Maurya Empire

Asoka, the grandson of Chandreagupta Maurya, fought a long war to conquer the Deccan. After the victory though he became horrified with the number of deaths and converted to Buddhism. He sent out Buddhist missionaries to help spread the religion but he also remained tolerant of other religions as well. One of Asoka's most famous achievements was his area of stone pillars that gave moral advice and promised a just government. These were set up across India to help spread the word. Asoka softened his grandfather's rules and under his rule the empire was peaceful and prosperous. Though right after his death the empire declined.

This civilization was formed by Chandragupta Maurya who conquered the Ganges and northern India around 321 B.C. Their government was a bureaucracy, and was maintained by many different officials, who had specific jobs such as supervising building projects, collecting taxes, and managing state-owned factories. Chandragupta Maurya was a very effective but harsh ruler, who had a secret police that reported any signs of crime or dissent within the people. What we know about Chandragupta Maurya comes from a Greek ambassador named Megasthenes, who wrote highly of the capital, Pataliputra.