Here we look at Southern India in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, that is, between the collapse of the Mauryan Empire and the rise of the Satavahana Dynasty. Unfortunately, this appears to be a very poorly understood period in this region.
Population and political organization
No population estimates could be found in the literature. Information relating to political organization within our region of interest--roughly corresponding to the Bellary district in the modern-day Indian state of Karnataka--is also lacking, though sources suggest the existence of monarchies and an accompanying bureaucratic apparatus (scribes and mints, for example) in neighbouring regions.
[1]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 118-119) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/AVB94HR2.
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| Year Range | Post-Mauryan Kingdoms (in_post_mauryan_k) was in: |
|---|---|
| (205 BCE 101 BCE) | Deccan |
Western Deccan: "The earliest organized state in the region was that of the Satavahanas evolving out of the declining Mauryan power. The presence of the state is suggested by the evidence of political control and the use of an adminsitrative structure. References to units of adiministration and of what appear to be official designations point to a monarchical system. The title of mahamatra is suggestive of the Mauryan designation. The mahabhoja and maharathi as officials may in origin have been associated with high office in the Bhoja and Rathika clans and made the transition to administrative office when the requirements of the state demanded it. The constituents of the seven limbs of the state, the saptanga, are reflected in these and other indications such as the reference to Satavahana armies in action against the ksatrapas, to allies and enemies, to the treasury from the existence of Satavahana coins and revenue collection, to the capital from references to Pratishana and finally to the recognition of territory under Satavahana control." [1]
[1]: (Thapar 1996, 23) Thapar, Romila. "Significance of Regional History with reference to the Konkan." Kulkarni, A R. Nayeem, M A. de Souza, T R. eds. 1996. Mediaeval Deccan History. Commemoration volume in honour of Purshottam Mahadeo Joshi. Popular Prakashan. Bombay.
levels. Based on codes from previous and subsequent polities: by Satavahana Empire - 1.Capital 2. nagara (city or palace) 3. nigama (market town) 4. gama. [1]
[1]: (Sinopoli 2001: 170) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF.
levels.
1. King
2. Central / urban institutions3. Mint4. Village chiefs
"The Mauryan penetration into certain subregions of the Deccan was based on their interaction with the allready existing kin-based organizations, through its links with the political power of the indigenous chiefs."
[1]
Kotalingala is 200 km NE of Bellary: "Two aspects of the pre-Satavahan situation need to be emphasised in the development of the early historical sites in the Central Deccan... One was the particular natural of the economy which rested on the small-scale production of iron-related artefacts. The other was the substantial evidence found from sites like Kotalingala of pre-Satavahana coinage (Krishnasastry, 1983), indicating that there was a mobilization of resources at a local level, which meant that the political elite had the ability to issue their own coins. Though this is most striking in the Central Deccan because these coins are found along with the early coins of the Satavahana"
[1]
Western Deccan: "The earliest organized state in the region was that of the Satavahanas evolving out of the declining Mauryan power. The presence of the state is suggested by the evidence of political control and the use of an adminsitrative structure. References to units of adiministration and of what appear to be official designations point to a monarchical system. The title of mahamatra is suggestive of the Mauryan designation. The mahabhoja and maharathi as officials may in origin have been associated with high office in the Bhoja and Rathika clans and made the transition to administrative office when the requirements of the state demanded it. The constituents of the seven limbs of the state, the saptanga, are reflected in these and other indications such as the reference to Satavahana armies in action against the ksatrapas, to allies and enemies, to the treasury from the existence of Satavahana coins and revenue collection, to the capital from references to Pratishana and finally to the recognition of territory under Satavahana control."
[2]
In Andhra region post-Mauryans: "This appearance of kingship, currency and writing indicates that the basic infrastructures of a state system, which had been introduced in the Maurayn period, started functioning at the local level and transforming the megalithic/tribal society into proto or early states, basically characterized by centralized administration, stable kingship and social stratification."
[3]
Post-Mauryans in Krishna valley: "Amaravati inscription of this period records the existence of a royal scribe (rajalekhaka). This may indicate that record-keeping started to play an integral part in local political administration as well as in commercial activities in this period."
