For Under Graduate Student

HISTORY

Subject: History

(For under graduate student)

Paper No.: Paper-I

History of India

Topic No. & Title:Topic-8

Mauryan Empire

Lecture No. & Title: Lecture-2

Chandragupta & Bindusara

GLOSSARY

Mauryas:

A powerful Indian dynasty that ruled from 324 to 185 BC; it was established by Chandragupta Maurya who extended the empire to the Trans Indus region. It was one of the world’s largest empires during the time of King Asoka.

Chandragupta Maurya (340 BCE – 298 BCE):

Founder of the Maurya Empire in 324 BC after which he conquered most of the Indian subcontinent.

Bindusara (c. 320 BC – c. 272 BC):

Son of Chandragupta Maurya and the second Mauryan emperor; he ruled from 298 BC.

Megasthenes (ca. 350 – 290 BC):

Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period and author of the work Indika; he came as an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Chandragupta Maurya.

Alexander, the Great (356 BC – 323BC):

King of Macedon, a state in the north eastern region of Greece. By the age of thirty he was the creator of one of the largest empires in ancient history, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time.

Mahajanapadas:

Sixteen ancient kingdoms in Indian subcontinent stretching from Gandhara in the west, to Anga in the east, and including parts of the trans-Vindhyan region.

Nanda Dynasty:

The ruling house founded by Mahapadma that originated in the region of Magadha in ancient India during the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Kshatriya:

A Varna in the Hindu caste system whose members constituted the warriors and the ruling elite.

Selecus Nicator (358 BC – 281 BC):

AMacedonian officer of Alexander the Great; he later established his own kingdom known as the Seleucid Empire.

Divyavadana:

An anthology of Buddhist tales written in Sanskrit