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Originally Posted by IDonT
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Military History Of Ancient India - All Empires
The Army of The Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan empire was the first empire that managed to unite all of India. This was partially because of their complex army structure. Like most ancient Indian armies, the Mauryan army had 4 types of troops- elephant (gaja), chariot (ratha), cavalry (turanga), and infantry (pada).
The army was broken into many units. The smallest unit was called a patti, and had 1 chariot, 1 elephant, 3 cavalry and 5 infantry. The elephant and chariot would typically be in the center with the cavalry and infantry surrounding them. Three patti made up a Sena mukha, and three Sena Mukha made up a Gulma. Other divisions were the Gana, Vahini, Pratana, Camu and Ani kini, each of which was three times as big as the one preceding it. The Aksauhini was composed of ten Ani kini, and was the largest unit in an army.
The Mauryan army had multiple Aksauhini's. The standing army had three-quarter million troops, one of the largest armies in the world at the time. |
The article has liberally borrowed from history as well as myth (which could possibly be history, but should be qualified as such). This description of the Aksauhini is lifted straight from the Indian epic, the
Mahabharata! (Jay, that should explain its disconnect with the actual political realities of the Mauryans).
Indians had stopped using chariots long before the Mauryans in the operational sense. A few chariots were used in ritual and ceremonial roles, but it is ridiculous to suggest that up to 10% of the force was chariots and no one noticed it!
In India, the peacetime army was mainly composed of mounted infantry/light cavalry; in the cities there were garrison troops; in the capital there was the imperial guard; and in the national forests were the war-elephants and heavy cavalry.
The basic composition changed dramatically in the wartime when 5 infantrymen (2 spear-men, 3 archers) were recruited for every 3 cavalry/mounted-infantry; and the elephants, the heavy cavalry and the imperial guards were also mobilized. It would in effect result in a classic ratio of 3:5.