Ancient History / Pre-Mauryan Era
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The period between 600 BC to 300 BC can be termed as Pre Mauryan period. It is also called the age of Shodasha or Solasa (16) Mahajanapadas or the age of Buddha. During the beginning of the Pre Mauryan period, sixteen greatest kingdoms have emerged.
The following sequence shows the list of 16 Mahajanapadas names and their capitals.
| Sl. No. | Name of Mahajanapadas | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anga Mahajanapada | Champa |
| 2 | Magadha Mahajanapada | Rajagriha later shifted to Pataliputra |
| 3 | Vajji Mahajanapada | Vaishali |
| 4 | Kashi Mahajanapada | Varanasi |
| 5 | Kosala Mahajanapada | Sravasti |
| 6 | Malla Mahajanapada | Pava and Kusinara |
| 7 | Vatsa Mahajanapada | Kaushambi |
| 8 | Kuru Mahajanapada | Hastinapur |
| 9 | Surasena Mahajanapada | Mathura |
| 10 | Panchala Mahajanapada | Ahichhatra and Kampilya |
| 11 | Matsya Mahajanapada | Viratanagara |
| 12 | Chedi Mahajanapada | Suktimati |
| 13 | Avanti Mahajanapada | Ujjain |
| 14 | Gandhara Mahajanapada | Takshasila or Taxila |
| 15 | Kamboja Mahajanapada | Rajapura |
| 16 | Assaka or Asmaka Mahajanapada | Podana |
At the end, that is around 350 BC, the Magadha empire became very powerful and almost all the 16 Mahajanapadas were annexed to the Magadha kingdom.