The Mauryan art is believed to be inspired from Achaemenid or Persian influence. We can find a lot of similarities in terms of form and style in the inscriptions of Ashoka and the Persian king Darius.
Fa-hein, the first Chinese Buddhist traveller and monk, came to India during the reign of Gupta emperor Chandragupta II and wrote the book “Si- Yu-Ki” that gives the detail account of the political and social condition of that time.
The historian V. A. Smith has called Samudragupta the ‘Napoleon’ of India because of his policy of war and conquest. He started with the conquest of his immediate neighbours and then by campaigns to the east and the south.
Earliest evidence of Banking in India is found from the period of Vedic Civilization. During those days, loan deeds called rnapatra (ऋणपत्र) or rnalekhya (ऋणलेख्य) were prevalent. Interest rates as well as usury (सूदखोरी) was prevalent in Vedic India. The Vedic word Kusidin refers to an usurer (सूदखोर).This term is also found in Manusmriti.