Mauryan Empire Maximum Extent
Empire Expansion
Conquest of the Nanda Empire
Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu texts which claim Magadha was ruled by the Nanda dynasty, which, with Chanakya's counsel, Chandragupta conquered Nanda Empire.The army of Chandragupta and Chanakya first conquered the Nanda outer territories, and finally besieged the Nanda capital Pataliputra. In contrast to the easy victory in Buddhist sources, the Hindu and Jain texts state that the campaign was bitterly fought because the Nanda dynasty had a powerful and well-trained army.
Conquest of the Eastern Seleucid Empire
Greek historians mentioned the result of Seleucid–Mauryan war where Seleucid Empire's eastern satrapies( Gedrosia,Arachosia, Aria, and Paropamisadae) ceded to Mauryan Empire :
" Seleucus crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of he Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and some afterward."
" The geographical position of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain: then, towards the south, the Arachoti: then next, towards the south, the Gedroseni, with the other tribes that occupy the seaboard; and the Indus lies, latitudinally, alongside all these places; and of these places, in part, some that lie along the Indus are held by Indians, although they formerly belonged to the Persians. Alexander [III 'the Great' of Macedon] took these away from the Arians and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus [Chandragupta], upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange five hundred elephants. " — Strabo 15.2.9 [1]
Greecian historian Pliny also quoted a passage from Megasthanes work about Chandragupta Empire boundaries:
Most geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the river Indus, but add to it the four satrapies of the Gedrose, the Arachotë, the Aria, and the Paropamisadë, the River Cophes thus forming the extreme boundary of India. According to other writers, however, all these territories, are reckoned as belonging to the country of the Aria.
The conquest of the south by Chandragupta Maurya may also perhaps be inferred from the following statement of Plutarch. "The throne" in the context is the Magadhan throne, the occupation of which by Chandragupta is thus followed by two other events, viz., the defeat of Selucus, and the conquest of the remaining part of India not included in the Magadhan empire of the Nandas:
"Not long afterwards Androkottos, who had by that time mounted the throne, presented Selukos with 500 elephants, and overran and subdued the whole of India with an army of 600,000."
-Chapter LXII ,Life of Alexander, Plutarch [4]
Megasthenes defined the region that Chandragupta won from Seleucus as likely western side Gedrosia which shares boundaries with the Euphrates River, and eastern side Arachosia shares boundaries with the Indus. The northern frontier boundary formed by Hindukush mountain range:
India, which is in shape quadrilateral, has its eastern as well as its 'western side bounded by the great sea, but on the northern side it is divided by Mount Hemôdos from that part of Skythia which is inhabited by those Skythians who are called the Sakai, while the fourth or western side is bounded by the river called the Indus.
- Book I Fragment I , Indica, Megasthanes [5]
Sandrokottos the king of the Indians, India forms the largest of the four parts into which Southorn Asia is divided, while the smallest part is that region which is included between the Euphrates and our own sea. The two remaining parts, which are separated from the others by the Euphrates and the Indus, and lie between these rivers... India is bounded on its eastern side, right onwards to the south, by the great ocean; that its northern frontier is formed by the Kaukasos range(Hindukush Range) as far as the junction of that range with Tauros; and that the boundary.
- Book I Fragment II , Indica, Megasthanes [6]
Treaty of the Indus
The ancient historians Justin, Appian, and Strabo preserve the three main terms of the Treaty of the Indus:[1]
(i) Seleucus transferred to Chandragupta's kingdom the easternmost satrapies of his empire, certainly Gandhara, Parapamisadae, and the eastern parts of Gedrosia, Arachosia and Aria as far as Herat.
(ii) Chandragupta gave Seleucus 500 Indian war elephants.
(iii) The two kings were joined by some kind of marriage alliance (ἐπιγαμία οι κῆδος); most likely Chandragupta wed a female relative of Seleucus.
