The Mauryan Empire (322 BCE - 185 BCE) supplanted the earlier Magadha Kingdom to assume power over large tracts of eastern and northern India. At its height, the empire stretched over parts of modern Iran and almost the entire Indian subcontinent, barring only the southern peninsular tip. The empire came into being when Chandragupta Maurya stepped into the vacuum created by Alexander of Macedon's departure from the western borders of India. Chandragupta subjugated the border states, recruited an army, marched upon the Magadha kingdom, killed its tyrannical king who was despised by the populace, and ascended the throne. He thus founded the Mauryan dynasty. In his rise to power, he was aided and counselled by his chief minister Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), who wrote the Arthashastra, a compendium of kingship and governance.
More about: Mauryan EmpireDefinition
Timeline
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c. 350 BCE - 275 BCELife of Kautilya, Indian stateman and philosopher, chief advisor and Prime Minister of the Indian Emperor Chandragupta.
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340 BCE - 298 BCELife of Indian Emperor Chandragupta, first ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
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321 BCEDhana Nanda, king of Magadha, is killed by Chandragupta Maurya.
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c. 321 BCE - c. 298 BCEReign of Chandragupta Maurya, first ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
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c. 320 BCE - c. 180 BCEMauryan rule in the Gandhara region, beginning with Chandragupta Maurya.
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320 BCEChandragupta Maurya seizes the throne of Magadhan and expands the kingdom over northern and central India.
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305 BCEEmperor Chandragupta signs a treaty with Seleucos I, establishing borders and giving the Punjab to Chandragupta in return for 500 war elephants.
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300 BCE - 273 BCEReign of Bindusara, the second ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
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298 BCEChandragupta voluntarily abdicates the throne in favour of his son Bindusara. Jain sources say that Chandragupta turned into an ascetic and follower of Jainism, migrated south and starved himself to death.
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297 BCE - c. 273 BCEChandragupta's son, Bindusara, rules and expands the Mauryan Empire.
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268 BCE - 232 BCEReign of Ashoka the Great, third ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
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268 BCEAshoka becomes emperor of the Mauryan Empire in India.
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c. 260 BCEAshoka conquers Kalinga. The bloodshed makes him remorseful, and he turns towards non-violence.
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232 BCEIndian ruler Ashoka dies and the Mauryan Empire declines within fifty years.
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187 BCEBrihadratha, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty is assassinated by his commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Shunga.
