The Maurya Empire was the first large empire to unite most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who overthrew the Nanda dynasty from Magadha in the east, and its capital was Pataliputra, near modern Patna. Tradition holds that the minister Chanakya, also called Kautilya, advised him, and he is credited with the treatise on statecraft called the Arthashastra. The empire reached its height under Ashoka, who, after a brutal war in Kalinga, embraced Buddhism and promoted its spread, leaving edicts carved on rocks and pillars. After his death the empire weakened, and the last Mauryan king was overthrown by his general Pushyamitra Shunga.
Before and after
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- 10 June 323 BCEDeath of Alexander the Great
- from 322 BCE to 74 BCEBithynia
- from 322 BCE to 185 BCEMaurya empire
- 322 BCEDeath of Aristotle
- c. 320 BCERise of pyrrhonism
- 313 BCEThe Appian Way and the first Roman aqueduct
- 312 BCEConstruction of Appian Way
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,200 BCEIron Age
- c. 700s BCEConstruction of Great Wall of China
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
- 81 CEConstruction of Colosseum
- 11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
- from 476 CE to 1492Middle Ages
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 4th century BCE.