The+Mauryan+Empire

= = Maurya was an Indian dynasty in the fourth through third centuries B.C.E.

History
The Indian plains were divided into powerful regional states. Fighting and war was not uncommon in this time. In 327 B.C.E., Greece and much of the Middle East had been conquered by Alexander the great. Trying to expand his empire Alexander began to push into northwestern India and established a small border state called Bactria.

A young soldier named Chandragupta seized power along the Ganges River and became the first ruler of the Mauryan dynasty and was the first to unify much of the subcontinent of India.

Chandragupta borrowed Persian political models and followed Alexander the Great's example, and maintained large armies with thousands of chariots and elephant riding soldiers. Chandragupta even developed a successful bureaucracy and a postal system.

Chandragupta's governmental style was very autocratic, it relied on on the ruler's personal military power.

Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka was leader from 269 - 232 B.C.E. He first served as a governor of two provinces, was engaged in a study of nature and was strongly influenced by the intense spiritualism not only of the Brahmin religion but also of Buddhism. Ashoka also extended Mauryan conquests, gaining control of all but the southern tip of India. Ashoka