Sanskrit

nomadic

Aryan

Persian

reincarnation

a rigid social structure

something you wear on a broken bone

the teaching of Buddha

The Gupta Empire extended to northern Europe.

The Aryans wanted to create a government system in which every member of society – including the conquered – were given equal power and equal access.

They created the caste system to ensure that major engineering projects – needed to ensure the success of the civilization -- could be completed in a timely manner.

They established the caste system – an agricultural policy that ensured crops lands were not harvested too frequently – so that the population had a plentiful supply of food.

The Aryans wanted to create a system to control the conquered populations of India, maintain order and keep them at the top of the social hierarchy.

“To teach our rivals and our enemies of lesson, we must crush any who oppose us and enforce our will on all our subjects without hesitation and without mercy.”

The Gupta state was a state where the leaders demanded absolute power and unquestioned obedience in all social, economic and political matters.

The Gupta leaders, though fairly tolerant of their subjects, viewed themselves as superior to all and therefore required their subjects to worship them as living Gods.

“We will allow our subjects to continue in their daily lives as they see fit, provided they pay their taxes and do not cause any social unrest within our kingdom.”

prospered

decreased

ended

flatlined