India and China Establish Empires 400 B.C.-AD.550

Chapter Opener Asoka: The

Buddhist King of India• Buddhism turned

Asoka, the bloodthirsty king of ancient India’s Mauryan Empire, into a peace-loving ruler.

Section 1: India’s First Empires

The Mauryan Empire is Established Chandragupta Maurya

Seizes Power• In 321 B.C.

Chandragupta Maurya seizes power, starts Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya Unifies North India• Chandragupta defeats

Seleucus I; north India is united for the first time

• Chandragupta uses taxes to support his large army

The Mauryan Empire is Established

Running the Empire• Chandragupta’s chief adviser is Kautilya,

a priest• Chandragupta creates a bureaucratic

government• He divides the government to make it

easier to rule

The Mauryan Empire is Established

Life in the City and the Country• A Greek ambassador

writes glowing praise of the empire

• Chandragupta’s son rules from 301 to 269 B.C., (32 years)

• Aŝoka—Chandragupta’s grandson, brings the empire to its height

Mahabodhi Temple, site of first temple built by Asoka (3rd century B.C.) on spot of Buddha’s enlightenment. Bihar, India

The Mauryan Empire is Established

Asoka Promotes Buddhism• After a bloody war with Kalinga, Asoka

promotes Buddhism and peace• Preaches religious toleration—accepting

people of different religions• Builds roads, with wells along them

A Period of Turmoil The Breakup of the Mauryan Empire

• Asoka dies in 232 B.C.; kingdoms in central India soon break away

• The Andhra Dynasty dominates central India for centuries

• Northern India receives immigrants from Greece and other parts of Asia

• Tamils—a people living in southern India—remain separate and frequently war with rival peoples.

The Gupta Empire is Established

Chandra Gupta Builds an Empire• Chandra Gupta

marries into kingship in north India in A.D. 320

• Starts Gupta Empire—India’s second empire; flowering of Indian civilization, especially Hindu culture (see next slide)

• His son Samudra Gupta expands empire with conquest

Radha and Krishna in the grove.Painting (about 1780)

The Gupta Empire is Established

Daily Life in India• Majority of Indians are farmers; entire

family raises crops together• Families are patriarchal—headed by

the eldest male• Farmers have to contribute work to

government and pay heavy taxes• Some Tamil families are matriarchal—

led by mother rather than father

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