1. Mauryan and Gupta Empires
First Empires of India
Mauryan and Gupta Empires

2. Warmup Which two major world religions/belief systems began in India?
Hinduism and Buddhism

4. Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta Maurya conquered the remains of Alexander the Great’s kingdom and controlled most of present-day India
Reigned from 321 – 298 BCE
Forced people to pay high taxes, sometimes up to 50% of their income

5. Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka, expanded empire throughout India by war
Battle of Kalinga – Asoka saw the damage of war and converted to Buddhism
Under Asoka unified Northern India and promoted the spread of Buddhism
Taught religious toleration: - acceptance of people who have different beliefs

6. Mauryan Empire Accomplishments During Asoka’s Reign:
Religious Tolerance
Built roads so he could travel to all parts of his empire
Improved communication in the vast empire
Promoted policies of toleration and non-violence

7. Buddhism 2 Sects of Buddhism Theravada: Mahayana: “Way of the Elders”
Most closely follows original beliefs
Mahayana:
“Greater Vehicle”
Available to people from all walks of life

8. Theraveda monk sharing a meal with a tiger
Mahayana Buddhist monks

9. Spread of Buddhism under Asoka
Mauryan Empire
Spread of Buddhism under Asoka

10. Tamil Family Groups
Broke away from the Mauryan Empire after Asoka’s death in 297 BCE
Primarily in southern India
Matriarchal culture: based on the mother
Divided into three kingdoms
Always at war with each other and other groups

11. Vocabulary MATRIARCHAL PATRIARCHAL
The mother is the head of the family
Mostly southern India (Tamil)
PATRIARCHAL
Eldest male is the head of the family
Mostly northern India

12. Gupta Empire No relation to Chandragupta (Mauryan Empire)
Returned India to Hinduism
Expanded India through northern regions

13. Gupta Empire
First Indian Empire that historians have information about daily life
Traded with cities throughout Mediterranean and along the Silk Road
Used marriage to keep alliances and spread the empire
Gupta Empire experienced great advances in art, literature, science and mathematics

14. Classical or “Golden Age” of India
Literature: Kalidasa – poet/playwright
Astronomy: The Earth is round (over a 1000 yrs before Columbus/Europeans!)
Math: developed own numeric system
Concept of Zero
Decimal system

15. Classical or “Golden Age” of India
Science & Medicine:
Classified over 1000 diseases
Surgery (plastic surgery included)
Time: used calendars based on cycles of sun rather than moon
Adopted seven days in a week and 24 hours in a day
After 200 years of civil war, India was finally united under one government

16. Spread of Indian Trade
Silk Road = Caravan route that crossed central Asia, introducing silk from China to Western Asia and onto the Roman Empire (later included more trade goods)

17. Silk Road Video
Silk Road

18. Spread of Indian Trade
Indians made huge profits by acting as middlemen on the Silk Road
Indians would buy goods like silk from the Chinese then sell the good to traders that were traveling to Rome

20. Spread of Indian Trade
Increased trade along the Silk Road also increased and improved the banking system.
Bankers would lend money to merchants & charge high interest rates
Trade items included spices, cotton cloth, ivory, gems, timber, and eventually silk
Indian styles of art, architecture, dance and religion were impacted by Indian traders on Southeast Asia.

21. Create a Culture
“Culture” is a very simple word to represent a large and complex idea
Culture is the social behavior and norms of a society (such as diet, clothing, religion, language, arts, housing, etc.)
You are going to create your own culture!