Chandragupta Maurya began the . Its capital
city was called Pataliputra. The Maurya rulers built thousands of
miles of roads to connect the empire. One road survives today
and is known as the . , Chandragupta's
grandson, introduced Buddhism to his empire and advocated
tolerance for all faiths. He spread to neighboring
lands as well.
The Gupta Empire
Chandragupta I founded the in northeastern
India. Samudragupta expanded the Gupta Empire and allowed
the conquered kings to remain in power, but they were forced to
pay a , or taxes, to his empire. The Gupta Empire
reached its height under Chandragupta II. Trade increased
and he supported the arts and scholars at his court. Art,
architecture, and mathematics were major achievements.
Mathematicians invented and the way of writing 1 to 9.
Arab mathematicians adopted the Indian system. Indian
determined that there were 365 days in a year.
They also calculated that Earth is round, rotates on its own axis,
and revolves around the sun.