Other account
- Tibbetan Lama Taranatha (1575–1634)
Ashoka brought under his rule without bloodshed all the countries including those to the south of the Vindhya. And he conquered the northern Himalayas, the snowy ranges beyond Li-yul (Khotan)," the entire land of Jambudvipa bounded by seas on east, south and west, and also fifty small islands.
-History Of Buddhism In India ,Taranatha[2]
Conquest of the Saurashtra
Chandragupta conquered Southern-Western part of India. Especially his conquest over Saurashtra and Sudarshana lake construction is preseved in later Satrapian king Rudradaman inscription:
(L.8) Transliteration: mauryasya rājyaḥ candra-guptasya rāṣṭriyena vaiśyena puṣpa-guptena kāritam śokasya mauryasya kṛte yavana-raj tuṣāra-saphenādhāyā
(L.8) for the sake of ordered to be made by the Vaishya Pushyagupta, the provincial governor of the Maurya king Chandragupta; adorned with conduits for Ashoka the Maurya by the Yavana king Tushaspha while governing; and by the conduit ordered to be made by him, constructed in a manner worthy of a king (and) seen in that breach.
—Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman[3]
Conquest of the Kalinga
Kalinga War plays a very important role in Mauryan history which changes a cruel Emperor Chanda-Ashoka to Priyadarshi Ashoka.
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi(Ashoka)conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dharma, a love for the Dharma and for instruction in Dharma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas. "
— Ashoka, Major Rock Edict No. 13 [7]
Boundaries sharing territories
Even though Ashoka defined the boundaries of his empire four times in various inscriptions (with same lines) but he never mentioned any inner hole or unconquered region inside his empire.This suggests that Ashoka's empire was likely contiguous, with no significant unconquered regions within its borders :
Sav[r]atravijite [De]va[nam]priyasaPriyadrashisa y[e] cha [a]mtayatha [Choda] PamdiyaSatiyaputro KeradaputroTambapamni…,
-Second Rock-Edict: Shahbazgarhi [8]
Sav[a]ta vijitsi Devanampiyas[a] Piyadasis[a] lajine ye cha amta [a]tha Choda Pam[di]yaSatiyaputo Ke[lala]putoTamba[pa]mni..
-Second Rock Edict: Kalsi [9]
sa[vatra vi]jitasi Devanapriyasa Priyadrashisarajine ye cha ataatha [Choda] Pa[mdiya] Sa[ti]ya[p]u[tra] Keralaputra [Tam]bapani..
-Second Rock Edict: Mansehra [10]
Sav[r]atravijite [De]va[nam]priyasaPriyadrashisa Ye Ca anta ataChoda, Pandiya, Satiyaputo, Ketalaputo, Tam bapanni, Antiyogonaama, Yonalaja....
-Second Rock Edict :Girnar [11]
—Translation: Everywhere in the conquered dominions of king Priyadarsin, the beloved-of the gods, and the dominions on the boarders as those of the Choda (the Colas), Pandiya (the Pandyas). Satiyaputo (The Satiyaputras) and the Ketalaputo (the Keralaputras), as far as Tamraparni, the Yavana king named Antiyogonaama (Antiyoka) and the other neighbouring kings of this king Antiyoka.
Empire reconstruction from fragments
According to the account of Fa Hein who was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India during 399 and 414 CE. His work "The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D.)"mentioned that Ashoka constructed 84,000 Buddhist stupas and pillars after destroying seven stupas that initially housed Buddha relics. Ashoka divided the relics from these seven stupas into 84,000 parts :
" King Asoka having destroyed seven (of the original) pagodas, constructed 84,000 others. The very first which he built is the great tower which stands about three li to the south of this. city. In front of this pagoda is an impression of Buddha’s foot, (over which) they have raised a chapel, the gate of which faces the north. To the south of the tower is a stone pillar, about a chang and a half in girth (18 feet), and three cluing or so in height (35 feet). On the surface of this pillar is an inscription to the following effect: “King Asoka presented the whole of Jambudvipa to the priests of the four quarters, and redeemed it again with money, and tins he did three times.” Three or four hundred paces to the north of the pagoda is the spot where Asoka was horn (or resided). On this spot he raised the city of Ni-li, and in the midst of it erected a stone pillar, also about 35 feet in height, on the top of which he placed the figure of a lion, and also engraved an historical record on the pillar giving an account of the successive events connected with Ni-li, with the corresponding year, day, and month." ~Chapter XXVII , The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[12]
" When King Asoka was living he wished to destroy the eight towers and to build eighty-four thousand others. Having destroyed seven, he next proceeded to treat this one in the same way."
