Historical Background The Mauryan Empire was founded in 321 B.C.E. by Chandragupta Maurya, a Sudra from a family of peacock tamers. Before the Mauryan Empire the main power in the Indian Subcontinent was the Nanda Empire. The Nanda kind was a man named Dhanananda who ruled as a dictator and made many enemies this way. One of his enemies was a Brahmin named Chanakya who the king repeatedly mocked in public events and eventually exiled. While in exile, Chanakya came across the province of Magadha where he was cared for by the Maurya Family who had a strong grudge against the Nanda Empire. Chanakya saw great potential in Chandragupta in particular, and convinced him to start a rebellion against the ruling Nandas. Through eloquent speeches written by Chanakya, Chandragupta managed to get the entire province of Magadha to rebel. They faced the mighty Nanda army of 200 000 infantry, 80 000 cavalry, 8 000 chariots and 6 000 elephants. Chandragupta however, proved himself to be an excellent general, conquered the Nanda Empire, seized the Capital Pataliputra (then made it his own capital) and deposed Dhanananda. The Nanda empire was over, the Mauryan Empire was its replacement. Chandragupta then began conquests west against the eastern borders of the Seleucid Empire (a greek kingdom, and remnant of Alexander the Great's conquests). In 305 B.C.E. Chandragupta marched 300 000 troops west and the Mauryan-Seleucid war had begun. In 303 B.C.E., the King Seleucus admitted defeat and granted Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of Iran to Chandragupta. He also gave his wife Helen away as one of Chandragupta's many wives. Chandragupta then began conquests south. He stopped at the Deccan Plateau in 300 B.C.E. These would be his last campaigns, and Chandragupta Maurya died 2 years later, but he had established the largest Empire the Indian Subcontinent had ever seen. The Mauryan Empire did not grow in size until 272 B.C.E. when Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka took the throne. Ashoka crossed the Deccan Plateau and conquered the rest of southern India in 270 B.C.E. and then later that same year sailed to Sri Lanka and conquered it within a month. He returned to Pataliputra as a hero for his great achievements. After Ashoka's campaigns, the Mauryan Empire had only one Kingdom left to conquer on the Indian Subcontinent. That was the Kingdom of Kalinga just south of Magadha. Ashoka invaded Kalinga with a massive army of over 600 000, which was almost 10 times the state army of Kalinga. The Kingdom was brutally destroyed, much more savagery was displayed here than in the southern campaigns. Ashoka was immensely guilty at what he had done, and soon after conquering Kalinga, he converted to Buddhism. To show his devotion to the Buddha, he constructed hundreds of Stupas and towers across the Empire. Ashoka the Great did to Buddism what Constantine the Great did to Christianity. When the Emperor changes religion many people tend to follow him, and so spread Buddhism in India. Ashoka had brought the Mauryan Empire to its maximal extent, and popularized Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent, which is why he is remembered today. Ashoka died in 232 B.C.E., and immediately after this the Mauryan Empire began to decline. Fighting between Buddhists and Hindus broke out over the Empire resulting in many states wanting independence which they received sometimes through military campaigns. None of the later Mauryan Kings were as good at ruling as Chandragupta or Ashoka were and the people were realizing that weakness. Their eastern borders in Iran, Afghanistan and much of Pakistan were conquered by the Seleucid King Antiochus the Great and their southern borders soon rebelled as well. By 200 B.C.E. the Mauryan Empire was only about half the size that it was under Ashoka. The straw that broke the Camel's back was when in 185 B.C.E. the last Mauryan King Brihadratha was assassinated by his top general Pusyamitra Sunga who founded the Sunga dynasty which would last for less than 100 years. The Mauryan Empire was very ethnically diverse. Its ruling family the Mauryans were of Bengali descent, but they had thousands of ethnic groups hailing from Myanmar to Iran. Religiously it was also very diverse as the Mauryan Dynasty let all religions into their empire. The largest religion in the Mauryan Empire was Hinduism as it was Chandragupta Maurya's religion. The second largest religion was Buddhism which was made very popualr during the reign of Ashoka. The third largest religion was Jainism, which was the main religion of the previous Nanda Empire and many people in the North still worshiped it as the Mauryans allowed them to. Smaller religions included Zoroastrianism on its Western frontiers. The Mauryan Military was composed of 4 very broad troop types: Infantry, Cavalry, Chariots and Elephants. The majority of a Mauryan Army was made up of Infantry, approximately 2 thirds. The most common type of Infantryman would be the Bowman. They would use a Longbow, which was just as advanced and deadly as the English Longbow of the 15th century. The bows were made of many different materials including Bamboo, Bone, Palmyra and wood. The arrows were very varied and featured everything from sharpened sticks to elaborate metal-bladed devices, but generally had tips made of Ivory or Cattle horn. Sometimes the arrows would be poisoned. Spears were used both for throwing and for close combat, and there existed many different types of spear in the Mauryan Empire. For example the Sula was a pike weapon while the Kunta seems to be a throwing spear. The spears were most likely made of wood. There were many types of maces as well including the Gada, Musala and Parigha. Some theorize that the club was thrown, while others assume it was for melee combat. Swords were used less by Infantrymen and more by Charioteers. The cavalry were mainly light cavalry, armed with either Javelins or lanced and used mainly for skirmishing, reconnaissance and pursuing routing enemies. The Chariot was extremely important in Mauryan Warfare, and in Indian warfare in general ever since the Aryan migration and up until medieval times. Chariot riders were well armoured and carried either swords or bows. The chariots were lighter than the Indus Valley Civilization's Chariots, and this is why I say 'Since the Aryan Migration" as the Aryan Chariots were very different. They had 2 wheels as opposed to the Indus Valley Civilization's 4 and were lighter in design. Generals often rode in Chariots, or else they would ride on an Elephant. The Elephants used would have been the subspecies of Asian Elephant native to India Elephas Maximus Indicus. They would often times have archers on them, although the real weapon was the elephant itself. They would be used primarily in full frontal assaults. Sometimes a single charge was enough to rout an enemy army. Sometimes the Elephant would have iron sheaths covering its tusks. Emblem Probably the Lion of Ashoka, that was the state flag after all. Units Infantry Sula Kshatriya (Spearman) Gada Kshatriya (Substitute Swordsman) Kunta Kshatriya (Skirmisher/Javelinist) Longbowman (Archer) Cavalry Prasa Kshatriya (Spear Cavalry) Kunta Horseman (Javelin Cavalry) Elephant Archer (Archer Cavalry (it was Mythos Ruler's Idea I know)) Champions Howdah Elephant Chariot Heroes Chandragupta Maurya Ashoka Brihadratha Miscellaneous Sudra Woman (Female Citizen) Buildings Stupas (religious building) Hindu Temple All I can think of for buildings. Hope yall like imy post!
