DECLINE OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE
The reason for the decline of the Mauryan Empire are as follows
- Partition of Mauryan Empire
- It is the immediate cause for the decline of the Mauryan dynasty
- After the death of Asoka Mauryan Empire was divided into two halves.It made the dynasty weak
- Had the partition not taken place the Greek invasion of the north-west could have been held back for a while
- Weak-later Mauryan rulers
- Asoka completely disrupted the Mauryan Empire
- After Asoka 6 rulers ruled only for 52 years
- The last Mauryan king was assassinated by his own commander-in-chief ‘Pusyamitra sunga’
- They also do not follow the traditional polices of Mauryans
- Asoka’s responsibility for the decline
- C.Raychandhuri said pacifist policies of Asoka were responsible for undermining the strength of the Empire
- From Bimbisara to Kalinga war Asoka had extended the Empire from Hindkush to the border of the Tamil country
- After kalinga war the processed was reversed
- Also he banned the sacrifice of animals , undermining the prestige of Bramanas by ‘exposing them as false gods’
- It resulted in Braminical revolt
- Te
- Hese are the reason that Asoka was responsible for the decline of the empire
- Pressure on Mauryan Economy
- It is based on the increase of taxes and debasement of later mauryan punch marked coins
- The foreign accounts and materials remains of the period given the picture of the expanding economy
- Highly centralized administration
- It is an advantage to the able ruler and people
- But it is disadvantage to the weak ruler who would lose its central control and allow forces of decay to disintegrate and wreek it
- Later Mauryas led automatically to the weakening of the administration
- Division of empire after Asoka is also led to the failure of the administration
These are the reasons for the decline of Mauryan Empire
