Otakumonkey
Chieftain
Chandragupta Mayurya was the founder of the Mauryan Empire. He conquered nearly all of India, and united into one empire. He was a man of war, who had driven out the Greeks and conquered all who stood in his way. He had a network of spies, similar to the network in Persia, which reported all activities taking place in his lands directly to him. He was a harsh ruler who did not concentrate much on the well being of the people, but only to improve the culture and the status of his state. Despite all his efforts, it was not him who brought about a golden age in the empire. It was an enlightened Buddhist named Asoka, Chandrauptas grandson, who led the Mauryan Empire and thus India into an era of peace and prosperity.
Chandragupta was the first emperor of the Mauryan Empire, the first great Indian Empire. Following the death of Alexander the Great who had conquered northwestern India, an Indian known as Chandragupta drove out the few remaining Greek forces. Chandragupta proceeded to conquer tribes living in the northwestern part of India and then turned his forces eastward, marching towards the Ganges River. Chandragupta captured the capital city (Pataliputra) of a kingdom located along the banks of the Ganges. In turn, Chandragupta proclaimed himself ruler over a vast area of territory. Chandraguptas government was a highly organized and thoroughly efficient autocracy. A council of ministers and a vast bureaucracy assisted him. He was the absolute military and civil authority, and the final distributor of justice. He maintained an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands, including thousands of war elephants. Chandragupta ruled for a period of twenty-four years, being succeeded by his eldest son, Bindursa, in around 297 BCE. Not much is known of Bindursa, except for that he was called the Slayer of Foes. A war of succession amongst the sons of Bindursa almost certainly broke out after Bindursas death, but in any case, Asoka, one of Bindursas sons, was firmly in control of the Empire by 269 BCE. Very little is known of his first eight years of Asokas reign. It is assumed that he embraced the splendor and excessiveness of royal life. His conquest of the southeastern territory of Kalinga changed him forever. A huge number of lives were lost in the campaign, and Asoka was filled with such remorse that he changed both the direction of his government and his personal life. Asokas first wife was a devout Buddhist and he embraced her religion and devoted the rest of his reign to the realizing of Buddhist teachings in law and deeds.
The production of goods in Mauryan India was overseen by local artisan guilds. An elder foreman who supervised the workers headed the guilds. Guilds were centers for highly specialized artisans to produce their crafts and have them traded across the Hellenistic world. The prime exports were silk and cotton textiles, ivory, jewelry, and gold. Most trade was done by bartering, but as time passed bartering was replaced by payment in copper and silver coinage. Indian goods were in demand in places as far away as Rome. Asoka had a special board formed in his capital city of Pataliputra that supervised trade and commerce. This board regulated weights and measures among other things. It is a testimony to the high quality of Indian goods that they were in such high demand all across the Hellenistic world.
It is said that Asoka was to the Buddhist faith as the Roman Emperor Constantine was to the Christian. Buddhist literature tells that he had the Buddhas remains further divided and enshrined in great mounds through out his empire to serve as pilgrimage destinations for the people. Asoka urged all his people to reform according to the teachings of Buddha. He encouraged all of his children to speak the truth and cultivate Buddhist virtues such as obedience to parents, kindness to servants, generosity to friends, and respect to holy men. He relaxed stern laws to more humane ones that reconciled with the teachings of the Buddha. Asoka also encouraged Buddhist missionary work outside of India and even encouraged two of his children to become Buddhist missionaries who would carry Buddhism into Ceylon. He ordered his ambassadors centered in the courts of Egypt, Macedonia, the Secluid Empire, and in other western states to spread Buddhas message. Although he did not find much success with spreading the Buddhist faith in the west, it is due to his magnanimous patronage of the Buddhist faith that it spread all across southeastern Asia.
