Ancient India
Empires of India
Mauryan Empire
► In
320 BC, the military
leader Chandragupta
Maurya took control of
the entire northern
part of India. This
would be the
beginnings of the
Maurya Empire that
would last almost 150
years.
Mauryan Empire
► Chandragupta
ruled
with the help of
600,000 soldiers, a
network of spies,
thousands of war
elephants and chariots
and weapons.
Farmers paid heavy
taxes for the
protection of the army.
Maurya Empire
►
In 301 BC, Chandragupta
decided to become a
Jainist monk. He would
give up his throne to his
son who would continue to
expand the empire.
Quickly, the Maurya’s
would control all of
northern India and much
of central India.
Asoka
►
Around 270 BC,
Chandragupta’s grandson
became the ruler. Ashoka
would become the
strongest of the Maurya
rulers. Under Asoka, the
empire would extend to
almost all of India and the
empire would become
stronger and richer.
Asoka
►
Asoka watched many
bloody battles – so many
that finally he became a
Buddhist and swore he
would not fight any more
wars. He would instead
improve the lives of his
people, building wells and
roads, planting shade trees
and building rest houses
for travelers. He pushed
for the spread of Buddhism
throughout Asia.
Asoka the Great
►
Asoka died in 233 BC.
After his death, the empire
quickly declined and fell
apart. His sons fought
each other and invaders
would threaten the empire.
In 184 BC the last
Mauryan ruler was killed
and the empire would
break into smaller states.
Gupta Rulers
► India
will be divided
for about 500 years
until the Gupta Empire
is established in AD
320. India now
united, will become
prosperous again.
Candra Gupta I
► The
first of the Gupta
rulers was Candra
Gupta I. Nuch like the
Maurya emperor, he
used his armies to
bring most of northern
India under his control.
There even seems to
be a similarity in their
names.
Samudra Gupta
► Samudra
Gupta, son of
Candra Gupta I would
follow as the next
ruler. He was a
brilliant military leader
and through him more
territory was added.
At the time of his
death he had added
almost all of the
Ganges River valley.
Gupta Civilization Flourishes
► Indian
civilization
flourishes during Gupta
rule, and since they
were Hindu, Hinduism
became the official
religion of India. They
built many Hindu
temples and promoted
a revival in Hindu
writings and rituals.
Tolerance
► Although
the Gupta
rulers were Hindu,
they supported the
beliefs of Buddhism
and Jainism. They
supported Buddhist art
and built Buddhist
temples and
established a university
at Nalanda.
Gupta Society
► In
375, Candra Gupta
II takes the throne.
Indian society will hit a
high point under his
rule. The empire will
grow, economy will
strengthen and people
prosper. They will
create great works of
art and literature.
Gupta Society
► Guptas
also believed
the caste system is
important to Indian
society and
strengthened it. Gupta
society was strong
until the 400’s when
the Huns would lay
seige and by 500,
ended Gupta rule.
And so …
► Exit:
What was the greatest achievement of
the Gupta rulers?
► Stay
tuned next time for Indian
Achievements.