EARLY CLASSICAL INDIAN

(600 BCE - 203 CE)

 

MAHAJANAPADAS

maha (Sanskrit, “great”) + janapada (Sanskrit, “foothold”)

mahajanapada (Sanskrit, “great hold”), janapadin (Sanskrit, “citizen”)

HIMALAYAN STATES

Audumbara/Audumbatira (100 BCE-48 CE); Bahlika/Vahlika (600-500 BCE);

Kasmira/Kashmira (600-326 BCE and 25-561 CE); Koliya (600-500 BCE)*; Kuninda/Kulinda (200 BCE-48 CE);

Shakya (600-500 BCE)*; Videha (600-500 BCE)

PUNJABI STATES

Kekaya/Kekeya (600-326 BCE); Madra (600-326 BCE); Trigarta (600-326 BCE)

SINDHI STATES

Nishada (600-400 BCE); Sauvira (600-450 BCE and 150 BCE-489 CE); Yadava/Yaudheya (149 BCE-150 CE)

GUJARATI STATES

Anarta (600-300 BCE); Saurashtra (600-300 BCE)

BENGALI STATES

Dasarna (600-400 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE); Kalinga (600-261 BCE and 150 BCE-163 CE); Pundra (600-300 BCE);

Radha (600-250 BCE); Samatata (600-250 BCE); Sumha (600-250 BCE); Vanga (600 BCE-250 CE)

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SOLASA MAHAJANAPADAS (Sanskrit, “Greatest Great-holds”)

LOWER GANGETIC STATES

Anga (capital, Champa) (600-500 BCE); Kosala (Savatthi/Sravasti)(600-500 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE);

Magadha (Rajagriha)(600-500 and 30 BCE-163 CE); Malla (600-300 BCE)*; Vaji/Vrji (Vaishali/Mithila)(600-400 BCE)*

UPPER GANGETIC STATES

Kuru (Indraprastha/Indapatta)(600-322 BCE)*; Vatsa/Vamsa (Kausambi)(600-300 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE);

Panchala/Pancala (Ahishatra—northern capital, Kampila—southern capital)(600-322 BCE and 185 BCE-163 CE)*;

Matsya (Viratanagara)(600-330 BCE); Surasena (Madhura/Mathura)(600-300 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE)*

CHOTA NAGPUR PLATEAU

Chedi/Cheti/Chetya (Sotthivatnagara/Sukti/Suktimati)(600-300 BCE);

Vatsa/Vamsa (Kausambi)(600-300 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE)

MALWA PLATEAU

Avanti (Ujjayin—Haihaya capital, Mahissati/Mahishmatii—Pradyota capital)(600-300 BCE and 100 BCE-163 CE)

DECCAN PLATEAU

Assaka/Asmarka/Ashmaka (Potana/Potali/Paudanya)(600-345 BCE)

PUNJABI STATES

Gandhara (Takshashila/Taxila)(600-326 BCE); Kamboja (Rajapura/Rajori)(600-300 BCE)

* Republics

 

MAGADHA EMPIRE (500 - 30 BCE)

Capitals: Rajagriha (500 - 460 BCE), Pataliputra (460 - 30 BCE)

Haryanka Dynasty (500 - 413 BCE), Shishunaga Dynasty (413 - 345 BCE),

Nanda Dynasty (345 - 321 BCE), Maurya Dynasty (322 - 185 BCE),

Shunga Dynasty (185 - 73 BCE), Kanva Dynasty (75 - 30 BCE)

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SATAVAHANA EMPIRE (100 BCE - 203 CE)

 

