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{| class="infobox" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="
|+ <big>'''Maurya Empire'''</big>
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size: small; text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | [[Image:
|-
! Founder
| [[Chandragupta Maurya]]
|-
! [[Language]]s
| [[Sanskrit]]<br>[[Prakrit]]<br>[[Aramaic]] (northwest}<br>[[Greek (language)|Greek]] (northwest)
|-
! [[Religions]]
| [[Hinduism]]<br>[[Jainism]]<br>[[Buddhism]]
|-
! [[Capital]]
| [[Pataliputra]]<br>
|-
! [[Area]]
| 5 million km² <ref>Peter Turchin, Jonathan M. Adams, and Thomas D. Hall. [http://www.eeb.uconn.edu/faculty/turchin/PDF/Latitude.pdf ''East-West Orientation of Historical Empires.''] [[University of Connecticut]]. November 2004.</ref> ([[Indian subcontinent]] and parts of [[Central Asia]])
|-
! [[List of extinct states|Existed]]
| 317 BCE–185 BCE
|}
The '''Maurya Empire''', ruled by the '''Mauryan dynasty''', was the largest and most [[great power|powerful]] political and military [[empire]] of [[history of India|ancient India]].
Originating from the kingdom of [[Magadha]] in the [[Indo-Gangetic plains]] of modern [[Bihar]] and [[Bengal]], and with its capital city of [[Pataliputra]] (near modern [[Patna]]), the Empire was founded in [[321 BC|321 BCE]] by [[Chandragupta Maurya]], who had overthrown the [[Nanda Dynasty]] and begun expanding his power across central and western [[India]]. The Empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the [[Himalayas]], and to the east stretching into what is now [[Assam]]. To the west, it reached beyond modern [[Pakistan]] and included [[Balochistan (region)|Baluchistan]] in [[Iran|Persia]] and significant portions of what is now [[Afghanistan]], including the modern [[Herat Province|Herat]] and [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]] provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by Emperor [[Bindusara]], but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near [[Kalinga (India)|Kalinga]].
Following the conquest of Kalinga in a major war, [[Ashoka|Ashoka the Great]] ended the military expansion of the empire. The kingdoms of [[Pandya]] and [[Cheras]] in [[southern India]] thus preserved their independence, accepting the supremacy of the Mauryan emperor. The Mauryan Empire was perhaps the greatest empire to rule the Indian subcontinent until the arrival of the [[British Empire|British]]. Its decline began fifty years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in [[185 BC|185 BCE]] with the foundation of the [[Sunga Dynasty]] in Magadha.
Under Chandragupta, the Mauryan Empire liberated the trans-indus region, which was under Macedonian occupation. Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus I]], a Greek general from Alexander's army. Under Chandragupta and his successors, both internal and external trade, and agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration and security. After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced half a century of peace and security under Ashoka: India was a prosperous and stable empire of great economic and military power whose political influence and trade extended across Western and Central Asia and Europe. Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social harmony, religious transformation, and expansion of the sciences and of knowledge. Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of [[Jainism]] increased social and religious renewal and reform across his society, while Ashoka's embrace of [[Buddhism]] was the foundation of the reign of social and political peace and non-violence across all of India. Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into [[Sri Lanka]], Southeast Asia, West Asia and Mediterranean Europe.
[[Image: AshokaCapital.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]], erected around [[250 BCE]]. It is the [[emblem of India]].]]
Chandragupta's minister [[Kautilya Chanakya]] wrote the ''[[Arthashastra]]'', one of the greatest treatises on [[economics]], politics, foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war, and religion ever produced in the East. Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] (NBPW). The ''Arthashastra'' and the [[Edicts of Ashoka]] are primary sources of written records of the Mauryan times. The Mauryan empire is considered one of the most significant periods in Indian history. The ''[[Lion Capital of Asoka]]'' at [[Sarnath]], is the [[emblem of India]].
==Background==
Although [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] set up a Macedonian garrison and [[satrapies]] (vassal states) in Northwest India, ruled by the previous Indian kings [[Ambhi]] of [[Taxila]] and [[Porus]] of [[Pauravas]], and the Greek generals [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]] and [[Peithon, son of Agenor|Peithon]] until around [[316 BCE]], the disruptive nature of his invasion and subsequent retreat left the region in a state of instability. It was in this context that Chandragupta Maurya and his advisor, Chanakya, were able to drive away the occupying forces and consolidate the region under the control of his newly-occupied seat of power in Magadha.
===Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya===
Following Alexander's advance into the [[Punjab region|Punjab]], a [[brahmin]] named [[Chanakya]] (real name Vishnu Gupta, also known as Kautilya) travelled across the kingdoms of India's central regions in an attempt to build a coalition that could resist Alexander's forces. But he faced odds that rendered his mission futile: the kingdoms lacked resources and leadership, or the imagination to form such a radical concept as a coalition. Chanakya traveled to [[Magadha]], a kingdom that was large and militarily-powerful and feared by its neighbors, but was dismissed by its king Dhana, of the [[Nanda Dynasty]]. However, the prospect of battling Magadha in a major war was one of the factors that caused the refusal of Alexander's troops to go further east: he returned to [[Babylon]], and he re-deployed most of his troops west of the [[Indus River|Indus]] river. When Alexander died in [[Babylon]], soon after in [[323 BCE]], his empire fragmented, and local kings declared their independence.
