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All of the land that was under control of the empire

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Kings used strong military force and waging war to seize land/expand territory and build a strong empire. The king at the time, Chandragupta Mauryan, started moving northeast from Mashhad to the Indus. He seized Seleucus and by 303 B.C. the Mauryan empire stretched for 2,000 miles. (Picture below is Chandragupta Mauryan)

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Chandragupta Maurya- The ruler that started the empire
Asoka- (The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, became king in 269 B.C.) used his ruthless conquering techniques until the Battle of Kalinga, where he converted to Buddhism and worked towards bettering his people. He is still very beloved in India today, but a great debate among historians is whether he was an enlightened ruler or cruel conqueror.
Buddha/Buddhism- Popular religion at the time, spread by Asoka

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1. Created a calendar based off the sun

2. Proved the earth was round

3. Spread Buddhism

4. Created importance of 0 in math

5. Created Arabic numerals

6. Claimed most of the territory in India

7. Improvement of life quality in general throughout the public

8. Creation of edicts and stupas to promote/spread Buddhism

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In the start of the empire, strong military force was used for expansion/warfare. Chandragupta Maurya and Asoka used a strong military that included a large quantity of soldiers and elephants. Chandragupta Maurya started heading northwest and invaded as many as he could. Asoka did the same but after the battle in Kalinga, he stopped using heavy warfare to invade.

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Art and architecture examples:

Guptas

Edicts

Greek influence on art

Lots of art in stone

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Strengths:

1. Asoka was a positive role model for the people

2. Asoka increased the well-being of citizens

3. Had a cleaned/beautified the empire

4. Asoka spread religious toleration

5. Lots of territory

6. Constantly advancing (in math, science, Hinduism)

Weaknesses:

1. High taxes

2. Very strict government (before Asoka)

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The Mauryan Empire traded a lot with the China and the west (benefited a lot from the Silk Road). Some of their important resources they had to trade was spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and fine woods. The trade was good because it spread Indian culture and the growth of banking/commerce in India.

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Chandragupta Maurya became king-around 321 B.C.
Asoka became king-269 B.C.
Quest of gaining Kalinga as a territory/The Kalinga War- around 262  to 261 BC
Asoka dies-232 B.C.

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After Asoka died (232 B.C.) many rival princes fought for control of the territory. But eventually the Andhra dynasty took over control of the Mauryan Empire.
(Picture of Asoka below)