Cobra Arbok
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Hello everyone, it has been a long time since I made a history thread like this. For most of last month, I have been mostly posting threads related to US politics after the midterm elections, and I have had other obligations. that and I was banned for some time again. Anyway today I have a thread on the history of Bihar. Today, Bihar is one of the poorest states in India, and is often the butt end of many "Bhayya" jokes. It is pretty obvious that many South Asians do not have a good opinion of Bihar and Biharis. And although Bihar isn't in very good shape right now, it arguably has one of the richest histories in the entirety of South Asia, and was the origin of the most powerful and advanced empires in South Asian history.
Prehistory: The region that is now Bihar was inhabited by early humans during the Neolithic period. Some of the first examples of prehistoric settlements are the Kaimur range paintings. These rock-paintings date back to around 5000 BP and along with the Bhimbetka caves of Madhya Pradesh, are some of the oldest cave paintings in the world. Below are some examples.
http://www.ibiblio.org/gautam/heri0008.htm
Magadh: One of the first major kingdoms in Bihar was Magadh, established around the 7th-6th century BC. Sddharthma Gatma lived in Magadh for a while, and the kingdom is widely described in Hindu and Jain texts.
Magadh Kingdom coin, 430-320 BC
Con dating circa 350 BC.
carving in the Sanchi stupa showing king Bimbisara visiting the bamboo garden in Rajagriha, where the first Buddhist sermon was delivered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magadha
In addition to Rock paintings, Bihar is also famous for ancient rock-cut caves. Although not as famous as the rock-cut caves of Maharashtra, Bihar's Barabar caves are the oldest rock caves in Idia, and perhaps the world.
The Barabar caves were built by the Mauryan Empire, mostly under Ashoka. The oldest structure is the arched entrance to the Lomas rish cave which dates back to the 3rd Century BC.
As you can see, this is a staple of South Indian architecture that would be replicated in structures built all over the subcontinent for centuries.
the Ornate doorway, which is considered to be the world's earlies example of the Caitya Arch.
The unfinished interior
Ashokan inscriptions dating from the 3rd- 2nd century BC
This brings us to the topic of the Mauryan empire, the pinnacle of all indigenous South Asian empires. It was started by a man from Patilputra named Chandragupta, who overthrew the ruling Nanda empire with the help of Chanakya of Taxila. Shortly after Chandragupta rose to power, the Basileus of the Selucid Empire Seleucus 1 Nikator attempted to do what Alexander had failed, conquer the Ganges. However, his empire was defeated by the Chandragupta Maurya. As a result, he ceded his territories in South Asia to the Mauryans, which roughly corresponded to modern Pakistan. This made the Mauryan empire the strongest Empire in South Asian history at its height. Although the exact boundaries are disputed, its territory looked something like this well-known picture:
I have already discussed the Mauryans in my history of North Indian civilization and history of urbanization in India threads, so I will post a couple of pictures from those threads.
Ancient wooden Palissade found at the Bulandi Bagh site. It is believed to have been visited by Megasthenes
Greek influenced Mauryan pillars dating between 300-100 bc
@Indus Pakistan @Talwar e Pakistan @UnitedPak @niaz @Theparadox @DANCING GIRL @third eye @Tshering22 @Nilgiri @Rajesh Kumar @Suriya @HariPrasad @AyanRay @surya kiran @jaiind @Śakra @Tea addict @Peaceful Civilian @pothead @KapitaanAli @Rollno21 @Sam. @Tom M @Cherokee @scorpionx @KAL-EL @DANCING GIRL @Mugwop @iqbal Ali @KAMDEV @SuvarnaTeja @Joe Shearer @Desert Fox @AUSTERLITZ @scorpionx @MilSpec @PakSarzameen5823 @Rajesh Kumar @Soumitra @Jf Thunder @Mage @MultaniGuy @KapitaanAli @Mage @OsmanAli98 @waz @Irfan Baloch
@Zibago @padamchen @Indos @Ortis @MastanKhan @Mugwop @firestorm777
Prehistory: The region that is now Bihar was inhabited by early humans during the Neolithic period. Some of the first examples of prehistoric settlements are the Kaimur range paintings. These rock-paintings date back to around 5000 BP and along with the Bhimbetka caves of Madhya Pradesh, are some of the oldest cave paintings in the world. Below are some examples.
http://www.ibiblio.org/gautam/heri0008.htm
Magadh: One of the first major kingdoms in Bihar was Magadh, established around the 7th-6th century BC. Sddharthma Gatma lived in Magadh for a while, and the kingdom is widely described in Hindu and Jain texts.
Magadh Kingdom coin, 430-320 BC
Con dating circa 350 BC.
_at_Rajagriha,_the_visit_of_Bimbisara.jpg)
carving in the Sanchi stupa showing king Bimbisara visiting the bamboo garden in Rajagriha, where the first Buddhist sermon was delivered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magadha
In addition to Rock paintings, Bihar is also famous for ancient rock-cut caves. Although not as famous as the rock-cut caves of Maharashtra, Bihar's Barabar caves are the oldest rock caves in Idia, and perhaps the world.
The Barabar caves were built by the Mauryan Empire, mostly under Ashoka. The oldest structure is the arched entrance to the Lomas rish cave which dates back to the 3rd Century BC.
As you can see, this is a staple of South Indian architecture that would be replicated in structures built all over the subcontinent for centuries.
the Ornate doorway, which is considered to be the world's earlies example of the Caitya Arch.
The unfinished interior
Ashokan inscriptions dating from the 3rd- 2nd century BC
This brings us to the topic of the Mauryan empire, the pinnacle of all indigenous South Asian empires. It was started by a man from Patilputra named Chandragupta, who overthrew the ruling Nanda empire with the help of Chanakya of Taxila. Shortly after Chandragupta rose to power, the Basileus of the Selucid Empire Seleucus 1 Nikator attempted to do what Alexander had failed, conquer the Ganges. However, his empire was defeated by the Chandragupta Maurya. As a result, he ceded his territories in South Asia to the Mauryans, which roughly corresponded to modern Pakistan. This made the Mauryan empire the strongest Empire in South Asian history at its height. Although the exact boundaries are disputed, its territory looked something like this well-known picture:
I have already discussed the Mauryans in my history of North Indian civilization and history of urbanization in India threads, so I will post a couple of pictures from those threads.
Ancient wooden Palissade found at the Bulandi Bagh site. It is believed to have been visited by Megasthenes
Greek influenced Mauryan pillars dating between 300-100 bc
@Indus Pakistan @Talwar e Pakistan @UnitedPak @niaz @Theparadox @DANCING GIRL @third eye @Tshering22 @Nilgiri @Rajesh Kumar @Suriya @HariPrasad @AyanRay @surya kiran @jaiind @Śakra @Tea addict @Peaceful Civilian @pothead @KapitaanAli @Rollno21 @Sam. @Tom M @Cherokee @scorpionx @KAL-EL @DANCING GIRL @Mugwop @iqbal Ali @KAMDEV @SuvarnaTeja @Joe Shearer @Desert Fox @AUSTERLITZ @scorpionx @MilSpec @PakSarzameen5823 @Rajesh Kumar @Soumitra @Jf Thunder @Mage @MultaniGuy @KapitaanAli @Mage @OsmanAli98 @waz @Irfan Baloch
@Zibago @padamchen @Indos @Ortis @MastanKhan @Mugwop @firestorm777
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