Transcript The Gupta Empire

"In the history of the world there
have been thousands of kings and
emperors who called themselves
'their highnesses,' 'their
majesties,' and 'their exalted
majesties' and so on. They shone
for a brief moment, and as
quickly disappeared. But Ashoka
shines and shines brightly like a
bright star, even unto this day."
H.G. Wells
Empires played a less prominent role in India
 In the Indus River valley flourished the largest of
the First Civilizations (The cities of Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro – urban planning)
 But in the Indus valley, there was little evidence
of any central political authority
 At its demise by 1500 BCE, creation of a new
civilization along the Ganges River
 Scholars debate the role of the Aryans, a
pastoral Indo-European people, and whether
they invaded and destroyed or were already a
part of the Indus Valley population

 By
600 BCE, the classical civilization of South
Asia began to take shape in northern India
 But emerged as a fragmented collection of
towns and cities with diverse political
structures
 And a range of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic
diversity due to endless variety of peoples
migrating from Central Asia across mountain
passes into India
 The source of an identity in the midst of
diversity was a distinctive religion (Hinduism)
Linguistic Map
 Northwestern
India had been briefly ruled by
Persian Empire
 Northwestern India and been briefly
conquered by Alexander the Great
 Persian and Greek influences encouraged the
first and largest of India’s short experiments
with empire building
“Surrender of Porus to the Emperor Alexander”
 With
a population of perhaps 50 million
 A large military force (reported 600,000
infantry soldiers - 30,000 cavalry - 8,000
chariots - and 9,000 elephants)
 Civilian bureaucracy with various ministries
and spies
 State also operated many industries –
spinning, weaving, mining, shipbuilding, and
armaments
 Taxes on trade, herds, land (from which the
monarch claimed a quarter or more of the
crop)
 Left
a record of his activities and thinking in
his edicts carved on rocks and pillars (Pillars
of Ashoka)
 Reign began in a ruthless fashion of conquest
and expansion
 But a particularly bloody battle, the Battle of
Kalinga, was a turning point
-Disgusted by the violence and carnage,
Ashoka converted to Buddhism
 Adopted
a more peaceful approach to
government
 Encouraged nonviolence and tolerance
 Worked for the happiness and well-being of his
subjects
 Abandoned the royal hunts
 Ended animal sacrifices in the capital
 Eliminated most meat from the royal menu
 Generously supported Buddhist monasteries as
well as the building of stupas (shrines erected
by Buddhists which housed relics of important
Buddhists)
Ashoka’s law code
 Written mostly in
Sanskrit, but one was in
Greek and Aramaic –
Cosmopolitan (diverse) empire
 Buddhist principles dominate his laws.
 Focus on: nonviolence, morality, &
religious toleration
Note the pillar on the left!
 Ordered
the digging of wells, the planting of
shade trees, and the building of rest stops
along the empire’s major highways (integrating
the kingdom’s economy)
 But still retained the power to punish
wrongdoing and the death penalty remained
 Attempted to develop a moral code for the
diverse empire
 After Ashoka’s death, political fragmentation
returned with competing regional states
Buddhist symbol - the Dharma wheel – representing
the teachings of the Buddha
Political Fragmentation
 Another
short-lived experiment in empire
building in South Asia
 A golden age of Hindu culture
 Mathematicians developed the concept of
zero, the decimal system, and the concept of
infinity
 Scientists experimented with vaccinations
 Artists created beautiful paintings in the
caves of Ajanta and great works of literature
in Sanskrit, the holy language of the Hindu
religion
Gupta Rulers
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
 But
India was similar to Western Europe after
the collapse of the Roman Empire
 Political fragmentation was more common
than unity
 Perhaps India’s tremendous cultural diversity
was the reason
 Also frequent invasions from Central Asia,
which regularly smashed states that might
have emerged as empire builders
 And India’s social system known as the caste
system increased local loyalties
 But
a vibrant economy encouraged trade and
commerce
 India was a focal point of an extensive
network of trade in the Indian Ocean basin
 Its cotton textile industry supplied cloth
throughout the Afro-Eurasian world
 Strong guilds of merchants and artisans
provided political leadership in towns and
cities
 Wealth from commerce patronized the
activities of artists and architects
 Creativity in religious thinking (from Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism emerged)
 Great advances in mathematics and science,
especially astronomy
 The
absence of a consistent imperial unity did
not prevent the evolution of a lasting
civilization
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
 Questions:
 Why
were centralized empires so much less
prominent in India than in China?
 Compare and contrast the process of empire
building in India and the Roman Empire.
 How did the religious experience shape the
political reality in South Asia?