Bindusara, fl.298-273 BC

Bindusara (fr.298-273 BC) was the second ruler of the Mauryan Empire, and may have been responsible for extending the empire into southern India.

Our detailed knowledge of his father's conquests ends with the Mauryan Empire dominating northern India and parts of modern Afghanistan, having gained control of a large area west of the Indus River after defeating an invasion of India by Seleucus I Nicator.

We also know that Bindusara's son Ashoka ruled a large part of southern India and Deccan - inscriptions from his reign have been found in parts of southern India, but we also know that Ashoka only carried out one aggressive war during his reign, the invasion of Kalinga, on the east coast. 

We thus know that Ashoka was not responsible for the southern expansion of the empire, so either Chandragupta or Bindusara, or possibly both, must have carried out the conquests. Bindusara was recorded in Greek sources as Amitrochates, a version of the Sanskrit Amitraghata, or slayer of foes, suggesting that Bindusara was involved in at least some warfare. He was succeeded by his son Ashoka, one of the greatest of all Indian rulers.

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (16 February 2010), Bindusara, fl.298-273 BC , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_bindusara.html

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