Download Indian Empires, Trade and Spreading Cultural Influences

Bell Ringer
1.
Architecture in every
country is different.
Have you seen anything
like this before?
2.
What interests you about
this style?
3.
If you could, would you
like to go on a tour of the
temple?
Famous Hindu Akshardham
temple in South Delhi
Empires,
Trade and Influences
Three New Empires
 After 400 B. C. India faced threats from invaders. First came the Persians,
who extended their empire into Western India. Then came the Greeks and
Macedonians.
 After conquering Persia, Alexander the Great swept into India in 327 BC. A
year later, his army refused to go further, and he withdrew from India.
Alexander’s raid played a role in the creation of the first pan-Indian empire.
 Empires: Mauryan, Kushan and Gupta
Mauryan Empire
 The new Indian state was founded by Candragupta Maurya. He ruled
from 324 B.C. to 301 B.C.
 The Mauryan established political influence in India through a well-
organized and highly centralized empire. The king divided his empire
into 2 provinces, ruled by governors whom he appointed.
 Mauryan rule was also reinforced by a large army and a massive
network of spies.
Mauryan Empire
•
Historical Power in
Ancient India
•
Iron Age
•
Maximum Expansion
Mauryan Empire
 His grandson, Asoka, is considered to be the greatest ruler in the history of India.
 Asoka converted to Buddhism and used its ideals to guide his rule and shape
Indian civilization.
 Asoka also set up hospitals for people and animals.
 He also sent out missionaries throughout India and eventually into China.
Mauryan Empire
 Asoka was a kind ruler and his kingdom prospered under his
reign.
 Commerce expanded and India became a major crossroads in the
trade network that expanded from the Mediterranean Sea all the
way into China.
 After his death in 232 B.C. The Mauryan Empire began to
decline.
Kushan Empire
 The Kushans, nomadic warriors from Central Asia, established a kingdom that
overspread and dominated North India for the next 2 centuries.
 Kushans prospered from the trade (Silk Road) that passed through their empire
between the Mediterranean countries and the countries bordering the Pacific
Ocean.
 The Kushans developed a calendar based on the sun and the moon, and their
calendar is the basis for today’s Indian calendar.
Kushan Empire
Current day
Afghanistan, Pakistan
and
Northern India
Gupta Empire
 When the Kushan Empire fell due to Persian invaders, a
new state was created by a local prince named Candra
Gupta.
 Eventually, the Gupta Empire became the most influential
political force in northern India.
Gupta Empire
 Under a series of competent monarchs (single ruling
governments), the Gupta empire created a golden age of
Indian culture. Most often seen in Hindu and Buddhist arts.
 Empire was considered to be a “Classical Civilization” – A
society that serves as a model of excellence and has lasting
value and relevance.
Golden Age
of
Gupta Empire
Gupta Empire
Gupta Empire
 Very active in trade. Most of the trade was managed by the Gupta rulers who owned
silver and gold mines and vast amounts of land. Much of their wealth came from
religious trade and pilgrims.
 Many temples were built during this time and pilgrims (a person who travels to a
holy place) would journey to India to visit the Hindu and Buddhist temples and
shrines.
 Eventually invading Huns weakened the empire and led to its collapse.
Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh

The Gupta Age, being an age of intense religion interests, saw the construction of large number of temples / religious
architectures. This is one of the few remaining original standing temples. Others were destroyed when invaders
entered into the provinces.

