Sunga Dynasty

Sunga Dynasty (185?-75? bc), rulers of the Kingdom of Magadha in northeastern India. The dynasty began after the last Mauryan king of Magadha, Brihadratha, was murdered by his general Pushyamitra. Pushyamitra then ruled the kingdom from his capital, Pātaliputra (modern Patna), controlling the Ganges River basin and central India to the Narmada River. He countered invasions of Greek armies from the northwest and ruled until the middle of the 2nd century bc. His successor, Agnimitra, kept the core of the empire together during his rule, which lasted about a decade, but later Sunga rulers allowed subordinate lords to issue their own coinage and function as independent kings. Increasingly pressured by rivals, the Sungas survived more than half a century longer before the last Sunga king was murdered, allegedly by his minister.