The maurya empire was founded by chandragupta maurya, with help from chanakya, at taxila, a noted center of learning. Wikimedia commons has media related to military history of india. In the beginning, ashoka ruled the empire like his grandfather did, in an efficient but cruel way. The mauryan empire maintained a large standing army that was adequate to all its internal and external needs. Ashoka and the mauryan empire the mauryan dynasty was founded by chandragupta maurya in 320 bc after defeating the incumbent nanda dynasty. Centralization in the maurya empire world civilization. At its height, the vast empire stretched from the bay of bengal in the east to the arabian sea in the west. Asoka the great, was the king to end the ways of the mauryan empires bloodthirsty war.
Particularly in view of the fact that it was found shortly after alexanders victorious campaigns in northwest. Asoka books and biography free pdf books from bookyards, one of the worlds first online libraries to offer ebooks to be downloaded for free. Immediately after the death of asoka, the mauryan dynasty was partitioned into two parts viz. Ashoka the great was the emperor of indias mauryan empire.
The mauryan empire in thinking about the mauryan empire and, later the gupta empire we need to consider what kinds of states they were, avoiding imposing political notions from modern, western experience on material from the past. Sep 29, 2009 the mauryan empire was the first major empire in the history of india, ruled by maurya dynasty from 321 bc to 185 bce. The mauryan army, the largest standing military force of its time, supported the. After invasion by alexander, the north western region in india faced various foreign attacks which caused unrest in these indian states. Generally, there is one or two questions are asked from this topic. Chandragupta maurya download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Chandragupta maurya, with the help of chanakya, began laying the foundation of the maurya empire. According to several legends, chanakya travelled to magadha, a kingdom that was large and militarily powerful and feared by its neighbours, but was insulted by its king dhana nanda, of the nanda dynasty. When people think of the mauryan empire,chandraguptas grandson, asoka, comes up. The mahajanapadas were big settlements in magadh, kosala, kasi, saurasena. The history writing has also become clear from this period due to accuracy in chronology and sources. To let you have an information about all important sections of ga, this post is to provide you with one of the important topic related to ancient indian history on the mauryan empire. C, the mauryan dynasty was established under chandragupta maurya.
Inscriptions and literature are a valuable source to know about the history of mauryan empire. Mar 21, 2016 the mauryan empire is one of the most fascinating empires in india. The rise of chandragupta maurya, and the golden age of the. The maurya empire boundless world history lumen learning. The mauryan army eliminated regional chieftains, private armies, and even gangs of bandits, who sought to impose their own supremacy in small areas. Mauryan empire in india history study materials exams. As the head of the military administration of the mauryan empire, the king was the supreme commander of the army. Brihadratha was the last emperor, who was killed by his army commanderinchief, pushyamitra sunga in 185 bc. Classical 500 bce500 ce india empires gupta and mauryan.
Nov 02, 2014 the mauryan empire had a huge influence on india, it became a unified state because of the mauryan empire. He was assisted by his political adviser, kautalya, who also set out the rules for the. In 265 bce after witnessing the devastation of his own attack on the kalinga region, he converted from being a brutal conqueror of a vast empire to a benevolent. India during this period was also experiencing revolutionary change, which culminated in the rise of the mauryan empire and the reign of ashoka the great. The mauryan empire was an efficient and highly organized autocracy with a standing army and civil service. The king was supreme source of all power and authorities with judicial and administrative powers. This article talks about the rise and growth of the maurya empire in ancient india, which is an important topic in the history syllabus of the ias exam.
The mahameghavahana dynasty was an ancient ruling dynasty of kalinga after the decline of the mauryan empire. No one can deny that kings of mauryan empire possessed huge power. Chandragupta 320300 bc, was the builder of the first indian imperial power, the mauryan empire. One of them is the founding of a new indian empire the mauryan empire, which would eventually unify the whole of india. Vishnu sharma is thought to be the author of the panchatantra fables, one of the most widelytranslated nonreligious books in history. Chandragupta mauryas army included over 6, 00,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry, 10,000 elephants and 7,000. Apr 18, 2019 india during this period was also experiencing revolutionary change, which culminated in the rise of the mauryan empire and the reign of ashoka the great. Some of the important information provided by megasthenes is as follows. It was one of the largest empires in the world at the time. He had his capital at pataliputru, near patna, in bihar. Mauryan empire in india history study materials exams daily. He managed to extend his empire westwards and became the master of all northern india. Maurya dynasty gk questions pdf download gk classes. When members of the same family become rulers one after another.
