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World at War

Mauryan Conquest of India

322–185 BC South Asia Status: ended Casualties: 100,000+ at Kalinga alone, per Ashoka's edicts

Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Nandas and held off Seleucus Nicator. His grandson Ashoka conquered Kalinga in c. 261 BC — and was so revolted by the slaughter that he embraced Buddhism, carving edicts of nonviolence on pillars from Kandahar to Andhra.

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Belligerents

  • Maurya Empire (Chandragupta, Ashoka)
  • Nanda Dynasty
  • Seleucid Empire
  • Kalinga

Casualties

100,000+ at Kalinga alone, per Ashoka's edicts

From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.