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

3. Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta Maurya conquered the remains of Alexander the Great’s kingdom and controlled most of present-day India
Forced people to pay high taxes, sometimes up to 50%

4. Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka, expands empire throughout India by war
Battle of Kalinga – Asoka sees the damage of war and converts to Buddhism
*Under Asoka unified Northern India and promoted the spread of Buddhism
Taught Religious Toleration: - acceptance of people who have different beliefs

5. Mauryan Empire Accomplishments During Asoka’s Reign
Religious Toleration
Built roads so he could travel to all parts of his empire
Improved communication in the vast empire
Demonstrated concern for Asoka’s subjects
Promoted policies of toleration and non-violence

6. Vocabulary Religious Toleration
Acceptance of people who held different religious beliefs

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

8. Tamil Family Groups Broke away after Asoka’s death
Primarily in southern India
*Matriarchal culture based on the mother
Divided into three kingdoms
Always at war with each other and other groups

9. Vocabulary *MATRIARCHAL PATRIARCHAL
The mother was the head of the family
*Mostly southern India (Tamil)
PATRIARCHAL
Eldest male was the head of the family
Mostly northern India

10. Gupta Empire No relation to Chandragupta (Mauryan Empire)
Returns India to Hinduism
Expands India through northern regions

11. 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
*Indians experienced great advances in art, literature, science and mathematics

12. *Classical or “Golden Age” of India
Literature: Kalidasa – poet/playwright
*Astronomy: Round Earth!! (over a 1000 yrs before Columbus/Europeans!)
Math: developed the “Arabic # system”
*concept of Zero
Decimal system

13. Classical or “Golden Age” of India
*Science & Medicine:
Classified over a 1000 diseases
surgery (plastic surgery too)
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 is finally united under one government!!!

14. Spread of Indian Trade
*Silk Road – Caravan route that crossed central Asia, introducing silk from China to Western Asia and onto the Roman Empire

15. Spread of Indian Trade
*Silk Road was used to trade silk from China to western Asia and on to Rome
*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

17. Spread of Indian Trade
*Increased trade along the Silk Road also increased banking system.
Bankers would lend money to merchants & charge high interest rates
Trade items such as 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.