World History

1. World History Chapter Three: Section Three

2. Powerful Empires of India • Northern India was a battleground for rival rajahs fighting to control the Ganges Valley • Chandragupta Maurya – created first Indian empire • Gained control of the Ganges Valley, then northern India • Son and grandson went south and captured land in the Deccan

3. Empire • Maurya Dynasty – ruled most of India • Order was maintained in bureaucracy • Built roads, harbors, collected taxes, royal courts • Used secret police force to control crime and corruption • Used specially trained women warriors to guard his palace

4. Asoka • Asoka – Chandragupta’s grandson and the most honored Maurya emperor • Fought bloody battle to conquer the rest of the Deccan – over 100,000 people died • Turned his back on war, accepted Buddhism and ruled by moral example • Stopped eating most meats and limited Hindu sacrifices

5. Asoka • Sent missionaries across India to spread Buddhism • Preached tolerance for other religions • Set up stone pillars that offered advice and moral guidance to those reading them • Peace and prosperity – built hospitals and shrines

6. Division • Asoka died – Maurya power declined • Unity of empire broken as princes fought for power • India often remained divided due to the numerous ethnic groups in the area trying to take control

7. Guptas • Gupta Empire – India enjoyed a golden age or a period of great cultural achievement • Gupta vs. Maurya Empire • Gupta was more relaxed and let villages rule themselves • Trade and farming flourished • Farmers harvested: wheat, rice, sugar cane • Artisans produced: cotton cloth, pottery, metal ware

8. Advances in learning • Students educated in religious schools • Taught religion, mathematics, medicine, physics, languages, literature and other subjects • Gupta mathematics – created system of writing numbers that we use today • Created concept of zero • Developed decimal system based on ten

9. Literature • Folklores collected and written in Sanskrit – language of the area • Indian stories went to Egypt, Persia, and Greece

10. Gupta Decline • Gutpa declined due to weak rulers, civil war, and foreign invaders • Invaders from Central Asia – the Huns – nomadic people who overran the Gupta empire • Now India was again split up into many smaller kingdoms

11. Family Life • Most Indians were peasants • Life revolved around the caste system, rules, duties and family • Joint family – parents, children, and offspring shared a home – this was considered ideal • Oldest male was in charge • Usually only made decisions after consulting his wife • Property belonged to the entire family

12. Family • Family trained children to perform the duties of their caste • Family interest came before individual interests • Daughter learned that she would serve husband and family • Son learned rituals to honor ancestors • Arranged marriages based on caste and family interests • Brides family often provided a dowry – payment to the bridegroom and financed the wedding • Daughter would go live with husband after marriage

13. Women • Early Aryan society – women enjoyed higher status than in later times • Women restricted to the home, when they went outside they had to cover from head to toe • Lower class women were outside in the fields or weaved cloth • Women believed to have shakti– creative energy – completed her husband • Few rights in family or society – they were simply supposed to marry and raise children

14. Village Structure • Homes made of dirt and stone • Surrounded by fields of wheat, sugar, cotton, rice • Village council made decisions for village • Women used to be allowed in it but Hindu teachings eventually led to women having less rights and freedom

15. Agriculture • Farming relied on rains from the summer monsoons – winds • Too much or too little meant famine • Landlords often owned the land that was farmed • They were paid part of the harvest by farmers • What was left was barely enough to feed farmer and his family