![[Media/Late_Vedic_Culture_(1100-500_BCE).png]] Another of the Royal Road's extensions took it to Bactria, on the edge of the Hindu Kush. In India, the Harappan civilization had ended between 3,900 and 3,700 years ago. Over the next few centuries a new culture grew in the region, based on an ancient oral tradition known as the Vedas, which were finally written down after about 500 BCE. The earliest, the *Rigveda*, is typically dated to about 1500 BCE and consists of 1,028 hymns that describe the gods, the creation of the world, and mythical history. The Vedas also lay out a caste system that divides Indian society into four classes or *varna*, priests and scholars, warriors and rulers, merchants and farmers, and laborers and servants. ![[Media/Rigveda_MS2097.jpg]] *The Rigveda* Hinduism has lasted to the present in India, but elements of the Vedic tradition, especially castes, were challenged by religious figures known as "Renouncers" beginning around 600 BCE, leading to several new religions, which we will cover shortly. At about this time, urbanization resumes and sixteen kingdoms emerge, including Magadha, Kosala, Vasta, and Avanti. Iron swords become prevalent, as well as the use of elephants in infantry charges. Although Cyrus's Persians and later Alexander's Macedonians reached the borders of India, no foreign army invaded. Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador, reported the Indians had a standing army of 600,000 infantry supported by 9,000 elephants. ----- Next: [[5.13 - Chandragupta]] Back: [[5.11 - The 300]]