Magadha: A Visual History

Magadha, in modern south Bihar, was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas and by 500 BC the most powerful. Its kings Bimbisara and Ajatashatru of the Haryanka dynasty, patrons of the Buddha and Mahavira, conquered Anga, Kashi, Kosala and the Vajji confederacy, exploiting iron, elephants and the Ganges. The Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties made Pataliputra the capital and built a vast army; Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the last Nanda around 321 BC and turned Magadha into the first Indian empire.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Magadha. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Magadha's territory

Timeline of the Magadha

1. 545 BC
   Bimbisara
2. 493 BC
   Ajatashatru seizes the throne
3. 484 BC
   Vajji confederacy destroyed
4. 460 BC
   Pataliputra becomes capitalUnder Udayin.
5. 413 BC
   Shishunaga dynasty
6. 345 BC
   Nanda dynasty
7. 326 BC
   Alexander's army mutinies on the BeasFear of the Nanda host.
8. 321 BC
   Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nandas

Bimbisara and Ajatashatru

Bimbisara (about 545-493 BC) ruled from the hill-ringed fortress of Rajagriha, married princesses of Kosala, Vaishali and Madra, annexed Anga and its port Champa, and befriended both the Buddha and Mahavira. His son Ajatashatru imprisoned and starved him, then fought Kosala and, over 16 years, destroyed the Vajji republic with new weapons: a stone-throwing catapult and a covered chariot with blades. He built a fort at Pataliputra that became the capital.

Nandas

After the Shishunagas, Mahapadma Nanda, said to be a barber's son, exterminated the old kshatriya lines and built an empire across the Ganges plain to Kalinga. The Nandas were fabulously rich and unpopular; Greek writers said Dhana Nanda commanded 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 chariots and 3,000 elephants, and the news made Alexander's troops refuse to march further east in 326 BC.

Chandragupta

Chandragupta Maurya, guided by the Brahmin Chanakya (Kautilya), raised an army, took Pataliputra and overthrew Dhana Nanda around 321 BC. Magadha's resources, iron mines, elephants and river trade, and its bureaucratic traditions became the base of the Mauryan Empire; the name Magadha remained a synonym for the imperial heartland into the Gupta age.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Kosala (700 BC to 450 BC)
• Maurya Empire (322 BC to 185 BC)
• Eastern Maurya kingdom (232 BC to 185 BC)
• Achaemenid Empire (550 BC to 330 BC)
• Gupta Empire (320 to 550)
• Macedonian Empire (359 BC to 323 BC)

Wars of the same era and region

• Wars of Alexander the Great (335 BC to 323 BC)
• Kalinga War (262 BC to 261 BC)

8 surprising things about the Magadha

1. The First Buddhist Council was held at Rajagriha shortly after the Buddha's death, under Ajatashatru's patronage.
2. Ajatashatru's siege engines against the Vajjis are among the earliest recorded uses of catapults anywhere.
3. The Nanda king was so hated that when Alexander's men heard of his army it ended the Macedonian advance into India.
4. Rajagriha's hot springs and five hills are still a pilgrimage site; the Vulture Peak was the Buddha's favourite retreat.
5. Pataliputra under the Mauryas became the largest city in the world, according to some estimates.
6. Magadha's rise is often explained by its iron ore, elephant forests and control of the Ganges river trade.
7. Bimbisara was one of the first Indian kings to build a standing army and bureaucracy.
8. The word Magadhi survives in the name of the local language and of the Prakrit in which early Buddhist texts were transmitted.

Sources

• Magadha Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Magadha Wikipedia
• Magadha Kingdom World History Encyclopedia
• Romila Thapar, Early India (2002) Penguin

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