What are the factors which led to the rise of magadha?
Answers
The march of the Magadhan empireduring the two centuries preceding the rise of the Mauryas is like the march of the Iranian empire during the same period.
The formation of the largest state in India during this period was the work of several enterprising and ambitious rulers such as Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, and Mahapadma Nanda.
They employed all the means in their power, fair and foul, to enlarge their kingdoms and to strengthen their states. This, however, was not the only reason for the expansion of Magadha.There were some other important ones. Magadha enjoyed an advantageous geographical position in the age of iron, because the richest iron deposits were situated not far away from Rajgir, the earliest capital of Magadha. The ready availability of the rich iron ores in the neighbourhood enabled the Magadhan princes to equip themselves with effective weapons which were not easily available to their rivals. Iron mines are also located in eastern MP, and were not far from the kingdom of the Avanti with their capital at Ujjain.
Around 500 BC, iron was certainly forged and smelted in Ujjain, and probably the smiths manufactured weapons of good quality. On account of this Avanti proved to be Magadha’s most serious competitor for supremacy in north India, and Magadha took about a hundred years to subjugate Ujjain. Magadha enjoyed certain other advantages. The two capitals of Magadha, the first at Rajgir and the second at Pataliputra, were situated at very strategic points. Rajgir was surrounded by a group of five hills, and so it was impregnable in those days when there was no easy means of storming citadels such as cannons.
In the fifth century BC, the Magadhan princes shifted their capital from Rajgir to Pataliputra, which occupied a pivotal position commanding communications on all sides. Pataliputra was situated at the confluence of the Ganges, the Gandak, and the Son, and a fourth river called the Ghaghra joined the Ganges not far from Pataliputra.
In pre- industrial days, when communications were difficult, the army could move north, west, south, and east by following the courses of the rivers. Also, the position of Patna itself was rendered invulnerable because it was virtually surrounded by rivers. While the Ganges and the Son girdled it on the north and west, the Poonpun girdled it on the south and east. Pataliputra was therefore a true water fort (jaladurga).
Magadha lay at the centre of the mid-Gangetic plains, the Ganges providing a means of both transport and agricultural facilities. As most of the mahajanapadas were located in the Gangetic plains, they could be reached by navigating the rivers
One of the principal factors following the rise of the Magadhan Empire was Power was her commercial stability and increasing accomplishment. Magadha had an enormous community which could be manipulated in farming, digging and for defending her army. The Magadha Empire evolved into continuation when the four Mahajanpada such as Kosala, Vatsa, Magadha, and Avanti were interested in the conflict for the sovereignty from the 6th Century BC to 4th Century BC. Eventually, Magadha developed as the most influential and wealthy empire in North India.