<Tr> <Td> Gupta Empire </Td> </Tr> <P> In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire unified much of India . This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive achievements in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture . Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty . </P> <P> The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architectures, sculptures and paintings . The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields . Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era . Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Malay Archipelago and Indochina . </P> <P> The Shang dynasty (Chinese: 商 朝; pinyin: Shāng cháo) or Yin dynasty (Chinese: 殷 代; pinyin: Yīn dài), according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty . The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the Classic of History, Bamboo Annals and Records of the Grand Historian . According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations made approximately 2,000 years ago by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled from 1766 BC to 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the "current text" of Bamboo Annals, they ruled from 1556 BC to 1046 BC . The Xia--Shang--Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c. 1600 BC to 1046 BC . At its peak 1122 BC it covered an area of 1,250,000 km . </P>

This powerfull kingdom was based in anatolia and is well known for learning to work with iron