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Iran should be added to the "today part of" subsection. Parts of modern-day Iran (Sistan and Baluchistan Province and Khorasan Province) were in the Mauryan empire.[1]JGallagher83 (talk) 23:24, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Historical Geographer Charles Joppen created Mauryan Empire Map : [10]
Greek Historian on Empire extent(regarding Chandragupta) :
Greek historians mentioned the result of Seleucid–Mauryan war where Seleucid Empire's eastern satrapies( Gedrosia,Arachosia, Aria, and Paropamisadae) ceded to Mauryan Empire :
" Seleucus crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of he Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and some afterward."
"The geographical position of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain: then, towards the south, the Arachoti: then next, towards the south, the Gedroseni, with the other tribes that occupy the seaboard; and the Indus lies, latitudinally, alongside all these places; and of these places, in part, some that lie along the Indus are held by Indians, although they formerly belonged to the Persians. Alexander [III 'the Great' of Macedon] took these away from the Arians and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus [Chandragupta], upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange five hundred elephants. "
Greecian historian Pliny also quoted a passage from Megasthanes work about Chandragupta Empire boundaries:
" Most geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the river Indus, but add to it the four satrapies of the Gedrose, the Arachotë, the Aria, and the Paropamisadë, the River Cophes thus forming the extreme boundary of India. According to other writers, however, all these territories, are reckoned as belonging to the country of the Aria. "
Megasthenes defined the region that Chandragupta won from Seleucus as likely western side Gedrosia which shares boundaries with the Euphrates River, and eastern side Arachosia shares boundaries with the Indus. The northern frontier boundary formed by Hindukush mountain range:
" India, which is in shape quadrilateral, has its eastern as well as its 'western side bounded by the great sea, but on the northern side it is divided by Mount Hemôdos from that part of Skythia which is inhabited by those Skythians who are called the Sakai, while the fourth or western side is bounded by the river called the Indus. "
" Sandrokottos (Chandragupta) the king of the Indians, India forms the largest of the four parts into which Southern Asia is divided, while the smallest part is that region which is included between the Euphrates and our own sea. The two remaining parts, which are separated from the others by the Euphrates and the Indus, and lie between these rivers... India is bounded on its eastern side, right onwards to the south, by the great ocean; that its northern frontier is formed by the Kaukasos range(Hindukush Range) as far as the junction of that range with Tauros; and that the boundary."
clearly it is the 'standard' extent of the Mauryan Empire.
Each empire specially ancient ones, have multiple debates and extents by different historians, the one universally accepted should be taken into consideration.JingJongPascal (talk) 13:40, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This is the standard "textbook" map of the Maurya Empire which is used globally in studies. It is accepted by globally by nearly all the Historians. -says which source? Confirmation-bias WP:OR. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!19:40, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think you are right here Jingjong and it should be duty of @Joshua Jonathan to give links to archives.I would say that even if that sourced one isnt written by historians they like Romila Thapar in one of her lecture stated that "Maurya Empire was a empire of metropolis,... and periphal (autonomous) areas".Though,she also doesnt mention which areas. Edasf (talk) 12:50, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Still it shouldn't be mentioned here, as the link of her "citation" redirects to some other book written by some other person, the citations are either made wrrong accidentally or intentionally to increase the no. of historians , this is Wrong Sources and Original Research aswell.
Jingjong the newer map was just wild.It vanished Maurya control from South and incorrectly showed Aria under Mauryas.You better create a newer map I agree with your second one. Edasf (talk) 15:05, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The map I had added , shows the maximum extent (Seleucid ceded all those territories to Mauryas, as mentioned in many sources and even the one already present in the article). JingJongPascal (talk) 15:10, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The claim that Aria/Herat was one of the provinces (alongside Arachosia, Gedrosia, and Paropamisadae) ceded by Seleucus to Chandragupta Maurya is often repeated, but Aria (modern Herat) "has been wrongly included in the list of ceded satrapies by some scholars [...] on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of Strabo [...] and a statement by Pliny." (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, p. 594). Seleucus "must [...] have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son Antiochos was active there fifteen years later." (Grainger 2014, p. 109) Edasf (talk) 15:33, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Seems like this is debated among historians too, many claim Aria was ceded other don't, but the point still remains
The historians in the refrences list , most of them do not mention this "map"
The map given in refrences is actually the one which is the maximum extent (in Archaeology of South Asian, the book on source provided by the hole map)
I don't have any problem with the map itself but the erroneous use of "Romila Thappar" and other historians who don't provide a solid representation of how a Mauryan empire without autonomous region would look like
Romila states "relativly liberated" "eastern Central India and deep South" she doesn't mentions any of the other "holes" in the map
Fine, I am removing historian names.I think I should make a new map since, those maps have errors and arent very detailed. Edasf (talk)10:29, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No, I think the maps the holes is fine.
All problem I had with was the errenous use of names of historians.
Pinging @JingJongPascal @Joshua Jonathan @Fowler&fowler @PadFoot2008 The first map, which shows the core areas separated by large independent areas, is poorly sourced, as none of the sources, except one, directly states the area that was not controlled; in addition to that, they neither state the area controlled(first two). Let's look at all the sources provided.:-
Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 74, ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1, "In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples" Clear case of WP:OR does it even states the areas controlled forget about areas not being controlled.
Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8, "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." Would reason the same as first.
It is of Herman Kulke which shows the clear extent but it is the only one which does not fall in WP:OR.
If we look, two of the four sources are WP: OR and the third, which shows the extent can be cross-questioned by the likes of historians: Vincent Arthur Smith, Joppen, Satish Chandra, R. C. Majumdar, historical geographer Joseph E. Schwartzberg, and many more. Hence the map should be removed and placed in a whole new section of Maximum extent or it should be put second in place.
Also the historians whose names are mentioned except the first two don't even specifically specify anything about "autonomous region" they do mention that some tribes were "relatively" liberated. But don't specify anything about their actual imperial authoritisation and rule.
Hence I find it very vague,
and the third source ,"Archaeology of South Asia" actually shows a map without holes, it does not contain a map with holes or clearly specifies which regions were liberated from imperial rule.
According to me
Either the , names of historians should be removed (except the first two) and the "autonomous regions" should be clearly specified
As Romila Specifies these regions as "Eastern Central India" and "Deep South"
She doesn't mention any other autonomous region except these two.
Authors are reliable but the simple rule of map making is to have the source for each and every area shaded and same for the area not shaded which in this case is not clearly specified. As two of the first authors just give an outlook not mentioning the exact areas. Hence it is WP: OR as just on the basis of outlook and that to not supported by other historians the map has been made to include areas not having imperial authority. Rawn3012 (talk) 08:07, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am sympathetic to these doubts about the "map with holes", and am myself of the opinion (already advocated here) that representing all these regions by 100% empty holes is certainly not mainstream and quite WP:OR, as it is not supported in the literature, even from the sources currently cited in the caption for the "map with holes" [1]. These sources generaly describe "relatively autonomous peoples", with "various levels of independence" from Mauryan power, and various levels of connection, but nothing that would justify total obliteration from the map through 100% empty holes.
Such nuance of the sources could be best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control, as in this map.
Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15481-2. 69-70. It is a map with many large areas with line pattern labelled "autonomous and free tribes". My preference would be to reuse the line patterns of the source or shaded areas, rather than create 100% empty holes, to avoid WP:OR and to catter for the fact that the "autonomy" of the regions by definition still implies only "a degree of independence" from central Mauryan power [2].
Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 74, ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1, "In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples." => Here the "holes" correspond to "relatively autonomous peoples", a term which does imply too only a degree of independence from central Mauryan power. Here again 100% empty holes are not justified as an illustration.
Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6 Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers." => The quote does not support the map in any way. The book is not accessible online.
Romila Thapar, anthropologists Monica L. Smith and Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, archaeologist Robin Coningham are indeed simply authors quoted in the same book, which is referenced 4 times in the same sentence of the caption: Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (2015), The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE, Cambridge University Press, pp. 451–466, ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7 p.452. In this book the text and the map only emphasize the uneven centrality of the Mauryan realm. Visually translating it into 100% empty holes is probably exaggerated.
Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8, "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." This quote leaves aside the final note to the sentence (note 49): "49. The Mauryan Empire incorporated several kingdoms that had arisen outside of the Ganges basin. They included Kamboja and Gandhara in the north-west, Avanti and Cedi in central India, and Asmaka in the south. See Erdosy (1995b: 115)."
In sum, even the sources claimed for the "map with holes" do not support 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests nonetheless. As such, it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way, and it is quite certainly WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control.
पाटलिपुत्र (Pataliputra)(talk)08:44, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Though I created this map a long, long time back, I certainly don't advocate for such a representation now. I think that the 'map with holes' is much more accurate than the outdated one, per @Fowler&fowler's arguments (and maps and quotations) which he presented in the RfC a while back. Showing the 'unconquered tribes' of east-central India, and the 'autonomous and free tribes' elsewhere as a part of the Mauryan realm, even in a lighter shade, would be inaccurate if they weren't conquered at all. PadFoot (talk) 09:19, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@PadFoot2008 None of sources mention that tribes were completely independent and even if they majority of scholars use "relatively autonomous" which doesnt mean unconqured. Edasf (talk)09:23, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Do you have sources that mention that the tribes were conquered in the first place? The sources don't mention these tribes to be a part of the Mauryan territory. PadFoot (talk) 09:29, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I never said they were conquered but Rawn has clearly specified that being relatively autonomous mean they did had a level independence but also had some suzernity for Mauryas.Ashokas inscritions also mention some vassal tribesEdasf (talk)09:32, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
To support your claim, you need sources to explicitly say that they were conquered or were a part of the Mauryan empire, which the none of the sources say. PadFoot (talk) 09:49, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Let me rephrase it. None of the sources say that they formed a part of the Mauryan empire. The singular source Rawn refers to also doesn't mention that these "relatively autonomous peoples" were a part of the Mauryan empire. The word "relatively" cannot be simply taken to mean that were under suzerainty of anyone. Kulke & Rothermund say autonomous and free tribes, clearly saying that these were free and autonomous and not a part of the empire. They also refer to the east-central tribes as 'unconquered'. The map by Sinopoli showing the territorial boundaries of the Mauryan empire also supports the given map. PadFoot (talk) 10:35, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Your argument itself supports removal of given map and that only eastcentral tribes were unconquered then how is others independent.Relatively autonomous means some degree of independence not full this proves that there was atleast some sort of influence.I definitely doesnt dispute that they werent part of Maurya Empire but current map shows them completely unconquered which isnt correct rather map proposed by @पाटलिपुत्र is much better.Since it specifies a reader a much.Think about it? Edasf (talk)10:42, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The source doesn't say that these tribes were a part of the Mauryan empire. Autonomous doesn't imply that they were a part of the Mauryan empire, which would be OR, rather autonomous means that the tribes ruled themselves. (Also note that it also says 'free tribes'.) No connection of these to Mauryas is mentioned. The author simply indicates to us the location of autonomous and free tribes in South Asia at that time, and also includes the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in this category, who undisputedly were not a part of the Mauryan realm. You also ignored the map by Sinopoli which clearly indicates the Mauryan territories. PadFoot (talk) 10:55, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Nevertheless,the extent is mention in only a source and how those territories are given autonomous which were ceded by Seleucus. Edasf (talk)11:16, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Romila only mentions central eastern India and deep South,
@पाटलिपुत्र I would support the map proposed by you as it is better in graphical terms, also @Edasf It would be very difficult to judge your map without the final version presented. Also continuing on the Pataliputra's argument, only one historian among all the historians cited for the map with holes has clearly stated the boundary. Taking about others, they just mention it in the statement falling into the category of possibility.Rawn3012 (talk) 09:22, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Rawn3012 I am OK with it but the current map shows that Tribes were fully autonomous and unconqured based on some sources.It would be impossible that there will be no influence or suzernity by them for their larger neighbour the Maurya Empire. Edasf (talk)09:26, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@PadFoot2008 I have read the past discussions, and by going through them, I can say that Fowler & Fowler has made some very good arguments, but his arguments are not clearly supported by his cited sources, as none of them state total independence from the Mauryan Empire, but in place of that, they use terms like "relatively autonomous" and "various degrees of independence," which fall into the category of possibility.
The caption to the map says "autonomous," not "independent." "Autonomous" can easily be changed to "relatively autonomous." It's clear from the sources were nothing like modern state-controlled areas with permanent military presence - or police-stations, to make a modern comparison. Compare it to the 19th century Aerican frontier, I guess. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!11:50, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan Quote:"The Maurya Empire was a loose-knite with large autonomous regions within its limits" (From Ludden,David 2013).This source clearly states Maurya influence or suzernity on these territories. Edasf (talk)11:56, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Replacing current map since there isnt a need for since these were relatively autonomous and didnt separated in accordance to caption. Edasf (talk)12:05, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
i think we should just shade them differently as per source provided by @Edasf , which states that they were autonomous but still under the influence/limits of the imperial authority.