[[Image:MauryaStatuettes.jpg|thumb|400px|Statuettes of the Maurya period, 4th-3rd century BCE. [[Musée Guimet]].]]
Chandragupta Maurya's rise to power is shrouded in mystery and controversy. On the one hand, a number of ancient Indian accounts, such as the drama ''Mudrarakshasa'' (''Poem of Rakshasa'' - ''Rakshasa'' was the prime minister of Magadha) by Visakhadatta, describe his royal ancestry and even link him with the Nanda family. On the other, his good fortune often is attributed to a twist of fate in which his preceptor, Chanakya, is said to have observed this village boy's leadership of his peers, and his promising toughness of character. Supposedly the son of a peacock-tamer (hence the name ''Maurya''), he was given an advanced education by Chanakya. Chandragupta first emerges in Greek accounts as "[[Sandrokottos]]". As a young man he is said to have met Alexander.<ref>:"Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." Plutarch 62-3 [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 Plutarch 62-3]</ref> He is also said to have met the Nanda king, angered him, and made a narrow escape.<ref>:"He was of humble origin, but was pushing to acquiring the throne by the superior power of the mind. When after having offensed the king of Nanda by his insolence, he was comdemned to death by the king, he was saved by the speed of his own feet... He gathered bandits and invited Indian to a change of rule." Justin XV.4.15 "Fuit hic humili quidem genere natus, sed ad regni potestatem maiestate numinis inpulsus. Quippe cum procacitate sua Nandrum regem offendisset, interfici a rege iussus salutem pedum ceieritate quaesierat. (Ex qua fatigatione cum somno captus iaceret, leo ingentis formae ad dormientem accessit sudoremque profluentem lingua ei detersit expergefactumque blande reliquit. Hoc prodigio primum ad spem regni inpulsus) contractis latronibus Indos ad nouitatem regni sollicitauit." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte15.html Justin XV.4.15]</ref> Chanakya's original intentions were to train a guerilla army under Chandragupta's command. Gathering young men and ex-soldiers from across central India, including Yavana (Greek), Scythian and Persian troops, Chandragupta's forces attacked and vanquished the Nanda dynasty.<ref>The [[Mudrarakshasa]] of Visakhadutta as well as the [[Jain]]a work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandragupta's alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, sometimes identified with [[Porus]] (John Marshall "Taxila", p18, and al.) This [[Himalaya]]n alliance gave Chandragupta a composite and powerful army made up of [[Yavana]]s (Greeks), [[Kambojas]], [[Saka|Shaka]]s (Scythians), [[Kiratas]] (Nepalese), [[Persian people|Parasika]]s (Persians) and [[Bahlikas]] (Bactrians):
:"asti tava Shaka-Yavana-Kirata-Kamboja-Parasika-Bahlika parbhutibhih
:"Chankyamatipragrahittaishcha Chandergupta Parvateshvara
:"balairudidhibhiriva parchalitsalilaih samantaad uprudham Kusumpurama"
:(Sanskrit original, [[Mudrarakshasa]] 2)
With the help of these frontier [[martial]] [[tribe]]s from [[Central Asia]], Chandragupta was apparently able to defeat the [[Nanda]]/Nandin rulers of [[Magadha]] so as to found the powerful [[Maurya empire]] in northern India.</ref> In the northwest, sometime after the departure of the Greek satraps [[Peithon, son of Agenor|Peithon]] and [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]] in 317 BCE, Chandragupta vanquished the remnants of Greek forces.<ref>"Later, as he was preparing war against the prefects of Alexander, a huge wild elephant went to him and took him on his back as if tame, and he became a remarkable fighter and war leader. Having thus acquired royal power, Sandracottos possessed India at the time Seleucos was preparing future glory." Justin XV.4.19 "Molienti deinde bellum aduersus praefectos Alexandri elephantus ferus infinitae magnitudinis ultro se obtulit et ueluti domita mansuetudine eum tergo excepit duxque belli et proeliator insignis fuit. Sic adquisito regno Sandrocottus ea tempestate, qua Seleucus futurae magnitudinis fundamenta iaciebat, Indiam possidebat." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/trad15.html Justin XV.4.19]</ref> Under principles outlined in the ''Arthashastra'', Maurya built an extensive intelligence network, the first of its kind in India — a network of spies and informers who betrayed enemy plans, and mis-informed the enemy themselves of Maurya's true designs.
===Conquest of Magadha===
Chanakya encouraged Chandragupta and his army to take over the throne of Magadha. Using his intelligence network, Chandragupta gathered many young men from across Magadha and other provinces, men upset over the corrupt and oppressive rule of king Dhana, plus resources necessary for his army to fight a long series of battles. These men included the former general of Taxila, other accomplished students of Chanakya, the representative of King Porus of Kakayee, his son Malayketu, and the rulers of small states.
Preparing to invade Pataliputra, Maurya hatched a plan devised by his preceptor. A battle was announced and the Magadhan army was drawn from the city to a distant battlefield to engage Maurya's forces. Maurya's general and spies meanwhile bribed the corrupt general of Nanda. He also managed to create an atmosphere of civil war in the kingdom, which culminated in the death of the heir to the throne. Chanakya managed to win over popular sentiment. Ultimately Nanda resigned, handing power to Chandragupta, and went into exile and was never heard of again. Chanakya contacted the prime minister, Rakshasas, and made him understand that his loyalty was to Magadha, not to the Magadha dynasty, insisting that he continue in office. Chanakya also reiterated that choosing to resist would start a war that would severely affect Magadha and destroy the city. Rakshasa accepted Chanakya's reasoning, and Chandragupta Maurya was legitimately installed as the new King of Magadha. Rakshasa became Chandragupta's chief advisor, and Chanakya assumed the position of an elder statesman.
