Open main menu

Search

Edit this page

Watch this page

Read in another language

Maurya Empire
Page issues

"Maurya" redirects here. For the 2004 film, see Maurya (film).

The Maurya Empire was a geographically-extensive Iron Age historical power based
in Magadha and founded by Chandragupta Mauryawhich dominated ancient
India between 321 BCE and 187 BCE. Comprising the majority of South Asia, the
Maurya Empire was centralized by conquering the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the eastern
extent of the empire and had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna).[2][3] The
empire was the largest to have ever existed in the Indian subcontinent, spanning over
5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) at its zenith under Ashoka.
Maurya Empire

321 BCE–185 BCE

The maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown in many

modern maps.

Capital Pataliputra
(Present-day Patna, Bihar)
Common languages Sanskrit, Magadhi Prakrit

Religion Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism

Government Absolute monarchy, as described

in Chanakya's Arthashastra

Emperor

• 322–298 BCE Chandragupta

• 298–272 BCE Bindusara

• 268–232 BCE Ashoka

• 232–224 BCE Dasharatha

• 224–215 BCE Samprati

• 215–202 BCE Shalishuka

• 202–195 BCE Devavarman

• 195–187 BCE Shatadhanvan

• 187–180 BCE Brihadratha

Historical era Antiquity

• Established 321 BCE

• Disestablished 185 BCE

 Area

250 BCE[1] 5,000,000 km2(1,900,000 sq mi)

Currency Panas

Preceded by Succeeded by

Nanda Empire Shunga Empire

Mahajanapada Satavahana dynasty

Magadha Mahameghavahana
dynasty
Pauravas
Indo-Scythians
Taxila

Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of Chanakya (also known as
Kauṭilya),[4] and overthrew the Nanda Empire in c. 322 BCE. Chandragupta rapidly
expanded his power westwards across central and western India by conquering
the satraps left by Alexander the Great, and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied
Northwestern India.[5] The Mauryan Empire then defeated Seleucus I, a diadochus and
founder of the Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid–Mauryan war, thus gained
additional territory west of the Indus River.[6]
The Maurya Empire was one of the largest empiresin India. At its greatest extent, the
empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, to the
east into Assam, to the west into Balochistan (southwest Pakistan and southeast Iran)
and the Hindu Kush mountains of what is now Afghanistan.[7] The Empire was
expanded into India's central with boundary into southern regions[8][9] by the
emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded Kalinga (modern Odisha), until
it was conquered by Ashoka.[10] It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule
ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the foundation of the Shunga dynasty in
Magadha.
Under Chandragupta Maurya 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 nearly 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 Jainismincreased 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 missionaries into Sri
Lanka, Southeast Asia, West Asia, North Africa, and Mediterranean Europe.[11]
 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
Antiquity.[12][13] Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into
the era of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra[14] and the Edicts
of Ashoka are the primary sources of written records of Mauryan times. The Lion
Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath has been made the national emblem of India.
History
Administration
Economy
Religion
Architectural remains
Natural history
Contacts with the Hellenistic world
Timeline
In literature
See also
Notes
External links

Last edited 11 days ago by an anonymous user

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

 Terms of Use
 Privacy
 Desktop