Reign of Bindusara
Chandragupta, after ruling for about 25 years,
left his throne to his son Bindusara. Bindusara extended the Mauryan Empire
southwards in the Indian peninsula as far as Mysore. He defeated and annexed
16 small kingdoms, as a result extending his empire from sea to sea. The
only regions that were left out on the Indian subcontinent were Kalinga
and the kingdoms to the extreme south of the Indian peninsula.
The Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta (c. 321-297 B.C.E.). He lead a rebellion and gained control of the kingdom of Magadha. After Alexander the Great's death, Chandragupta extended his his empire over most of the Idian subcontinent. His capiatal was Pataliputra. Fealing threatened, Seleucis of Syria, Alexander the Great's successor, invaded notrthern India in 305 B.C.E. Seleucis was swiftly defeated. A treaty ending the conflict gave Chandragupta all the lands north to the Hindu Kush, including Baluchistan and Afganistan.
The Mauryan dynasty's greatest ruler was Asoka, Chandragupta's grandson. His policy was to continue enlarging the empire, and in 251 B.C.E., he invaded and conquered Kalinga. However, the battles caused him so much misery that he renounced armed conquest and adopted a life of Buddhism. The enlargement of the Mauryan Empire therefore stopped.