Transcript Empires of South Asia

Empires of South Asia
CHAPTER 8, SECTION 2
The Maurya Empire
 Founded in 321 BCE by
Chandragupta Maurya
 The Maurya dynasty
ruled India for 140 years
 Chandragupta’s
grandson, Asoka, ruled
from about 269 BCE to
232 BCE and brought the
Maurya Empire to the
height of its power.
Asoka Maurya
 Early in Asoka’s reign he fought many wars to expand
the territory of his empire.
 More than 100,000 men died in the fighting.
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Sickened by this slaughter, Asoka converted to Buddhism and
renounced violence.
 Asoka preached peace and religious tolerance in his
empire.
 To spread Buddhism, Asoka ordered thousands of
stupas, or shrines containing the remains of the Buddha,
to be build.
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Asoka visited these shrines and encouraged others to do the same.
 Asoka also sent missionaries to China and Southeast
Asia, making Buddhism a major world religion.
Small Kingdoms
 After Asoka’s death in 232 BCE the Maurya Empire
fell apart.
 During the next 500 years, the northern plain of
India became a battleground for northern invaders.
 These invading groups (Bactrians, Pahlavas,
Kushans) each contributed to the cultural diversity of
the north.
 In the south, Dravidian culture remained largely
unaffected by these invasions and continued to
slowly evolve its culture.
The Gupta Empire
 In 320 CE, an ambitious
young ruler named
Chandragupta I united the
north.
 He founded the Gupta
dynasty which lasted from
320 CE to 535 CE.
 Under the Guptas, India
enjoyed a golden age of
peace, prosperity, and
increased trade.
 The Gupta Empire was
overrun by invasions by the
Huns.
Muslim Expansion into India
 In the mid-600s, the religion of Islam rose in the Middle
East.
 These Muslim invaders, including the Mongols, Afghans,
Turks, and Persians, swept through northern India and
set up their own kingdoms.
 Around 1200, Muslim rulers set up a capital at Delhi.
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For 300 years, these Delhi ruler, or sultans, governed much of
northern and central India.
 The Muslim rulers did not force people to convert to
their religion but taxed Hindus and Buddhists.
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Some people converted to Islam in order to acquire high-ranking
governmental positions.
A Clash of Beliefs
 These Islamic invaders were never absorbed into Hindu
culture because differences between Muslims and Hindus
were too great.
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Muslims are monotheistic while Hindus are polytheistic.
Muslims believe that all people are equal before God while Hindus
believed in the caste system.
Muslims had the strict laws of the Koran while Hindus tolerated many
different beliefs.
To Muslims, cattle were a source of food while Hindus believed cattle
were sacred animals.
 Such differences led to conflict and Muslim armies smashed
Hindu temples, destroying images of Hindu gods and
goddesses.
 Slowly over time Hindus and Muslims learned to live with one
another and their cultures began to intertwine.
The Mughal Empire
 The Mongols, a group of invaders
from central Asia, conquered
northern India in 1526.
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The Mongols were led by Babur
who founded the Mughal Empire.
 The Mughal Empire reached its
height under the rule of Babur’s
grandson, Akbar.
 Akbar realized that to rule India
he had to lead Hindus as well as
Muslims.
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Adopting a policy of religious
toleration, he married a Hindu
princess and abolished the special
tax on Hindus.
He also appointed Hindus to jobs
in the government.
The Mughal Empire
 Under the Mughals,
Islamic and Hindu styles
of art and architecture
blended to create a
unique Indian style.
 Akbar’s grandson, Shah
Jahan, built the Taj
Mahal in honor of his
wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Decline of the Mughal Empire
 Mughal power weakened in the 1700s.
 Akbar’s successors ended the policy of religious toleration,
leading many Hindu princes to revolt.
 Civil wars among Muslim princes also weakened Mughal
power.
 European invaders began to arrive in India in larger numbers.