The Mauryan Empire
Oirgin of an Empire
By the 500s B.C, India was divided into too many small kingdoms. Conflict against all of them brought weakness to their kingdoms, leaving them open to open invasion. Persian armies conquered the Indus Valley in the 500 B.C. and made it a part of the Persian Empire. The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, then defeated the Persians. Alexander entered India but turned back in 325 B.C., when his troops became homesick and threatened to rebel.
India's First Empire
After Alexander left India, an Indian officers named Chandra Gupta Maurya built a strong army. He knew that a very strong army can defend India against invasion.
In 321 B.C., Chandra Gupta set out to conquer northern India and unify religion under his rule. Chandra Gupta was the first ruler in Mauryan dynasty. He was a great administrator, and ran a great government in his capital city of Pataliputra. One of his major achievements was his postal system. The system improved communication throughout his empire. Chandra Gupta crushed everyone due to his powerful army. He also used spies to report disloyalty among him.
While Chandra Gupta was very strong, he was also very cautious. He was deathly afraid of being poisoned, so he had servants taste his food before he ate it. He was so scared of being attacked that he never slept in the same bed two nights in a row.
What Did Ashoka Accomplish?
The Mauryan Empire reached  its height of its glory when Chandra Gupta's grandson was ruling Ashoka. Ashoka governed most of northern India and central India for about 273 B.C., to 232 B.C. Ashoka was a unusual king. Like many rulers, Ashoka began his rule with fierce wars of conquest. Eventually he came to the conclusion that he hated killing.
After one battle, he looked at the fields with dead bodies, wounded soldiers and he was horrified by what he saw. He decided that he would follow the Buddhist teachings and become a man of peace. Ashoka kept his promise. During the rest of his life, he tried to improve the lives of his people. Ashoka made laws that encouraged people to do good deeds, practice nonviolence, and retrospect others. He created hospitals for people and animals. He built fine roads, with rest houses and shaded trees for travelers comfort. Ashoka was the first ruler to promote Buddhism. He sent teachers to spread Buddhism throughout India and Asia. Buddhist teachings and the laws of Ashoka were carved into rock and tall pillars for people to read.
Carved on one rock is the idea that:" Father and mother must be hearkened [listened to]; similarly, respect for living creatures must be firmly established; truth must be spoken. These are the virtues of the Law of Piety [devotion] which must be practiced." - from 'Summary of the Law of Piety',
The Edicts of Ashoka also had a lot of Stupas which are shrines shaped like a dome or tomb. Stupas contained religious objects and served as a place to worship. Although he was a devout Buddhist to his religion he continued to let his Hindu believers keep on practicing their religion out of respect. Asoka's able leadership really led  the Mauryan Empire to flourish. India's great roads led India to be the center of a huge trading network that stretched to the Mediterranean Sea. The End of the Mauryan Empire After Ashoka died in 232 B.C., the Mauryan Empire declined, all the kings that came after Ashoka, because they lacked kindness and skill. The new rulers made merchants pay taxes and took land from peasants. The Indian people rebelled against this treatment. In 183 B.C., the last Mauryan king was killed by one of his own generals. Then the last of the Mauryan Empire split up into small little kingdoms.
The Gupta Empire
For 500 years, all the small kingdoms fought one another for the control of India. Then in A.D. 320, the Gupta dynasty came to power in the Ganges River Valley. The city of Pataliputra had been the old capital of Mauryan Empire. But now it was the Gupta's Empire. ChandraGupta 1, the first Gupta ruler, had the same name as the first ruler of the Mauryan dynasty. Chandra Gupta 1 ruled for 10 years, a whole decade. He chose his son named Samdura Gupta, to rule after him. Samdura Gupta expanded the Gupta Empire to the northern part of India.He was a great military leader who took part in the arts and literature. Under Samdura Gupta, India entered a golden age. Gupta leaders practiced Hindu religion like everyone else in the kingdom. They donated money to help/support the Hindu scholars and make Hindu temples. Many temples had brightly painted sculptures of deities and carvings from Hindu sacred writings. Trade helped the Gupta Empire thrive. They sold salt, cloth, and iron which were common goods. Indian merchants also traded with China and Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean area.  Gupta rulers really benefited from all the trade going on. Cities began along these trade routes. People called Pilgrims use the trade routes to travel to holy sites. Cities with famous temples grew famous from all the Pilgrims visiting.
