1. Guptas and The Caste System
by: Alan Mather

2. Background Info Northern India
Around 500 years after the Mauryan Empire
“Golden Age of India”
C.E.

3. Chandragupta Ruled 320-335 CE King in Magdha
Married the Licchhavi Princess Kumaradevi
United the kingdoms, started the Gupta Empire
Had a mine rich with iron ore
Had a strong army using cavalry
Conquered some of northern India

4. Samudragupta
Conquered the rest of northern India and some of southern India
Donated lots of money, especially to education
Musician and a poet

5. Chandragupta II His older brother was next in line
The brother was kidnapped
Chandragupta II killed the kidnapper and his brother to take the throne.
Extended territory to Arabian sea
Strengthened the navy
Donated money to hospitals and orphanages
The height of the Guptan Empire

6. Kumaragupta

7. Skandagupta Last sovereign ruler of the Gupta empire
Fought off a Hun invasion

8. Guptan Rule Spheres of Influence
Kushan and Saka kingdoms (Northwest India)
Ceylon
Used defeated rulers as vassal princes
Capital: Pataliputra

9. Culture Experienced little outside influence
Great sculptures and architecture
Writing
Dramas
Kalidasa- “Shakespeare of Sanskrit letters”

10. Education
Jain and Buddhist monasteries, and Brahmanical schools were supported by Guptan kings
Studied religious texts, rhetoric, prose and poetic composition, grammar, logic, medicine, and metaphysics.

11. Math and Astronomy Aryabhatta- Guptan Mathematician Infinity and Zero
Estimated pi to four digits
Earth is not flat
Infinity and Zero
Base 10 number system
Current symbols for 1-9
Gravity
Identified planets and locations for horoscopes

13. Gupta’s Caste System

14. Modern Caste system

15. The Fall of the Guptas
The empire had to deal with domestic conflicts, after the death of Skandagupta.

16. Bibliography The book http://www.ancient.eu/Gupta_Empire/

17. Pictures Bibliography
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