The History of India: Mauryan Empire

The people unified around the mutual respect for their ruler that would always look after them and there was no worry of rebellion. During the time that the Gupta Empire reigned, India relished in a golden age because of the stable government. The Guptas received credit for restoring peace after the Mauryan emperor Asoka’s death left India in chaos, spurring civil war between Rajahs who abandoned Asoka’s Buddhist values and resorted to violence for sovereignty over the northern plain. The government gave Indians plenty of freedom and permitted individual sector governments as long as they reported back to the main authoritative government, which gave Rajahs the liberty that they desired while conserving unity. With a government in which people had power and worked together, India was a unified force that could not be reckoned with. When civilizations had an organized government, they could focus on farming, the arts, education, and most importantly, trade.

Upon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. These three sects in religious thinking have many similarities as all recognize the life-cycle and the need of liberation, they worship one central deity that used to be a human who gained enlightenment and they all recognize the existence of the eternal soul and after-death re-incarnation. However, they also share a lot of differences that mark the underlying principles of practicing them. I will identify the scope of differences and similarities in these ancient religions in an attempt to understand why each attracted followers, why

Scholars stressed that the role of Indian colonizers brought Hinduism to reflect the ideology that emphasizes on Southeast Asia. Hinduism spread throughout India by certain people and territory (Strayer, 183). Hinduism became part of the Indian civilization for the different people that migrated or invaded into Southeastern Asia (Strayer, 133).

What if you could live in a golden empire? That was exactly what the Gupta Empire was for India, their “Golden Age.” That was because of their daily life, Chandra Gupta II, and achievements in academics.

Before its modern state, India had only been united once. This time was under the rule of the Mauryan Empire in the 300s-200s BCE. The Mauryan Empire was started by Chandragupta Maurya after overthrowing and conquering the Magadha government. He proceeded to conquer more than half of the Indian subcontinent. After some time, Chandragupta’s grandson Asoka came to power. Asoka was a leader who ruled with feelings of remorse for decisions he had made in the past yet still ruled with great, imposing power. He also was mindful of his people and made sure to always rule in favor of them.

The Persian Conquest left Asia without a ruler, this allowed Chandragupta Maurya to exploit the opportunity and lay down the foundation for the Maurya Empire.

People, places, and/or things come and go, changing from one thing to another or none at all. In other cases, it is just not people, places, and/or things, it can also be generations or empires. Empires are known to adopt similar traditions or beliefs from other empires. In addition, some empires have similar, but slightly different laws and/or goals. Two of the empires that were similar, but different is many ways are the Ottoman and Mughal Empires.

The Mughal Empire: Zahir al-Din, also known as Babur, was a Chagatai Turk that, unlike the Ottoman and Safavids, was just a soldier of fortune not fighting on behalf of Islam. He wanted to use his fortune to transform a glorious central Asian empire. Although, he did not succeed at that goal he then focused on India. Babur took Delhi in 1526. He did not like the land that he had conquered, it was a hot and humid climate but, Babur decided to stay. By the time of his death he had embraced most of the Indian subcontinent. The height of the Mughal power and influence came from Babur’s grandson Akbar. He gained power in Gujarat and Bengal, destroyed the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar in order to later expand in southern India. He was a thoughtful man who tolerated the religious differences in

The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BCE – 220 BCE, and was in China. The Mauryan and Gupta Dynasty lasted from 322 BCE – 500 CE, and were in India. The Mauryan Dynasty ended by 185 BCE. The Gupta Dynasty started in 320 CE. In my essay I am going to be comparing and contrasting the 3 dynasty’s (2 of them as 1), and their control through religion, trade, male dominance, and how they fell.

King Harsha (606-648 C.E) temporarily restored unified rule in most of Northern India and sought to revive imperial authority

How did the invasions, and attempted conquest of Alexander, aid Chandragupta Maurya to build his empire in northern India? How did his grandson Ashoka manage to govern his large and diverse empire?

This period was one of major change in Indian life and culture. While the East

In the year 322 BC, Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan dynasty in what is now present-day Eastern India. Before the Mauryans, there had been hundreds of private kingdoms and armies, but the central government formed by Chandragupta Maurya provided a stable, unified nation. In the conventional age of India’s history, it contained two important dynasties, the Mauryan and Gupta. The rise of the Mauryan Dynasty was advanced by the invasion of Alexander of Macedonia in 327 B.C. Although Alexander himself did not leave any long-lasting impression on India, he cleared out several small Aryan states and created

Trade and immigration influenced the spread of Hinduism throughout the world: “Hinduism spread to…Southeast Asia. Indian Brahmins may have arrived in the area through trade…they [the rulers] seemed to have gravitated to…the Hindu religious practices” (Opposing Views). Whilst migrating from country to country in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Indian immigrants searched for jobs, and once becoming wealthy, mandirs sprung up like livestock around the country of Great Britain. In addition, in 1906, the

     India was an ancient civilization that had many rulers and empires. The first rulers were the Harappans. They ruled from 3500 BC through 1500 BC. The Aryans took over the Harappan empire around 1500 BC. Then, Alexander the Great came and took over control of India. After ruling for only a couple of years, he died. A few years later the Mauryan Empire took over. Next was the Ashoka. Finally, the Guptas ruled from 320 BC through 535 AD.