Download Government of the Mauryan Empire

ANCIENT INDIA
Introduction
In ancient India, the land and population was
controlled by emperors. These emperors belonged
to either the Mauryan or the Gupta Empire. In both
of these empires, many great things were achieved
including advancements in sciences, math,
literature and religion. Also more land was
conquered.
Before The Great
Before India’s culture evolved into two great
empires, there was a simpler and less developed
India.
Geography
• -located on the Indian
Subcontinent
• -landmass that includes
India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh.
• -separated from Asia by
the Himalayan
mountains.
Figure 2
Harrappan Civilization
• -larger area than Egypt or Mesopotamia
• -7000 B.C. domesticated animals and had
agriculture
• -2500 B.C. cities laid out into grids made of brick
• -plumbing and sewage systems
Culture
• Language-writing systems of 400 now indecipherable
symbols
• Social Factors
-no great social classes
-importance on animals
-evidence of children’s toys
• Religion
-priests and rulers and closely linked
-links to modern Hindu culture
• Trade-thriving trade with other peoples, including
Mesopotamia
The Government of the
Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan empire was imperialistic, which led to a
bureaucratic government.
Chandragupta Maurya 321–301 BC
• He was a militaristic leader. He put
together an army around 326 BC
and conquered all of northern
India between the Arabian Sea and
the Bay of Bengal. This was the
first time northern India was
united.
• He raised a large army consisting
of 600,000 foot soldiers, 30,000
soldiers on horseback and 9,000
elephants. To pay for these
soldiers, he taxed the people
heavily.
Figure 3
Figure 4
The Government Under
Chandragupta
• Chandragupta listened to his advisers, especially
Kautilya, a member of the priestly caste and the
author of a rulers handbook.
• Kautilya advised Chandragupta to create a
bureaucratic system.
• Chandragupta split the empire into provinces, and
had royal princes rule them. The provinces were
then split into districts where carefully chosen
officials collected taxes and enforced the law.
Asoka, Chandragupta’s grandson
268—232BC
• Asoka conquered new lands until the
Mauryan empire reached out to
most of the subcontinent of Asia.
• After Asoka saw that he was causing
people to suffer, he renounced
warfare and converted from
Brahmanism to Buddhism. He had
Buddhism become the official
religion of the empire.
Figure 5
Asoka’s Reign as a Buddhist
Emperor
• As emperor, Asoka applied Buddhist principals to
his leadership. He made less harsh laws than his
predecessors.
• He also had trees planted, rest houses and medical
centers built and wells dug.
• In addition to these, he also built shrines and
monasteries and inscribed Siddhartha’s teachings
on rocks and pillars. He sent out Buddhist
missionaries to places as far as Egypt and Greece.
• Asoka was also tolerant of other religions, which
led India to a prosperous age.
The Golden Age of the
Gupta Empire
An expansion of trade in India led to an advance in
math, science and literature.
Scientific Discoveries Under Chandra
Gupta II
• Sailors and traders began to understand astronomy. This
enabled them to locate their positions when they were at
sea.
• Indian astronomers also discovered that the earth was
round by observing the Earth’s shadow during a lunar
eclipse.
• In medicine, Indians found over a thousand diseases,
including smallpox, and over five hundred herbs used for
medical purposes. They also knew how to perform surgeries
such as plastic surgery.
Mathematical Discoveries
• Mathematics in India was one of most advanced
math systems in the world during the Gupta
Empire.
• The modern number system, zero and the decimal
system were all developed in India at his time.
• A great Indian mathematician named Aryabhata
calculated Pi to four decimal places. He also
calculated a solar year to be 365.3586805 days,
which is close to modern calculations made by an
atomic clock.
Advances in Literature
• India had a number of writers, including Kalidasa,
the author of Shakuntala, the story of a girl and a
king who marry.
• Writing academies were developed in the city of
Madurai in 100AD, and there are still over 2,000
poems from there today.
• In India, there was also acting troupes in which
both genders took part in. Classical Indian dances
are based on dance techniques from this time.
• Many Buddhist and Hindu libraries and schools
were made as well.