Sorry, but the green map is ugly - a green blob. The 'holes-map' looks better, and has more nuance. Note, by the way, the explanation "conceptualized as"; it does not pretend to be 'exactly' correct. Note also that the caption of the 'solid map' says "maximum extent," not 'areas controlled by the Magadha Empire', or something similar; the two maps present two different pieces of info. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!13:09, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan@PadFoot2008 @Edasf @JingJongPascal I suggest you guys should see this map(proposed by Pataliputra earlier)made by Avantiputra7. It shows the holes in lighter green colour which is more understandable and keeps all the major and minor details of the earlier two version. Only update it would take is in its legend where it should be mentioned that light green areas shows relatively autonomous areas.
They ceded three satrapies to the Mauryans, of which Gedrosia, the Mauryans never came to rule. "Desert of Gedrosia [...] was left an unclaimed wilderness." — Kosmin (2014). Also per Luten, "The geography of the Mauryan Empire resembled a spider with a small dense body and long spindly legs", thus not including the tribal regions in the Mauryan empire. PadFoot (talk) 15:02, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You guys need consensus prior to adding any new maps. Personally I prefer the map with holes and don’t see much of a reason to be adding a new map. But even if you disagree, the ONUS is on you to reach consensus because you want to add new content which hasn’t been done here. Someguywhosbored (talk) 23:55, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Well there are plenty of users who have voiced their disapproval for this change. Including Joshua, padfoot, and me. What I’m saying is, in the future, if you want to make this change, you first need to reach consensus, which hasn’t been done here. Someguywhosbored (talk) 01:32, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
All right so @Edasf, evidently they didn’t agree with you. Both padfoot and Joshua voiced their disapproval with the changes you have suggested, same with me. That’s means you haven’t reached consensus on this matter yet. Someguywhosbored (talk) 03:05, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's not a vote. The replies lacks logic; as Padfoot himself stated, it’s just his personal preference. The world doesn’t run on anyone’s preferences—especially not those of someone known for idealizing the Mughals and canvassing across Wikipedia to portray the Mughal Empire as the greatest in history. This includes attempts to diminish other major, older Indian empires, either by creating gaps in their territories or portraying contemporary powerful entities as under Mughal suzerainty for their entire existence (even when those entities themselves proved to be the biggest bane and nemesis of the Mughals). Padfoot might try from time to time to support other povs and act more neutral in some other topic areas but their intensity and consistency to bullshit for certain topic areas exposes their inherent orignal bias and this is one of them( i would say top priority)
A map with gaps is not only misleading and OR but also borders on POV-pushing. What’s the difference between fully independent and semi-autonomous regions if you use similar markings, gaps, or colors for both?
I think you need to understand that this has been discussed many times in the past before. Like a lot. And consensus to change the map was never reached in any conversation.
plus this new discussion just started so let’s wait until other users voice their opinion as well. Either way if you want to make a change, gain consensus first. Someguywhosbored (talk) 06:39, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, please direct everyone to the conversation link where a consensus was reached that 'semi-, partially, or relatively autonomous' is equivalent to 'completely independent.' Unless such a consensus exists, using 'holes' is simply pushing a biased and original perspective and can be considered incorrect, misleading, original research, disinformation, or deliberate misinformation.
I’ve provided my input, but given the average IQ level worldwide ( which is decreasing every passing year), it’s understandable if my reasoning went over some people's heads and no action is taken on this page. Have a nice day! 2409:40E3:103D:8274:D44E:6101:52AA:3A95 (talk) 06:52, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Kosmin's statements on the Gedrosia region appear inconsistent as he contradicts his own statement. First, he states on Pg. 16: "The satrapies of Gandhara, Aria, and Arachosia, in part or whole, were early on ceded to the Mauryan kingdom of India. The unrelieved desert of Gedrosia, today's Baluchistan on the shores of the Indian Ocean, was left an unclaimed' wilderness."[3]. But, later he states on Pg. 33: "Seleucus transferred to Chandragupta's kingdom the easternmost satrapies of his empire, certainly Gandhara, Parapamisadae, and the eastern parts of Gedrosia, and possibly also Arachosia and Aria as far as Herat."[4]. It may be best to avoid mentioning such contradictions directly. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:24, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I also prefer the present map with holes. It's clear what the holes mean, and the conclusion that the Mauryas controlled the main cities, and not all of the tribal areas, makes sense. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!06:29, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but what tribal areas?
Romila (I have stated this thousand times) only mentions a vague reply
Of "Eastern Central India" and Deep South
And the sources also states they were "relativly liberated" it does not mention whether they were still under the influence of the Imperial authority via vassal or anything else.
Also the name of the historians is very very vague too, these historians don't "specify the extent"
You need consensus per WP:ONUS. So regardless of your opinion you probably shouldn’t say he’s just making stuff up now, especially since he’s already provided many references to other conversations regarding the same topic with the links he sent.
“ The responsibility for achieving consensus for inclusion is on those seeking to include disputed content.”
since your the one who wants to add disputed content, the ONUS is on you. If consensus is not reached, than previous content is retained per “WP:NOCONSENSUS”. Someguywhosbored (talk) 09:15, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Either the present map, or the alternate (shaded) map by Avantiputra. Arguments about "autonomous," "liberated," etc., or the exact extent of Mauryan power, miss the point of this map: that the Mauryan Empire was not a nation state in the modern meaning. Fowler&fowler picked-up that insight, and brilliantly conveyed it in this map. I found it eye-opening; a very meaningfull insight communicated in one, simple visual aid. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!09:21, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I and Pataliputra, in our above replies, have clearly stated that the sources provided do not clearly state that those holes are in all terms independent. The map with a light green shade should be used instead of these two, as it will present a better picture to the viewers about the polity. Rawn3012 (talk) 09:45, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with @Rawn3012 and @पाटलिपुत्र ; some sources appear to fulfill only minor requirements and do not clearly explain the Herman Kulke map. Better to use Patliputra synthetic map. Apart from the Herman Kulke map, in the same book, Kulke seems to agree that Baluchistan (Gedrosia) was under Chandragupta’s rule, though his map shows a gap, possibly indicating limited control rather than complete independence. On page 59, he states: "In 305 BC, Seleukos Nikator... Chandragupta met him at the head of a large army in the Panjab and stopped his march east. In the subsequent peace treaty, Seleukos ceded to Chandragupta all territories to the east of Kabul as well as Baluchistan." --Herman Kulke & Dietmar Rothermund[5] Since ancient times, it was not feasible for armies to access every part of an empire, as seen in Alexander's empire. His campaigns followed specific routes where populations were concentrated. A map of Alexander the Great's empire at its largest extent c.323 BCE including details of key roads, location, and battles. This suggests the possibility of large, autonomous tribes existing within these empires. Similarly, in Darius' empire, significant regions and tribes remained that did not pay tribute, indicating a level of independence.Tribute in the Achaemenid EmpireNxcryptoMessage11:40, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
True, Macedonian and Alexander barely had any influence in the city skirts and outer boundaries
Only major routes and cities were effectually ruled.
I am talking of shading about different territories of gained by emperors all should be shaded in one only.Nevertheless I dont have much issue and I am ready to accept this only. Edasf (talk)12:58, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi @JingJongPascal Talking about other Empires would be not fine as what happens in this page is totally different from what is happening on other pages. I think the map by Pataliputra would be fine with some minor corrections.
It was a response to Rawn3012, who wrote the sources provided do not clearly state that those holes are in all terms independent. The reply-function has some disadvantages... Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!09:02, 12 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, @Joshua Jonathan:, for your note on my talk page. I'm a little busy for the next couple of days, but will reply on Thursday, Nov 14. It will be an "auspicious" day to reply, if I'm allowed to digress, as it is the 135th birthday of Nehru, the man who proposed in July 1947 that the Lion capital of Ashoka in the Sarnath museum but without the bell-shaped lotus be the emblem of the newlysoon to be independent Dominion of India and the Wheel of Dharma in the abacus be the central feature in the dominion's tricolor flag, which otherwise was modeled in its choice of color by the Irish flag and the role the Irish Home rule leaguers had played in India's anti-colonial movement.
1) Name of the Historians mentioned in "Archeology of South Asia" (which is used a source for hole map) is very vague.
The historians don't actually say the areas where holes were.
They do mention deep South and Central Eastern India (Kalinga) but nothing else.
While the hole map has holes other places too.
2)Northwestern regions, as per my sources , Gedrosia and Aria (entirty) was ceded to mauryans, which is not included in the hole map or maximum extent map
3) The "Autonomous regions" can be misleading. It clearly tries to pin point them being "Independent" I know autonomous doesn't means Independent, but I can be misleading
The Archaeology of South Asia which is used as a source states they were "relativly autonomous" so they were still under "imperial" rule in one way or another.
I would like to divide my reply in two parts, first about the tertiary sources of the Hole map and second about the visual sources of the latter.
1.) Hi @Fowler&fowler You are a very senior editor to me, and hence I would easily be able to draw the conclusion that you have a very strong understanding of WP:OR, even for map making. The written source, if someone is using them, should state the territory controlled in a very clear manner, or more likely in X to Y format.
For ex:-
Chandragupta founded the Mauryan Empire. His empire encompassed the whole of northern India and Afghanistan." -- Alfred S. Bradford, Pamela M. Bradford (2001). With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World. Praeger. p. 125
"The vastness of the Mauryan empire, from Afghanistan in the north to Karnataka in the south and from Kathiawad in the west to Kalinga in the east (if not as far as north Bengal), is considered on the basis of the spots where Asoka's edicts were (...)" -- Bharati Ray, ed. Different Types of History: Project of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization (Vol. XIV, part 4). Pearson Longman. p. 24
"The Maurya Empire extended from Afghanistan in the north to the deep south in India except for the southern tip of (...)" -- Stanton, Andrea L., ed. (2012) Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia p. 41
"By 300, Chandragupta ruled over an India that extended from modern Afghanistan to Burma and from the Himalayas to nearly the southern tip of the subcontinent." -- David W. Del Testa, ed. (2014) Government Leaders, Military Rulers and Political Activists p. 30
It has been already shown (Ch. II) that the empire of Candragupta extended from Afghanistan to Mysore and that of Ashoka was far greater in extent including all the Dekhan and South India upto the frontiers of the Tamil Kingdoms." -- V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar (1993) Motilal Banarsidass Publ., The Mauryan Polity. p. 197
"He [Ashoka] controlled an empire (the largest until British rule) that ranged from Bangladesh in the east to Afghanistan in the north and included much of the southern part of the subcontinent." -- Denise Patry Leidy (2008) The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History & Meaning p. 9
Saul, David (2009). The Mauryan Empire. In Sturgeon, Alison, ed. War: From Ancient Egypt to Iraq. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781405341332) pp. 54-55. (basically confirms the story mentioned by sources listed above).
The sources provided by you are vague and do not explicitly state that this area was controlled or was not. It includes the likes of historians Burton Stein, Arnold David, Stanley Tambiah, Tim Dyson, and David Luden.
2.) Talking about the maps provided, again as an experienced editor. You know that we are talking about the greatest extent of the empire. Hence, you should be providing the source in that journa.
Among your all cited sources none except Herman Kulke and Ruthermund state the empire's territory at its zenith and the territory being controlled or not. F.R. Allchin talks about the Empire's major provinces, another one Monica L. Smith argues that Mauryan authority was a network rather than centralized. Remmaing two, I was not able to acces.
Hence, I would request all the editors to look upon all the arguments provided and then base your decision.
Before this there was a long discussion but concluded with starting a Rfc .So first I will say about map without holes it needs since in today part of section Iran is mentioned while this map shows none of Iran as Mauryan even it excludes parts of Pakistan So should this be changed?.Then, map with holes is looks confusing how did territories ceded by Seleucus became autonomous? Then none of sources mention complete independence for tribes so to help a reader understand context So should we use a map with different shades?Edasf (talk)05:58, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's your responsibility to prove how all the discussions have been exhausted before starting an rfc, you cannot expect uninvolved editors to go look for them and your rfc statement is not neutral. - Ratnahastin (talk) 06:44, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Ratnahastin I wanted to ask you, as I assume that this RFC is closed(per your comment above) and another a year ago with no consent. Do we have to opt for RFC or should we stick to the discussion above?
The current maximum extent map shows none of Iran (Even excludes some Pakistan) while,Iran is on today part of section.Should this map be changed to new map?This Rfc is redrawn per above section. Edasf (talk)09:41, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You should close this RfC ASAP. The statement is entirely unintelligible, not to mention it is as entirely non-neutral. You will be wasting the time of competent editors. You should first discuss on this page with everyone how RfC should be formulated. Figure out in which Wikipedia projects to advertise it in, come to some kind of a consensus with everyone, and only then, begin the RfC. Fowler&fowler«Talk»13:37, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
And please for heavens sake don't rush through this. Formulating the RfC will take a week. The RfC will take at least a month, that is if people don't have RfC fatigue as they know the last one was a flop. Fowler&fowler«Talk»13:39, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Please also note that if new editors appear out of the blue and support one version or other, their supports will be discounted by the closer. See the discussion in the RfC of September 2023. Fowler&fowler«Talk»13:45, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I've moved the references and links for the network-model map into a note, for a comprehensive overview; havinf gone through all the links and references I can only say that this map represents a solid scholarly view on how the Maurya Empire expanded and was controlled: not as a vast territoty, but as a network of strongly controlled cities, and dimly controlled regions which were commecially less relevant.
I think we should go for the RFC as I strongly feel all the sources provided for the network maps are pretty vague aside of one which I was not able to access. Rawn3012 (talk) 13:50, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Edasf I am willing to be the nominator and advertising will be done too as what I think Mauryan Empire could be a network based polity operated through imperial cities instead of highly centralized one, but the influence these cities exerted outside their core can easily be put to debate. Rawn3012 (talk) 14:08, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan I would like to request that you remove the sources that do not have any direct link to the network map. Specifically the ones who are explaining the type of polity the Mauryan Empire was It includes the likes of historians Burton Stein, Arnold David, Stanley Tambiah, Tim Dyson, and David Luden. As putting it in a better way, I can say this: these sources are neither explaining the extent of the empire nor the territory controlled or not controlled, and even if they are, it is not in a specified manner, and this is also the reason why fingers are being put on the map. As it implies certain degree of WP:OR. By opting for these sources, you are not giving the network map a celebral opportunity to present it as reliable.
@Edasf I am willing to be the nominator and advertising will be done too as what I think Mauryan Empire could be a network based polity operated through imperial cities instead of highly centralized one, but the influence these cities exerted outside their core can easily be put to debate Rawn3012 (talk) 14:10, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We can go through those sources one by one; this is too vague. It seems we're running the same circle again: these sources are neither explaining the extent of the empire nor the territory controlled or not controlled, that's not what the network-model is about - or maybe it is, in the opposite way. To quote Smith:
With broad lines and dark shading, the cartographic depictions of ancient states and empires convey the impression of comprehensive political entities having firm boundaries and uniform territorial control. These depictions oversimplify the complexities of early state growth, as well as overstating the capacity of central governments to control large territories. Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that ancient states are better understood through network models rather than bounded territory models.
The sources given as an explanation are relevant to this network-model, which is what the Network-model conceptualizes, not the exact extent or which territories exactly were controlled or not. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!14:08, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am not much about holes one and still it seems impossible there would be no Mauryan influence over these regions. To be precise both maps be changed. Edasf«Talk»15:46, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"Network-model map," not Swiss cheese. Regarding it seems impossible there would be no Mauryan influence over these regions, that's a simplification of what the sources talk about. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!16:06, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No. Ludden (2013): "Kautilya’s Arthasastra indicates that imperial power was concentrated in its original heartland, in old Magadha, where key institutions seem to have survived for about seven hundred years, down to the age of the Guptas." There's no compelling evidence to shade the tribal areas; actually, given Ludden, the shades areas outside Magadha should be shaded lighter. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!18:39, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For maximum extent, I would refer Mauryan Empire map by History Professor of Oxford University Harold Arthur Harris[6] or Mauryan Empire map published by Millennium House which is written by group of Historian, Archeologist and Historical Geographer[7]. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:07, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Although this is my suggestion and I wouldn't like to involve myself further in this, But I think if you are representing 2 POVs then represent them accurately and rightfully. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:07, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Pinging @Malik-Al-Hind @Edasf I would like to say that consensus on the above talk page was for the hole map, not for the maximum extent map; also, only Joshua has agreed. Aside from that, the creator of the map, Avantiputra7, is a very senior editor with hands-on experience in map mapping. Removing his map without even discussing it with him and then creating another based on his map only is not right. As it would be a kind of disgrace to his hard work, for which he deserves credit. Courtsey ping @Avantiputra7 @PadFoot2008Rawn3012 (talk) 07:55, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Sure, let us begin the discussion. I would just start with giving a suggestion since I don't really want myself to get involved in it. Basically it is just for the maximum extent, I would genuinely refer Mauryan Empire map by History Professor of Oxford University Harold Arthur Harris[8] or Mauryan Empire map published by Millennium House which is written by group of Historian, Archeologist and Historical Geographer[9]. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:15, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think I replied you twice giving my suggestions but I will reply here too. If you read the discussion which you cited, you will notice that there are indeed many errors in his map, he has made paropamisadae and gandhara into one (which it was not), The marking of Kuntala region and gedrosia region is slightly wrong as well. Moreover, given by the theme of the infobox, We were supposed to add the maps of two point of views i.e One with holes and one without holes, I believe the one without holes has been represented wrongly, Because all the historians it quotes in the citation bar, Namely Rc Majumdar, Vincent smith and Joseph E. Schwartzberg agree that "aria" was the part of Mauryan empire. So it must be included in the maximum extent map. Yes indeed there are historians who say aria was not the part of Mauryans, but we already have a holed version of mauryan map which doesn't have aria. So atleast it should be included in the map which is without holes, Because the maps should go with what the cited sources are saying, but if we carefully notice this, the current map isn't aligning with the sources it is citing.
So this is just a suggestion, that the map should be changed to the map @Edasf posted, you can give credits to Avantiputra, I don't have a problem with that. For maximum extent, I would prefer to also refer Mauryan Empire map by History Professor of Oxford University Harold Arthur Harris[10] or Mauryan Empire map published by Millennium House which is written by group of Historian, Archeologist and Historical Geographer[11]. Thank you.. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 09:55, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
In the revised map, the northern 'borders' are also expanded; I think I would object against that. Best thing to do would be to adjust Avantiputra's map a slight little bit, I think. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!11:46, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We are ready to adjust that if there is an error there, but we will include entire gedrosia and obviously aria to align the map with the cited sources. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 11:54, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Someguywhosbored: You asked, so here's my take. The Ganges Plain was deforested in the first half of the first millennium BCE by the Indo-Aryan speaking migrants who had arrived in South Asia from the northwest ca. 1200 BCE. The first clan-based city states and the caste system to stratify or wall out the native peoples of the region (the forest dwelling hunter gatherers) came to being by the mid-first millennium BCE.
Technologically, what are the chances that one of those city states, later called Magadha, had become so big by 300 BCE, that it could really have a centralized empire reaching all the way to Western Baluchistan, that they could build real canals (with the attendant problem of sedimentation in the Himalayan rivers), or even subcontinent-wide highways, which took the British (who were in the midst of an industrial revolution) quite a bit of hard work to build?
The main problem for me is that except for Ashoka's pillars and edicts, there is no archaeological trace of the Mauryas in South Asia. Greece (ca 450 BCE) had the File:Classic view of Acropolis.jpg, let alone such as those of the Indus Valley Civilisation, Ancient Egypt or Babylon. And the Ashokan capitals and pillars are, in the view of the majority of archaeologists, the work of Iranian stonemasons who had fled the sacking Persopolis by Alexander in 323 BCE and hired by the Mauryans. See Lion capital of Ashoka: Influences.
For me, this entire topic area, is very problematic, especially since 2014 when the old regional sub-nationalism that boosted the Mauryas has been surmounted by an India-wide religious nationalism. If WPians do not want to first read and understand modern approaches to history and archaeology (such as the kind of sources cited in the FA India) and if they prefer instead to start with tall stories of cultural grandiosity and then use Google to find the sources that support them, there is not much I can do. I try to fix the lead now and them, but beyond that I don't have the energy nor the heart. Fowler&fowler«Talk»15:21, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Again..the problem here is, If the Mauryans didn't rule gedrosia/aria as per some historians, that is totally fine, That is literally what the holed version of the map is for. But when we are talking about the standard Mauryan map (without holes) which is used almost everywhere from britanica to Oxford to Cambridge to Chicago University press, and the map which is also in Wikipedia, it should go with the sources it is citing and the sources it is based on specifically, the map is well sourced but it doesn't go with the citations/sources it is citing at all. I will explain what I mean here. It specifically cites 3 notable historians (although there are 100s more which support it but let us ignore that) who are Joseph Schwartzberg, RC majumdar and Vincent Arthur smith, let us go with what they say one by one.
Vincent Arthur Smith; R. C. Majumdar; and historical geographer Joseph E. Schwartzberg."
Pg.75 : Chandragupta Maurya, and the four satrapies of Aria, Arachosia, Gedrosia, and the Paropanisadai were ceded to him by Seleukos Nikator about B.C. 305. The Maurya frontier was thus extended as far as the Hindû Kush Mountains, and the greater part of the countries now called Afghanistan, Balûchistan and Makran, with the North-Western Frontier Province, became incorporated in the Indian Empire. That empire included the famous strongholds of Kabul, Zabul, Kandahar, and Herat, and so possessed the scientific frontier' for which Anglo-Indian statesmen have long sighed in vain.
Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India by Smith, Vincent Arthur [12]
Pg.105 : Net result of the expedition, however, clearly indicate that Seleucus met with a miserable failure. For he had not only to finally abandon the idea of reconquering the Panjab, but had to buy peace by ceding Paropanisadai, Arachosia, and Aria, three rich provinces with the cities now known as Kabul, Kandähär and Herät respectively as their capitals, and also Gedrosia (Baluchistan), or at least a part of it. The victorious Maurya king probably married the daughter of his Greek rival, and made a present of five hundred elephants to his royl father-in-law.
Pg. 170 : By 311 B.C. or somewhat later the Indus had become the frontier of the Magadhan Empire. Further westward expansion was largely the outcome of the successful military encounter with Seleucus Nicator (Seleukos Nikator), founder of the Seleucid dynasty and inheritor of Alexander's eastern empire from northern Syria to India Between 305 and 302 B.C. Seleucus ceded the satrapies of Gedrosia. Arachosia, Paropamisadai, and probably Aria , gave his adversary a Greek princess in marriage, and obtained in return 500 war elephants and permanent peace and friendship on his eastern frontier. About this time, perhaps earlier, western Gandhara and areas north to the Hindu Kush, Abhisara, and probably Kasmira were also annexed to the Mauryan dominions.
Historical Atlas of India by Joseph E. Schwartzberg [14]
All of the cited sources in the map indicate that the Mauryans Had Aria but the said map which is literally relied on that source doesn't include it, Indicating That it is not aligning with the very sources it is citing, So if you are putting 2 versions of the map, present them accurately and rightfully and let the readers to decide it.
Now coming to the holed map, I personally have no problem with that, Unless it is just WP:OR like @पाटलिपुत्र said, because even the sources in its support which supposedly claims for the "map with holes" do not support its 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests. Because of which it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way or even academic in any way, you will find it nowhere except for in wikipedia, because of which it is WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control. That would be respected, although I have nothing to object about that, I am merely here to correct the standard Mauryan map.
@Someguywhosbored For now, see these maps [15][16], They are WP:RS, Yes the current map is sourced and The cited historians in the maximum extent map such as Vincent arthur, Joseph and RC majumdar, all agree with the said map by saying aria was the part of mauryans. Which the map doesn't include. Proving that The current map isn't even aligning with the sources it is citingMalik-Al-Hind (talk) 13:02, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Someguywhosbored And everyone agrees a little part of Iran and coastal Balochistan were under Mauryan control if you dont believe I can provide sources as well.Do you still oppose changing current map? Edasf«Talk»13:15, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
In Baluchistan, neolithic villages such as Mehrgarh dating to 7,000 BCE have survived in pristine state. The first use of cotton for cloth has survived in Mehrgarh. The first in-vivo drilling of teeth (with a bow drill) has survived in Mehrgarh (see the famous article in Nature announcing it.
Why is it that there is no, zero, nada, evidence of the Mauryas in Baluchistan. Only a vague mention of the treat in the account of Greek historians given to exaggeration. Doesn't add up. Fowler&fowler«Talk»16:20, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan I believe this isn't going right as it should go, We have "holed" map of Mauryans for a reason, there aria and gedrosia isn't included for this very reason. But this standard version should have gedrosia/aria since it has to align with the sources it is based on. Which it isn't allowing.
"Where is the archeological evidence" is a clearly different topic and i believe is WP:RS here. We were discussing to fix the standard Mauryan map with the help of the sources it is based on, The sources clearly state Mauryans had aria but the map doesn't have it. The map is Not aligning with the very sources it is based on. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:33, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Fowler&fowler With all due to respect, you seem to have ignored my comment earlier. You do realise what you are doing is WP:RS right? We go with what the scholars and academia says in wikipedia. The map is based on those sources it isn't aligning with. The sources do specifically state they had aria and gedrosia therefore it must be included, Gedrosia is already there but Aria is not. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:30, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan It is not accurate enough, it doesn't have aria, and the sources it is relied on clearly says that Mauryans did have Aria. You are pretty much ignoring everything we said. Keep in mind the maps should be aligning with the sources they are based on, and the sources do state that Mauryans had Entire Aria and gedrosia. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:19, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Fowler&fowler Do you have sources that dispute this and you mean only those areas be under Mauryas where inscriptions are? Iran is there in today part of section.Don't know how you even know Greeks did exaggeration maybe you secretly built time machine.@Malik-Al-Hind provided several sources.Complete nonsense from an experienced editor. Edasf«Talk»16:27, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
F&f does have a point; Avantiputra effectively made the same point: maximum extent according to the presence of inscriptions. I've reverted Avantiputra's map back to the previous state, awaiting consensus. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!16:32, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua JonathanIf it is about maximum extent according to the presence of inscriptions then every single ancient Empire including the Achaemenid empire and Macedonian empire would get minimize, this could apply to literally every single ancient empire existing.
Our discussion was to change the standard Mauryan map according to the sources it is based on. The sources do state that aria was a part of Mauryans as I have clearly provided above (which both you and fowler supposedly ignored). But the map doesn't have aria, indicating that it is not Aligning with the sources it is based on, Which it should.
Indeed there are few sources which state Aria wasn't the part of Mauryans, but that is literally what the holed version is for, which doesn't have gedrosia or Aria. But you have to let it remain in the Standard Mauryan map so it is aligned with the sources and is represented accurately. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:42, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
no one thinks you are POV pushing. But the sources provided for map with holes is vague.
And The maximum extent of mauryan empire has to be its maximum extent not its "semi maximum" extent.
Map for mughal empire used in the article is from the same historical atlas from which we are sourcing. if that map is accurate, what makes this less accurate? same sources. JingJongPascal (talk) 17:22, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not missing the point. I was the first person to upload maps from Joppen, Vincent Smith, and Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Datta, all of which I own. The medieval and early modern maps are more reliable as there were more primary sources on which they relied. For the Mauryas there was nothing but the mythologyzing and hagiographic Greeek historians. Fowler&fowler«Talk»17:34, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Can you provide me source that Greeks "mythologyzed" Maurya Empire's extent? They clearly state, that Seleucids lost the war, and ceded away Eastern Afghanistan and Entire baluchistan.
I don't know what is hard to understand here. The map is based on the sources it isn't aligning with, The sources cited clearly state Aria was the part of Mauryan empire, but the supposed map doesn't have it. Which needs to improve and change.
"But the extent is according to the mauryan inscriptions throughout South asia"
That would be literally WP:OR, we can't ourselves make up the boundaries of the mauryan empire based on our understanding of their inscriptions, We rely on historians, archeologists and other scholarly academic sources for that. And the academic sources this standard Mauryan map is based on clearly includes aria in it. Which the supposed map doesn't have. And with this, we can literally minimize every single ancient empire which ever existed, this can clearly apply on the Macedonian empire and the Achaemenid empire as well.
"but there are indeed sources which state Aria wasn't the part of Mauryans"
That is literally what the holed version is representing. But if you are representing two versions of the same map, You need to represent both of them rightfully and accurately, which you aren't doing in case with the Mauryan Empire's standard map. Because all the historians supporting this version do include aria in it, which you aren't doing. I recommend to check these too [17][18]Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:49, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Not trying to assume things but It just seems like they are avoiding the entire topic and don't want to make any changes..purposely trying to rely on POV-push. They asked us to seek a consensus and discuss, which they are refraining from. Only an RFC could sort things out but no one is willing to do that either. @पाटलिपुत्र what is your take on this? Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 16:59, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
An RFC does not trump an Featured article review. The India page's WP front page appearance on 2nd October 2019, Gandhi's 150th, was closely watched by at least a dozen administrators. Its lead said then, and does now: "Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin. Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity, but also marked by the declining status of women, and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief."
@Fowler&fowler You just ignored more than 90% of the stuff i said. I wouldn't repeat myself, we are clearly talking about the standard Mauryan map, and the sources that mauryan map is based on clearly says aria was the part of Mauryans, Infact all historians who believed in the standard Mauryan version agree that aria was the part of Mauryans indeed, which I quoted above and which you are collectively ignoring. We can't make the boundaries of the mauryan empire based on our understanding of the inscriptions. That is literally a povpush and WP:OR, we need to rely on what historians, archeologists and scholarly academia says.
We are representing 2 versions of the mauryan map, But the current map of the standard version is not being represented accurately at all. It misses a lot of places and
which the sources it is based on explicitly says was the part of Mauryan empire. The current map is not aligning with the sources it is based on, which is an insane Pov push and WP:OR since the holed version is already there to represent the controversy behind aria/gedrosia. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 17:36, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
They are going in a circular discussion which never seems to end. Both of them collectively ignored our entire main point and the sources I cited, both of them refrained from discussing on that. Though I will patiently wait for their response. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 17:47, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Those sources are old, dated. I can produce even older sources than Joppen and Vincent Smith. They state the provinces were east of the Indus and the elephants were 50, not 500, not to mention that the stories of Megasthenes of "the grandeur of Chandragupta, of his army, and his capital, are well-nigh incredible." (G. U. Pope's A Text-Book of Indian History, London WH Allen, 1880. I will add some pictures. Fowler&fowler«Talk»17:54, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
How does a source like [19] and Kosmin (2014) looks old to you? I am sure I cited numerous old and new scholarly WP:RS works. But again, the point is not about what is new or what is old.
The point here is about representing the viewpoint of vast group of historians correctly here instead of distorting it. Since this article is representing 2 types of viewpoint, the one who believe in holed version and the one who don't believe in a hole version, It is our duty to represent the map/viewpoint of both of these groups accurately, which we are NOT doing here. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 17:58, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There are no two viewpoints; otherwise, the India page, the flagship page on Indian history, would have it. There is only one modern map. The Mauryas had some regions of core control, but outside them the vast subcontinent was autonomous. Had they had the whole subcontinent, they would have left at least one artifact in Baluchistan. But there is nothing there. As Baluchistan has no trees, if the Mauryas has actually lived there, they would have built homes in stone. But nothing survives, no road, no canal, no settlement, no bones, ... Even in places such as Taxila, or Afghanistan, outside the Asokan pillar or edict, there is no Mauryan artifact anywhere. Fowler&fowler«Talk»18:36, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I will be responding here to most of the questions raised by you here. You said there is only 1 map. Well i dont think so that is true, there are indeed 2 viewponts, 1 viewpoint which encompasses that mauryans ruled the entire subcontinent, I have cited the sources of those historians/scholars, (I can cite several more but that would make this response extremely big), The other viewpoint that there were autonomous independent regions inside the Mauryan realm. So you are certainly wrong to say that "THERE is only one modern map" well i guess that is why the holed map can be found nowhere except for in wikipedia, Neither in Oxford nor in Cambridge nor in britanica, even the cited sources in the holed the map are insanely cherrypicked and can be easily disputed because many of those sources assert that mauryans had some amount of control over those tribes making them semi-independent.
Let us take look over them one by one.
1)-Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15481-2. 69-70. It is a map with many large areas with line pattern labelled "autonomous and free tribes". Here it is importan to reuse the line patterns of the source or shaded areas, rather than create an imaginary 100% empty hole, which will avoid WP:OR and will catter for the fact that the "autonomy" of the regions by definition still implies only "a degree of independence" from central Mauryan power [20]
2)-Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 74, ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1, "In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples." => Here the "holes" are based on the term "relatively autonomous peoples", a term which does imply too only a degree of independence from central Mauryan power. Here again 100% empty holes are not justified as an illustration.
3-Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6 Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers." => The quote nowhere supports anything nor The book seems to be accessible online.
4-Romila Thapar, anthropologists Monica L. Smith and Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, archaeologist Robin Coningham are indeed simply authors quoted in the same book, which is referenced 4 times in the same sentence of the caption: Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (2015), The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE, Cambridge University Press, pp. 451–466, ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7 [21]]. In this book the text and [ https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA452%7C the map]] only emphasize the uneven centrality of the Mauryan realm. Visually translating it into 100% empty holes is probably exaggerated.
5)-Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8, "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." This quote leaves aside the final note to the sentence (note 49): "49. The Mauryan Empire incorporated several kingdoms that had arisen outside of the Ganges basin. They included Kamboja and Gandhara in the north-west, Avanti and Cedi in central India, and Asmaka in the south. See Erdosy (1995b: 115)."
In sum, even the sources claimed for the "map with holes" do not support 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests nonetheless. As such, it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way, and it is quite certainly WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control.
So yes, you can't at all say 'there is only 1 modern map" since your own map is a result of a WP:OR over some cherrypicked lines and can be found nowhere except for in wikipedia.
At this point you are clearly ignoring the vast chunk of historians/scholars who still push forward and believe that mauryans ruled over entire subcontinent, which still remains a consensus in this paradigm as proved by the scholars/historians i quoted from so many legitimate scholarly institutions like cambridge/oxford/Chicago etc.
Now, there are indeed 2 point of views, the ones who "supposedly" believe in autonomous free tribes inside of mauryan realm who were independent, but at the same time there is another group with another point of view that mauryans ruled over the entire subcontinent, this is why there are still 2 maps being used in this article since years.
Now it will be extremely dishonest of us to distort the viewpoint of historians who believe in the standard mauryan map (the one without holes), If we are representing that map, we have to represent them accurately, over what the very historians/scholars actually say on whose works the map is based, we have to carefully look at that, we just can't invent boundaries ourselves based on our own understanding of some inscriptions and artifacts because that will be WP:OR and then every ancient empire including the achaemenid empire and macedonian empire could get minimized. If we are having the standard map added which is based on some group of historians ,we need to align the map with the works of those historians the map is based on, which we are supposedly not doing nor we are representing their map/viewpoint accurately.
Like i said, The map doesn't align with the very references it is sourced from
As for the archeological evidences of mauryans in gedrosia/aria, this is a totally separate issue, even if we agree there is none (i am not agreeing but just for the sake of discussion) then the holed version is already there to represent this issue..which it is supposedly doing..but then why distorting the standard version? Let it align with the sources it is based on? And regardless, you do realise this could work on every single empire of ancient era including the macedonian and achaemenid empire. There are numerous places where there are no artifacts or inscripion of achaemenids, that is a separate issue anyway. I can discuss on that but it will make my reply too time consuming to read.
Anyways for archeological evidences, read this:
Pg. 417: Mauryan empire towards the satrapies of Gedrosia part of which were ceded by Seleucus to Chandragupta. The discovery of the remains of a large Buddhist sanctuary on "Koh-i-Khwaja" in Sistan suggests that this province also was perhaps included in the Mauryan empire, and the Buddhist influence reached there in the time of Asoka himself. Further south, that Jaz Morian Lake have marked this side the western boundary of the Mauryan empire. "
I will say this again. We are representing 2 versions of the Mauryan map. But the standard version i.e the version which is without holes is not being represented accurately at all.
First of all it relies upon bunch of sources which it doesn't align with, All of the sources the map is based on clearly state that Aria was the part of Mauryan empire as we have discussed this before, but the map nowhere seems to have it. Leave the cited sources of the map, since only 3 historians are cited there. Almost all the historians who push forward and believe in the standard Mauryan version include Aria in it and clearly state that Aria was the part of Mauryan empire.
The wiki article seems to represent the viewpoint of 2 groups of Historians and archeologists. First who supposedly believe there were independent autonomous tribes inside the Mauryan realm and Second are the One who push forward a standard Mauryan map which encompasses almost all of South Asia . In such a circumstance, it is our duty to represent their viewpoint accurately which we are not doing here. Because the standard Mauryan map (i.e the one without holes) is based on the viewpoint of historians who repeatedly have said this over and over again that Aria was the part of Mauryan empire, which isn't included in the current standard Mauryan map of this article at all. So it just seems like we are distorting the viewpoint of a vast group of historians because of our own POV bias here.
I request both of you, to improve the map by including all the supposed Seleucid ceded territories Including Aria in the Standard Mauryan map (the one without holes).