<gallery>
Image:Magadha.GIF|The actual extent of the Kingdom of Magadha is unknown. Shown here is the approximate extent of Magadha in 500 BCE
Image:Chandragupta mauryan empire.GIF|[[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]] extended the borders of Magadha towards Selucid Persia after conquering the Gangetic plains
Image:Bindusara mauryan empire.GIF|[[Bindusara]] is thought to have extended the borders of the empire southward into the [[Deccan]]
Image:Ashoka mauryan empire.GIF|[[Ashoka]] extended into the [[Kalinga Kingdom]] during the [[Kalinga War]] and established superiority over the southern kingdoms
</gallery>
==Building India's first Empire==
Having become the king of one of India's most powerful states, Chandragupta invaded the Punjab. One of Alexander's satraps, [[Peithon]], satrap of [[Medes|Media]], had tried to raise a coalition against him. Chandragupta managed to conquer the Punjab capital of Taxila, one of ancient India's most important cities, increasing his power and consolidating his control.
===Emperor Chandragupta===
{| class="wikitable" | align=right
|-
|align=center colspan=13 style="background:#ccf"| '''[[Mauryan Empire|Approximate Dates of Mauryan Dynasty]]'''
|-
! style="background-color:#FFD700" | Emperor
!! style="background-color:#FFD700" | Reign start
!! style="background-color:#FFD700" | Reign end
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Chandragupta Maurya]]'''
| valign="top" | [[322 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[298 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Bindusara]]'''
| valign="top" | [[297 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[272 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Asoka|Asoka The Great]]'''
| valign="top" | [[273 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[232 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Dasaratha Maurya|Dasaratha]]'''
| valign="top" | [[232 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[224 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Samprati]]'''
| valign="top" | [[224 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[215 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Salisuka]]'''
| valign="top" | [[215 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[202 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Devavarman]]'''
| valign="top" | [[202 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[195 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Satadhanvan]]'''
| valign="top" | [[195 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[187 BCE]]
|-
| valign="top" | '''[[Brihadratha]]'''
| valign="top" | [[187 BCE]]
| valign="top" | [[185 BCE]]
|-
|}
<!-- Image with questionable fair-use claim removed: [[Image:chandragupta.gif|100px|left|[[India|Indian]] stamp commemorating the rule of Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya.]] -->
Chandragupta was again in conflict with the Greeks when [[Seleucus I]], ruler of the [[Seleucid Empire]], tried to reconquer the northwestern parts of India, during a campaign in [[305 BCE]], but failed. The two rulers finally concluded a peace treaty: a marital treaty ([[Epigamia]]) was concluded, implying either a marital alliance between the two dynastic lines or a recognition of marriage between Greeks and Indians, Chandragupta received the satrapies of [[Paropamisadae]] ([[Kamboja]] and [[Gandhara]]), [[Arachosia]] ([[Kandhahar]]) and [[Gedrosia]] ([[Baluchistan (region)|Balochistan]]), and [[Seleucus I]] received 500 [[war elephants]] that were to have a decisive role in his victory against western [[Hellenistic]] kings at the [[Battle of Ipsus]] in [[301 BCE]]. Diplomatic relations were established and several Greeks, such as the historian [[Megasthenes]], [[Deimakos]] and [[Dionysius (ambassador)|Dionysius]] resided at the Mauryan court.
Chandragupta established a strong centralized state with a complex administration at Pataliputra, which, according to Megasthenes, was ''"surrounded by a wooden wall pierced by 64 gates and 570 towers— (and) rivaled the splendors of contemporaneous [[Persian Empire|Persian]] sites such as [[Susa]] and [[Ecbatana]]."'' Chandragupta's son [[Bindusara]] extended the rule of the Mauryan empire towards central and southern India. He also had a Greek ambassador at his court, named [[Deimachus]] ([[Strabo]] 1–70).
===Ashoka the Great===
[[Image:Ashoka2.jpg|frame|right|Emperor Ashoka (a depiction)]]
Chandragupta's great grandson '''Ashokavardhan Maurya''', better known as [[Ashoka|Ashoka the Great]] (ruled [[273 BCE|273]]- [[232 BCE]]), is considered by contemporary historians to have been perhaps the greatest of Indian monarchs.
As a young prince, Ashoka was a brilliant commander who crushed revolts in Ujjain and Taxila. As monarch he was ambitious and aggressive, re-asserting the Empire's superiority in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of [[Kalinga (India)|Kalinga]] which proved to be the pivotal event of his life. Although Ashoka's army succeeded in overwhelming Kalinga forces of royal soldiers and civilian units, an estimated 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious warfare, including over 10,000 of Ashoka's own men. Hundreds of thousands of people were adversely affected by the destruction and fallout of war. When he personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka began feeling remorse, and he cried 'what have I done?'. Although the annexation of Kalinga was completed, Ashoka embraced the teachings of [[Gautama Buddha]], and renounced war and violence. For a monarch in ancient times, this was an historic feat.
