The Maurya Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda dynasty and quickly expanded its power to the west through central and western India, in order to take advantage of the disturbances of local powers in the wake of Alexander's withdrawal. Big. Armies
Ashoka the Great: Lived 304-232 BC As the king of the Maurya Empire, he conquered the Indian subcontinent.
Ashoka (r. 272-232 BC) was a brilliant commander who crushed uprisings in Ujjain and Taxila. As a monarch, he was ambitious and aggressive, reaffirming the Empire's superiority in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of Kalinga (262-261 BC) that proved to be the central event of his life. Although Ashoka's army managed to crush the Kalinga forces of royal soldiers and civilian units, some 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious war, including more than 10,000 of Ashoka's own men. Hundreds of thousands of people have been negatively affected by the destruction and the aftermath of the war. When he personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka began to feel remorse. Although Kalinga's annexation was completed, Ashoka embraced the teachings of Buddhism and renounced war and violence. He sent missionaries to travel around Asia and spread Buddhism to other countries.
Ashoka implemented the principles of ahimsa (the “no harm” principle) by banning hunting and violent sporting activities and ending slave and forced labor (many thousands of people in Kalinga devastated by war were forced into forced labor and servitude). While he maintained a large and powerful army to maintain peace, Ashoka expanded friendly relations with the states of Asia and Europe and sponsored Buddhist missions. He carried out a huge public works construction campaign across the country. Among these works were the construction of stupas, or Buddhist religious structures, containing relics. A notable stupas created during Ashoka's reign was The Great Stupa, which is located in Sanchi, India. More than 40 years of peace, harmony and prosperity have made Ashoka one of the most successful and famous monarchs in Indian history. He remains an idealized figure inspired by modern India.
Perhaps one of Ashoka's greatest known achievements was the creation of his edicts, which were erected between 269 BC and 232 BC. The inlaid edicts of Ashoka are found throughout the subcontinent. From the west to Afghanistan, and to the south of Andhra (Nellore district), Ashoka's notices declare its policies and achievements. Although predominantly written in Prakrit, two of them were written in Greek and one in Greek and Aramaic. Ashoka's edicts refer to the Greeks, kambojas and gandharas as peoples that form a border region of their empire. They also attest to the travels of Ashoka's envoys to the Greek rulers in the west to the Mediterranean. Ashoka's edicts also mentioned the social and cultural attributes of his empire, emphasizing Buddhism, while not condemning other religions.