This gallery is devoted to the armies of the Early Classical Indian civilization that arose after the invasion/migration of Aryan peoples from Central Asia into South Asia (ca. 2000-1500 BCE), where they assimilated some groups of native Tamils/Dravidians and drove others into marginal areas. The result was the development of the Indo-Aryan Vedic Civilization (ca. 1500-500 BCE), which encompassed most of modern Pakistan and most of northern and central India. It is believed that echoes of this invasion/migration and conquest/assimilation of native peoples are recorded in mythologized form in the ancient Sanskrit epics of the Mahabharata of Vyasa and the Ramayana of Valmiki. Initially, the Aryans settled on the Indus and Gangetic river plains, but by about 700 BCE they had spread out into adjacent areas (the Deccan, Malwa, and Chota Nagpur plateaus), and by about 500 BCE they dominated most of the sub-continent, with the exception of native Tamil groups that clung to marginal areas of tropical forest (e.g., the Kamyaka, Naimisha, and Dandaka forests), forested highlands (e.g., the Ghats, Vindhyas, Satpuras, and Aravalis), and desert regions (e.g., the Thar Desert). The Tamil kingdoms south of the great Dandaka Forest (encompassing the southern quarter of the Indian subcontinent) and the island of Eelam (i.e., Sri Lanka) fared better. Known collectively as Tamilikam ("Land of the Tamils"), the Tamil kingdoms of the south—Pandya (600 BCE-250 CE), Chola (300 BCE-250 CE), Chera/Kerala (300 BCE-250 CE), and Anuradhapura (337 BCE-1017 CE)—remained independent, although they were heavily influenced by northern Indo-Aryan culture (this period of Tamil history is known as the Sangam Period (600 BCE-500 CE)).

 

The northern Indo-Aryan dynasties were centered on a number of kingdoms and republics, known collectively as the Mahajanapadas (Sanskrit, “Great Holds”), mostly urban polities that had arisen from the initial Vedic settlements following the Aryan invasion/migration (thus, each settlement had initially been an Aryan “foothold” in South Asia). The political and military history of the period is characterized by the internecine conflicts of the various Mahajanapadas and their drive toward mastering the indigenous Tamils, including the steady rise to prominence of the Kingdom of Maghada (ca. 600-500 BCE) that culminated in the Magadha Empire (500-30 BCE). The Magadha Empire reached its height under the Maurya Dynasty (322-185 BCE), and so it is sometimes referred to as the Mauryan Empire. The Great King (maharaja) Ashoka (304-232 BCE) used war and diplomacy to expand the empire to its greatest extent, encompassing most of the Indo-Aryan states highlighted in this gallery. However, as Magadha declined under the Shunga (185-73 BCE) and Kanva (75-30 BCE) dynasties, several Mahajanapadas regained their independence (Kosala, Kasmira, Dasarna, Kalinga, Kosala, Vatsa, Panchala, Surasena, and Avanti), while an alliance between the Andhra clans of Assaka and the Kingdom of Kalinga overthrew Maghadan rule on the Deccan Plateau and destroyed the last Kanva rulers in Pataliputra (ca. 40-30 BCE). The Andhra then consolidated their hold on the Deccan Plateau and founded the Satavahana Empire (100 BCE-203 CE). Thus, the period ends with the fragmentation of the Maghada Empire and the rise of the Satavahanas, as well as the invasion of the Punjab by the Yavanas (ca. 180-10 BCE)—i.e., the Greco-Bactrians—who founded a number of minor kingdoms in the northwest (the Indo-Greek States), followed by the conquest of Sindh and Gujarat by the Sakas (ca. 110-30 BCE), who also founded a number of small polities (the Indo-Saka or Indo-Scythian States, 200 BCE-400 CE). The Sakas were followed by an invasion of Sindh and the Punjab by the Parthian Gondopharids (12 BCE-130 CE), and the Indo-Greek, Indo-Parthian, and Indo-Saka kingdoms were later swallowed up by the Kushan Empire (30-375 CE). The Kushans then went on to conquer most of northern India (ca. 30-163 CE). All these foreign influences had a deep impact on the military system of the northern Indo-Aryan peoples (and may have set off a mass migration into the Satavahana Empire, Bengal, and parts of southeast Asia), and the armies of the Middle Kingdoms of India (163-647 CE) are best dealt with separately.

