Period+6+Maurya+&+Gupta

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=** "Equality is Our Greatest Policy!" **=

Name of civilization: **Maurya and Gupta**
Dates: 320 BCE - 185 BCE.

Sources: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=WHIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3446500256&mode=view http://www.indiaandindians.com/india_history/mauryan_administration.php http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=WHIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3446500256&mode=view http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/Ashoka.htm http://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html

Government
 * The central government was under the direct control of the Emperor.
 * The empire was divided into three sections: The Province, Districts, and Villages.
 * A prince or any other member from the royal family looked after the Provinces.
 * Six boards or departments looked after the Municipal administration of the city of Pataliputra.

Religion
 * Maurya and Gupta was located in ancient India.
 * Practiced Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
 * Originally they practiced Hinduism, though they soon after embraced Buddhism.
 * The main ruler, Ashoka, renounced expansion and aggression. He soon after made Buddhism the state religion.
 * The next emperor, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, practiced Jainism after retiring.

Economy
 * For the first time ever in Southern Asia, political unity and military security existed.
 * This allowed a common economic system, and enhanced trade and commerce.
 * The result of these economic advantages was agricultural productivity.

Art/Architecture
 * In Maurya and Gupta people made magnificent sculptues and paintings, mostly of the rulers at the time. They were also skilled in making pottery.
 * The people from Maurya and Gupta also engraved symbols and pictures into gold and silver coins.
 * They built brick and stone caves, along with archways used for religious purposes.
 * They also made temples with many columns on the face of the building.
 * King Ashoka of Maurya around 232 BC built 40 to 50 feet tall; 50 ton pillars around his empire. He had statues of animals that represented each capital in his empire, which he placed on top of each pillar.

Technology • The Mauryan Empire mainly used mud bricks for building stairs and walls. • They wove baskets, which they used for holding goods and keeping food and valuables protected from birds. • They used a lot of rocks to carve tools. • Rocks were also used for building walls and stairs.

Social Structure
 * Leaders, priests, and kings were put into high esteem, while slaves were treated poorly and looked down upon.
 * Besides kings and slaves, the people of Maurya and Gupta were divided into social classes by jobs. For example, craftsman had higher social statuses than farmers.
 * Women who lived in Maurya and Gupta had a lot less rights than the men. Women weren't allowed to have any real jobs of importance, their only jobs were to have children and work at home.

Summary of Maurya and Gupta's achievements:

The civilization of Maurya and Gupta had many achievements. The ruler, Chandragupta, was especially talented at expanding territory and taking over foreign lands. Skilled as he was in nature and weather, he could tell which countries weather would be a problem in trying to conquer land. Though his military was not extraordinary, knowing this helpful information about weather and nature helped him expand his boundaries. When Chandragupta retired, his son, Bindusara Maurya became the new ruler. When Bindesara died, his son, named Ashoka Mauryan, took his place. Although Ashoka was a cruel ruler, and to show punishment sent part of the civilization out to war, simply because, he did establish some new laws that benefited the overall well-being of the civilization. Because he had no fear of outside attacks, he was able to turn his attention to controlling his land. An era of peace was instituted, along with progression. Ashoka wanted peace between different countries and religions, and sent out missionaries to different places all over, instead of conquering. He also taught his people to love and respect living things, and created laws against sport-hunting to save living creatures. He wanted to rise his men's intelligence, and so he created universities so they could learn about water transit, and irrigational systems, which was helpful for trade and agriculture. Along with religious and mental progressional achievements, Maurya and Gupta achieved having a stable economy, creating useful tools, and having a steady government.