Indias First Empires

6th Grade- Miss. Easterly

The Mauryan Dynasty

The Mauryan Dynasty was founded by
Chandragupta Maurya
**It was the first dynasty in India
Chandragupta was an Indian prince who
centralized the government
**He created a strong army and a postal
system to keep communication open

King Asoka
Ruled from 273 B.C to 232 B.C
He was horrified by blood shed in battles, and
decided to follow the teachings of Buddhism
He created hospitals for people and animals
Built new roads
** He sent Buddhist teachers throughout India
and parts of Asia
The Empire thrived when he was king

The Gupta Empire

After the fall of the Maurya Empire, for about 500
years India had no strong ruler
In A.D 320, the Gupta Empire was formed
The empire grew wealthy from trade
**Merchants traded salt, cloth, and iron with
China and other parts of Asia
Pilgrims used the trade routes to visit religious
shrines and sites
Many people in the Gupta empire were Hindu

Indian Literature and Science

Indias most famous poems are the Vedas of
India
The longest poem in the written language is
the Mahabharata it is 88,000 versus long
**The Bhagavad Gita is very well known,
which means Song of the Lord
Both pieces of literature contain important
religious and moral lessons

 **Indian mathematicians developed the idea

of zero along with the symbol (0)
They also explained the concept of infinity
Ancient Indians also contributed to astronomy
They understood that the Earth was round
and revolved around the sun