Gupta Empire

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Gupta Empire
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Gupta Empire

• After the decline of the Mauryan Empire, India
  remained primarily Buddhist for 500 years.
• Under the rule of Candra Gupta I, India became
  unified and prosperous again.

• Gupta rulers spread Hinduism in their empire
  through the building of temples and the promotion
  of Hindu writings and rituals.
• Widespread religious tolerance was encouraged for
  Buddhists and Jainists.

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• Gupta Empire
• Chandra Gupta (no relation), oversaw a great
  flowering of Indian civilization and Hindu
  culture
• A. Chandra Gupta Builds an Empire
• 1. power base along the Ganges
• 2. Great King of Kings in 320ad
• 3. son, Samudra Gupta took over in 335ad
• 4. Samudra Gupta was warlike, ruled for 40
  years

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Time Line

• 320 BC Candragupta Maurya becomes the first
  Mauryan emperor.
• 301 BC Candragupta Maurya relinquishes the throne
  to become a Jainist monk.
• 270 BC Asoka becomes the second Mauryan emperor.
• 261 BC Asokas empire gains great power, and he
  leaves to become a Buddhist.
• AD 375 Candra Gupta I invades and conquers
  northern India and brings Hinduism, prosperity,
  and a strict caste system back into popular
  culture.

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Gupta Rulers

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

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• GUPTA EMPIRE 320 CE
• Produced no rulers who were as influential as
  Chandragupta Maurya or Asoka, but Gupta rulers
  had a greater impact on Indian society
• Expanded influence through negotiation and
  intermarriage (instead of warfare)
• Leaders claimed that gods wanted them to rule
• Hinduism was valued over Buddhism
• Created Indias golden age
• Spread uniform law codes
• Sponsored government service projects
• Patrons of art and education

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The Gupta Empire is Established

• Chandra Gupta Builds an Empire
• Chandra Gupta marries into kingship in north
  India in A.D. 320
• Starts Gupta EmpireIndias second empire
  flowering of Indian civilization, especially
  Hindu culture (see next slide)
• His son Samudra Gupta expands empire with conquest

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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 is Established

• Daily Life in India
• Majority of Indians are farmers entire family
  raises crops together
• Families are patriarchalheaded by the eldest
  male
• Farmers have to contribute work to government and
  pay heavy taxes
• Some Tamil families are matriarchalled by mother
  rather than father

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• Daily Life in India
• 1. lived in small villages
• 2. majority of the people were farmers
• 3. northern India were families patriarchal
• 4. droughts, irrigation, taxes on
  water, and crops
• 5. southern India--- matriarchal

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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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Main Idea 2Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in
their empire.
A New Hindu Empire

• The Gupta dynasty took over India around AD 320.
• Under the Guptas, India was again united and it
  prospered.
• Hinduism became Indias dominant religion.
  However, the Gupta rulers also supported the
  religious beliefs of Buddhism and Jainism.

Gupta Society

• Gupta society reached its high point around 375,
  during the rule of Candra Gupta II.
• The empire had a strong economy, its people
  prospered, and fine works of art and literature
  were created.
• The Gupta kings believed in the strict social
  order of the Hindu caste system and womens roles
  were limited.

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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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Candra Gupta II
Under Candra Gupta II, the Gupta Empire reached
the height of its power. It spread across
northern India and prospered.
Growth
The economy boomed, allowing citizens the time
and money to create great works of art and
literature.
Economy and Culture
The Caste System
It was believed that keeping citizens under
strict caste rule would stabilize the empire.
Social Ramifications
Women in the caste system were not seen as equals
and had few basic rights.
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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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Gupta Empire

• Government
• Chandragupta relied on Kautilyas Arthasastara
  teaches how to hold vast empire together
• Bureaucratic government, four provinces headed by
  prince, local districts, officials assess tax and
  enforce the law
• Farmers exempt from military service, protected
  by army
• Building of roads and conditions on roads (shade
  trees, rest houses, wells, watering places)

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• Chandragupta maintained order through a
  well-organized bureaucracy. Royal officials
  supervised the building of roads and harbors to
  benefit trade. Other officials collected taxes
  and managed state-owned factories and shipyards.
  People sought justice in royal courts.

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• Chandraguptas rule was effective but harsh. A
  brutal secret police force reported on
  corruption, crime, and dissentthat is, ideas
  that opposed those of the government. Fearful of
  his many enemies, Chandragupta had specially
  trained women warriors guard his palace.

