ABSTRACT
Historians conjecture that Candragupta Maurya came from a relatively powerful family, but was orphaned at a young age and sold into a family of an unknown but unseemly profession or background. In 324 Candragupta traveled throughout northern India to raise troops to oppose Alexander. Although hated by the people of central India, in 322 Candragupta made himself emperor, founding the powerful Maurya dynasty. By 300, Candragupta ruled over an India that stretched from modern Afghanistan to Burma and from the Himalayas to nearly the southern tip of the subcontinent. Candragupta realized that the strength of a state ultimately originated in its ability to extract resources from the territory and its people, and that military might was insufficient to ensure access to these resources. In order to extract resources from his kingdom and answer the needs of his people, he knew that he needed an effective administration and responsive government.
