Transcript The Gupta Empire - White Plains Public Schools

The Gupta Empire (320 C.E. – 600 C.E.)
Global I Honors: Spiconardi
The Empire
• Founded in c. 320 C.E.
near the Ganges River,
the Hindu Gupta
Empire was smaller
than the Mauryan
Empire
• Ushered in the Golden
Age of India
▫ Relative peace (until
Huna invasion)
▫ Trade flourished
▫ Advancements in the
arts and sciences
Trade
• Why did trade flourish under
the Gupta?
▫ Centralized government
 Controlled salt and metal trade
 Silk Road
 Cotton, sugar, cinnamon, and
pepper were exchanged for
Chinese and Middle Eastern
goods
 One-quarter tax on agricultural
production
 Required labor on state projects
Fall of the Gupta
• The White Hun
Invasion
▫ White Huns are related
to the Xiognu, but
different from the Huns
of Attila
▫ Enter Gupta India in
450 C.E.
▫ White Huns takeover
parts of Gupta Empire,
but Gupta defend
against a complete
takeover
 Efforts to resist the
White Huns would led
to eventual collapse of
the Gupta empire
Fall of the Gupta
• Buddhism loses influence and popularity in India
▫ White Hun invasion of northwest India destroyed
Buddhist monasteries
• Decentralized India
▫ After the fall of the Gupta in c. 600 C.E., India once
again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms
Legacy
• Golden Age of India (refer to previous lesson for
mathematical and scientific achievements)
▫ Art
 Ajanta Caves  Caves with paintings and sculptures of Buddhist
art
Ajanta Caves
Ajanta Caves
Legacy
• Chess
▫ Gupta are believed to have invented the first version
of chess
 Infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariotry (pawn, knight,
bishop, and rook, respectively)
• Devanagari Numerals
• Continued Asoka’s policy of religious tolerance
Legacy
• Literature
▫ Written in Sanskrit
▫ Most notorious work of literature from the Gupta is the
Kama Sutra
 Kama Sutra  collection of works that provide a manual for
relationships, sexual intercourse, and gender behavior
Censored