THe mauryan empire (323 b.c. to 185 b.c.)
One of the largest empires in India, the Mauryan Empire started when Aryan tribes banded together and then spread throughout the Indian continent until it almost reached present-day India's borders.
The dynasty was started by the first emperor Candragupta Maurya when he took control of the state of Magadha around 323 B.C. Over 24 years Maurya conquered most of northern India, and by 297 B.C. when Maurya handed his throne to his son Bindusara, the empire stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains to the capital city of Pataliputra. Maurya was an efficient but harsh ruler. He built complex sewage and irrigation systems in the capital city of Pataliputra, divided the empire into districts and sub-districts for better organization and ruling, established local and national courts, and built many roads for an increase in commerce and trade. He also had a huge army that established order in the empire, and a large network of spies to inform Maurya on daily happenings. Around 305 B.C., Chandragupta started fighting one of Alexander the Great's generals, Seleucus. After years of fighting, Chandragupta's massive army defeated Seleucus' army, and the powerful Mauryan Empire's fame spread.
The dynasty was started by the first emperor Candragupta Maurya when he took control of the state of Magadha around 323 B.C. Over 24 years Maurya conquered most of northern India, and by 297 B.C. when Maurya handed his throne to his son Bindusara, the empire stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains to the capital city of Pataliputra. Maurya was an efficient but harsh ruler. He built complex sewage and irrigation systems in the capital city of Pataliputra, divided the empire into districts and sub-districts for better organization and ruling, established local and national courts, and built many roads for an increase in commerce and trade. He also had a huge army that established order in the empire, and a large network of spies to inform Maurya on daily happenings. Around 305 B.C., Chandragupta started fighting one of Alexander the Great's generals, Seleucus. After years of fighting, Chandragupta's massive army defeated Seleucus' army, and the powerful Mauryan Empire's fame spread.
Second emperor Bindusara, Mauryan's son, further expanded the empire, and when the third emperor Ashoka took the throne, the empire reached its maximum extent, from the Himalayas to the Deccan Plateau. In 269 B.C., Ashoka, the third emperor and also Bindusara's son and Maurya's grandson, took the throne. He was one of the most famous Indian emperors and the one who made Buddhism the main religion in India, similar to what Constantine did with Christianity in the Roman Empire. As the legend goes, after an extremely bloody and violent campaign in Kalinga in which Ashoka used his superior army to crush a rebellion, Ashoka was horrified by the violence and war he saw, so he dedicated his life to studying Buddhism, a religion promoting peace and self-fulfillment. Ashoka built many monuments honoring specific religious spots and promoted religious freedom, freedom, justice, and respect for all people. Much of what we know of Ashoka comes from ancient Buddhist texts, and pillars Ashoka built to preserve his legacy also gave some information. After Ashoka's death in 232 B.C., the empire started declining due to ineffective rulers and rebellious ethnic groups. About fifty years after Ashoka's death in 185 B.C., the last Mauryan emperor was killed, and a period of turmoil and war followed.
The Mauryan Empire's legacy lasted far after 185 B.C. The great advances in government and culture during this time laid the foundation for future empires, and Ashoka's policies of peace and nonviolence influenced later Indian movements such as the Indian independence from Britain and Mahatma Gandhi's peace movements. Even today, Ashoka is considered one of the most influential and greatest Indian emperors of all time. As the British author H.G. Wells wrote, "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'Their Highnesses', 'Their Majesties' and 'Their Exalted Majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day" (New World Encyclopedia). The legacy of the Mauryan Empire lives on.
Five hundred years after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, another powerful Empire was founded called the Gupta. Click the link to learn more.
Five hundred years after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, another powerful Empire was founded called the Gupta. Click the link to learn more.