2011-The+Mauryan+and+Gupta+Empire6

__** ﻿﻿﻿The Mauryan and Gupta Empires ** __ 321 B.C.E- 535 C.E "Come to India, We've got War Elephants!" Maps:




 * The Mauryan Empire was first to claim India. Later, in the year 185 B.C.E when Asoka died, Maur****yan power fell apart, and by 400 C.E the Gupta Empire got part of the land in India.**

G- **The Mauryan Empire** **Army** **Government in the Mauryan Empire** **Government in the Gupta Empire**
 * Mauryan India had a large population, and so had huge number of willing soldiers for conquests.
 * Six types of troops
 * 1) The Kshatriya were the center of the army, and consisted of soldiers who were born into their warrior positions.
 * 2) The Mercenaries, or hired soldiers.
 * 3) Soldiers who left the enemies of the Mauryan Empire to join them.
 * 4) Troops provided by guilds or private training groups.
 * 5) Troops gifted by allies of the Mauryan Empire.
 * 6) Wild tribesmen or hillmen.
 * The Mauryan army was organized similarly to the Chinese army, by training groups of combatants to fight together as a single unit, rather than a bunch of individuals.
 * The most common of these mixed units was called a Patti, consisting of one elephant ridden by three spearmen or archers, driven by a mahout (Elephant Driver) and three elephant attendants, with three cavalrymen with javelins and spears, and five infantry with swords or bows.
 * 3 Pattis formed a Senamukha, three Senamukha formed a Gulma, a Mauryan battalion.
 * The largest unit, an Aksuahini, consisted of 21,870 Patti.
 * The Mauryan Army used a wide array of siege weapons, including catapults, ballistae, and battering rams.
 * Indian siege weapons were heavy on incendiary devices, such as torches, flaming oil, or fire arrows.
 * The Mauryan Army followed Vedic battle cultures, such as marching in formation and agreeing with the enemy over where to battle.
 * Mauryan Empire created by Candra Gupta Maurya in 324 BCE after Alexander the Great left Northwestern India
 * India was broken into four general regions lead by a single viceroy
 * Each region was broken into further provinces, districts and villages. Each province was headed by a Governor, who eventually reported to Candra Gupta himself.
 * The Arthashastra was a book that dictated how the Mauryan government would be run.
 * Candra Gupta saught to enlarge his empire by taking over the regions of the Magadha and moving towards the center regions, then he proceeded the process with the Punjab, and then used his army to defeat Seleucus I Nicator.
 * When Gupta died in 298, the Indian emprie contained everything from central Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal on the eastern coast of India.
 * After his death, Gupta's son Bindusara took control of India in 297 BCE, and continued his fathers autocracy.
 * Bindusara caused the Mauryan empire to extend southward into the Deccan Plateau.
 * Under Gupta, the Mauryan Empire tried to be a bureaucracy, mentioned in the Arthashastra, but ended up being autocratic in nature.
 * The golden age of the Mauryan Empire came between 269 and 232 BCE when Bindusara's son Asoka ruled.
 * During the year 260 Asoka followed his ancestors' lead and waged war in Kalinga, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of soldiers died. Asoka was devastated, and renounced his conquering ways to convert to Buddhism.
 * Instead of conquering other civilizations, Asoka decided to peacefully spread Buddhism.
 * When Asoka died, the Mauryan empire began to slowly fall apart because of the break up of the Arthashastra style states, and Asoka's division of the empire between his grandchildren.


 * Arose 500 years after the fall of the Mauryan Empire.
 * Before the Gupta Empire, what remained of the Mauryan Empire was lots of small independent states ruled by kings.
 * Candra Gupta I married the princess of the Licchavis family, combining their wealth and military power.
 * Using the strength of the combined family, Gupta was able to add many of the small states into his territory.
 * Candra Gupta's son, Samudra Gupta, continued to use this tactic until the Gupta Empire enveloped all of Northern India, as well as Nepal, the Eastern Coast of India, and the Ganges River Valley.
 * Samudra was Hindu, and as well as being a powerful millitary leader, he was a thoughtful and kind gentleman.
 * The golden age of the Gupta Empire came under Samudra's son, Candra Gupta II in 380 CE.
 * Candra Gupta II promoted overseas to boost the economy, as well as an increase of artists, poets, and writers.
 * Candra Gupta II is best known for his cultural acheivments.
 * While it was much smaller than the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Empire united much of Northern India.
 * 320 CE to 550 CE
 * The Gupta empire relied on a strong central government to keep peace.
 * The decline of the Gupta Empire occured because of the peace they had tried to mantain.
 * A group called the Huns, or Hunas, started to attack small portions of the Gupta Empire.
 * In 480 CE, the Huns launched a full scale invasion, taking over all of Northern India, and proceeding to attack smaller Gupta leaders and regions, reducing the Empire to almost nothing in 550.

