Pataliputra

Pataliputra was an ancient city on the Ganges that served as the capital of several Indian empires. Its site is occupied by modern Patna.

Pataligrama: An early settlement traditionally identified as the predecessor of Pataliputra. Buddhist accounts connect this settlement with the city’s beginnings.
Chandragupta Maurya: The founder of the Mauryan Empire, which unified much of the Indian subcontinent. He made Pataliputra the center of a far-reaching imperial administration.
Arthashastra: An ancient Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy. It illuminates the administrative traditions associated with Mauryan rule from Pataliputra.
Bulandi Bagh: An archaeological area in Patna where remains associated with ancient Pataliputra have been excavated. Its wooden palisade remains are evidence for the city’s defensive works.
Ajatashatru: A king of Magadha who expanded his kingdom in the fifth century BCE. Traditions associate his reign with fortifications at the settlement that became Pataliputra.
Ashoka: A Mauryan emperor who ruled much of South Asia in the third century BCE. His reign made Pataliputra a center of imperial government and Buddhist patronage.
Mauryan Empire: An empire founded in the fourth century BCE that ruled much of the Indian subcontinent. Pataliputra served as its capital and coordinating center.
Pataliputra Pillared Hall: An excavated hall at Kumrahar marked by rows of stone pillars. The structure illustrates the monumental architecture associated with Mauryan Pataliputra.
Udayin: A king of Magadha traditionally credited with making Pataliputra his capital. His reported transfer of the capital established the city’s political centrality.
Megasthenes: A Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya’s court and author of the lost work Indica. His descriptions provide an early account of Pataliputra’s scale and institutions.

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