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UNIT * Classical Civilizations SQ **: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Objective:

What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Contextualize the Gupta Golden Age.

Explain the impact of the Gupta Golden Age on India, other regions and later periods in history.

Introduction

Directions: Read the definition of golden ages, then complete the tasks that breakdown the definition. Historians refer to certain time periods of some civilizations as golden ages. Golden ages are periods of great wealth, prosperity, stability, and cultural and scientific achievement. Let’s break down the definition…

period- span of time wealth- a large amount of money prosperity- success 1. What other time periods have you

learned about?

2. What effects might wealth have

on a civilization?

3. Describe the characteristics that a

prosperous civilization might have.

stability- consistency culture- relating to language, ideas, inventions, and art

scientific achievement

4. Explain why a stable civilization is

more likely to have a golden age

than an unstable civilization.

5. Given what culture means, give an

examples of what might count as a

cultural achievement.

6. Identify one scientific achievement

that you learned about in history

class this year.

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Why Golden Ages are Important to Historians

During Golden Ages, a lot of new ideas and innovations are produced in visual arts, architecture, literature, philosophy, and science and technology in a relatively short period of time in one geographic area, but these new ideas and ways of doing things do not stay in one place for long. They are carried to other civilizations through cultural diffusion and passed down to new generations through the process of collective learning. Golden Ages move human intellectual and technological life ahead by leaps and bounds. These spurts of growth in our collective ability to understand the world around us, express it through art, and invent new ways of doing things have been important in getting the human race to where it is today. The Gupta Golden Age Museum Walk

Categorize

Contextualize

Connect Cause

and Effect

A lot of the artifacts that appear in museums come from the golden ages of civilizations.

In this activity, you will visit exhibits on the Gupta Golden Age. As you learn about the Gupta Empire, fill out the appropriate row in the Golden Ages of Classical Civilizations Graphic Organizer.

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Exhibit A: The Gupta Empire (320-550 CE)

The Gupta Empire ruled parts of India from 320-550 CE. Chandragupta II was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire. His rule spanned from 375 to 415 C.E.when the Gupta empire was at its height, often referred to as the Golden Age of India. He attained success by pursuing both favorable military alliances and an aggressive expansionist policy which made to possible for him to control a vast empire.

In addition to military prowess, Chandragupta II elevated culture, art, mathematics, philosophy, religion, and astronomy during his reign.

The Gupta Empire and conquests of its most powerful rulers.

Gupta empire map.png by Javierfv1212 is published under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license Timeline of Indian History through the Classical Age Indus River Valley Civ Vedic Period

3300-1700 BCE 1500-321 BCE

Maurya Empire

321-185 BCE

Regional Dynasties

180 BCE-320 CE

Gupta Empire

320-550 CE

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Exhibit B: Trade, Prosperity, and Wealth

Standardized Money

Golden Ages require a lot of wealth. For artists and scientists to devote themselves to their work, they need someone to pay them for it so they can focus

on their scholarly pursuits. Usually wealthy families or governments provide this support.

The government funded many of the innovations

during the Gupta Dynasty. The government

regulated and taxed trade and earned money from

the mines and land it owned.

As evidence of the Gupta government’s control and

support for trade in the economy, archaeologists

have unearthed many coins created by the Gupta

government. The coins show that the Gupta had the

technology and power to mass-produce them, and

the power needed to get merchants to use them.

This also made it possible for the government to

more easily tax business transactions.

Citation 1

Left: Golden coin from the

Gupta Empire depicting an

archer.

Below: Silver coin from the

reign of Chandragupta II.

Citation 2

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Exhibit C: Trade, Prosperity, and Wealth

Located On Trade Routes Between Rome and China

The Gupta ruled the largest and most prosperous empire in India, but in the first centuries CE it was not the most powerful in the world. To the west, Rome ruled the area around the Mediterranean Sea, and to the east, the Han Dynasty controlled China. The stability that the Roman, Han, and Gupta Empires brought spurred trade in Asia on the Silk Roads. This greatly benefited all three empires and the areas in between. Wealth and ideas passed along the trade network providing the money and ideas necessary for Golden Ages. Adapted by New Visions from TimeMap of World History, https://www.timemaps.com/history/world-200ad/ Source: Philippe Beaujard in “The Indian Ocean in Eurasian and African World-Systems before the Sixteenth Century,” Journal of World History (adapted) from the NYS Global History and Geography Regents Examination, August 2012. Pataliputra, the

capital of the Gupta

Empire

Classical Civilizations ca. 400 CE

Key

- Territory that

was not controlled

by a large

government

Roman

Empire

Han Dynasty in

China

Vario

Gupta

Empire

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Exhibit D: Visual Arts and Architecture

Visual Arts and Architecture: Gupta Cave Shrines

Most of the examples we have of Gupta sculpture and architecture were inspired by Hinduism and Buddhism. The most well preserved and impressive of these examples are reliefs carved out of caves. Udayagiri Caves Ajanta Caves

The image below is of a sculpture carved out of a cave wall of the Hindu god Vishnu in a boar-headed

incarnation. It is roughly 23 feet tall and 13 feet wide. The Ajanta Caves are covered in carvings and paintings that depict the lives of the Buddha.

Vishnu as Varaha, Udayagiri Caves by Jean-Pierre Dalbera is published under the CC BY 3.0 Unported license

Cave 19, Ajanta, Deccan by Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay is published under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license

Image is courtesy of WIkimedia and is in the public domain Exhibit E: Literature

Some sources state that Chandragupta II supported literature and science in his empire directly by providing for a circle of scholars known as the Nine Gems in his court. A writer named Kalidasa stood as the greatest among them. He authored numerous pieces of literature, poems and plays, earning him the title of “the Shakespeare of India.”

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Exhibit F: Mathematics

Watch an excerpt of “Ancient India’s Contributions to the World” (7:37- 10:33) and read the text below on other achievements in mathematics and made by Gupta scholars then answer the questions that follow.

Scholars during the Gupta period, made important advances in mathematics including:

● a close approximation of the value of (pi)

● advances in trigonometry

● the use of negative numbers

● the use of decimal points

Exhibit G: Science and Technology

Stepwell Architecture Metallurgy and the Iron Pillar of Delhi Watch an excerpt of “Ancient India’s

Contributions to the World” (23:16- 26:38)

about stepwells.

Stepwell in Abhaneri, India

ChandBaori.jpg by Doron is published under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license Indian metal workers

were known for their

expertise in ancient

times. The swords used

by their soldiers were

admired by other

armies for their

strength and the

officers carried metal

bows. In Delhi, there is

an iron pillar from the

Gupta era that stands

23 ft tall. It is over 1,500

years old but has very

little rust or wear.

Iron Pillar of Delhi.

Image is courtesy of Wikimedia and is in the public domain

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

FA

SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

Directions: Based on what you have learned about the Gupta Golden Age, complete the prompts below. Contextualize

Connect Cause

and Effect

FA 1. Contextualize the Gupta Golden Age by completing the following tasks:

● Identify when and where the golden age took place

● Describe the factors that led to the golden age

FA 2. Explain the impact of the Gupta Golden Age on India, other regions, and later periods in history by completing the following tasks:

● Identify two innovations developed during the golden age

● Describe the effects of those innovations on India, other regions and/or later periods in history

UNIT 3 Classical Civilizations SQ 14: What led to the Gupta Golden Age? How did the Gupta Golden Age impact India, other regions, and later periods in history?

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