India Quizlet
By 303 B.C., the Mauryan Empire stretched more than_______, uniting north India politically for the first time.
2,000 miles
How many days in a solar year did Aryabhatta calculate?
365.3586805 days.
For______, wave after wave of Greeks, Persians, and Central Asians poured into northern India.
500 years
How did the Gupta Empire finally end in 535?
After Chandra Gupta II died, new invaders threatened northern India, and these fierce fighters were called the Hunas. Over the next 100 years, the Gupta Empire broke into small kingdoms, and many were overrun by the Hunas or other Central Asian nomads.
When did Chandragupta begin to battle Seleucus I?
Around 305 B.C.
Who was Asoka?
Asoka was Chandragupta's grandson, and he brought the Mauryan Empire to its greatest heights.
Because sailors on trading ships used the stars to help them figure their position at sea, knowledge of _________ increased.
Astronomy
Increased trade led to the rise of _______ in India.
Banking
How did Indians begin to use a calendar?
Based on the cycles of the sun.
Why was the Silk Road named so?
Because traders used them to bring silk from China to western Asia and then on to Rome.
Who took part in the shows which combined drama and dance?
Both women and men took part.
________ teaches that desire causes suffering and that humans should overcome desire by following the Eightfold Path.
Buddhism
The ________ ideal of self-denial proved difficult for many to follow.
Buddhist
After 500 years of invasion and turmoil, a strong leader again arose in the northern state of Magadha. His name was ________, but he was no relation to India's first emperor, Chandragupta Maurya.
Chandra Gupta
Indians revered ________ for his heroic qualities. He defeated the Shakas enemies to the west—and added their coastal territory to his empire. He also strengthened his empire through peaceful means by negotiating diplomatic and marriage alliances.
Chandra Gupta II
Asoka had __________ built so that he could visit the far corners of India.
Extensive roads
How many decimal places did Aryabhatta calculate the value of pi to?
Four
Although the Buddha had forbidden people to worship him, some began to teach that he was a ______.
God
Why did Chandragupta raise a vast army of 600,000 soldiers on foot, 30,000 soldiers on horseback, and 9,000 elephants?
He did this to win his wars of conquest.
How did Chandragupta divide the empire?
He divided it into four provinces, each headed by a royal prince. Each province was then divided into local districts, whose officials assessed taxes and enforced the law.
What caused Asoka to promote Buddhism?
He followed in Chandragupta's footsteps, waging war to expand his empire, and during a bloody war against the neighboring state of Kalinga, 100,000 soldiers were slain, and even more civilians perished.
What did Asoka do that showed he cared for the well-being of his people and for communication?
He improved conditions along roads to make travel easier for his officials. Every nine miles on the extensive roads, he had wells dug and rest houses built.
How long did Chandragupta's son rule for before Asoka, Chandragupta's grandson, became king?
He ruled for for 32 years.
How did Chandragupta Maurya unify North India?
He unified it by defeating Seleucus, one of Alexander the Great's generals, who has inherited part of Alexander's empire.
Who was Megasthenes?
He was an ambassador sent by Seleucus, who was eager to stay at peace with the Indian emperor, to Chandragupta's capital.
People who weren't priests had less and less direct connection with which religion?
Hinduism
________ is a complex polytheistic religion that blended Aryan beliefs with the many gods and cults of the diverse peoples who preceded them.
Hinduism
By 250 B.C., ________ and ________ were India's two main faiths.
Hinduism and Buddhism
How did the Mauryan Empire begin?
It began in the kingdom of Magadha, ruled by the Nanda family, when Chandragupta Maurya gathered an army and killed killed the unpopular Nanda king, and in about 321 B.C. claimed the throne.
What is a bureaucracy?
It is a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
What did Asoka's death lead to?
It lead to a power vacuum in northern and central India where regional kings challenged the imperial government.
What was the name of the book that Kautilya wrote that proposed tough-minded policies to hold an empire together, including spying on the people and employing political assassination?
It was called the Arthasastra
Who was Kalidasa?
Kalidasa was one of India's greatest writers. He may have been the court poet for Chandra Gupta II. Kalidasa's most famous play is Shakuntala.
Chandragupta relied on an adviser named _______, a member of the priestly caste who wrote a ruler's handbook.
Kautilya
What made Indian mathematics among the most advanced in the world?
Modern numerals, the zero, and the decimal system were invented in India. Around A.D. 500, an Indian named Aryabhata calculated the value of pi (π) to four decimal places.
What was the daily life in India like?
Most Indians lived in small villages, and the majority were farmers, and craftspeople and merchants clustered in specific districts in the towns. Most Indian families were patriarchal, headed by the eldest male, but Southern India followed a different cultural pattern where some Tamil groups were matriarchal.
What was achieved by rejecting the sensory world and embracing spiritual discipline.
Nirvana
Hinduism evolved into a more ________ religion.
Personal
Hinduism became dominated by _______
Priests
Records show that some ______ were upset about the amount of gold their countrymen spent on Indian luxuries. They believed that to foster a healthy economy, a state must collect gold rather than spend it.
Romans
Who was Chandra Gupta I's son who expanded the empire through 40 years of conquest?
Samudra Gupta
In which century A.D. did the city of Madurai in southern India become a site of writing academies?
Second
What are some things that Asoka did after promoting Buddhism?
Some things are that he decided to rule by the Buddha's teaching of "peace to all beings", he erected huge stone pillars inscribed with his new policies including religious tolerance, which is acceptance of people who held different religious beliefs.
Which resources has India always been rich in?
Spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and beautiful woods—including ebony, teak, and fragrant sandalwood—have been valuable items of exchange.
After Asoka's death, what dynasty arose and dominated the region for hundreds of years?
The Andhra Dynasty
Who had stressed that each person could reach a state of peace called nirvana?
The Buddha
India's second empire,____________, oversaw a great flowering of Indian civilization, especially Hindu culture.
The Gupta Empire
What did the people who accepted the Buddhists' new doctrines belong to?
The Mahayana Sect
What did the people who held to the Buddha's stricter, original teachings belong to?
The Theravada Sect
What did traders use coastal routes around?
The rim of the Arabian Sea and up the Persian Gulf.
Who were the three most important Hindu Gods?
The three most important Hindu gods were Brahma, creator of the world; Vishnu, preserver of the world; and Shiva, destroyer of the world.
What did northern India have to deal with after Asoka's death?
They had to absorb a flood of new people fleeing political instability in other parts of Asia.
The people who lived in southern India were called what?
They were called the spoke the Tamil people.
What were stupas?
They were mounded stone structures built over holy relics.
After his marriage, Chandra Gupta I took the title ________ in A.D. 320.
"Great King of Kings"