[4]
In Andhra region post-Mauryans: "Along with local kingships, inscriptions of this period mention other socio-political and socio-economic institutions, particularly as nigama and gothi. Although it is not possible to comprehend the precise nature of these institutions in this period of coastal Andhra, textual and epigraphic evidence indicates that a nigama was an imporant economic and social unit larger than a village (gama), and was composed of integrated members of kin groups and occupational or professional groups. A gothi (skt. gosthi), was another important economic and social institution particularly for urban elites. Bhattiprolu inscriptions also show that these urban institutions and local kings were closely connected, as the inscriptions describe the king Kuberaka as the chief (pamukha=skt. pramukha) of a nigama and a gothi. This seems to indicate that the kings in this period of Andhra were not absolute rulers with invincible powers, but were close to chiefdoms or, in Chattopadhyaya’s word, ’localities’ that derived possibly from the foundations of megalithic chiefs. These ’localities’ seem to have consolidated their powers in close association with urban elites that also started appearing in this period."
[5]
"The political and economic development in the post-Mauryan period progressed further under the Sadas, a regional dynasty which ruled the larger part of coastal Andhra for at least a century ... Although the historical evidence on this recently-found dynasty is still meagre, a few epigraphic records indicate the presence of a regular administrative structure indicated by titles such as an irrigation officer (?) (paniyagharika) and a scribe (lekhaka). There is also little doubt that the dynasty maintained royal coinage. Unlike the post-Mauryan coinage, which was basically uninscribed, the Sada coins were consistently inscribed with the ruler’s name and kept the same design, a standing lion facing a tree ..."
[6]
[1]: (Parasher-Sen 2000, 242) Parasher-Sen, Aloka. "Origins of Settlements, Culture and Civilization in the Deccan" Gupta, Harsh K. Parasher-Sen, Aloka. Balasubramanian, D. eds. 2000. Deccan Heritage. Indian National Science Academy. Universities Press (India) Limited. Hyderabad.
[2]: (Thapar 1996, 23) Thapar, Romila. "Significance of Regional History with reference to the Konkan." Kulkarni, A R. Nayeem, M A. de Souza, T R. eds. 1996. Mediaeval Deccan History. Commemoration volume in honour of Purshottam Mahadeo Joshi. Popular Prakashan. Bombay.
[3]: (Shimada 2012, 118-119) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[4]: (Shimada 2012, 118) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[5]: (Shimada 2012, 117) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[6]: (Shimada 2012, 125) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
Post-Mauryan kingdoms had mints for coinage: "Two aspects of the pre-Satavahan situation need to be emphasised in the development of the early historical sites in the Central Deccan... One was the particular natural of the economy which rested on the small-scale production of iron-related artefacts. The other was the substantial evidence found from sites like Kotalingala of pre-Satavahana coinage (Krishnasastry, 1983), indicating that there was a mobilization of resources at a local level, which meant that the political elite had the ability to issue their own coins. Though this is most striking in the Central Deccan because these coins are found along with the early coins of the Satavahana" [1]
[1]: (Parasher-Sen 2000, 242) Parasher-Sen, Aloka. "Origins of Settlements, Culture and Civilization in the Deccan" Gupta, Harsh K. Parasher-Sen, Aloka. Balasubramanian, D. eds. 2000. Deccan Heritage. Indian National Science Academy. Universities Press (India) Limited. Hyderabad.
Full-time specialists
Post-Mauryans in Krishna valley: "Amaravati inscription of this period records the existence of a royal scribe (rajalekhaka). This may indicate that record-keeping started to play an integral part in local political administration as well as in commercial activities in this period."
[1]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 118) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
In the below quote, Rocher argues that professional lawyers did not exist in India for much of its history. Unhelpfully, Rocher does not provide dates or much in the way of temporal boundaries. However, the use of the word “ever” in the sentence “no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court” may perhaps be taken to mean that professional lawyers did not exist in India before the colonial era.
