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c. 600 BCEReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Magadha Rises Among the Sixteen Mahajanapadas

A second wave of urbanization along the Ganges produces sixteen rival kingdoms, and one of them starts pulling ahead

On the timeline · around c. 600 BCE · The Mahajanapadas and the New ReligionsThe Vedic PeriodThe Mahajanapadas and the New ReligionsMagadha Rises Among the Sixteen Mahajanapadas950 BCE850 BCE750 BCE650 BCE550 BCE500 BCE

Quick facts

Number of major states
16 (the Mahajanapadas)
Rising power
Magadha, under Bimbisara and then Ajatashatru
New capital
Pataliputra (modern Patna, Bihar)
Period
c. 600 BCE onward

What happened

Around the sixth century BCE, the Gangetic plain experienced a second wave of urbanization, the first since the Indus cities had emptied out roughly a thousand years earlier. Ancient Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya name sixteen major states, the Mahajanapadas, stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east, ranging from monarchies to aristocratic republics. Among them, the kingdom of Magadha, centered on the Indo-Gangetic plain in what is now Bihar, began to pull ahead of its rivals under King Bimbisara, who annexed neighboring territories and built marriage alliances to extend his influence. His son Ajatashatru continued the expansion, deposing his own father to take the throne and then annexing Kosala, the Lichchhavi republic, Kashi, and Avanti, moving Magadha's capital to Pataliputra, a city that would remain a seat of power for centuries.

Why it matters

The Mahajanapadas mark the return of large-scale urban political organization to South Asia and set the stage for everything that follows in this period, the teachings of the Buddha and Mahavira both emerged from this world of competing kingdoms. Magadha's early expansion under Bimbisara and Ajatashatru put it on a trajectory that would eventually produce the Maurya Empire, the first state to unify most of the subcontinent.

How we know

The Mahajanapadas are known primarily from early Buddhist and Jain canonical texts that list and describe them, cross-checked against archaeological evidence of fortified cities and a distinctive pottery style, Northern Black Polished Ware, that appears across the region in this period.

Sources

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Magadha Rises Among the Sixteen Mahajanapadas · Ancient India · SourcedStory