1 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:13,109 The Third Century BC was a notoriously violent time, filled with titanic clashes and amazing 2 00:00:13,109 --> 00:00:19,140 personalities. Alexander’s conquests gave way to a period of constant warfare amongst 3 00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:25,199 his Seleucid, Ptolemaic and Antigonid successors, while the rising Roman juggernaut began a 4 00:00:25,199 --> 00:00:31,589 series of conquests to unite the Italian Peninsula, and fought its Carthaginian Rival, paving 5 00:00:31,589 --> 00:00:38,549 the way for future dominance. India during this period was also experiencing revolutionary 6 00:00:38,549 --> 00:00:43,789 change, which culminated in the rise of the Mauryan Empire and the reign of Ashoka the 7 00:00:43,789 --> 00:00:45,570 Great. 8 00:00:45,570 --> 00:00:50,869 This video is sponsored by Imperator: Rome - the newest historical grand strategy game 9 00:00:50,869 --> 00:00:57,189 from Paradox Interactive! Build a glorious empire out of blood and marble. 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You can support our channel by buying the game via 16 00:01:32,340 --> 00:01:37,740 the link in the description! 17 00:01:37,739 --> 00:01:44,259 In 326 BC, Alexander the Great crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and entered India for 18 00:01:44,260 --> 00:01:50,189 the first time, calling his veteran army to a halt at the Indus River, and demanding that 19 00:01:50,188 --> 00:01:56,399 two rival kings in the region - Omphis and Porus - to come to him and submit. Omphis 20 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:02,530 of Taxila surrendered to Alexander, but Porus of Paurava resisted, and forced Alexander 21 00:02:02,530 --> 00:02:08,009 into a climactic battle at the Hydaspes River, which he won nonetheless. 22 00:02:08,008 --> 00:02:14,089 Wishing to conquer all India, Alexander marched onward, but his army mutinied at the Hyphasis 23 00:02:14,090 --> 00:02:20,560 River, and he was forced to withdraw to Babylon. Their refusal to march on was in part due 24 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:26,998 to rumours of a massive Indian kingdom, possessing innumerable legions, further to the east. 25 00:02:26,998 --> 00:02:31,908 This was the Nanda Empire centered on the Magadha region, which supposedly fielded a 26 00:02:31,908 --> 00:02:39,578 colossal force of 250,000 infantry, cavalry, chariots and war elephants. Though he had 27 00:02:39,579 --> 00:02:45,349 retreated, Alexander’s conquests had destabilised northern India, a fact which would play a 28 00:02:45,348 --> 00:02:51,248 key role in what was to come. Once the historical shroud falls away once 29 00:02:51,248 --> 00:02:59,109 again, we see in 320 BC that it was a man named Chandragupta Maurya who stood victorious. 30 00:02:59,109 --> 00:03:04,120 This Indian conqueror’s origins are not clear, but less favourable Brahman sources 31 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:09,808 state that he was a shudra - a peasant or serf - whilst more favourable Buddhist texts 32 00:03:09,808 --> 00:03:15,919 designate him as a member of the prestigious kshatriya - or warrior caste. He likely knew 33 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:21,308 about Alexander’s stunning conquests, and was given a crash course in ancient warfare, 34 00:03:21,308 --> 00:03:26,620 tactics and geopolitics, which he would use to conquer his own empire. 35 00:03:26,620 --> 00:03:31,588 Having gathered followers, he initially attacked the Nanda Empire’s capital, but failed a 36 00:03:31,588 --> 00:03:37,209 few times. Then he changed his tactics and conquered the northwestern lands, which had 37 00:03:37,209 --> 00:03:42,650 been weakened by Alexander, using his subsequent control of these prosperous regions to cut 38 00:03:42,650 --> 00:03:48,489 off supplies to the capital, resulting in the fall of Nanda dynasty. 39 00:03:48,489 --> 00:03:53,759 After he established his realm he fought, decisively defeated and made an alliance with 40 00:03:53,759 --> 00:04:00,068 Seleucus, famously gifting him 500 war elephants in exchange for peace and the hand of Seleucus’ 41 00:04:00,068 --> 00:04:06,858 daughter in marriage. Chandragupta’s successor, Bindusara, continued his father’s wise domestic 42 00:04:06,859 --> 00:04:12,900 and foreign policies, such as his friendship with Seleucus and his religious tolerance. 43 00:04:12,900 --> 00:04:18,910 In addition, he thrust south into the Deccan plateau and expanded the Empire. 