Important Cities of Mauryan Empire

Important Cities of Mauryan Empire

The Mauryan Empire is the first great political entity to unite most of the India and expand into Central Asia and Middle East. Its cultural influence can be seen in the west (Egypt, Greece, and Syria) and the east, China, Burma, and Thailand (Siam).

Major Cities of the Mauryan Empire

Pataliputra
Pataliputra was the capital city of the Mauryas. At its height, it was even bigger than Rome, in terms of its size, population, and economy. The city population was approximately 150000 to 400000. It was spread over the surface area of 25.5 square km. It was in the shape of a parallelogram and had 64 gates, at every 500 meter. It was described as one of the most beautiful cities around the world.

Taxila
Taxila was the eastern provincial capital of the Mauryan Empire. It was said, Chanakya, the chief advisor of Chandragupta Maurya, used to teach here in Taxila. During Ashoka reign, Taxila became one of the great seats of Buddhist learnings.

Ujjain
Ujjain (or Ujjayini) was the western provincial capital of the Mauryan Empire. It became part of the Mauryan Empire when Chandragupta Maurya annexed Avanti in 4th century BCE. During the reign of Bindusara, Ashoka served as the Governor of Ujjayini. As the Governor of Ujjayini, Ashoka married Devi, daughter of a Ujjayini merchant. According to Sinhalese Buddhist tradition, their children Mahendra and Sanghmitra became one of the earliest teachers of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Tosali
Tosali (or Toshali) was the eastern provincial capital of the Mauryan Empire. It is part of present day Odisha.

Suvarnagiri
Suvarnagiri was the souther provincial capital of the Mauryan Empire. After disintregation of the Mauryan Empire, the city again became an important center in the Vijayanagar Empire.

Srinagar
According to many historians and scholars, Srinagar was established by Ashoka in 3rd century BCE, and it became one of the major centers of trade in the region.

Other major cities of the Mauryan Empire are Kandhar (Afghanistan), Patala (Sindh), Rajgriha, Mathura, Kausambi, Vidisha, Bharukaccha, Tamralipti, and Pundravardhan.

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