Question

What do you think were the risks that Mauryan emperors would have had to consider when making provinces and appointing governors?

• A. There may have been chances of decline in the revenue of the empire.
• B. The emperor would not be able to make any decisions by himself.
• C. The governors of the provinces may try to overthrow the emperor.
• D. There may also be chances of the governor getting too powerful and defying the emperor.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (C), (D)

The correct options are
A There may have been chances of decline in the revenue of the empire.
C The governors of the provinces may try to overthrow the emperor.
D There may also be chances of the governor getting too powerful and defying the emperor.

When the governors were appointed by the king, they were allowed to maintain their own armies and collect revenue for the empire. This could have led to the governors demanding absolute authority and might have led them to secretly defy the emperor and fill their own pockets with the tax collected. The possibility of the overthrow of the emperor cannot be ruled out either.