Culture in Ancient India
Ancient India produced a brilliant culture. Artists, builders, writers,and scientists made many contributions while the Mauryan and Gupta Kings ruled.
The Literature of India
The Vedas are the first works written in Sanskrit language. The literature in Ancient India also includes epics. Hindu epics are important texts that teach very important moral lessons. The people of Ancient India had epics so they could learn acceptable behavior from these stories. The Mahabharata is an ancient religious epic. It is also the The longest poem in any written language It has about 90,000 verses. The Mahabharata describes an  Indian kingdom struggling to gain control over their kingdom. The story takes place in 1100 B.C. It is a very exciting story about heroes and how they influenced India then and now. The best known section about Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita, or otherwise known as the 'Song of the Lord.' The story goes like this. There is a prince who does not want to fight because members of his family are on the other side. The Krishna reminds the prince that he must obey this duty because he is a warrior. The prince finally makes his mind up and decides to fight. Another epic, which is called Ramayana, is a poem that grew to about 25,000 verses before it was written down. It is about Rama, a very perfect king, and about his wife Sita, who is very faithful. Then his wife Sita  gets kidnapped by a very evil king. Then Rama goes to her rescue with the help of some of his friends.
The Arts and Architecture
The Ancient Hindus believed that music was a gift from gods. Many sacred texts like Bhagavad Gita, were most likely sung. At yearly festivals, people sang, danced, and played music all night.
The musical instruments they played were tambourines, flutes, drums, and lutes.
Much of Early India's art was created by fragile things like paper, and all of it has not survived. What is left of the art today is mostly religious art or carving on stone. Sculptors 270, carved Buddha as early as the A.D. 100s. The most important structures of Early India are the Palaces and the Temples that were used for worshiping. Even when Ashoka was king he put all the carvings of Buddha along the side of the road.
Mathematics
Indian mathematics of the Gupta period was very important. Aryabhata was one of the first known scientists to have ever used algebra. Indian mathematics also explained infinity-something that never ends. They also invented the symbol "0" and connected the idea of nothing. The Indians invention of zero really affected the idea of math and science.
Modern computers, would not be able to be running without zero. Gupta  mathematics also invented the numbers 1 to 9. In the A.D. 700s, Arab traders adapted these numbers. European traders also borrowed  these numbers from the Arabs. In A.D. 1200s, use of these numbers spread  to Europe and replaced Roman  numerals. Today, this number system is known as the Indian-Arabic numerical system.
Advances in Science
Scientists and Scholars in Ancient India made wonderful discoveries on astronomy and technology. Indian astronomers even made mapped places that stars and planets moved from.
They even had the sun theory, which is  that the Earth was round and orbiting around the sun. During the Gupta period, scientists made advanced metalworking. Among these amazing constructions is the pillar of iron of Delhi, dating from around A.D. 400. Fun fact it is still standing and despite its age and how long it's been around, it has never rusted.
Advances of Medicine
Indian dentists back in 1600 hundreds used a bow drill to solve dental problems. Doctors used this tool which was actually made to make fire and drill teeth. Doctors during the Gupta period were actually a little more advanced. They set bones back in place, sew wounds, and perform complicated surgeries. They also made their own tools like Scalpels and needles. A doctor named Shushruta repaired broken noses as a way of early plastic surgery. Indian doctors used herbs to cure illnesses. They also believed to cure a disease, is to simply not treat it at all.