Gupta+Civilization+(Classical+India)*+2

__**Megasthenes**__ **KH**
a. lived in India during fourth and third centuries BCE b. Wrote the book Indika that was lost, but quotations survives c. He had great respect for the Indian land, people, and society d. Portrayed India as fertile land that supported two harvests of grain a year
 * 1. Seleucid Emporer**

a. Rectangle-shaped city along the Ganges River b. Surrounded by a moat and massive timber wall; 570 towers and 64 gates c. Large armies used elephants for war d. Strict hierarchy (4 castes)
 * 2. Pataliputra**

__**The fortunes of Empire in** **Classical**__ **__India__ KH**
a. Migrated in 1500 BCE b. Established a series of small kingdoms throughout India c. Rulers of the kingdoms fought constantly for expansions of states d. The **Mauryan** and **Gupta** dynasties founded centralized imperial states e. Neither power survived in order to establish centralized rule
 * 1. The Aryans**

a. Magadha kingdom filled the power vacuum left by withdrawal of Alexander of macedon b. Chandragupta Maurya began conquest in 320s BCE
 * 2. The Mauryan Dynasty and the Temporary Unification of India**
 * Founded Maurya dynasty located in the central part of the Ganges plain
 * Chandragupta began taking control of Magadha by seizing control of small, remote regions then worked gradually toward the cennter of the civilization
 * He took control of Northwestern India and conquered the Greek state Bactria (today's border between Pakistan and Afghanistan)
 * Kautalya's advice manual, //Arthashastra//, offered detailed instructions on gov. and power
 * The //Arthashastra// outlined methods of administering the empire, overseeing trade and agriculture, colecting taxes, maintaining order, conducting foreign relations, and waging war
 * Chandragupta and Kautalya built a bureaucratic administrative system the enabled them to force policies throughout the state

a. High point of the Mauryan empire was during his reign b. Kalinga was the only independent kingdom during Mauryan rule c. Difficulties arose for Ashoka because Kalingacontrolled major trade routes, land and sea d. In 260 BCE, Ashoka had a bloody campaign to conquer Kalinga; 100,000 Kalingans died and 150,000 were driven from their lands e. ruled through tightly organized bureaucracy f. Established capital at Pataliputra g. Policies were written on rocks or pillars h. empire declined after Ashoka's death because of financial problems
 * 3. Ashoka Maurya** (268-232 BCE)

__**The Revival of Empire under the** **Guptas**__ **KH**

 * 1. Greek-speaking Bactrians ruled in northwest India for two centuries**
 * 2. Kushans (nomads from central Asia) conquered and ruled, 1-300 CE**

a. High point was Emperor Kashika, 78-103 CE b. Crucial role in Silk Road trading network a. Smaller and more decentralized that Maurya b. Invasion of White Huns weakened the empire c. Large regional kingdoms dominated political life in India a. Made Magadhan the capital of Pataliputra b. They both conquered many regional kingdoms of India c. Established tributary alliances with others that elected not to fight
 * 3. The Gupta Dynasty founded by Chandra Gupta I (375-415 CE)**
 * 4. Samudra Gupta (335-375 CE) and Chandra Gupta II (375-415 CE)**

__**Gupta System of Government**__ **AN**

 * Based state in Magadha because of wealth, dominance of Ganges Valley, and role as intermediary between various regions of India
 * arose on foundations laid by Chandra Gupta
 * forged alliances with powerful families in Ganges region and established dynamic kingdom in 320 CE
 * successors: Samudra Gupta (335-375 CE) and Chandra Gupta II (375-415 CE)
 * successors helped make Magadhan capital of Pataliputra the center of a large empire once again
 * conquered all regional kingdoms of India and made alliances with regions that elected not to fight except the Deccan Plateau and the southern most part of continent
 * this empire was smaller than the Mauryan
 * declined around the end of the 5th century CE

__**Intellectual**__ **AN**

 * differed in organization from Mauryan
 * Ashoka always knew details of regional affairs while Guptas left local government, administration, and making of basic policy in hands of allies in various regions throughout empire
 * nomadic invaders came during later 5th century CE and this way of government didn't always work, it split easily along fault lines of the administrative regions
 * around late 4th and early 5th centuries CE Gupta brought stability and prosperity to India
 * was prosperous land with little crime
 * "Could walk throughout country without fear of molestation and even without official travel documents." Stated Faxian
 * a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled India searching for texts of Buddhist scriptures during reign of Chandra Gupta II
 * invasion of white huns in 5th century, Guptas repelled them but defense cost resources and weakened state
 * were nomadic people from Central Asia, occupied Bactria in 4th century CE and prepared to cross Hindu Kush mountains into India at the end of 5th century CE, established kingdoms all over northern and western India

**__Economic Developement and social distinctions__ LU**
- After 100o Bce they learned iron metalgury to advance into religions previously not accesable. LU - Shudras worked to clear feilds on fertile grounds to have massive surpluses. - The large scale surplus was able to suport the growing populations and expanding cities.

**__Towns and Trade__ LU**
- Demand for manufactured goods like textiles, iron tools and pots encouraged the expansion of trade and created large scale businesses. - The northern region of Gandhara became a region of comercial exchange. - Trade was most active along the ganges river. - Three routes of trade were used; the first being throught the Hindu Kush mountains. The next being throught the Ganddharan capitol of Taxila to persia and across the mediteranian basin. Lastly the silk roads were used to trade between central Asia to markets in China. - Exports consisted of cotton, arromatics, gems and black pepper. - Imporsts include horses and bullion. - Mariners were able to record the patterns of the Indian ocean basin to effectively monopolize trade. - India established a relationship with Rome to build severaltrading markets to support the demand for black pepper.

