1. Rise of the Mauryan Empire
Remember: Geography kept out invaders, but left did not unify India.
Rulers under the Magadha kingdom were the first to unity India.
Next kingdom to come to power was the Mauryans.
Chandragupta Maurya established this empire that lasted about 150 years.

2. Chandragupta Maurya
Made Patalipura into a beautiful city (located near the Ganges River)
Raised an army of 600,000 soldiers who were equipped with thousands of chariots and elephants.
Army united northern India
Established a rigid bureaucracy to carry out his commands.
Standardized weights and measurements; established standards for physicians

3. Asoka (came to power around 270 B.C.)
Chandragupta’s grandson
Even greater ruler
Fought bloody wars to increase the size of his kingdom.
Enlarged the Empire until it included all of India except the southern tip of the subcontinent. (AKA—the first imperial dynasty to hold nearly all of India)
Became a Buddhist when he was sick of all the bloodshed
Spread the faith of Buddhism and reversed many of the polices of those before him.

4. Asoka’s Empire How did he unite a diverse empire?
Improved living conditions
Planted trees
Wells were dug
Rest houses along trade routes
Animal rightist—passed laws to those who were cruel to animals and built animal hospitals
After his death, the empire began to split apart due to quarrelling of his sons.

5. Gupta Rulers (300 to 550 A.D.)
New dynasty emerged to do the decline of Buddhism and growth of Hinduism.
Around 300 A.D.—Gupta family came to power
Chandra Gupta I—founder
Empire spread due to conquest and intermarriage
Empire included all of northern India

6. Gupta Rule Indian civilization flourished
Favored Hinduism but allowed Buddhism; however Hinduism is the dominant religion
“Golden Age”early years of Gupta rule where the Indian civilization flourished
Chandra Gupta II
Progress made in the arts
Gupta political system was less centralized than the Mauryans’ government and gave much power to the local rulers.
Skanda Gupta—last Gupta king who drained the treasury due to costly wars.