 

The Classical Indian states covered by this gallery dominated most of what is today India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The core region where most of the Solasa Mahajanapadas were located was the Gangetic Plain formed by the great river Ganges/Ganga and its many tributaries, which runs across northern India south of the Himalayas. To the south of the Gangetic Plain are two plateaus—Malwa (in the west) and Chota Nagpur (in the east). These two plateaus are separated by the Vindhya and Satpura highlands (the valley of the Satpura River lies in-between these two mountain ranges). To the south of these plateaus is the great Deccan Plateau, which encompasses most of central India, separated from the west coast by the Western Ghat highlands, and from the east coast by the Eastern Ghat highlands. The great Dandaka Forest, which encompassed much of the southern quarter of the Deccan, formed the border between Classical India and Tamilakam. Bengal was the region that ran along the east coast of India and around the northern end of the Bay of Bengal (Sanskrit, Purvapayodhi, "Eastern Ocean") into what is today Bangladesh. To the west of the Malwa Plateau lies Gujarat, most of which is taken up by the Kathiawar Peninsula. North of Gujarat and west of the Gangetic Plain is the great Thar Desert, which separates modern India from modern Pakistan. Ancient Pakistan was divided into two main regions—in the south, along the coast of the Sindhu Sagar (a.k.a., the Arabian Sea) and running north along both banks of the Sindhus River (a.k.a., the Indus/Indos River) was the region of Sindh, while the region to the north of Sindh, defined by the five main tributaries of the Sindhus/Indus/Indos, was the Pancanada (a.k.a., Punjab, meaning "region of the five rivers"). To the west of the Punjab is the Hind Mountains (Old Persian, Pariuparisena, Greek, Paropamisadai, Latin, Paropamisadae), and to the north is the western Himalayas ("the abode of snow"). The foothills and valleys along the eastern slopes of the Hind Mountains were known as Kamboja, and the foothills along the southern slopes of the western Himalayas was known as Gandhara. To the north of Gandhara lies the large Himalayan vale of Kashmir (known as Kasmira or Kashmira in Sanskrit).

 

Traditionally, there are sixteen Mahajanapadas that are singled out in ancient Sanskrit works (e.g., the Astadhyayi of Panini) as being “Greatest” (Solasa Mahajanapadas, “Greatest Great-holds”). The history of these Solasa Mahajanapadas dominated the Early Classical Period of India. Clustered together in the Lower Gangetic Plain were Kosala, Malla, Vaji/Vrji, Kashi, Maghada, and Anga; Vatsa/Vamsa and Chedi lay to the south of these on the Chota Nagpur Plateau; and Panchala/Pancala, Surasena, Matsya, and Kuru were clustered in the Upper Gangetic Plain. Alone among the Solasa Mahajanapadas, Kamboja does not seem to have actually been a unified state—the Kambojans were a collection of mountain tribes that dominated the foothills and valleys along the eastern slopes of the Hind Mountains (known today as the Hindu Kush), which divided the Punjab and Sindh from Arachosia (southern Afghanistan), Bactria (northern Afghanistan), and Gedrosia (southeastern Iran). The Kambojan kingdom that is referenced in period sources as a Mahajanapada was probably centered on the city of Rajapura/Rajori, although there were many other minor Kambojan states. Avanti lay along the Vetravati River (modern Betwa River) in west-central India, and often dominated the Malwa Plateau, across which lay important trade routes that led from the Gangetic Plain to the western coasts and Gujarat. Finally, Asmarka/Assaka was located along the Godovari River (the second-longest river in India after the Ganges), which drains the southern portion of the Deccan Plateau into the Bay of Bengal to the east. The southern Himalayan foothills and valleys had also been settled by Indo-Aryan clans, several of which were recognized in Sanskrit sources as Mahajanapadas, running from Kasmira/Kashmira in the west through Audumbara/Audumbatira, Bhalika/Vahlika, and Kuninda/Kolinda (north of the Punjab), Koliya and Shakya (two adjacent valleys to the north of the Lower Gangetic Plain), and Videha (northwest of Bengal). Shakya is principally famous as the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE or 480-400 BCE)—the Buddha ("Enlightened One"). To the south of Kasmira/Kashmira and northeast of Kamboja was Ghandara, a valley that dominated the eastern end of the Khyber Pass (Hind Mountains), which was the primary pass through which armies, goods, and ideas flowed back-and-forth between ancient India and Central Asia. The Punjabi states that lay in-between Ghandara and the Upper Gangetic Plain—Kekeya/Kekaya, Trigarta, and Madra—were often closely associated with Ghandara, Kamboja, and Kasmira/Kashmira. To the south of these, the states of Sindh (Nishada and Sauvira) and Gujarat (Anarta and Surashtra) were pivotal in the development of seaborne trade with Persia, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and East Africa. The west coast of India was usually dominated by the states of the Deccan (Assaka and then Satahavana), but the states of the eastern coast (Dasarna and Kalinga) were often independent and were important in the development of seaborne trade with southeast Asia (particularly, the Mon, Khmer, and Burman peoples). These western coastal kingdoms were also closely associated with the northern Bengali states of what is today Bangladesh—Pundra, Radha, Samatata, Sumha, and Vanga. Elephants captured in the thick forests of Bengal were considered to be the best for use in warfare.

