1. Mauryan Dynasty
2. Kautilya
3. Chandragupta Maurya
3.1. Early Life
3.2. Ascending the Throne
3.3. Expansion of Empire
3.4. Acceptance of Jainism
3.5. Legacy
4. Bindusara
5. Ashoka
6. Decline of Mauryan Empire
6.1. Causes of Decline
7. Disintegration of Mauryan Empire
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Successors of Asoka
7.3. Other Political Factors for Disintegration
7.4. Asoka and his Policies
7.5. Economic Problems
7.6. Growth of Local Polities
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Topic – Rule of Mauryas: Chandragupta, Bindusar, Ashoka (Notes)
Subject – History
(Ancient Indian History)
Table of Contents
The Mauryan Dynasty, which began about 321 BCE and lasted in 185 BCE, was the first pan-Indian empire, encompassing the majority of India. It encompassed sections of central and northern India as well as modern-day Iran. The conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain centred the Mauryan Empire, and Pataliputra served as its capital city (modern Patna). Outside of the imperial core, the empire’s geographical extent was determined by the loyalty of military commanders who ruled the armed cities that dot it.
Mauryan Dynasty
- Literary sources such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Megasthenes’ Indica, and Ashoka’s edicts shed more insight on this period’s history.
- Dhana Nanda, the last of the Nanda monarchs, was widely despised for his severe tax scheme.
- Furthermore, following Alexander’s conquest of North-Western India, that region suffered a great deal of turmoil from other nations.
- Some of these areas were ruled by the Seleucid Dynasty, which was founded by Seleucus Nicator I. He was one of Alexander the Great’s generals.
- In 321 BC, Chandragupta, assisted by a clever and politically adept Brahmin, took the kingdom by beating Dhana Nanda.
- Under the leadership of Chandragupta Maurya and his tutor Chanakya, the Maurya Empire was created in the Magadha area. Chanakya took Chandragupta to Taxila to learn about statecraft and governance.
- Chandragupta needed an army, so he recruited and absorbed minor military republics like the Yaudheyas, which had opposed Alexander’s Empire.
- The Mauryan army swiftly rose to prominence as a regional force in the Indian subcontinent’s northwestern area.
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