Post-Mauryan Age – Crafts, Trade & Towns

Introduction

Post-Mauryan age draws back to 2000 years ago where there was immense production of coins, trades, crafts, and arts. Chandragupta Maurya was a ruler of the Mauryan Dynasty. He was identified by the Greeks and was the first ruler to be publicly acknowledged for establishing the empire of the first PAN India. He formed the vast kingdom with the assistance of his mentor and the minister of the Chanakya. He looked after the functioning of the economy, military and culture that was preserved in Kautilya’s Arthashastra.

Chandragupta Maurya glorified the ancient part of India and the empire of the Mauryan along with the assistance of Ashoka. The post-Mauryan period declined due to the death of Ashoka and this period gained success due to its internal trade system and expansion of commerce and knowledge of Buddhism.

Image 1:India under Maurya rule c. 250 BCE

About the Post-Mauryan Age

The Mauryan Age had seen the glory in India and captured the northern part of India along with the Gangetic Valley. The era of the kingdom was also able to gain the advantage of political unity. The era when the kingdom of the Maurya got declined, which leads to the rise of the Gupta Empire around the third century BC, is called the post-Mauryan Age.

The Post-Mauryan period stressed India’s political aspects during that period. The invaders from the foreign country captured and dominated the country. The period was all about the extraction of coinage in the country and the downfall of the Mauryan Empire.

After the downfall of the empire, India was divided for many centuries and at that time the knowledge of Buddhism was spread all over the country. After that, the Empire of the Guptas captured India, which further resulted in political unity and prosperity in the country.

Post-Mauryan Age: Trade

The most important part of the post-Mauryan period was the expansion of external and internal business and commerce. In ancient India, the most important land routes were Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha that were connected to the eastern and the northern regions of India. The most used land route among the two land routes was Uttarapatha.

The trade was passed on Ujjain in Malwa from Broach to the western coast. Broach was considered to be the busiest ports as all the goods made in Shaka, Kushana and the Satavahana kingdoms come to this place for trading purposes.

Image 2:Trades during Post-Mauryan Age

The major trade of the period was coin minting, which was made of gold and silver and copper, and sometimes the artisans use manufactured duplicate coins. During this period trade used to flow between India and Rome.

The silk products were diverted to the western ports of India that were imported from China to India. The products of silk were in transition between India and Rome and in addition, the various articles were used to transfer to the empire of Rome by India.

The business from Taxila passed from Punjab to the western part of the river Yamuna and then followed to the southern part of the region of Mathura. The trade also includes the export of silk to the Roman Empire from China through the northern regions of Iran.

Post-Mauryan Age: Crafts

The period of the Sakas and the Kushanas and some regions of Tamil were the most beautiful era (200 BCE to 200 CE) in the history of trade and commerce and crafts during the ancient period of India. The Digya-Nikaya was part of the era of the empire that mentioned approximate 24 occupations.

The catalogues show the various types of workers who used to live in the town of Rajgir. The artisans of the era were mainly attached to literary texts of the towns; however, some of the archaeological sites show that the artisans use to reside in villages.

The period shows the activities in mining and in metallurgy that rapidly made advancements in that period with the use of gold, silver, iron, and valuable stones. The various inscriptions during that age mentioned goldsmiths, weavers, dyers and the workers of metals.

The inscriptions also suggested that the workers of fisheries and perfumes and others belonged from the East part of the Bengal and regions of Tamil Nadu. In the regions of Kushana, some very authenticate and beautiful parts of terracotta were identified mainly in the district of Nalgonda.

Post-Mauryan Age: Towns

The establishment of the growing trade during that time leads to the formation of several towns in the empire of the Kushanas. The country did business with the eastern region of the empire of Roman and with the central parts of Asia.

The towns in India such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab thrived because of the surging trade in Kushana and Satavahana empires of India. The most vital town was Ujjain because of its various internal trade route systems and thus the downfall of the Kushana Empire leads disastrous effects in the towns.

During that, time trade was banned between India and the Empire of Romans as a result the towns were unable to support the businessperson and the artisans of the southern part of the Deccan region. The various evidence of the Archaeological department states that after the phase of Satavahana the downfall of the towns had begun.

Conclusion

The Pushpamitra Sungha caused the end and the downfall of the Mauryan Empire. The empire started in a declining phase when Ashoka passed away. The general of Pushpamitra Sungha defeated the last king of the empire. The era was all about the production of coins in the country and one of the important characteristics of the period was the expansion of trade all over the country. The only important trade was the Uttarapatha trade in the northern regions of the country.

FAQs

Q1. What were some of the important events of the Post Mauryan Age?

Ans. The most important event of the period was the development of internal land routes. The development and expansion of trade had spread all over the country during that period. The northern part was the most important route for trade at that time.

Q2. What is the Dark Age?

Ans. The various phases of the five centuries of the post-Mauryan were considered the Dark Age. It shows the political fragmentation of India and the way foreigners defeated and dominated India.

Q3. What were the various trades in India after the Post Mauryan age?

Ans. The gradual increase in long-route trade during the Post Mauryan period led to changes in the pattern of money and the economy of the country. The various trades such as manufacturing, weaving and carpentry increased during that period.