Chandragupta Maurya
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Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire, a geographically-extensive empire based in Magadha. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Magadha kingdom expanded to become an empire that reached its peak under the reign of his grandson, Ashoka the Great, from 268 BCE to 231 BCE. The nature of the political formation that existed in Chandragupta's time is not certain. The Mauryan empire was a loose-knit one with large autonomous regions within its limits.
7th-century Bhadrabahu inscription at Shravanabelagola (Sanskrit, Purvahale Kannada script). This is the oldest inscription at the site, and it mentions Bhadrabahu and Prabhacandra. Lewis Rice and Digambara Jains interpret Prabhacandra to be Chandragupta Maurya, while others such as J F Fleet, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar, and Svetambara Jains state this interpretation is wrong.
Chandragupta's guru was Chanakya, with whom he studied as a child and with whose counsel he built the Empire. This image is a 1915 attempt at depicting Chanakya.
Chandragupta had defeated the remaining Macedonian satrapies in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent by 317 BCE.
Nanda Empire
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The Nanda dynasty was the fifth ruling dynasty of Magadha in northern Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE and possibly also during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty, and expanded the empire to include a larger part of northern India. Ancient sources differ considerably regarding the names of the Nanda kings and the duration of their rule, but based on the Buddhist tradition recorded in the Mahāvaṃsa, they appear to have ruled during c. 345–322 BCE, although some theories date the start of their rule to fifth century BCE.
A silver coin of 1 karshapana of the Magadha Empire (ca 600–32 BCE), King Mahapadma Nanda or his sons (ca 346–321 BCE) Obv: different symbols Rev: different symbols including an elephant. Dimensions: 17 mm Weight: 2.5 g.