Conquest of the Nanda Empire | |||||||||
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Extend of Nanda Empire around the time of the war. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Nanda Empire | House of Maurya Supported by: Matsya dynasty of Rajputana [2] Suryavamshi dynasty of Kalinga [3] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Dhana Nanda Bhaddasala [4] | Chandragupta Maurya Chanakya | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
200,000 infantry 80,000 cavalry 8,000 chariots 6,000 war elephants [5] | Around 600,000 troops [6] |
The conquest of the Nanda Empire [7] was a war fought in ancient India in the late 4th century BCE (between c. 323 to 321 BCE) between the Nanda Emperor Dhana Nanda and by a force under Chandragupta Maurya led to the establishment of the Maurya Empire. [8] In this war Chanakya was the mentor of Chandragupta Maurya. [9] Little is known from historical sources for certain dating about the conflict.
Chandragupta's ancestry is unknown. The knowledge of statecraft and warfare was taught to Chandragupta by his teacher Chanakya, who is referred to as Kautilya. Kautilya's Arthasastra was a science of politics intended to teach a wise king how to govern. [10] Chanakya taught the young emperor a wide-ranging discussions on war and diplomacy. Chanakya's work included; his wish to have his emperor become a world conqueror, his analysis of which kingdoms are natural allies and which are inevitable enemies, his willingness to make treaties he knew he would break and retain, his doctrine of silent war or a war of assassination against an unsuspecting king, his approval of secret agents who killed enemy leaders and sowed discord among them, his views of men and women as weapons of war, his use of religion and superstition to bolster his troops and demoralize enemy soldiers, the spread of disinformation, and his humane treatment of conquered soldiers and subjects. [11]
Much of what is known about the conquest comes from accounts written long after the war itself. Ancient historian Plutarch gives an account of parts of the conquest. [12] The conquest was fictionalized in Mudrarakshasa , a political drama in Sanskrit by Vishakadatta composed between 300 CE and 700 CE. [13] The history is also briefly recounted in Vishnu Purana (unknown date), which emphasizes the importance of Chanakya in the destruction of the Nanda empire. [14] In another work, Milinda Panha (dating from 100 BCE), Bhaddasala is named as a Nanda general during the conquest. [13]
Estimates of the number of soldiers involved are based in part on ancient Roman sources. Plutarch estimates that Chandragupta's army would later number 600,000 by the time it had subdued all of India, [15] an estimate also given by Pliny (23 AD–79 AD). Pliny and Plutarch also estimated the Nanda Army strength in the east as 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. These estimates were based in part of the earlier work of the Seleucid ambassador to the Maurya, Megasthenes. [16] One 21st-century author, Suhas Chatterjee, suggests that "Chandragupta had to engage all his military strength, even Greek mercenaries from Punjab in his conquest of the Nanda king" and according to references about the conquest in the Milinda Panha "100,000 of soldiers, 10,000 elephants, 100,000 horses and 5,000 charioteers were killed in the encounter". [17]
In Mudrarakshasa, Chandragupta was said to have first acquired Punjab, and then combined forces with Chanakya and advanced upon the Nanda Empire. [13] Similarly, Plutarch writes that he first overthrew Alexanders Prefects in the northwest of India. [12] P. K. Bhattacharyya concludes that the war would have consisted of gradual conquest of provinces after the initial consolidation of Magadha. [15] In Mudrarakshasa, he laid siege to Kusumapura (or Pataliputra, now Patna), the capital of Magadha, with the help of north-west frontier tribe mercenaries from areas already conquered. [13] The siege may have begun in 320 BCE. [18] By 312 BCE he had conquered all of north and north-west India. [13]
In the war, Chandragupta may have allied with the Matsya king and the Suryavamshi king of Kalinga (modern-day Odisha). [19] The prior experience of his mercenaries from the Punjab were likely important in his military success. [20] It is also suggested that Chandragupta's campaign was laid out by using popular guerrilla tactics, as the Nanda Empire was large and had been able to wield large armies that would have been overwhelming to oppose by an upstart. [18] The war brought an end to the Nanda Dynasty and established the Maurya Empire with Chandragupta Maurya as its emperor.
Maurya Empire consisted of at least four provinces at the end of Chandragupta's conquests: Avantirastra (capital: Ujjayini), Dakshinapatha (capital: uncertain, perhaps Suvarnagiri), Uttarapatha (capital: Taksasila), and Purvapatha (capital: Pataliputra). [15] Chanakya later became Chandragupta's prime minister. [20]
Chandragupta eventually expanded his empire to southern India and warred with the Seleucid Empire over control over all of north western India and parts of Persia. [21] [22] The Maurya Empire eventually became the most extensive empire in India seen up to the date of when he abdicated. [18]
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire, a geographically-extensive empire based in Magadha. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Magadha kingdom expanded to become an empire that reached its peak under the reign of his grandson, Ashoka the Great, from 268 BCE to 231 BCE. The nature of the political formation that existed in Chandragupta's time is not certain. The Mauryan empire was a loose-knit one with large autonomous regions within its limits.
