India The Golden Ages India Empires of India

India The Golden Ages

India Empires of India q TTYN – What is an empire? The Maurya Empire 322 B. C. E – 185 B. C. E

India

India Empires of India The Maurya Empire q Maurya – MOW uhr yuh q Founder - Chandragupta Maurya ( First empire/emperor) q Gained control of the subcontinent through conquest and alliance q Area – From the Indus plain and Himalayas to the tip of the peninsula q Divided empire into provinces q Delegated power to governors

India The Maurya Empire q Well-organized bureaucracy q Officials supervised the infrastructure (roads, buildings, harbors) q Officials collected taxes q Managed state-owned factories and shipyards q People justice in royal courts q Secret Police reported on corruption, crime, and dissent q Chandragupta’s rule was effective but hard remind you of someone? q Women were trained as warriors (You go girls!)

India The Maurya Empire q Asoka, grandson of Chandragupta; the most honored emperor q Mauryan reached its greatest glory q the two sides of Asoka q Fought a long and bloody war to conquer the Deccan region q Horrified at the slaughter (over 100 K) dead – turned his back on further conquests q Converted to Buddhism- rejected violence; rules by a moral code

India The Maurya Empire – Quote from Asoka “All people are my children, and just as I desire for my children that they should obtain welfare and happiness, both in this world and the next, so do I desire the same for all people” q Took steps to help his “children” q building roads, rest houses for travelers, and hospitals. q Preached tolerance for other religions

India Decline of the Mauryan Empire Mauryan empire began to decline following death of Ashoka, 232 BC q Sons battled for power, central control weakened q Distant provinces began to slip away q Last Mauryan emperor killed by one of generals, 184 BC q Mauryan empire lasted 140 years, then collapsed

India

India Mauryan

India Empires of India The Gupta Dynasty 350 C. E – 550 C. E

India The Gupta Dynasty q. Controlled much of northern India q Northern plains q Ruled according to the Hindu-Buddhist doctrine of dharma q follow moral law

Golden Age of Gupta Great cultural achievements: Advancements in learning q. Literature q. Arabic numerals-1, 2, 3…. q. Decimal system-. 0123 q. Surgeons and vaccinations q. Pioneered the use of herbs and other remedies to treat illness q Vaccinating people against smallpox – about a thousands years before this practice was used in Europe q Architecture – stone temples and stupas

Golden Age of Gupta Daily Life in India q. Majority of Indians are farmers; entire family raises crops together q. Families are patriarchal—headed by the eldest male q. Farmers have to contribute work to government and pay heavy taxes

Golden Age of Gupta Religions Support of Hinduism q Buddhism prospered, spread during period between Mauryan, Gupta empires q Hinduism lost popularity during this period q Under Guptas, Hinduism became main religion q Rulers supported building Hindu temples, promoted revival of writings q Buddhism began to lose influence during this period

India Decline of Gupta q Weak rulers q Civil war q Foreign invaders q Huns q. Destroyed cities and trade q Split into many kingdoms q Rival princes battled for control of the northern plain q India brakes into small, individual kingdoms

India Decline of Gupta q 455 Invasions of Huns (ca. 455 -528) q Successive invasions of Huns q Other Central Asian tribes help destroy the Gupta empire.

India

India Gupta