The vanished metropolis that once rivaled the greatest empires of antiquity

Countries & Cities · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before it became the modern city of Patna, Pataliputra was a global titan. At its peak under the Mauryan Empire, this sprawling riverine capital featured massive wooden fortifications, 64 gates, and a population of up to 400,000 people, serving as the beating heart of ancient Indian commerce and power.

Originally established around 490 BCE as a small fort named Pāṭaligrāma by the Magadha ruler Ajatashatru, Pataliputra evolved into a premier center of imperial authority. Its strategic location at the confluence of the Ganges, Son, and Gandhak rivers allowed it to dominate the riverine trade of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Successive great powers, including the Nanda, Maurya, and Gupta Empires, utilized the city as their administrative capital, transforming it into a 'water fort' or jaldurga.

During the Mauryan period (c. 320–180 BCE), the city reached unprecedented heights. The Greek historian Megasthenes described it as a wealthy, highly organized urban center. Archaeological excavations near modern Patna have uncovered evidence of large fortification walls reinforced with wooden trusses, supporting ancient accounts of a massive parallelogram-shaped city. Some estimates suggest the city stretched 15 kilometers in length and 2.5 kilometers in width, protected by a deep ditch and 6 and 4 gates.

The city's decline was a complex process of environmental and political shifts. By the time the Chinese monk Xuanzang visited in 637 CE, the once-grand metropolis was in ruins, inhabited by only about 1,000 people. Scholars point to several contributing factors: a shift in the course of the Ganges that moved the city away from its vital trade routes, catastrophic flooding of the Son River, and potential destruction by invading Hunas in the early 500s. While the city saw a brief resurgence as a royal camp during the Pala period, it eventually transitioned into the modern city of Patna under the rule of Sher Shah Suri.

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