History of India: Mauryan Period
The Mauryan Empire
Mauryan Empire was the first recorded empire that encompassed almost all of the Indian subcontinent. Before the Mauryans, India had always been fragmented into smaller states. Hence we chose this as the beginning point for our videos on Indian History. The Mauryan era is also probably the first period when India is documented by foreigners. It was the first time when we had an armed encounter with the world outside.
These videos will help you get an overview of the Mauryan Empire - How it was founded, how it reached its days of greatest glory, its relations with the rest of the world, and about its famous Emperors - Chandragupt Maurya and Samrat Ashok.
The series is available to watch for free on YouTube. Below is the complete playlist with all its episodes!
Episode Guide
Episode 1: How Chanakya and Chandragupta overthrew the mighty Nanda, to establish Mauryan Dynasty.
Episode 2: The Reign of Chandragupta, his war with Seleucus Nikator, and about Megasthenes - the Greek who documented India.
Episode 3: Early life of Ashok till his coup.
Episode 4: How Ashok seized the throne, by cunningly defeating his rival brother.
Episode 5: CHAND ASHOK! Ashok the Brutal! Why and how Ashok became a brutal and terrible ruler.
Episode 6: DHAMMA ASHOK! Ashok the righteous! How the Kalinga war changed him and what legacy he left behind.
Sources
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Mudrarakshasa
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Mahavamsa
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Ashokavadana
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The Ashoka Trilogy by Shreyas Bhave (Shreyas Bhave helped us with the content personally for the Episodes on Ashoka)
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Megasthenes' Indica Commentaries on the lost book by later Greek Historians.
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Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia