First Empires of India Mauryan and Gupta Empires

First Empires of India Mauryan and Gupta Empires

Warmup • Which two major world religions/belief systems began in India? • Hinduism and Buddhism

Mauryan Empire • Chandragupta Maurya conquered the remains of Alexander the Great’s kingdom and controlled most of present-day India • Reigned from 321 – 298 BCE • Forced people to pay high taxes, sometimes up to 50% of their income

Mauryan Empire • Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka, expanded empire throughout India by war • Battle of Kalinga – Asoka saw the damage of war and converted to Buddhism • Under Asoka unified Northern India and promoted the spread of Buddhism – Taught religious toleration: acceptance of people who have different beliefs

Mauryan Empire • Accomplishments During Asoka’s Reign: – Religious Tolerance – Built roads so he could travel to all parts of his empire – Improved communication in the vast empire – Promoted policies of toleration and non-violence

Buddhism • 2 Sects of Buddhism – Theravada: • “Way of the Elders” • Most closely follows original beliefs – Mahayana: • “Greater Vehicle” • Available to people from all walks of life

Theraveda monk sharing a meal with a tiger Mahayana Buddhist monks

Mauryan Empire Spread of Buddhism under Asoka

Tamil Family Groups • Broke away from the Mauryan Empire after Asoka’s death in 297 BCE • Primarily in southern India – Matriarchal culture: based on the mother • Divided into three kingdoms – Always at war with each other and other groups

Vocabulary • MATRIARCHAL – The mother is the head of the family – Mostly southern India (Tamil) • PATRIARCHAL – Eldest male is the head of the family – Mostly northern India

Gupta Empire • No relation to Chandragupta (Mauryan Empire) • Returned India to Hinduism • Expanded India through northern regions

Gupta Empire • First Indian Empire that historians have information about daily life • Traded with cities throughout Mediterranean and along the Silk Road • Used marriage to keep alliances and spread the empire • Gupta Empire experienced great advances in art, literature, science and mathematics

Classical or “Golden Age” of India • Literature: Kalidasa – poet/playwright • Astronomy: The Earth is round (over a 1000 yrs before Columbus/Europeans!) • Math: developed own numeric system – Concept of Zero – Decimal system

Classical or “Golden Age” of India • Science & Medicine: – Classified over 1000 diseases – Surgery (plastic surgery included) • Time: used calendars based on cycles of sun rather than moon – Adopted seven days in a week and 24 hours in a day • After 200 years of civil war, India was finally united under one government

Spread of Indian Trade • Silk Road = Caravan route that crossed central Asia, introducing silk from China to Western Asia and onto the Roman Empire (later included more trade goods)

Silk Road Video • Silk Road

Spread of Indian Trade • Indians made huge profits by acting as middlemen on the Silk Road • Indians would buy goods like silk from the Chinese then sell the good to traders that were traveling to Rome

Spread of Indian Trade • Increased trade along the Silk Road also increased and improved the banking system. – Bankers would lend money to merchants & charge high interest rates • Trade items included spices, cotton cloth, ivory, gems, timber, and eventually silk • Indian styles of art, architecture, dance and religion were impacted by Indian traders on Southeast Asia.

Create a Culture • “Culture” is a very simple word to represent a large and complex idea • Culture is the social behavior and norms of a society (such as diet, clothing, religion, language, arts, housing, etc. ) • You are going to create your own culture!