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The fertile land and geographic protection of the Indus River Valley allowed and facilitated success by early civilizations there.  The Sarasvati River, which is named after a Hindu goddess, was the largest in ancient India, flowing west of Delhi and providing water to a region described in the Rig Veda, a sacred Vedic Hindu text.  (The river has since completely dried up, but was proven to have existed by satellite photographs of India.)  Food and commerce in the Indus River Valley was based on barley (yava), copper (ayas) and cattle.  By 2600 B.C., the Indus-Sarasvati civilization became the largest civilization in the ancient world, spreading from Pakistan to many areas of India today.  It had trade connections with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Central Asia and elsewhere.  Its population is estimated to have been 100,000, which is substantial even by today's standards.

The fertile land and geographic protection of the Indus River Valley allowed and facilitated success by early civilizations there.  The Sarasvati River, which is named after a Hindu goddess, was the largest in ancient India, flowing west of Delhi and providing water to a region described in the Rig Veda, a sacred Vedic Hindu text.  (The river has since completely dried up, but was proven to have existed by satellite photographs of India.)  Food and commerce in the Indus River Valley was based on barley (yava), copper (ayas) and cattle.  By 2600 B.C., the Indus-Sarasvati civilization became the largest civilization in the ancient world, spreading from Pakistan to many areas of India today.  It had trade connections with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Central Asia and elsewhere.  Its population is estimated to have been 100,000, which is substantial even by today's standards.

By 2000 B.C., the world's population was 27 million, 22% of whom lived in India.  Interestingly, India still contains a high percentage of the world's population, but not quite as high as back then: today India has 16% or so of the world's population, or about 1 billion people.  Three of the world's ten most populated cities today are in India: Bombay (recently renamed as Mumbai), Calcutta and Delhi.

By 2000 B.C., the world's population was 27 million people, 22% of whom lived in India.  Interestingly, India still contains a high percentage of the world's population, but not quite as high as back then: today India has 16% or so of the world's population, or about 1 billion people.  Three of the world's ten most populated cities today are in India: Bombay (recently renamed as Mumbai), Calcutta and Delhi.

The collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization came about from a mixture of geographic and human forces. Sometime around 2000 B.C., the course of the Indus River shifted away from various centers of civilization. This was compounded in the years up to 1500 B.C. by the hostile incursions of Indo-European (Aryan) nomads invading through the Bolan and Khyber passes in the Hindu Kush mountain range.  The Aryans spoke Sanskrit, an Indo-European language.  They conquered the Dravidians and forced them southward into what is now India.  Hindu literature describes these struggles in the "Rig Veda" and two long poems known as the "Mahabharata" and the "Ramayana".  By 900 B.C., iron smelting was discovered and became useful in making weapons and tools to clear fields and the jungle for agriculture.  The Aryans were very successful in cultivating the land along the banks of the Ganges River Valley, aided by forceful winds known as monsoons that brought rain from the Indian Ocean.  Rice was the most popular crop, and remains the world's leading crop even today.

The collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization came about from a mixture of geographic and human forces. Sometime around 2000 B.C., the course of the Indus River shifted away from various centers of civilization. This was compounded in the years up to 1500 B.C. by the hostile incursions of Indo-European (Aryan) nomads invading through the Bolan and Khyber passes in the Hindu Kush mountain range.  The Aryans spoke Sanskrit, an Indo-European language.  They conquered the Dravidians and forced them southward into what is now India.  Hindu literature describes these struggles in the "Rig Veda" and two long poems known as the "Mahabharata" and the "Ramayana".  By 900 B.C., iron smelting was discovered and became useful in making weapons and tools to clear fields and the jungle for agriculture.  The Aryans were very successful in cultivating the land along the banks of the Ganges River Valley, aided by forceful winds known as monsoons that brought rain from the Indian Ocean.  Rice was the most popular crop, and remains the world's leading crop even today.