The Guptas

1
The Guptas

• Pages 310-311

2
The Gupta Period

• 310 A.D. to about 600 A.D.
• The Golden Age of ancient India

3
Contributions

• Folktales and stories
• Concept of zero
• Numbers 1-9

• Buddhist art
• Hindu temples

4
Geography Region

• A geographic region shares certain common
  characteristics (see p 8)
• What are some of the landforms that defined
  northern India as a region?

5
Geography Region

• Answer
• Himalayan Mountains
• Hindu Kush Mountains
• Rivers
• Indian subcontinent

6
Geography Region

• Use the information on pages 310-311 to find
  other features that distinguished the Gupta
  Empire as a region.

7
Answer

• Common religions (Hinduism and Buddhism)
• Shared history
• Common government

8
Promoting Unity

• The Guptas promoted unity in their empire through
  religious tolerance, trade, and spread of the
  Hindu religion.

9

• Rulers gave money to artists, writers, and
  scholars to encourage their work.
• People in the Gupta Empire received free medical
  care, including simple surgery.

10

• Villages were protected by local military squads
  made up of one elephant, one chariot, three
  cavalrymen, and five foot soldiers.

11

• In times of war, all the squads were brought
  together to form the royal army.
• The Guptas didnt believe in capital punishment
  they issued fines instead.

12

• With the coming of Buddhism and the reform of
  Hinduism, most Guptas lived as vegetarians.

13

• In a popular marriage practice called the
  Swayamvara, suitors met at a brides house and
  the bride picked her own groom.

14
Buddhist Caves at Ajanta

• A Hindu legend holds that a curse lays over the
  Buddhist caves at Ajanta. The story claims that
  some deities angered Indra, the king of gods, by
  overstaying a visit on earth. As punishment,
  Indra turned them into pictures on the walls of

15

• the walls of Ajanta, frozen there for all time.
  The gods, say the legend, retaliate against any
  mortal who tries to copy or destroy their beauty.