Transcript Chapter 7: India`s First Empires

Chapter 7: India and China Establish
Empires, 400 BCE-550 CE
The Mauryan & Gupta
India’s First Empires
• By 600 BCE, almost
1000 years after the
Aryan migrations,
many small
kingdoms were
scattered throughout
India
• In 326, BCE,
Alexander the Great
conquered the
region- left a
Macedonian
general-Seluecus Iin control
Mauryan Empire:
Chandragupta Maurya
• 321 BCE, claimed the
NW. region-lower
Ganges River
• By 305 BCE,
defeated Seluecus I
• 303 BCE Empire
united northern India
– 600,000 foot soldiers
– 30,000 cavalry
– 9,000 elephants
• Imposed high taxes
How did Chandragupta govern the
Empire?
• Relied on Katilyaa Brahmin
• Arthashastra-(a
rulers handbook)
• Tough policies
• Spies
• Assassination
• Bureaucratic
• 4 provinces ruled
by prince
• divided into local
districts to collect
taxes & enforce
law
What was Life Like in Pataliputra?
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Very wealthy
Gold covered pillars
Fountains
Thrones
Parks
Markets
Who was Asoka?
• Chandragupta’s
grandson
• Became king in
269 BCE
• Started out brutal
• Changed after
Battle of Kalinga
• Ruled by
Buddhist
principles
Asoka’s Edicts
• Huge stone pillars
inscribed with new
policies
• Fairness
• Humane treatment
• Nonviolence
• Religious toleration
What else did Asoka Do?
• Extensive roads
• Improved travel
conditions
• Wells & rest
houses
A Period of Turmoil
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Power vacuum after Ashoka’s death
Many kingdoms with overlapping boundaries
MIGRATION, CULTURAL DIFFUSION, TRADE
New peoples, new languages, new ideas
Syncretism-blending of cultures into new form
Gupta Empire
• After 500
years,
Chandra
Gupta reunited
India years
• Expansion &
consolidation
of empire
• Golden Age
Daily Life
• Small villages
• Farmers
• Craftspeople &
merchants
• Mostly patriarchal
• Entire family worked
together
• Irrigation essential
• Taxes paid in labor
on irrigation projects
Golden Age of Gupta Empire
• TRADE
• PEACE and
PROSPERITY
• Arts
• Science
• Astronomy
• Mathematics
Trade Spreads Indian Religions &
Culture:
• Both religions had
become increasingly
removed from the
people
• Hinduism was
dominated by priests
• Buddhist ideal of selfdenial proved difficult
for many to follow
Buddhism & Hinduism Change
• More Popular Form of
Buddhism
– Belief in bodhisattvas
develops—Buddhas who
save humanity
– Mahayana sect—Buddhists
accept new doctrines of
worship/salvation
– Theravada sect—
Buddhists who follow
original teachings of
Buddha
– Wealthy Buddhist
merchants build stupas—
stone structures over relics
A Hindu Rebirth (Get It?)
– Hinduism is remote from
people by time of Mauryan
Empire
– moves toward monotheism;
gods are part of one divine
force
• Brahma—creator of the
world
• Vishnu—preserver of
the world
• Shiva—destroyer of the
world
Achievements of Indian Culture:
Literature & Performing Arts
– Kalidasa—poet &
dramatist, one of India’s
greatest writers
– Skillful & emotionally
stirring plays still
popular
– Madurai writing
academies create
literature; 2,000 Tamil
poems survive
– Drama/dance troupes
gain popularity & travel
widely
Indian Achievements: Astronomy, Math,
Medicine
– Ocean trade leads
to advances in
astronomy
– Indian astronomers
in Gupta Empire
prove world is round
– Mathematicians
develop idea of zero
& decimal system
– Doctors write
medical guidesmake advances in
surgery
Spread of Indian Trade
• Valuable
Resources
– spices,
diamonds,
– Ivory, precious
stones, & good
quality wood
Silk Roads & Indian Ocean Trade
– Overland trade
routes called Silk
Roads connect
Asia & Europe
– Maritime routes
monsoon winds to
connect India east
to China & west to
Arabian Peninsula
& Africa
Effects of Indian Trade
– Increased trade
leads to rise in
banking
– Bankers lend
money to
merchants, careful
of degree of risk
– Increased trade
spreads Indian
culture to other
places
– Trade brings
Hinduism,
Buddhism to other
lands