 

Culturally, the Early Classical Indian Period is characterized by marked urbanization, especially on the Gangetic Plain, the growing complexity of Indo-Aryan society (in many ways departing from the strict four-fold caste system of the Vedas), the development of a common vernacular language amongst the commoners of the Indo-Aryan states (Prakrit)—with Sanskrit increasingly becoming an academic and diplomatic language—and the rise of the Upanishad and Shramana movements (including Jainism and Buddhism). The Upanishad and Shramana movements sought to ameliorate the strict and formal ritualism of the Vedas (the ancient Sanskrit writings and oral traditions of the early Aryan invaders) pertaining to astika, “that which is” (i.e., orthodox beliefs), and to break the puritanical power of the orthodox religious caste (Brahmins). The adherents of the various groups involved in the Upanishad and Shramana movements introduced philosophical concepts that emphasized personal expressions of faith, the development of universal ethics (i.e., codes of behavior for all, not just codes of honor for the upper castes), and the quest for experiences devoted to finding personal truth (e.g., asceticism, meditation, yoga). Vedic tradition dictated the social division of the Indo-Aryans into four broad castes (varnas)—the Brahmins (priests, teachers, scholars), Kshatriyas (rulers and aristocrats), Vaishyas (herders, farmers, artisans, and merchants), and Shudras/Sudras (servants). The Kshatriyas are often called a “warrior caste” in English-language historical works, but this is incorrect. Technically, members of all three upper castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas) could fight as warriors, although the Kshatriyas were, by virtue of their position as political leaders, most dedicated to the art of war (i.e., war is politics by other means). Ironically, the rules governing caste-appropriate behavior were both complex and restrictive on the one hand, and on the other hand more flexible than is often thought, and thus viewing India’s caste system with the eyes of an outsider can be problematic. For example, Brahmins were priests and teachers, but many of their duties performing the myriad rituals of the Vedic system would have required them to perform “labor,” as defined by the Vedas, and thus they often maintained extensive staff of the Shudra caste that could perform these labors. But these staff-members, although technically Shudra, basically lived out their lives as religious functionaries, and look a lot like minor priests to the eyes of outsiders. The Shudra staff-members of those in the higher castes could also accompany their leaders into battle. Technically, they were there to make sure their upper-caste leaders did not have to perform “labor” while on campaign, but practicality dictated that they also bolstered the ranks of the army and sometimes acted as armed retainers. As has been mentioned, Brahmins and Vaishyas could train and fight as warriors in addition to their caste-specific duties, and they could have extensive military careers that eclipsed (or at least supplemented) their caste-specific duties. A good example of this is Chanakaya, the Brahmin teacher and friend of Chandragupta Maurya, the first great king of the Mauryan Dynasty—Chanakaya fought alongside his young protege to overthrow the Nandas, and then served as his top general and advisor for much of his reign. Although there were undoubtedly members of Indo-Aryan society that fell outside the caste system (e.g., conquered or allied Tamil peoples, foreign merchants, or foreign mercenaries), we do not know what rules (if any) governed their interaction with the castes—the Dalits (“Oppressed”), commonly known today as “the Untouchables,” is a modern caste construct that encompasses those that fall outside the system, but we simply do not know whether there was a comparable element in ancient and classical India.