44 00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:24,400 It is the second of Bindusara’s three sons who is the subject of this video - Ashoka, 45 00:04:24,399 --> 00:04:30,129 whose eldest brother was Susima, and whose younger brother was Tissya. It seemed as though 46 00:04:30,129 --> 00:04:36,810 the future Mauryan emperor at this point had no chance of ever inheriting the throne. For 47 00:04:36,810 --> 00:04:42,949 one, his mother, Subhadrangi, was a commoner, while the crown prince and favourite child 48 00:04:42,949 --> 00:04:49,759 Susima’s mother was a royal princess. Nevertheless, Indian princes were often sent to govern faraway 49 00:04:49,759 --> 00:04:55,639 provinces, and Ashoka was no different. At the age of 18, the young Mauryan royal was 50 00:04:55,639 --> 00:05:00,959 sent to the cosmopolitan silk road hub of Taxila to quell a revolt, a task which he 51 00:05:00,959 --> 00:05:06,909 supposedly accomplished quickly. The nature of Taxila as a scholarly and cosmopolitan 52 00:05:06,910 --> 00:05:11,510 settlement, where intellectual debates were often had amongst different faiths, would 53 00:05:11,509 --> 00:05:15,789 have improved Ashoka’s knowledge of the world, as well as making him more tolerant 54 00:05:15,790 --> 00:05:21,750 and sophisticated. His next appointment was at the important city of Ujjaini - capital 55 00:05:21,750 --> 00:05:27,399 of Avanti province. The high quality of the governorship that Ashoka provided is shown 56 00:05:27,399 --> 00:05:32,179 by the fact that he was entrusted with this station - that of administering a crucial 57 00:05:32,180 --> 00:05:35,990 region connecting the capital city and the coast. 58 00:05:35,990 --> 00:05:41,500 It was in this new station that Ashoka fell in love with Devi, the daughter of a trader. 59 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:45,680 Interestingly, she was a member of the ‘Sakya’ clan, the clan of Siddhartha [Sidd’art-ha] 60 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:51,609 Gautama - the Buddha himself. It is widely thought that she was a Buddhist upon bearing 61 00:05:51,610 --> 00:05:57,470 Ashoka his two children: their son Mahendra and their daughter Sanghamitra. 62 00:05:57,470 --> 00:06:03,550 This relatively peaceful life would come to an end when, in 274 BC, Emperor Bindusara 63 00:06:03,550 --> 00:06:10,000 passed away. What happened next is the subject of much debate, but it is thought that a brief 64 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:16,250 four-year civil war occurred between Ashoka and his brothers. By acting decisively and 65 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:22,250 swiftly occupying the capital city, and because he was supported by his father’s ministers, 66 00:06:22,250 --> 00:06:28,420 Ashoka reigned victorious over his brother and was crowned as Emperor in 270 BC - the 67 00:06:28,420 --> 00:06:35,330 same year Hannibal Barca was born in Carthage. After he had ascended to the throne, Ashoka 68 00:06:35,329 --> 00:06:40,979 continued a policy of expansion and conquest. One of the reasons for this persistent policy 69 00:06:40,980 --> 00:06:47,610 of warfare was that, in this period, all Indian rulers wished to be regarded as the chakravartin 70 00:06:47,610 --> 00:06:54,930 - the king of kings by their royal rivals. Practical and economic reasons were also important, 71 00:06:54,930 --> 00:07:00,500 as taxes were the Mauryan Empire’s main source of revenue. The more land a king conquered, 72 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:05,389 the more taxes he gained. However, the more administrative and military expenses would 73 00:07:05,389 --> 00:07:10,019 also pile up, leading to an endless cycle of violence. 74 00:07:10,019 --> 00:07:16,899 So it was that in the year 262 BC, the massive Mauryan army marched into the Kingdom of Kalinga. 75 00:07:16,899 --> 00:07:22,049 Their past successes would likely have made them confident of an easy victory, but the 76 00:07:22,050 --> 00:07:28,280 king and his army faced a tough, grinding conflict against a doggedly courageous enemy. 