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The Mauryan (MAU-ree-uhn) Empire was an ancient empire that lasted from about 321 BCE to 185 BCE. At its largest, the leader of the Mauryan Empire controlled almost all of South Asia.
Before the Mauryan Empire began, many different groups fought for control of South Asia. Read about some of those groups.
In the 600s BCE, most of South Asia was ruled by 16 small kingdoms. That began to change around 544 BCE when a leader in the northeast began conquering kingdoms along the Ganges River. He and his son spread their control farther southwest, eventually establishing the Shishunaga (SHE-shu-nah-gah) Dynasty.
The Shishunaga Dynasty controlled parts of South Asia until around 345 BCE when a ruler named Nanda (nun-DUH) conquered that dynasty along with other territories. He established the Nanda Empire, which was even larger than the Shishunaga Dynasty. The Nanda Empire's territory extended from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea.
Around 325 BCE, the leader of the Macedonian Empire (mas-i-DOH-nee-un), Alexander, was looking to expand his empire into South Asia. He led his army east into South Asia, but he was never able to spread his empire very far beyond the Indus River.
By 325 BCE, the Nanda Empire controlled much of northern South Asia. But the empire had many problems. In 321 BCE, a leader named Chandragupta Maurya (chun-druh-GOOP-tuh MAUR-ee-uh) rebelled against the leaders of the Nanda Empire. His supporters thought he could solve many of the empire's problems.
Social classes in ancient South Asia
During the time of the Nanda Empire, society was divided into four main groups called varnas. People were born into the same varna as their parents, and their varna determined the work they could do and how much power they had in society. The four main varnas were priests, warriors and rulers, common people, and servants.
The "Destroyer of Warriors"
According to some ancient South Asian texts, the founder of the Nanda Empire was born into the servant varna. Because of his low social status, he was not supposed to become a ruler. Even so, he conquered many kingdoms and became known as the "Destroyer of Kshatriyas," or the "Destroyer of Warriors."
Chandragupta's rebellion led to the foundation of the Mauryan Empire. But Chandragupta needed help to defeat the Nanda army. Read the following story about Chandragupta and Kautilya (kow-TI-lee-ya), his most important military advisor.
Kautilya and Chandragupta gathered an army to overthrow the Nanda Empire. At first, their soldiers attacked the center of the Nanda Empire, but they were defeated by the powerful Nanda army.
When trying to figure out what to do next, Kautilya and Chandragupta overheard a mother scolding her child as he was eating freshly baked bread. The boy was trying to eat the bread from the center, where it was still too hot. She told him that he should eat from the edges first, where the bread was cooler and easier to eat.
According to tradition, Kautilya and Chandragupta took that mother's advice about eating hot bread and used it to defeat the Nanda Empire.
In search of a leader
According to tradition, Kautilya decided that he wanted to overthrow the Nanda Empire long before he ever met Chandragupta.
Legend has it that a Nanda king insulted Kautilya, so Kautilya vowed to overthrow the empire. He then went out in search of a leader to help him. That was when he met Chandragupta.
The stories say that the two met when Chandragupta was just a child. When Kautilya saw Chandragupta playing with other children, he could tell that Chandragupta would make a great leader. So, Kautilya began educating and training Chandragupta.
Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda Empire around 321 BCE. He founded the Mauryan Empire, which grew larger than the Nanda Empire had been. Look at the map showing how each Mauryan emperor expanded the empire.
Chandragupta agreed to a treaty with a Greek leader that expanded the empire to the northwest until he controlled most of northern South Asia.
Beginning around 297 BCE, the empire also expanded south under Emperor Bindusara.
Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda Empire around 321 BCE, and Ashoka conquered the Kalinga region around 260 BCE. Subtract to find out how much time passed between these events: 321 - 260 = 61. So, it took about 61 years for the Mauryan Empire to spread.
The spread of the Mauryan Empire was influenced by leaders who wanted to expand the empire. But the empire's success was also affected by the geography of South Asia.
Some of the highest mountains in the world
The mountains that bordered South Asia to the north and protected the Mauryan Empire from invasion are called the Himalayan Mountains. The Himalayas have some of the tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest.
