Chapter 3: Ancient Indian Civilizations

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AIM Why was the Gupta Empire known as the
golden age of India? Do Now Hinduism and
Buddhism 1,2 HW Read chapter 4, section 3,
fill in worksheet extra credit Do Kalidasa
worksheet 1-4 and Chandragupta Maurya handout 1-3
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The Mauryan Empire

• Many small kingdoms existed across India in 300s
  BC
• Each kingdom had own ruler no central authority
  united them
• Magadha a dominant kingdom near Ganges
• Strong leader, Chandragupta Maurya gained control
• Began conquering surrounding kingdoms
• Conquests led to founding of Mauryan empire

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Rise of the Mauryan Empire

• Alexander the Great
• Alexander conquered force in northwest India, 326
  BC
• Did not remain in India long
• Battle-weary soldiers wanted to return home, soon
  left India

• Alexanders legacy
• Alexanders conquest inspired Chandragupta Maurya
  
• Seized throne of kingdom of Magadha, 321 BC
• Began Mauryan empire

• Mauryan army
• Chandragupta built immense army, 60,000 soldiers
• Chariots, war elephants
• Began conquering northern India

• Extended empire
• Defeated Seleucus I, 305 BC
• Mauryan empire controlled northern India, 303 BC
• Also controlled much of what is now Afghanistan

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• Rule under Ashoka
• Chandragupta gave up throne, 301 BC, became
  Jainist monk
• Son became emperor, followed by grandson Ashoka
• Mauryan empire reached height under Ashoka
• Through warfare empire expanded, included most of
  India

• Kalinga campaign
• Violence of fighting at Kalinga appalled Ashoka
• Abandoned policy of conquest and converted to
  Buddhism
• Began to promote, spread policy of right conduct,
  Buddhism
• Supported Buddhist missionaries, worked to
  improve lives of his people

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The Mauryan Empire

• Mauryan empire began to decline following death
  of Ashoka, 232 BC
• Sons battled for power, central control weakened
• Distant provinces began to slip away
• Last Mauryan emperor killed by one of generals,
  184 BC
• Mauryan empire lasted 140 years, then collapsed

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The Gupta Empire
India remained divided into small kingdoms for
about 400 years. Then around AD 320, the Gupta
dynasty took over northern India. Under the
Gupta, northern India was reunited, Indian
society prospered, and the religion of Hinduism
grew in popularity.
Gupta power expanded under the heirs of Chandra
Gupta I, and the empire reached its height under
Chandra Gupta II.
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The Gupta Empire

• Chandra Gupta II, ruled from AD 375 to 415
• Further expanded empire, strengthened economy
• Reign was period of prosperity, cultural
  achievement
• Chinese Buddhist monk, Faxian, traveled to India
• Described empire as rich, prosperous, and
  punishments fair

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The Gupta Empire

• Support of Hinduism
• Buddhism prospered, spread during period between
  Mauryan, Gupta empires
• Hinduism lost popularity during this period
• Under Guptas, Hinduism became main religion
• Rulers supported building Hindu temples, promoted
  revival of writings
• Buddhism began to lose influence during this
  period

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I. Economy and Society

• While the highest classes in northern India
  enjoyed luxury, most people barely survived

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I. Economy and Society

• The rajas drew wealth from the farmers who worked
  the land and claimed one-fourth of each harvest

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I. Economy and Society

• In southern India many lived by trading, sending
  luxury goods to the Far East, SW Asia, Africa,
  and Europe

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Life in Gupta India
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• Daily Life
• Growth of trade strengthened economy Gupta
  Empires cities reflected prosperity
• Use of money became more common new group of
  bankers, moneylenders emerged
• Luxury, pleasure for urban rich enjoyed music,
  poetry, art

• Simple Lives
• Most Gupta people led simple lives in small
  villages
• Majority of village dwellers, farmers
• Most villages self-sufficient, but trade between
  villages occurred
• People from different villages got together for
  religious festivals, other events

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Aim How did the caste system shape life in
India?Do Now The caste system in India
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Life in Gupta India

• Social structure
• Most people in ancient India belonged to specific
  caste
• Castes determined jobs, interaction with others
• Number grew, developed rules

• Legal codes
• Legal codes also defined peoples roles
• Laws of Manu, compiled between 200 BC, AD 200
• Defined proper behavior

• Gender
• Also shaped Indian society
• Men had more rights than women
• Patriarchal society, similar to China

