Ashoka The great PPT for class 6,7,8,10,12 for CBSE students

Ashoka the great ppt for class 7 and 8 CBSE

1. What will I learn in this lesson? expansion of an empire Ashoka political administration

2. Objectives I ntroduce the concept of an empire S how how inscriptions are used to learn about history

3. Ashoka's Empire The Mauryan empire  was  founded  by  Chandragupta Maurya  in  320 BCE , under the  aegis of   Chanakya  (also known as   Kautilya  and the author of   Arthashastra , India's  greatest book  on  public administration ). Chandragupta defeated the  Nanda king Dhanananda  and then  unified  the  Indian sub-continent  into a single empire. He was  succeeded  by his  son   Bindusara , and after Bindusara came one of the greatest kings to rule India,  Ashoka the Great .  There were many cities in his empire, including the  capital  Pataliputra  (modern-day Patna),  Ujjain ,  Taxila ,  Kandahar , etc.  Taxila  was on the  north-western border  of the empire, while  Ujjain  was the  gateway from the south to the north .These were  highly developed cities , and  merchants  and  government officials  lived there. Smaller towns  and  villages  were  populated  by  farmers ,  traders , and  herdsmen , and in the  forest regions ,  tribals  lived on  hunting and gathering . People across the empire  spoke different languages ,  wore different clothes , and  ate different kinds of food .

4. Empires v/s Kingdoms When many kingdoms   come together  as a  republic  or are  unified in war  by a king, the  result is an empire . And just as  kingdoms  are  ruled  by  kings ,  empires  are  ruled  by  emperors . But an  emperor  is far  superior  to a  king . So an  empire  may  have many kings  but  only one emperor . As  empires  are  larger in size , they need  large armies  to  protect their people  and  assure smooth administration .

5. Mauryan Administration The  area around Pataliputra  was  directly under  the  rule  of the  emperor , and  officials  were  appointed  to  collect taxes  from  merchants ,  farmers , and  herdsmen  in the  towns  and  villages . Officials were  paid salaries  and  their job  was to see to it that the  laws of the state  are  followed .  Messengers  and  spies  always kept a  watch  on those  officials , and  everyone  was ultimately under the  watchful eye  of the  emperor . Other  major   cities  were called  provinces , and  they were administered  by  governors  who were mostly  members  of the  royal   family . Mauryans  also  controlled  the  trade routes  between all these cities, and  taxes and tributes  were  collected regularly . According to the   Arthashastra , the  north west  was famous for  blankets , and the  south  for  gold  and  gems . These  resources might  also have been  collected as tributes . Although  forests  were more or less  independent , they had to  pay   tributes  in the form of  elephants ,  honey ,  timber , and  wax .

6. KALINGATHU PARANI

7. Ashoka as a King Ashoka  tried to  spread his   message  among his  people through inscriptions  written in  Prakrit , using the  Brahmi  script. Ashoka  declared war  against  Kalinga  (modern-day coastal Orissa). But the  aftermath  was so  horrifying  that Ashoka  decided  to  give up fighting . He is the  only king  who  gave up conquest  after  winning a war .

8. Ashoka's Dhamma Ashoka's  dhamma  ( way of life ) did not  involve any worship to god  or  sacrifices , and he thought that  his duty  towards  his subjects  was like that of a  father  towards his  son . There were many challenges in his empire, such as  people followed different religions ,  animals were sacrificed ,  slaves and servants  were  ill-treated , there were  quarrels  between  families  and   neighbours , and Ashoka worked hard to manage them. He  appointed officials  called  Dhamma Mahamatta  who  travelled  and spread  Ashoka's dhamma , and sent messengers to different countries such as  Egypt ,  Sri Lanka ,  Syria , and  Greece  to spread his dhamma. Ashoka  also got his  message inscribed  on  rocks  and  pillars , out of which his  13 rock edicts  are the most famous.

9. Dateline 320 BCE : Chandragupta Maurya finds the Mauryan Empire 304 BCE : Ashoka is born 262 BCE : Kalinga War takes place 232 BCE:  Death of Ashoka

10. Difference between Mauryan and Gupta Summary Mauryan Empire existed before Christ; Gupta Empire existed after death of Christ. Maurya Empire was vaster as compared to Gupta Empire. Mauryan rulers followed a centralized administration structure, whereas Gupta rulers followed a decentralized administrative structure. Tax system during the Mauryan dynasty was stringent; whereas Gupta rulers favored more liberal tax system. Mauryan rulers favored and promoted mainly non-Hindu religions; whereas Gupta rulers followed and promoted Hinduism. Great architectural structures and pillars were built during the Mauryan dynasty; whereas science, literature and astronomy flourished during the Gupta period. External trade and commerce flourished during Mauryan dynasty unlike Gupta dynasty. Decline of the Mauryan Empire was abetted by internal strife and assassination of ruler; Gupta dynasty faced external threat and military conflict.