Mauryan Empire
● 321-185 BC - Founded by Chandragupta Maurya
○ He created bureaucracy
○ Created four provinces run by men who were appointed officials
○ They collected taxes and enforced laws
○ Chandragupta heavily taxed citizens to create an army of 630,000 men and 9000
elephants.
○ He had and advisor: Kautilya
○ Spies Assassinations, Secret Police
○ If you didn’t pay taxes your ears or nose got cut off
● Asoka (Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya)
○ Kalinga was a bloody war, 100,000 men killed
○ Asoka felt guilty after so he converted to Buddhism
○ He ruled by “peace of all beings”
○ Rock edicts were peaceful policies for equality and fairness
○ Made hospitals, roads, homes
○ Medicine for BOTH humans and animals
○ He encourages vegetarianism and lessened animal sacrifice
○ Sent missionaries to Sri Lanka and China to spread Buddhism
○ Many Stupas, Great Stupa in Sanchi India
○ He dies in 232 BC so the empire falls bc no one could figure out how to rule such
a big place
Gupta Empire
● 320-550 CE
● Chandra Gupta 1 (Not related to Chandragupta Maurya) - Created Empire
● Chandra Gupta 2
● Organized a strong central government
● Trade and farming flourished in the “golden Gupta age”
● Religion: Hinduism for all of India
● Arranged Marriages
● Less taxes
● More freedom
● Achievements
○ Math, Medicine, Astronomy, Surgery and Plastic Surgery
○ Math: Pi, Zero, Numbers, Decimals, Smallpox Vaccine, Earth was round
○ Kalidasa was a great writer
○ Textiles, Literature
○ Banking, Middleman between Rome and China
● Decline: Civil Wars, Invaders, Weak Rulers - Split into multiple kingdoms
● No new empire for 1000 years
● 321-185 BC - Founded by Chandragupta Maurya
○ He created bureaucracy
○ Created four provinces run by men who were appointed officials
○ They collected taxes and enforced laws
○ Chandragupta heavily taxed citizens to create an army of 630,000 men and 9000
elephants.
○ He had and advisor: Kautilya
○ Spies Assassinations, Secret Police
○ If you didn’t pay taxes your ears or nose got cut off
● Asoka (Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya)
○ Kalinga was a bloody war, 100,000 men killed
○ Asoka felt guilty after so he converted to Buddhism
○ He ruled by “peace of all beings”
○ Rock edicts were peaceful policies for equality and fairness
○ Made hospitals, roads, homes
○ Medicine for BOTH humans and animals
○ He encourages vegetarianism and lessened animal sacrifice
○ Sent missionaries to Sri Lanka and China to spread Buddhism
○ Many Stupas, Great Stupa in Sanchi India
○ He dies in 232 BC so the empire falls bc no one could figure out how to rule such
a big place
Gupta Empire
● 320-550 CE
● Chandra Gupta 1 (Not related to Chandragupta Maurya) - Created Empire
● Chandra Gupta 2
● Organized a strong central government
● Trade and farming flourished in the “golden Gupta age”
● Religion: Hinduism for all of India
● Arranged Marriages
● Less taxes
● More freedom
● Achievements
○ Math, Medicine, Astronomy, Surgery and Plastic Surgery
○ Math: Pi, Zero, Numbers, Decimals, Smallpox Vaccine, Earth was round
○ Kalidasa was a great writer
○ Textiles, Literature
○ Banking, Middleman between Rome and China
● Decline: Civil Wars, Invaders, Weak Rulers - Split into multiple kingdoms
● No new empire for 1000 years
