List of monarchs of Magadha

The Kingdom of Magadha, later known as the Magadha Empire, was a kingdom and later empire in ancient north India. Many houses ruled the kingdom and its empire over the centuries until it was defeated by the Satavahana Empire in. The history of the monarchs of Magadha, particularly in the Pre-Mauryan period, is shrouded in mystery and legend with various sources claiming different things.

House of Brihadratha

The Brihadratha dynasty was the first ruling house of Magadha. Brihadratha founded this dynasty in 1700 BCE. This dynasty lasted for more than ten centuries, ruling Magadha from 1700 to 682 BCE.

List of monarchs

Twenty-one kings of Brihadratha house ruled Magadha, beginning with Brihadratha himself.

Ruler	Reign
Brihadratha	1700–1680
Jarasandha	1680–1665
Sahadeva	1665–1661
Somadhi	1661–1603
Srutasravas	1603–1539
Ayutayus	1539–1503
Niramitra	1503–1463
Sukshatra	1463–1405
Brihatkarman	1405–1382
Senajit	1382–1332
Srutanjaya	1332–1292
Vipra	1292–1257
Suchi	1257–1199
Kshemya	1199–1171
Subrata	1171–1107
Dharma	1107–1043
Susuma	1043–970
Dridhasena	970–912
Sumati	912–879
Subala	879–857
Sunita	857–817
Satyajit	817–767
Viswajit	767–732
Ripunjaya	732–682

House of Haryanka

The Haryanka dynasty was the second ruling house of Magadha. This dynasty was founded by Bimbisara in 544 BCE. This dynasty lasted for 131 years, ruling Magadha from 544 to 413 BCE.

List of monarchs

This dynasty had six monarchs.

Monarchs	Reign	Period
Bimbisara	544–492	52
Ajatashatru	492–460	32
Udayin	460–444	16
Anuruddha	444–440	4
Munda	440–437	3
Nāgadāsaka	437–413	24

House of Shaishunaga

The Shaishunaga dynasty, also called Shishunaga, was the third ruling house of Magadha. Shisunaga, who was originally a minister of King Nagadashaka, overthrew him in a popular rebellion and ascended the throne in 413 BCE. This dynasty lasted for only 68 years, ruling Magadha from 413 to 345 BCE.

List of Monarchs

Four monarchs of this dynasty ruled Magadha in succession.

Monarch	Reign	Period
Shishunaga	413–395	18
Kalashoka	395–367	28
Nandivardhana	367–355	12
Mahanandin	355–345	10

House of Nanda

The Nanda dynasty was the fourth ruling house of Magadha. Mahapadma Nanda founded this dynasty in 345 BCE after murdering his own father, King Mahanandin. This dynasty was the shortest-living dynasty of Magadha, ruling for only 23 years from 345 to 329 BCE.

List of monarchs

Different sources mention different number of Nanda rulers. Buddhist, Jain and Puranic traditions state there were nine rulers, but differ considerably. Greek and Roman accounts mention two generations only—Mahapadma Nanda and his son Dhana Nanda

House of Maurya

The Maurya dynasty was the sixth and greatest ruling house of Magadha. Chandragupta Maurya founded this dynasty with help of his mentor and grand advisor Chanakya in 322 BCE after organizing a large army and overthrowing King Dhana Nanda. This dynasty lasted for 138 years, ruling Magadha from 322 to 184 BCE.

List of monarchs

This dynasty ruled for a considerably longer period than the previous house and had nine rulers.

House of Shunga

The Shunga dynasty was the seventh ruling house of Magadha. Pushyamitra Shunga, the Commander-in-Chief of Emperor Brihadratha Maurya, organized a coup d'état and killed the emperor, usurping the throne in 184 BCE. This dynasty lasted for 112 years, ruling Magadha from 184 to 72 BCE.

List of monarchs

This dynasty had nine monarchs.

Emperor	Reign
Pushyamitra	185–149
Agnimitra	149–141
Vasujyeshtha	141–131
Vasumitra	131–124
Bhadraka	124–122
Pulindaka	122–119
Ghosha or Vajramitra	119-114
Bhagabhadra	114-83
Devabhuti	83–73

House of Kanva

The Kanva dynasty was the eighth and last ruling house of Magadha. This dynasty was founded by Vasudeva Kanva who overthrow the Emperor Devabhuti in 73 BCE. This dynasty lasted for only 45 years, ruling Magadha from 73 to 28 BCE. On 28 BCE, the last emperor, Susarman Kanva was killed by the Satavahana Emperor Satakarni II and the Magadha Empire subsequently collapsed.