Economy, Trade & Statecraft
Shreni craft and merchant guilds
1st millennium BCE onwardAncient Indian guildsInscriptions; ArthashastraPan-Indian / unspecified
1,000 BCE
Self-governing guilds that set rules, held deposits and funded public works.
- Dated
- 1,000 BCE–0 CE
- As scholars put it
- 1st millennium BCE onward
- Originator
- Ancient Indian guilds
- Source text
- Inscriptions; Arthashastra
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Economy, Trade & Statecraft
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Comparable to medieval European guilds.
Path to modern innovation
An early form of corporate organisation.
References
- 1R. C. Majumdar, Corporate Life in Ancient India
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-333 on GitHub.