Maurya

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Indian Empires Maurya, Kushan, and Gupta Empires
Cultural Cohesion 1500 B.C.E.-600 C.E.
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Lets Talk About Geography

• What makes India a subcontinent?
• How would the geography of India play a vital
  role in the emergence of powerful civilizations
  and empires?
• Clip

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Indian Subcontinent

• A place is classed as a subcontinent when it is
  part of a continent but is considered either
  geographically or politically as an independent
  entity or it is smaller than a continent. 
• India is often called a subcontinent because it
  is a distinct landmass, not just a country.
• India was once a continent (or at least a very
  large island). Due to continental drift, India
  moved north and became part of Asia. India is
  now joined with the continent of Asia, but is a
  distinct area separated by the Himalayas.
  Originally it was a separate geologic plate, but
  has collided and merged with Asia.
• The Indian subcontinent includes the core lands
  of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh,
  Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are
  often included as well. 
• India is diversified in Religions,Cultures,Customs
  ,Traditions and the Topography

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Aryan Migration

• pastoral ? depended on their cattle.
• warriors ? horse-drawn chariots.

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Buddha

• Siddhartha Gautama from the foothills of the
  Himalayas, founded a new religion.
• Gautama was born a Jew about 566 BC
• He saw for the first time in his protected
  environment, a sick person, an older person, and
  a dead person.
• Gautama left a happy life to discover the realm
  of life where there is neither suffering or
  death.

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Buddha

• He meditated and fasted. For 48 days he
  meditated in one place. While sitting under a
  fig tree believed he understood the cure for
  suffering and sorrow he was now Buddha.
• The Four Noble Truths are the heart of Buddhism
• All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow.
• The cause of suffering is the desire for things
  that are really illusions, such as riches, power
  and long life.
• The only cure for suffering is to overcome
  desire.
• The way to overcome desire is to follow the
  Eightfold Path

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The Eightfold Path This is the path to end
suffering.

• Right Understanding
• Right Action
• Right Speech
• Right Thought
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration

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Buddhism

• Final goal of Buddhism is nirvana, union with the
  universe and release from the cycle of rebirth.
• Video Clip

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Buddhism

• Buddha preached in Northern India and his
  teachings spread.
• Buddhas followers gathered his teachings into the
  Tripitaka.
• Gradually Buddhism split into two parts, schools
• Theravada Buddhism. Closely followed Buddhas
  original teachings.
• Mahayana Buddhism. Made following Buddhism easier
  for the ordinary people.
• Buddhism declined in India, being swallowed up by
  Hinduism which made Buddha another Hindu god.

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Differences in Buddhism and Hinduism

• Buddhism and Hinduism agree on karma, dharma,
  moksha and reincarnation.
• They are different in that Buddhism rejects the
  priests of Hinduism, the formal rituals, and the
  caste system. Buddha urged people to seek
  enlightenment through meditation.

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Hinduism and Buddhism Compared
Similarities Differences
Hinduism and Buddhism Karma Dharma Moksha Reincarnation Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal rituals, and the caste system. Buddha urged people to seek enlightenment through meditation
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Assignment

• Read pages 175-183
• Create a chart and use GRAPES to complete chart

Mauryan Empire Gutpa Empire
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The Empires of India

• Establishment of States

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Fortunes of Empire in India

• By 700 B.C.E., wars of expansion had resulted in
  consolidation of several large regional kingdoms
  that dominated much of the subcontinent.
• However, it is believed that none of these
  earlier kingdoms were able to establish hegemony
  over the others.
• During the classical era(324-650 B. C.E.), the
  Mauryan, Kushan, and the Gupta Empires founded
  centralized, imperial states that embraced much
  of India, but neither empire survived long enough
  to establish centralized rule of the entire
  subcontinent as a lasting feature of Indian life.

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Unification of India

• The strive for unification of India came partly
  as a result of intrusion from beyond the
  subcontinent.
• About 520 B.C.E. the Persian emperor Darius
  crossed the Hindu Kush, conquered parts of NW
  India, and made what is now Punjab in northern
  Pakistan part of the Achaemenid Empire. Persian
  ways were embraced.
• Almost two centuries later in 327 B.C.E., after
  overrunning the Persian empire, Alexander of
  Macedon crossed the Indus River and crushed the
  state he found there.

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Maurya Empire

• 324 B.C.E.- 184 B.C.E.

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Mauryan Empire

• Alexander and his armies did not stay in NW India
  and his withdrawal created a vacuum by removing
  the existing states.
• During the late 320s B.C.E., an ambitious
  adventurer named Chandragupta Maurya exploited
  that opportunity and laid the foundations for the
  Mauryan Empire, the first state to bring a
  centralized and unified government to most of the
  subcontinent.
• He also continued on and captured the Bactrian
  lands and eventually all of northern India from
  the Indus to the Ganges.