Hinduism
The religion of Hinduism is one of peaceful
tenets and moral values. For most leaders, in
the Mauryan and Gupta Empires, it was the
dominant religion. The religion still has many
followers in India.
Caste System
• -4 basic social classes
determined by birth.
• -cannot be changed in the
current life.
• Brahmins-priests and
nobles
• Kshatriyas-warriors
• Vaisyas-merchants and
farmers
• Shudras-laborers
• -One is placed into one of
these catagories by how
you behaved in your prior
life
• -The belief that you are
born into another body
after death is Samsara or
reincarnation.
Karma and Moksha
Karma
• -the idea that
everything one does
will affect him in a later
life.
• -this places one into
their caste
Moksha
• -liberation in the fullest
form
• -ultimate state of
happiness after you
have been moral in
every life
• -“Nirvana”
Buddhism
Buddhism is more of a philosophy, or way of life,
rather than a religion.
Figure 6
Buddhism’s Start
• Siddhartha Gautama credited founder of Buddhism
• Born into a noble family near the Himalayan
Mountains in Nepal
• It was prophesized when he was a baby that if he
stayed home, he would become a world ruler. If he
left, he would become a universal spiritual leader.
• He was isolated in the palace by his father, to
ensure his becoming a great king
Buddhism’s Start Continued
• At age 29, Siddhartha left his palace four times
• Most of the images he saw were of suffering, except for a
holy man who did not seem to be suffering
• He concluded that the only way to deal with suffering was
to lead a religious life
• He went on a journey of enlightenment (wisdom) in the
forests of India for six years
• He tried many ways of reaching enlightenment, including
fasting, and talking with others searching for religion
• Meditation proved to be the answer, for after 49 days of
meditating under a fig tree, he reach enlightenment
• He became know as the Buddha, which means one who is
enlightened
Buddhist Beliefs
• Four Noble Truths:
• Dukkha: All things in life are unsatisfactory and filled with
suffering.
• Trsna: The cause of suffering is a desire for the wrong
things; searching to find stability in a shifting world is the
wrong way.
• Nirvana: The end to all desires is the end to suffering.
• The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering
• The Noble Eightfold Path is right views, right resolve, right
speech, right conduct, riht livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, right concentration; otherwise known as the
Middle Way
Conclusion
Before India became a modernized country, it was run by
vast empires and kingdoms. The two empires were the
Mauryan and the Gupta. They made India a booming
center of mathematics and literature. The religions of
the region influenced it and its people greatly. Centered
around a great river, India’s ancient times were
prosperous and pivotal.
Bibliography
• Beck, B. Roger, Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor and Dahia
Ibo Shabaka. World History: Patterns Of Interaction. Illinios: McDougal
Littell Inc., 1999.
• “Chandragupta”
http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=205=225 Funk &
Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2006
• “Asoka” http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=201655
Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2006
• “Religion and Ethics-Buddhism”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/beliefs/fournobletru
ths.shtml
• Jeffery Watkins “Gupta Empire”
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/global/themes/goldenages/gupta.cfm
© 1999-2003 Oswego City School District Regents Exam Prep Center
Image Bibliography
• Fig.1- Jonathan Mark Kenoyer; The Great bath and granary at MohenjoDaro University of Wisconsin - Madison.
http://www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/wh_region/indus2.htm 11/24/08
• Fig.2- Map of India http://www.mapsofindia.com/history/ancientindia.htm 11/24/08
• Fig. 3- Tanmoy Sinha Kautilya’s Arthashastra www.hinduyuva.org/tattvablog/category/biography/ 11/24/08
• Fig 4- Map of the Mauryan Empire www.americanpictures.com/.../Azokas.empire.jp 11/24/08
• Fig. 5- Asoka www.bollywoodsbest.de/wbb2/bw_indien_persoenl...
11/24/08
• Fig 6. Wheel of Dharma www.medway.gov.uk/print/buddishm.jpg
11/24/08
• Fig.7 Reclining Buddha
www.fengshuigardendecor.com/Merchant2/merchan... 11/24/08
The End
Figure 7