“Thus, we believe that at an early date—let us roughly say at the time of the dharmasutras—professional lawyers or, to be more precise, specialized dharmasastrins could not exist. The Indian sage in those days was a specialist in all of the texts related to a particular Vedic school. His specialized knowledge concentrated on a specific version of the Vedic samhita and all its related texts: brahmana, aranyaka, upanisad, srautasutra, grhyasutra, dharmasutra, etc. There were no specialists on dharmasastra, and, a fortiori, no specialists on law that were part of it.
“But the situation changed. The texts on dharma grew away from the Vedic schools. Gradually there may have come into being a specialized group of learned men whose main interest was dharma, and the various dharmasastras as such.
“Finally, as the amount of textual material increased, we may assume that certain experts, without detaching themselves completely from aspects of dharmasastra and from Hindu learning generally, accumulated a very specialized knowledge of one aspect of dharma: vivada and vyavahara, or, in modern terminology, law. It is very possible that at this stage the nature of legal representation (niyoga) also underwent a certain change. We do not want to exclude the possibility that, at that moment, in a number of cases legal competence played a role in the choice of a representative. We are even willing to accept that Vyasa refers to the very special circumstance in which the representative was paid for his services. However, no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court. The impression which we gather from the texts is that, even in cases where the representative was chosen because of his special competence on legal matters, and, a fortiori, in all other cases, the necessary condition for a person to represent a party was the existence, between the former and the latter, of a certain form of close personal relationship.”
[1]
[1]: (Rocher 1969: 399-400) Rocher, L. 1969. "Lawyers" in Classical Hindu Law. Law & Society Review 3 (2/3): 383-402. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QKMEMIHW/library
"The political and economic development in the post-Mauryan period progressed further under the Sadas, a regional dynasty which ruled the larger part of coastal Andhra for at least a century ... Although the historical evidence on this recently-found dynasty is still meagre, a few epigraphic records indicate the presence of a regular administrative structure indicated by titles such as an irrigation officer (?) (paniyagharika) and a scribe (lekhaka). [1]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 125) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
Post-Mauryans in Krishna valley: "Amaravati inscription of this period records the existence of a royal scribe (rajalekhaka). This may indicate that record-keeping started to play an integral part in local political administration as well as in commercial activities in this period." [1] In Andhra region post-Mauryans: "This appearance of kingship, currency and writing indicates that the basic infrastructures of a state system, which had been introduced in the Maurayn period, started functioning at the local level and transforming the megalithic/tribal society into proto or early states, basically characterized by centralized administration, stable kingship and social stratification." [2]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 118) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[2]: (Shimada 2012, 118-119) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
Post-Mauryans in Krishna valley: "Amaravati inscription of this period records the existence of a royal scribe (rajalekhaka). This may indicate that record-keeping started to play an integral part in local political administration as well as in commercial activities in this period." [1] In Andhra region post-Mauryans: "This appearance of kingship, currency and writing indicates that the basic infrastructures of a state system, which had been introduced in the Maurayn period, started functioning at the local level and transforming the megalithic/tribal society into proto or early states, basically characterized by centralized administration, stable kingship and social stratification." [2]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 118) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[2]: (Shimada 2012, 118-119) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
Post-Mauryans in Krishna valley: "Amaravati inscription of this period records the existence of a royal scribe (rajalekhaka). This may indicate that record-keeping started to play an integral part in local political administration as well as in commercial activities in this period." [1]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 118) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
Post-Mauryans "saw the emergence and development of local currencies throughout the Deccan. Numismatic studies have agreed that such local currencies first appeared as uninscribed cast and die-struck coins in semi-precious metals like lead and copper." [1] "Two aspects of the pre-Satavahan situation need to be emphasised in the development of the early historical sites in the Central Deccan... One was the particular natural of the economy which rested on the small-scale production of iron-related artefacts. The other was the substantial evidence found from sites like Kotalingala of pre-Satavahana coinage (Krishnasastry, 1983), indicating that there was a mobilization of resources at a local level, which meant that the political elite had the ability to issue their own coins. Though this is most striking in the Central Deccan because these coins are found along with the early coins of the Satavahana" [2]
[1]: (Shimada 2012, 117) Shimada, Akira. 2012. Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE). BRILL.