After winning the seleucidmauryan war, the maurya empire expanded into the. Read this article to learn about the history of mauryan empire in india. After the death of emperor ashoka, the mauryan empire collapsed within five decades. Athenaeus of naucratis, the deipnosophists book i, chapter 32. The maurya empire was a geographically extensive iron age historical power in ancient india, ruled by the mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 bc. The mauryan empire 322 bce 185 bce supplanted the earlier magadha kingdom to assume power over large tracts of eastern and northern india. In 320 bce, the nanda dynasty was overthrown by an officer in its army, chandragupta maurya c. As a geographical entity as we know of india today, india has been united just thrice. The king was not only the ultimate authority of the bureaucracy, but he was also the head of the revenue system of the mauryan empire.
Chanakya, also known as kautilya was a pious, learned and determined brahman, who didnt have a pleasant appearance but had an intelligent brain. Chandragupta maurya gathered an army, killed the unpopular nanda king, and claimed the throne, beginning the mauryan. Chanakya proposed many innovative ideas about politics and governance. The army saw action on the western front within a month of the start of the war. Here we compiled the list of most important questions which are based on maurya dynasty.
At its zenith, the mauryan empire stretched from afghanistan in the west to bangladesh in the east. The mauryan imperial polity held sway over nearly three quarters of indias landmass for a period little less than two centuries. Megasthenes recordings in his book indica in the book named indica, megasthenes gave a clear account of mauryan empire. This is a rate of march for an effective army of about ten miles a day, considerably below what the armies of the near east could manage during the same period. Nov 01, 2014 yet, alexanders campaign in india would have important consequences for the subcontinent and its people. The monarchs accumulated wealth from trade with greece, rome, and china. As these scripts were inscribed on rocks and pillars they are known as rock edicts or pillar edicts. The mauryan empire was the first major empire in the history of india, ruled by maurya dynasty from 321 bc to 185 bce. Even excluding the lower social orders, the mauryan empire possessed an enormous manpower pool. Click download or read online button to get chandragupta maurya book now. Ashoka the great rise of the mauryan empire documentary.
Jun 26, 2018 the vastness of the empire, internal revolts, and foreign invasions are some of the few other factors that resulted in the decline of the mauryan empire. The mauryan empire was the first power to unite most of the indian subcontinent, and at its peak stretched from afghanistan in the northwest, east almost. Pushyamitra, while parading the entire mauryan army before brihadratha on the pretext of showing him the strength of the army, crushed his master, brihadratha maurya, because he was too weak. As we know most highly target competitive exams are going to be held in couple of months. The ashokan rock edicts were deciphered by james princep in 1837. Jul 10, 2018 as the head of the military administration of the mauryan empire, the king was the supreme commander of the army. The book has 15 subparts which contain 180 chapters. In order to defeat the powerful nanda army, chandragupta needed to raise a formidable army of his own.
There are many reasons given by historians for this disintegration of a once mighty empire. Mauryan administration was a very centralized system. Mauryan empire 321 bce232 bce ashoka softened chandragupta mauryas harsher policies for instance, instead of spies, he sent officials to look out for subjects welfare. Biography of ashoka the great, indias mauryan emperor.
Chandragupta maurya defeated seleucus i nicator and gained the territories beyond indus river. At its height, the empire stretched over parts of modern iran and almost the entire indian subcontinent, barring only the southern peninsular tip. Yet, alexanders campaign in india would have important consequences for the subcontinent and its people. Mauryan empire 321 bce232 bce chandragupta maurya may have been born in magadha, a powerful kingdom. The predecessors to the contemporary army of india were many. Apr 11, 2018 after ashokas death, however, the mauryan dynasty came to an end and its empire dissolved. Chandragupta maurya raised an army, with the assistance of chanakya, author of arthasastra and overthrew. The mauryan army, the largest standing military force of its time, supported the expansion and defense of the empire. Originating from the kingdom of magadha in the indogangetic plains modern bihar, eastern uttar pradesh and bengal in the eastern side of the indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at pataliputra modern patna. The seleucid empire tried and failed to reconquer the northwestern part of the maurya empire during the seleucid mauryan war, from 305303 bce.
