The advent of iron age facilitated tools for agriculture and weaponry. This advancement catapulted human race towards the new dawn of civilization.
Firstly, with the use of iron blades and ploughshare, people were able to cut forest and plough land for agricultural expansion.
Settled agriculture facilitated taxation system and sustained large kingdoms.
Gradually, tribal kingdoms gave way to territorial empires.
Use of iron as war weapons, further facilitated expansion and consolidation of smaller kingdoms into large empires.
Emergence of Mahajanapadas from Janapadas
The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedi India. During that period, Aryans were the most powerful tribes and were called ‘Janas’. This gave rise to the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and Pada means ‘foot’.
Political centre shifted from the west of the Indo-Gangetic plains to the eastern side of it. This was due to better fertility of the land because of more rainfall and rivers. Also, this region was closer to iron production centres.
The list below provides you with the names of 16 Mahajanapadas:
1. Kasi
2. Kosala
3. Anga
4. Magadha
5. Vajji
6. Malla
7. Chedi/Cheti
8. Vatsa
9. Kuru
10. Panchala
11. Matsya
12. Surasena/Shurasena
13. Asmaka
14. Avanti
15. Gandhara
16. Kamboja
In the course of time, smaller or weak kingdoms, and the republics were eliminated by the stronger rulers.
Vajji and Malla were Gana-Sanghas. The Gana-Sanghas had a government by assembly and within the assembly they had oligarchy. In the 6th century only 4 powerful kingdoms remained:
1. Magadha (Important rulers: Bimbisara, Ajatashatru)
2. Avanti (Important ruler: Pradyota)
3. Kosala (Important ruler: Prasenjit)
4. Vatsa (Important ruler: Udayana)
Difference between Gana-Sanghas and Kingdoms:
The Ganas were located in or near the Himalayan foothills in eastern India. Like Shakyas, Licchavis and Mallas. On the contrary kingdoms occupied the fertile alluvial tracts of the Ganga valley.
In Ganas, The chief office was not hereditary and was known as Ganapati or Ganaraja. On the other side it was hereditary monarchy in Kingdoms.
In Ganas, it was almost like republican form of Government where decisions were taken on the basis of majority votes. (for voting a wooden piece called Salakha was used as ballot paper). In contrast, kingdoms had power concentrated into the hands of the king.
In Kingdoms, due to proximity to Kings, Brahamnical Hinduism lead by priestly class was very strong and thwarted any adversarial viewpoints. Gana Sanghas were more tolerant than the kingdoms. It is because of this tolerance – Mahavira (Jainism, belonged to Vajji confederacy) and Buddha (Buddhism, belonged to Shakya clan) were able to propagate their philosophy in a more unrestricted way in Gana-Sanghas as compared to Kingdoms.
Among all Mahajanpadas why Magadha emerged strongest:
Fertile land: due to alluvial deposit of Ganga-Yamuna doab, agriculture and farm taxes helped in generating revenue to sustain large armies and kingdoms.
Iron ores: due to availability of coal and iron ore mines, iron weapons and tools for agriculture aided in consolidating empire as well as feeding it.
Elephants: elephants were considered as War machines and proximity of Magadha to the habitat of elephants helped Magdhan rulers to maintain large army of warring Elephants.
Transport and communication: The Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication.
From very beginning Magadha was ruled by able rulers like Bimbisara, Ajatshatru, Nandas and Mauryas. Statecraft of these rulers further helped in pushing fortune of Magadha to a new height.
Magadhan society had an unorthodox character, It had a good mix of Aryan and non-Aryan peoples. Such factors helped in The emergence of Jainism and Buddhism led to are volution in terms of philosophy and thought. Rational character of society made it more progressive and hardworking which aided in thriving economy and big State.
Rule of different rulers:
HAryanka -> Shishunag -> Nandas -> Mauryas -> Sunga
Bimbisara
Belonged to Haryanka dynasty.
He consolidated his position via matrimonial alliances.
