The Mauryan Empire

Syeda Sarah
VI ‘B’
SMPS
The History Of Mauryan Empire
• A new era began in the history of India with the powerful Mauryan empire.
• It was established by Chandragupta Maurya.
• The Mauryas gave political unity to India.
• The rulers of Magadh, the Nandas had become very unpopular among the common
people.
• It also gives a guideline to kings as to how they should administer their territories.
Sources Of The
Mauryan Period
• Two books Indika by Megasthenes
and Arthashastra by kautilya are
the main sources of information
on the Mauryas.
• Indika gives us an account of
political and socio-economic
conditions of the period.
• Arthashastra throws light on the
Mauryans administration.
• It also gives a guideline to kings as
to how they should administer
their territories.
The Rise of Chandragupta Maurya
• A Brahmin minister called Chanakya, was insulted and
humiliated by Nanda king Dhanananda.
• Chanakya better known as kautilya, trained
Chandragupta, a young man of the Maurya family in
statecraft and warfare to avenge his humiliation.
• Chandragupta defeated the last Nanda king in 321 BCE
and established his rule on Magadh.
• He then turned his attention towards Punjab.
• Chandragupta first liberated Punjab from the Greeks.
War with Seleucus
• The territories on the west of Indus were ruled by
Greek king Seleucus.
• In 305 BCE he was given a crushing defeat by
Chandragupta’s army.
• He had to sign a humiliating treaty and give away Herat,
Kabul and Kandahar to Chandragupta.
• Chandragupta Maurya brought other parts of northern
India under his control.
• He established the Mauryan empire and ruled for
about 25 years.
The Mighty Ashoka
• Chandragupta Maurya according to some sources, gave
his throne to his Son Bindusara, who ruled for 24 years.
• Ashoka the most famous and powerful Mauryan king
came to power after his father Bindusara ’s death in
273 BCE.
• He ruled from his capital Pataliputra.
• He followed the policy of direct conquest.
• Ashoka invaded Kalinga in 261 BCE.
• The Mauryan army ultimately defeated the Kalinga
army.
According to an Ashokan edict 100,000 people were
killed in the war and 150,000 were taken prisoners.
The death and destruction which followed the Kalinga
war made Ashoka sad and unhappy.
It became a turning point in his life.
He decided he would not fight any more wars.
Instead, he would try and persuade people to live in
peace.
Ashoka’s Dhamma
• The principles of Buddhism guided Ashoka ‘s policy at
home and abroad.
• He believed life could become peaceful and virtuous by
following certain high ideals.
• Ashoka called this as Dhamma.
• By following the ideals of Dhamma, life could become
pure.
• He explained Dhamma in the edicts, which were mainly
written in Brahmi script.
• Ashoka embraced Buddhism as a result of the Kalinga
war.
The main principles of Ashoka’s Dhamma were
Non-violence.
Tolerance towards all religions.
Charity for the poor.
Ashoka took a number of welfare measures for his
people.
Crimes were rare during his reign and punishments
were mild.
The Mauryan Administration
• The Mauryan administration was assisted by Mantri
Parishad.
• The empire was divided into four provinces which were
further divided into districts.
• The capital city of Patalipura, was an important city of
the Ashokan empire.
• He formed a committee which was further divided into
departments.
• The following were a part of the empire; Army, spy
system, taxation, trade, society, occupation.
The Decline of Mauryan Empire
• Th Mauryan empire began to break up after Ashoka’s
death.
• The following were one of the reasons for the decline
of the empire.
• The leaders who came after Ashoka were weak.
• The Mauryan kings were unable to collect enough taxes
to meet the expenses.
• There was a financial crisis.
• The army became inefficient and weak.
• The last king of the Mauryan empire was killed by his
own commander in chief. Who later started the sunga
dynasty.
Thank you