I hope this will be fruitful. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 18:00, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I actually think that F&f has a good point in questioning the presence/rule/impact on the eastern Seleucid territories. Problem is, though, that many maps do include them, including Schwarzberg. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!18:40, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but Schwarzberg and others don't delve into whether or not the Mauryas had political, military, or administrative control of these regions, or even established tributary relationships. In other words, they are not historians of ancient India or archaeologists. Same with Kosmin, he is a classicist who studies old Greek historians. He is not a historian of ancient India. In the India page, there are only a handful of ancient India scholarly sources that we use: Thapar, Kulke and Rothermund, Ludden, and Burton Stein. They all, down to the last historian standing, state that the empire had gaping holes. Fowler&fowler«Talk»18:53, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The "holes" are not under discussion anymore; what's being discussed is the maximum extent. You have a good point with regard to the ceded territories, I think, but the point is: most sources, including Schwarzberg, do include those territories in their maximum extent maps. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!19:52, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
PS: there must be a way to make the links work in the notes; many other links do work. With ref|group=note there is a bypass, so I'm going to find out if there is one here too. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!19:59, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
OK, @Joshua Jonathan:. Meanwhile, I will create a separate section with a permalink to the infobox with all five modern archaeology-based maps, so that if some editors in the future start the same old same-old, thinking we haven't thought about these issues, we have something instantly to point to. Thank you. Fowler&fowler«Talk»00:39, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I gotta agree with Fowler here. Seems a bit misleading to expand mauryan territory in the map when we don’t even have a good understanding of the level of control they had over those areas. These weren’t modern day nation states. Someguywhosbored (talk) 00:56, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think, for now, all I can really hope to do is to hobble some of the grandiloquence in the text with scholarly sources. Accordingly, I have changed the characterization of the Uttarapatha (from a "Grand Trunk Road" to a "winter road) as it was serviceable only in the winter months, when the water levels in the intersecting rivers were low and they could be forded. Unlike the Romans, the Mauryas did not have the technology of the masonry arch with which to build arch bridges, though rivers as wide as the Indus would pose a challenge even for them. Pontoon bridges and rope bridges were also unfeasible for bridging raging Himalayan rivers that pose challenges to modern nations. Fowler&fowler«Talk»02:18, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I was summoned via FRS here. It's not my field of historical study, but even so I read most of the discussion. My two cents are that, had the Mauryans effectively administrated the ex-Seleucid satrapies, likely we would have more evidence of that, not only archeological but institutional. The later fragmentation and continuous disconnection of these areas with the rest of the subcontinent points otherwise. We can look at the history of the Parthians and Sasanians to see how these regions were seemingly always solidly into their sphere of influence, and not in the Indian dynasties'. Three other minor points: I dislike the two-map solution as it stands, it is probably confusing to an uninitiated reader. I prefer the map with holes or a shaded map like was hinted at before rather than the solidly colored one, fwiw (this is the same problem with those maps of the Ottoman Empire which give it the entire coast of the Black Sea). Last, F&F is far more patient than I would be given the circunstances; I would also commend the other side of the debate for their tenacity. Cheers, Coeusin (talk) 02:15, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Fowler&fowler To not extend this discussion further, I will make it clear that I genuinely have no problem with the holed version here, the entire time I was just discussing on the standard Mauryan version which I think needs to improve. Because it needs to align with the sources it is based on, (Which it is not), Since the begining upto today, I am only asking you to extend the boundaries of Mauryans (in the standard non holed version) and add Aria in it as it is a standard belief, the very sources it is based on says the same. We can't just distort that map at all and we need to represent that accurately. Based on the sources I provided above. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 02:55, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This is the point here, that we are not "discussing" the holed map here at all. We are discussing about the standard Mauryan map which is not really being represented accurately here nor it is aligning with the sources it is based on Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 02:39, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I obviously know what we are discussing. I'm essentially suggesting (as Coeusin does above) that there is no need for two maps. The map with holes is adequate to encapsulate all the historical evidence available for the Mauryas. Fowler&fowler«Talk»02:57, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There is a need for 2 maps since there are indeed 2 viewponts, 1 viewpoint which encompasses that mauryans ruled the entire subcontinent, I have cited the sources of those historians/scholars, (I can cite several more but that would make this response extremely big), The other viewpoint that there were autonomous independent regions inside the Mauryan realm. So you are certainly wrong to say that "THERE is only one modern map" well i guess that is why the holed map can be found nowhere except for in wikipedia, Neither in Oxford nor in Cambridge nor in britanica, even the cited sources in the holed the map are insanely cherrypicked and can be easily disputed because many of those sources assert that mauryans had some amount of control over those tribes making them semi-independent.
Let us take look over them one by one.
1)-Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15481-2. 69-70. It is a map with many large areas with line pattern labelled "autonomous and free tribes". Here it is importan to reuse the line patterns of the source or shaded areas, rather than create an imaginary 100% empty hole, which will avoid WP:OR and will catter for the fact that the "autonomy" of the regions by definition still implies only "a degree of independence" from central Mauryan power [22]
2)-Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 74, ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1, "In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples." => Here the "holes" are based on the term "relatively autonomous peoples", a term which does imply too only a degree of independence from central Mauryan power. Here again 100% empty holes are not justified as an illustration.
3-Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6 Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers." => The quote nowhere supports anything nor The book seems to be accessible online.
4-Romila Thapar, anthropologists Monica L. Smith and Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, archaeologist Robin Coningham are indeed simply authors quoted in the same book, which is referenced 4 times in the same sentence of the caption: Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (2015), The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE, Cambridge University Press, pp. 451–466, ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7 [23]]. In this book the text and [ https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA452%7C the map]] only emphasize the uneven centrality of the Mauryan realm. Visually translating it into 100% empty holes is probably exaggerated.
5)-Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8, "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." This quote leaves aside the final note to the sentence (note 49): "49. The Mauryan Empire incorporated several kingdoms that had arisen outside of the Ganges basin. They included Kamboja and Gandhara in the north-west, Avanti and Cedi in central India, and Asmaka in the south. See Erdosy (1995b: 115)."
In sum, even the sources claimed for the "map with holes" do not support 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests nonetheless. As such, it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way, and it is quite certainly WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control.
So yes, you can't at all say 'there is only 1 modern map" since your own map is a result of a WP:OR over some cherrypicked lines and can be found nowhere except for in wikipedia.
At this point you are clearly ignoring the vast chunk of historians/scholars who still push forward and believe that mauryans ruled over entire subcontinent, which still remains a consensus in this paradigm as proved by the scholars/historians i quoted from so many legitimate scholarly institutions like cambridge/oxford/Chicago etc.
Now, there are indeed 2 point of views, the ones who "supposedly" believe in autonomous free tribes inside of mauryan realm who were independent, but at the same time there is another group with another point of view that mauryans ruled over the entire subcontinent, this is why there are still 2 maps being used in this article since years.
Now it will be extremely dishonest of us to distort the viewpoint of historians who believe in the standard mauryan map (the one without holes), If we are representing that map, we have to represent them accurately, over what the very historians/scholars actually say on whose works the map is based, we have to carefully look at that, we just can't invent boundaries ourselves based on our own understanding of some inscriptions and artifacts because that will be WP:OR and then every ancient empire including the achaemenid empire and macedonian empire could get minimized. If we are having the standard map added which is based on some group of historians ,we need to align the map with the works of those historians the map is based on, which we are supposedly not doing nor we are representing their map/viewpoint accurately.
Like i said, The map doesn't align with the very references it is sourced from
As for the archeological evidences of mauryans in gedrosia/aria, this is a totally separate issue, even if we agree there is none (i am not agreeing but just for the sake of discussion) then the holed version is already there to represent this issue..which it is supposedly doing..but then why distorting the standard version? Let it align with the sources it is based on? And regardless, you do realise this could work on every single empire of ancient era including the macedonian and achaemenid empire. There are numerous places where there are no artifacts or inscripion of achaemenids, that is a separate issue anyway. I can discuss on that but it will make my reply too time consuming to read.
Anyways for archeological evidences, read this:
Pg. 417: Mauryan empire towards the satrapies of Gedrosia part of which were ceded by Seleucus to Chandragupta. The discovery of the remains of a large Buddhist sanctuary on "Koh-i-Khwaja" in Sistan suggests that this province also was perhaps included in the Mauryan empire, and the Buddhist influence reached there in the time of Asoka himself. Further south, that Jaz Morian Lake have marked this side the western boundary of the Mauryan empire. "
@Fowler&fowler As said, there is indeed a need of 2 maps. To represent 2 mainstream scholarly beliefs. I can show you the modern map of Oxford, Britanica, Cambridge and of other legitimate scholarly institutions to assert that this is one of the fundamental scholarly beliefs too.
Ashoka Maurya Empire.png (Edasf update)
So since there is no clear consensus in the academia, we can't just use 1 map alone ourselves by deciding "This belief is probably more accurat" that would be WP:OR. We have to use 2 maps, and we have to represent them accurately so i request you to change the standard map to this, though I think it is extended a bit too far at North which we can adjust. But it is very nicely labelled and has all Seleucid ceded territories representing the Standard Mauryan map accurately. In our previous discussions with Avantiputra and @Joshua Jonathan, they agreed for this as well. You are the only one disputing it or else by now there would be no further discussions on this. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 03:15, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Malik, sometimes we can’t always get what we want. He’s saying there is really no need for adding a second map if one map already encapsulates the extent the Mauryans had actually expanded. And really, there isn’t any need for this. You understand that this is an ancient empire, not a modern nation state? A map doesn’t detail the levels of control an empire has over these territories. The map with holes details this matter far better than the one without it.
It is not about getting what we want here at all, Both are important maps of the mainstream academia and we cant neglect either one of them based on what we understand of it. We have to represent both of them in the map since there is no clear consensus on the holed map or the standard map alone , And the holed map itself is a result of WP:OR as I have clearly proved above in my response. You can't find this map anywhere except for in wikipedia. Also Nowhere in the said sources we can see 100% independence of the said tribes. But again regardless this is a seperate topic, though holed map can be disputed, I am not here to do that. I am here to improve the standard map. It would still be extremely ridiculous to just remove the standard map entirely from the page.
Now maybe you are disputing it but you aren't discussing here, fowler is the only person discussing about this since the begining. That is why I said that there. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 03:24, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As I have said before, I am only here to improve the standard Mauryan map which is getting distorted here. I was asked to take this to the talk page but no one bothered to discuss about this. We have discussed this with Avantiputra and Joshua before and both of them accepted that there needs to be a change in the standard map here.
There are tonns of modern day historians who still believe in the said map. Like British Historian Geoffrey Parker[25], Historian Patrick Karl [O'Brienhttps://archive.org/details/philipsatlasofwo0000unse_u6t7/page/46/mode/1up], Craig Benjamin [26], Gerald Danzer [27], Historian Robert W. Strayer and Eric Nelson [28], Britanica [29], Millenium house [30], I can go on and on.
This is one of the two mainstream beliefs regarding the mauryan empire and it is our duty to represent both of them instead of ourselves deciding which of mainstream belief would be more accurate. It would be WP:OR As said, it would ridiculous to just remove the standard map entirely as if there is a scholarly paradigm on it (there is not). And funnily enough a fact is, The standard Mauryan map is covered more in the modern day legitimate scholarly institutions than the holed map, infact the holed map cant be seen anywhere except for in wikipedia. It is just a WP:OR over the interpretation of some words of the scholars it cites (who nowhere proclaim full independence) there is no clear map source of it. Just if you read the very sources the holed map is based on, none of those sources indicate to a complete independence of a specific tribe inside the Mauryan realm. Romila thapar (the quoted historian there) goes as far as saying that Mauryans used to "exploit" these tribes, which clearly implies a certain level of mauryan control over them. But again that is a seperate discussion, I am saying this for the 99th time I am not here to dispute the holed map. I am only here to improve the standard map as it should align with the modern day WP:RS maps and sources it is based on (which it is not Aligning).
What are your views on these? Fowler has just said to remove the standard map (one of the two mainstream maps of the mauryan empire) entirely and just keep a holed version in the article.
In the map description, the shades reagions are marked "autonomous or free tribes." Autonomous == of a country or region having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs. The largest shaded region, is labeled in the map itself as: "Unconquered tribes." What is that if not an empire with holes?
If you take the analogy of the British Raj, or the British Indian Empire, the counterpart of the Mauryan shaded regions would not be the Princely states, which had only nominal sovereignty, but independent countries such as Nepal or Bhutan, with which the Raj, might have had some security or diplomatic arrangements, but which were independent countries.
See this map of the British Raj in which the princely states of nominal sovereignty are colored yellow and the largely independent kingdoms such as Nepal and Bhutan in green. But nowhere is the British Indian Empire, colored in only one color and this is when the British were the leading superpower of the 19th century with much greater resources at their disposal (including those of subjugation) than the Mauryas would have had two millennia earlier. Best regards, Fowler&fowler«Talk»04:26, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
British Empire's map still has only 1 color in it's official wiki page nevertheless (for territories while lighter shaded for protectorates), same with the Achaemenid empire and Macedonian empire.
Coming to hermann kulke, You pretty much ignored everything I have said. I will just copy paste what patliputra had said.
Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15481-2. 69-70. It is a map with many large areas with line pattern labelled "autonomous and free tribes". Here it is important to reuse the line patterns of the source or shaded areas, rather than create an imaginary 100% empty hole, which will avoid WP:OR and will catter for the fact that the "autonomy" of the regions by definition still implies only "a degree of independence" from central Mauryan power.[31]
It is just not with kulke alone, Even the other sources of yours in the holed map besides for Kulke nowhere support the said map, they imply only a certain degree of independence. And clearly such a place should be atleast shaded lighter instead of leaving it blanked completely. Your sources even admit that Mauryans exploited these tribes. Which clearly indicate a certain degree of control over them making them perhaps semi-Independent if not dependent at all.
"In sum, even the sources claimed for the "map with holes" do not support 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests nonetheless. As such, it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way, and it is quite certainly WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control." Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 04:40, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
But regardless I am here to modify the standard map of the mauryan empire and improve it so it aligns with the said sources (which it is not currently), I will discuss on the holed map once we are done with the standard version. Avantiputra and Joshua have obviously agreed with the said improvements which are needed to be done in the standard version, It is only you who is unnecessarily extending the conversation, moving in a circular reasoning. Though I will patiently wait until we are done with this.
I will quote some of the important sources (both new and old) for the standard map. Keep in mind I have a lot more but I wouldn't be making up an entire essay using them. So I am using some of the historians/archeologists for this. I am only doing this to prove a particular scholarly consensus of a 2 mainstream maps.
^"
Pg.5 : In relation to his predecessors, he was the first Indian king to rule over an empire embracing much of India and its western borderlands, from Afghanistan to Orissa and towards the south as far as Karnataka. In relation to the rulers who followed him, it was his example which influenced thought-philosophical, religious, cultural-in Asia more profoundly than that of any other political figure of antiquity." Lahiri, Nayanjot (2015-08-05). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 5. ISBN978-0-674-05777-7.