[2]: (Parasher-Sen 2000, 242) Parasher-Sen, Aloka. "Origins of Settlements, Culture and Civilization in the Deccan" Gupta, Harsh K. Parasher-Sen, Aloka. Balasubramanian, D. eds. 2000. Deccan Heritage. Indian National Science Academy. Universities Press (India) Limited. Hyderabad.
The following quote refers to the Mauryan period, but the literature consulted does not confirm whether or not such a system remained in place after that empire’s fragmentation: "a communication system linking the empire with tree-lined roads, public wells, rest houses, and a mail service." [1]
[1]: (McClellan III and Dorn 2015, 164) McClellan III, James E. Dorn, Harold. 2015. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. JHU Press.
The following quote refers to the Mauryan period, but the literature consulted does not confirm whether or not such a system remained in place after that empire’s fragmentation: "a communication system linking the empire with tree-lined roads, public wells, rest houses, and a mail service." [1]
[1]: (McClellan III and Dorn 2015, 164) McClellan III, James E. Dorn, Harold. 2015. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. JHU Press.
The following quote refers to the Mauryan period, but the literature consulted does not confirm whether or not such a system remained in place after that empire’s fragmentation: "a communication system linking the empire with tree-lined roads, public wells, rest houses, and a mail service." [1]
[1]: (McClellan III and Dorn 2015, 164) McClellan III, James E. Dorn, Harold. 2015. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. JHU Press.
Lower Deccan (Krishna-Tungabhadra River Valleys; Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab) 1100-100 BCE: "Preferred settlement location are on high hilltops or on the slopes of outcrops, with some evidence for walls and other defensive features." [1] Walls existed but not known what materials were used or whether the walls were mortared or un-mortared.
[1]: (? 2002, 365)? South Indian Iron Age. Peter N Peregrine. Melvin Ember. eds. 2002. Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. New York.
Lower Deccan (Krishna-Tungabhadra River Valleys; Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab) 1100-100 BCE: "Preferred settlement location are on high hilltops or on the slopes of outcrops, with some evidence for walls and other defensive features." [1] Walls existed but not known what materials were used or whether the walls were mortared or un-mortared.
[1]: (? 2002, 365)? South Indian Iron Age. Peter N Peregrine. Melvin Ember. eds. 2002. Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. New York.
Lower Deccan (Krishna-Tungabhadra River Valleys; Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab) 1100-100 BCE: "Preferred settlement location are on high hilltops or on the slopes of outcrops, with some evidence for walls and other defensive features." [1]
[1]: (? 2002, 365)? South Indian Iron Age. Peter N Peregrine. Melvin Ember. eds. 2002. Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. New York.
Moats around defensive walls are known in the Ganga valley in India from about 500 BCE, or perhaps earlier. [1] Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a moat. [2]
[1]: (? 1990, 298) Amalananda Ghosh ed. 1990. An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology. Volume I. E J BRILL. Leiden.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Present in the north of India at this time.
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a complex arrangement of moats. He suggested around provincial capitals three moats should be built "constructed at distances of one Danda from each other. ... They should be revetted with stone or their sides should be lined with stone or brick. They should be fed either by natural springs or by channeled water, and they should be provided with means of drainage and stocked with lotuses and crocodiles. At a distance of four Dandas from the moat, he should get a rampart constructed using the earth that has been dug out." [1]
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 103) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Probably not common but it is quite probable that the elite soldiers used wootz steel swords. Indian iron smiths invented the ’wootz’ method of steel creation between 550-450 BCE. The Greek physician Ctesias of Cnidus commented on an Indian steel sword in the possession of Artaxerxes II of Persia (c400 BCE).
[1]
Produced in Karnataka and Sri Lanka.
[1]: (Singh 1997, 102) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
First finds of iron weapons in northern India earlier than 1000 BCE and from at least 1000 BCE in Karnataka in south India where iron arrowheads, spears and swords have been found. [1] Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used. [2] Likely referring to time following the Macedonian invasion but it can be implied from Gabriel (2002) that metal armour was present, at low level (elite) useage for sometime before then: A military historian states that metal armour was not widely used before the Macedonian invasion of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE [3] - do ancient Indian specialists agree? The Guptas were known for their exceptional skill in iron metallurgy, such as demonstrated by the monumental Iron Pillar of Delhi and they may have been the first to use iron helmets for their cavalry.