~Chapter XXIII ,The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[13]
Ashoka built one pillar beside every stupa :
" In after times Asoka, wishing to discover the utmost depths to which these ladders went, employed men to dig down and examine into it. They went on digging till they came to the yellow spring (the earth's foundation), but yet had not come to the bottom. The king, deriving from this an increase of faith and reverence, forthwith built over the ladders a and facing the middle flight he placed a standing figure (of Buddha) sixteen feet high. Behind the vihara, he erected a stone pillar thirty cubits high, and on the top placed the figure of a lion. Within the pillar on the four sides are figures of Buddha; both within and without it is shining and bright as glass. It happened once that some heretical doctors had a contention with the Sramanas respecting this as a place of residence. Then the argument of the Sramanas failing, they all agreed to the following compact: "If this place properly belongs to the Sramanas, then there will he some supernatural proof given of it." Immediately on this the lion on the top of the pillar uttered a loud roar." ~Chapter XVII, The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[14]
Ashoka commissioned the construction of 84,000 stupas for the preservation of Buddha's relics. However, over time, many of the Ashoka pillars , inscriptions and stupas have been subject to complete destruction and deterioration. According to the British historian Charles Allen, historical records of Ashoka were effectively cleansed to the extent that his name was largely forgotten for nearly two thousand years. However, very few mysterious stone monuments and inscriptions miraculously survived, preserving his historical legacy :
" Pg.2 - Ashoka Maurya—or Ashoka the Great as he was later known—holds a special place in the history of Buddhism and India. At its height in around 250 BCE, his empire stretched across the Indian subcontinent to Kandahar in the east, and as far north as the Himalayas. Through his quest to govern by moral force alone, Ashoka transformed Buddhism from a minor sect into a major world religion, while simultaneously setting a new yardstick for government that had lasting implications for all of Asia. His bold experiment ended in tragedy, however, and in the tumult that followed the historical record was cleansed so effectively that his name was largely forgotten for almost two thousand years. Yet, a few mysterious stone monuments and inscriptions miraculously survived the purge. "[4]
According to the Indian historian Ram Sharan Sharma, the Mauryans maintained a large army and implemented a strict judicial system to exercise control over tribal populations under their Empire :
" Pg.355 The biggest fact of Maurya political history was the establishment of the Magadha Empire, which included the whole of India except the far south. This empire was established with the strength of the sword and it could be protected only with the strength of the sword. Strong military power was necessary for both external security and internal peace..The tribal people living inside the empire and on its borders were equally a cause of trouble. So for this, there was a huge permanent army and tight judicial system."[5]
Indian New Parliament already have carved Mauryan Empire over mural which represents Indian integrity and glorious past: [15][16]. Several historians have reconstructed the map of the Mauryan Empire based on details from Ashoka's inscriptions and accounts from Greek historians, among other sources. For example :