^" Pg.42-43 : We thus obtain a fairly accurate idea of the extent of Asoka's dominions. They included the whole of India except the southern extremity of the peninsula held by the Choda, Pandya, Satiya- putra and Keralaputra kings. This southern boundary is marked roughly by a line drawn from Pulicat near Madras in the east, to Gooty and Chitaldrug in the north where the four copies of Aśoka's Minor Rock Edicts have been discovered right up to the northern point of the South Canara District on the west. Let us now see what Greek princes have been mentioned by Aśoka as his contemporaries, and try to identify them. They have all been named in Rock Edict XIII. Of course, Amtiyoka is the first to be named as he was a neighbour of Asoka. Beyond his kingdom, we are told, were ruling the four princes Turamaya, Amtekina or Amtikini, Maga and Alikasumdra. Amtiyoka is, of course, Antiochus II. Theos (B.C. 261-246), king of Syria, and Turamaya, Ptolemy II. Philadelphos of Egypt (285-247). Amtekina or Amtikini, as Bühler has remarked, corresponds to the Greek Antigenes rather than to Antigonus."Bhandarkar, D. R. Asoka. Central Archelogical Library. p. 42-43. ISBN978-93-837-2346-1.
^" Pg.67 - After Alexanderâs retreat from the Indus the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya established the first indigenous empire to exercise control over much of the subcontinent, and eventually, under his successors, this covered all but the tip of the peninsula. Asoka, the greatest of the Mauryan emperors, took power in 272 BC and extended the empire from Afghanistan to Assam and from the Himalayas to Mysore, leaving behind a series of inscriptions recording his edicts on pillars and rocks across the continent." Shackley, Myra L. (2006). Atlas of travel and tourism development. Internet Archive. Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier. p. 67. ISBN978-0-7506-6348-9.
^ Pg.740 : "Chandragupta and Seleucus Nikator, who had inherited the eastern provinces of Alexander empire. This may have occurred in about 301 BCE and was resolved by an agreement. Chandragupta obtained the territories of Arachosia (the Kandahar area of south-east Afghanistan), Gedrosia (south Baluchistan), and Paropomisadai (the area between Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent) and handed over 500 elephants in return. "
Pg.748 : "The distribution of Ashoka's inscriptions suggests the extent of the Maurya empire. In the north-west, it extended up to Kandahar in Afghanistan, with the kingdom of Antiochus II of Syria lying to the west. Its eastern frontier extended to Orissa. It included almost the entire subcontinent, except the southernmost parts, which, according to rock edict 13, were inhabited by the Cholas and Pandyas, and according to rock edict 2, by the Keralaputras and Satiyaputras."
Upinder Singh (2008). History Of Ancient And Early Medeival India From The Stone Age To The 12th Century. p. 740,748.
^ " Pg.106 - Seleucid Kingdom Another Hellenistic monarchy was founded by the general Seleucus (suh-LOO-kuss), who established the Seleucid dynasty of Syria. This was the largest of the Hellenistic kingdoms and controlled much of the old Persian Empire from Turkey in the west to India in the east, although the Seleucids found it increasingly difficult to maintain control of the eastern territories. In fact, an Indian ruler named Chandragupta Maurya (chundruh-GOOP-tuh MOWR-yuh) (324-301 B.c.E.) created a new Indian state, the Mauryan Empire, and drove out the Seleucid forces. His grandson Asoka (uh-SOH-kuh) (269-232 b.c.e.) extended the empire to include most of India and is considered the greatest ruler in India's history Asoka, a pious Buddhist, sought to convert the remaining Greek communities in northwestern India to his religion and even sent Buddhist missionaries to Greek rulers. The Seleucid rulers maintained relations with the Mauryan Empire. Trade was fostered, especially in such luxuries as spices and jewels. Seleucus also sent Greek and Macedonian ambassadors to the Mauryan court. Best known of these was Megasthenes (muh-GAS-thuh-neez), whose report on the people of India remained one of the western best sources of information on India until the Middle Ages. " Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2012). Western civilization. Internet Archive. Boston, MA : Wadsworth Cengage Learning. p. 106. ISBN978-0-495-91329-0.
^ " Pg.122 : India's first approach towards becoming a unified state occurred under the first three kings of the Mauryan Empire. The founder of the dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya (c.310-286 BCE) , king of Magadha in Eastern India, unfied under his control the other kingdom of the Gangetic Plain. His grandson, Ashoka (c.270-234 BCE) , consolidated Mauryan imperial rule, extending it into eastern and southern "The Times ancient civilizations. Internet Archive. London : Times Books. 2002. p. 122. ISBN978-0-00-710859-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^“ Pg.355 : English Translation of his statement - "The biggest fact of Maurya political history was the establishment of the Magadha Empire, which included the whole of India except the far south. This empire was established with the strength of the sword and it could be protected only with the strength of the sword. Strong military power was necessary for both external security and internal peace..The tribal people living inside the empire and on its borders were equally a cause of trouble. So for this, there was a huge permanent army and tight judicial system."Sharma, Ramsharan (1990). Prachin Bharat Me Rajneetik Vichar Avam Sansthae. p. 355.
^ " Pg.1 : Ashoka Maurya—or Ashoka the Great as he was later known—holds a special place in the history of Buddhism and India. At its height in around 250 BCE, his empire stretched across the Indian subcontinent to Kandahar in the east, and as far north as the Himalayas. Through his quest to govern by moral force alone, Ashoka transformed Buddhism from a minor sect into a major world religion, while simultaneously setting a new yardstick for government that had lasting implications for all of Asia. His bold experiment ended in tragedy, however, and in the tumult that followed the historical record was cleansed so effectively that his name was largely forgotten for almost two thousand years. Yet, a few mysterious stone monuments and inscriptions miraculously survived the purge.
" Pg. 60 : Pliny admits to the loss of Greek territory: "The Indians afterwards held a large part of Ariane [a satrapy of the Persian Empire encompassing what is now eastern Iran, south-western Afghanistan and Baluchistan] which they had received from the Macedonians, entering into marriage relations with him, and giving in return five hundred elephants, of which Sandrakottos had nine thousand." "Allen, Charles (2012-02-21). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 1 ,60 and his created map on pg. 12. ISBN978-1-4087-0388-5.
^" Pg.205 : Chandragupta, who had risen to the throne following a military campaign that created a huge empire reaching from Kandahar in modern Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. This included the great majority of modern India, and was the largest empire in Indian history. In 268 BC Ashoka took his place on the throne but not without considerable struggle. Buddhist writings tell us that in order to do so he killed ‘ninety-nine of his brothers’ presumably metaphorical as well as actual brothers. The same writings create a legend of Ashoka’s pre-Buddhist days as filled with self-indulgent frivolity and cruelty. When he became emperor he set out to complete the occupation of the whole subcontinent and attacked the independent state of Kalinga modern-day Orissa on the east coast. " MacGregor, Neil (2011). A history of the world in 100 objects. Internet Archive. New York : Viking. p. 205. ISBN978-0-670-02270-0.
^“ Pg.33 : Ashoka (Asoka) was the third ruler of the MAURYAN Empire. Under his long rule the empire that he inherited reached its zenith territorially and culturally. Soon after his death the Mauryan Empire split up and ended. He is remembered as a great ruler in world history and the greatest ruler in India. Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan dynasty in 326 B.C.E. Both he and his son Bindusara were successful warriors, unifying northern India and part of modern Afghanistan for the first time in history. Ashoka was not Bindusara's eldest son, and there is a gap of time between his father's death and his succession, due perhaps to war with his brothers. Ashoka continued to expand the empire by conquering southward. One war against Kalinga in the southeast was particularly bloody and filled him with remorse. As a result he converted to Buddhism (from Vedic Hinduism) and renounced war as an instrument of policy.”
“Pg.262 : Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire in 326 B.C.E. in northern India. His son Bindusara and grandson AsHOKA (Asoka) continued his conquest that unified the entire subcontinent, with the exception of the southern tip, and part of Afghanistan into India's first great empire. “
“Pg.270 :In 324 B.C.E. Chandragupta Maurya unified northern India by defeating his rivals. He went on to war against the successor of ALEXANDER THE GREAT in Asia, Seleucus Nicator, expelling his forces from the borderlands of India. In 305 B.C.E. the two men concluded a treaty in which the Greeks withdrew from the Punjab in northwestern India and which fixed the western boundary of the MAURYAN EMPIRE to the crest of the Hindu Kush. There was also exchange of ambassadors, gifts, and a vague mention of a marriage alliance. Megasthenes was Seleucus’s representative at Chandragupta’s court. “
&
“Check Mauryan Empire Map , Pg:590. “ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD HISTORY 7 Volumes. p. 33,262,270,590.
^" Pg.12 : Asoka had the singular good fortune of being spared the ifficult task of founding and organising an inpare That ask was effectively executed by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, who bequeathed to his successors an empire extending approximately from Afghanistan to Mysore Territories which are even now outside the Government of India were parts of the Indian Empire under Chandragupta, the four satrapies of Aria, Arochosia, Gedrosia, and the Paropanisadai, which Chanaragupta wrested in about 304 B C from the empire of Selukos as the penalty for his ill-advised aggression."
" Pg.13 :Yuan Chwang saw Asokan topes in Kapis (Kafiris- tan), Nagar (Jelalabad), and Udyana in the north-west. In Bengal, the authority of Asoka is proved by his stūpa at Tamralipti, the capital of Suhma, and the famous port of embarkation for voyages towards the south. According to Yuan Chwang, there was also a stupa of Asoka in the capital of Samatata or the Brahmaputra Delta, and others in different parts of Bengal and Bihar, viz., Punyavardhana (northern Bengal) and Karnasuvarna (modern Burdwan, Birbhum and Murshidabad districts) [Watters, ii 184 f]. Yuan Chwang refers to Asokan topes being erected at various places in the south, in Chola and Dravida, of which the capital, Kanchipura, has been sought to be identified with the Satiyaputra country of the Edict Indeed, the distribu- tion of the Asokan topes as mentioned by Yuan Chwang is almost co-terminous with that of the inscriptions, and is equally significant of the vastness of his empire.Lastly, the extent of his empire is also indicated by his own mention in the Edicts (R.E. II, V, and XIII] of the peoples on its borders In the south, these are mentioned as the Cholas, Pandyas, the Satiyaputra and Keralaputra, who were all within his sphere of influence Towards the north-west, his empire marched with that of the Synan monarch, Antiochos [R.E. II], and hence extended up to Persia and Syria which were held by Antiochos, while it is also known how Asoka's grandfather, Chandragupta, had wrested from Selukos the provinces of Aria, Arachosia, Paropanisadai and Gedrosia, which descended to Asoka as his inheritance.
Lastly, the extent of his empire is also indicated by his own mention in the Edicts (Rock Edict II, V, and XIII] of the peoples on its borders In the south, these are mentioned as the Cholas, Pandyas, the Satiyaputra and Keralaputra, who were all within his sphere of influence Towards the north-west, his empire marched with that of the Synan monarch, Antiochos [Rock Edict II], and hence extended up to Persia and Syria which were held by Antiochos, while it is also known how Asoka's grandfather, Chandragupta, had wrested from Selukos the provinces of Aria, Arachosia, Paropanisadai and Gedrosia, which descended to Asoka as his inheritance ."
" Pg.16 : The capital of the empire at Pataliputra [Rock Edict V. Girnar], and of outlying towns, such as Bodh-Gaya [Rock Edict VIII), Kosambi (Allahabad Pillar Edict], Ujjeni, Takkhasilä [K.R.Edict),Suvarnagiri, Isila [M.R.Edict], and Tosali and Samāpā in the province of Kalinga [K.R.Edict] Thus we have a fairly definite idea of the limits of Asoka's empire in different directions. We may even hazard the conjecture that the empire was so large that Asoka did not live to visit all its parts, and inspect the execution of his inscriptions in different localities."Mookerji, Radhakumud (1962). Asoka. Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. p. 12,13,16. ISBN978-81-208-0582-8.
Again, I have plenty more WP:RS sources with well labelled maps from them to prove this. I only quoted handful of them. Funfact is, There are a lot more maps for the standard Mauryan version in the legitimate scholarly academia than the holed one which is ridiculously a WP:OR and since barely any of the cited source in the holed map even points towards such a map except for kulke while even there only a "certain degree" of independence would be exegeted.[33] Infact I wouldn't even call this holed version a "mainstream" map at all. Because per the very sources it cite, the empty regions atleast should be light shaded instead of leaving them blank completely since none of them lead us to absolute independence of those tribes, they use words like "relatively autonomous", "partially autonomous" etc. But regardless nevermind, I am only ignoring that here for the sake of conversation and discussion as I am here only to modify the standard Mauryan map. Since it isn't aligning with the very sources it is based on.
Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 05:25, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Stop saying it’s only him who disagrees. I do too.
Jonathan has no issues with the holes map and yes I know your talking about the expanded map which I’ll get to soon. But the argument is whether we really need a second map or not and I just don’t see why. Especially considering the fact that the holes map is a far more accurate representation of the level of control the Mauryans actually had. This is an ancient empire. Even the territories shaded arent going to have the same level of control that a modern nation state holds, or even that of empires from a later age.
