Ideas · c. 261–260 BCE
Ashoka turns from war
Dhauli, Kalinga (Odisha, India)
In about the eighth year of his reign, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka conquered Kalinga on India's east coast; his own Rock Edict 13 records 100,000 killed and 150,000 carried off, and expresses deep remorse. He turned to dhamma, a moral code of non-violence and right conduct not tied to a single religion, proclaimed it in edicts carved on rocks and pillars across his empire, and became a lay follower and patron of Buddhism.
Why it mattered
Ashoka is remembered as a ruler who renounced conquest by war, and the missionaries he is credited with sending, including his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka, helped Buddhism spread beyond India.
Related
- The world in 300 BCE: Heirs of Alexander chapter
- Euclid and the Library of Alexandria previous moment · c. 300 BCE
- Qin unifies China next moment · 221 BCE