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The Gupta Empire is Established

• Height of the Gupta Empire
• Chandra Gupta II rules from A.D. 375-415
• He defeats the Shakas and adds western coast to
  empire
• Gupta Empire sees flourishing of arts, religion,
  and science
• After Chandra Gupta II dies, the empire declines

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BRAHMANICAL RENAISSANCE

• The Guptas who ruled in northern India from third
  century onwards were ardent followers of Vedic
  religion and rituals.
• Does it mean that only the Vedic gods were
  reified in this period?
• OR ASCENDENCE OF SHRAMANIC TRADITIONS
• The best Buddhist and Jaina art was produced
  during this time

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Main Idea 1Indian artists created great works
of religious art.
The Indians of the Mauryan and Gupta periods
created great works of art, many of which were
religious in nature.
Many of their artistic endeavors illustrated
either Hindu or Buddhist teachings.
Hindu and Buddhist temples were built throughout
India.
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Buddhist and Hindu Temples during the Mauryan and
Gupta Periods

• Hindu Temples
• During the Mauryan period, temples were small,
  stone structures with one or two rooms and flat
  roofs.
• During the Gupta period, the temples were more
  complex, with huge towers and intricate carvings.

• Buddhist Temples
• Some Buddhists carved entire temples out of
  mountainsides.
• The temples at Ajanta and Ellora are two of the
  most famous of this type of Buddhist temple.
• Another type of Buddhist temple was the stupa.

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Painting and Sculpture

• The Gupta period saw the creation of countless
  works of art.
• Most Indian paintings of the Gupta period are
  clear and colorful.
• Many of the finest paintings of ancient India are
  found in Hindu and Buddhist temples.
• Indian sculptors created intricately carved
  columns, statues of kings and the Buddha for
  Buddhist cave temples, and impressive statues of
  the Hindu gods for the Hindu temples.

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Main Idea 2Sanskrit literature flourished
during the Gupta period.
Religious Epics

• During the Mauryan and Gupta period, many works
  of Sanskrit literature were created.
• The greatest of these Sanskrit writings are two
  religious epics the Mahabharata and the
  Ramayana.

Other Works

• Writers in the Gupta period also created plays,
  poetry, and other types of literature.
• Kalidasa was a famous writer during this time.
• Indian writers produced a book of stories called
  the Panchatantra. This collection of moral
  stories spread throughout the world.

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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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Achievements of Indian Culture

• Literature and the Performing Arts
• Kalidasapoet and dramatist, one of Indias
  greatest writers
• His skillful and emotionally stirring plays are
  still popular
• Madurai writing accademies create literature
  2,000 Tamil poems survive
• Drama and dance troupes gain popularity and
  travel widely

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Religious Art Temples

• Both Hindu and Buddhist temples began flourishing
  under Gupta rule.
• Once simply constructed meeting places, Hindu
  temples became complex towers covered with
  intricate carvings.
• Buddhist temples were large and impressive, some
  carved out of mountainsides.
• Buddhist stupas were built to house sacred
  objects from the life of the Buddha. They were
  covered with detailed carvings.

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Sanskrit Literature

• Mahabharata
• One of the worlds longest literary works
• The story of two Indian families struggling for
  control of a kingdom
• Many long passages of Hindu beliefs and practices

• Ramayana
• The story of a god, Vishnu, who has taken human
  form
• Written long after the Mahabharata contains
  models for the ideal ruler (Rama) and the ideal
  mate (Sita)

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Sanskrit Literature
Other Works

• Chadra Gupta II hired a famous writer named
  Kalidasa to write plays for the royal court.

• The Panchatantra, a book of stories intended to
  teach moral lessons and quick thinking, was
  translated into many languages.

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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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Bhartrhari

• 5c India court poet and philosopher.

Knowledge is man's crowning mark,A treasure
secretly buried,The source of luxury, fame, and
bliss,A guru most venerable,A friend on foreign
journeys,The pinnacle of divinity.Knowledge is
valued by kings beyond wealth---When he
lacks it, a man is a brute.
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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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GuptaArt
Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art
architecture.
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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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Religious Art Paintings and Sculpture

• Great artists were commissioned by rich and
  powerful members of society.
• Paintings offered a perspective on the daily life
  and religious belief of the ancient Indians many
  of these paintings could be found on the walls of
  temples.
• Indian sculptors carved columns, statues, and
  entire temples in the likenesses of the Buddha
  and Hindu gods.

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Main Idea 3 The Indians made scientific
advances in metalworking, medicine, and other
sciences.

• Other Sciences
• Began writing medical textbooks as early as the
  AD 100s
• Doctors knew about disease prevention and used
  inoculation.
• Doctors could perform surgery.
• Interested in astronomy, the study of stars and
  planets

• Metalworking
• Pioneers of metallurgy, the science of working
  with metals
• Knew processes for mixing metals to produce
  alloys, mixtures of two or more metals
• Metalworkers made their strongest products out of
  iron.

