Ancient India
5.4 – Indian Empires Essential Question: How do India’s rich history and culture affect the world today? Big Idea: The Maurayas and the Guptas built great empires in India. Key Term
Candragupta Maurya Asoka Candra Gupta II Definition
A military leader, who seized control of the entire northern part of India and founded the Mauryan Empire The strongest of all the Mauryan emperors, who eventually converted to Buddhism and used missionaries to spread the religion's beliefs The emperor who ruled during Gupta society’s most prosperous high point Memory Clue
A. Mauryan Empire Unifies India In the 320s BC, a military leader named ___________________________ _________________________ seized control of the entire northern part of India. By doing so, he founded the ________________________ Empire, which lasted for about 150 years. Chandragupta Maurya ruled his empire with the help of a _________________ government. It included a network of ________________ and a huge army of some 600,000 soldiers, who used ____________ _____________________ and chariots. In 301 BC, Candragupta decided to become a _______________________ monk, so he had to give up his throne. He passed the throne to his son, who continued to expand the empire. Around 270 BC, Chandragupta's grandson, _________________ became king. Asoka was the _____________________ of all the Mauryan emperors. A few years into his rule, however, Asoka converted to _________________________. When he did, he swore that he would not launch any more wars of conquest.
Asoka had _____________ dug, shade trees planted, rest houses built, and ________________ built throughout the empire. He also encouraged the spread of Buddhism in India and the rest of Asia through the work of ____________________________. Soon after Asoka died, the empire fell apart and India, once again, was divided into smaller ____________________. B. Gupta Rulers Promote Hinduism After the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, India remained ____________________ for about 500 years. During that time, ________________________ continued to prosper and spread in India, and so the popularity of Hinduism declined. Eventually, however, the ____________________ Dynasty took over India around AD 320. Under the Guptas, India was once again ______________, and it became prosperous. Indian civilization flourished under the Gupta rulers. These rulers were ______________ , so ___________________________ became India’s major religion. The Gupta kings built many Hindu _________________ and also promoted a revival of Hindu writings and worship practices. Although they were Hindus, the Gupta rulers also supported the religious beliefs of ___________________________ and _________________________. In 375, Emperor ________________ ___________________ ______ took the throne in India. Gupta society reached its highpoint during his rule. The Gupta considered the ________________ _______________________ an important part of Indian society because they thought it would keep the empire __________________. However, by the middle 500s, the _______________ had invaded and Gupta rule had ended. India divided into ________________ kingdoms yet again. . Main Idea #1: The Mauryan Empire unified most of India. Q: Who was Candragupta? A: Q: What was Candragupta Maurya’s government like? A: Q: How did becoming a Buddhist change Asoka’s behavior? A: Main Idea #2: Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in their empire. Q: What was India like after the fall of the Mauryan Empire? A: Q: Who were Candra Gupta and Candra Gupta II? A: Q: Why did the Gupta rulers support the caste system? A: Q: How do you think India would be different today if the Gupta rulers had not taken over? A: Q: What ended the Gupta rule? A: Q: What responsibilities and rights did Gupta women have? A: Reading Checks Q: How did the Mauryans gain control of most of India? A: Q: What was the Gupta dynasty’s position on religion? A: