Maurya Empire, c. 322–185 BCE

The Maurya Empire emerged in the late fourth century BCE when Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Nanda dynasty and built a state centred on Magadha. Its administration, army and revenue system supported expansion across much of the Indian subcontinent.

Under Ashoka the empire reached its greatest extent. After the Kalinga War, Ashoka promoted dhamma through inscriptions, patronage and moral governance, while Buddhism gained important royal support without becoming the empire’s only religious tradition.

The dynasty declined during the second century BCE, but Mauryan political scale and Ashoka’s inscriptions remained central to later interpretations of Indian statecraft, religion and imperial unity.