The question is why do we need a second map when one already accurately represents it better which Jonathan and various other editors have already agreed with?
it’s hard to even get a clear understanding of these comments. Because your arguing about two different things at once and than mixing the arguments together which doesn’t make any sense.
To me it just seems like a lot of assumptions your making.
“Infact I wouldn't even call this holed version a "mainstream" map at all. Because per the very sources it cite, the empty regions atleast should be light shaded instead of leaving them blank completely since none of them lead us to absolute independence of those tribes, they use words like "relatively autonomous", "partially autonomous" etc. But regardless nevermind, I am only ignoring that here for the sake of conversation and discussion as I am here only to modify the standard Mauryan map. Since it isn't aligning with the very sources it is based on”.
what do you think relatively autonomous means? And why would there need to be a lighter shade if it’s clear that they don’t have actual control over those tribes? I’ll wait until Fowler gives further comment but just remember that the holes map was already largely accepted and had been discussed many times in the past. And I know your focusing on the expanded map(even though you brought up the holes map), but it’s still an important part of the conversation because we are questioning if a second map is needed when the holes map better articulates the extent that the Mauryans had actually controlled. Someguywhosbored (talk) 05:49, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It certainly seems like you don't understand the crux of our discussion at all. I have said this earlier and I will say this again, there are only 2 mainstream maps. Holed version and Standard map. These 2 maps are in the academia currently. There is no clear scholarly consensus on either one of them on which is more accurate, so using just "one" of them seems to be massively ridiculous since we will clearly ignore an entire chunk of the other party with a distinct view here. We are no one to to judge which is more accurate or which is not, that is literally WP:OR, There is no scholarly consensus on one map alone. And this is the sole reason why both holed version and Standard version were being used since years here.
"You are discussing 2 different things here"
I am not, it is fowler who brought the topic of holed map to which i replied to. Since the begining my argument was solely on to modify and improve the standard mauryan map.
"This is an ancient empire. Even the territories shaded arent going to have the same level of control that a modern nation state holds, or even that of empires from a later age."
I have said this over a million times and I will say this again, This can apply to every single ancient Empire including the Achaemenid empire, we should create holes in that too. How? I will get much on this later since this will make my reply big but I will elaborate on this if you want (I have above in one of my replies). Our maps will be accordance to what the scholarly sources depict, we can't "make up" the boundaries of our own based on our own understanding of the distribution of the inscriptions. That is literally WP:OR again.
The standard mauryan map is a mainstream map in academia and is used way more than the holed map (which is only in wikipedia taken from the miss interpretation of kulke's writings as I have proved above). Thus we can't remove the standard map at all. I cited you modern day sites of Oxford, britanica, Cambridge and Chicago University press which uses the standard map, not the holed one.
"what do you think relatively autonomous means? And why would there need to be a lighter shade if it’s clear that they don’t have actual control over those tribes? I’ll wait until Fowler gives further comment but just remember that the holes map was already largely accepted and had been discussed many times in the past. And I know your focusing on the expanded map(even though you brought up the holes map), but it’s still an important part of the conversation because we are questioning if a second map is needed when the holes map better articulates the extent that the Mauryans had actually controlled."
I think I have answered this twice before which you have collectively either ignored or couldn't read because of some issues (idk).
Let us just go with the scholarly sources the holed version sites one by one.
"1)-Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15481-2. 69-70. It is a map with many large areas with line pattern labelled "autonomous and free tribes". He is the only person out of other historians cited who talks about free tribes..but Here it is important to reuse the line patterns of the source or shaded areas, rather than create an imaginary 100% empty hole, which will avoid WP:OR and will catter for the fact that the "autonomy" of the regions by definition still implies only "a degree of independence" from central Mauryan power [34]
2)-Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 74, ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1, "In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples." => Here the "holes" are based on the term "relatively autonomous peoples", a term which does imply too only a degree of independence from central Mauryan power. Here again 100% empty holes are not justified as an illustration.
3)-3-Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6 Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers." => The quote nowhere supports anything nor The book seems to be accessible online.
4-Romila Thapar, anthropologists Monica L. Smith and Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, archaeologist Robin Coningham are indeed simply authors quoted in the same book, which is referenced 4 times in the same sentence of the caption: Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (2015), The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE, Cambridge University Press, pp. 451–466, ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7 [35]]. In this book the text and [ https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA452%7C the map]] only emphasize the uneven centrality of the Mauryan realm. Visually translating it into 100% empty holes is probably exaggerated.
5)-Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8, "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." This quote leaves aside the final note to the sentence (note 49): "49. The Mauryan Empire incorporated several kingdoms that had arisen outside of the Ganges basin. They included Kamboja and Gandhara in the north-west, Avanti and Cedi in central India, and Asmaka in the south. See Erdosy (1995b: 115)."
Btw, if you read romila's works, she literally says Mauryans "exploited" these tribes, which indicate a certain degree of mauryan control over them. In sum, even the sources claimed for the "map with holes" do not support 100% independence from central Mauryan power, which the graphical convention of 100% empty holes in the current map clearly suggests nonetheless. As such, it cannot be said that this "map with holes" is mainstream in any way, and it is quite certainly WP:OR. In order to respect the sources, the empty regions should at best be represented by shaded areas, indicating lesser levels of control."
So none of the sources directly indicate anything as such. While the standard Mauryan map is backed up by ASI itself and a mainstream academic consensus backed up by Britanica, Oxford, Cambridge, chicago etc. This is the sole reason why 2 maps are being used. Although I would nowhere consider the holed version to be academic in any sense since it can't be found anywhere except for wikipedia..Do you think there was never a discussion over keeping the holed mauryan map alone? There were several as far as I know. I will cross search and give you.
"Various users agree with holed map", my point isn't even on that. You are saying to completely remove the standard Mauryan map which is just ridiculous to begin with. There are 2 maps being used in this article since years. The standard Mauryan map was being used in the article alone until 2020 or something if I remember. And that time the holed version clearly had light shades as You can see that here [36].
With all respect, I have reverted your edit. Because it is a long standing version and there is no consensus to remove the MEM from the infobox. Let it remain there since it is a mainstream map. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 06:16, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
“ Btw, if you read romila's works, she literally says Mauryans "exploited" these tribes, which indicate a certain degree of mauryan control over them”
That absolutely does not mean the same thing and is based completely off your own interpretation. It could mean anything. We go by what the sources say, not by what we think they mean.
“ Various users agree with holed map", my point isn't even on that. You are saying to completely remove the standard Mauryan map which is just ridiculous to begin with. “
"That absolutely does not mean the same thing and is based completely off your own interpretation. It could mean anything. We go by what the sources say, not by what we think they mean."
Irony is it, that you are not applying the same thing on the sources used in the holed version. I showed you each and every source, none of them point towards a 100% independent polities except for kulke's works. The entire holed version is based on what you "think" the sources are saying. Kulke remains the only person who is using the independent term. Rest all of the scholars are only referring to "partial" independence or "semi" independence. Romila goes as far as saying on how the tribes were exploited by the Mauryan empire. Clearly indicating that they were not totally independent. Which goes against the narrative that Mauryans had no access to those tribes and they enjoyed their independence fully.
"Why don't we need a 2nd map when the first map does it better"
Says which source? All the sources except for kulke aren't even pointing that the tribes were independent, forget holes alone. Kulke is the only person to do so. Don't act like i didn't show you the quotation of every single historian cited above. None of them say the tribes were fully independent.
Standard Mauryan map is clearly more accurate since it is used 100x more in the academic paradigm and this is not even a debate to begin with, I can't believe someone is disagreeing with this. You wouldn't find the holed map anywhere except for in wikipedia. This isn't a "mainstream" map at all. It is WP:OR of the interpretations of some cherrypicked lines of historians who dont even say they were independent. This is the sole reason why 2 maps were being used since years and will be continued being used. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 06:43, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
im going to give your account a warning for now but it appears you’ve already received another edit warring notice very recently. I can revert one more time per 3RR(I may do it later unless some other user wants to do it first). I may take this to the edit warring noticeboard if this keeps up. Someguywhosbored (talk) 06:50, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For now, I'd advice not to do so (edit-warring board). I moved the map per WP:BRD, to see how it looks; we've seen it, we see the effect, for now, leave it, and consider it to be an option. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!06:53, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan Regardless getting to the old discussion which everyone is refraining from having..what do you think of the standard map? Don't you think it should align with the sources it is based on? The sources do say Aria was the part of Mauryans but the map doesn't seem to have it. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 06:57, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
“Irony is it, that you are not applying the same thing on the sources used in the holed version. I showed you each and every source, none of them point towards a 100% independent polities except for kulke's works. The entire holed version is based on what you "think" the sources are saying. Kulke remains the only person who is using the independent term. Rest all of the scholars are only referring to "partial" independence or "semi" independence. Romila goes as far as saying on how the tribes were exploited by the Mauryan empire. Clearly indicating that they were not totally independent. Which goes against the narrative that Mauryans had no access to those tribes and they enjoyed their independence fully”.
Your doing it again. Exploitation can happen in a number of ways and the fact that your trying to assert that as proof that they weren’t independent is VERY flimsy evidence at best.
“The first one was to tell Fowler to get a consensus which he agreed with and didn't engage in edit war, same with joshua.
It is you engaging in an edit war without gaining any consensus whatsoever. You can't change a long standing revision like that”
"Your doing it again. Exploitation can happen in a number of ways and the fact that your trying to assert that as proof that they weren’t independent is VERY flimsy evidence at best."
The fact that you are interpreting a holed version out of those sources where none of them say that tribes were fully independent is a very filmsy evidence at best, Because the same sources indicate things which are contradictory to the said "independence" of those tribes such as them being "exploited" by the Imperial Mauryans, Which cant occur unless Mauryans had a certain degree of control over them. Which they did, this is literally why this holed version didn't exist before and it was rather lightly shaded as you can see here [41], this was a dominant version until an year ago or so.
"how am I the one edit warring? Even if you think your right, you made 4 reverts in 24 hours. I’ve made 2. Im far from edit warring."
2 of my reverts were to different people for them to seek consensus, to which both of them agreed. Which is far from edit warring. I stopped you because you were making changes to a long standing version without gaining a consensus, specially when your change is being contested by 4+ editors. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 07:03, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Okay all things aside, you need to stop saying that you weren’t edit warring. 3RR is pretty clear. Your just making exceptions for yourself based on the circumstance but that’s not how it works.
My change? It wasn’t even contested. Joshua made the edit originally. You reverted him. He’s just okay with discussing this further because of BOLD and BRD.
I am not making exceptions, I am explaining the reasons behind why I did that, I do admit I shouldn't have broken the 3 revert rule. But you have to admit that you shouldn't be changing a long standing version without consensus too, specially when it is being contested by countless editors who are just offline right now. I am sure neither patliputra nor crypto nor Edasf would agree with the change. And Joshua by the way was just testing to see if the notes are working, this just wasn't a right place to test. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 07:15, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan In case if you missed my ping, Getting to the old discussion which everyone is refraining from having..what do you think of the standard map? Don't you think it should align with the sources it is based on? The sources do say Aria was the part of Mauryans but the map doesn't seem to have it. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 07:20, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Normally I would accept this explanation if it was just some one off mistake that you made but this isn’t the only time it has happened. You also received an edit warring label less than 24 hours ago. And in the many times I’ve interacted with you, you have edit warred multiple times in the past. Such as in the Mughal empire page. That’s why I think this may require some administrative action because this has already gotten too far. But I’ll take more time to ponder on it in the mean time. Someguywhosbored (talk) 07:26, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Padfoot edit warred too and he got a warning for that, His entire page got nominated for deletion apparently. The Mughal empire incident was 6 months ago I think? But yeah I will try to not repeat this. Just don't make any changes without gaining consensus next time. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 07:31, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
“Padfoot edit warred too and he got a warning for that, His entire page got nominated for deletion apparently”
That doesn’t give you the right to edit war back. I’ve always stepped back from edit warring and yet you accused me of doing that when you had already made 4 edits. It’s just odd, you tell me not to edit war, but than actively will do it yourself. It just seems to me that you only spout a rule if it benefits you but you tend to break them when they don’t. Anyway I’m not trying to stray from the original conversation but I may consider removing the map in the future if Fowler agrees or presents a strong case against it(I’m going to let discussions continue for some time on that). Someguywhosbored (talk) 07:45, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm, i didn't say it justifies me edit warring, I already accepted it was a wrong move, i could do other things to prevent you from doing vandalism. Anyways i merely mean that he gave me a warning despite edit warring himself, I accused you of edit warring because you were changing a long standing revision WITH No consensus whatsoever, which you are conclusively ignoring. You often make changes without a consensus being reached and edit war yourself like in the case of [42] and [ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Someguywhosbored&oldid=1173687224] so.. it is ironic to hear it from you, It just seems to me that you only spout a rule if it benefits you but you tend to break them when they don’t. Considering you still haven't acknowledged on how you tried to make a change twice despite getting warned with no consensus to begin with.
