1. Rise of the Mauryan Empire Remember: Geography kept out invaders, but did not unify India. Rulers under the Magadha kingdom were the first to unity India. Next kingdom to come to power was the Mauryans. Chandragupta Maurya established this empire that lasted about 150 years.

2. Chandragupta Maurya Made Patalipura into a beautiful city (located near the Ganges River) Raised an army of 600,000 soldiers who were equipped with thousands of chariots and elephants. Army united northern India Established a rigid bureaucracy to carry out his commands. Standardized weights and measurements; established standards for physicians

3. Asoka (came to power around 270 B.C.) Chandragupta’s grandson Even greater ruler Fought bloody wars to increase the size of his kingdom. Enlarged the Empire until it included all of India except the southern tip of the subcontinent. (AKA—the first imperial dynasty to hold nearly all of India) Became a Buddhist when he was sick of all the bloodshed Spread the faith of Buddhism and reversed many of the policies of those before him.

4. Asoka’s Empire How did he unite a diverse empire? Improved living conditions Planted trees Wells were dug Rest houses along trade routes Animal rightist—passed laws to those who were cruel to animals and built animal hospitals After his death, the empire began to split apart due to quarrelling of his sons.

5. Gupta Rulers (300 to 550 A.D.) New dynasty emerged to do the decline of Buddhism and growth of Hinduism. Around 300 A.D.—Gupta family came to power Chandra Gupta I—founder Empire spread due to conquest and intermarriage Empire included all of northern India

6. Gupta Rule Indian civilization flourished Favored Hinduism but allowed Buddhism; however Hinduism is the dominant religion “Golden Age”  early years of Gupta rule where the Indian civilization flourished Chandra Gupta II Progress made in the arts Gupta political system was less centralized than the Mauryans’ government and gave much power to the local rulers. Skanda Gupta—last Gupta king who drained the treasury due to costly wars.

7. Golden Age Art and Literature Arts (architecture, murals, statues) thrived under Chandra Gupta II Kalidasa ʼ s famed Sanskrit plays, poems include Sakuntala love story Mathematics, Science, and Metallurgy Indians invented our numeral and decimal systems, symbol for zero A mathematician figured length of year, value of pi Doctors expanded Ayurvedic medicine, world’s oldest medical system Artisans developed advanced metallurgy (metal working) - included 23-foot iron pillar over Delhi in A.D. 400 - no others made a piece of iron as large until 1,000 years later Trade Spreads Indian Culture Gupta India profited from foreign trade by selling cotton, ivory - bought items such as silk from China; resold to traders going west Traders and missionaries spread Indian culture, beliefs - Hinduism spread to parts of Southeast Asia - Buddhism spread to Central Asia, Sri Lanka, China, Southeast Asia