He was contemporary was Mahavir and Gautama Buddha.
He supported Buddhism and Jainism.
Ajatashatru
Killed his father & succeeded to the throne
Fought with Kosala & Vaishali (Lichhavis – destroyed it in 16 years) & won both war
Embraced buddhism & led the foundation for 1st Budhhist council at Rajgir
Udayin
Succesor of Ajatashatru.
Founded new capital at Pataliputra
His death marked the end of Haryanka dynasty.
Saisunaga Dynasty
They ruled Magadha After the end of Haryanka dynasty .
His successor was Kalasoka.
Kalasoka organized 2nd Buddhist council in Vaishali.
He was killed by Mahapadma Nanda.
Nandas:
Mahapadmananda established Nanda dynasty.
Defeated Kshatriya rulers of North India and assumed title of ‘Ekarat’.
Hathigumpa inscription of Kharvela king of Kalinga talks about conquest of Kalinga by Nandas.
Chandragupta Maurya under the guidance of Kautilya defeated Nandas and established Mauryan dynasty.
Persian and Greek invasion of India
Persian Invasion (550 BCE)
Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire in ancient Iran invaded the North-Western front of India in 550 BCE.
At that time, there were many small provinces like Gandhara, Kamboja, and Madra who were constantly fighting one another.
At that time, Bimbisara of the Haryanka dynasty was ruling over Magadha.
Cyrus succeeded in bringing under Persian control all the Indian tribes west of the Indus like Gandhara.
Impact of Persian on India
It gave an impetus to the Indo-Iranian trade and commerce.
The Kharoshti script was brought to northwest India by the Persians.
Some inscriptions of Ashoka were written in the Kharoshti script in these parts.
Kharoshti script is derived from the Aramaic script and is written from right to left.
Probably, the rock inscriptions used by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE were inspired by the Persian king Darius.
The monuments of Ashoka’s time, especially the bell-shaped capitals and the preamble of Ashoka’s edicts, have a lot of Iranian influence.
Alexander’s (Greek) Invasion (327 BCE)
At that time, i.e., in the fourth century BCE, the Greeks and the Iranians were fighting for the supremacy of the world.
Alexander had conquered Asia Minor along with Iran and Iraq. He then marched into northwest India from Iran.
He had annexed the whole of Persia (Babylon) by defeating Persian King Darius III
In northwest India, just before Alexander’s invasion, there were many small rulers like
Ambhi of Taxila and Porus of the region of Jhelum (Hydaspes).
Ambhi accepted Alexander’s sovereignty but Porus put up a valiant but unsuccessful fight.
Alexander was so impressed with Porus’s fight that he granted him his territory back. Porus might have accepted lordship. The battle between him and Porus is called the Battle of Hydaspes.
After that, Alexander’s army crossed the river Chenab and annexed the tribes between Ravi and Chenab.
But his army refused to cross the river Beas and revolted.
They were exhausted after years of battles, were homesick and diseased.
Alexander was forced to retreat in 326 BCE. On his way back, he died at Babylon in 323 BCE aged 32.
He appointed his generals to look after the Indian territories acquired.
One of them being Seleucus I Nicator, who would later trade his territories in the Indus Valley with Chandragupta Maurya.
Impact of Greek Invasion on India:
The most important result of this invasion was the establishment of direct contact between India and Greece in different fields. Alexander’s invasion opened up four distinct routes – three by land and one by sea and these routes paved the way for Greek merchants and craftsmen to establish trade between India and Greece.
Alexander’s invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas. The destruction of the small states in north-west India by Alexander aided the Mauryan empire’s easy expansion and also encouraged the Mauryas to capture the north-western frontier of India.
Greek Historians who came along with Alexander recorded very vivid description of Indian society, practices like Sati, Varna system etc were recorded which helps us to deconstruct Indian history of that time.
Greek Impact can also be seen in Gandhara school of Buddhism.
Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya around 322 BCE.
Three famous rulers of the Mauryan dynasty who took the glory of the Mauryan empire to peak were Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara and Ashoka.
