Nanda dynasty

The Nanda Dynasty from 345 BCE – 321 BCE, originated from region of Magadha in the ancient India during the 4th century BC.  At its greatest extent, the empire ruled by the Nanda Dynasty extended from the Bengal in the east to the Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range. The rulers of this dynasty were famed for the great wealth which they accumulate. The Nanda Empire was the later conquered by the Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire.
Establishment of the Dynasty:

Mahapadma Nanda, who has been described in the Puranas as “the destroyer of all the Kshatriyas”, defeated many other kingdoms, including the Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Surasenas and the Vitihotras; to name the few.  The Nandas who usurped the throne of the Shishunaga dynasty c. 345 BC thought to be of the low origin with some sources stating that the dynasty’s founder, Mahapadma was the son of the Shudra mother.

Nanda Rule:

The Nandas are sometimes described as first empire builders in the recorded history of the India. They are inherited by the large kingdom of the Magadha and wanted to extend it to yet more distant frontiers. To this purpose they built up the vast army, consisting of the 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 war chariots and the 3,000 war elephants. According to Plutarch however, the size of the Nanda army was even larger. However, the Nandas never had the opportunity to see their army up against the Alexander, who invaded India at the time of Dhana Nanda, since Alexander had to confine his campaign to plains of Punjab, for his forces, frightened by prospect of facing the formidable foe, mutinied at the Hyphasis River (the modern Beas River) refusing to march any further. This river thus marks the eastern-most extent of Alexander's conquests.
The Nandas were also renowned for their immense wealth. They undertook the irrigation projects and invented standardized measures for trade across their empire and they ruled with assistance of many ministers. The Nanda Dynasty was also mentioned in the ancient Sangam literature of the Tamil people.

Rulers of the Dynasty:

Mahapadma Nanda:

Mahapadma Nanda c. 400-329 BC was the 1st king of the Nanda dynasty. He was the son of Mahanandin, aKshatriya king of the Shishunaga dynasty and a Shudra mother. Sons of Mahanandin from his other wives opposed the rise of Mahapadma Nanda, on which he eliminated all of them to claim the throne. Mahapadmananda was the Barber (Nai) caste person.

Dhana Nanda: 

According to the Mahabodhivamsa, Dhana Nanda was the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty. He was one of the nine sons of the Mahapadma Nanda. Plutarch tells that Androkottos or Chandragupta Maurya had stated that Nanda was hated and despised by his subjects on account of the wickedness of his disposition and meanness of his origin.

During his reign, the Nanda Empire extended from Bihar and Bengal in the east to Punjab and Sindh in the west. His Prime Minister was Shaktar. He tortured the ladies of his kingdom and they were treated like animals. He drunk till his teeth and was always in a drunken state. The people of his kingdom feared him so much that they began taking refugee far away from his kingdom in caves and under trees. He greatly despised Chanakya and Chandragupta as well as their followers and known for his cruel nature.

Resources:
https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=817533083X
http://www.mapsofindia.com/history/nanda-empire-323-bce.html

Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was the geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the ancient India, ruled by the Maurya dynasty from the 322 – 185 BCE. It is originating from the kingdom of the Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh) in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent; the empire had its capital city at the Pataliputra (the modern Patna). The Empire was founded in the 322 BCE by the Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and the rapidly expanded his powers westwards across the central and the western India, taking the advantage of the disruption of the local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by the Alexander’s Hellenic armies. By 316 BCE the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander. Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I, a Macedonian general from Alexander's army, gaining additional territory west of the Indus River.

The Maurya Empire was one of the world’s largest empires in its time and the largest ever in the Indian subcontinent. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, to the east into the Assam, to west into the Balochistan (south West Pakistan and the south east Iran) and the Hindu Kush mountains of what is now Afghanistan.  The Empire was expanded into the India's central and southern regions by emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded the small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga (modern Odisha), until it was conquered by Ashoka. It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.
Under the Chandragupta and his successors, internal and external trade, agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and expanded across India thanks to creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security. After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced nearly half a century of peace and security under Ashoka. Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social harmony, religious transformation and expansion of the sciences and of knowledge. Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of Jainism increased social and religious renewal and reform across his society, while Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism has been said to have been the foundation of the reign of social and political peace and non-violence across all of India. Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Mediterranean Europe.

Rulers of Mauryan Dynasty:

1. Chandragupta Maurya:

Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) was the founder of Maurya Empire and the first emperor to unify the most of the greater India into one state. Chandragupta ruled from the 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and the abdication in the favour of his son Bindusara in the 298 BC.

Chandragupta Maurya was a pivotal figure in the history of India. Prior to his consolidation of power, most of South Asia was ruled by small states, while the Nanda Empire dominated the Indus-Gangetic Plain. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the end of his reign, except the Tamil regions (Chera, Chola and Pandya) and Kalinga. His empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Afghanistan and Baluchistan in the west, to the Himalayas and Kashmir in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. It was the largest empire yet seen in Indian history.


2. Ashoka

Ashoka Maurya from 304–232 BCE, commonly known as Ashoka and also as the Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian sub continent from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in the west to Bengal in the East and covered the entire Indian sub continent except parts of present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (in Magadha, present-day Bihar), with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.

In about 260 BCE Ashoka waged a bitterly destructive war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha). He conquered Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done. He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. "Ashoka reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations." Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about 263 BCE. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia, and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. "Ashoka regarded Buddhism as a doctrine that could serve as a cultural foundation for political unity." Ashoka is now remembered as a philanthropic administrator. In the Kalinga edicts, he addresses his people as his "children", and mentions that as a father he desires their good.

Resources:

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=8120804058

http://www.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/dec/31/road-empires