*Note: Hey folks, I’m a bit weary, possibly on the edge of burnout this week. Not sure why, maybe the heat dome…
The Mauryan empire was established by Chandragupta after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.. Before his consolidation of power the region consisted of small kingdoms and republics. Afterwards, it encompassed most of modern day Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Moving forward to the 6th century of Asoka we see, as Romila Thapar said, a time of ‘universal questioning’ of ideas.
This was the time of Pythagoras and Confucius and for the Mauryans, a time of philosophical debate and speculation. Priests and the ceremonies and rituals they conducted were being questioned. Brahamanism was seeking to establish itself which led to conflict with the Buddhists and other groups. The economy was shifting away from nomadic pastoral to an agrarian village economy that required rural administrators and tax collectors.
The administration which was mentioned in the Edicts themselves, involved the king, ministers, officials, law enforcement, morality officials (Dharma-mahamatras), mayors, and public works. Which included medical aid, planting trees along the roads, and rest houses for people and their animals while traveling. And like in every era, there were tourists and vast amounts of trade happening to places as far off as Egypt, Italy, and Greece under the Seleucid empire.
If you would like to learn more about society under the Mauryans, you can check out the video’s I’ve linked below:
- Greeks & Romans in Ancient India: 8 Things You Might Not Know
- The Ancient Greeks Who Converted to Buddhism
Sources:
- Asoka’s Dhamma – A Path to Societal Transformation
- ‘Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas’ Romila Thapar
- Daily Life in the Mauryan Empire: Society, Culture, and Economy
- ‘The Edicts of Asoka’ N.A. Nikam & Richard McKeon
- The Mauryan Empire of Ancient India