Gupta Empire Achievements
AIM: What was the legacy of the Gupta Empire?
Gupta “Golden Age”
• Golden age: a period of
great prosperity and a
flourishing of arts and
culture
– Chandra Gupta II rules from
A.D. 375-415
– Gupta Empire sees
flourishing of arts, religion,
and science
Painting and Sculpture
 Art-usually religious
 Paintings- numerous colors
 Architectural achievements: Hindu
and Buddhist temples (stupas)
 Sculpture: carved columns, statues
of kings and the Buddha for
Buddhist cave temples
Sanskrit Literature
• Many epics (poems)
– Wrote plays for royal court
– Sakuntala, most famous
– Play combines myth, humor, court
life, lyric poetry
Aladdin
– “Ali Baba and the Forty thieves”
– “Aladdin and his Magic Lamp”
– Sanskrit stories spread to Persia,
Egypt, and Greece
Panchatantra
• Another popular work of period
• Five Books, collection of stories
meant to teach lessons
• Warning to think before acting
Art and Architecture
Religious
• Much of art, architecture was religiously themed
• 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, columns carved out of rock
• Most famous, cave temples at Ajanta
Science and Technology
Metallurgy
• science of working with metals
• Indian iron valued for hardness, purity
• Iron Pillar is resistant to rust
Mathematics
•
•
•
•
most advanced mathematicians
Developed modern math system
First to use concept, symbol of zero
Hindu-Arabic numerals; created by
Indians, brought to Europe by Arabs
Medical Science
• Made medicines from plants
• Knew how to inject small amounts of
viruses to protect against disease
• Doctors could perform surgery, repair
broken bones, treat wounds
INDIAN INFLUENCE
•Indian Ocean was the most active linkage point among cultures
•Indian religion and art traveled widely
•Buddhism spread to SE Asia
•Hinduism converted upper classes, especially in Indonesia
•India-example of a major civilization expanding its influence well
beyond its own regions
The Decline of the Gupta Empire
Support of Hinduism
• Under Gupta’s, Hinduism became main religion, Buddhism lost popularity
End of Gupta Rule
• Began to weaken, late 400s
• Loose Gupta control allowed some
parts of empire to break away
• Central Asian nomads, White Huns,
began invading India
• Problems disrupted trade
• India again divided into small, regional
kingdoms