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Maurya and Gupta Armies Module - I
Military History
of the Magadh continued in small measures in the Nanda dynasty. Subsequently, in
of Ancient India
321 B.C, the Mauryan dynasty was established under Chandragupta Maurya.
Activity 4.1
Do some research on the internet or books on Ancient Indian History and collect
pictures that show the extent of the Mauryan empire under Ashoka the Great. Paste
Note
the pictures in your notebook.
From the military point of view, it is important to know why Magadh became the
centre of the Mauryan Empire from where they conquered most of India. The reasons
were as follows:-
The geography of the nearby areas had surrounding mountains (five hills
surrounded the capital) gave it a natural protection.
Secondly, the land was very fertile, being the Gangetic plains, giving it agricultural
richness.
Thirdly, forest in the southern areas gave it timber and elephants.
Fourthly, Chandragupta inherited a vast army from the Nandas.
Mauryan empire was the turning point of Indian history. Kautilya or Chanakya as he
was known, wrote the famous treatise of Arthasastra. He gave the world a practical
way of governance including, art of diplomacy, war strategy, law and commerce.
The Mauryas maintained a large standing army. It was adequate for all its needs of
controlling very large empire. The chariots, cavalry, elephants and infantry were the
main composition of the force. There were six varieties of chariots according to their
role in battle. They are as follow:
Three types were used in the battlefield for actual fighting;
One type was used only for training;
One for marching towards the enemy;
Two types for general duties in the war zone.
The chariots were two wheeled, four wheeled and eight wheeled. The Arthasastra
mentions the organization for chariots, elephants and cavalry. It was considered
important to have superintendents, animal trainers and well-organized areas to keep
the animals. The infantry carried bows and arrows. The bow was made of the same
height as that of the soldier who carried it. For its usage, he rested it on the ground and
pressed with the left foot to fire the arrow. Some soldiers carried javelins and all of
them, irrespective of what they carried, always had one sword with them.
There were six types of troops in the Mauryan imperial army: the Kshatriya, or troops
of the hereditary warrior class who formed the majority of the army; mercenaries and
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MILITARY HISTORY 19
