The Mauryan Empire

A presentation on The Mauryan Empire. Hope you guys liked it :) :)

1. THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE MAURYAN EMPIRE The  Maurya Empire , also known as the  Mauryan Empire , was a  geographically extensive   Iron Age   historical power  in  ancient India , ruled by the  Maurya dynasty  from 322–185 BCE. Originating from the kingdom of  Magadha  in the  Indo-Gangetic Plain (modern  Bihar , eastern  Uttar Pradesh ) in the eastern side of the  Indian subcontinent , the empire had its capital city at  Pataliputra 2

3. ALEXANDER THE GREAT In 327 BC Alexander of Macedonia conquered a large part of the northwest India. He entered India through the Hindukush. As a great ruler, he developed good relations with the local authorities while establishing his garrisons. While returning back due to the pressure of his war weary soldiers, he left these areas to be ruled by Greek governors. Chandragupta Maurya fought the Macedonians and defeated them. 3

4. KAUTILYA Kautilya also known as Chanakya   [350 – 275 BC]  was an  Indian  teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as  Kautilya  or  Vishnu Gupta , who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra  ( Economics ).As such, he is considered as the pioneer of the field of  political science  and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to  classical economics . His works were lost near the end of the  Gupta Empire .   Chanakya managed the first  Mauryan emperor   Chandragupta 's rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the  Maurya Empire Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both emperors Chandragupta and his son  Bindusara . 4

5. CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA 324-300 BC The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya , with help from  Chanakya , a  Brahmin  teacher at  Takshashila . According to several legends, Chanakya traveled to  Magadha , a kingdom that was large and militarily powerful and feared by its neighbors , but was insulted by its king  Dhana Nanda , of the  Nanda Dynasty . Chanakya swore revenge and vowed to destroy the Nanda Empire. Chandragupta Maurya succeeded to the Nanda throne in 321 B.C. Chandragupta belonged to the Moriya tribe, but his caste was low. Young Maurya and his supporters were inferior in armed strength to the Nandas . 5

6. INVASION OF SELEUCOS NICATOR 6 Seleucus was one of the leading generals of Alexander. While journeying back to Greece from India, Alexander reached Babylon, he fell seriously ill and died there in 323 B.C. Alexander died without any heir . So his extensive empire was shared out by his three generals among themselves.  three parts- the Greek, the Egyptian and the Asian. The first two parts came into the possession of Ptolemy and Antigones respectively, while the third i.e. the Asian part fell to the lot of Seleucus .   Seleucus wanted to regain these territories and to move further to the east of Indus. . On Kautilya's advice, Chandragupta married the daughter of Seleucus , Helen.

7. KING BINDUSARA 300-273 BC Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara in 297 B.C. To the Greeks, Bindusara was known as Amitrochates , perhaps the Greek translation of the Sanskrit Amitraghata , the destroyer of the foes. Early Tamil poets speak of Mauryan chariots thundering across the land, their white pennants brilliant in the sunshine. At the time of Bindusara's death in 272 B.C., practically the entire sub-continent had come under Mauryan suzerainty.  7

8. KING ASHOKA 273-232 BC 8 Ashoka   ,was the greatest emperor of ancient India. He ruled the Maurya Empire from about 273 B.C. until his death. Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan dynasty. His father, Bindusara, ruled northern India for 29 years.  Ashoka was a fierce military leader who expanded his kingdom in the Ganges- Jamuna valley. He continued his victorious campaigns in southern and eastern India for eight years. In 261 B.C., he conquered Kalinga (now known as Orissa), a region on the east coast of India. 

9. EXTENT OF ASHOKA’S EMPIRE 9

10. THE KALINGA WAR The  Kalinga War  was fought between the  Mauryan Empire  with  Ashoka the Great  and the ruler of the state of  Kalinga , a feudal  republic  located on the coast of the present-day  Indian  state of  Odisha  and northern parts of  Andhra Pradesh . The Kalinga war, the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in world history. Kalinga, then an Independent region put up a stiff resistance against brutal strength of Ashoka and fought bravely till the end. But despite being tough, they were outnumbered against Ashoka's armies. The bloodshed of this war is said to have prompted Ashoka to adopt  Buddhism . 10

11. MAURYAN ADMINISTRATION 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). 11

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15. ART AND ARCHITECTURE 15 SANCHI STUPA ASHOKAN PILLAR KING ASHOKA’S STONE CARVING

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18. THE DHAMMA The word  Dhamma  is the  Prakrit  form of the  Sanskrit  word  Dharma . There have been attempts to define and find equivalent English words for it, such as "piety", "moral life" and "righteousness" but scholars could not translate it into English because it was coined and used in a specific context. The word  Dharma  has multiple meanings in the literature and thought of ancient India. The best way to understand what Ashoka means by Dhamma is to read his edicts, which were written to explain the principles of Dhamma to the people of that time throughout the empire. 18

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20. CHRONOLOGY OF MAURYAN DYNASTY 20

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22. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING -DONE BY SWAROOP RAJ 22