Ashoka implemented principles of ''[[ahimsa]]'' by banning hunting and violent sports activity and ending indentured and forced labor (many thousands of people in war-ravaged Kalinga had been forced into hard labor and servitude). While he maintained a large and powerful army, to keep the peace and maintain authority, Ashoka expanded friendly relations with states across Asia and Europe, and he sponsored Buddhist missions. He undertook a massive public works building campaign across the country. Over 40 years of peace, harmony and prosperity made Ashoka one of the most successful and famous monarchs in Indian history. He remains an idealized figure of inspiration in modern India.
The [[Edicts of Ashoka]], set in stone, some of them written in [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]], refer to the Greeks, [[Kambojas]], and [[Gandhara]]s as peoples forming a frontier region of his empire. They also attest to Ashoka's having sent envoys to the Greek rulers in the West as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts precisely name each of the rulers of the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic]] world at the time such as ''Amtiyoko'' ([[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochus]]), ''Tulamaya'' ([[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy]]), ''Amtikini'' ([[Antigonus II Gonatas|Antigonos]]), ''Maka'' ([[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]]) and ''Alikasudaro'' [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alexander]] as recipients of Ashoka's prozelitism. The Edicts also accurately locates their territory "600 yojanas away" (a yojanas being about 7 miles), corresponding to the distance between the center of India and Greece (roughly 4,000 miles).<ref>[[Edicts of Ashoka]], 13th Rock Edict, translation S. Dhammika.</ref>
==Administration==
[[Image:MauryanRingstone.JPG|thumb|250px|Mauryan ringstone, with standing goddess. Northwest Pakistan. 3rd century BCE. [[British Museum]].]]
The Empire was divided into four provinces, with the imperial capital at Pataliputra. From Ashokan edicts, the names of the four provincial capitals are Tosali (in the east), [[Ujjain]] in the west, Suvarnagiri (in the south), and [[Taxila]] (in the north). The head of the provincial administration was the ''Kumara'' (royal prince), who governed the provinces as king's representative. The ''kumara'' was assisted by Mahamatyas and council of ministers. This organizational structure was reflected at the imperial level with the Emperor and his ''Mantriparishad'' (Council of Ministers).
Historians theorize that the organization of the Empire was in line with the extensive bureaucracy described by [[Kautilya]] in the [[Arthashastra]]: a sophisticated civil service governed everything from municipal hygiene to international trade. The expansion and defense of the empire was made possible by what appears to have been the largest standing army of its time<citation needed>. According to Megasthenes, the empire wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants. A vast [[espionage]] system collected intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive warfare and expansionism, Ashoka nevertheless continued to maintain this large army, to protect the Empire and instill stability and peace across West and South Asia.
==Economy==
[[Image:MauryanCoin.JPG|left|thumb|300px|Silver punch mark coin of the '''Mauryan empire''', with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE.]]
For the first time in South Asia, political unity and military security allowed for a common economic system and enhanced trade and commerce, with increased agricultural productivity. The previous situation involving hundreds of kingdoms, many small armies, powerful regional chieftains, and internecine warfare, gave way to a disciplined central authority. Farmers were freed of tax and crop collection burdens from regional kings, paying instead to a nationally-administered and strict-but-fair system of taxation as advised by the principles in the ''Arthashastra''. Chandragupta Maurya established a single currency across India, and a network of regional governors and administrators and a civil service provided justice and security for merchants, farmers and traders. The Mauryan army wiped out many gangs of bandits, regional private armies, and powerful chieftains who sought to impose their own supremacy in small areas. Although regimental in revenue collection, Maurya also sponsored many public works and waterways to enhance productivity, while internal trade in India expanded greatly due to newfound political unity and internal peace.
Under the Indo-Greek friendship treaty, and during Ashoka's reign, an international network of trade expanded. The [[Khyber Pass]], on the modern boundary of [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]], became a strategically-important port of trade and intercourse with the outside world. Greek states and Hellenic kingdoms in West Asia became important trade partners of India. Trade also extended through the [[Malay peninsula]] into Southeast Asia. India's exports included silk goods and textiles, spices and exotic foods. The Empire was enriched further with an exchange of scientific knowledge and technology with Europe and West Asia. Ashoka also sponsored the construction of thousands of roads, waterways, canals, hospitals, rest-houses and other public works. The easing of many overly-rigorous administrative practices, including those regarding taxation and crop collection, helped increase productivity and economic activity across the Empire.
==Religion==
Emperor Chandragupta Maurya became the first major Indian monarch to initiate a religious transformation at the highest level when he embraced [[Jainism]], a religious movement resented by orthodox Hindu priests who usually attended the imperial court. At an older age, Chandragupta renounced his throne and material possessions to join a wandering group of Jain monks. However, his successor, Emperor Bindusara, preserved Hindu traditions and distanced himself from Jain and Buddhist movements.
[[Image: AshokaMap2.gif|thumb|300px|Buddhist [[proselytism]] at the time of king [[Ashoka]] ([[260 BCE|260]]-[[218 BCE]]).]]