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The Maurya Empire
324 BCE 184 BCE
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Chandragupta 321 BCE-298 BCE

• Belonged to Vaishya or Shudra class
• Divided his empire into provinces, then
  districts for tax assessments and law
  enforcement.
• He feared assassination ? food tasters, slept in
  different rooms, etc.
• Like Persia and China, a bureaucratic
  administrative system enabled him to implement
  policies throughout the state

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Kautilya

• Chandraguptas advisor.
• Brahmin caste.
• Wrote The Treatise on Material Gain or the
  Arthashastra.
• A guide for the king and his ministers
• Supports royal power.
• The great evil in society is anarchy.
• Therefore, a single authority is needed to
  employ force when necessary

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Succession

• Tradition holds that Chandragupta abdicated his
  throne to become a monk and eventually starved
  himself to death.
• Whether this is true or not, it is certain that
  his son succeeded him in 297 B.C.E. and added
  most of southern India to the growing empire.
• The high point of the Mauryan Empire came during
  the reign of Chandraguptas grandson, Asoka.

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Asokas reign (268-232 B.C.E.)

• Asokas first major undertaking was to conquer a
  region of east-central India known as Kalinga.
• By Asokas estimate 100,000 died and over 150,000
  were removed from their lands.
• Some scholars debate that because of the bloody
  campaign, Asoka converted to Buddhsim.

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Asokas Empire based in Sarnath
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Page 176

• Excerpt from Ashoka edicts
• How would you describe him as a ruler?
• Would you have been obedient towards him?

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Asokas law code

• Edicts scattered in more than 30 places in
  India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan.
• Written mostly in Sanskrit, but one was in
  Greek and Aramaic.
• 10 rock edicts.
• Each pillar stupa is 40-50 high.
• Buddhist principles dominate his laws.
• All living things

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One of Asokas Stupas
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Asokas rule

• As a result of Asokas policies, most of India
  was integrated and benefited from an expanding
  economy and a stable government.
• He encouraged trade by building roads, some over
  1000 miles long, to link India to the West.
  Along the roads trees were planted, wells were
  dug, and inns were established.
• Asoka died in 232 B.C.E. and decline set in
  almost immediately. Many scholars believe the
  excessive pay and costs of administration helped
  to pave the way and by 185 B.C.E., the Mauryan
  Empire had disappeared.

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Turmoil a power Vacuum220 BCE 320 CE
Tamils
The Maurya Empire is divided into many kingdoms.
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Transition

• Although the Mauryan Empire came to an end, India
  did not crumble into anarchy. Regional kingdoms
  emerged most notably were the Bactrians, Kushans,
  and the Tamil Nadu
• The Indo-Greek Bactrian nomads controlled a large
  territory in northern India. Bactria was a
  thriving commercial center linking lands from
  China to the west.
• This region became a cultural crossroads of the
  now emerging silk road. Most notably was the
  Bamiyan Valley in modern-day Afghanistan.

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Kushan Empire

• 30 C.E. 375 C.E.

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The Kushan Empire The Forgotten Empire
3 CE 375 CE
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The Kushan Empire

• The Kushans eventually conquered the Bactrians
  and ruled much of northern India and central Asia
  from about 1C.E. to 300 C.E.
• Under Kanishka, the most prominent of the Kushan
  emperors, commerce resumed and the silk road
  network again flowed between Persia (Sassanid)
  and Han China, but imperial rule was not firmly
  established.

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Kanishka (127-151)

• King of Kings
• Son of God, Shah
• Uzbekistan to southern India- Capital city-
  Peshwar and Mathura
• Raw silk from China made into fine linens
• Pepper, Peacocks, Spice
• 700 feet high stupa- Buddhas remains

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Kushan Empire

• Trade, trade, trade
• Buddhism flourished and brought to China
• Open-minded, multicultural empire
• Arts, literature, and science
• Knowledge of Plants, medicines, etc.
• Peace, trade, and tolerance

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Decline

• the Kushan empire split into western and eastern
  halves. The Western Kushans (in Afghanistan) were
  soon subjugated by the Persian Sassanid Empire
  and lost Bactria and other territories.
• Then in the mid 4th century they were subjugated
  by the Gupta Empire under Samudragupta.
• These remnants of the Kushan empire were
  ultimately wiped out in the 5th century by the
  invasions of the White Huns, and later the
  expansion of Islam.

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Objective

• I can identify the trade routes, ruling
  dynasties, literature, and political philosophies
  of rulers during ancient India.

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Smart Start

• Why is India considered a SubContinent?

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Review

• Dravidian People are from what area of India?
• Where is the Sassanid Empire located?
• Where is the Bactria Empire located?

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Mauraya Empire

• 1.What are two things Kautilya did to help the
  mauraya Empire?
• What religion did Ashoka believe in?
• Describe Ashoka as a ruler
• Pataliputra is the capital.describe it.

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Trade Routes during the Guptas
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The Gupta Empire

• 320 C.E.- 550 C.E.

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The Gupta Dynasty

• Like the Mauryas, the Guptas based their state in
  the center of northern India near the Ganges.
• The new empire arose on the foundations laid by
  Chandra Gupta (Not related to Chandragupta
  Maurya) who established a kingdom around the year
  320 C.E.
• His successors, Samundra Gupta and Chandra Gupta
  II conquered many of the regional kingdoms of
  India and established tributary alliances.

