1. India and China Establish
Empires 400 B.C.-AD.550

3. Chapter Opener
 Asoka: The
Buddhist King of
India
• Buddhism turned
Asoka, the
bloodthirsty king of
ancient India’s
Mauryan Empire,
into a peace-loving
ruler.

4. Section 1: India’s First Empires

5. The Mauryan Empire is Established
 Chandragupta Maurya
Seizes Power
• In 321 B.C.
Chandragupta Maurya
seizes power, starts
Mauryan Empire
 Chandragupta Maurya
Unifies North India
• Chandragupta defeats
Seleucus I; north India
is united for the first
time
• Chandragupta uses
taxes to support his
large army

6. The Mauryan Empire is Established
 Running the Empire
• Chandragupta’s chief adviser is Kautilya,
a priest
• Chandragupta creates a bureaucratic
government
• He divides the government
to make it easier to rule

7. The Mauryan Empire is Established
 Life in the City and the
Country
• A Greek ambassador
writes glowing praise of
the empire
• Chandragupta’s son
rules from 301 to 269
B.C., (32 years)
• Aŝoka—
Chandragupta’s
grandson, brings the
empire to its height
Mahabodhi Temple, site of first temple built
by Asoka (3rd century B.C.) on spot of
Buddha’s enlightenment. Bihar, India

8. The Mauryan Empire is Established
 Asoka Promotes Buddhism
• After a bloody war with Kalinga, Asoka
promotes Buddhism and peace
• Preaches religious toleration—accepting
people of different religions
• Builds roads, with wells along them

9. A Period of Turmoil
 The Breakup of the Mauryan Empire
• Asoka dies in 232 B.C.; kingdoms in
central India soon break away
• The Andhra Dynasty dominates central
India for centuries
• Northern India receives immigrants from
Greece and other parts of Asia
• Tamils—a people living in southern
India—remain separate and frequently
war with rival peoples.

10. The Gupta Empire is
Established
 Chandra Gupta Builds
an Empire
• Chandra Gupta
marries into kingship
in north India in A.D.
320
• Starts Gupta Empire
—India’s second
empire; flowering of
Indian civilization,
especially Hindu
culture (see next
slide)
• His son Samudra
Gupta expands
empire with conquest

11. Tamils

12. The Gupta Empire is
Established
 Daily Life in India
• Majority of Indians are farmers; entire
family raises crops together
• Families are patriarchal—headed by
the eldest male
• Farmers have to contribute work to
government and pay heavy taxes
• Some Tamil families are matriarchal—
led by mother rather than father

13. The Gupta Empire is
Established
 Height of the Gupta Empire
• Chandra Gupta II rules from A.D. 375-
415
• He defeats the Shakas and adds
western coast to empire
• Gupta Empire sees flourishing of arts,
religion, and science
• After Chandra Gupta II dies, the empire
declines