The political unity was achieved for the first time in the Indian history under the Mauryas reign.
The capital city of the Mauryan empire was Pataliputra (present day Patna). The republic and oligarchy form of government came to an end and Monarchy reached excellence under the Mauryas.
The Mauryan empire came to an end by 180BCE and the last ruler of the dynasty was Brihadratha, he was murdered by his general Pushyamitra Sunga.
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan dynasty.
According to the Brahmanical traditions he was born of a shudra woman in the Nandas court. But as per the Buddhist tradition, a kshatriya clan called Mauryas existed in the Gorakhpur region.
He took advantage of the decline and weakness of the Nandas. He overthrew the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty, Dhanananda with the help of Chanakya (Kautilya) and crowned himself as the emperor.
North Western India was under the realm of Seleucus. Chandragupta Maurya liberated Afghanistan,Baluchistan and areas to the west of Indus from Seleucus in return of 500 elephants.
In later part of his life , he became Jain monk under the guidance of Bhadrabahu and retired to a cave near Karnataka.
Chanakya
Teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, who was also his Chief Minister.
He was a teacher and scholar at Taxila. Other names are Vishnugupta and Kautilya.
He was also a minister in the court of Bindusara.
He is credited to be the master strategist behind the usurping of the Nanda throne and the rise of the Mauryan Empire through his student, Chandragupta.
He wrote Arthashastra which is a treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy.
Arthashastra was rediscovered by R Shamasastry in 1905 after it had disappeared in the 12th century.
Chanakya is also called ‘Indian Machiavelli”
Bindusara
Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara
Greeks called him by the names Amitragata, Amitrochates, Allitrochates which means slayer of enemies.
Bindusara extended the Mauryan empire as far as south.
Deimachus was a Greek ambassador at his court.
Ashoka
Ashoka, the greatest ruler of the Mauryan Empire was the son of Bindusara and he succeeded to the throne after his father.
He was the first ruler who took messages to the people through his inscriptions.
After his accession to the throne, the Kalinga war was the only war that he fought.
As he was moved by the massacre of the Kalinga war, he gave up the idea of conquest by war and followed conquest by dhamma.
Ashoka was converted to Buddhism. The third Buddist council was held by him and he also sent missionaries to south India, Sri Lanka, Burma and many other countries.
The great ruler of ancient India was Ashoka, who was known for his missionaries. He brought further unification in the Mauryan empire by one dharma, one language and one script.
His policy of Dhamma was a broad concept which covered the way of life, code of conduct and set of principles that people should adopt in their daily life.
He appointed Dhamma mahamatta for propagating his dhamma among people.
He followed religious tolerant policy. He was known for his policy of peace, non-aggression and cultural conquest.
The other names of the emperor include Buddhashakya (in the Maski edict), Dharmasoka (Sarnath inscription), Devanampiya (meaning beloved of the gods) and Piyadassi (meaning of pleasing appearance) given in the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa.
Ashoka appointed Dharma Mahamattas to propagate dharma.
Ashoka was a great proponent of Buddhism. He converted to Buddhism and during his reign, Buddhism went outside India. His children Mahendra (son) and Sanghamitra (daughter) were sent to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to propagate Buddhism.
Ashokan Inscriptions
The history of Ashoka was built with these inscriptions as the basis.
The inscriptions were the proclamations of Ashoka to the public at large, which shows his effort to propagate Dhamma.
His inscriptions were found in Afghanistan,Pakistan, Nepal and Indian. They were mostly placed on the ancient highways.
The inscriptions found in the Indian subcontinent were mostly written in Prakrit using Brahmi script, while in the north-western part Aramaic language and Kharosthi script were used.
Literary Sources of Mauryan Empire
Arthashastra
Arthashastra was written by Kautilya in Sanskrit.
Arthashastra deals with the entire legal and bureaucratic framework required for the administration of the kingdom
It was compiled a few centuries after the Maurya rule, yet this book contains authentic information about the Mauryan administration.