But when Ashoka embraced Buddhism, following the Kalinga War, he renounced expansionism and aggression, and the harsher injunctions of the ''Arthashastra'' on the use of force, intensive policing, and ruthless measures for tax collection and against rebels. Ashoka sent a mission led by his son and daughter to [[Sri Lanka]], whose king Tissa was so charmed with Buddhist ideals that he adopted them himself and made Buddhism the state religion. Ashoka sent many Buddhist missions to West Asia, Greece and South East Asia, and commissioned the construction of monasteries, schools and publication of Buddhist literature across the empire. He is believed to have built as many as 84,000 stupas across India, and he increased the popularity of Buddhism in Afghanistan. Ashoka helped convene the '''Third Buddhist Council''' of India and South Asia's Buddhist orders, near his capital, a council that undertook much work of reform and expansion of the Buddhist religion.
While himself a Buddhist, Ashoka retained the membership of Hindu priests and ministers in his court, and he maintained religious freedom and tolerance although the Buddhist faith grew in popularity with his patronage. Indian society began embracing the philosophy of ''[[ahimsa]]'', and given the increased prosperity and improved law enforcement, crime and internal conflicts reduced dramatically. Also greatly discouraged was the [[caste system]] and orthodox discrimination, as [[Hinduism]] began to absorb the ideals and values of Jain and Buddhist teachings. Social freedom began expanding in an age of peace and prosperity.
==Contacts with the Hellenistic world==
===Foundation of the Empire===
[[Image:PatnaSofaCapital.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Sculpture of Ancient Greece|Greek Late Archaic]] style [[Capital (architecture)|capital]] from [[Patna]] ([[Pataliputra]]), thought to correspond to the reign of Ashoka, 3rd century BCE, [[Patna Museum]] (click image for references).]]
Relations with the Hellenistic world may have started from the very beginning of the Maurya Empire. [[Plutarch]] reports that Chandragupta Maurya met with [[Alexander the Great]], probably around [[Taxila]] in the northwest:
:"Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." Plutarch 62-3 <ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 Plutarch 62-3]</ref>
The Macedonians (described as [[Yona]] or [[Yavana]] in Indian sources) may also have participated, together with other groups, to the armed uprising of Chandragupta against the Nanda Dynasty. The [[Mudrarakshasa]] of Visakhadutta as well as the [[Jain]]a work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandragupta's alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, often identified with [[Porus]].<ref>John Marshall "Taxila", p18, and al.</ref> This [[Himalaya]] alliance gave Chandragupta a composite and powerful army made up of [[Yavana]]s (Greeks), [[Kambojas]], [[Saka|Shaka]]s (Scythians), [[Kiratas]] (Nepalese), [[Persian people|Parasika]]s (Persians) and [[Bahlikas]] (Bactrians) who took Pataliputra (also called Kusumapura, "The City of Flowers"):
:"[[Pataliputra|Kusumapura]] was besieged from every direction by the forces of [[Porus|Parvata]] and Chandragupta: Shakas, Yavanas, Kiratas, Kambojas, Parasikas, Bahlikas and others, assembled on the advice of Canakya" [[Mudrarakshasa]] 2 <ref>Sanskrit original: "asti tava Shaka-Yavana-Kirata-Kamboja-Parasika-Bahlika parbhutibhih Chankyamatipragrahittaishcha Chandergupta Parvateshvara balairudidhibhiriva parchalitsalilaih samantaad uprudham Kusumpurama". From the French translation, in "Le Ministre et la marque de l'anneau", ISBN 2747551350</ref>
With the help of these frontier [[martial]] [[tribe]]s from [[Central Asia]], Chandragupta was apparently able to defeat the [[Nanda]]/Nandin rulers of [[Magadha]] so as to found the powerful [[Maurya empire]] in northern India.
===Reconquest of the Northwest (c. 310 BCE)===
Chandragupta ultimately occupied Northwestern India, in the territories formerly ruled by the Greeks, where he fought the satraps (described as "Prefects" in Western sources) left in place after Alexander (Justin), among whom may have been [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]], ruler in the western Punjab until his departure in [[317 BCE]] or [[Peithon, son of Agenor]], ruler of the Greek colonies along the Indus until his departure for [[Babylon]] in [[316 BCE]], and possibly [[Sophytes]], who may have ruled in the Punjab until around [[294 BCE]] (although it is also conjectured he may have ruled in [[Bactria]] instead).
:"India, after the death of Alexander, had assassinated his prefects, as if shaking the burden of servitude. The author of this liberation was Sandracottos, but he had transformed liberation in servitude after victory, since, after taking the throne, he himself oppressed the very people he has liberated from foreign domination" Justin XV.4.12-13<ref>"(Transitum deinde in Indiam fecit), quae post mortem Alexandri, ueluti ceruicibus iugo seruitutis excusso, praefectos eius occiderat. Auctor libertatis Sandrocottus fuerat, sed titulum libertatis post uictoriam in seruitutem uerterat ; 14 siquidem occupato regno populum quem ab externa dominatione uindicauerat ipse seruitio premebat." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/trad15.html Justin XV.4.12-13]</ref>
:"Later, as he was preparing war against the prefects of Alexander, a huge wild elephant went to him and took him on his back as if tame, and he became a remarkable fighter and war leader. Having thus acquired royal power, Sandracottos possessed India at the time Seleucos was preparing future glory." Justin XV.4.19<ref> "Molienti deinde bellum aduersus praefectos Alexandri elephantus ferus infinitae magnitudinis ultro se obtulit et ueluti domita mansuetudine eum tergo excepit duxque belli et proeliator insignis fuit. Sic adquisito regno Sandrocottus ea tempestate, qua Seleucus futurae magnitudinis fundamenta iaciebat, Indiam possidebat." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/trad15.html Justin XV.4.19]</ref>
===Conflict and alliance with Seleucus (303 BCE)===
[[Image: SeleucusCoin.jpg|thumb|278px|right|Silver coin of [[Seleucus I Nicator]], who fought Chandragupta Maurya, and later made an alliance with him.]]
