Beyond Accounts: What Did the Ancient State Need to Know?
What does a state need to know before it can govern? A state cannot administer what it does not know. Before it can govern its territory, manage its resources or regulate its people, it must first have some knowledge of what it governs. In the modern world, this knowledge is produced through census records, land records, financial accounts and numerous administrative databases. But what kind of information did an ancient state consider necessary for governance? Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra offers...
