[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [General history and culture](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general) › [The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924) › c10.82 # The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c10.82 The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c10.82 - **Language:** English ### [c10.82](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10.82) His accession to the throne of Magadha may be dated between 325 and 320 B. C., perhaps in 322 B. C. The dominions of the Magadha crown were then extensive, certainly including the territories of the nations called Prasii and Gangaridae by the Greeks, and probably comprising at least the kingdoms of Kosala, Tirhūt or North Bihār, and Benares, as well as Anga and Magadha proper or South Bihār. Two or three years before the revolution at Pātaliputra, Alexander had swept like a hurricane through the Panjāb and Sind, and it is said that Chandragupta, then a youth, had met the mighty Macedonian.¹ Whether that anecdote be true or not, and I see no reason to doubt its truth, it is certain that the troubles consequent upon the departure of Alexander gave young Chandragupta his opportunity. He assumed the command of the native revolt against the foreigner, and destroyed most of the Macedonian garrisons. The language of our authorities seems to imply that the destruction of the Nanda royal family preceded the attack on the foreign settlements in the basin of the Indus. The revolution was not completed in a moment, it being clear that the various stages occupied at least a year. When all opposition had been crushed by force or circumvented by guile, Chandragupta, in the vigour of his early manhood, stood forth as the unquestioned master of Northern India.² But before the story of the deeds of Chandragupta Maurya and the descendants who succeeded him on the throne of Magadha can be told, we must pause to unfold the wondrous tale of the Indian adventure of 'Philip's warlike son'. - [Previous: c10.81](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10.81) - [Next: c10.83](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10.83) - [Up: c10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10.82](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.smith-1924.c10.82) · Pramāṇa