Empire322 BCE – 185 BCESouth Asia

Maurya Empire

The first empire to unite most of the Indian subcontinent, founded by Chandragupta Maurya with the counsel of Chanakya (Kautilya), and reaching its greatest extent and moral influence under Emperor Ashoka, who embraced Buddhism after the devastating Kalinga War.

Key Figures
Chandragupta MauryaChanakyaAshokaBindusara

Preceding Causes

The power vacuum in northwestern India following Alexander the Great's withdrawal (325 BCE), Chandragupta's alliance with the brilliant strategist Chanakya (author of the Arthashastra), and military expansion that defeated the Nanda dynasty and pushed Greek successor states out of the subcontinent.

Empire334 BCE

Alexander the Great's Conquests

Alexander III of Macedon conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Egypt, and Central Asia, advancing as far as the Punjab in modern-day Pakistan and northwest India, creating one of the ancient world's largest empires before his death at age 32.

Cause-Effect Graph

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