The Mauryan Empire was the first and one of the greatest empires to be established in Indian History. Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire, not only overthrew the Nandas from Magadha, but also the Greek Satraps from the North-West frontier and unified a large part of India, including the Deccan, under his centralised government.
This vast Mauryan Empire stretching from the valley of Oxus to Kaveri delta in the South was given a well-knit common administration. Chandragupta was the first Indian ruler who followed up the political unification of Northern India by extending his conquests beyond the barriers of the Vindhyas so as to bring both North and South under the umbrella of one paramount power an advantage of Mauryan history lies in the abundant, authentic and variety of its sources.