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The Fragmented Peripheries - Kalinga and Satavahana Invasions of the Former Sunga Empire (73 BCE)
Content:
By 73 BCE, the once-powerful Sunga Empire, which had ruled much of northern and central India after the fall of the Mauryas, was in a state of decline. The core territories of the empire had already weakened, and its peripheries became vulnerable to invasions from neighboring powers. Two emerging kingdoms—Kalinga (in present-day Odisha) and the Satavahanas (in the Deccan)—took advantage of this political vacuum, pushing into former Sunga territories.
Kalinga, which had been subdued by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, had regained its strength under a new dynasty (possibly the Mahameghavahanas, who later produced King Kharavela). By 73 BCE, Kalinga forces moved northward, likely targeting the eastern fringes of the former Sunga domain, possibly parts of present-day Chhattisgarh or southern Bihar.
Meanwhile, the Satavahanas, who were rising to power in the Deccan, pushed northward into central India. They may have taken control of key trade routes and fortified cities that had once been under Sunga influence. Their expansion marked the beginning of their long dominance over the Deccan and parts of northern India.
The Kanva dynasty, a short-lived Brahmin dynasty, had already supplanted the Sungas in Magadha by this time. However, their control was limited primarily to Bengal and parts of Bihar, with little influence over the former Sunga territories in the west and south.
This period illustrates the fragmentation of post-Mauryan India, where regional powers like Kalinga and the Satavahanas filled the power vacuum left by the declining Sungas. The invasions accelerated the shift from a centralized empire to a more decentralized political landscape, setting the stage for the rise of regional kingdoms in the following centuries.
Limitations:
While inscriptions (such as the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela) and Satavahana records provide some clues, detailed accounts of these invasions are scarce. Further archaeological and epigraphic evidence may refine our understanding of this transitional period.
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