the Indus valley, the parts of India most open to outside influences, chiefly through the Khyber Pass between Peshawar and Kabul, to a lesser extent also through the Bolan Pass between Quetta and lower Indus. The Indus valley itself has had a key role in the dispersion of Buddhism via the Silk Road, and the Gandhara region in upper Punjab was a cradle to Buddhism in Bactria, Sogdia and ultimately even in the Tarim Basin.
Unfortunately for the Buddhist communities in Gandhara , Buddhism failed to make deeper roots in Sogdia, and the Jagudid dynasty ruling over Kabulistan beyond the Khyber Pass appears to be devout Manicheans. One may blame this decline to better organization of the Denawar Manichean Church, whose institutions would very much be modelled after Christian ones, and those ultimately be modelled after the Zoroastrian State Church of the former Sassanid Empire.
Manichean Painting of the Buddha Jesus. Are you confused? Yes? So was everybody...
For Manicheans it would not be difficult to gain Buddhist converts, to the similarity of the faiths (3), as Mani claimed that Jesus, Buddha and Zoroaster would be venerable prophets; similarly the ascetic aspect would be very well retained in Manicheism as well.
Even without outside influences, Buddhism would be in decline in the Indian Subcontinent. This would be caused by the fact, that as the Subcontinent itself would fracture, so would religiosity. The kings and dukes would very well seek patron deities, with Brahmins legitimizing the local dynasties and helping them with the administration.
While Buddhist theologians would speak of the importance of non-violence, which would in practice delegitimize the whole Kshatriya, or warrior caste, the Brahmins would win them over. Furthermore, Buddhism would be in crisis for losing daily contact with the majority of lay population, not participating in rites of passage such as birth, death or weddings.
Hinduism would thus come to dominate the vast majority of India from Maharashtra into the Deccan plateau, with different forms across the country. Major denominations would include Vaishnavite, Shaivite, Bhakti and Tantric being the major varieties.
The western regions of the Subcontinent, mainly the Marathi speaking regions, would continue to practice Jainism.
The larger Indian cultural sphere would also include the regions of Southeast Asia. The land connection there was rather difficult, to get through the Manipuri jungle – the only way there was through the Imphal Pass into Burma.
Travel by sea would be more practical, departing from the Pala Empire, running parallel to the Burmese coast to reach Thaton (4).
From the island of Ceylon and the Chola Empire, maritime traffic would often cross the Bay of Bengal horizontally, towards the Malay Peninsula, to Sumatra and further even to the Mekong Estuary.
The dominant power in the Islands of the Sea would be Srivijaya : a maritime empire commanding western Java, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and western and southern Borneo.
Baphuon is an example of Shaivite Hindu architecture in the Khmer Empire
The hegemon of the Further Indian peninsula would the Khmer Empire, ruling over the Mekong basin and also the Gulf of Thailand. Smaller nations in the area would include Thaton, Pegu, Bagan, Harapunchai (I did not invent that name) and Champa. Dai Viet and Dali, would, I believe be rather part of the Sinosphere.
It appears that a majority of these realms had adopted Theravada Buddhism from Ceylon, which has supplanted the locally influenced version of Hinduism, which would continue to predominate among the Champa, and on the island of Java. Furthermore, Hindu presence would still remain in Khmer Empire as well.
(1) Near Karachi
(2) However, I would argue that Balochistan is not technically part of India per se…
(3) I am thinking of Islam over here, as Muhammad also acknowledged the truth of Jesus´ministry… and just take a look at how many Christian areas became Muslim.
(4) On the Mon coast of southern Burma.
- Tomislav Addai
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