HIST 1010 Lecture Notes - Magadha, Dharma, Indus River
Document Summary
Chandragupta- inspired by alexander the great- started this. Alexander stopped his conquest at the indus river: didn"t go into south asia, but very influential. Asoka maurya: first large scale empire in south asia, chandragupta grandson, rules for about 40 years, creates a large empire- expands even further. Military conquest: has a moment where he changed course. Rock edicts: cares for his subjects, spreads a moral code- dhamma, important for the spread of buddhism. Rock edicts: rocks, giant pillars, spread around- 33 survived, talk about ashoka and his greatness. Gives instructions on how to live buddhist. "i am working to serve you and make sure you have happiness and obtain heaven" Overall nice guy: digging wells so people have access to water, provided shelter around travel routes, planting trees, for travelers, finding herbs to plant for animals and travelers, building a lot of roads, spreading buddhism. Probably propaganda and not 100 percent sincere.
