India's encounters with the Greeks and how it affected Ashoka and the Gupta's
By: Aarya Rao
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Alexander of Macedon and the Kingdom of Maghada
- In 327 B.C.E Alexander of Macedon crossed the Indus River and crushed all the states there
- He left soon after destroying all the states
- This created a political vacuum, so nobody of power was there to rule the area
- The kingdom of Maghada filled the vacuum
- By 500 B.C.E. Maghada was the most important state in northeastern India
- The kings of Maghada conquered the neighboring states and expanded
- Because Alexander had created a political vacuum it was easy for the kings of Maghada to expand
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Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire
- The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya
- The Mauryan empire was created by Chandragupta Maurya by 328 B.C.E.
- The creation of a political vacuum by Alexander helped the Mauryan empire, because it allowed them to expand
- Ashoka ruled the Mauryan empire from 268 - 232 B.C.E
- He conquered Kalinga, the last major region that was independent from the Mauryan empire
- He ruled using a bureaucracy
- He established the capital of the Mauryan empire at Pataliputra
- Stabilized the government and economy
- Built irrigation systems to encourage agriculture
- Built roads and highways that connected India to Bactria, Persia and many other western points
- The Mauryan Empire declined in 232 B.C.E. after Ashoka died
- By 185 B.C.E the empire had disappeared
Bactrian Rule and the Kushans
- After the collapse of the Mauryan empire, local rulers formed kingdoms in order to keep the region in order
- Alexander of Macedon's imperial heirs conquered Northwestern India and took it under their control for two centuries
- They conquered northern India in 182 B.C.E
- They seized a large territory that went as far south as Gujarat
- Bactria became a huge commercial center that connected China, the Mediterranean Basin, and India.
- Bactrian rule increased trade and promoted cross-cultural interaction in north India
- Bactrian rule ended when many groups of nomadic conquerors from central Asia attacked Bactria
- The most successful of the nomadic people were the Kushans, who ruled from 1-300 C.E.
- The Kushans facilitated trade, like the Indo-Greek Bactrians
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The Guptas
How the Greeks influenced Ashoka and the Guptas
- The Guptas also based their state in Maghada, which was a very important region because of their wealth
- The foundations for this empire were created by Chandra Gupta
- Chandra Gupta made alliances with wealthy families and established a kingdom
- The Gupta empire was smaller than the Mauryan empire, and it didn't have as good organization or government
- The empire split easily when nomadic people invaded the region
- The empire had lots of trade, due to the previous Bactrian rule
- However the Gupta dynasty stabilized and brought prosperity to the area
- Under the Gupta dynasty many things were created such as plastic surgery, a place value notation system, and pi
- During the 4th century C.E. the Gupta dynasty declined when the White Huns invaded the region
- The invasion weakened the empire and it eventually collapsed.
How the Greeks influenced Ashoka and the Guptas
- The Greeks influenced Ashoka and the Mauryan empire by creating a political vacuum which made it easier to expand
- The Greeks also influenced them by promoting a centralized imperial government
- The Greeks influenced the Guptas with trade
- Under the Bactrian rule trade was promoted and very widespread, which continued through the Gupta dynasty