The term ‘Aryan’ means ‘noble’. It was used as a self designation by Indo-Iranian people. It was used in vedic period i India as an ethnic label for themselves as well as to refer noble class.
The Maurya period is remarkable in the early history of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta Maurya was the first ruler who tried to consolidate small fragmented kingdoms and combined them to form the first empire of the Indian subcontinent.