Transcript Maurya & Gupta Empires

Classical
INDIA:
Maurya and Gupta
Empires
Varna (Social Hierarchy)
Draw
This!
What is a JATI?
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Those with no caste: Untouchables
The Caste
System
SOCIAL
CLASSES=
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
 Purusha’s mouth
 arms
Vaishyas
 legs
 feet
Shudras
The Maurya Empire
321 BCE – 185 BCE
CHANDRAGUPTA
 Chandragupta Maurya unified northern
India. Extremely centralized!
 Divided empire into
provinces & districts
for tax assessments and law
enforcement.
 Feared assassination  food tasters, slept
in different rooms, etc.
 301 BCE  gave up his throne & became
a Jain (religion focusing on complete nonviolence).
Kautilya
 Chandragupta’s advisor.
 Wrote the Arthashastra:
 A guide for the king and his
ministers

Supports royal power.

The great evil in society is anarchy.

Therefore, a single authority is
needed to employ force when
necessary!
Ashoka 304-232 BCE
 Ashoka = most important
ruler of Maurya
Religious conversion
after gruesome
battle of Kalinga
 Religiously tolerant
 Patronized Buddhism
 Put up pillars all over India,
declaring the peaceful intent of his
empire
Mauryan
Empire
under
Ashoka –
HUGE!
Ashoka’s law code
 Written mostly in
Sanskrit, but one was in
Greek and Aramaic –
Cosmopolitan (?)
empire!
 Buddhist principles dominate his laws.
 Focus on: nonviolence, morality, &
religious toleration
Turmoil & a power Vacuum:
220 BCE – 320 CE
The Mauryan Empire gets divided into many
kingdoms
Gupta Empire: 320 CE – 647 CE
Gupta Empire
Chandragupta II was the most
important ruler. (Why that name?)
Profitable trade of cotton & pepper
Guptas were Hindu, not Buddhists
Buddhism began to merge back
within Hinduism (Buddha
became just another Hindu god)
 Less centralized & smaller than
Mauryan
Theater State – Cultural dominance
Empire under
Chandragupta II
Xuanzang: Life in Gupta
India
§ Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the
Silk Roads and visited India in the 5th century.
§ He was following the path
of the Buddha.
§ He reported the people to
be happy, relatively free of
government oppression, and
inclined towards courtesy and
charity. Other references in
the journal, however, indicate
that the caste system was
rapidly assuming its basic features, including
"untouchability," the social isolation of a lowest
class that is doomed to menial labor.
International Trade Routes
during the Guptas
Extensive Trade
spices
Gupta
Art
Greatly influenced
Southeast Asian art &
architecture.
Borobudur, Indonesia
1000 diseases
classified
500 healing
plants identified
Gupta
Achievements
Printed
medical guides
Plastic
Surgery
Medicine
Vaccinations
Gupta
India
C-sections
performed
Decimal
System
Mathematics
Concept
of Zero
PI = 3.1416
Solar
Calendar
Astronomy
The earth
is round
The Decline of the
Guptas
 Invasion by White Huns in the 500s =
end of the Gupta Golden Age
Decline of Gupta empire –
North India broke into many separate
Hindu kingdoms ruled by rajputs
(Hindu princes)
Indian History is marked by a big
debate: Unity vs. Disunity