Mauryan economy: coinage, taxation, and long‑distance trade (c. 321–185 BCE)

1. Chandragupta founds Mauryan revenue state

   Jan 1, 321 BCELabels: Chandragupta Maurya, Mauryan state

   • Britannica
   • WHE Maurya

2. Seleucid–Mauryan settlement secures northwest trade corridors

   Jan 1, 303 BCELabels: Seleucus I, Northwest India

   • Britannica
   • Seleucid Mauryan
   • Strabo

3. Arthashastra outlines taxation and toll administration

   Jan 1, 300 BCELabels: Arthashastra

   • Britannica
   • Arthashastra
   • Pritchett

4. Imperial punch-marked silver coinage circulates widely

   Jan 1, 300 BCELabels: Punch-marked coins, Silver karshapana

   • BM coin
   • Punch marked
   • Karshapana

5. Copper punch-marked issues appear under early Mauryas

   Jan 1, 290 BCELabels: Copper coinage, Early Mauryas

   • Karshapana
   • Punch marked

6. Ashoka’s edicts project governance across a vast economy

   Jan 1, 268 BCELabels: Ashoka, Imperial edicts

   • Britannica
   • WHE Edicts

7. Bilingual Kandahar inscription signals frontier trade integration

   Jan 1, 258 BCELabels: Kandahar inscription, Multilingual frontier

   • Kandahar Inscr
   • WHE Edicts

8. Rock Edict III orders district inspections by key officials

   Jan 1, 256 BCELabels: Rock Edict, District officials

   • Rock Edict III
   • WHE Edicts

9. Sohgaura copper plate records state famine provisioning

   Jan 1, 250 BCELabels: Sohgaura plate, Famine provisioning

   • Sohgaura
   • WHE Maurya

10. State monopolies and regulated markets support revenue collection

    Jan 1, 250 BCELabels: State monopolies, Regulated markets

    • WHE Maurya
    • Arthashastra

11. Mauryan collapse fragments monetary authority in the northwest

    Jan 1, 185 BCELabels: Gandhara, Post-Mauryan polities

    • Post Mauryan
    • Britannica

12. Transition toward cast and die-struck regional coinages

    Jan 1, 180 BCELabels: Die-struck coins, Coin casting

    • Post Mauryan
    • Punch marked