The Mauryan Dynasty

The Mauryan Dynasty

The Mauryan Dynasty
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 7 to 9
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.73

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		aftermath, Arthasastra, burn-down, castaway, co-exist, infrastructure, instability, subcontinent, sandstone, determined, VYSH-yuh, humiliation, coup, succession, conquest, nonviolence
	content words:		Philips II, Middle East, Central Asia, Persian Empire, South Asia, Indus River, Ganges Valley, Chandragupta Maurya, Pusyamitra Sunga

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The Mauryan Dynasty
By Vickie Chao

¹     July 20th of 356 B.C. was a very important date in human history, for two major events were said to take place on that particular day. The first was the burn-down of the famous Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, near the present-day Izmir of Turkey. The second was the birth of Alexander the Great.

²     Alexander the Great was the son of the Macedonian king Philips II and Epirus princess Olympias. He ascended the throne at the age of twenty after his father was assassinated. During his short reign of twelve years, he set out to conquer the world and almost succeeded. His army swept across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. He captured Egypt in 332 B.C. and defeated the Persian Empire in 330 B.C. Overwhelmed by the victories, Alexander the Great decided to press ahead. This time, he aimed for the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. In 326 B.C. he and his troops crossed the Indus River and disarmed the two kingdoms in the Punjab region (located in the present-day India and Pakistan.) Just as he was ready to advance to the kingdom of Magadha in the Ganges Valley, his soldiers rebelled and refused to go any farther. Under immense pressure, Alexander the Great discarded his grand plan and, thus, spared the rest of India and other countries in Asia. Three years after his reluctant withdrawal, he died in Babylon.

³     The sudden death of Alexander the Great dismantled the massive empire almost overnight. With no apparent heirs competent enough to endure the legacy, a power struggle quickly broke out. The instability helped give rise to a man named Chandragupta Maurya (pronounced "chun-druh-GOOP-tuh MOW-ur-yuh") who later assembled a strong army and became the first person to unite India.

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