"but I may consider removing the map in the future if Fowler agrees or presents a strong case against it(I’m going to let discussions continue for some time on that)."
No, you can't do that until there is a strong consensus, this map has been here since the beginning of this article. Such a long standing version can't change unless there is a strong consensus which can only occur with the help of an RFC here, which wouldn't honestly solve or sort anything considering there have been multiple RFCs on removing the said map in the past but the map remained here, And it will be remaining here.
You can remove the map but then you can prepare yourself to get reverted then, Because I don't think so other editors will let you make any changes on the map until the discussion has been concluded or ended.Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:33, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Someguywhosbored remember how i said none of the cited sources of the holed map specifically point towards autonomous tribes enjoying independence fully 100% except for Kulke? I even cited you quotations of all those very historians on whose works the map is based on proving it's majorly WP:OR except for Kulke.
Guess what I found..even kulke doesn't seem to 100% support the holed map,Because he literally agreed Balochistan was the part of Mauryan empire. Apart from the Herman Kulke's map, in the same book, Kulke quite literally seems to agree that Baluchistan (Gedrosia) was under Chandragupta’s rule, though his map shows a gap, possibly indicating limited control rather than complete independence. On page 59, he states: "In 305 BC, Seleukos Nikator... Chandragupta met him at the head of a large army in the Panjab and stopped his march east. In the subsequent peace treaty, Seleukos ceded to Chandragupta all territories to the east of Kabul as well as Baluchistan." --Herman Kulke & Dietmar Rothermund [43]
So the holed map isn't aligning with a single source it is citing, As per the sources it is based on, it should clearly atleast put Balochistan in a lighter shade and inner tribal areas in India since other historians clearly tell us that they were exploited by the Mauryans indicating a certain degree of control, and they do admit Balochistan was the part of Mauryan empire, which the map isn't showing.
It seems to be an insane POV push and WP:OR. I hope you realise why there were 2 maps being used since the begining of this article.
At first, I was thinking that It is okay if the (hole) map isn't aligning with any of the sources it is based on..Because atleast..Just "atleast" it is aligning with Kulke. Guess I was wrong..On reading his works I just realised the map isn't aligning with kulke either. Kulke clearly mentions Balochistan was the part of Mauryan empire which atleast should be lighter shaded but it is completely blank. [44] was the best version of this map, it light shaded the tribal regions and Balochistan as Mauryans had some degree of control over them as per the very sources this holed map is based on.
But again, We will discuss this once we are done with discussing the Standard map. It apparently needs many modifications and it isn't aligning with the sources it is based on either, since the sources the map is based on clearly state Mauryans had aria, but the map nowhere seems to have it.
Also are there archaeological evidence of Macedon control of Northwest India? Forget it there's not even a pure literary evidence no Indian source mentions a person called Alexander or any Greek invasion or battle of Jhelum nor a king called Porus a name which has no meaning in Indian languages the Taxila University was at next door.Wouldn't Greeks exaggerate about their own king.@Malik-Al-Hind@JingJongPascalEdasf«Talk»10:00, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Certainly, As far as I am concerned and aware of Most of the coins/artifacts or whatever we have to depict Greek rule in North West is from the Indo-Greek period. There is no coin or inscription of Alexander the great in many lands such as sindh, gedrosia, etc. Yet we are having it in the map without a single hole by the way.
A map of Alexander the Great's empire at its largest extent c.323 BCE including details of key roads, location, and battles.
Like I said, In ancient times, it wasn't feasible for armies to access every part of an empire, as seen in empire of Alexander. His campaigns followed some specific routes where populations were concentrated.
This suggests the possibility of large, autonomous tribes existing within these empires.
Yeah, such a thing can be applied on every single map of any empire of the Ancient age. I wonder why none of them insert a hole in Achaemenid or Macedonian empire..Maybe because the sources say it. But when the same Mauryan map is backed with such WP:RS sources, they start throwing the scholarly consensus under a bus by applying their own logic and criticism, Yeah definetly not WP:OR and definitely not Pov-pushing.
Funnily enough, this original researched hole map can be only seen on wiki. Almost all legitimate scholarly institution on earth is having a normal standard mauryan map. As I have quoted above from sources like Britanica, Millenium house, Oxford, Cambridge etc. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 10:36, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am fine with both of the maps being here. Because they are mainstream and are a long standing version, Also hundreds of reasons which I have given in the above MEM section. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 07:20, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am discussing on that, don't worry. Jonathan and Avantiputra don't have a problem with modifying it. Only fowler seems to have a disagreement here and maybe someguywhoisbored. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 08:51, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Someguywhosboredthe standardized form of maps has been present on this page since this article creation in 2004, and it is supported by various historians[45][46]. So our discussion must focuses on the holed map representation rather than the standardized map. Regarding the extent of the standardized map, everything I have observed here remains inconclusive, with no clear consensus. NxcryptoMessage10:50, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Avantiputra and Joshua agree to modify the standard version. Only fowler is having a problem with it, but it isn't as if he is willing to discuss it either. I was told to take this to the talk page but no one is even discussing the extent of the standard map here. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 10:58, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan You have said "Approximate extent of the Mauryan empire including Seleucid ceded territories" in the note of MEM. Can you add "excluding" instead of "including?" Because the map doesn't show all of the Seleucid ceded territories.
It cites three Historians, Majumdar, Vincent arthur smith and Joseph Schwartzberg. All of them include Aria, gedrosia, paropamisadae and arachosia as a list of territories given to Mauryans.
Pg.75 : Chandragupta Maurya, and the four satrapies of Aria, Arachosia, Gedrosia, and the Paropanisadai were ceded to him by Seleukos Nikator about B.C. 305. The Maurya frontier was thus extended as far as the Hindû Kush Mountains, and the greater part of the countries now called Afghanistan, Balûchistan and Makran, with the North-Western Frontier Province, became incorporated in the Indian Empire. That empire included the famous strongholds of Kabul, Zabul, Kandahar, and Herat, and so possessed the scientific frontier' for which Anglo-Indian statesmen have long sighed in vain.
Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India by Smith, Vincent Arthur [47]
Pg.105 : Net result of the expedition, however, clearly indicate that Seleucus met with a miserable failure. For he had not only to finally abandon the idea of reconquering the Panjab, but had to buy peace by ceding Paropanisadai, Arachosia, and Aria, three rich provinces with the cities now known as Kabul, Kandähär and Herät respectively as their capitals, and also Gedrosia (Baluchistan), or at least a part of it. The victorious Maurya king probably married the daughter of his Greek rival, and made a present of five hundred elephants to his royl father-in-law.
Pg. 170 : By 311 B.C. or somewhat later the Indus had become the frontier of the Magadhan Empire. Further westward expansion was largely the outcome of the successful military encounter with Seleucus Nicator (Seleukos Nikator), founder of the Seleucid dynasty and inheritor of Alexander's eastern empire from northern Syria to India Between 305 and 302 B.C. Seleucus ceded the satrapies of Gedrosia. Arachosia, Paropamisadai, and probably Aria , gave his adversary a Greek princess in marriage, and obtained in return 500 war elephants and permanent peace and friendship on his eastern frontier. About this time, perhaps earlier, western Gandhara and areas north to the Hindu Kush, Abhisara, and probably Kasmira were also annexed to the Mauryan dominions.
Historical Atlas of India by Joseph E. Schwartzberg [49]::::}}
So either replace "including Seleucid ceded territories" with "excluding Seleucid ceded territories" or Fix the map accordance to the sources it is based so it aligns with it. Because the map clearly doesn't seem to have Aria.
Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 09:28, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No, we can't have that. Because those territories are NOT considered to be 100% independent by any of the sources it is based on, The standard mauryan map (without hole one) still is a mainstream map. 2 map is a better solution since it represents the 2 pre dominant mainstream maps. Showing the historians who believe in standard map and the "supposed" historians who believe in the hole version (although can be extremely debatable and disputed but that is a different case.) Also stop making new section everytime for every new idea/suggestion. You can give that in the above sections too. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 09:18, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Same, I will focus on the hole map once the discussion with the standard map is finished and the map is modified. RFC is the best to be honest, people are refraining from having it.Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 09:33, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Edasf@JingJongPascal @Malik-Al-Hind @Joshua Jonathan I don't think the current revision is fine, as when someone opens the page, he or she would only be able to see the hole map without touching the second option, which would create a type of soft mark in the reader's mind that the first one is more relaible, and why only the maximum extent map is simplified, not the network one, which has been put to dispute by many editors here. I strictly demand the status quo until and unless a consensus has not been reached.
As @Malik-Al-Hind pinged me and asked about my opinion on @Fowler&fowler's proposal of removing the maximum extent map. I would like to ask him about all the sources provided by me and other editors about the maximum extent map and he is proposing this when his own supported map has been accused of being made on cherry picking of some sources and indirect statements of authors.
Exactly. None of the sources on which the hole map is based upon support any sort of independent tribes except for kulke, who specifically does mention some free tribes in his mauryan map, But then even kulke later remains inconsistent when he clearly later says that Balochistan was the part of Mauryan empire, which the hole map supposedly doesn't have.
The hole map is insanely built upon WP:OR and is a heavy povpush, it doesn't align with a single source it cites or is based upon. It just seems like the editors made their own boundaries of the map by cherrypicking some of the quotes which they like and which they "think" it supports them while ignoring the rest of the lines which clearly speaks against them. Nor the map is even mainstream by any way, Almost all legitimate scholarly institutions have a Standard Mauryan map. You can see the hole version only on wikipedia. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 10:06, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Also could @Someguywhosbored stop with "experienced editors have rejected map",
Wikipedia doesn't have any social hierarchy where the vote or opinions of "veteran" editors mean more than mine or anyone else.
Their opinion isn't the double of our opinion.
No Wikipedia guideline states that old editors have a more say in edits and that they are above us in a caste system, I have noticed this several times, claiming yourself or being a experienced editors does not mean you will degrade or dismantle a opinion of anyone else no matter whether they created their account yesterday or a billion years ago.
And this is false though, no experience editor by far has rejected the map. Only fowler came with a different suggestion. And many other experienced editors like @Patliputra don't agree with such a change either. The standard map is being used eversince 2004 and is a long standing revision. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 19:37, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes.. but Apart from the Herman Kulke's map, in his same book, Kulke seems to agree that Baluchistan (Gedrosia) indeed was under Chandragupta’s rule, though his map shows a gap, possibly indicating limited control rather than complete independence because On page 59, he states: "In 305 BC, Seleukos Nikator... Chandragupta met him at the head of a large army in the Panjab and stopped his march east. In the subsequent peace treaty, Seleukos ceded to Chandragupta all territories to the east of Kabul as well as Baluchistan." --Herman Kulke & Dietmar Rothermund [50]
But the supposed holed map nowhere seems to have balochistan. Using the source of the same Kulke, Balochistan atleast should be lighter shaded in the holed map. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 19:40, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Just to notify; I am preparing to start the RFC by Wednesday or Thursday (IST), as it would take some time to have a proper picture on what proper consensus we have to reach on, although I am pretty clear, but still one or two days won't do much harm. Also, as the nominator, I can do better after Tuesday as I am free.
Sure, Ping me when it is going on. Although I suggest to start an RFC of modification of the Standard map before having an RFC on holed map. Because even the standard map which we are having right now isn't really aligning with the sources it is based on, Since it doesn't have Aria, a notable region which was given to Chandragupta Maurya as per the very sources the map is based on. Malik-Al-Hind (talk) 10:38, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan I would like to request you to restore this artcle to the last stable version of both the maps(see discussion above) I would have done it myself but in doing so I saw that you made some changes in the citiations of the maps after which my action would not be appropriate as it could foil your work.
Smith, and Conningham & Young, explicitly depict these networks. It presents the concept of network quite clear. Again, that map is not on maximum extent, but on the way this 'empire' was stitched together. It's very insightfull. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!11:03, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi @Joshua Jonathan I think Edasf misjudged me. What I am saying is to remove switcher function between map and restore it to as it was for many years untill a new consensus has been reached. Rawn3012 (talk) 12:15, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan: I congratulate you on both the efn note and the single default map with a switcher function for the traditional but exaggerated map of the Mauryas in subordinate place. Hopefully, we can now focus on improving the article instead of wasting community time on maps. Fowler&fowler«Talk»21:56, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I previously commented[51] in support of the @पाटलिपुत्र synthetic map proposal[52], which was also supported by @Rawn3012[53]. Unfortunately, this input was overlooked, and the RFC and ongoing discussions have remained inconclusive. I do not see any consensus for any type of map change. I will request to all the editors involved here in discussion to leave the map as it is and put end to these inconclusive discussions. NxcryptoMessage11:28, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That wasn't a suggestion for an RfC. It was a remark seeped in irony, which impled that the last one, held exactly a year ago was an abysmal flop, and that you don't really think you would be doing any better given the level of historiographical support you have thus far ferreted out for your POV. You don't read scholarly sources, only make Google searches for a fixed POV. You are fixated on the map. Fowler&fowler«Talk»20:49, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
Done Please wait for your request to be processed instead of making an another request with the exact same content in a different IP/account. This is considered disruptive. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 01:07, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
Not done: Duplicate request. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 01:04, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
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