Question

2. Describe the central and provincial administration of the Mauryan dynasty.​

Answer 1

The Mauryan Empire: Administration. The Mauryan Empire was divided into four provinces with the imperial capital at Pataliputra. From Ashokan Edicts, the name of the four provincial capitals were Tosali (in the east), Ujjain in the west, Suvarnagiri (in the south), and Taxila (in the north).

Answer 2

The Mauryan dynasty was the most powerful empire in the Indian subcontinent.​

Explanation:

• After conquering its rival, the Satavahana dynasty, the Mauryan dynasty ruled over the entire Indian subcontinent from Mathura in the north to Kanchipuram in the south, and from Kashmir to the Bay of Bengal.​ The dynasty ruled over a vast empire that at its height controlled nearly all of North India and a large part of South India.​
• In the centre of the empire, there was the king, who ruled by the power of his name. But this did not extend to the provinces. The administration was at the provincial level, carried out by a governor and regional representative. There were three levels of administration: the level of the governor, the level of the provincial governor, and the level of the regional governor.
• The political system of Mauryan India was a federation of states, consisting of a central government, which was in charge of the general affairs of the empire and a series of province governments, which functioned as separate and independent entities, but which were in turn ruled directly by the emperor.
• In the Mauryan empire, the governor was the main economic power. The development of the country was directly determined by the development of the economy. If the economy developed, all the problems of the empire were resolved. The most important economic unit was the village economy.