Chapter 7

monopoly

occurs when a group has exclusive control over the production and distribution of certain goods. For a time, the government also ran huge silk mills -- competing with private silk had monopolies of mining salt, minting of coins, and the brewing of alcohol.

Brahma

one of the 3 important Hindu gods. He was the creator of the world. Out of the 3 he was not a people favorite and people leaned away from him.

Vishnu

one of the 3 important Hindu gods. The preserver of the world. They were one of the favorites. People began to devote themselves to them. As Hinduism evolved into a personal religion, its popular appeal grew.

Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya may have been born in the powerful kingdom of of Magadha. Centered on the lower Ganges river, the kingdom was ruled by the Nanda family. Chandragupta gathered an army, killed the unpopular Nanda king, and in about 321 BC claimed the throne. This was the beginning of the empire.

matriarchal

Southern India followed a different cultural pattern. Some Tamil groups were headed by the mother rather than the father. Property, and sometimes the throne were passed down the female line.

Silk Roads

a vast network of caravan routes. Traders used them to bring silk back from China to western Asia and then on to Rome. Once Indians learned of the Silk Roads, they realized that they could make great profits by acting as middlemen. Middlemen are go-between in business transactions. For example, Indian traders would buy Chinese goods and sell them to traders traveling in Rome. To aid their role as middleman, Indians built trading stations along the Silk Roads. They were located at oases, fertile spots in desert areas.

religious toleration

acceptance of people who held different religious beliefs. In a country with a state religion, toleration means that the government allowed other religious to be there.

centralized government

central authority controls the running of a state. Liu Bang's first goal was to destroy the rival kings power. So he used Shi Huangdi's policy of establishing centralized government. Reporting to Liu Bang's central government were hundreds of local provincials called commandeers.

Mahayana

is a sect. In 1st century AD Buddhists divided over new doctrines. The ones who accepted them belonged to this sect. It offered salvation to all and allowed popular worship.

patriarchal

most Indian families were headed by the eldest male. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and children all worked together to raise crops. Because drought was common, farmers often had to irrigate their crops. There was a tax on water, and every month, people had to give a days worth of labor to maintain wells, irrigation ditches, reservoirs, and dams. As in Mauryan times, the farmers owed a large part of their earnings to the king.

stupas

mounded stone structures built over holy relics. Wealthy Buddhist merchants who were eager to do good deeds paid for these to be constructed. Buddhists walked the paths circling the stupas as part of their meditation. The new trends in Buddhism inspired Indian art like this.

Kalidasa

one of India's greatest writers. He may have been the court poet for Chandra Gupta II. Kalidasa's most famous play is Shakuntala. It tells the story of a beautiful girl who falls in love with and marries a middle-aged king. After Shakuntala and her husband are separated, they suffer tragically because of a curse that prevents the king from recognizing his wife when they meet again. Generations of Indians have continued to admire Kalidasa's plays because they are skillfully written and emotionally stirring.

Shiva

one of the 3 important Hindu gods. The destroyer of the world. They were one of the favorites. People began to devote themselves to them. As Hinduism evolved into a personal religion, its popular appeal grew.

civil service

part of the bureaucracy included 18 different government jobs that civilians obtained by taking examinations. At times, Chinese emperors rewarded loyal followers with government posts. However, another way to fill government posts evolved under the Han. This method involved testing applicants' knowledge of Confucianism.

Tamil

people who lived in a religion that had never been conquered by the Mauryans. It was in Southern India. They spoke the Tamil language and were called the Tamil people.

Han Dynasty

ruled China for more than 400 years is divided into 2 periods. The Former Han ruled for about 2 centuries, until AD 9. After a brief period when the Han were out of power, the Later Han ruled for almost another 2 centuries. The Han Dynasty so influenced China that even today many Chinese call themselves "the people of the Han." Liu Bang won against Xiang Yu and declared himself the first emperor.

Theravada

the other sect of Buddhism. People in this followed Buddha's stricter, original teachings. It is also called the Hinayana sect, but Theravada is preferred.

assimilation

the process of making conquered peoples part of Chinese culture. The government encouraged it to unify the empire. To promote it, the government sent Chinese farmers to settle newly colonized areas. It encouraged them to intermarry with local peoples. Government officials set up schools to train local people in the Confucian philosophy and then appointed local scholars to government posts.

Asoka

Chandragupta's grandson that brought the empire to its greatest heights. He became king of the Mauryan Empire in 264 BC. First he followed in Chandragupta's footsteps, waging war to expand his empire. During a bloody war against the neighboring state of Kalinga, 100,000 soldiers slain, and even more civilians perished. Although victorious, Asoka felt sorrow over the slaughter at Kalinga. As a result, he studied Buddhism and decided to rule by the Buddha's teaching of "peace to all beings." Throughout the empire, Asoka erected huge stone pillars inscribed with his new policies. Some edicts guaranteed that Asoka would treat his subjects fairly and humanely. He had extensive roads built so he could visit the far corners of the empire. He also improved the condition of the roads for easier travel. Every nine miles there were wells dug and rest houses built. His noble and nonviolent policies were not able to hold the empire together when he died in 232 BC.

Gupta Empire

India's 2nd empire oversaw a great flowering of Indian civilization, especially Hindu culture. The first Gupta emperor, Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya), came to power not by battle but by marrying a daughter of an influential royal family. After his marriage, he took the title "Greatest King of Kings" in AD 320. His empire included the Magadha and the area north of it, with his power base along the Ganges River. His son, Samudra Gupta, became king in 335 AD. Although a lover of the arts, he had a warlike side. He expanded the empire through 40 years of conquest.