The 4th century BC, when Magadha was strengthening. A ridiculous person is born far east of India. Alexander the Great from Macedonia in ancient Greece is.
He destroyed the huge Achaemenid Persia in the Middle East and advanced to northwestern India.
As a result, many Greek governments have been born in India. This turmoil was the first unified dynasty in ancient India, the Maurya dynasty. is. This time, such Maurya I will focus on.
Let's take a look at the former Maurya dynasty and the Nanda dynasty
The Maurya unification of confused India for the first time in history However, the Maurya dynasty wrote in a previous article Magadha . It is a dynasty that arose from. Maurya in Magadha Nanda Dynasty before Was ruled by a dynasty called.
The Nanda dynasty is a dynasty located in northern India that emerged around the 4th century BC, and is a Varna system . The lowest-ranked slaves in Shudra Mahapadma from (and some untouchables who are not even included in the Varna system) It is a country opened by a person (or Ugrasena).
* Shudra is mentioned in the article below.
It is not known how Mahapadma destroyed the dynasty, but under the Varna system, the king from the lower classes is the king / warrior class Kushanatoriya . It was a pay-for-performance dynasty because it was built by destroying. Since it was an area with developed iron ore, forest resources, and transportation, it seems to have boasted great military and economic power.
It was Chandragupta that destroyed the Nanda dynasty. The person.
In the Brahmanist literature, it is said that it is from the lowest caste Shudra, while in the Buddhist literature, it is said that it is from the king or samurai class Kshatriya, so it is not clear. It is said that the king was neglected in Brahmanism because it protected Buddhism, which was a non-mainstream Buddhism at that time.
On the other hand, the Nanda dynasty of the former dynasty was the dynasty from the lowest caste, so Brahmin stood at the top of the caste. We are Chandragupta It seems that he was also whispered to be supportive. Certainly Nanda for vested interests Domination by is not interesting.
That's why Brahmin Chandragupta , which is said to have gained the support of They are Nanda dynasty Maurya around 317 BC Seems to have founded the country.
What kind of dynasty was the Maurya dynasty? ??
Magadha Dynasty Nanda Dynasty The dynasty that occurred after the Maurya Is also called the Peacock dynasty when it is translated into Chinese. The progenitor Chandragupta has driven out the Greek forces in the Indus River basin, a souvenir of the Nanda dynasty and Alexander the Great. is. It was the first time in the history of India that a country straddling the Indus and Ganges rivers was founded.
On the west side of the Maurya dynasty, one of the successors to Alexander the Great Seleucus Maintained a fairly large territory (=Seleucid dynasty). Such a Seleucid dynasty is Chandragupta around the Indus River basin. Contact with Chandragupta Rejects this.
The history of the dismissal around here is not well understood because of its ancient history.
There is a theory that Seleucus I invaded and encountered a large army led by Chandragupta and actually had a military conflict, while there is a theory that it is uncertain whether it was a military conflict and that a peace treaty was signed without fighting. is.
What is the reason why it is said that you may have signed a peace treaty without fighting ... ??
I think it can be inferred that a peace treaty will be signed as a result of losing a military conflict, but why did the theory that a peace treaty come out without a military conflict? ?? Let's consider the background of the theory.
By the way, it's a problem in a hurry.
What do you think of when you think of a modern tank weapon in the ancient Indian era?
For the time being, there is a chariot as an ancient tank, but it is a weapon aimed at breaking through the front, which is even more aggressive than the chariot. The hints are "India" and "Africa".
Let's check the situation at that time, as I will tell you this answer later.
The time when the Mauryas came into contact with the Seleucids was a period of turmoil left by Alexander the Great.
Time is Seleucus Goes back to before the country was built.
323 BC, Alexander the Great After acquiring an unusually large territory, things began when he died of a fever at a young age. Alexander the Great The death of the child suddenly came at the age of 32 when the child was about to be born.
Alexander the Great , who has been handed down as a great king without losing in the war However, to tell the truth, he was also a person whose ability as a ruler remained questionable. Immediately before his death, he left a will such as "The successor is a strong man (translation)", and it is no wonder that his rule is questionable.
With the death of the Great King, the faction that Alexander the Great tries to maintain and inherit the unified empire and the faction that wants to control the territory by himself, including Seleucus I, begins to confront. As a result of the conflict, the war began. The so-called Diadochi War that began in 323 BC is.
Such Diadochi The highly aggressive weapon used in the battle over (successor) is the answer "war elephant" . is.
In the Mediterranean Sea, mainly in North Africa, "elephants" (probably a type of forest elephant) were adopted as war elephants (the map below is a distribution map of forest elephants). You can see what happens if you don't devise the results of "people" vs. "elephants" and "horses" vs. "elephants".
The Seleucus side Maurya to obtain Indian elephants as a countermeasure against war elephants near the Mediterranean Sea. It is quite possible that he contacted and acknowledged the territory. Maurya I wouldn't say that because the territory will increase.
Well, it's just a guess, so I don't know how it really was, but anyway, Maurya Succeeded in recognizing control of the place on the border with the Seleucid dynasty, and was able to acquire a large territory.
The heyday and decline of the Maurya dynasty
Such a great progenitor Chandragupta His son took over after his death, and then his grandson Ashoka Further development in the generation (from 268 BC to 232 BC). Conquer Kalinga, east of the Indian subcontinent, and reach its heyday.
The king was regretful of the great casualties he suffered during his conquest, and gradually Buddhism . I was devoted to. Abandoning armed conquest activities and law and social ethics (= Dharma ) Aim for governance.
Issue a decree Dharma In addition to building a peaceful society and governing by Buddhist scriptures (Compilation) and missionary activities to various places will be carried out at the same time, but new attempts will involve financial expenditure. It will be difficult to maintain the bureaucracy and the army.
In addition, increasing faith in non-mainstream Buddhism in India has led to Brahmin class opposition to the royal family. It leads to that. Thus King Ashoka Maurya after his death Has declined.
King Ashoka It seems that there were many princes in Japan, but there are still stories of conflicts and divisions over the right to succeed to the throne, which spurred the decline.
It was Bactria that took advantage of this decline. Greek forces from. It was in the 2nd century BC. In addition, Iranian nomads, again Kushans from Bactria Advancement by ... and Maurya The influence of is gradually reduced.
Finally, around 180 BC, the Maurya general Pushyamitra closed the curtain on the destruction of the dynasty and the construction of a new dynasty, the Shunga dynasty.
By the time the Maurya dynasty was destroyed, the Kushan dynasty, the Kushan dynasty, dominated the Indus River basin, and the Satavahana dynasty dominated the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, including the Deccan Plateau. North India will face a period of turmoil until the morning rises.