• Laws of Manu
• Female child subject to father, female youth to
  husband
• Men expected to treat women with respect
• Abused women could leave

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I. Economy and Society

• Hindu women had few rights, were required to obey
  male relatives, and could not own property or
  study sacred writings

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I. Economy and Society

• In a practice called suttee, widows threw
  themselves on their husbands funeral pyres

Sati (or Suttee) is a rare Indian practice in
which a widow sacrifices her life by throwing
herself onto her deceased husbands funeral pyre.
It is not directly derived from or connected to
Hinduism, although spiritual beliefs play a large
part in its traditional observation
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A Gupta Golden Age
Like the Han period in China, the Gupta period
was a golden age of cultural and scientific
achievements.
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II. Cultural Achievements

• The stories of the Panchatantra, or Five Books,
  were animal fables intended to instruct the sons
  of the royalty

One of India's most influential contributions to
world literature, the Panchatantra consists of
five books of animal fables and magic tales (some
87 stories in all) that were compiled between the
third and fifth centuries AD. It is believed that
even then the stories were already ancient. The
tales' self-proclaimed purpose is to educate the
sons of royalty.
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II. Cultural Achievements

• The Panchatantra has been translated into more
  languages than any other book except the Bible

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II. Cultural Achievements

• Plays were often performed outside and contained
  tragic scenes, but ended happily

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A. Art and Architecture

• The only paintings that survive are murals in
  caves depicting the Buddha and his followers

The Ajanta Caves. Ancient Paintings of Buddhist
India
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Art and Architecture

• Religious
• Much of art, architecture of Gupta period
  religious
• Magnificent Hindu, Buddhist temples built across
  India
• Hindu temples huge towers, covered with carvings

• Buddhist temples
• Included stupas, temples with domed roofs
• Built to house sacred items from life of Buddha
• Like Hindu temples, covered with detailed carvings

• Most spectacular architecture
• Temples, monuments carved out of rock and cliff
  faces
• Most famous, cave temples at Ajanta and Ellora
• Intricately carved columns include halls, rooms,
  windows

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A. Art and Architecture

• Architects designed and built great Hindu temples
  and Asoka built thousands of Buddhist stupas

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Art and Architecture

• Great works of art
• Paintings of the time often portray beautiful,
  graceful Indians wearing fine jewelry, stylish
  clothing
• Many of finest paintings found in Buddhist and
  Hindu temples

• Temple paintings
• Hindu artists decorated walls, entrances with
  devas, aspects of Brahman
• Buddhists covered plaster walls, ceilings with
  scenes from life of Buddha
• Some of finest examples of Buddhist art found in
  Ajanta cave temples

• Statues
• Made for temples
• Buddhist temples, statues of Buddha, kings
• Hindu temples, statues of Siva, Vishnu, other
  devas

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B. Education

• Education was only for higher caste children and
  they studied the Vedas, astronomy, mathematics,
  warfare, and government

The ancient Gurukul system of education where the
guru imparts knowledge to the disciples
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B. Education

• Nalanda was a Buddhist university where thousands
  of students attended for free

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Science and Technology

• Metallurgy
• Ancient Indians pioneers of science of working
  with metals
• Indian iron valued for hardness, purity
• Gupta metalworkers built famous Iron Pillar, near
  Delhi
• Iron Pillar is resistant to rust
• Still being studied by scholars today

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Mathematicians understood the concepts of
  abstract and negative numbers, zero, and infinity

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Aryabhata (late AD 400s) was one of the first to
  use algebra and to solve quadratic equations

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Science and Technology

• Astronomy
• Indians identified seven planets in solar system
• Could predict eclipses of sun, moon
• Aryabhata, one of most famous Indian astronomers
• Correctly argued that Earth rotates on axis,
  revolves around sun
• Knew Earth was sphere, calculated circumference
  with remarkable accuracy

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Indian astronomers identified seven planets,
  understood the earths rotation, and predicted
  eclipses

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D. Medicine

• Indian rulers built free hospitals for the people

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D. Medicine

• Indian physicians understood the importance of
  the spinal cord, could set bones and performed
  plastic surgery

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D. Medicine

• Physicians practiced cleanliness before
  operations and disinfected wounds, a procedure
  not practiced in Western medicine until recent
  times

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D. Medicine

• Physicians developed inoculation - infecting a
  person with a mild form of a disease to prevent a
  more serious form

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D. Medicine

• They successfully inoculated people against
  smallpox, something not accomplished in the West
  until the 1700s