Military Administration of the Maurya Empire
- The Mauryas also had a massive, efficient and well-equipped army maintained by the state. According to Arthashastra, the military divisions were infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots, navy, and transport. The Senapati was the commander-in-chief of the entire military division. In the Megasthenes text, a board consisting of 30 officers were divided into 6 committees and they oversaw the armed forced administration.
- There was a vast espionage system established to collect information on foreign enemies and officers for internal and external security purposes.
The types of spies were Sanchari (wanderer) and Sansthana (stationary).
Central and Provincial Administration System of the Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE and it existed until 185 BCE. Its capital city was Pataliputra (modern Patna) and the empire covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent except for Tamil Nadu and Kerala and some parts of modern-day Iran. It was an ancient Indian empire during South Asia’s Iron Age. The empire was known for its exceptional architecture, texts, art, and inscriptions. Chandragupta Maurya, with the help of an army, overthrew the Nanda Empire and became the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
The Mauryan Empire’s organization had taken inspiration from the Arthashastra; this Ancient Indian Sanskrit text is about political science, statecraft, military strategy, and economic policy and Kautilya is credited as the author. The Greek writer Megasthenes also wrote an account of Mauryan India in a text called Indica or Indika. Ashokan inscriptions give insight into the extensive Mauryan administration.