The Mauryan Empire began under Chandragupta and spread under Emperor Bindusara, but the most well-known Mauryan emperor was Ashoka. Ashoka only fought one war to expand his empire, in 260 BCE. After the conflict, Ashoka wrote about the war in a message called an edict (EE-dikt). Read part of the edict.
The Kalinga country was conquered by [Ashoka] in the eighth year of his reign. One hundred and fifty thousand persons were carried away captive, one hundred thousand were slain, and many times that number died. . . . [Ashoka] is moved to remorse now . . . because the conquest of a people [who were] previously unconquered involves slaughter, death, and deportation.
remorse: regret or guilt
deportation: forcing people to move away
N.A. Nikam and Richard P. McKeon, eds., The Edicts of Asoka. Copyright 1978 by University of Chicago Press.
Ashoka's change of heart
Emperor Ashoka changed his religion after the Kalinga War. According to tradition, after witnessing the suffering and destruction of the war, he became a Buddhist. Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of a man named Siddhartha Gautama.
Ashoka didn't force the people in his empire to become Buddhist. But he did want all his people to follow certain Buddhist teachings:
caring for the old and sick
doing no harm to living creatures, a rule that included eating a vegetarian diet, or not eating meat
being tolerant of other religious groups
After Ashoka took control of the Kalinga region, he changed his religion and stopped fighting wars. During this period of peace, the people of the Mauryan Empire achieved many things.
What is the Bhagavad Gita?
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important texts in the Hindu religion. It is part of a longer story called the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata, a man named Arjuna and his brothers fight their cousins over who will rule their kingdom.
At first, Arjuna is worried about fighting against his own family, but a Hindu god tells him that he must fight for what is right. In the end, Arjuna and his brothers win the battle.
At its largest, the Mauryan Empire controlled almost all of South Asia and may have ruled over as many as 50 million people! Mauryan rulers needed help controlling such a large area and population. Below are examples of groups of people that Mauryan leaders used to control their territory.
Spies should "adopt a disguise"
In a famous text called The Arthashastra, the Mauryan adviser Kautilya wrote about how to train and use spies. In the following passage, Kautilya explains how spies could get close to high government officials so they could keep an eye on them.
They shall either get themselves employed (as a cook, waiter, bath attendant, hair washer, bed-maker, barber . . . ), or adopt a disguise, . . . or work as an entertainer (as an actor, dancer, singer, instrumentalist, story teller . . . ).
L.N. Rangarajan, translator, The Arthashastra. Copyright 1992 by Penguin Classics.
If you were a spy in the Mauryan Empire, what disguise would you use?
Employing people to help control the empire cost the Mauryan government a lot of money. The empire got the money to pay these groups by collecting taxes. The following are examples of taxes collected by the Mauryan Empire.
What did Mauryan farmers grow?
Mauryan farmers grew grains, fruits, and vegetables. Here are some common crops grown and sold in the Mauryan Empire:
wheat
sesame
peppers
sugarcane
Today, people in South Asia still grow many of these same crops.
The Mauryan Empire used tax money to pay for public works. Public works are projects supported by the government that are meant to help improve people's lives.
The Grand Trunk Road
One of the oldest roads in all of Asia was first built by the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta. During his reign, the Grand Trunk Road stretched from the Ganges River in the east all the way across South Asia to the northwestern edge of the empire.
Mauryan Emperors spent a lot of money constructing roads to connect different parts of the empire. Having many roads made travel, trade, and communication throughout the empire much easier.
Mauryan emperors were able to manage and control their empire for many decades. But the empire did not survive for long after Emperor Ashoka's death. The table below shows some challenges that led to the end of the empire.
The Shunga Empire
The last Mauryan Emperor was assassinated by a general in the Mauryan army named Pushyamitra Shunga. After the assassination, Pushyamitra established the Shunga Empire.
The Shunga Empire was smaller than the Mauryan Empire had been. It controlled northeastern South Asia but never extended as far south or west as the Mauryan Empire.
The Shunga Empire lasted for about 110 years, from around 185 BCE to 75 BCE.
The Mauryan Empire was an ancient empire that spread to control most of South Asia.
It was founded around 321 BCE when a leader named Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda Empire.
Emperor Ashoka used his powerful army to expand his empire, but he came to regret the death he caused.
The empire paid government employees by taxing farming and trade.
The Mauryan Empire ended in 185 BCE when the last emperor was assassinated.
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