South Asia: Creating Dilemmas of Diversity - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 160

THE MAURYAN EMPIRE
Out of a period of uncertainty that followed an invasion
and subsequent withdrawal by the Greeks arose a new
leader named Chandragupta Maurya. By the end of the
fourth century BC, he had acquired an empire stretch-
ing from the Hindu Kush to the Bay of Bengal. This was

the first time the political gap between northern India
and southern India had been bridged. Although not
controlling the entire subcontinent, the Mauryas did
control regions of the Deccan, important trade routes,
and coastal regions. Great mercantile wealth was accu-
mulated (Figure 6-6).

Khyber
Pass

Indraprastha
(Delhi)

Pataliputra

d

Arabian Sea

a

Bay of
Bengal

Approximate extent of
Asoka' s empire
Rock edicts
Pillar edicts
Cities/towns
Sarnath and Kashi
(Varanasi)

0 250 500 mi

Indian Ocean

0 250 500 km

Figure 6-6
South Asia in the third century BC. The significance of the Indo-Gangetic Plain in Asoka' s
empire is unquestionable.