Civilizations in Africa and India during the Classical Period had some parallels, while still having their distinct differences. For example, Axum in Africa and Gupta in India were two empires during the classical period. The Axum Empire, located on the Horn of Africa in modern day Ethiopia, thrived in East Africa around ______, around the same time as the Gupta Empire in India (320-550 AD). Despite the distance between these two empires, the Axum Empire and the Gupta Empire had similar political, interaction, and economic structure, although the empires each had their own distinct social structure and culture.
Axum and Gupta were fairly similar politically, economically, and through interactions. As Axum and Gupta were both empires, naturally …show more content…
Having influence from the Roman Empire, Axum adopted Christianity as their religion. Meanwhile, in Gupta, Buddhism and Hinduism were practiced. Additionally, the social structure was very distinct in Gupta. In Gupta, the caste system was practiced, which was not present in Axum. Despite the caste system, Gupta’s citizens experienced a relatively happy life that was free from oppression, according to Fa Hsien, a Buddhist Chinese traveler who visited India. Not much is known about the social aspects of Axum since Africa did not have a written language, but instead had griots, who were like oral historians. During the Gupta Empire, India experienced advancement in art, literature, science, mathematics, and medicine. Their achievements included c-sections, plastic surgery, Arabic numbers, decimals, pi, the concept of zero, the knowledge that the earth was round, and a solar calendar. Gupta was also notable for its epic poetry, like the poet Kalidasa who wrote Shakuntala. Furthermore, Indian art gained influence in Southeast Asian art and architecture, unlike Axum. Similarly, Axum did support art and architecture, although it didn’t have much, if any, advancement in literature, science, mathematics, or medicine. Axum’s achievements in art and architecture are best represented by their obelisks, which marked royal
Axum and Gupta were fairly similar politically, economically, and through interactions. As Axum and Gupta were both empires, naturally …show more content…
Having influence from the Roman Empire, Axum adopted Christianity as their religion. Meanwhile, in Gupta, Buddhism and Hinduism were practiced. Additionally, the social structure was very distinct in Gupta. In Gupta, the caste system was practiced, which was not present in Axum. Despite the caste system, Gupta’s citizens experienced a relatively happy life that was free from oppression, according to Fa Hsien, a Buddhist Chinese traveler who visited India. Not much is known about the social aspects of Axum since Africa did not have a written language, but instead had griots, who were like oral historians. During the Gupta Empire, India experienced advancement in art, literature, science, mathematics, and medicine. Their achievements included c-sections, plastic surgery, Arabic numbers, decimals, pi, the concept of zero, the knowledge that the earth was round, and a solar calendar. Gupta was also notable for its epic poetry, like the poet Kalidasa who wrote Shakuntala. Furthermore, Indian art gained influence in Southeast Asian art and architecture, unlike Axum. Similarly, Axum did support art and architecture, although it didn’t have much, if any, advancement in literature, science, mathematics, or medicine. Axum’s achievements in art and architecture are best represented by their obelisks, which marked royal