ancient kingdom of India, situated in what is now west-central Bihar. It was the nucf several larger kingdoms or empires between sixth century BC and eighth century AD. The early importance of Magadha may be explained by its strategic position in the Ganga river valley, enabling it to control communication and trade on the river. The river further provided a link between Magadha and the rich ports in the Ganga delta.Under King Bimbisara (reigned c. 543-c. 491 BC) of the Haryanka family, the kingdom of Anga (eastern Bihar) was added to Magadha. Kosala was annexed later. The supremacy of Magadha continued under the Nanda (fourth century BC) and Maurya (fourth-second century BC) dynasties. Under the Maurya dynasty the empire included almost the entire subcontinent of India. The early centuries AD saw the decline of Magadha, but the Gupta dynasty in the fourth century brought it once more to a position of preeminence. Not only did these imperial dynasties begin by establishing their power in Magadha but in each case Pataliputra (adjacent to modern Patna) was the imperial capital, thus adding to the prestige of Magadha.Lively accounts of Pataliputra and Magadha are available in the Indica of Megasthenes (c. 300 BC) and in travel diaries of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Fa-hsien (Faxian) and Hsuan-tsang (Xuanzang) (fourth-fifth and seventh centuries AD). Many sites in Magadha were sacred to Buddhism. Towards the close of the twelfth century, the Mughals conquered the Magadha.