3. Judaism

• Type: Monotheistic, the oldest Abrahamic faith, founded by Abraham roughly 2000 BCE
• Core text: Torah (first five books of Hebrew Bible), Talmud (rabbinic commentary)
• Central teachings: Covenant between God and the Jewish people, Ten Commandments, ethical monotheism, importance of law (Halakha) and study
• Geography in 1750: Diaspora communities throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and trade networks. Significant communities in Poland, Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire, and Spain (before the 1492 expulsion).
• Political significance: Jews lived as minority communities, often subject to restrictions on land ownership, professions, and movement. The millet system in the Ottoman Empire offered relatively more autonomy than most of Christian Europe.

4. Hinduism

• Type: Polytheistic (though many Hindus understand multiple deities as expressions of one ultimate reality, Brahman). One of the oldest living religions, no single founder.
• Core texts: Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata
• Central concepts: Dharma (moral duty), karma (consequences of actions across lives), samsara (cycle of rebirth), moksha (liberation from samsara), reincarnation
• Social structure: Caste system (varna), historically organized into four major castes plus Dalits ("untouchables"). Birth determined caste and shaped occupation, marriage, and social mobility.
• Geography in 1750: Concentrated in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. The Mughal Empire ruled a Hindu-majority population.
• Major deities to recognize: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer)