The Mauryan Empire(325BC-183BC)
Chandragupta Maurya
In 305 BC Chandragupta defeated SeleucusNikator, who surrendered a vast territory.
Megasthenese was a Greek ambassador senttothe court of Chandragupta Maurya bySeleucus.
Chandragupta became a Jain and went toSravanbelgola with Bhadrabahu, where hedied by slow starvation (Sale/than).
Trade flourished, agriculture was regulated,weights and measures were standardized andmoney came into use.
In 305 BC Chandragupta defeated SeleucusNikator, who surrendered a vast territory.
Megasthenese was a Greek ambassador senttothe court of Chandragupta Maurya bySeleucus.
Chandragupta became a Jain and went toSravanbelgola with Bhadrabahu, where hedied by slow starvation (Sale/than).
Trade flourished, agriculture was regulated,weights and measures were standardized andmoney came into use.
Bindusara
Bindusara extended the kingdom further and conquered the south as far as Mysore.
Bindusara extended the kingdom further and conquered the south as far as Mysore.
Asoka
Asoka usurped the throne alter killing his 99brothers and spared Tissa, the youngest one.
Radhagupta a Minister of Bindusar helped him in fratricidal struggle.
Under Asoka, the Mauryan Empire reached it’s climax. For the first time, the whole of the subcontinent, leaving out the extreme south,was under imperial control.
Asoka fought the Kalinga war in 261 BC in the 9th years of his coronation. The king was moved by massacre in this war and therefore abandoned the policy of physical occupation on favour of policy of cultural conquest. In oilier words, Bherighosha was replaced by Dhammaghosha.
Asoka usurped the throne alter killing his 99brothers and spared Tissa, the youngest one.
Radhagupta a Minister of Bindusar helped him in fratricidal struggle.
Under Asoka, the Mauryan Empire reached it’s climax. For the first time, the whole of the subcontinent, leaving out the extreme south,was under imperial control.
Asoka fought the Kalinga war in 261 BC in the 9th years of his coronation. The king was moved by massacre in this war and therefore abandoned the policy of physical occupation on favour of policy of cultural conquest. In oilier words, Bherighosha was replaced by Dhammaghosha.
Facts about Mauryas
During Mauryan period, the punch markedcoins (mostly of silver) were the common units of transactions.
Tamralipti m the Gangetic delta was the most prosperous port on the East Coast of India.
Megasthenes in his Indies had mentioned 7castes in Mauryan society. They werephilosophers, farmers, soldiers, herdsmen,artisans, magistrates and councilors.
During Mauryan period, the punch markedcoins (mostly of silver) were the common units of transactions.
Tamralipti m the Gangetic delta was the most prosperous port on the East Coast of India.
Megasthenes in his Indies had mentioned 7castes in Mauryan society. They werephilosophers, farmers, soldiers, herdsmen,artisans, magistrates and councilors.
The Mauryan Administration
The King::
The Mauryan government was a centralised bureaucracy of which the nucleus was the king.
The Mauryan government was a centralised bureaucracy of which the nucleus was the king.
The Mantri Parishad ::
The king was assisted by Mantri Parishad,whose members included-The Yuvaraj, the crown prince
The Purohita, the chief priest
The Senapati. the commander-in-chief of thearmy a few other ministers.
The king was assisted by Mantri Parishad,whose members included-The Yuvaraj, the crown prince
The Purohita, the chief priest
The Senapati. the commander-in-chief of thearmy a few other ministers.
Art & Architecture
The Mauryas introduced stone masonry on large scale.
Fragments of stone pillars and slump a indicating the existence of an 80-pillared Hall have been discovered at Kumar har on outskirts of Patna.
The pillars represent the Masterpiece of Mauryan sculpture. Each pillar is made of single piece of sandstone. only their capitals which are beautiful pieces of sculpture in
form of lion or bulls are joined with pillar on the top.
Single Lion capital at Rampurva and Lauriya Nandangarh.
Single bull capital at Rampurva.
Four lion capital at Sarnath and Sanchi.
A carved elephant at Dhauli and engraves elephant at Kalsi.
The Mauryan artisans also started the practice of hewing out caves from rocks formonks to live in. the earliest example areb Barabar caves in Gaya.
Stupas were built throughout the empire to enshrine (herelics of Buddha. Of these, the most famous are at Sanchi and Bui hut
The Mauryas introduced stone masonry on large scale.
Fragments of stone pillars and slump a indicating the existence of an 80-pillared Hall have been discovered at Kumar har on outskirts of Patna.
The pillars represent the Masterpiece of Mauryan sculpture. Each pillar is made of single piece of sandstone. only their capitals which are beautiful pieces of sculpture in
form of lion or bulls are joined with pillar on the top.
Single Lion capital at Rampurva and Lauriya Nandangarh.
Single bull capital at Rampurva.
Four lion capital at Sarnath and Sanchi.
A carved elephant at Dhauli and engraves elephant at Kalsi.
The Mauryan artisans also started the practice of hewing out caves from rocks formonks to live in. the earliest example areb Barabar caves in Gaya.
Stupas were built throughout the empire to enshrine (herelics of Buddha. Of these, the most famous are at Sanchi and Bui hut
The Decline
The Mauryan Empire lasted a little over acentury and broke up fitly years after thedeath of Asoka. Slowly, the various princes ofthe empire began to break away and set up independent kingdoms. In 185 BC. the Mauryan king was overthrown by Pushyamitra Shunga, an ambitious Commander-in-Chief of armed forces. He started the Shunga dynasty in Magadha. The Mauryan Empire ushered in a dream that was to survive and echo again and again in centuries to come. Some probable causes of decline of the Mauryan Empire:
Brahmanical reaction
Financial crisis
Oppressive rule
Neglect of north- west frontier.
Weak successors
Pacific policy of Asoka
New knowledge in outlying areas-Dissemination of knowledge of manufacturingIron
The Mauryan Empire lasted a little over acentury and broke up fitly years after thedeath of Asoka. Slowly, the various princes ofthe empire began to break away and set up independent kingdoms. In 185 BC. the Mauryan king was overthrown by Pushyamitra Shunga, an ambitious Commander-in-Chief of armed forces. He started the Shunga dynasty in Magadha. The Mauryan Empire ushered in a dream that was to survive and echo again and again in centuries to come. Some probable causes of decline of the Mauryan Empire:
Brahmanical reaction
Financial crisis
Oppressive rule
Neglect of north- west frontier.
Weak successors
Pacific policy of Asoka
New knowledge in outlying areas-Dissemination of knowledge of manufacturingIron
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