Chanakya was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and politician. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Viṣṇugupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra, a text dated to roughly between the fourth century BCE and the third century CE. As such, he is considered the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire in the sixth century CE and not rediscovered until the early 20th century. Around 321 BCE, Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both emperors Chandragupta and his son Bindusara.
Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title Amitraghāta.
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia based in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain; its capital city was located at Pataliputra. Outside this imperial centre, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities scattered within it. During Ashoka's rule, the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent excepting the deep south. It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185 BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and foundation of the Shunga dynasty in Magadha.
The Arthashastra is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text. The latter was a scholar at Takshashila, the teacher and guardian of Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Some scholars believe them to be the same person, while a few have questioned this identification. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries. Composed, expanded and redacted between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Arthashastra was influential until the 12th century, when it disappeared. It was rediscovered in 1905 by R. Shamasastry, who published it in 1909. The first English translation, also by Shamasastry, was published in 1915.
The Nanda dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha in northern Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE and possibly also during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty, and expanded the empire to include a larger part of northern India. Ancient sources differ considerably regarding the names of the Nanda kings and the duration of their rule, but based on the Buddhist tradition recorded in the Mahāvaṃsa, they appear to have ruled during c. 345–322 BCE, although some theories date the start of their rule to fifth century BCE.
The Shishunaga dynasty was the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire in ancient India. According to the Hindu Puranas, this dynasty was the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, succeeding Nagadashaka of the Haryanka dynasty.
The Kalinga War was fought in ancient India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka and Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. It is presumed that the battle was fought on Dhauli hills in Dhauli which is situated on the banks of Daya River. The Kalinga War was one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history.
Dhana Nanda, according to the Buddhist text Mahabodhivamsa, was the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty of ancient India. He was the youngest son of Mahapadma Nanda.
Mahapadma Nanda, according to the Puranas, was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. The Puranas describe him as a son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra woman. These texts credit him with extensive conquests that expanded the Empire far beyond the Magadha region. The different Puranas variously give the length of his reign as 28 or 88 years, and state that his eight sons ruled in succession after him.
The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in India. The play is an example of creative writing, but not entirely fictional. It is dated variously from the late 4th century to the 8th century CE.
Chandragupta is a board wargame designed by Stephen R. Welch and released in 2008 by GMT Games as part of the Great Battles of History (GBoH) series of games on ancient warfare. Chandragupta simulates battles fought by the Mauryan Dynasty in ancient India, and in so doing, attempts to illuminate the features, challenges, and unique attributes of the Indian military system and culture during this period.
The Seleucid–Mauryan War was fought between 305 and 303 BC. It started when Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid Empire sought to retake the Indian satrapies of the Macedonian Empire, which had been occupied by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, of the Maurya Empire.
Durdhara was the empress consort of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the 4th-century BCE Maurya Empire of ancient India, according to the 12th century CE Jain text Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra. She is stated by this text to be the mother of the second Mauryan emperor, Bindusara also known as Amitraghāta.
The Parishishtaparvan also known as the Sthaviravalicharitra is a 12th-century Sanskrit mahakavya by Hemachandra which details the histories of the earliest Jain teachers. The poem comprises 3,460 verse couplets divided into 13 cantos of unequal length and is also notable for providing information on the political history of ancient India.
The University of ancient Taxila was an ancient higher-learning institution in Taxila, Gandhara, in present-day Punjab, Pakistan, near the bank of the Indus River. It was established as a centre of education in religious and secular topics. It started as a Vedic seat of learning; while in the early centuries CE it became a prominent centre of Buddhist scholarship as well.
Chandragupta Maurya is an Indian historical television show that aired on Sony TV from 14 November 2018 to 30 August 2019. Written by Raj Routh, the show is based on the life of Chandragupta Maurya, the first Mauryan emperor and founder of the Maurya Empire. The show is produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary's One Life Studios.
Rakshasa is a character in the ancient Indian Sanskrit-language play Mudrarakshasa. In the play, he holds the post of Amatya in the Nanda and Maurya courts of Magadha. Originally a minister of the Nanda king, he escapes during Chandragupta Maurya's conquest of the Nanda empire. He then makes several attempts to overthrow Chandragupta, but each time, he is outsmarted by Chandragupta's advisor Chanakya. Finally, he agrees to give up the resistance, and accepts the post of amatya in the Maurya court.
Kṣemaka was the last king of Vatsa. He was defeated and dethroned by Magadha's Nanda emperor Mahapadma Nanda. Kṣemaka was the last ruler of main kuru dynasty branch, after his defeat the rule of Kurus end forever.