Transcript Neolithic Agricultural Revolutions

IMPERIAL INDIA
The Mauryan Empire, 324 – 184 BCE
•
The core kingdom of
Magadha
•
•
strategic location
plentiful resources.
•
Founded by
Chandragupta Maurya
•
Tradition maintains that a
Machiavellian Brahmin,
Kautilya, guided
Chandragupta.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Mauryan Empire, 324 – 184 BCE
• Capital at the walled
and moated city of
Pataliputra.
• The imperial
establishment
supported by:
• A 25 percent tax
on the agricultural products of
the empire
• State monopolies on mines,
shipbuilding, and armaments.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Mauryan Empire, 324 – 184 BCE
Emperor Ashoka (r.
269–232 B.C.E.).
•
Shaken by the carnage in
a brutal war of expansion
in the south, converted to
Buddhism.
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His Buddhist policies of
government are preserved
in edicts that were
inscribed on rocks and
polished sandstone.
IMPERIAL INDIA
Commerce & Culture in an era of Fragmentation
• The Mauryan
empire collapsed
in 184 B.C.E.
• Northern India fell
into a period of
political
fragmentation:
•
Accompanied by
economic development in
which guilds of artisans
and merchants played a
dominant role.
IMPERIAL INDIA
Commerce & Culture in an era of Fragmentation
•
Period of fragmentation was
also characterized by cultural
development.
•
Included the writing of
Ramayana & Mahabharata:
Bhagavad-Gita, addresses the
contradiction between duty to
society and duty to one’s own soul.
•
•
The period also saw
developments in herbal
medicine and linguistics.
IMPERIAL INDIA
Commerce & Culture in an era of Fragmentation
• Historians of
southern India
consider the period
from the third
century B.C.E. to the
third century C.E.,
dominated by three
often feuding Tamil
kingdoms—the
Cholas, Pandyas, and
Cheras—a “classical”
period for Tamil art
and literature.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
• Like the Mauryan
Empire, the Gupta
Empire began with the
kingdom of Magadha.
• Like the Mauryan rulers,
the Guptas controlled
iron deposits, established
state monopolies, and
collected a 25 percent
agricultural tax.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
• Use the army to control
the core of their empire
• Provincial
administration was left
to governors:
•
Posts become hereditary with
appointments based on kinship
groups
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
• Women’s experience
during the Gupta period:
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•
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Lost the right to inherit and own
property
Married very young
Widow was required to burn
herself on her husband’s funeral
pyre. (sati)
Ways to escape this low status:
• join a religious community
• to be a member of an extremely wealthy
family
• be a courtesan.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
• Brahmins regain power,
influence, and wealth
• The classic form of the
Hindu temple, with
exterior courtyard, inner
shrine, and wall
decorations
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
• Gupta India was linked to
the outside world by
extensive trade networks
• Trade with Southeast and
East Asia particularly
flourished.
IMPERIAL INDIA
The Gupta Empire, 320–550 C.E.
•
In 550 C.E., the Gupta Empire
collapsed under the pressure of
nomadic invaders from the
northwest.
•
Harsha Vardhana (r. 606–647 C.E),
the ruler of the region around Delhi,
briefly restored imperial power.
•
After Harsha’s death, northern India
again fell into political fragmentation
and remained divided until the
Muslim invasions of the eleventh and
twelfth centuries.