Do Now
• Identify some elements of a
successful empire?
• What gives a ruler the right to rule?
Primary Document: Compare
Empires
Mauryan Empire
322-185 BCE
Gupta Empire
320-499 CE
Chandragupta: 321 BCE298 BCE
 Unified India.
 Divided his empire into
provinces and districts
 For taxes and law
enforcement.
 Feared assassination
food tasters, slept in different
rooms, etc.
 301 BCE  gave up rule
The Maurya Empire
321 BCE – 185 BCE
Kautilya
 Chandragupta’s advisor.
Wrote a guide for the king
Supports royal power.

Anarchy is bad

Needs single authority to use force
Asoka (304 – 232 BCE)
 Converted to Buddhism
 After seeing Battle
Built extensive roads.
 Conflict  how to
balance keeping power
with Buddhism
Asoka’s
Empire
Asoka’s law code
 Edicts written on pillars
Each pillar [stupa] is
40’-50’ high.
 Buddhist principles
dominate his laws.
Asoka’s Value
• Buddhist Values – Edicts in this category are
concerned with the Buddha’s teachings about how
to live a correct life
• General Welfare – Edicts in this category are
concerned with making sure people have good
health, shelter, clean water, and enough food
• Justice: Edicts in this category are concerned with
fair laws and treatment in court and jail
• Security: Edicts in this category are concerned
with the protection of people from foreign enemies
Do Now: Place your 3 most important
achievements in the trophy
Gupta Empire:
CE
320 CE – 647
Gupta Rule
Chandra Gupta I
“Great King of Kings”
Strong Military and Economy
Chandra Gupta II
ruled 375 - 415 CE
Expanded Trade
Promoted a revival in Hinduism !!!
Fa-Hsien Describes life in Gupta India
Fa-Hsien was a Chinese Buddhist
monk who traveled along the Silk
Road and visited India in the 5th
century.
He reported the people of the Gupta
Kingdom to be happy, relatively free
of government oppression, and
inclined towards courtesy and
charity. Other references in his
journal, however, indicate that the
caste system was quickly returning,
including the features of
"untouchability," the social isolation
of a lowest class that is doomed to
menial labor.
Exploring Gupta India’s Golden
Age
• You and your partner will visit one station at a time
• EACH of you will record your findings on your map
– In the SETTING box use 3 words to describe your
setting
– Open the card and read the information about your
achievement. Record information in the NOTES box
– At end of the activity you will answer the following
prompt using your essay format. “Imagine that are a
traveler who has spent a month traveling in India
during the Golden Age. Write an essay explaining
what was most remarkable and impressive thing
you saw during your journey. Support with
evidence
International Trade
Routes during the
Guptas
Extensive Trade:
4c
spices
gold & ivory
Gupta
Art
Greatly influenced
Southeast Asian art & architecture.
Gupta Golden Age
Profitable trade and a stable government led to the
“Golden Age of India” under the rule of the Gupta.
Math:
Gupta mathematicians developed the concept of zero,
and the decimal system based on the number 10 .
• They created a number system known as Arabic
Numerals. This is the number system used throughout the
world today.
Medicine:
Gupta physicians developed herbal remedies to treat
various illnesses. They also developed a form of plastic
surgery for the treatment of facial injuries. Physicians
vaccinated against smallpox, a practice later used in
China and Europe.
Science:
• Gupta scientists developed the mathematical principle of
pi ,a solar calendar and determined that the Earth is
round.
500 healing
plants identified
1000 diseases
classified
Printed
medicinal guides
Plastic
Surgery
Gupta
Achievement
s
Kalidasa
Literature
Medicine
Inoculations
Gupta
India
C-sections
performed
Decimal
System
Mathematics
Concept
of Zero
PI = 3.1416
Solar
Calendar
Astronomy
The earth
is round
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.
Legacy of the Gupta Kingdom
Bhartrhari a 5th century India court poet
and philosopher wrote :
“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. “