Page 18 - India
P. 18
The Gupta Empire
The collapse of the Mauryan dynasty was important. Northern
India split into hundreds of separate kingdoms. Foreign invaders ruled
most of central and northern India.
Sometimes the kingdoms fought together. They fought invaders
from the north and China. But, mostly they stayed separate.
In a.d. 319, King Chandragupta I founded the Gupta (GOOP-tuh)
Empire. (This is a different man than Chandragupta from the Mauryan
Empire.) He brought together the entire northern part of India. In
time, the Guptas spread as far west as the Arabian Sea. And, they went
south to the Vindhya
(VIN-dyuh) Mountains.
The Ajanta Cave
paintings were
created during
the Gupta
Empire.
Map of the
Gupta Empire
16
