History - - Posted on July, 1 at 5:35 pm
Political unification of India under the Mauryas gave a major boost to trade and various crafts. All the artisans were organized in corporate bodies or guilds and thus crafts became small-scale industries. The trading networks, both land and marine spanned the whole Indian subcontinent, Mesopotamia, Iran and the west Asia. Trade, which was diligently supervised by the state, had become monetarized and silver and copper coins were being used. Taxila, Ujjain, Paithan, Nasik, Bharuch became important commercial centers. Traders, mostly supporters of Buddhism, now became rich and elite like never before and donated money for building stupas and rock-cut caves all over the India. This was the first visible religious architecture and art in ancient India.
Apart from commerce, there were varied economies like agriculture, nomadic pastoralism and hunting - gathering in such a vast empire and different regions were at different stages of development. Thus, the social structure was multi-layered and complex. All these diverse elements were taken care by the government. It had appointed different officials, which included those looking after welfare of women, foreigners, etc.
Government was colonizing new lands, built and maintained a network of roads all over the country, and occasionally provided public irrigation facilities. People lived in cities, towns and villages. Now they had started building houses of burnt bricks roofed with clay tiles. Cities and towns were built with wood and bricks. Everyday utility items were made of iron, copper, clay, wood and stone. There was a new type of pottery in this period, which had a metallic glaze ranging from black, steel gray-blue to brass yellow and occasionally deep ochre. This de-luxe ware was and has been unique in the world until today.
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