New Empires In India

Ch 3-2

Mauryan Dynasty

• Started by Chandragupta Maurya• Had a centralized government• Divided empire up into provinces

ASOKA

• Grandson of Chandragupta• Greatest ruler in history of ancient India• Used Buddhism to guide his rule• Had many hospitals for his people built• Made India a major trade crossroad• Expanded trade• Empire fell apart after his death

SILK ROAD

• Route that went from Roman Empire to China• Called Silk Road because of the

silk was a valuable product• Covered 4,000 miles

Indian Culture

• Literature–Vedas• Indian religion texts•Written in Sanskrit•Historical epics were also written•Mahabharata and Ramayana were

two examples

Architecture

• Pillar– Large stone pillars that told Buddhism ideas

• Stupa– Large areas for Buddhist devotion– Looked like burial mounds

• Rock chamber– Places carved out of cliffs, usually for Buddhist

monks to live and work in

Science

• Astronomy– Earth was a sphere– It rotated on an axis and revolved around the Sun

• Mathematics– Algebra– Concept of 0– Numeral system we use today