what were the important characteristics of classical India

Answer 1

1. The classical age of India consists of the years ~330 BCE to ~550 CE
2. Between 327 BCE to 325 BCE, Alexander the Great (King of Macedonia & Conquerer of most of the Ancient World) enters India after conquering the Persian Empire (present-day Iran)
3. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE, there was a power vacuum that led to Chandragupta Maurya, in 322 BCE taking over Northern India, from the Ganges River to the Indus River. He began the Maurya Dynasty
4. The most influential ruler of the Maurya was Ashoka (Chandragupta Maurya's grandson). He came into power ~268 BCE and expanded the territory to the East after the Battle of Kalinga ~260 BCE.
5. Ashoka's accomplishments include making an organized central state, built up agriculture, laid roads in order to stimulate trade, but the biggest contribution would be when he switched to follow Buddhism (been around for ~300 years at this point) because of the loss of life at the Battle of Kalinga deeply affected Ashoka. He normalized the following of Buddhism, and he built many monasteries & sent many missionaries across much of Asia (Buddhism will deeply change Asia later on). After he died in 232 BCE, the Maurya Empire declined and fractured into multiple kingdoms.
6. A man named Chandra Gupta I (a different person than Chandragupta Maurya, I know it is confusing) founded the Gupta Dynasty in 320 CE. The territory didn't reach the extent of the Maurya, but it covered most of the Northern half of India
7. The Gupta Age is seen as India's cultural golden age; they flourished in art, science, and literature.
8. There were sculptures made during this time that set the foundation of later Indian art
9. The establishment of Sanskrit written language
10. Hinduism made a resurgence in Gupta society, becoming more popular than Buddhism despite being an older religion. The two religions were able to thrive thanks to religious tolerance under the Gupta rulers
11. The Gupta was huge on maritime trade and frequently merchants & missionaries traveled from India
12. The Gupta Empire declined thanks to the Huns from Central/Northern Asia around 550 CE, bringing the classical age of India to an end