Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas

Description

The Mauryan period witnessed the rise of the first subcontinental empire which required administration appropriate to a changing political economy, communication adequate to a subcontinental territory, and new ideological attempts to draw support from a multicultural population. This book provides a fresh interpretation of the history of early India and its linkages with later developments. It discusses the history of the Mauryas with a special emphasis on the reign and activities of A?oka. The author focuses on sources, socio-economic conditions, administration, Dhamma, foreign relations, and the decline of the Mauryas. This new edition includes a Pre-word, updating the research on the subject.

This book is an important reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students and teachers, as well as researchers of ancient Indian history. It will also interest the informed general reader.

About the author

Romila Thapar is Professor Emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She also holds the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress, and is Professorial Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. An Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, she has been Distinguished Visiting Professor at Cornell University.

Table of contents

List of Plates
Pre-word
List of Abbreviations
1:The Background and the Sources
2:Early Life, Accession, and Chronology of the Reign of Asoka
3:Society and Economic Activity
4:Internal Administration and Foreign Relations
5:The Policy of Dhamma
6:The Later Mauryas
7:The Decline of the Mauryas
Conclusion
Appendices
1. The Date of the Arthastra
2. The Titles of Asoka
3. The Geographical Location of the Edicts
4. Pottery and Coins of the Mauryan Period
5. A Translation of the Edicts of A?oka
6. Mauryan Art
Afterword
Bibliography
Index.