Ancient Indian Empires

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Ancient Indian Empires
Vishnu is a form of God, to whom Hindus pray.
For Vaishnavas, He is the only Ultimate Reality
or God, as is Shiva for Shaivites. In Trimurti
belief, He is the second aspect of God in the
Trimurti (also called the Hindu Trinity), along
with Brahma and Shiva.  Known as the Preserver,
He is most famously identified with His avatars,
or incarnations of God, most especially Krishna
and Rama. Additionally, another important name
for Vishnu is Narayana. Vishnu is accepted as
the Supreme God in Vaishnavism, or Vishnu
monotheism. Followers of Vishnu believe that He
is the Supreme Being and distinguish Him from
Devas, or demigods, who are celestial beings
similar to angels as discussed in
Judeo-Christian traditions.
In this area much less is known of early crops
due to the fact that the early writings of these
civilizations have not been decoded. There is
also a lot of difficulty determining the
conditions under which the early people of this
region lived. Evidence points to a monsoon type
crop being raised in this area. Today there is no
such crop being raised because of the climatic
conditions. Because of this, many have theorized
that there may have been a climatic change in
this area between early man and modern day.
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I. Empire of the Mauryas

• 1. Chandragupta Maurya (321 BC)
• a. Took control of Northern India
• b. Chandraguptas grandson Asoka
• -expanded empire to all of India
• -converted to Buddhism
• -directed Monks to
• convert Indian people
• to Buddhism
• -died in 239 BC
• -Maurya Empire declined

This is one of the finest murals depicting a
scene from the court of the ancient Indian
Emperor Chandragupt Maurya
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II. The Gupta Empire (AD 320-535)

• 1. Golden Age of Peace
• a. invented decimal system
• b. Literature Art
• -influenced middle east
• 2. Fall of the Guptas
• a. Attacked by Huns (400s BC)
• b. Indias Dark Ages
• -centuries of weak
• government and
• foreign invasions