The rulers of the Mauryan Empire, like the Roman, often provided entertainment for city people. This entertainment usually consisted of singing, dancing, dramatic presentations, chariot races, jousts of arms between men, and animal combats. When Asoka came to power, he sought to restrict such entertainments, since he was offended by the violence and immorality associated with them. Games played by the upper class included a game much like modern day hockey and a board game that would later develop into chess. The Emperor Asoka worked hard to improve the peoples daily lives. He set up gardens that cultivated medicinal herbs and erected hospitals for both people and animals. For the common people, marriages were usually monogamous, while noblemen took several wives. The custom of a widow to throw her self upon her late husbands funeral pyre was practiced, but not by many. Life in Mauryan society was prosperous for most, but as in the majority of successful empires, the farmers and the artisans provided the backbone on which the empire survived on, while the upper classes took in the fruits of their labor.
The greatest works of literature produced during the Mauryan period show subtle, but noticeable Hellenistic influences. The Mahabaharatsa, much like Homers Illiad, is a tale of epic wars fought by both Gods and men stories of knightly chivalry, love, piety, duty, and devotion intertwined with violence and gambling. Written in verse form and narrative, the Mahabharata is seven times as long as the Illiad and the Odyssey combined.
Other works, such as the Ramayana, a story of wanderings and hardships of a hero far from home and a faithful wife waiting at home for the return of her husband, more closely resemble Homers Odyssey. Hellenistic influences, despite being mostly subtle, are clearly seen in Mauryan literature.
The main difference between Mauryan art and the art that preceded it was that most of the earlier works of art were constructed with perishable items such as wood. Mauryan monuments were built, at least during Asoka rule, were built with stone. Thirty pillars, each between thirty and forty feet high and at least forty ton, were built all over the Mauryan Empire. The pillars were topped with animal carvings that have great symbolic important Buddhism. Some of the pillars were engraved in edicts issued by Asoka. The high quality of the stone monuments shows extreme skill in stone craft that of which was neither seen in India prior to Asokas reign nor after. When this information is taken into account with the fact that the pillars resemble structures built across Hellenistic empires, one surmises that Asoka invited Hellenistic artists to construct these monoliths for the Emperor. After Asokas death, these structures were no longer built, but several still survive to modern times due to their excellent construction.
The Emperor Asoka took an already established Mauryan empire and brought it into a golden age of peace and prosperity; an era where Indian craftsmanship was desired by lands both far and near; an era where epic tales were crafted and written into excellence; an era where huge stone monuments of the sort never seen in India prior were built.
Chandragupta was the first emperor of the Mauryan Empire, the first great Indian Empire. Following the death of Alexander the Great who had conquered northwestern India, an Indian known as Chandragupta drove out the few remaining Greek forces. Chandragupta proceeded to conquer tribes living in the northwestern part of India and then turned his forces eastward, marching towards the Ganges River. Chandragupta captured the capital city (Pataliputra) of a kingdom located along the banks of the Ganges. In turn, Chandragupta proclaimed himself ruler over a vast area of territory. Chandraguptas government was a highly organized and thoroughly efficient autocracy. A council of ministers and a vast bureaucracy assisted him. He was the absolute military and civil authority, and the final distributor of justice. He maintained an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands, including thousands of war elephants. Chandragupta ruled for a period of twenty-four years, being succeeded by his eldest son, Bindursa, in around 297 BCE. Not much is known of Bindursa, except for that he was called the Slayer of Foes. A war of succession amongst the sons of Bindursa almost certainly broke out after Bindursas death, but in any case, Asoka, one of Bindursas sons, was firmly in control of the Empire by 269 BCE. Very little is known of his first eight years of Asokas reign. It is assumed that he embraced the splendor and excessiveness of royal life. His conquest of the southeastern territory of Kalinga changed him forever. A huge number of lives were lost in the campaign, and Asoka was filled with such remorse that he changed both the direction of his government and his personal life. Asokas first wife was a devout Buddhist and he embraced her religion and devoted the rest of his reign to the realizing of Buddhist teachings in law and deeds.
