Mauryan Dynasty - Ashoka, Maurya Empire, Chandragupta Maurya, Sangamitta, Arthashastra, Ashokan Edicts in Delhi, Edicts of Ashoka, Ances (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 47. Chapters: Ashoka, Maurya Empire, Chandragupta Maurya, Sangamitta, Arthashastra, Ashokan Edicts in Delhi, Edicts of Ashoka, Ancestry of Chandragupta Maurya, Mauryan art, Barabar Caves, Bindusara, Mahinda, Kunala, Kumhrar, Didarganj Yakshi, Agam Kuan, Brihadratha Maurya, Ashokavadana, Dasaratha Maurya, Tishyaraksha, Kaurwaki, Mantriparishad, Devavarman. Excerpt: The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains (modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal) in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna). The Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India taking advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great's Greek and Persian armies. By 320 BC the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander. With an area of 5,000,000 sq km, it was one of the world's largest empires in its time, and the largest ever in the Indian subcontinent. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam. To the west, it conquered beyond modern Pakistan, annexing Balochistan, south eastern parts of Iran and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and Kandahar provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga (modern Orissa), ...