73 Decline of the Maurya Empire
Learning Objective
- Describe the factors that contributed to the decline of the Maurya Empire
Key Points
- Ashoka the Great’s rule was followed by 50 years of weak kings who did not retain strong central authority. This eventually led to the dissolution of the Maurya Empire.
- General Pusyamitra Sunga staged a coup against the Maurya Dynasty in 185 BCE. As a result, he ascended the throne and founded the Sunga Dynasty.
- In 180 BCE, the Greco-Bactrian King Demetrius conquered the northwestern Indian territories and founded the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
- Buddhism lost favor when the Sunga Dynasty gained power, but remained dominant in the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
terms
Khyber Pass
A mountain pass connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan; it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia, and a strategic military location.
Demetrius
The Greco-Bactrian king who established the Indo-Greek kingdom when he conquered parts of northwestern India, around 180 BCE.
Sunga
The dynasty founded by the general Pusyamitra Sunga after he staged a coup against the Maurya dynasty in 185 BCE.
Buddhism
A religion encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha.
A 50-year succession of weak kings followed the reign of Ashoka the Great, the Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who died in 232 BCE. As Ashoka’s highly centralized government lost power, the Maurya Empire lost control over its territories. The different cultures and economies began to break apart, although the kings maintained Buddhism as the state religion.
Sunga Coup and Rule
Brihadratha, the last ruler of the Maurya Dynasty, was assassinated in 185 BCE. The commander-in-chief of his guard, Brahmin General Pusyamitra Sunga, killed Brihadratha during a military parade and ascended the throne. He established the Sunga Dynasty, which prospered from approximately 187 to 78 BCE. Pusyamitra was succeeded after 36 years by his son, Agnimitra, beginning the dynasty of ten Sunga rulers overall. They conducted wars with both foreign and indigenous powers, including the Kalinga, the Satavahana Dynasty, and the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Sungas were succeeded by the Kanva Dynasty around 73 BCE.
Sunga rulers helped establish the tradition of royal sponsorship of education and the arts at a time when some of the most important developments in Hindu thought were taking place. The Mathura art style took hold during this time, and many small terracotta images, larger stone sculptures, and architectural monuments from the Sunga period are still in existence.
Sunga and Buddhism
The Sungas favored Hinduism over Buddhism. Buddhist sources, such as the Ashokavadana, an Indian Sanskrit text describing the birth and reign of Ashoka the Great, mention that Pusyamitra was hostile towards Buddhists and allegedly persecuted members of the Buddhist faith. A large number of Buddhist monasteries, called viharas, were alleged