The production of goods in Mauryan India was overseen by local artisan guilds. An elder foreman who supervised the workers headed the guilds. Guilds were centers for highly specialized artisans to produce their crafts and have them traded across the Hellenistic world. The prime exports were silk and cotton textiles, ivory, jewelry, and gold. Most trade was done by bartering, but as time passed bartering was replaced by payment in copper and silver coinage. Indian goods were in demand in places as far away as Rome. Asoka had a special board formed in his capital city of Pataliputra that supervised trade and commerce. This board regulated weights and measures among other things. It is a testimony to the high quality of Indian goods that they were in such high demand all across the Hellenistic world.
It is said that Asoka was to the Buddhist faith as the Roman Emperor Constantine was to the Christian. Buddhist literature tells that he had the Buddhas remains further divided and enshrined in great mounds through out his empire to serve as pilgrimage destinations for the people. Asoka urged all his people to reform according to the teachings of Buddha. He encouraged all of his children to speak the truth and cultivate Buddhist virtues such as obedience to parents, kindness to servants, generosity to friends, and respect to holy men. He relaxed stern laws to more humane ones that reconciled with the teachings of the Buddha. Asoka also encouraged Buddhist missionary work outside of India and even encouraged two of his children to become Buddhist missionaries who would carry Buddhism into Ceylon. He ordered his ambassadors centered in the courts of Egypt, Macedonia, the Secluid Empire, and in other western states to spread Buddhas message. Although he did not find much success with spreading the Buddhist faith in the west, it is due to his magnanimous patronage of the Buddhist faith that it spread all across southeastern Asia.
The rulers of the Mauryan Empire, like the Roman, often provided entertainment for city people. This entertainment usually consisted of singing, dancing, dramatic presentations, chariot races, jousts of arms between men, and animal combats. When Asoka came to power, he sought to restrict such entertainments, since he was offended by the violence and immorality associated with them. Games played by the upper class included a game much like modern day hockey and a board game that would later develop into chess. The Emperor Asoka worked hard to improve the peoples daily lives. He set up gardens that cultivated medicinal herbs and erected hospitals for both people and animals. For the common people, marriages were usually monogamous, while noblemen took several wives. The custom of a widow to throw her self upon her late husbands funeral pyre was practiced, but not by many. Life in Mauryan society was prosperous for most, but as in the majority of successful empires, the farmers and the artisans provided the backbone on which the empire survived on, while the upper classes took in the fruits of their labor.
The greatest works of literature produced during the Mauryan period show subtle, but noticeable Hellenistic influences. The Mahabaharatsa, much like Homers Illiad, is a tale of epic wars fought by both Gods and men stories of knightly chivalry, love, piety, duty, and devotion intertwined with violence and gambling. Written in verse form and narrative, the Mahabharata is seven times as long as the Illiad and the Odyssey combined.
Other works, such as the Ramayana, a story of wanderings and hardships of a hero far from home and a faithful wife waiting at home for the return of her husband, more closely resemble Homers Odyssey. Hellenistic influences, despite being mostly subtle, are clearly seen in Mauryan literature.
The main difference between Mauryan art and the art that preceded it was that most of the earlier works of art were constructed with perishable items such as wood. Mauryan monuments were built, at least during Asoka rule, were built with stone. Thirty pillars, each between thirty and forty feet high and at least forty ton, were built all over the Mauryan Empire. The pillars were topped with animal carvings that have great symbolic important Buddhism. Some of the pillars were engraved in edicts issued by Asoka. The high quality of the stone monuments shows extreme skill in stone craft that of which was neither seen in India prior to Asokas reign nor after. When this information is taken into account with the fact that the pillars resemble structures built across Hellenistic empires, one surmises that Asoka invited Hellenistic artists to construct these monoliths for the Emperor. After Asokas death, these structures were no longer built, but several still survive to modern times due to their excellent construction.
The Emperor Asoka took an already established Mauryan empire and brought it into a golden age of peace and prosperity; an era where Indian craftsmanship was desired by lands both far and near; an era where epic tales were crafted and written into excellence; an era where huge stone monuments of the sort never seen in India prior were built.
