1. Empires of India

2. Early Empires
By 512 BC, The Persians had pushed
their empire east to the Indus River Valley
The Aryans still contolled the majority of
northeast India, but it was split into many
states
The strongest of these states was
Magadha

3. Persian Empire (500 BC)

4. The Magadha State
The Magadha state allied itself with many
surrounding states to fend off Persian
expansion
Magadha would eventually push its mini-
empire into the Ganges region
The Magadha state would not last,
declining in power by 334 BC

5. The Maurya Dynasty
With the Magadha state in decline,
Chandragupta Maurya seized power from the
last ruler of Magadha
Chandragupta would expand
the remnants of
Magadha to the Bay of
Bengal and the Hindu Kush
Mountains
The Maurya Empire was
the largest yet seen in India Chandragupta Maurya

6. The Maurya Dynasty
Chandragupta established his court at
Pataliputra, on the Ganges River
Fearful to leave the palace at Pataliputra,
Chandragupta and his successors split
the empire into many provinces, each to
be overseen by local governors
The governers would regulate tax
collection, justice, transportation, and
defence in their respective province

7. Asoka
Asoka was the best known Mauryan emperor, ruling
from 269 to 232 BC
Under his rule, the empire
would reach its greatest size
During the conquest of
Southern India, a massacre of
more than 100,000
people occured
Feeling great remorse for
the deaths, Asoka renounced
violence and converted to Buddhism

8. Asoka
As a Buddhist, Asoka began preaching the
virtues of good work, nonviolence, and religious
tolerance
Stoopahs were built for monks throughout the
empire and roads repaired, so that pilgramages
could be made to religious shrines
Asoka spread Buddhism to Southeast Asia and
modern day Sri Lanka by dispatching
missionaries throughout the region

9. A Stoopah in the Mauryan Capital of Pataliputra

10. The Age of Invasions
After Asoka’s death, civil war erupted in
the Mauryan Empire
Many groups pushed into the former
Mauryan Empire from the north, but most
were assimilated into Indian culture
The Bactrian Greeks and the Kushans
were the only invaders to influence Indian
culture and society

11. The Bactrian Greeks
Composed of descendants of Alexander the Great’s
invading army, the Bactrian Greeks pushed deep
into the former Mauryan Empire
Their leader, King Demetrius,
encouraged a blending of eastern
and western cultures
The Bactrians brought Greek
influence into sculpture, medicine,
astronomy, astrology, and
currency in India
Bactrian Currency Blended
Greek and Indian Influences

12. The Kushans
The Bactrians were eventually
assimilated into Indian culture, but
another group soon took their
place
The Kushans first conquered
northern India before moving north
to modern day Pakistan
The Kushans ruled India for
200 years, encouraging art,
medical studies, and construction

13. Kanishka
Kanishka led the Kushans during their conquest
of India and Pakistan
Like Asoka, Kanishka converted to Buddhism,
employing 500 monks to regulate Buddhist
teachings in his empire
Kanishka’s monks’ meetings resulted in the
creation of Mahayana Buddhism
His opening of trade to China led to the
expansion of Mahayana Buddhism into East
Asia

14. The Gupta Empire
While the Western Roman Empire was
collapsing in Europe, India
experienced a golden age of
peace and prosperity under the
Gupta Empire
Between 320 and 535 AD, the
Gupta Empire would reunite
the warring factions in
Central India, south of the
former Kushan Empire

15. The Gupta Empire
The founder of the Gupta Empire, Chandra Gupta I,
promoted the study of arts and sciences, and brought
about a period of peace where violent crime was
extremely rare
The Gupta Empire maintained its Buddhist influences,
but the Buddhist religion in India became assimilated
into Hinduism during empire’s reign
The empire soon became weak with the Hun invasion of
Central Asia, and India was driven into a thousand years
of rule by small, independent kingdoms

16. The Tamils
While the empires of India rose and fell in the
North, the South of India could never be conquered
The Tamils, the rulers in the south maintained
their distinct culture, absorbing the
diverse traditions of Hinduism
The Tamils maintained a strong trade
relationship with the Roman
Empire before its downfall
After its collapse, the Tamils began
trading heavily with China
Modern Day
Tamiland