Tell about Chandragupta Maurya ?

19. One of the generals of Alexander’s army known as Seleucus I was attempting to build Seleucid Empire and wanted to reconquer India’s northwestern part.

This led to Seleucid-Mauryan war in 305 BCE which eventually ended in a peace treaty and an alliance was built.

20. Out of this alliance, Chandragupta took over the satrapies (provinces) of Gedrosia (Balochistan), Arachosia (Kandhahar) and Paropamisade (Gandhara and Kamboja)..

In return, gave Seleucus 500 war elephants that helped Seleucus to defeat the Hellenistic kings in 301 BCE at Battle of Ipsus.

22. The administrative center of the capital of Maurya Empire was established at Patuliputra (modern Patna).

The grandeur of Patuliputra is described by Megasthenes as: “surrounded by a wooden wall pierced by 64 gates and 570 towers— (and) rivaled the splendors of contemporaneous Persian sites such as Susa and Ecbatana.”

23. Chanakya, who was also known as Kautilya, assumed the role of elder statesman while Rakshasas (a former minister of Nanda Dynasty’s Dhana Nanda) became the chief advisor of Chandragupta Maurya.

24. Chandragupta’s son Bindusara became the next emperor at the age of 22 and extended Maurya Empire to the southern part of India and conquered up to modern Karnataka but failed to capture Kalinga.

25. Chanakya and Chandragupta together laid foundations of a centralized administration.

Chanakya wrote Arthashastra which laid down the foundations of fiscal and monetary policies, international relations, welfare and war strategies.

Arthashastra (meaning Economics) was a political treatise of ancient India and is considered to be a precursor of modern world’s Classical Economics.

26. After Chandragupta and Bindusara, the Mauryan throne came to Ashoka, who was known as the most ruthless Mauryan king during his early days as the emperor. Ashoka was determined to capture Kalinga that his father failed to annex.

27. Ashoka led a massive army to Kalinga that led to one of the bloodiest battles of entire Mauryan period.

Kalinga was eventually annexed to Mauryan Empire but so devastating were the consequence of the battle that Ashoka was given the name Chand Ashoka.

Ruled by the Mauryan Dynasty from 322 BCE to 185 BCE, the Maurya Empire thrived and grew to power during the Iron Age.

The empire originated in Indian Subcontinent’s eastern side from kingdom of Magadha.

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the empire. He overthrew the Nanda Dynasty to establish Mauryan supremacy in 322 BCE.

The ancient Magadha is today’s modern Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

With Chandragupta Maurya taking control of Magadha, the Maurya Empire started a phase of rapid expansion and expanded westwards through central and western India.

By 320 BCE, Maurya Empire covered entire Northwestern India. This rapid expansion was possible because Alexander the Great left with his armies towards west and this led to conflicts within local powers.

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire in ancient India.

He is credited with bringing together the small fragmented kingdoms of the country and combining them into a single large empire.

Alexander left satraps (province governors) and Chandragupta managed to defeat them easily.

During his reign, the Maurya Empire stretched from Bengal and Assam in the East, to Afghanistan and Balochistan in the West, to Kashmir and Nepal in the North and to the Deccan Plateau in the South.

Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara who expanded the Maurya Empire to the Southern regions of the Indian Subcontinent.