History atlas · Theme 8, a family of 4

India from 200 BCE to 300 CE

200 BCE to 300 CE

After the Mauryas the subcontinent entered a phase of political fragmentation and regional state formation, competition between inland and frontier powers, a series of invasions from the northwest frontier, the continued importance of Magadha, the golden age of ancient south India in the Sangam age, the growing importance of central India and the Ganga valley, and interaction between the northwest, the Deccan and the south through trade and religion. The age is often called post Mauryan, but that should not make it sound secondary: it was a highly creative and dynamic age, told here as four parallel stories.