[[Seleucus I Nicator]], the Macedonian [[satrap]] of the [[Asia]]n portion of Alexander's former empire, conquered and put under his own authority eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus ([[Appian]], History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55), until in 305 BCE he entered in a confrontation with Chandragupta:
:"Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus." [[Appian]], History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55<ref>[http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_syriaca_11.html Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55]</ref>
====Exchange of territory against war elephants====
Seleucus and Chandragupta ultimately reached a settlement, and through a treaty sealed in [[303 BC]], Seleucus, according to Strabo, ceded the territories along the Indus:
:"The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But [[Seleucus Nicator]] gave them to [[Sandrocottus]] in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants." [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&query=head%3D%23120 Strabo 15.2.1(9)]
Maintstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received much more territory, including [[Pakistan]], southern [[Afghanistan]] and parts of [[Iran|Persia]]. Some authors claim this is an exaggeration, which comes from a statement made by Pliny the Elder, referring not specifically to the lands received by Chandragupta, but rather to the various opinions of geographers regarding the definition of the word "India":<ref>Debated by Tarn, "The Greeks in Bactria and India", p100</ref>
:"The greater part of the geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the river Indus, but add to it the four Satrapies of the Gedrosi ([[Gedrosia]]), the Arachotæ ([[Arachosia]]), the Arii ([[Aria]]), and the Paropauisidæ ([[Paropamisadae]]), the river Cophes ([[Kabul]] river) thus forming the extreme boundary of India. All these territories, however, according to other writers, are reckoned as belonging to the country of the Arii." Pliny, Natural History VI, 23<ref>[http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+6.23 Pliny, Natural History VI, 23]</ref>
Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], are known as far as [[Kandhahar]], in today's southern [[Afghanistan]].
In exchange for this territory, Seleucus obtained five hundred war elephants, a military asset which would play a decisive role at the [[Battle of Ipsus]] in [[301 BC]].
====Marital alliance====
A matrimonial alliance was also agreed upon (called [[Epigamia]] in ancient sources, meaning either the recognition of marriage between Indians and Greeks, or a dynastic alliance):
:"He (Seleucus) crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship." [[Appian]], History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55<ref>[http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_syriaca_11.html Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55]</ref>
Since there are no records of an Indian princess in the abundant Classical literature on the Seleucid, it is generally thought that the alliance went the other way around, and that a Seleucid princess may have been bethrothed to the Mauryan Dynasty. This practice in itself was quite common in the Hellenistic world to formalize alliances. There is thus a possibility that the descendants of Chandragupta were partly of Hellenic descent, whether Chandragupta married the Seleucid princess, or his son Bindusara, and that the Maurya dynasty was considered as closely connected to the Seleucid one.<ref>Discussion on the dynastic alliance in Tarn, p152-153: "It has been recently suggested that Asoka was grandson of the Seleucid princess, whom Seleucus gave in marriage to Chandragupta. Should this far-reaching suggestion be well founded, it would not only throw light on the good relations between the Seleucid and Maurya dynasties, but would mean that the Maurya dynasty was descended from, or anyhow connected with, Seleucus... when the Mauryan line became extinct, he (Demetrius) may well have regarded himself, if not as the next heir, at any rate as the heir nearest at hand". Also discussed in "Taxila", John Marshall</ref> [[Bindusara]] himself, born earlier around 320 BCE, could not have been the result of such a union, but he may have been the one who married the Seleucid princess, just before his rise as Emperor in 298 BCE.<ref>A similar case is known when [[Antiochus III]] fought [[Euthydemus I|Euthydemus]] of Bactria around 210 BCE, and finally gave one of his daughters to his son [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]]: :"And after several journeys of Teleas to and fro between the two, Euthydemus at last sent his son Demetrius to confirm the terms of the treaty. Antiochus received the young prince; and judging from his appearance, conversation, and the dignity of his manners that he was worthy of royal power, he first promised to give him one of his own daughters, and secondly conceded the royal title to his father." [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+11.34 Polybius 11.34 Siege of Bactra]</ref>
The marriage arrangement has led some to suggest that Ashoka may have been a product of this union<ref>Tarn, John Marshall, "The Cambridge Shorter History of India", by J.Allan, p33: "If the usual oriental practice was followed and if we regard Chandragupta as the victor, then it would mean that a daughter or other female relative of Seleucus was given to the Indian ruler or to one of his sons, so that Asoka may have had Greek blood in his veins.". Also McEvilley, "The shape of ancient thought", 2002, p367, ISBN 1581152035: "Asoka may have been either one-half or one-quarter Greek". Ashoka, the son of Bindusara, also happens to have been born around the time this matrimonial alliance was sealed.</ref> although the general view is that Ashoka was born from a Brahmin mother who was a minor queen of [[Bindusara]], based on the account of the 2nd century CE [[Ashokavadana]] ("Legend of Ashoka").<ref>[http://www.boloji.com/history/001.htm The unknown Ashoka]</ref> The practice of Mauryan rulers to have [[harem]]s is repeatedly mentionned in sources such as the Ashokavadana however, which would suggest a multiplicity of bloodlines and a numerous descent for each king.