- ASI (Archeological Survey Of India) referenced rough map of Mauryan Empire :[17]
- British Historian Geoffrey Parker created map on Mauryan Empire :[18]
- British historian Patrick K. O'Brien created Mauryan Empire Map: [19] ,
- American historian Gerald Danzer created Mauryan Empire Map: [20]
- British Historian Charles Allen created Mauryan Empire Map: [21]
Sources of Mauryan History
| Mauryan History Sources | Authentic Names |
|---|---|
| Jain Scriptures |
1 - Brihatkalpa Sutra 2 - Brihatkathakosha 3 - Aradhana Satkathaprabandh 4 - Shri Chandravirachita Kathakosha 5 - Nemichandrakrita Kathakosha 6 - Parishishtaparvana 7 - Vividhtirthakalpa 8 - Punyashravakathakosha 9 - Nisitha Sutra |
| Buddhist Scriptures |
1 - Mahavansha 2 - Dipavansha 3 - Mahabodhivansha 4 - Tripitaka 5 - Divyavadana 6 - Ashokavadana 7 - Vinayapitaka 8 - Mahavansatika (Vansatthappakasini) 9 - Uttara Vihara Attakatha |
| Vedic Scriptures |
1 - Matsya Purana 2 - Vishnu Purana 3 - Bhagavata Purana 4 - Bhavishya Purana 5 - Brahmanda Purana 6 - Vayu Purana 7 - Kamandaka Neetisara |
| Inscriptions / Rock Edicts Evidence |
1 - Ashoka's Rock Edicts, Cave Inscriptions, Pillar Edicts 2 - Kharavela's Hathigumpha Rock Edicts 3 - Rudradaman Inscription of Junagarh |
| Ancient Historical Books |
1 - Arthashastra, Kautilya 2 - Mudrarakshasa, Vishakhadatta 3 - Mahabhashya, Patanjali 4 - Malavikagnimitram, Kalidasa 5 - Harshacharita, Banabhatta 6 - Rajatarangini, Kalhana 7 - Indica, Megasthenese 8 - Naturalis Historia, Pliny 9 - Epitome of Trogus, Justin 10 - Geographica, Strabo 11 - Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian 12 - The travels of Fa-Hian, Fa Hian |
MODERN HISTORIAN
Hugh Bowden
India’s first approach towards becoming a unified state occurred under the first three kings of the Mauryan Empire. The founder of the dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya (c.310-286 BCE) , king of Magadha in Eastern India, unfied under his control the other kingdom of the Gangetic Plain. His grandson, Ashoka (c.270-234 BCE) , consolidated Mauryan imperial rule, extending it into eastern and southern India.https://archive.org/details/timesancientcivi0000unse/page/123/mode/1up?view=theater (Check his drawn map).
Ram Sharan Sharma (Indian historian)
His statement will strongly refute the propagated map about presence of holes in map . There was large army and strict judicial system for tribals control.[6]
मौर्य राजनीतिक इतिहास का सबसे बड़ा तथ्य मग॒ध साम्राज्य वी स्थापना था, जिसमें सुदूर दक्षिण को छोडकर सपूर्ण भारत शामिल था । यह साम्राज्य तलवार के जोर से स्थापित किया गया था और इसकी रक्षा भी तलवार के जोर से ही हो सकती थी। बाहय सुरक्षा तथा आंतरिक शांति दोनो के लिए प्रबल सैन्यशक्ति आवश्यक थी। .. साम्राज्य के अंदर और उसकी सीमा पर रहनेवाले जनजात्तीय लोग बराबर परेशानी का कारण बने रहते थे। इस सबके लिए विशाल स्थायी सेना और चुस्त दंडव्यवस्था थी।[7]
English Translation -The biggest fact of Maurya political history was the establishment of the Magadha Empire, which included the whole of India except the far south. This empire was established with the strength of the sword and it could be protected only with the strength of the sword. Strong military power was necessary for both external security and internal peace. ..The tribal people living inside the empire and on its borders were equally a cause of trouble. So for this, there was a huge permanent army and tight judicial system.
