Chandragupta Maurya

~340–298 BCE · Indian (Magadha) · Ancient India, Maurya Empire

Known for: Founded the Maurya Empire—the first empire to unify most of the Indian subcontinent

Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda dynasty with the help of his brilliant advisor Chanakya (Kautilya), then built the Maurya Empire—the first to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. He defeated the remnants of Alexander's eastern territories and forced the Greek general Seleucus to cede territory and a daughter in marriage.

He governed through an elaborate bureaucracy described in Chanakya's Arthashastra—a political treatise that makes Machiavelli look like a children's author. He maintained a network of spies, a standing army of 600,000, and a postal system across the empire.

In his final years, he abdicated the throne, became a Jain monk, and reportedly starved himself to death through the Jain practice of sallekhana—one of history's most dramatic career changes.

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