[1]: (Tewari 2010) Tewari, Rakesh. 2010. Updates on the Antiquity of Iron in South Asia. in Man and Environment. XXXV(2): 81-97. Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
[2]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
[3]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
‘Before 600 BC, warfare in India consisted of duels among the Kshatriya aristocrats in chariots and cow lifting raids carried out by tribal militias’. Kshatriya charioteers wore helmets made of metal [1] , presumably of copper.
[1]: (Roy 2013) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Number 8. Routledge. Abingdon.
A military historian states that metal armour was not widely used before the Macedonian invasion of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE [1] - do ancient Indian specialists agree? Metal weapons did exist. Bronze was not produced in India but was imported and may have been used for weapons perhaps for the elites who could afford them.
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
According to Jaina texts, Ajatashatru, a 5th century BCE king of Magadha in North India, used a catapult "capable of hurling huge pieces of stone". [1] Ancient Indian armies had siege engines that could "fling stones and lead balls wrapped up in burning materials. The Mahabharata mentions an Asma-yantra (a stone-throwing machine) in the battle with Jarasandha and we have further records that such engines were used in later periods to set enemy fortifications alight and that ’liquid fires’ containing naphtha were in use in ancient India." [2]
[1]: (Singh 2008, 272) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.
[2]: (Forbes 1959, 88-89) Robert James Forbes. 1959. More studies in early petroleum history. Brill Archive.
Much later, Byzantines or possibly Chinese were the first to use sling siege engines
Present for the Indus Valley Civilization: "Commonest among the weapons of offence and defence in the Indus valley are sling pellets of baked clay." [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 90) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
Arrowheads have been excavated [1] (bow type not specified). In the hot Monsoon climate of India the composite bow decomposed rapidly so Ancient Indians made bows out of Wootz steel. These were "considerably more rigid than their composite bretheren, meaning they were also less powerful. But they were reliable and predictable, and could be stored away in munitions vaults without worry of decomposition." [2]
[1]: J. Sudyka, The "Megalithic" Iron Age Culture in South India: Some General Remarks (2011), Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 5: pp. 359-401
[2]: (O’Bryan 2013, 54) A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up. Chronicle Books LLC. San Francisco.
Are thrown harpoons javelins? In the ’prehistoric age’ (not associated with the Aryans) at Fatehgarh in the upper Ganges valley and at Kallur in Hyderabad, Deccan, weapons of copper and sometimes bronze included barbed spears, harpoons and swords. [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
Known to Chinese in the first millennium BCE but Vedic literature does not describe anything like a crossbow although Pant suggests "the weapon mentioned as the nalika in ancient Sanskrit literature was a crossbow." [1] "The hand crossbow was usd on Indian battlefields probably from the third century A.D. It was mainly used as an infantry weapon and occasionally as a cavalry weapon. A Sanskrit inscription at Avanthipuram, in South India, reads: ’... Of him who has the name of Ananta impelled with speed and skillfully discharged from the machines of his bow fitted with the well stretched string....’ Obviously, the machine referred to was a hand crossbow." [1]
[1]: (Phillips 2016) Henry Pratap Phillips. 2016. The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850). Notion Press.
Weapon that has only been found in the New World.
A military historian states that the Maurayan heavy infantry is known to have used iron weapons including maces, dagger-axes, battle-axes and a slashing sword [1] - do Maurayan specialists agree?
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
A military historian states that the Maurayan heavy infantry is known to have used iron weapons including maces, dagger-axes, battle-axes and a slashing sword [1] - do Maurayan specialists agree?
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
A military historian states that the Maurayan heavy infantry is known to have used iron weapons including maces, dagger-axes, battle-axes and a slashing sword [1] - do Maurayan specialists agree?
