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India’s First Empires
Mauryan Empire 321 BC-184 BC
 Chandragupta Maurya, a military officer, established
the first Indian empire by overthrowing an unpopular
king. He maintained order by creating:
1. An efficient postal system
2. A strong army
3. An extensive spy network
 Asoka- emperor from 274-232 BC, converted to
Buddhism after viewing the carnage of a bloody
battle. He vowed to never rule with terror. Wrote laws
on pillars throughout the kingdom in the local
language. He also built hospitals, veterinary clinics,
roads, rest houses and planted shade trees to help
travelers. Also enforced religious tolerance/freedom.
Gupta Empire 310-600 AD
 Started by Chandra Gupta I controlled northern India
for over 200 years. Government maintained control
through spy network and use of political assassins.
 Hinduism was the official religion. State sponsored the
building of elaborate temples to various deities/gods.
 Golden Age 375-415 AD under Chandra Gupta II,
achievements in literature, mathematics, astronomy,
and trade.
Trade Spreads Indian Religions & Culture
 India became a center of trade between China,
Africa, the Middle East & eventually Europe
 Merchants traveled the Silk Road (trade routes from
China to the Middle East)
 Traders also used the monsoons to push their ships
to SE Asia and then back to India
 By 250 BC Hinduism & Buddhism were the main
religions in India.
 Buddhism divideso Mahayana- begins to worship Buddha as a
god, they believe one can work to save
humanity by self-sacrifice and giving up nirvana
o Theravada- traditional Buddhists, they follow the
original teachings, the 4 Noble Truths & the
Eightfold Path
 Hinduism had became more personal again with
people devoting themselves to one of the many
deities
 Achievements
 Literature-Kalidasa, poet & playwright & Tamil
poetry
 Sun based calendar, 7 day week, divided the
day into hours, determined the earth is round,
solar year=365.358605 days
 Zero, decimal point, value of pi
Han Dynasty
Liu Bang establishes Han dynasty after the decline of
the Qin Dynasty. He centralized the government,
lowered taxes, & relaxed the harsh Legalist
punishments
Empress Lu ruled after Bang’s death by naming
infants as emperor
Emperor Wudi expanded the empire through war
Strict social structure-emperor, official & scholars at
the top, soldiers & slaves at the bottom
Established civil service- positions given based on
knowledge of Confucianism instead of connections.
Only wealthy could afford education. System lasted
until 1912.
Chinese assimilated conquered peoples through
settlement and intermarriage
Achievements
 Paper invented in 105 AD
 Collar harness-allowed horses to pull heavier
loads
 2 blade plow
 Wheelbarrow
 Water Mill to grind grain
 Silk monopoly
Han Dynasty interrupted by peasant revolts due to
overtaxing the poor & division of land among all
sons upon death of the father
Tang & Song Dynasties
China was the most powerful & advanced country
in the world at this time.
Sui Dynasty 581-618 AD—completed the Grand
Canal between the Huang He & the Chiang Jiang
Rivers, linking the agricultural south to the urban
north
Tang Dynasty 618-907 AD—expanded the empire &
built up the infrastructure (roads & canals) and
revived the civil service exams, fell to invasion
Empress Wu 625-705—the only woman to ever claim
the title emperor & rule China
Song Dynasty 960-1279 AD—maintained the power
and status of China as the world power through
trade, southern China grew rich with international
trade
Achievements
Movable type- made printed materials cheaper
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Gunpowder-allowed for many new weapons
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Porcelain-still used today (“china” dishes)
Mechanical clock-still used today
Paper money-still used today
Magnetic compass-quickly spread to the West
Fast growing rice-two harvests a year (doubled)
Poetry- Li Bo & Tu Fu
Art- strong Daoist influence
Social Structure—aristocrats lost power to the gentry
who maintained status through education, an
urban middle class emerged, peasants still worked
for rich land owners
Women’s status declined, upper class girls had feet
bound, effectively crippling them and made them
status symbols for husbands & families
Mongol Empire
 The Mongols were nomadic pastoralists
 Temujin united the Mongols around 1200 AD, he
was named Ghengis Khan or universal ruler in
1206 after defeating all of his enemies
 Ghengis conquered using a well-organized
army, brilliant strategies and cruelty to terrify his
enemies
 The Mongols conquered the land from China to
Poland within 50 years of Ghengis Khan’s death in
1227, the largest land empire in history
 Empire divided into 4 Khanates, China, Central
Asia, Persia, and the Golden Horde (Russia)
 Many areas never recovered due to lost
population and/or destruction
 The Mongols did not impose their culture or
beliefs on conquered peoples
 The stability & order brought by the empire is
known as the Pax Mongolica (1200s-1300s),
travelers, missionaries & merchants could travel
throughout Eurasia which fostered cultural
diffusion
 Kublai Khan, grandson of Ghengis Khan,
conquered China in 1279 and started the Yuan
Dynasty
 United al of China for first time in 300 years,
considered one of the greatest emperors
 Opened China to more foreign trade
 Built capital at Beijing, the present day capital
 Failed to conquer Japan due to a typhoon that
destroyed the largest sea invasion until WWII, the
typhoon was called a kamikaze or divine wind by
the Japanese
 Venetian trader Marco Polo served in Kublai
Khan’s court and published an account of his
travels when he returned to Europe around 1300
 Mongol Empire weakened after Kublai Khan’s
death and was overthrown by the Ming in 1368
 The Persian Khanate lost power in the 1330s, the
Central Asian Khanate in the 1370s and Ivan the III
freed Russia from the Mongols in 1480
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Feudal Japan
Japan’s location allowed it to be influenced by
China but protected from complete domination by
its stronger neighbor
Japan is an archipelago, group of islands, with
limited natural resources
The ancient beliefs of Japan combined to form the
Shinto religion which focuses on respect for nature
and ancestors
The Yamato family took control of Japan in the 400s
and began ruling as emperors
Buddhism also spread to Japan from China in the
400s
 The Japanese emperor sent people to China to
learn and bring the ideas back, like Chinese writing
and painting
 The cultural exchange stopped in the 800s
 The Heian period, 794 to 1185, was a golden age of
Japanese culture
 Life in the royal court was dominated by complex
rituals, careful manners, and an appreciation of art
 Land owners began to gain power as the power of
the emperor declined
 Land owners hired private armies that developed
into the Samurai that followed a strict code of
honor called Bushido
 A civil war in the 12th century ended with the
emperor naming a Shogun to lead the samurai
 The Shogun, Samurai, and a kamikaze (divine wind)
defended Japan against the Mongol invasion in
the 13th century
 The Tokugawa Shogunate controlled Japan from
1192 to 1868
Southeast Asia
 A crossroads of trade, influenced by India &
China
 Khmer Empire ruled over present day Cambodia,
peaked around 1200 AD, built Angkor Wat, the
largest sacred building in the world, a temple to
the Hindu god Vishnu
 Indonesian islands were home to the Sailendra
Dynasty that prospered through international
trade
 Vietnam broke away from China and established
an independent kingdom
 Korea also established an independent kingdom
but was strongly influenced by China
 The Koryu Dynasty was modeled after the
Chinese government including civil service but
the social structure was controlled by wealthy
land owners
 Koryu culture is known for the celadon porcelain
(a milky green pottery) and blocks carved to print
Buddhist scriptures
 The Choson Dynasty overthrew the Koryu after the
Mongol threats had weakened it