OLD HISTORIAN
John Haywood (British historian)
In 321 Chandragupta Maurya (321-c. 293) seized the throne of the kingdom of Magadha, overthrowing the Nanda dynasty. Chandragupta spent most of his reign building a strong central administration, but he defeated a Seleucid invasioin, adding all of northwest India to his domains. His son Bindusara also conquered much of southern India. Under Ashoka the Mauryan empire reached its greatest extent. Appalled by his bloody conquest of the east coast kingdom of Kalinga in 261 Ashoka abjured further warfare and, becoming a Buddhist, tried to impose Buddhist standards of behavior on his people. [8]
Robert Roswell Palmer (American historian ) :-
Based on Magadha in the Ganges valley, the Mauryan empire flourished from 322 B.C.. when its founder Chandragupta seized the capital city of Patahputra. to 185 B.C., when the last ruler of the dynasty died. Chandragupta united north India from the mouths of the Ganges to the watershed west of the Indus. He then took over, from a satrap of the Alexandrian empire, the regions of Arachosia and Gandhara up to the Hindu Kush mountains. His son Bindusara extended the empire to about the fifteenth parallel of latitude, except for Kalinga on the east coast, which was later annexed by Asoka. The reign of Asoka (273-232 B.C.) -saw the height of the Mauryan empire, and is one of the great periods of Indian history. Shortly after the conquest of Kahnga Asoka was converted to Buddhism, whereupon, forswearing mihtarism. he devoted himself to the welfare of his people and the propagation of Buddhism. His missionaries brought Buddhism and Indian civilization to Ceylon and elsewhere.[9]
Patrick K. O'Brien (British historian)
By 500 Bc kingdoms existed throughout the Ganges region. Chief among these was Magadha, favourably located for control both of riverborne trade and of the sources of raw materials such as iron. Magadha gradually expanded at the expense of its neighbours and before 297 Bc its king, Chandragupta Maurya, ruled most of north India . His grandson Ashoka (r. 272-231 Bc) further extended the empire, conquering Kalinga in 261 Bc, and only the extreme south retained its independence. Pillar and rock edicts mark the extent of Mauryan political authority: these proclaimed Ashoka’s ethical code of social responsibility and toleration. It was an age of peace and prosperity. [10]
John F. Cady(American historian)
The India from whose culture Southeast Asian peoples borrowed so extensively was partly united for the first time politically in the third century B.C. The Mauryan Empire (330 to 180 By.) included the north Indian valleys westward to Greek Bactria and southward along the eastern Indian coast to the mouths of the Kistna and Godavari Rivers. Mauryan power centering at Patna in the lower Ganges Valley reached its peak in the mid-third century B.c. under the leadership of the great Asoka, who was a political exemplar of Buddhist ideals and humanitarian principles of government. Asoka unified and promoted the Buddhist faith without persecuting dissident elements; he built India’s first shrines of cut stone and burned brick; he sponsored missionary efforts within India and _ beyond. Mauryan rule declined rapidly after his death in 237 B.c.[11]
Geoffrey Parker (British historian )
A further turning point came in 320 BC when Chandragupta Maurya seized the state of Magadha on the lower Ganges, and occupied large parts of central India, and in 305 BC annexed the province of Trans-Indus from the successors of Alexander the Great (see page 32). Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka (273-232 BC) expanded this Mauryan empire southwards, bringing the greater part of the sub-continent under his rule and inscribing edicts on pillars and rock-faces all over India as a permanent reminder of his power (map 2). Ashoka’s death introduced a troubled period, punctuated by invasions of both Greeks and nomads who founded states in the north-west, such as the Kushan empire, where Hellenistic and Indian influences mingled. Further south, the Satavahanas of the Deccan ruled a state that straddled the peninsula by AD 150.[12]
Gerald Danzer (American historian)
" The Mauryan Empire reached out from the Ganges valley to annex the Indus valley peoples shortly after the death of Alexander the Great. Asoka extended the empire in all directions, but had an even greater impact in spreading the teachings of the Buddha throughout his realm. He had pillars erected at crossroads locations covered with edicts written in stone to proclaim his ideals." ...