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Gupta Empire 324 CE 550 CE
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Gupta Rulers

• Chandra Gupta I
• r. 320 335 CE
• Great King of Kings
•  Samudragupta
• 335-375 CE
• Son of Chandra Gupta I
• Chandra Gupta II
• r. 375 - 415 CE
• Profitable trade with the Mediterranean
  world
• Hindu revival.
• Huns invade 450 CE

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Fa-Hsien Life in Gupta India

• Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the Silk
  Road and visited India in the 5c.
• He was following the path of the Buddha.
• He reported the people to be happy,
  relatively free of government oppression, and
  inclined towards courtesy and charity.
  Other references in the journal, however,
  indicate that the caste system was rapidly
  assuming its basic features, including
  "untouchability," the social isolation of a
  lowest class that is doomed to menial labor.

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Trade Routes during the Guptas
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Extensive Trade 4c
spices
silks
cotton goods
spices
rice wheat
horses
gold ivory
gold ivory
cotton goods
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Kalidasa

• The greatest of Indian poets.
• His most famous play was Shakuntala.
• During the reign of Chandra Gupta II.

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GuptaArt
Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art
architecture.
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Gupta Achievement
1000 diseasesclassified
500 healingplants identified
Printedmedicinal guides
Kalidasa
Literature
Medicine
PlasticSurgery
GuptaIndia
Inoculations
C-sectionsperformed
SolarCalendar
Astronomy
Mathematics
DecimalSystem
The earthis round
PI 3.1416
Conceptof Zero
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Decline of women and status

• Lost right for property
• Barred from education
• Equivalent to lowest caste shudra
• Expected to obey father, husband, son, etc
• Early..early marriage (protect virginity)
• Cremate herself at husbands funeral (sati)
• Upper class women..little more freedom..WHY?
• Could join Jainist or Buddhist community

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Gupta Decline

• Unlike Asoka and the Mauryan,the Gupta left local
  government, administration, and policy in the
  hands of their allies. (NOT centralized. THEATER
  STATE..page 178)
• Gupta administrative talents were not a match for
  the White Huns, a nomadic people of Central Asia
  who occupied Bactria and eventually moved south
  across the Hindu Kush.
• Imperial government survived only a short time in
  India. India would be overtaken by Muslim groups
  in the 7th century but not until the
  establishment of the Mughal Dynasty in the 16
  century did any state rule as much of India as
  the Mauryan or the Gupta.

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Gupta Empire 324 CE 550 CE
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Background on the Mahabharata. pg177

• The Mahabharata has existed in various forms for
  well over two thousand years
• It existed in the form of popular stories of
  Gods, kings, and seers retained, retold, and
  improved by priests living in shrines, ascetics
  living in retreats or wandering about, and by
  traveling bards, minstrels, dance-troupes, etc.
• Later, after about 350 CE, it came to be a
  unified, sacred text of 100,000 stanzas written
  in Sanskrit, distributed throughout India by
  kings and wealthy patrons, and declaimed from
  temples.
• Even after it became a famous Sanskrit writing it
  continued to exist in various performance media
  in many different local genres of dance and
  theater throughout India and then Southeast Asia.
• Finally, it came to exist, in numerous literary
  and popular transformations in many of the
  non-Sanskrit vernacular languages of India and
  Southeast Asia, which (with the exception of
  Tamil, a language that had developed a classical
  literature in the first millennium BCE) began
  developing recorded literatures shortly after
  1000 CE.

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• The Mahabharata was one of the two most important
  factors that created the "Hindu" culture of India
  (the other was the other all-India epic, the
  Ramaya?a, pronounced approximately as
  Raa-MEYE-a-na), and the Mahabharata and Ramaya?a
  still exert tremendous cultural influence
  throughout India and Southeast Asia.
• But the historical importance of the Mahabharata
  is not the main reason to read the Mahabharata.
  Quite simply, the Mahabharata is a powerful and
  amazing text that inspires awe and wonder. It
  presents sweeping visions of the cosmos and
  humanity and intriguing and frightening glimpses
  of divinity in an ancient narrative that is
  accessible, interesting, and compelling for
  anyone willing to learn the basic themes of
  India's culture.
• The Mahabharata definitely is one of those
  creations of human language and spirit that has
  traveled far beyond the place of its original
  creation and will eventually take its rightful
  place on the highest shelf of world literature
  beside Homer's epics, the Greek tragedies, the
  Bible, Shakespeare, and similarly transcendent
  works.
• Song

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• Bhagavad-Gita
• Found in the Mahabharahata
• 700 verses of scripture written in Sanskrit.
• addresses the contradiction between duty to
  society and duty to ones own soul.
• Bhagavad-Gita suggests that this contradiction
  can be resolved when one is aware that any form
  of disciplined action taken without regard for
  personal benefit is a service to the gods.

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?

• Why is 1500 to 500 BC Called the Vedic Age?