Mauryan Empire MCQ Question and Answer | History MCQ Question

The great silk-route to the Indians was opened by Kaniskha. Silk Route was established during the reign of Han Dynasty of China. It connects China with East Europe Mediterranean countries and Central Asia, passing through India.

The empire was divided into four provinces, each under a prince or member of the royal family (Kumara and Aryaputra).

Thanesar to Kannauj

Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread to Central Asia and the Far East across Bactria and Sogdia, where his empire met the Han Empire of China. King Kanishka was greatly influenced by the knowledge, teachings and personality of the Buddhist scholar Asvaghosha so, he decided to embrace Buddhism in later days of his life. He even accepted the Mahayana sect of Buddhism as his state religion.

It is believed to be the language spoken by Gautama Buddha. It was the official language of the Mauryan court, in which the edicts of Ashoka were composed. The name Magahi is directly derived from the name Magadhi Prakrit, and educated speakers of Magahi prefer to call it "Magadhi" rather than "Magahi".

Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Antiochos sent Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Maurya court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state).

Chandragupta Maurya was born in 340 BC in Pataliputra, in modern-day Bihar. His background is, however, uncertain. Some claim that he was born to a Nanda prince and his maid-servant, Mura, from the Shudra caste, while others state that he belonged to the Moriya tribe of Peacock-tamers.

The Mahavamsa suggests that Bindusara appointed his son Ashoka as the viceroy of Ujjayini. Ashokavadana states that Bindusara sent Ashoka to lay siege to Takshashila. The Emperor refused to provide any weapons or chariots for Ashoka's expedition.

The rock edict XIII gives a clue that Kalinga was a country previously unconquered, thus Ashoka's declaration of war was that of unprovoked aggression. The Kalinga war witnessed terrible manslaughter and destruction. Asoka's victory in the Kalinga war followed by remorse. Victory of morality in India and among the Greeks (Yonas), as far as where the Greek kings Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander rule.

And it is after Alexander's death in 323 BC., that Chandragupta is said to have put an end to the Greek rule in northwest India, returned to Magadha, killed the Nanda king, and proclaimed the Maurya dynasty in 322 BC.