TRA: Lesson - India: The Gupta Empire
India: The Gupta Empire
In 320 CE, we once again see an empire rise out of the kingdoms carved into the subcontinent. Chandra Gupta I (or the Great—and not to be confused with the Chandragupta Maurya of six hundred years earlier) established the Gupta Empire. The Gupta Empire never reached the size of India's first empire, but without constant warfare, culture thrived. its period of existence is referred to as the Golden Age of India. During the Golden Age of India, many advancements in art, math, and science occurred.
Advancements During the Gupta Empire
Gupta mathematicians developed pi, the concept of infinity, and an early version of our numbers 0-9. The chart below shows how our modern numbers were adapted from these earlier numbers. Doctors developed an inoculation against smallpox and started cosmetic surgery. Scientists proposed the Earth was round and had gravity. Farmers grew sugarcane and cotton for trade along the Southern Ocean trading network.
Fall of the Gupta Empire and Cultural Artifacts
The "Golden Age of India" lasted for just over two hundred years. It fell when Huns invaded from the north (a different group than the Huns that were stomping around Europe) and the subcontinent of India returned to its separate kingdoms once again—still retaining their cultural synthesis through religion and language though.
The images below show off some of the lasting cultural artifacts from the Gupta Empire. Large Buddhist temples, like the one pictured below, were monuments to the Gupta Empire's architects. Street merchants selling fresh products, including sugar cane juice, helped the empire prosper and still sell their wares in modern India.
| Buddhist Temple | Merchant |
|---|---|
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