Ancient River Valley Religion

Zoroastrianism

3500 BCE

1.Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion, named for the Persian prophet Zoroaster, who founded the religion.may Zoroastrianism later became the state religion of the first great Persian Empire (550–331 BCE), which was founded by Cyrus the Great.
2.The Zoroastrian faith believed in one God, Ahura Mazda.
3.Zoroaster preached a dualistic understanding of the world; the belief focuses on the spiritual contest between good and evil

Hinduism

1500 BCE

1.During the Maurya and Gupta empires, the Indian culture and way of life were deeply influenced by Hinduism.
2. Aryans, migrated into the Indian subcontinent in 1500 BCE, and established a caste system with four main groups of people: brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras.
3.All living beings are thought to be reborn repeatedly in the cycle of death and rebirth (reincarnation). This was based on the actions and deeds a person performed in life.

Judaism

1300 BCE

1.Judaism is one of the world's major religions and is considered the originator of monotheism, the belief in a single God.
2.The earliest foundations of Judaism are known only from biblical stories, which reveal the roots of the children of Israel beginning with their ancestors, Abraham and Sarah.
3.Abraham was the first man to believe in a single God.

Buddhishm

500 BCE

1.The origin of Buddhism points to one man, Siddhartha Gautama.
2.The name Buddha means "The Awakened One."
3.Buddhism also received state support from Emperor Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism in 260 BCE.

Confucianism

500 BCE

Started or based on the teachings of Confucius in China. Confucianism is the Western name for a Chinese religious/philosophical tradition.
Focused on humanistic ethics and moral conduct.