Nanda Empire

The Nanda Empire was the dominant power in northern India in the mid-to-late fourth century BCE, ruling from the Magadhan capital of Pataliputra (modern Patna).

Founded around 345 BCE by Mahapadma Nanda, who overthrew the preceding Shaishunaga dynasty, it was notable as the first major non-Kshatriya dynasty of ancient India; classical Greek and indigenous traditions alike emphasise the dynasty's humble, even low-caste, origins. Through aggressive expansion the Nandas built the largest empire the subcontinent had yet seen, stretching from Punjab in the west to Odisha (Kalinga) in the east across the Gangetic plain. They were famed for immense wealth amassed through systematic taxation and for a formidable standing army; Greek sources accompanying Alexander the Great recorded forces numbering some 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 3,000 war elephants, and 2,000 chariots. The reputation of this army contributed to the mutiny of Alexander's troops at the Beas (Hyphasis) River in 326 BCE, halting the Macedonian advance into India. The last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda (identified with the Agrammes or Xandrames of Greek accounts), grew unpopular for his oppressive taxation. Around 322-321 BCE he was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya, aided by the strategist Chanakya (Kautilya), an event that ended Nanda rule and inaugurated the Maurya Empire, the first to unify most of the Indian subcontinent.