 

Militarily, the Early Classical Period saw a departure from the Heroic Age of the Vedas, in which the aristocratic warriors of the upper castes fought primarily from chariots—sometimes dismounting to fight in single combat against opposing leaders on foot—to a military system in which elephants reigned supreme and ordered ranks of professional soldiers first supplemented, and then largely eclipsed, the armed retainers of the past. During the Vedic Period of the Aryan invasion, elephants were considered abominable creatures used by the barbaric Tamils/Dravidians, but by the Early Classical Period of the Indo-Aryans elephants had become the prized war-mounts of most major leaders, and the shock element of the corps of professional soldiers. Chariots long held on, especially among aristocratic groups that could not afford or did not have access to elephants, but by the end of this period cavalry had replaced chariots as the second-tier troop-type (in terms of prestige and functionality). As laid out in the Arthashastra of Chanakaya (often called the Machiavelli of ancient India), written in the second century BCE—an important treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy—the military system of ancient India that had evolved by the end the Vedic Period relied on the concept of the Four-fold Army (Caturangabala), which divided the armies of the period into four broad troop-types or classes—the elephant corps (hasti), the chariotry (rathin), the cavalry (ashva), and the infantry (patti). Additionally, Early Classical Indian armies generally consisted of four grades of soldiers/warriors—the regulars (maula), the mercenaries (bhrta or bhrita), the militia (sreni), and the wildmen (utavi/atavika/atavibalam). In practice, Early Classical Indian armies would have varied in composition, depending on whether a given state or tribe, coalition or empire, kingdom or republic, had access to the appropriate material, bestial (i.e., horses and elephants), and/or manpower resources, and therefore Chanakaya’s Arthashastra presents an idealized picture. The Arthashastra of Chanakaya (a.k.a., Kautilya/Kautalya or Vishnugupta) was edited and updated at least three times during the Classical Period (some time between 150 BCE and 50 CE, between 50 and 125 CE, and between 175 and 300 CE), providing us with an overall picture of the evolution of the Indo-Aryan military system during the Classical Period (I used the translation by L.N. Rangarajan). I will discuss the system in more detail on a separate page (click on the Army in Depth button below). I also utilized the works of Lucius Flavius Arrianus (commonly known as Arrian of Nicomedia)—Indica and Anabasis Alexandri—which were based on earlier Greek histories regarding the campaigns of Alexander of Macedon in India (the now-lost works of Ptolemy Soter and Aristobulus) and the naval expedition of Alexander's admiral, Nearchus (the equally lost work of Megasthenes). Modern sources that I used include Warfare in Ancient India: Organizational and Operational Dimensions, by Uma Prasad Thapiyal; Chandragupta Maurya, by Purushottam Lal Bhargava; The Art of War in Ancient India, by P.C. Chakravarti; and War Elephants, by Konstantin Nossov.