• Mathematics
• The most skilled mathematicians of their day
• Hindu-Arabic numerals were created by Indian
  scholars and brought to Europe by Arabs.
• The first people to create the zero

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• Indians developed the concept of negative
  numbers, calculated square roots and a table of
  sines, and computed the value of pi to a greater
  degree of accuracy than the Greeks
• Indian steel was better than any produced
  elsewhere
• The Indians were the first to produce cotton
  cloth, calico, and cashmere

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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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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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Achievements of Indian Culture

• Astronomy, Mathematics, and Medicine
• Ocean trade leads to advances in astronomy
• Indian astronomers in Gupta Empire prove that the
  world is round.
• Mathematicians develop the idea of zero and
  decimal system
• Doctors write medical guides and make advances in
  surgery

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Scientific Advances
Pioneers of metallurgy, the Indians created tools
and weapons by mixing iron and other metals
together.
Metalworking
The Indians invented the concept of zero and
developed a sophisticated number system, the
Hindu-Arabic numerals.
Mathematics
Using plants and minerals, Indian doctors made
advances in medicinal science. They were among
the first to practice inoculation and perform
surgery.
Medicine
Indian astronomers knew of seven about the nine
planets in the solar system and could predict
eclipses of the sun and moon.
Astronomy
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Contributions

• Many advances in science, medicine, astronomy,
  and mathematics came out of India. This is a
  depiction of an ancient Indian book that predicts
  eclipses of the sun and moon.

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Contributions
India had many advances in medicine. One doctor
from Ancient India wrote a book on how he rebuilt
noses through plastic surgery. He no doubt
needed to do this often since having ones nose
cut off was one of the punishments for committing
a crime.
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Contributions

• This is a sample of elaborate mathematical
  calculations taken from an Indian text around 600
  BC. An Indian named Brahmagupta is credited with
  inventing the idea of 0(zero). This changed
  greatly how mathematics could be used.

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Contributions

• Ancient India is also credited with inventing the
  magnetic compass. Indians sailed the Indian
  Ocean in boats the were guided by a metal fish
  floating in oil. The fish pointed north, acting
  as a compass for the boats.

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CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE ANCIENT INDIAN EMPIRE

• Literature
• Vedas
• Ramayana
• Bhagavad Gita
• Architecture
• Used pillars, stupas, and rock chambers for
  religious purposes
• Science and mathematics
• Created the number system that we still use today
• Charted the movements of the stars
• First to use algebra
• Introduced the concept of zero and the decimal
  system

Stupa
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Gupta Achievements
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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International Trade Routes during the Guptas
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Extensive Trade4c
spices
silks
cotton goods
spices
rice wheat
horses
gold ivory
gold ivory
cotton goods
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The Spread of Indian Trade

• Indias Valuable Resources
• India has spices, diamonds, precious stones, and
  good quality wood

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Life in Gupta India
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The Spread of Indian Trade

• Indias Valuable Resources
• India has spices, diamonds, precious stones, and
  good quality wood
• Overland Trade, East and West
• Trade routes called Silk Roads connect Asia and
  Europe
• Indians build trading posts to take advantage of
  the Silk Roads

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The Spread of Indian Trade

• Sea Trade, East and West
• Indian merchants carry goods to Rome by sea
• Merchants trade by sea with Africa, Arabia,
  China, Southeast Asia

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The Spread of Indian Trade

• Effects of Indian Trade
• Increased trade leads to rise in banking
• Bankers lend money to merchants, careful of
  degree of risk
• Increased trade spreads Indian culture to other
  places
• Trade brings Hinduism, Buddhism to other lands

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Indian influence

• Indian Ocean was the most active linkage point
  among cultures
• India did not attempt political domination
• Dealt with regional kingdoms
• Indian religion and art traveled widely
• Buddhism spread to SE Asia
• Hinduism converted upper classes, especially in
  Indonesia
• India serves as an early example of a major
  civilization expanding its influence well beyond
  its own regions
• Classical period in India lasted longer than
  in China or Rome

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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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The Decline of the Guptas

• Invasion of the White Huns in the 4c signaled
  the end of the Gupta Golden Age, even though at
  first, the Guptas defeated them.
• After the decline of the Gupta empire, north
  India broke into a number of separate Hindu
  kingdoms and was not really unified again until
  the coming of the Muslims in the 7c.QUESTION
  Is the best literature and art written as
  the civilization is on the rise, at its
  height, or in its decline?