Notes On The Mauryan Empire PDF

The First Empire – The Mauryan Empire I. Answer the following questions: 1. Who founded the Mauryan empire? Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan empire. 2. What are the main sources of information about the Mauryan empire? The main sources of information about the Mauryan empire are...

The First Empire – The Mauryan Empire I. Answer the following questions: 1. Who founded the Mauryan empire? Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan empire. 2. What are the main sources of information about the Mauryan empire? The main sources of information about the Mauryan empire are the edits of Ashoka, the Indica of Megasthenes and the Arthashastra of Chankya. 3.How did Chandragupta Maurya gain control of territories across the River Indus? Chandragupta made a gift of 500 elephants to the Greek general Seleucus I Nicator and obtained the territory across the River Indus. 4. Name a few important cities of the Mauryan Empire. Important cities of the Mauryan Empire are its capital Pataliputra, Taxila and Ujjain. 5. How was the conquest of Kalinga a turning point? What effect did it have on Ashoka? The conquest of Kalinga was a turning point because Ashoka renounced war after conquering Kalinga. He was horrified by the suffering caused by grief and remorse. He abandoned the policy of physical conquest in favour of a policy of dhamma. He converted to Buddhism after the conquest of Kalinga. 6.What was Ashoka’s dhamma? What were its principles? Ashoka’s dhamma did not include any rituals or performance of sacrifices. It was related to norms of social behaviour. The basic principles of the, dhamma are: Obedience to one’s mother and father, elders, teachers and other respectable people. Proper treatment of ascetics, relations, slaves, servants and dependents, the poor and miserable, friends, elders, teachers, and other respectable people. Abstinence from killing or injuring of all living beings. Spending and accumulating little wealth Truthfulness, morality and purity of heart. 7. How did Ashoka spread his message of dhamma? Ashoka engraved the principals of dhamma on rock and pillar edits. There were fourteen rock edits and seven pillar edits. In doing so, Ashoka was trying to establish direct communication with his subjects.  These inscriptions were written in the Prakrit language, which was the local language of the people. He appointed special officers called Dhamma mahamatta. These officers went from one place to another place to teach people about the policies of the dhamma. These officers were also instructed by the king to read the edits to those people who were unable to read. He even sent messengers to other countries like Sri Lanka, Syria, Greece and Egypt to spread dhamma. 8. What problems did Ashoka intend to resolve through Dhamma? Ashoka intended to resolve the following problems through dhamma: The Mauryan Empire included people from different religions. Sometimes, conflicts occurred among different religious groups. People sacrificed animals. People treated their elders, slaves and servants badly. There were conflicts among the families and amongst neighbours. 9. Justify Ashoka’s place in history as a Great Emperor. Ashoka was horrified by the suffering caused to the people and was overcome with grief and remorse. As a result, he abandoned the policy of physical conquest in favour of dhamma. He was foresighted and worked for the welfare of the people. He adopted the policy of dhamma to solve problems. Non-violence was to be practiced by giving up war and conquests and as a restraint on the killing of animals. The policy of Dhamma also included certain welfare measures, like planting of trees, digging of wells and constructing of canals, hospitals etc. He spread dhamma far and wide and appointed special officers to teach people about the policies of dhamma. Thus, Ashoka worked for the welfare of the people and intelligently solved the problems of administering subjects belonging to different religious sects. He was strong enough to give up war. Thus, he was a great emperor. 10. Write about the three most prominent rulers of the Mauryan Empire. The three most prominent ruler of Mauryan empire are as follows: Chandragupta Maurya: He founded the Mauryan empire, conquered territories and moved towards central India. With his sharp strategies, he obtained the territory across river Indus along with important cities on the trade route like Taxila and Ujjain. Thus, he built a big empire. Bindusara: He, the successor of Chandragupta, campaigned in the Deccan, extending Mauryan control in the peninsula as far south as Mysore. By the time  of his death in 272 BCE, the entire subcontinent had come under Mauryan control. Ashoka: The conquest of Kalinga and the subsequent conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism, his renouncing of conquest after winning a war and finally, his abandonment of the policy of physical conquest in favour of a policy of dhamma, makes him the most famous Mauryan king. 11. Ashoka skillfully adopted different types of governance to govern his vast empire – comment To administer such a vast empire. Ashoka adopted different types of governance for different areas. In the area surrounding the capital city of Pataliputra, the emperor was in direct control. He appointed officials' various officers for different responsibilities like collecting taxes from the people who lived in the villages and towns. In the area. The other areas were divided into different provinces. These provinces were ruled by their capital cities. For example, the cities of Taxila are Ujjain where the provincial capital. These provinces were ruled by royal princes who were appointed as governors and followed local customs and traditions to govern 12. What factors must have led to the decline of the Mauryan empire? The Mauryan rulers continued to rule about half a century after the death of Ashoka in 232 BCE. The disorder that emerged in the administrative machinery after the death of Ashoka is regarded as one of the most. Important factors for the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka was succeeded by weak rulers who lost control of their territories. The enormous expenditure on the army led to a financial crisis, and the invasions in the northwest added to the disorder in the administration. 13. From which sources did the Mauryan Empire collect taxes during its rule? Numerous economic activities which earned it a huge income were practiced. This included. a) Production of different articles. b) royal landholdings. c) trade in different commodities. d) exploitation of mineral resources, e) utilization of forest wealth, f) sales of liquor and manufacture of arms. g) Water tax  h) Ashoka also got many rock -cut viharas and stupas constructed 14. Discuss the evidence of irrigation systems and the taxation related to it during the Mauryan Empire. The Mauryan government provided irrigation facilities to the peasantry. Arthashastra refers to a water tax which was regularly collected wherever the state assisted in providing irrigation. One of Chandragupta's governors, Pushyagupta was responsible for building a dam across the river near Girnar in western India, resulting in a large lake to supply water for irrigation. Q15. Create a Timeline of Mauryan Empire In the outline map of India locate: 1. Locate the River on the banks of which Chandragupta Maurya defeated Silicus Necator 2. Capital of Mauryan Empire 3. A capital of a Mauryan province which was a Gateway of northwest centrail Asia 4. A capital of the Mauryan province which was on the route from North to South India 5. The place were the life changing battle of Ashoka took place 6. A place located in north east of varanasi that has the Ashoka Stamb