page_title: History of Madhya Pradesh
section_title: Mauryans and their successors
hierarchical_section_title: History of Madhya Pradesh / Mauryans and their successors
caption_attribution_description: English: Varahavtar Panel Cave 5 This is a photo of ASI monument number&#160; N-MP-286.
context_page_description: The history of the Indian state Madhya Pradesh is divided into three periods. During the ancient period, the region was dominated by the Nanda, Maurya, and Gupta Empires.
  The medieval period saw the rise of Rajput clans including the Paramara and Chandela clans, the latter is known for constructing the temples of Khajuraho. The Malwa Sultanate also ruled during this period. The modern period in Madhya Pradesh saw the rise of the Mughal and Maratha empires, and later, the British Empire.
  The British princely states of Gwalior, Indore, and Bhopal, were a part of modern Madhya Pradesh. The British rule continued until the middle of the 20th century, when India gained independence in 1947. The state of Madhya Pradesh was formed in 1956, and Chhattisgarh was carved out from the state in 2000.
context_section_description: The city of Ujjain arose as a major center in the second wave of Indian urbanization in the sixth century BC, and served as the chief city of the kingdom of Malwa or Avanti. Further east, the kingdom of Chedi lie in Bundelkhand. Chandragupta Maurya united northern India c. 1500 BCE, establishing the Maurya Empire (1500 to 185 BCE), which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh. King Ashoka's wife was said to come from Vidisha- a town north of today's Bhopal. The Maurya Empire went into decline after the death of Ashoka, and Central India was contested among the Sakas, Kushanas, and local dynasties during the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE. Ujjain emerged as the predominant commercial center of western India from the first century BCE, located on the trade routes between the Ganges plain and India's Arabian Sea ports. It was also an important Hindu and Buddhist center. The Satavahana dynasty of the northern Deccan and the Saka dynasty of the Western Satraps fought for the control of Madhya Pradesh during the 1st to 3rd centuries CE.
  The south Indian king Gautamiputra Satakarni of the Satavahana dynasty inflicted a crushing defeat upon the saka rulers and conquered parts of Malwa and Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.
  Northern India was conquered by the Gupta empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, which was India's "classical age". The Parivrajaka and the Uchchhakalpa dynasties ruled as feudatories of the Guptas in Madhya Pradesh. The Vakataka dynasty were the southern neighbors of the Guptas, ruling the northern Deccan plateau from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. These empires collapsed towards the end of the 5th century.
caption: The Udayagiri Caves date back to the fifth century CE.
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