Basically it deals with Statecraft or the art of Governing a State.
Mudrarakshasa
Mudrarakshasa is a drama written by Visakadata in Sanskrit.
Though this piece of work belongs to the Gupta era, it gives an image of the socio economic conditions under the Mauryas.
The victory of Chandragupta Maurya over Nandas under the guidance of Kautilya is elaborated in this.
Indica was written by Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador who was sent by Selecus to Chandragupta Maurya’s court.
He wrote an account of the administration of the capital city, Pataliputra and the Mauryan empire as well.
The Decline of Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan empire began to disintegrate with the end of Ashoka reign in 232 BCE. Several factors led to the decline and fall of the vast empire. The causes are widely debated by the scholars.
Brahmanical Reaction
Though Ashoka adopted the policy of religious tolerance, he was against the killing of animals and birds and also prohibited the superstitious sacrifices and rituals performed by women.
This anti sacrifice attitude of Ashoka brought about loss to the Brahmanical society, who lived on the offers made in the name of sacrifices.
This turned the Brahmanas against Ashoka and developed some kind of antipathy towards him.
On the other side rulers like Sungas and Satvahnas promoted Brahamins and sacrifices.
Cost of Administration
Mauryan administration was bureaucratic in nature which required huge financial support to meet the salary and other expense of Administrators.
Moreover, Mauryans also had huge standing army which further drained its resources.
Liberal grants made to Buddhist Sangha further depleted Mauryan royal coffers.
Size of Empire
The Maurya Empire was too vast in its extent.
While extending to the farthest corners of the Indian sub-continent it also included territories outside the natural frontiers of India.
This vastness was itself a source of weakness rather than of strength because of the lack of communication. Distances were so great that the empire could not remain a closely integrated political unit for a longer time.
Centralized administration
Mauryan administration was centralized and was dependent on stron central power. Once Mauryan rule was succeeded by weak Mauryan ruler, local Governors started claiming their autonomy.
Foreign Invasion
From the days of Alexander’s invasion, the north-west frontier of India remained exposed to the Greeks. Chandragupta Maurya drove out the Greeks from the Indian soil, and by defeating Seleukos Nikator established his authority outside the Indian frontiers. During the rule of Bindusara and Asoka, there was no fear from the Greek powers as they were fearful of the Maurya army. However, after death of Ashoka, Indian North -west frontiers became prone to foreign invasions.
Internal Revolt
When the Maurya rule was thus weakening and the empire was breaking up within the half century after Asoka’s death, there finally came a death blow to it by an internal revolt. This revolt was led by the chief of the Maurya army, General Pushyamitra in about 185 or 186 B.C. when the Maurya King Brihadratha ruled in Magadha. Pushyamitra assassinated Brihadrath and established Shunga dynasty.
Mauryan Administration
Mauryan administration was highly centralized.
The Emperor was the supreme power and source of all authority.
He was assisted by a Council of Ministers. It was called ‘Mantriparishad’. The ministers were called ‘Mantris.’
The council was headed by ‘mantriparishad-adhyakshya’ akin to the Prime Minister of today.
Mahamattas: Higher ranking officials.
Amatyas: High ranking officials almost like present-day secretaries. They had administrative and judicial roles.
Yuktas: Subordinate officers responsible for the Empire’s revenue.
Rajjukas: Officers in charge of land measurement and boundary-fixing akin to modern day District collectors.
Local Administration
The smallest unit of administration was the village.
Head of a village: Gramika Villages had a lot of autonomy.
Pradeshika was the provincial governors or district magistrates.
Military
The commander-in-chief of the entire military was called Senapati.
The army’s salary was paid in cash.
Revenue
The revenue department chief was called Samharta.
Another important official was Sannidhata (treasurer).
Espionage
The espionage system of the Mauryas was well-developed.
There were spies who informed the Emperor about the bureaucracy and markets.
There were also agents called Vishakanyas (poisonous girls) who used to allure people to extract information.