**__Family Life and Caste system__ LU**
- They were a patriacal society. - The Mahabharata and the Ramaya potrayed women as weak willed and emotional creatures that should be dedicated to their husbands. - In the Gupta era child marriage was common with girls ages 8-9 married to men in their 20's. - Aryans established the caste system: preists ( Bramins), warriors and aristocrats (kshatriyas) peasants and merchants (shudras). - As trade expanded castes became more prominant. - Jatis were based on occupations and formed a community with courts and laws. - People married only in their social groups ( Jatis). - People who did not abide by the laws could suffer expolsion which would leave them in the untouchable class without their comunity. - In 600 BCE the vaishas and shudra classes became more wealthy and influential than the previously higher ranking Bramin and Kshatria classes. The merchant caste was able to gain their wealth by monopolizing trade and creating an industry for their skills.

**__Religions of salvation__ LU**
- Vardhama Mahaura turned to Jainism in the late sixth century. - He left home at age 30 to escape the cycle of reincarnation. - He practiced the principles of acetisicm. - Jains believed everything has a soul ( humans, rocks,plants, animals etc.) -They belive only bby purification of selfish desires could souls be released by their imprisonment and rid themselves of pre existing karma. - Sometimes jains swept the ground to avoid taking the lives of bugs and wore masks for the same reasons. - They were strict vegitarians. -Didn't recognize the caste system - Jains practiced ahisma which is relevant to what MLK used with his non violent practices.

**__Buddism__ LU**
-Siddharta Guatama was born a kshatriya prince surrounding by wealth and comfort. He became curious of life outside of palace walls and decided one day to venture out. He discovered pain and suffering and wanted to find a way to rid humans of it. After failing to reach enlightenment through Jainism and Acetiscism he created the eightfold path and the four noble truths. Through this he reached nirvana and was renamed Buddah or "enlightened one". - Final words were "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!". - Buddism apealed to the lower classes which made it extremely popular because they didn't recognize social classes. - Buddism is based off of the idea of living life in moderation.


 * Most notes were previously covered in the Chapter 9 Notes*

Development of Buddhism -LP
-Attracted merchants qnd other low ranking people -Buddhism disregarded social classes -Ethical behavior instead of complex ceremonies -righteous existence involved sacrificing property, social standing, and other ways of life. -Buddhists thought you must be reincarnated many times before passing into Nirvana -Between 3rd and 1st century BCE the obligations of a Buddhist were reduced -They started worshiping Buddha as a God -Boddhisatva was an "enlightened being" or someone that reached spiritual perfection but many times delayed their entrance into Nirvana to help others get there.

Spread of Mahayanna Buddhism -LP
-Mahayana was called the "greater vehicle" which brought more people to salvation quicker -Hinayana was the "lesser vehicle" -Hinayana stemmed from Therevada Buddhism

Sources From the Past: Ashoka as a Teacher of Humility and Equality According to the Ashokavadana -LP
-King Ashoka honored Buddhist monks. -The king's minister, Yaas, said he shouldn't bow down to the monks because they come from all four castes -Ashoka asked to have the heads of animals brought to him and the head of a human -He wanted the ministers to sell them in the market and they sold all but the human head. -Yaas said no one would buy it because it was disgusting and said all were disgusting even Ashoka's -Ashoka told Yaas that there was no shame in bowing down to any "disgusting head" in any caste and that he was too concenred with caste and it would hurt himself and others.

Nalanda -LP
-Educational institutuions promoted faith -during the Vedic era most Indian education was informal -Monasteries provided basic education -Nalanda was the best known Buddhist monastery -It was founded during the Gupta dynasty -At Nalanda you could study not only Buddhism but other things like logic, math, astronomy, etc.. -It soon became a famous education center.

The Epics -LP
-Hinduism turned into a popular religion of salvation -Departed from traditions of the brahmins but kept inspiration from Vedas anad Upanishads -Hinduism had changes in doctrine that better served the needs of ordinary people -Mahabharata were the great epic poems of the Ramayana -They were the development of Hindu values -Brahmin scholars revised them -It was nonreligious but Brahmins put the God Vishnu in it -Ramayana was a love and adventure story about Prince Rama and his wife Sita -He had to rescue her from a demon king, Ceylon -Brahmins made him an incarnation of Vishnu -Rama and Sita were portrayed as the ideal Hindu couple who were loyal throughout the hardest times

The Bhagavad Gita -LP
-It was a short poetic piece that translated to "song of the lord" -Showed expactations of the Hindu people and showed the salvation that was to come -Gita was revised from about 300BCE-400CE -It is a section of the Mahabharta (Story on pg 225-226)

Hindu Ethics -LP
-Achieve salvation through meeting caste responsibilities -Lead honorable lives in the world -Hindu ethics recognized four principals of human life: dharma (obedience to laws), kama (enjoyment of overall pleasure), Artha (pursuit of good economic being), and moksha (salvation of the soul) -Appealed to all segments of the Indian society

Popularity of Hinduism -LP
-Hinduism gradually replaced Buddhism in India -Buddhist monks eventually confined themselves to sremote monasteries with wealthy patrons. -by 1000 C.E. Buddhism was in a noticeable decline -Hinduism and Islamic faith overshadowed Buddhism completely