India Map 400 BCE — Historical Map & Timeline

Who ruled India in 400 BCE?

In 400 BCE, the main political power in this atlas is the Magadha.

• Magadha
  Present-day Bihar. The Mahajanapada that grew into the strongest state of the Ganga plain under the Haryanka, Shishunaga and Nanda houses. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Magadha

What happened in India around 400 BCE?

• 540 BCE: Jain traditions centre Mahavira’s teaching
• c. 5th century BCE: The Buddha’s teaching travels from a regional landscape. Traditions locate key moments of the Buddha’s life at Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar. Monastic communities then carried his teachings along routes already linking courts, towns and merchants. Source: Britannica: Buddhism—Historical development
• 492 BCE: Ajatashatru strengthens Magadha
• 400 BCE: Punch-marked coinage circulates more widely
• 364 BCE: Nanda power rises in Magadha
• 326 BCE: Alexander’s campaign reaches the Punjab. Macedonian forces crossed the Indus and fought King Porus near the Hydaspes before turning back at the Hyphasis. The expedition disturbed northwestern politics but did not amount to a conquest of the subcontinent. Source: Britannica: India—The northwestern frontier
• c. 321 BCE: Chandragupta replaces the Nandas and faces Seleucus. Chandragupta Maurya established power in Magadha and extended it into the northwest. A settlement with Seleucus I connected the new empire to the Hellenistic world through diplomacy as well as war. Source: Britannica: Chandragupta

Major Historical Milestones in 400 BCE

• 400 BCE: Punch-marked coinage circulates more widely