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The influence of the Mauryan dynasty on Indian history
The influence of the Mauryan dynasty on Indian history
The Peacock Empire was the first empire to emerge in Indian history, and it marked India’s transition from religious movement to political development.
If in China it was a long period of imperial unification followed by brief divisions; in India it was the opposite – a short period of unity and a long period of division. Of course, this does not mean that India is not unified.
India also has unity, but it is cultural unity not political unity. Indian culture emphasizes loyalty to the social order rather than the state , as evidenced by the fact that the caste hierarchy has a higher status than any political system.
When the Aryans moved to the Magadha kingdom in the Ganges Valley, the Northwest Territories became increasingly separated from the rest of India by virtue of their close ties with Persian civilization. By about 518 BC, Emperor Darius had crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, making western Punjab the twentieth domain of his empire.
The invasion of the Persians turned the history of the Indus Valley Civilization into an inexplicable fog again, until two centuries later, when Alexander arrived in 327 BC.
No mention of Alexander has been found so far in the Indian literature of the time. None of the impressions of India left by Alexander’s companions have survived, and only some of them have been handed down in fragments through later writings. These describe the port, the goods bought and sold, the appearance of the city, the clothing of the indigenous people, and exotic customs such as polygamy, caste laws, and cremation of the dead.
Although this is some fact-based reporting, it is told in the form of storytelling in the writings of historians and geographers, which greatly adds to the interest of these bizarre stories, such as what is ten feet tall, shoulders The six-foot-wide man, the steam-sustained mouthless man, the rain of steel balls, the three-hundred-foot-long snake fish in the Ganges, and so on.
Alexander’s invasion was more of an attack than a formal invasion. He was stationed in India for only two years, and within a decade of his death, the Greek regime in Punjab had completely disappeared.
However, the war he waged did have a major impact on India’s subsequent development. The contribution made by Alexander’s army and navy in opening up or increasing the land and sea trade routes was more effective. Commercial trade from northwestern India through Afghanistan and Iran, and then to the ports of Asia Minor and the eastern Mediterranean, developed rapidly at this time. And the Greek colonies established by Alexander throughout the Middle East undoubtedly contributed greatly to this trade.
Most important to Indian history is Alexander’s role in the abolition of several kingdoms and republics in northwestern India, creating a political vacuum. Chandragupta Peacock quickly filled this vacuum and established an empire named after him, the Peacock Empire.
Three years after Alexander’s evacuation, in 322 BC, Chandragupta was still an ambitious young general who seized the throne of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha and established his own dynasty. Over the next few years, he steadily expanded his rule northwestward until his empire expanded from the Ganges to the Indus and spanned the delta region that included both great rivers.
At the same time, he organized a strong army and an effective government to maintain his homeland. When Seleucus, one of Alexander’s heirs, became king of the Middle East, he tried to regain the lands of India that Alexander had ruled, but Chandragupta had no trouble repelling the Greek army.
A year later, in 304 BC, Seleucus was forced to make peace, ceding India to the Emperor Peacock and marrying him a Greek princess. In return, Seleucus received five hundred elephants, which he used to successfully repel his opponents in the Hellenistic world. The peace between Seleucus and the Peacock Emperor marked that the Peacock Empire had established itself as a major power in the world at that time.
There was a Greek envoy named Megasthenes, who lived for several years in Fahrenheit, the capital of the Mauryan dynasty, and his observations, although now only available in second-hand form, are valuable information. .
From the report, it can be learned that Chandragupta’s son Pintosara (about 298-273 BC) seems to have conquered Deccan, while his grandson, the famous Ayu Gong (273-232 BC), conquered Jie Linga, eastern India. Thus, under the latter’s rule, the Peacock Empire included the entire Indian peninsula except the southern tip.
The Peacock Empire during the reign of King Ashoka can be regarded as the last “beautiful country”: on well-maintained roads, hordes of merchants, soldiers, royal messengers and begging dervishes come and go, and there are many vehicles, which makes the formal road laws are required.
The conquest of Kalinga on the east coast facilitated trade, with a maritime ministry dedicated to maintaining shipping lanes and ports. Inscriptions in many monasteries attest to the wealth and generosity of the chambers of commerce and guilds that donated to the monasteries. The capital, Fahrenheit, is known as the “City of Flowers” and is world-famous for its parks, public buildings, more than nine miles of riverfronts, and an educational system that attracts domestic and foreign students.
But it is also an efficient, strict, bureaucratic society. The laws are severe, and the means of maintaining order are ruthless. The army claims to have 700,000 people, equipped with 9,000 elephants and 10,000 chariots. Skilled spies were everywhere, sending a flurry of reports to the capital via couriers and pigeons. There are more than a dozen severe punishments, which are often used as a means of punishment and extortion of confessions.
Ashoka’s reign showed a fundamental and unique change from the traditional type of imperial rule. After conquering the Kalinga kingdom through a particularly brutal war, he underwent a change of heart, and he wrote in the thirteenth decree carved on the rock:
One hundred and fifty thousand were taken captive, one hundred thousand were killed, and many times that number died. …the conquerors of Kalinga, beloved by the gods, are now remorseful, deeply saddened and remorseful, for conquering a people that had not been conquered before, involved slaughter, death, and exile. . . . Even those who escaped the disaster were deeply distressed by the misfortunes suffered by friends, acquaintances, companions, and relatives whom they had always loved.
Therefore, all the people suffered misfortune, and this made the king’s heart very heavy.
Since then, Ayukong has devoted himself to the promotion and realization of the teachings of the Buddha. He longs for a future that is “safe, sane, and peaceful and gentle in all.” Following the example of Persian rulers, he carved his edicts into rocks, caves and purpose-built pillars. These edicts are not so much formal decrees as they are of the nature of state precepts.
What they have in common is an exhortation to great virtues—simplicity, compassion, mutual tolerance, and respect for all kinds of life. Unlike Kaodihe Ye, who first considered the interests of the country, King Ashoka cared more about the people.
Therefore, he set up many public utilities that did not bring direct benefits to the country—hospitals and state-funded treatment, orchards and resting places on both sides of the road, distributed alms to various sects, and sent Buddhist missionaries to foreign countries.
Ashoka was not the Constantine of India as some people now claim. He did not make Buddhism the state religion, nor did he persecute other sects. On the contrary, he also gave generous donations to Brahmins and Jains, and helped eminent persons of all sects. This is not a religious change, but an attitude change.
His greatest emphasis was on tolerance and nonviolence, not only because they were morally desirable, but because they would promote the growing harmony of his vast and complex empire. This proved successful during Ashoka’s reign as he ruled for 41 years to the cheers of the populace. But, within half a century of his death, his dynasty was overthrown and his empire was wiped out.
Cultural unity and political unity sometimes contradict each other. Indian civilization often promotes unified culture in one area, but destroys political unity in another . However, this has become a pattern in Indian history up to the present day.
