Rise of Magadha and Mauryas

Thus among monarchical states Magadha emerged as an important power. However, he had to fight for many years against Lichhavis. Ajatasatru sent his minister to sow differences among the tribes of Vrijji confederacy. Due to this effort, ultimately Ajatasatru obtained success against Lichhavi which became part of Magadha empire. 

This region controlled the northern trade route called uttarapatha, while the southerly route called dakshinapatha was under the control of Magadha. Due to these conquests, Magadha was able to manage economic resources like fertile river valleys and iron ore mines which provided the necessary supply of materials for the production of different goods. As a result it was in Magadha that we find the beginning of signs of state formation. 

The Mauryan Empire, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty, was the largest and most powerful political and military empire of ancient India. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains of modern Bihar and Bengal and with its capital city of Pataliputra (near modern Patna), the Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and begun expanding his power across central and western India . The Empire was expanded into India’s central and southern regions by Emperor Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga. Following the conquest of Kalinga in a major war, Ashoka the Great ended the military expansion of the empire. 

The kingdoms of Pandya and Cheras in southern India thus preserved their independence, accepting the supremacy of the Mauryan emperor. The Mauryan Empire was perhaps the greatest empire to rule the Indian subcontinent until the arrival of the British. Its decline began fifty years after Ashoka’s rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BC with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.