Mauryan Empire Decline
Mauryan Empire: Reasons For Decline Late stages of the Mauryan Empire After the death of Emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire collapsed within five decades. There are many reasons given by historians for this disintegration of a once-mighty empire. At its zenith, the Mauryan Empire stretched from Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It covered almost the whole Indian subcontinent except modern-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. A few years after Ashoka’s death, the weakening of the empire started. The various reasons for the fall of the Mauryan Empire are highlighted below: The partition of the Empire After the death of Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire split into two halves – western and eastern parts. This weakened the empire. Kalhana, author of the work Rajatarangini which is an account of Kashmir’s history says that after Ashoka’s death, his son Jalauka ruled over Kashmir as an independent ruler. This partition resulted in invasions from the northwest. Highly centra...