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The army pictured above is intended to best represent that of the maharaja ("great ruler" or "great king"), Ashoka Maurya (268-232 BCE), during the Kalinga War (ca. 268-261 BCE), although it could be used to represent most of the armies of the Mahajanapadas during the Early Classical Period (600 BCE-163 CE). Militarily, this period runs from the widespread adoption of elephantry by the Indo-Aryans (ca. 600 BCE) until the consolidation of Kushan hegemony over northern India (ca. 163 CE) and the fragmentation of the Satavahana Empire (ca. 203 CE). As the Maghada Empire crumbled during the Shunga and Kanva dynasties (ca. 185-30 BCE), northwestern India and Gujarat were overrun by Saka nomads from Central Asia, and the Kushans (another Aryan nomad group) came hard on the heels of the Saka (ca. 30 BCE-163 CE). The impact of the nomadic invaders on the military system of the Indian states was profound, making the composition and tactics of Late Classical Indian armies (163-647 CE) somewhat different (e.g., the final eclipse of chariotry by cavalry, a steady increase in the quality and quantity of armor, and the development of different tactical formations). As a result, for example, the armies of the Guptas (320-550 CE) would have been composed of similar elements to those used by the Mauryas (322-185 BCE), but they would have looked very different (fashions change), and they would have operated differently as well (e.g., armored shock cavalry and cavalry skirmishers expanded the tactical repertoire significantly). There were also some minor regional differences between some of the Mahajanapadas. The western Himalayan states, the Kombojan states of the Hind Mountains, and the Punjabi states of Gandhara, Kekaya/Kekeya, Trigarta, and Madra were always closely linked—and sometimes dominated—by the Persians, Paktyans/Arachosians (southern Afghanistan), and Bactrians (northern Afghanistan), and served as the conduit through which overland trade, cultural transmission, and armies of conquest often passed between India and Central Asia. The armies of the states of this region generally had a much stronger emphasis on cavalry from a much earlier date, and after the invasion of Gandhara and the Punjab by Alexander the Great (ca. 327-326 BCE), the Seleukid-Maurya War (305-303 BCE), and the invasion of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (180 BCE) that resulted in the foundation of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BCE-10 CE), the peoples of this region were also strongly influenced by Greek culture, including Greek mercenaries drawn from the Greek colonies established in the region by Alexander, Seleukos I Nikator, and Demetrius I Aniketos. The states of Sindh (Nishada and Sauvira) were maritime powers, and much of their military strength lay in the maintenance of strong naval forces. This was also true of the states of Gujarat (Anarta and Saurashtra). Yadava/Yaudheya was formed by a number of kshatriya clans rebelling against the imperial rule of Maghada (they established a state on the fringes of the Thar Desert between Sindh and the Upper Gangetic Plain). The Yadavas viewed the professional Maula battalions as instruments of Maghadan imperialism and an impious intrusion onto the prerogatives of the kshatriya caste, and so their armies tended not to have Maula units. They also seem to have been strict traditionalists that favored chariotry over cavalry (as it happens, the dry steppes around the Thar Desert would have favored chariots better than the terrain in other parts of India). The Himalayan states were generally very isolated and small, used fewer elephantry, chariotry, and cavalry than the lowland states, and fielded a greater number of spear/javelin- and bow-armed infantry skirmishers than the lowland states. The Bengali states probably had the least chariotry and cavalry (jungles not being conducive to these troops types), relying even more heavily on elephantry than the other Mahajanapadas. Some sources claim there was a difference between the armies of Classical Indian kingdoms (saamarajya) and republics (ganapada), but this is not true. The caste-based social structure of all of the Mahajanapadas basically meant that kshatriyas and brahmins, along with the wealthiest and most powerful vaishya clans, universally formed a kind of oligarchical political class that dominated the power structure of the state and the command structure of the army. Kings (rajan, singular, raja) and great kings (i.e., overlords of other kings) generally did not have absolute power and were usually perceived as senior administrators with religious functions, carrying out punishments (danda) that resulted from legal decisions made by the courts (pratishthita or apratishthita), and commanding the army. The primary difference between kingdoms and republics was that the kingship of kingdoms were dynastic (i.e., inherited through a male geneological line), while the kingships of republics were elective (i.e., usually with a time limit). But in both instances, kings were generally drawn from the same group of high-caste oligarchs. Thus, Classical Indian republics were more similar to the Roman Republic, with the kings being akin to Roman consuls, than they were to the Athenian democracy, and kingdoms were generally not absolute monarchies (i.e., to varying degrees, the ruling dynasty was beholden to its oligarchs). This remained true in kingdoms that had conquered other kingdoms or republics—although a governor was generally appointed to the former capital of the conquered state, these governors were usually merely inserted at the apex of the extant socio-political hierarchy, and even conquered states often continued to function in a highly independent manner (some even retained their kings, who became vassals of the great king). Indeed, the Maghada and Satavahana empires were plagued with rebellions by independent-minded local oligarchies and treachery from collateral royal clans and members of the bureaucracy that had managed to build up regional powerbases. In addition, there were sometimes outbreaks of class warfare in which the Vaishyas and Shudras of a kingdom or republic rebelled against what they saw as the heavy-handedness of a king, great king, governor, and/or the state's oligarchs (e.g., taxes too high, suppression of a local cult or Shramana sect, etc.). In such conflicts, the militias (sreni) recruited and maintained by the trade and craft guilds, as well as some of the temple cults, would be pitted against the regular army units (maula and bhrita).

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I really like this army, despite the fact that it was one of the more challenging of my armies to model (or perhaps because it was so challenging). The elephant corps is, of course, usually the big eye-catcher, as are the chariots, although the Indian love of color and highly complex decorative motifs means that a close observer can always find little details of interest. These figures are a mix of Xyston Miniatures, Khurasan Miniatures, Museum Miniatures, and Old Glory 15s.