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how was magadha an important mahajanapada?

Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE, Magadha (in present day Bihar) became the most powerful Mahajanapada.The Haryankas: Magadha came into prominence under the leadership ofBimbisara(542-493 BC), who belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. He strengthened his position by marriage alliances. He took three wives. His first wife was the daughter of the king of Kosala and the sister of Prasenajit. His second wife Chellana was aLichchhaviPrincess from Vaishali, and his third wife was the daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab. Marriage relations with the different princely families gave enormous diplomatic prestige and paved the way for the expansion of Magadha westward and northward.

The earliest capital of Magadha was at Rajgir, which was called Girivraja at that time. It was surrounded by five hills, the openings in which were closed by stone walls on all sides. This made Rajgir impregnable.

Bimbisar was succeeded by his sonAjatasatru(492-460 BC). Ajatasatru killed his father and seized the throne for himself. Throughout his reign, he pursued an aggressive policy of expansion.

Ajatasatru was succeeded byUdayin(460-444 BC), His reign is important because he built the fort upon the confluence of the Ganga and Son at Patna. This was done because Patna lay in the centre of the Magadhan kingdom.

The Sisunagas: Udayin was succeeded by the dynasty ofSisunagas,who temporarily shifted the capital to Vaishali. Their greatest achievement was the destruction of the power of the Avanti with its capital at Ujjain. This brought to an end the 100 years old rivalry between Magadha and Avanti.

The Nandas: TheSisunagaswere succeeded by the Nandas, who proved to be the most powerful rulers of Magadha. So great was their power that Alexander, who invaded Punjab at that time, did not dare to move towards the east. The Nandas added to the Magadhan power by the conquering Kalinga from where they brought an image of the Jina as a victory trophy. All this took place in the reign ofMahapadma Nanda. He claimed to the ekarat, the sole sovereign who destroyed all the other ruling princes.

The Nandas were the first non-kshatriya rulers. The last Nanda ruler was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya who founded the Maurya Empire.

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Hi,

Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE, Magadha (in present day Bihar) became the most powerful Mahajanapada.The Haryankas: Magadha came into prominence under the leadership of Bimbisara (542-493 BC), who belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. He strengthened his position by marriage alliances. He took three wives. His first wife was the daughter of the king of Kosala and the sister of Prasenajit. His second wife Chellana was a Lichchhavi Princess from Vaishali, and his third wife was the daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab. Marriage relations with the different princely families gave enormous diplomatic prestige and paved the way for the expansion of Magadha westward and northward.

The earliest capital of Magadha was at Rajgir, which was called Girivraja at that time. It was surrounded by five hills, the openings in which were closed by stone walls on all sides. This made Rajgir impregnable.

Bimbisar was succeeded by his sonAjatasatru (492-460 BC). Ajatasatru killed his father and seized the throne for himself. Throughout his reign, he pursued an aggressive policy of expansion.

Ajatasatru was succeeded by Udayin (460-444 BC), His reign is important because he built the fort upon the confluence of the Ganga and Son at Patna. This was done because Patna lay in the centre of the Magadhan kingdom.

The Sisunagas: Udayin was succeeded by the dynasty ofSisunagas,who temporarily shifted the capital to Vaishali. Their greatest achievement was the destruction of the power of the Avanti with its capital at Ujjain. This brought to an end the 100 years old rivalry between Magadha and Avanti.

The Nandas: TheSisunagaswere succeeded by the Nandas, who proved to be the most powerful rulers of Magadha. So great was their power that Alexander, who invaded Punjab at that time, did not dare to move towards the east. The Nandas added to the Magadhan power by the conquering Kalinga from where they brought an image of the Jina as a victory trophy. All this took place in the reign of Mahapadma Nanda. He claimed to the ekarat, the sole sovereign who destroyed all the other ruling princes.

The Nandas were the first non-kshatriya rulers. The last Nanda ruler was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya who founded the Maurya Empire.

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magadha was an important mahajanpada because of many factors that influenced it. they are:

1-strategic location

magadha was strategically located.the capital of magadha , rajgriha was surrounded by 5 hills which made it difficult to be conquered. later on patliputra it's later capital, was also atrategicallylocated at the confluence of the ganges,the gandak and the sone and therfore, formed a water-fort or the jaldugra. the thick forest beyond gaya in south bihar supplied timber for buildings and elephants for the army.

2-fertile land

drained by several rivers the land was not only fertile but fit for agriculture but also provided continous water supply and cheap water transport.

3-mineral deposits

the close vicinity and control over rich deposits of copper and iron ore in chota nagpur helped to make make better weapons and instruments.

4-military might

magdha had a large standing army such was the military might of magadha that the army of alexander refuse to move further east because they had heard of indian rulers in the east having vast armies of foot soldiers and the elephants.

5-rulers

the first important ruler of magadha was bimbisara who ruled in the second half of the sixth century bce. bimbisara was succeded by his son ajastru who followed the policy of aggrsive wars. the other important dynasty to rule magadha was the nanda dynasty established by mahapadma nanda. thneir rule in magadha was supplanted by that of the mauryan rulers under whom the magadha empire reached at the apex of glory.

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