The Consolidation of the Gangetic Plains

400 BCE

The Nanda dynasty, based in the city of Pataliputra in Magadha (present-day Patna in Bihar, India), successfully conquers most of the Gangetic Plains, creating the first pan-Gangetic imperial formation. The fertility of the soil, regular rains and year-round access to freshwater make the plains ideal for settlement under a stable government. This, combined with the Nandas’ centralised system of taxation and administration, allows the empire to emerge as a wealthy and powerful force in South Asia, even pushing back against attempted Greek invasions.

Bibliography

Singh, Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson, 2016.

Skinner, M. C. “Kalinga: Reconstructing a Regional History from the Sixth Century BCE to the First Century BCE.” MA thesis, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005.

Thapar, Romila. The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. London: Penguin Books, 2003.