1. Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.-A.D. 550)
Lesson 3 Powerful Empires Emerge in India

2. Explore the kingdoms that arose across the Deccan.
Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.-A.D. 550)
Lesson 3 Powerful Empires Emerge in India
Learning Objectives
Analyze how Mauryan rulers created a strong central government for their empire.
Explore the kingdoms that arose across the Deccan.
Explain why the period of Gupta rule in India is considered a golden age.
Understand how family and village life shaped Indian society.

3. Key Terms
Chandragupta Maurya
dissent
Asoka
missionaries
golden age
decimal system
joint family
dowry
Established first Indian empire
Ideas that opposed government
Ruled by moral example
People sent on religious mission
Period of great cultural achievement
Numbers based on ten digits
Parents,children, offspring share common dwelling
Payment to the bridegroom

4. The Maurya Empire Builds a Strong Government
Northern India was often a battleground where rival rajahs fought for control of the rich Ganges valley. But in 321 b.c., a young adventurer, Chandragupta Maurya forged the first Indian empire.

5. The Maurya Empire Builds a Strong Government
Chandragupta Forges an Empire
Asoka Governs by Example
Division and Disunity

6. The Maurya Empire Builds a Strong Government
These are the remains of a stupa in Bihar, India, built during the Maurya period.

7. The Maurya Empire Builds a Strong Government
The Mauryan government was a monarchy that used a well-organized royal bureaucracy to manage government services in the empire.

8. Deccan Kingdoms Arise
Like the Gangetic Plain, the Deccan was divided into many kingdoms after the decline of Mauryan power. Each kingdom had its own capital with magnificent temples and bustling workshops. The peoples of the Deccan were Dravidians with very different languages and traditions from the peoples of the north. Over the centuries, Hindu and Buddhist traditions and Sanskrit writings drifted south and blended with local cultures. Deccan rulers, like their North Indian counterparts, generally tolerated all religions as well as the many foreigners who settled in their busy ports.

9. Deccan Kingdoms Arise
Tamil literature is the oldest in India. Early writings were often epics and poems with religious themes. This image shows the blue-skinned Vishnu, one of the three major Hindu gods.

10. A Golden Age Under Gupta Rule
Although many kingdoms flourished in the Deccan, the most powerful Indian states rose to its north. About 500 years after the Mauryas, the Gupta dynasty again united much of India. Gupta emperors organized a strong central government that promoted peace and prosperity. Under the Guptas, who ruled from a.d. 320 to about 540, India enjoyed a golden age, or period of great cultural achievement.

11. A Golden Age Under Gupta Rule
A Time of Peace and Prosperity
Gupta Rule Encourages Learning
Expanding India’s Literature
The Decline of the Gupta Empire

12. A Golden Age Under Gupta Rule
Analyze Maps Maurya and Gupta emperors united much of India under their rule. How did geography limit the northward expansion of both empires? What region of the Indian subcontinent remained separate from both empires?

13. A Golden Age Under Gupta Rule
The ruins of the ancient Buddhist monastery-university at Nalanda. Once a great center of learning in mathematics, medicine, physics, literature, and religion, it was formed about 700 to 600 b.c.

14. Family and Village Life Shape Indian Society
Most Indians were probably not aware of the dazzling courts of the Mauryas or Guptas. The vast majority were peasants who lived in the villages that dotted the Indian landscape. In Indian society, everyday life revolved around the rules and duties associated with caste, family, and village.

15. Family and Village Life Shape Indian Society
Joint Family Structure
Family Duties
Role of Women Changes Over Time
Typical Village Structure
Agriculture and Trade Shape Life

16. Family and Village Life Shape Indian Society
The ancient Indian ideal of a joint family—several generations of family members living under one roof—emphasizes the cultural importance of obligations within families.

17. Quiz: The Maurya Empire Builds a Strong Government
The most important characteristic of Chandragupta’s successful Mauryan government was
A. the secret police he established to conquer neighboring kingdoms.
B. a well-organized bureaucracy of qualified civil servants.
C. a system of democratic local elections that provided people for the royal council.
D. establishing a feudal system where local chiefs owed service to the emperor.

18. Quiz: Deccan Kingdoms Arise
How did the separate Deccan kingdoms stay linked?
A. They bought each other’s goods through trade.
B. They traveled common rivers, which allowed easy communication.
C. They spoke the same languages and practiced the same religions.
D. They traded with the same foreign countries.

19. Quiz: A Golden Age Under Gupta Rule
It is clear that religion influenced Gupta learning and the arts because
A. Hindu religious texts promoted the arts.
B. Gupta calendars displayed great works of art.
C. Gupta literature, sculptures, and paintings often featured gods, goddesses, and religious themes.
D. ancient Sanskrit writings describe how religion influenced Gupta art.

20. Quiz: Family and Village Life Shape Indian Society
The joint family was important to everyday Indian life because
A. it made it easier for each member of the family to learn how to be independent and think for him- or herself.
B. a woman’s parents would be able to stay with their daughter’s family and help care for grandchildren.
C. boys had the opportunity to prepare for their adult roles by copying their older brothers and sisters.
D. each person in the family had specific duties and responsibilities that promoted the good of the whole rather than the individual.