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
At a "megalithic habitation site" in Tamil Nadu, rock-art has been found depicting "two horse riders fighting each other with poles" [1] . The Gupta Empire, after 350 CE, was built around a powerful cavalry force. [2] "In the classical age, Indian armies were still organized, as they had been a thousand years earlier, into four divisions: infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants." [3] 1000 years earlier than the classical age would have included this period. "In the Deccan and South India, chariots do not seem to have been used much at any time, because of the rugged terrain of the region - the ox-drawn chariots mentioned in early Tamil literature were probably only glorified bullock-carts." [4]
[1]: U. Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008), p. 253
[2]: (Roy 2013) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Number 8. Routledge. Abingdon.
[3]: (Eraly 2011, 163) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
[4]: (Eraly 2011, 164) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
According to Pliny the Elder, the Satavahana army, in the period following this one, included 1,000 elephants. [1] "In the classical age, Indian armies were still organized, as they had been a thousand years earlier, into four divisions: infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants." [2] 1000 years earlier than the classical age would have included this period. Buddhist texts suggest "Indians had become skilled in taming and training elephants" by the early first millennium BCE." [3] Potent force by the fourth century BCE. [3]
[1]: U. Singh, A History of Ancient and Medieval India (2008), p. 382
[2]: (Eraly 2011, 163) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
[3]: (Eraly 2011, 165) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
In ancient India the buffalo, bullock, yak, goat, camel, elephant, horse, ass and the mule were all used for transport [1] [2] in different regions according to local conditions. [2]
[1]: (Mishra 1987, 83) Kamal Kishore Mishra. 1987. Police Administration in Ancient India. Mittal Publications. Delhi.
[2]: Prakash Charan Prasad. 1977. Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India. Abhinav Publications. New Delhi.
In ancient India the buffalo, bullock, yak, goat, camel, elephant, horse, ass and the mule were all used for transport [1] [2] in different regions according to local conditions. [2] Were camels used in the Deccan region of India?
[1]: (Mishra 1987, 83) Kamal Kishore Mishra. 1987. Police Administration in Ancient India. Mittal Publications. Delhi.
[2]: Prakash Charan Prasad. 1977. Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India. Abhinav Publications. New Delhi.
A military historian states that the Mauryans carried shields made of raw oxhide stretched over a wood or wicker frame [1] - do Mauryan specialists agree? Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [2]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
A military historian states that metal armour was not widely used before the Macedonian invasion of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE [1] - do ancient Indian historians agree? It can be implied from Gabriel (2002) that metal armour was present, at low level (elite) useage for sometime before the Macedonian invasion, but no source yet consulted mentions scaled armor at this time.
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
A military historian states that helmets were not widely used until the CE period; soldiers used thick turbans to protect their heads [1] - do ancient Indian specialists agree? A military historian states that the Mauryans carried shields made of raw oxhide stretched over a wood or wicker frame [2] - do Mauryan specialists agree? Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [3]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 220) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
[3]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
A military historian states that metal armour was not widely used before the Macedonian invasion of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE [1] - do ancient Indian historians agree? It can be implied from Gabriel (2002) that metal armour was present, at low level (elite) useage for sometime before the Macedonian invasion, but no source yet consulted mentions scaled armor at this time.
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
‘Before 600 BC, warfare in India consisted of duels among the Kshatriya aristocrats in chariots and cow lifting raids carried out by tribal militias’. Kshatriya charioteers wore helmets made of metal [1] , presumably of copper. Refers to north of India? Deccan in south unlikely to be more developed than this. A military historian states that helmets were not widely used until the CE period; soldiers used thick turbans to protect their heads [2] - do ancient Indian specialists agree? Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a helmet and a neck guard. [3]
[1]: (Roy 2013) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Number 8. Routledge. Abingdon.
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 220) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.
[3]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
In Ancient India soldiers of the Gupta Empire who could afford to do so and were willing to bear the heat (or for night operations?) wore chain mail. [1] ] Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a metal coat of mail. [2]
[1]: (Rowell 2015 89) Rebecca Rowell. 2015. Ancient India. Abdo Publishing. Minneapolis.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used. [1] Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor, a metal coat of mail, metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and breast plate. [2]
[1]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Cholas are noted for their naval forces." [1] It can be inferred that no other state had a significant naval force although some of them may have had a smaller navy.
[1]: (Eraly 2011, 163) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.