At the very least, this treaty on "[[Epigamia]]" implies lawfull marriage between Greeks and Indians was recognized at the State level, although it is unclear whether it occurred among dynastic rulers or common people, or both.
====Exchange of ambassadors====
Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, [[Megasthenes]], to Chandragupta, and later [[Deimakos]] to his son [[Bindusara]], at the Mauryan court at [[Pataliputra]] (Modern [[Patna]] in [[Bihar state]]). Later [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]], the ruler of [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] and contemporary of Ashoka, is also recorded by [[Pliny the Elder]] as having sent an ambassador named [[Dionysius (ambassador)|Dionysius]] to the [[Mauryan Empire|Mauryan]] court.<ref> [http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+6.21 Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21]</ref>
====Exchange of presents====
Classical sources have also recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various [[aphrodisiac]]s to Seleucus:
:"And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous efficacy in such matters [as to make people more amorous]. And Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents which Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love" [[Athenaeus of Naucratis]], "[[The deipnosophists]]" Book I, chapter 32<ref>[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=turn&entity=Literature000701860036&isize=M&pview=hide Ath. Deip. I.32]</ref>
His son [[Bindusara]] 'Amitraghata' (Slayer of Enemies) also is recorded in Classical sources as having exchanged present with [[Antiochus I]]:
:"But dried figs were so very much sought after by all men (for really, as [[Aristophanes]] says, "There's really nothing nicer than dried figs"), that even Amitrochates, the king of the Indians, wrote to [[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochus]], entreating him (it is [[Hegesander]] who tells this story) to buy and send him some sweet wine, and some dried figs, and a [[sophist]]; and that Antiochus wrote to him in answer, "The dry figs and the sweet wine we will send you; but it is not lawfull for a sophist to be sold in Greece" [[Athenaeus]], "[[Deipnosophistae]]" XIV.67<ref>[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=goto&id=Literature.AthV3&isize=M&page=1044 Athenaeus, "Deipnosophistae" XIV.67]</ref>
===Greek populations in India===
Greek populations apparently remained in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent under Ashoka's rule. In his [[Edicts of Ashoka]], set in stone, some of them written in Greek, Ashoka describes that Greek populations within his realm converted to Buddhism:
:"Here in the king's ___domain among the Greeks, the [[Kambojas]], the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the [[Andhra]]s and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in [[Dharma]]." [[Edicts of Ashoka|Rock Edict Nb13]] (S. Dhammika).
[[Image:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Bilingual edict ([[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]]) by king Ashoka, from [[Kandahar]]. [[Kabul]] Museum. (Click image for translation).]]
Fragments of Edict 13 have been found in Greek, and a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in [[Kandahar]]. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word [[Eusebeia]] ("[[Piety]]") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "[[Dharma]]" of his other Edicts written in [[Prakrit]]:
:"Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of) Piety (''εὐσέβεια'', [[Eusebeia]]) to men; and from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on every occasion, they will live better and more happily." (Trans. by G.P. Carratelli [http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan/mauryans.htm])
===Buddhist missions to the West (c.250 BCE)===
Also, in the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] prozelitism, although no Western historical record of this event remain:
:"The conquest by [[Dharma]] has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred [[yojana]]s (5,400-9,600 km) away, where the Greek king [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochos]] rules, beyond there where the four kings named [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy]], [[Antigonus Gonatas|Antigonos]], [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]] and [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alexander]] rule, likewise in the south among the [[Chola]]s, the [[Pandya]]s, and as far as [[Tamraparni]] ([[Sri Lanka]])." ([[Edicts of Ashoka]], 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika).
Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of [[herbal medicine]], for men and animals, in their territories:
:"Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] ___domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the [[Chola]]s, the [[Pandya]]s, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as [[Tamraparni]] and where the Greek king [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochos]] rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals." [[Edicts of Ashoka|2nd Rock Edict]]
The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as [[Dharmaraksita]], are described in [[Pāli|Pali]] sources as leading Greek ("[[Yona]]") Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the [[Mahavamsa]], XII<ref>Full text of the Mahavamsa [http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chapters.html Click chapter XII]</ref>).
===Subhagsena and Antiochos III (206 BCE)===
[[Sophagasenus]] was an Indian [[Mauryan]] ruler of the [[3rd century BCE]], described in ancient Greek sources, and named Subhagsena or Subhashsena in [[Prakrit]]. His name is mentionned in the list of Mauryan princes, and also in the list of the Yadava dynasty, as a descendant of Pradyumana. He may have been a grandson of [[Ashoka]], or [[Kunala]], the son of Ashoka. He ruled an area south of the [[Hindu Kush]], possibly in [[Gandhara]]. [[Antiochos III]], the [[Seleucid]] king, after having made peace with [[Euthydemus]] in [[Bactria]], went to India in [[206 BCE]] and is said to have renewed his friendship with the Indian king there:
:"He (Antiochus) crossed the Caucasus and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him." [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+11.39 Polybius 11.39]
==Decline==
Ashoka was followed for 50 years by a succession of weaker kings. [[Brhadrata]], the last ruler of the [[Mauryan dynasty]], held territories that had shrunk considerably from the time of emperor [[Ashoka]], although he still upheld the Buddhist faith.