After becoming the master of all northern india, chandragupta began a. Grab the below given important points related to this particular topic and score well in the examination. That bureaucracy and its operation were the model for the arthashastra the science of material gain, a work of political economy similar in tone and scope to niccolo machiavellis the prince. Macedonian ruler alexanders invasion of northwestern india, and the increasing unpopularity of nando rulers, resulted into their decline. The mauryan empire is one of the most fascinating empires in india. By 316 bc, the maurya empire fully occupied northwestern parts of india, defeating and conquering the governors left by alexander the great. May 29, 2016 the mauryan imperial polity held sway over nearly three quarters of indias landmass for a period little less than two centuries. Centralized administration of mauryan empire syskool. The arthashastra mentions two different types of chariots war chariots and chariots used for assaulting fortresses among them. The mauryan empire at this time included the presentday states of bihar and good portions of. At that time, magadh was ruled by the nanda dynasty. Indian dynasty in the fourththird centuries bce, which. Conquering and ruling over such a large amount of territory was a rare feat for such a young ruler. The mauryan empire under asoka it should be possible to replace this fair use image with a freely licensed one.
Before the mauryan empire, the indian subcontinent was fragmented into. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the mauryans like never before. Several greeks remained at the mauryan court as ambassadors to the hellenistic world. It is likely that the mauryan army followed the old vedic practice of agreeing with the enemy as to the location of a battlefield in advance. Additionally, he could call for 9,000 war elephants to help. The lion capital of ashoka at sarnath is the national emblem of india. There were six types of troops in the mauryan imperial army. Do some research on the internet or books on ancient. Chandragupta maurya was the founder of the mauryan empire. Chandragupta led the mauryan empire from 321 bce to around 297 bce.
Recent historiography questions the traditional view of the mauryan empire as a unitary state, but presents a more nuanced view of the complexities of state and imperial formations in which the. Chandragupta maurya history study materials exams daily. The maurya empire was a geographically extensive iron age historical power based in. Megasthenes was the ambassador of seleucus to the court of chandragupta maurya. Learn more about his reign and his promotion of buddhist nonviolence.
Chandragupta maurya established the maurya empire by overthrowing the nanda dynasty and expanded the empire with the help of chanakya. In 185 bce, the last mauryan ruler was assassinated by pushyamitra shunga, the. There was even a manual instructing how to equip birds and monkeys with. The mauryan empire had a huge influence on india, it became a unified state because of the mauryan empire. After alexanders death in 323 bce, chandragupta, turned his attention to northwestern india modern pakistan, where he defeated the satrapies. The vastness of the empire, internal revolts, and foreign invasions are some of the few other factors that resulted in the decline of the mauryan empire. Supposedly, he had summoned a huge amount of foot and mounted soldiers. He used his strength in ancient indian warfare to expand the empire and created sadistic rules against criminals. The mauryan empire grew and thrived during the iron age. He possessed a vast treasure and an army numbering 20,000 cavalry, 200,000 infantry, 2,000. With the help of chanakya, chandragupta overthrew the nardas and assumed the throne. In 322 bc, chandragupta maurya, the ruler of magadha, began to assert its authority over the neighbouring kingdoms.
The mauryan empire was founded by changragupta maurya. He established the first territorial empire in ancient india, covering most of the indian subcontinent. What are some of the best books on the ancient mauryan empire. There are several reasons of declining of the mauryan dynasty. If the mauryan army possessed heavy cavalry, they appear to have done so in small numbers. This book provides the most important literary source for study of the mauryan administration. The founder of the mauryan empire was a man by the name of chandragupta maurya. Chandragupta 320300 bc was the builder of the first indian imperial power, the mauryan empire.
A comprehensive definition of an empiree which covers all cases is not possible. Army under mauryan empire had a highly complex structure. According to the reports of magasthenes, chandraguptas army was composed of 600,000 foot soldiers, 30,000 horses, and 9,000 war elephants. The last of the nanda rulers, dhana nanda was highly unpopular due to his oppressive tax regime. There were superintendents or adhyakshas who were set over each of the four sections. As part of the peace offering, the maurya empire gained five territories in exchange for 500 war elephants. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
1390 751 1295 884 547 511 1138 1471 430 1317 17 88 1376 1098 9 287 75 1235 775 929 908 296 932 9 1247 508 1467 1032