Maurya Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Maurya Empire was a
geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in
ancient India, ruled by the
Mauryan dynasty from 321 - 185 BCE. Originating from the kingdom of
Magadha in the
Indo-Gangetic plains (modern
Bihar, eastern
Uttar Pradesh) in the eastern side of the
Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at
Pataliputra (modern
Patna).
[1][2] The Empire was founded in 322 BCE by
Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the
Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western
India, taking advantage of the disruptions of local
powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by
Alexander the Great's Greek armies. By 320 BCE the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the
satraps left by Alexander.
[3]
The Maurya Empire was one of the world's largest empires in its time, and the largest ever in the Indian subcontinent. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam. To the west, it conquered beyond modern Pakistan, annexing Balochistan, the tip of south eastern parts of Iran and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat[3] and Kandahar provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and
Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near
Kalinga (modern
Odisha), until it was conquered by
Ashoka. Its decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the foundation of the
Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.
Under
Chandragupta, the Mauryan Empire conquered the trans-
Indus region, which was under
Macedonian rule. Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by
Seleucus I, a Greek general from Alexander's army. Under Chandragupta and his successors, internal and external trade, agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security.
After the
Kalinga War, the Empire experienced half a century of peace and security under Ashoka. Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social harmony, religious transformation, and expansion of the sciences and of knowledge. Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of
Jainism increased social and religious renewal and reform across his society, while Ashoka's embrace of
Buddhism has been said to have been the foundation of the reign of social and political peace and non-violence across all of India. Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into
Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, West Asia and
Mediterranean Europe.
[3]
The population of the empire has been estimated to be about 50 - 60 million making the Mauryan Empire one of the most populous empires of all time.
[4][5]
Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The
Arthashastra and the
Edicts of Ashoka are the primary sources of written records of Mauryan times. The
Lion Capital of Asoka at
Sarnath has been made the national
emblem of India.
