How important was the mauryan empire?

When historians began reconstructing early Indian history in the nineteenth century, the emergence of the Mauryan Empire was regarded as a major landmark. The significance of the Mauryan empire was:

1. India was then under colonial rule and was the part of the British empire. Nineteenth and early twentieth-century Indian historians found the possibility that there was an empire in early India both challenging and exciting.
2. Some of the archaeological finds associated with the Mauryas, including stone sculpture, were considered to be examples of the spectacular art typical of empires. Many of these historians found the message on Asokan inscriptions very different from that of most other rulers, suggesting that Asoka was more powerful and industrious, as also more humble than later rulers who adopted grandiose titles.
3. Nationalist leaders in the twentieth century regarded him as an inspiring figure.
4. Ashoka also tried to hold his empire together by propagating dhamma, the principles of which, as we have seen, were simple and virtually universally applicable. This includes respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced world life, treating slaves and servants kindly and respect for religions and traditions other than one's own.
5. The Mauryan Empire lasted for about 150 years, which is not a very long time in the vast span of the history of the subcontinent. The empire did not encompass the entire subcontinent. And even within the frontiers of the empire, control was not uniform. By the second century BCE, new chiefdoms and kingdoms emerged in several parts of the subcontinent.