Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was the first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent under a single government and ranks among the largest empires of the ancient world.

It was founded around 322 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya, who, aided by his shrewd adviser Chanakya (Kautilya), overthrew the Nanda dynasty of Magadha and then expanded westward into the territories left unstable by Alexander the Great's withdrawal, even defeating and reaching an accord with the Seleucid ruler Seleucus I. From its capital at Pataliputra, the empire developed a sophisticated centralised administration with a large bureaucracy, a vast standing army, a network of spies, and systematic taxation, much of it described in the Arthashastra, a famous treatise on statecraft attributed to Chanakya. The empire reached its zenith under Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka the Great, who after a brutally bloody conquest of Kalinga renounced violence and embraced Buddhism. Ashoka promoted principles of moral governance and tolerance through edicts inscribed on pillars and rocks across the subcontinent, sponsored the spread of Buddhism within India and abroad to Sri Lanka and beyond, and undertook public works. Under the Mauryas, trade, urbanisation, and cultural life flourished, and the empire connected the subcontinent to wider Eurasian commerce. After Ashoka's death the empire declined rapidly under weaker successors, beset by administrative strain, financial pressure, and the difficulty of holding such a vast and diverse realm together. The last Mauryan emperor, Brihadratha, was assassinated around 185 BCE by his general Pushyamitra Shunga, who founded the succeeding Shunga dynasty. The Mauryan legacy, especially Ashoka's ideals, remained influential in Indian history and identity.

Key figures