First Empires-Notes

 

First Empires-Notes

Mauryan Empire Large kingdoms are called empires and their kings are called emperors. We can even say that Chandragupta Maurya was among the earliest emperors of Indian subcontinent. In the beginning, the Magadha kingdom was confined to Magadha and nearby areas. But later it included all the mahajanapadas of those times. It had the Hindukush Mountains in the north west, the Great Indian Desert, Gujarat, the Indus and Ganges valley, the plateau of Malwa, the vast forests of central India, the KrishnaTungabhadra valley and also the Godavari valley. Can you imagine the vastness of the empire and the different kinds of people who lived in it! Some of these areas like the Ganges Valley, the Krishna river Valley, Malwa, Gujarat and Punjab were very fertile and had densely settled villages and towns. Some other areas were important for trade and crafts: through them passed important routes which connected large cities, sea ports and other countries. Some regions The Mauryan emperors were able to get resources and taxes from all these different kinds of places and people. How did the emperors rule such a vast empire? Suppose, some villages on the Krishna River refused to pay taxes, how would the Emperor sitting in Patna get to know of it? How would he give orders to his army to punish them? How would the army go all the way to Krishna valley and find out those villages and punish them? How long would all this take?

The Mauryans ruled different parts of the empire differently. The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor. He appointed officials to collect taxes from the people and punished those who disobeyed the royal orders. There were also spies who collected information on what was going on and how the officers were working and reported to the emperor. The emperor issued orders which were carried by messengers to the officials. The emperor supervised them with the help of ministers and members of the royal family There were other areas or provinces which were ruled from provincial capitals like Takshashila, Ujjain or Suvarnagiri.

These were ruled by royal princes who were sent as governors. They could take decisions about their provinces and probably had their own officials and army to help them. The emperor would also send instructions to them through messengers. The governors also took the help of important families of the region who knew the customs and rules followed in the province. Between these provinces, there were vast areas which were forested or did not have many villages or cities. But these areas were important as they had the roads on which traders, armies and messengers had to travel. The Mauryans probably made special arrangements to control them.

Through these roads, the Mauryans reached areas like Suvarnagiri where gold mines were situated, or Takshashila from where they could get goods from other countries. They collected taxes and tributes from these areas also probably in the form of hides, wild animals, precious stones, gold etc. Probably, the forest tribes were allowed to live without much interference.

Ashoka - A unique ruler The most famous Mauryan ruler was Ashoka. He was the first ruler who tried to take his message to the people through inscriptions. Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the Brahmi script. Ashoka’s war in Kalinga Kalinga is the ancient name of coastal Odisha (see Map 1). Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. However, he was so horrified when he saw the violence and the bloodshed that he decided not to fight any more wars. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning the war.

What was Ashoka’s dhamma? Ashoka’s dhamma did not involve worship of a god, or performance of sacrifice. He felt that just as a father tries to teach his children, he had a duty to instruct his subjects. He was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha. There were a number of problems that troubled him. People in the empire followed different religions and this sometimes led to conflict. Animals were sacrificed. Slaves and servants were ill treated. Besides, there were quarrels in families and amongst neighbours. Ashoka felt it was his duty to solve these problems. So, he appointed officials, known as the ‘dhamma mahamatra’ who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma. Besides, Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars, instructing his officials to read them to those who were illiterate.

Ashoka also sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to other lands, such as Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka. He built roads, dug wells, and built rest houses. Besides, he arranged for medical treatment for both human beings and animals.

Kingdoms and Empires in the Deccan Around the time the Mauryans conquered the Deccan (from the Godavari River to the Krishna-Tungabhadra River valleys), large parts of the region had developed village settlements and small towns in which iron tools and other items were made and sold. In some areas, they also mined gold and made ornaments. However, most of the other areas must have been forests with hunter-gatherers and herders living in small settlements. Probably each of these areas was inhabited mainly by a group of people closely related to each other through birth and marriage. Such groups are called clans. Some important persons among these clans may have emerged as powerful headmen who led them and settled their internal disputes. They gradually grew wealthy and powerful, and ruled the clan area.

Soon after the Mauryan empire ended, many headmen of such clans emerged as small kings. Among them were the Satavahanas, who managed to build a large kingdom which extended from the banks of the Narmada River to the KrishnaGodavari delta. The most important Satavahana kings were Gautamiputra Satakarni, Vashishtiputra Pulumavi and Yajnasri Satakarni. They ruled for about 200 years around 2000 years ago.

 Some of them also made Dhanyakataka, on the banks of river Krishna near Amaravati, their capital. The Satavahanas tried to bring the various clan headmen and small kings under their control, but allowed them to function within their clan areas without any interference. Many of these headmen, women of their families, traders etc. contributed to the Buddhist Monasteries and Stupas built in Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Vadlamanu etc. The Satavahana kings made large donations of land to the Brahmins and Buddhist monks. These lands were made tax free.

No tax was to be collected from them. During this time, trade with distant places like Bengal and even Rome became very important. We find a large number of coins including Roman coins and pots made in Roman style. Merchandise was probably transported in boats along the sea coast and over the Krishna River to the interior towns like Amaravati. Kotilingala in Satavahana Times Kotilingala is situated at the confluence of Peddavagu and river Godavari in Jagitial district in Telangana upstream side of Sripada Yellampally Project. It was the capital of Asmaka Janapada, one of the 16 Mahajana-padas of Anc-ient India. It was the first capital city of Sathavahana dynasty. During excavations, it yielded a good number of Silver punch marked Pre Sathavahana, Sathavahana and Ikshwaku period coins, valuable antiquities such as pottery, terracotta figurines, and a large quantity of ceramic ware. A ring well constructed with kiln bricks was also found. Several coins of Simuka, the founder of Sathavahana dynasty, and those of other early rulers like Kanha and Satakarni were found. It had a mud fort with several gates and watch towers on four corners.

Besides, Kotilingala stupas, viharas, chaityas of Buddhist monks are found at Phanigiri, Nelakondapally, Kondapur, Dhulikata, Peddabankur and Kesaragutta in Telangana state.

How did the headmen of some clans become small kings? Stone Inscription from Myakadoni village in Bellary district

Sometime after the end of the Satavahana kingdom, Ikshvakas assumed royal titles and established a kingdom with its capital in Vijayapuri, which was probably located near Nagarjunakonda on the banks of river Krishna. The important kings of this dynasty are Shantamula and Virapurushadatta. These kings tried to bring together the various headmen and small chiefs by marrying people from other tribes. At the same time, they sought to show their distinctiveness by performing yagnas like Ashvamedha, Vajapeya etc. and made large donations to Brahmins. They also claimed to be the descendents of Lord Rama of the Ramayana. Interestingly, the women of the Ikshvaka family were devoted to Buddhist saints and made large donations to the famous Stupa and monasteries of Nagarjunakonda. A very large monastery and Stupa were built in this place.