Chandragupta Maurya (c. 340–c. 296 BC) was an influential Indian monarch who founded the Maurya dynasty and liberated his country from the Greeks. His descendants ruled for two centuries and built a sprawling empire that encompassed almost all of modern-day India.
Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) invaded northern India in 326 BC. When Alexander returned west, he entrusted his conquests to local satraps, governors who were supposed to rule on his behalf. Within only a few years, however, Chandragupta—whose background is largely unknown—had driven out the satraps and founded his own kingdom.
The king, who was only about twenty at the time he assembled his empire, also conquered several small Indian states and overthrew the unpopular Nanda dynasty, consolidating power under a single leader for the first time in Indian history. At the peak of his power, he controlled a territory stretching from Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east, including most of India.
In 305 BC, a Greek general, Seleucus Nicator (c. 358–281 BC), attempted to rebuild Alexander’s empire. He reconquered several eastern provinces and was set to attack the Maurya empire before the two sides negotiated a settlement. In exchange for land, Chandragupta provided 500 war elephants to the Greeks; he also may have married one of Seleucus’s daughters to seal the deal.
Shortly thereafter, Chandragupta abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Bindusara. Chandragupta then converted to Jainism and spent the last years of his life in a religious community near Bangalore; he supposedly starved himself to death in a cave in the ultimate act of religious devotion.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Chandragupta’s Greek adversaries referred to him as Sandrocottus or Androcottus.
- Jainism, one of the world’s oldest religions, was founded about 3,000 years ago and claims roughly 12 million adherents today. Its followers strive to do no harm to any living creature, which in practice means strict vegetarianism. Some Jains also sweep the ground before them as they walk to avoid hurting insects.
- Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson was Ashoka the Great (304–232 BC), who embraced Buddhism and helped popularize the faith across India.