===Sunga coup (185 BCE)===
He was assassinated in [[185 BCE]] during a military parade, by the commander-in-chief of his guard, the [[Brahmin]] general [[Pusyamitra Sunga]], who then took over the throne and established the [[Sunga dynasty]]. The assassination of Brhadrata and the rise of the Sunga empire led to a resurgence of [[Hinduism]].
===Establishement of the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BCE)===
{{main|Indo-Greek kingdom}}
The fall of the Mauryas left the [[Khyber Pass]] unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion followed. The [[Greco-Bactrian]] king, [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]], capitalized on the break-up of pan-Indian power, and he conquered southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180 BCE, forming the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]]. The Indo-Greeks would maintain holdings on the trans-Indus region, and make forays into central India, for about a century. Under them, Buddhism was able to flourish, and one of their kings [[Menander I|Menander]] became a famous figure of Buddhism. However, the extent of their domains and the lengths of their rule are subject to much debate. Numismatic evidence indicates that they retained holdings in the subcontinent right up to the birth of Christ. Although the extent of their successes against indigenous powers such as the [[Sunga]]s, [[Satavahana]]s, and [[Kalinga]]s are unclear, what is clear is that Scythian tribes, renamed [[Indo-Scythians]], brought about the demise of the Indo-Greeks from around [[70 BCE]] and retained lands in the trans-Indus, the region of [[Mathura]], and Gujarat.
==The Empire to modern Indians==
Having been India's first major empire, the Maurya Empire holds a special place in the minds of Indian people: Indians feel pride in recalling the great political and military power the Empire held in its day, and the spirituality and piety of Ashoka, who kept war and violence away from his people. The media in India also has produced works based upon Mauryan times:
*''Chanakya'' (early 1990s) was a [[Hindi]] television series that depicted the life and philosophy of Kautilya Chanakya, from fighting Alexander's invasion to the coronation of Chandragupta Maurya.
*''[[Asoka]]'' ([[2001]]) is a [[Hindi]] film by [[Santosh Sivan]] starring [[Shahrukh Khan]] as the Emperor Ashoka, depicting his aggressive youth, early impetuous rule, and his transformation following the war in Kalinga. The film, however, does not claim that its portrayal of Ashoka's life is historically accurate.
==Historical Comparison==
While [[Chandragupta]] toppled the last [[Nanda]] king and established the Mauryan Empire, c. 321 BC, the first unified Chinese empire only arose a century later in 221 BC when the King of Qin, in the words of the [[Tang dynasty]] poet [[Li Bai]], "swept up the Six States", thereby ending the [[Warring States Period]] and establishing himself as the [[First Emperor of China]].
Although the Maurya and Qin both contended with vast populations and lands newly-unified by one centralized state, the rapid decline of the latter in fourteen years versus the much longer duration of the former (Maurya dynasty c.321-181 BC) may in part be explained by the brutal Legalist philosophy associated with Qin rule.
Whereas both empires recognized the ruler and his ministers as the basis of social order, the first great emperor of India recognized that he had a [[dharma]] (duty) to protect his people; his reign was not supported by brute force alone. Indeed, Emperor [[Asoka]] (the third Mauryan ruler) would be so troubled by the violent war in [[Kalinga]] that he would become a believer in [[Buddhism]] and emphasize [[non-violence]], while endorsing freedom of religion in his empire.
Similarly, where Qin law emphasized strengthening the state by weakening the people through strict laws and punishments, Mauryan law had its basis in both protecting the people and maintaining order in the state. While Qin condemnation of individual rights would lead to hundreds of thousands of persons being forced into becoming state laborers, and hundreds more executed for engaging in prohibited scholarship, the ''[[Arthashastra]]'' of [[Kautilya]] urged conciliation as the best method to end popular unrest.
The First and Second Qin Emperors, who were neither benevolent nor conciliatory, implemented harsh laws that fomented much social unrest. Thus, [[Han dynasty]] historians, such as [[Sima Qian]] and [[Jia Yi]], have insisted that in ruling through fear and coercion the First Emperor built both his empire's tomb and his own. In contrast, the greater order and more benign social philosophy implemented in Mauryan India may have helped stabilize the empire against severe internal and external pressures.
{{Middle kingdoms of India}}
==Notes==
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
<references/>
==
* [[Mauryan art]]
==References==
* Robert Morkot, ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece'' [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140513353 ISBN 0140513353]
* [[Chanakya]], ''Arthashastra'' [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140446036 ISBN 0140446036]
* J.F.C. Fuller, ''The Generalship of Alexander the Great'' [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306813300 ISBN 0306813300]
==External links==
* [http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=mauryan_empire The Mauryan Empire] at [[All Empires]]
* [http://www.history-forum.com/index.php?topic=9.0 Mauryan Empire]
* [http://www.indianchild.com/mauryan_empire.htm Mauryan Empire of India]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/ancient/maurya.htm Extent of the Empire]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9051518 The Mauryan Empire from Britannica]
* [http://www.buddhistcouncil.org/Asoka.htm Ashoka and Buddhism]
* [http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html Ashoka's Edicts]
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