The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c24.88

v1.c24.88

Certain stages in the growth of the power of Magadha from its ancient stronghold in the fortress of Girivraja may thus be traced. The expansion began with the conquest of Aṅga (Monghyr and Bhāgalpur in Bengal) by Bimbisāra, *c.* 500 B.C. The establishment of a supremacy over Kāçī (Benares), Kosala (Oudh), and Videha (N. Bihār) was probably the work of his son and successor, Ajātaçatru, in the first half of the fifth century. Kaliṅga (Orissa) was, perhaps, temporarily included in the empire as a result of its conquest by a Nanda king. It remained for Chandragupta to extend the imperial dominions by the annexation of the northwestern region which for a few years had owned the sway of Alexander the Great and his satraps, and for Açoka to conquer, or reconquer, Kaliṅga.