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AP World History Chapter 6b Classical India • By 600 BCE, India had passed through its formative phase. • A classical civilization could now build on the social and cultural themes introduced during the Vedic and Epic ages. • Indian development in the classical era didn’t take on the Chinese structure of rising and falling dynasties. Indian history was irregular. Geography • India’s distinctive culture was a product of its geography. It was far less isolated from other civilizations than was China. • The Indian subcontinent is separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas, but there are several passes in the mountains, linking India to Mid East. • Open to both Mid Eastern & Mediterranean influences. • For ex: while Alex the Great didn’t establish a durable empire, he connected India with Hellenistic culture. • Geography made political unity difficult, so India was more diverse than China. THE MAURYAN DYNASTY Grew wealthy from taxes on agriculture, iron mining and control of trade routes Chandragupta • In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great, after conquering Greece and much of the Mid East, pushed into northwestern India, establishing the border state of Bactria. • Political reactions to this invasion produced a young soldier named Chandragupta Maurya who seized power along the Ganges River. • 322 BCE: He began the Mauryan dynasty of rule. These were the 1st rulers to unify most of the subcontinent. • Chandragupta’s style of government was autocratic, relying on his military power. Chandragupta: 321-298 BCE Unified northern India. Defeated the Persian general Seleucus. Divided his empire into provinces, then districts for tax assessments and law enforcement. Promoted trade and communications Large bureaucracy and a large army He feared assassination food tasters, slept in different rooms, etc. 301 BCE gave up his throne & became a Jain. Ashoka • Chandragupta’s grandson, Ashoka, was an even greater Mauryan ruler. r. 269-232 BCE • Ashoka extended Mauryan conquests, gaining control of territory through fierce fighting. • He gave up his thirst for blood after the gruesome battle of Kalinga, when he converted to Buddhism, and adopted belief in the dharma, or the law of moral consequences. • Ashoka promoted Buddhism throughout India, but still honored Hinduism. • Improved trade routes that connect to Silk Road; encouraged trade; constructed extensive roads; spreads Buddhism • Mauryan Empire 321 BCE – 185 BCE Asoka’s Empire Ashoka’s law code Edicts scattered in more than 30 places in India, Nepal, Pakistan & Afghanistan. Written mostly in Sanskrit, but one was in Greek and Aramaic. 10 rock edicts. Each pillar [stupa] is 40’-50’ high. Buddhist principles dominate his laws. Kushan Empire 60-375 • After Ashoka, the Mauryan empire collapsed. • The Kushans pushed across the Hindu Kush range through the Khyber pass into India and established a short-lived kingdom. • The greatest Kushan king, Kanishka, converted to Buddhism but actually damaged its popularity in India, because it became associated with foreign rule. • The collapse of the Kushan state in 220 CE ushered in 100 years of political instability before the rise of the Gupta dynasty After Mauryan collapse • Some economic, cultural and intellectual vitality • Network of roads and towns built under Mauryans, created good commerce with subcontinent as well as internationally • Sea trade routes connected China, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, and East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea Great Indian Epics • Ramayana & Mahabharata • Based on oral • Events occurred several million years in the past but political form, social organizations and other cultural elements seemed like the Vedic Era – Proud kings, beautiful queens, heroic conduct, chivalric values