"In the generation after Alexander, however, information resurfaces with the establishment of the Mauryan Empire by Chandragupta in 324 BCE. By 240 bce the Mauryan Empire reached its greatest extent, controlling the great river valleys of both the Ganges and Indus rivers. Of even more importance was the conversion of the emperor, Asoka, to Buddhism."[13]
Jackson J. Spielvogel (American historian)
Seleucid Kingdom Another Hellenistic monarchy was founded by the general Seleucus (suh-LOO-kuss), who established the Seleucid dynasty of Syria. This was the largest of the Hellenistic kingdoms and controlled much of the old Persian Empire from Turkey in the west to India in the east, although the Seleucids found it increasingly difficult to maintain control of the eastern territories. In fact, an Indian ruler named Chandragupta Maurya (chundruh-GOOP-tuh MOWR-yuh) (324-301 B.c.E.) created a new Indian state, the Mauryan Empire, and drove out the Seleucid forces. His grandson Asoka (uh-SOH-kuh) (269-232 b.c.e.) extended the empire to include most of India and is considered the greatest ruler in India’s history. Asoka, a pious Buddhist, sought to convert the remaining Greek communities in northwestern India to his religion and even sent Buddhist missionaries to Greek rulers.
The Seleucid rulers maintained relations with the Mauryan Empire. Trade was fostered, especially in such luxuries as spices and jewels. Seleucus also sent Greek and Macedonian ambassadors to the Mauryan court. Best known of these was Megasthenes (muh-GAS-thuh-neez), whose report on the people of India remained one of the West’s best sources of information on India until the Middle Ages.[14]
Old Archeologist
Myra Shackley (British archaeologist)
After Alexander’s retreat from the Indus the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya established the first indigenous empire to exercise control over much of the subcontinent, and even¬ tually, under his successors, this covered all but the tip of the peninsula. Asoka, the greatest of the Mauryan emperors, took power in 272 BC and extended the empire from Afghanistan to Assam and from the Himalayas to Mysore, leaving behind a series of inscriptions recording his edicts on pillars and rocks across the continent.[15]
References
- ↑ Kosmin, Paul J. (2014-06-23). The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72882-0. Search this book on
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/TaranathasHistoryOfBuddhismInIndia/page/n89/mode/2up
- ↑ "Junagadh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman", Project South Asia.Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Allen, Charles (2012-02-21). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4087-0388-5. Search this book on
- ↑ Sharma, Ramsharan (1990). Prachin Bharat Me Rajneetik Vichar Avam Sansthae. Search this book on
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.401527/page/n349/mode/2up
- ↑ Sharma, Ramsharan (1990). Prachin Bharat Me Rajneetik Vichar Avam Sansthae. Search this book on
- ↑ Haywood, John (1997). Atlas of world history. Internet Archive. New York : Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-0-7607-0687-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Rand McNally and Company; Palmer, R. R. (Robert Roswell) (1965). Rand McNally atlas of world history. Internet Archive. Chicago. Search this book on
- ↑ Philip's Atlas of World History: From the Origins of Humanity to the Year 2000. Internet Archive. The Softback Preview. 1999. ISBN 978-0-540-07858-5. Search this book on
- ↑ Cady, John F. (John Frank) (1964). Southeast Asia: its historical development. Internet Archive. New York, McGraw-Hill. Search this book on
- ↑ The Times compact history of the world. Internet Archive. London : Times Books. 2008. ISBN 978-0-00-726731-6. Search this book on
- ↑ Danzer, Gerald A. (2000). An atlas of world history. Internet Archive. Ann Arbor, MI : Borders Press. ISBN 978-0-681-46572-5. Search this book on
- ↑ Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2012). Western civilization. Internet Archive. Boston, MA : Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-495-91329-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Shackley, Myra L. (2006). Atlas of travel and tourism development. Internet Archive. Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-7506-6348-9. Search this book on