The body of the temple is covered with sculpture with many figures.
Changes in Buddhism and Hinduism
 By 250 B.C., Hinduism and Buddhism were India’s two
main faiths.
 Over the centuries, both religions had become increasingly
removed from the people.
 Hinduism became dominated by priests, while the Buddhist
ideal of self-denial proved difficult for many to follow.
A More Popular Form of Buddhism
 After the Buddha died, his followers developed many different
interpretations of his teachings.
 Although the Buddha had forbidden people to worship him, some
began to teach that he was a god.
 Some Buddhists also began to believe that many people could
become Buddhas. They could choose to give up nirvana and work to
save humanity through good works and self-sacrifice.
A More Popular Form of Buddhism
 The new ideas changed Buddhism from a religion that emphasized
individual discipline to a mass religion that offered salvation to all
and allowed popular worship.
 These new trends in Buddhism inspired Indian art. For example,
artists carved huge statues of the Buddha for people to worship.
A More Popular Form of Buddhism
 Merchants also commissioned
the carving of cave temples out
of solid rock. Artists then
adorned these temples with
sculptures and paintings.
Standing Buddha
The Caves at Ajanta.
This group of caves is a Buddhist cave temple complex, carved between 100-400 B.C.
Archeologists think that the caves were used as refuge by monks in monsoon season.
The Caves at Ajanta
29 rock-cut cave monuments which date from the
2nd century BCE. The caves include paintings and
sculptures considered to be masterpieces of
Buddhist religious art.
Sculptured Buddha.
Trade Spreads Indian Religions and
Culture
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
Cultural Interaction:
Indian religions,
culture, and science evolved
and spread
to other regions
through trade.
The influence of Indian culture
and religions is very evident
throughout South Asia today.
Achievements of Indian Culture
 Indian culture and learning also changed. India entered a
highly productive period in literature, art, science, and
mathematics that continued until roughly A.D. 500.
 Southern India also has a rich literary tradition. In the
second century A.D., the city of Madurai in southern India
became a site of writing academies. More than 2,000 Tamil
poems from this period still exist.
Achievements of Indian Culture
 In southern India, traveling troupes of actors put on
performances in cities across the region. Women as well as men
took part in these shows, which combined drama and dance.
 Many of the classical dance forms in India today are based on
techniques explained in a book written between the first century
B.C. and the first century A.D.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKscst43g_g&list=RDuC
p-2Kudaqk&index=14
Astronomy, Mathematics
and Medicine
 The expansion of trade helped advance science and astronomy. Sailors on trading
ships used the stars to help them figure their position at sea.
 Almost 1,000 years before Columbus, Indian astronomers proved that the earth
was round by observing a lunar eclipse.
 During the eclipse, the earth’s shadow fell across the face of the moon. The
astronomers noted that the earth’s shadow was curved, indicating that the earth
itself was round.
Astronomy, Mathematics
and Medicine
 Indian mathematics was among the most advanced in the world. Modern
numerals, the zero, and the decimal system were invented in India.
 In medicine, two important medical guides were compiled. They described
more than 1,000 diseases and more than 500 medicinal plants.
 Hindu physicians performed surgery —including plastic surgery— and
possibly gave injections.
The Spread of Indian Trade
 India was rich in precious resources. Spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and
beautiful woods—including ebony, teak, and fragrant sandalwood—have been
valuable items of exchange.
 Trade between India and regions as distant as Africa and Sumeria began more than
4,000 years ago.
 Groups who invaded India helped to expand India’s trade to new regions. Central
Asian nomads told Indians about an enormous network of caravan routes known as
Silk Roads.
India Trade Routes
The Spread of Indian Trade
 These routes were called the Silk Roads because traders used them to
bring silk from China to western Asia and then on to Rome. Silk was
China’s most valuable product.
 Once Indians learned of the Silk Roads, they realized that they could
make great profits by acting as middlemen.
 Indian traders would buy Chinese goods and sell them to traders
traveling to Rome. Indians built trading stations at oases along the Silk
Roads.
Sea Trade, East and West
 Traders used coastal routes around the rim of the Arabian Sea
and up the Persian Gulf to bring goods from India to Rome.
 Traders from southern India would sail to Southeast Asia to
collect spices. They brought the spices back to India and sold
them to merchants from Rome. Archaeologists have found
hoards of Roman gold coins in southern India.
Sea Trade, East and West
 Import Vs. Export
 India also imported African ivory and gold, and exported
cotton cloth. India sent rice and wheat went to Arabia in
exchange for dates and horses.
 India’s sea trade with China and the islands of Southeast Asia
increased. The Chinese imported Indian cotton cloth,
monkeys, parrots, and elephants and sent India silk.
Effects of Indian Trade
 Increased trade increased banking in India. Bankers were willing to lend
money to merchants and charge them interest on the loans.
 Traders also brought Indian religions to new regions. Hinduism spread
northeast to Nepal and southeast to Sri Lanka and Borneo.
 Buddhism spread because of traveling Buddhist merchants and monks. In
time, Buddhism even influenced China.