The Gupta Empire - White Plains Public Schools



The Gupta Empire

Global History and Geography I Name: ____________________

E. Napp Date: ___________________

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

In 320 A.D., a new ruling family, the Gupta, emerged in northeastern India and united the territory around the Ganges River. The Guptas encouraged peace, prosperity, and trade. Gupta emperors built universities and supported learning, the arts, and literature. Hindu scholars excelled at the sciences. Hindu mathematicians developed the concept of zero, the idea of infinity, and a decimal system. Artists painted colorful murals, while writers composed poems and plays in Sanskrit (the literary and religious written language of India). Because the Guptas were Hindus, the two centuries of Gupta rule are sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Hindu Culture.

Questions:

A- Where and when did the Gupta Empire develop? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B- Why is the Gupta period considered a golden age of Hindu culture? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C- List three accomplishments of Hindu mathematicians. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D- What artistic achievements occurred during the Gupta Empire? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

E- A classical civilization is a civilization that contributed important ideas and inventions to world history. Why is the Gupta Empire a classical civilization? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Kalidasa was India’s greatest Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Kalidasa lived in the Gupta Empire. The following is one of Kalidasa’s most famous poem:

Look to this day:

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.

The bliss of growth,

The glory of action,

The splendour of achievement

Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow is only a vision;

And today well-lived, makes

Yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;

Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

Questions:

A. Who was Kalidasa? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. How does Kalidasa view the past? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. How does Kalidasa view the future? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D. Why does Kalidasa believe that the present is the most important moment? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

E. Do you agree with the poet? Explain your answer. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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3. Word Bank:

Ganges, Farming, Indus, Mathematics, Golden Age, Kalidasa, Gupta, Hinduism, Himalayas, Classical, Sanskrit

3. Working With Documents:

|  |Maurya |Gupta |

|Dates |321 B.C.–185 B.C. |A.D. 320–550 |

|Location |Northern and southern India |Northern India |

|Government |Harsh rule |Mild rule |

| |Organized government |Organized government |

| |Officials collect taxes |Villages and cities had power |

| |Government- owned factories | |

|Learning |Schools and libraries in capital|Golden age of learning |

| | |Number system we use today, |

| |Missionaries spread Buddhism |decimal system |

| | |Plastic surgery, vaccines for |

| | |smallpox |

| | |Carvings of gods and animals |

Using the document, what contributions were made in math and science during the Gupta Empire?

_____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

According to the document, what differences existed between Mauryan rule and Gupta rule? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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