Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.145

c11.145

The monarch usually resided in the famous metropolis of Pāṭaliputra, known to the Greek and Latin writers as Palibothra, Palibotra and Palimbothra.¹ But on occasions he must have moved about from place to place like Harsha. Appian's reference to Androcottus as the king of the Indians, who dwelt on or about the Indus,² suggests that the emperor might have used some city on or near that river as an alternative capital or at least as a 'camp of victory' (*jayaskandhāvāra*). The classical writers have left interesting accounts of the Maurya metropolis in the land of the Prasii. Pāṭaliputra, we are told was a large and wealthy city, situated at the confluence of the Erannoboas (Hiraṇyavāha or Son) and the Ganges, stretching in the form of a parallelogram. Its "inhabited quarters" covered an area 80 stades (9 miles 352 yards) in length and 15 stades (1 mile 1270yards) in breadth. It was enclosed by a wooden wall³ pierced with loopholes for the discharge of arrows and crowned with 570 towers, apparently for keeping watch. The approaches to the city consisted of 64 gates. Running along the wall, but outside it, was a gigantic trench fed by water introduced from the neighbouring rivers, 6 *plethra* (200 yards) wide and 30 cubits deep, constructed for the purpose of defence as well as reception of sewage. Sumptuous palaces adorned the city, which housed a numerous population, including a large number of foreigners. The care of the metropolis was entrusted to a corporation of 30 members (*astynomoi*).¹