**R-** E- Mauryan Empire- Overseas trade was considered very risky and, as a result, bankers charged 240% interest on loans per year Gupta Empire- Trade was not considered as dangerous, therefore interest rates went down to only about 15-20% annually
 * Religion in the Mauryan and Gupta Empires**
 * Major religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
 * Hinduism is not a unified religion but a mixture of many religions put together to form one major religion.
 * Buddhism is a religion that began in the fifth century
 * In 268 BC Asoka converted everything to Buddhism so there would be less violence and everyone could be happy. This also spread the religion of Buddhism to other lands.
 * Asoka, although he was a Buddhist, was also okay with people being part of other religions.
 * Jainism is one of the oldest religions along with Hinduism who's main purpose is the moral life of the individual.
 * Economy in the Mauryan an Gupta Empires-**
 * During the high point of the Mauryan Empire, when Asoka, who succeeded Gupta's son, Bindusara, was the new ruler of the Empire, the activity of the civilization's economy increased greatly. As a result, both domestic and foreign trade increased, causing India to become rich. Also, Pataliputra (which was the capital city of the Empire at the time), turned into a major international cultural center
 * During Candra Gupta Maurya's reign, there was one form of currency that was used by everyone
 * India was very rich in gold and metal
 * Pataliputra was probably the most prosperous city in the world- it included schools and a library
 * India was, and still is, very rich in precious resources, including spices, diamonds, saphires, gold, pearls, and admirable woods, such as ebony, teak, and fragrant sandalwood-trade of these resources with places like Africa and Sumeria started over 4,000 years ago and continued throughout and even after the Mauryan Empire
 * There were many trade routes that ran through the Gupta Empire in the year 400 C.E.
 * India had many sea-trading partners, including:
 * 1) Africa-they traded cotton cloth for African ivory and gold
 * 2) Arabia-exchanged their rice and wheat for horses and dates from Arabia
 * 3) China (with whom trade increased after trade with Rome decreased-around 3rd century C.E.)-again, exchanged their cotton cloth, as well as various animals such as monkeys, parrots, and elephants for Chinese silk
 * Results of trade-banking in India went up, due to all of the trade going on with other countries
 * Because trade increased so much, banking went up in India and, therefore, bankers began to loan merchants money and charge them interest rates, which were different depending on how risky and dangerous overseas trade was at the time:

A-
 * Art in the Mauryan and Gupta Empires **


 * They had pillars of Asoka that were big and tall so everyone could see them. On top if the pillars there were sculptures of lions, elephants, or other symbols.
 * Also, they considered caves holy and sometimes built temples inside of them.
 * The temples were usually covered in sculptures of Hindu Gods, legendary heros, and mythical creatures.
 * The pillars and stupa that were made out of stone were very important to the culture.
 * They also engraved symbols on the pillars and stupas.

T-
 * Technology in the Mauryan and Gupta Empires-**
 * Water wheels powered by cattle was one form of irrigation used, among several that had developed in the Mauryan Empire
 * Throughout the Mauryan Empire, there was just one unified form of weights and measurements used by everyone
 * When Asoka was the ruler of the Mauryan Empire, a university and library were built in the capital city of the Empire, along with temples, towers, parks, and palaces
 * India was very good at producing many weapons in armories for the army
 * Equipment and weapons used by Mauryan Army: Indian bow: 5-6 feet long, made of bamboo, fired a long cane arrow whose tip was either made out of metal or bone, able to go through any armor, Also used composite bow called // sarnga //
 * At the time of the Mauryan Empire, India had most of the ancient world's artillery equipment, like catapults and battling rams

S- ** Society in the Mauryan and Gupta Empires- ** In India people are divided into 6 classes in a complex casting system based on their Karma.

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The four classes are: <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">1)The Brahmins

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">2)The Traditional Priests

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">3)The Kshatriya

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">4)The Warriors

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">5) The Workers

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">6)The Non-Aryans

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The higher class is the Brahmins, who are considered to be purer and closer to the //moksha.// No one can marry someone out of their caste or is allowed to eat with them. The lowest class (the Non-Aryans), called the "Untouchables", had a harsh and restricted life doing jobs that were impure. All the classes had inequalities and people believed it was based on Karma. (Each class had their own role and they were strictly seperated.)



<span style="color: #970202; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">Summary of Achievements: The Mauryan Empire was a militarily dominant, economically flourishing, and culturally influential powerhouse of a nation. The reign of the empire began as Alexander the Great pulled out of India, and Candra Gupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan empire, rose up to claim the lands that were once his. The Civilization grew rapidly, as autocratic leaders invaded smaller city-states and took them as their own. The Golden Age of the Mauryan Empire, under Asoka, resulted in the creation and adoption of three major worldly religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as booming foreign trade in the areas of gold and metal, leading India to become one of the wealthiest empires at the time. These riches caused a flood of poets, artists, and writers to Pataliputra, the nation's capital, which soon became a cultural center for the world.

Even though the Gupta Empire was not as powerful or widespread as the Mauryans, it was stable, peaceful, and a nearly utopian society. The Gupta's had, for the most part, adopted Buddhism, and were completely at peace, lead by a strong and powerful central government to keep things in order. The land of the Gupta Empire was not won by military strength, but rather through diplomatic measures, particularly the marrying off leaders to the rulers of other lands to add them into the empire. Under the Gupta leader Candra Gupta II, the Gupta Empire thrived culturally and economically. Unlike the Mauryans before them, the Gupta Empire promoted low interest rate overseas trade helping them to grow. Like the Mauryans, the Guptas developed an abundance of cultural leaders who populated the nation's capital.

<span style="color: #960303; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Project by:

Ben Brack, Cristina Dudziak, Gillian Fox, and Shalini S.