Around 185 BC, when the Maurya Empire was in the terminal stages of it's decline, a general known as Pushyamitra Shunga overthrew the last Maurya emperor, triggering a Greco-Bactrian invasion, and harshly persecuted Buddhists. The gains made by Greco-Bactria would become the Indo-Greek kingdom, and it greatly influenced the history of the subcontinent. What if Pushyamitra failed to assasinate Brihadratha, and the Mauryas remained? How much longer can the Mauryans survive? What is likely to bring them down? What happens to the Deccan? And what happens to the Greco-Bactrians and the nomads of the region?
WI: Pushyamitra Shunga fails, Mauryas stay in power?
- Thread starter SunKing105
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Well, one of the immediate effects I can see is no Greco-Bactrian invasion of the Northwest. Their whole cassus belli was to protect the Sangha and restore Mauryan sovereignty. Brihadratha was the husband of Berenike, Demetrius' daughter and Pushyamitra antagonized an alliance that had existed since the time of Devavarman.
This might mean a longer flourishing and more direct Hellenic influence in the region. The Satavahanas will also nominally remain vassals of the Mauryans for longer, no one was gonna rebel while the imperial family still sat in Pataliputra. Shatadhanvan's rule had ensured that. But can the empire last on a whole? Hard to tell. Romola Thapar supposes that Brihadratha's predecessor had put into motion a small restoration of Mauryan power and given that Brihadratha ruled for over nine years prior to his assassination might indicate the imperial household was tightening it's hold on the bureaucrats and feudatories again.
This might mean a longer flourishing and more direct Hellenic influence in the region. The Satavahanas will also nominally remain vassals of the Mauryans for longer, no one was gonna rebel while the imperial family still sat in Pataliputra. Shatadhanvan's rule had ensured that. But can the empire last on a whole? Hard to tell. Romola Thapar supposes that Brihadratha's predecessor had put into motion a small restoration of Mauryan power and given that Brihadratha ruled for over nine years prior to his assassination might indicate the imperial household was tightening it's hold on the bureaucrats and feudatories again.
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