Nanda Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Page 1 of 3

Nanda Empire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nanda Empire originated from the region of

Magadha in ancient India during the 5th and 4th
centuries BC. At its greatest extent, the Nanda
Empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab
in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range.[1]
The Nanda Empire was later conquered by
Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya
Empire.

Nanda Empire
424 BC321 BC

Contents
1 Establishment of the dynasty
2 Nanda rule
3 List of Nanda rulers
4 Footnotes

Establishment of the dynasty

Mahapadma Nanda, who has been described as "the
destroyer of all the Kshatriyas", defeated the
Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas,
Kurus, Maithilas, Surasenas and the Vitihotras; to
name a few .[citation needed]. He expanded his territory
south of the Deccan plains. Mahapadma Nanda, who
died at the age of 88, was the ruler of the Nanda
dynasty for all but 12 of the dynasty's 100 years. The
Nandas who usurped the throne of the Shishunaga
dynasty were thought to be of low origin with some
sources stating that the dynasty's founder,
Mahapadma, was the son of a Shudra . [2]

The Nanda Empire at its greatest extent under Dhana

Nanda circa 323 BC.

Capital

Pataliputra

Languages

Sanskrit

Religion

Jainism
Hinduism
Buddhism

Government
Samrat

Monarchy
Mahapadma Nanda
Dhana Nanda

Historical era
- Established
- Disestablished

Antiquity
424 BC
321 BC

Nanda rule
The Nandas are sometimes described as the first empire builders in the recorded history of India.
They inherited the large kingdom of Magadha and wished to extend it to yet more distant frontiers.
To this purpose they built up a vast army, consisting of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 war
chariots and 3,000 war elephants (at the lowest estimates). According to Plutarch however, the size
of the Nanda army was even larger, numbering 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 war chariots,
and 6,000 war elephants. However, the Nandas never had the opportunity to see their army up
against Alexander, who invaded India at the time of Dhana Nanda, since Alexander had to confine
his campaign to the plains of Punjab, for his forces, frightened by the prospect of facing a formidable
foe, mutinied at the Hyphasis River (the modern Beas River) refusing to march any further. This
river thus marks the eastern-most extent of Alexander's conquests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_Empire

3/20/2013

Nanda Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Page 2 of 3

List of Nanda rulers

Mahapadma Nanda (c. 424 BC ?)
Pandhuka
Panghupati
Bhutapala
Rashtrapala
Govishanaka
Dashasidkhaka
Kaivarta
Mahendra
Dhana Nanda (Argames) (? c. 321 BC)

Asiain 323 BC, showing borders of the Nanda

Empire in relation to Alexander's Empire and
neighbors.

Footnotes
1. ^ Radha Kumud Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, 4th ed. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1988 [1966]), 31, 2833.
2. ^ "Nanda Dynasty MSN Encarta" (http://www.webcitation.org/5kx7P86Vv) . Archived from the
original (http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588383/Nanda_Dynasty.html) on 2009-11-01.

Preceded by
Shishunaga dynasty

Nanda Dynasty
(345 BC321 BC)

Succeeded by
Maurya dynasty

Classical India
Timeline:
6th
century
BCE
5th
century
BCE
4th
century
BCE
3rd
century
BCE
2nd
century
BCE
1st
century
BCE
1st
century
CE

Northwestern
India
Gandhara
(Persian rule)
(Greek conquests)

Indo-Greek
Kingdom
Yona

IndoScythians
IndoParthians
Pahlava
Kushan
Empire

IndoSassanids

Northern India
Magadha
Shishunaga
dynasty
Nanda empire
Kalinga
Maurya
Empire
Sunga Empire
MahaMeghavahana
Dynasty

Southern India

Pandyas

Cholas
Cheras
Satavahana
Empire

Kuninda
Kingdom

Western
Satraps
Gupta Empire
Maitraka
Vakataka
dynasty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_Empire

Northeastern
India

Kalabhras
dynasty
Kadamba
Dynasty
Western Ganga
Dynasty
Vishnukundina
Pallava
Kalachuri
Chalukya

Varman
dynasty
Kamarupa
kingdom

Mlechchha
dynasty

3/20/2013

Nanda Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2nd
century
3rd
century
4th
century
5th
century
6th
century
7th
century
8th
century
9th
century
10th
century
11th
century

Kidarite
Kingdom
IndoHephthalites
(Huna)

Rashtrakuta
Yadava
dynasty
Harsha
GurjaraPratihara

(Islamic conquests)
Kabul Shahi
(Islamic Empire)

Page 3 of 3

Pala Empire
Paramara
dynasty
Solanki
Eastern Ganga
dynasty
Sena dynasty

Pala
dynasty
KambojaPala
dynasty

Western
Chalukyas
Kakatiya
dynasty
Hoysala
Empire

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nanda_Empire&oldid=539770504"

Categories: Former monarchies of Asia Former countries in Asia Dynasties of Bengal
Empires and kingdoms of India History of Bengal Dynasties of India
Historical Hindu empires Magadha Nanda Empire
This page was last modified on 22 February 2013 at 22:51.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional
terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_Empire

3/20/2013