77 00:07:28,279 --> 00:07:33,489 It is said that Ashoka eventually won the war not because Kalinga surrendered, but because 78 00:07:33,490 --> 00:07:39,379 the carnage was so terrible. After the final battle, the victorious monarch stood amongst 79 00:07:39,379 --> 00:07:44,899 his dead and dying foes on the battlefield. Most monarchs would have simply rejoiced in 80 00:07:44,899 --> 00:07:51,139 the grim victory, but Ashoka, in this moment, felt horror and remorse; it ended up being 81 00:07:51,139 --> 00:07:56,189 the key moment of his life. Supposedly, ‘One hundred and fifty thousand 82 00:07:56,189 --> 00:08:01,600 were there from captured, one hundred thousand were slain and many times that died’ from 83 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:07,730 famine and disease. More than just being horrified by the direct results of the devastation he 84 00:08:07,730 --> 00:08:13,240 had wrought, Ashoka also was acutely aware of the tragedy that struck those left behind 85 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,960 - the young sons left without a fathers and poor mothers who had been robbed of their 86 00:08:17,959 --> 00:08:23,759 sons, their families and loved ones. The educated and sensitive Ashoka appears 87 00:08:23,759 --> 00:08:29,439 to have been made truly aware of the real cost of war, even admitting publicly what 88 00:08:29,439 --> 00:08:36,019 no victorious ruler ever had before, that he felt ‘remorse on having conquered Kalinga’, 89 00:08:36,019 --> 00:08:41,069 declaring that ‘even one-hundredth or one thousandth part of those who were slain, died 90 00:08:41,070 --> 00:08:47,250 or captured in Kalinga is considered regrettable by the Beloved of the Gods’. This was clearly 91 00:08:47,250 --> 00:08:53,458 not the same man speaking who had annihilated his brother and had seized the throne by blood. 92 00:08:53,458 --> 00:08:59,419 Rather, it was a changed man, finally admitting to his mistakes and thinking on the futility 93 00:08:59,419 --> 00:09:05,659 and tragedy of war. Henceforth, said the king, he was not going to be provoked into bearing 94 00:09:05,659 --> 00:09:11,629 arms again, and also dedicated his life and huge wealth towards building a society where 95 00:09:11,629 --> 00:09:16,659 people lived by the rules of virtue and good moral behavior. 96 00:09:16,659 --> 00:09:22,370 This abrupt change of heart gradually led Ashoka to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 97 00:09:22,370 --> 00:09:27,600 - the Buddha - who had preached the same values of peace, nonviolence and benevolence two 98 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:33,889 centuries earlier. Ashoka had likely known of Buddhism from an early age, as his wife 99 00:09:33,889 --> 00:09:38,990 was an adherent of the Buddha’s teachings and the faith was popular with certain segments 100 00:09:38,990 --> 00:09:45,129 of the population. However, he was the first king in history to convert to this apparently 101 00:09:45,129 --> 00:09:50,949 revolutionary religion. Contrary to what popular legends depict, Ashoka 102 00:09:50,948 --> 00:09:56,099 did not instantly convert to Buddhism after his change of heart on the field of war, but 103 00:09:56,100 --> 00:10:01,240 thoughtfully and practically chose a slow path which would benefit both him and the 104 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:06,959 welfare of his subjects. Particular care was taken to remain tolerant of the two other 105 00:10:06,958 --> 00:10:14,078 dominant Indian religions - the Hindu Brahmanic faith and Jainism. In one of his major edicts, 106 00:10:14,078 --> 00:10:20,199 carved on a rock, he stated that should one blame other religions, or over-glorify one’s 107 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:25,829 own religion, they are instead doing harm to it, an act which should not be done. 108 00:10:25,828 --> 00:10:31,778 He began to study under Buddhist monks and, two years later, was accepted into the Sangha, 109 00:10:31,778 --> 00:10:38,110 the Buddhist Order. His tutor was a monk named Bhikku Upagupta of Mathura, who took the king 110 00:10:38,110 --> 00:10:43,669 on a pilgrimage of all the important sites in their shared faith, such as: Lumbini, where 111 00:10:43,669 --> 00:10:49,789 Siddhartha Gautama had been born, Bodh Gaya, where he had achieved enlightenment, Sarnath, 112 00:10:49,789 --> 00:10:55,009 where he had delivered his first lecture, and Kushinagar, where he had died and gained 113 00:10:55,009 --> 00:11:00,019 Nirvana. At all of these places and more, Ashoka erected 114 00:11:00,019 --> 00:11:06,198 pillars and carved rocks with his edicts and royal orders. These proclamations were routinely 115 00:11:06,198 --> 00:11:11,799 read out to the illiterate population by the empire’s officials, and appeared to be personal 116 00:11:11,799 --> 00:11:17,368 messages from Ashoka himself, clearly in his own words. It is also as though the king’s 117 00:11:17,369 --> 00:11:22,930 voice speaks to us 2,500 years later when we read them today. 118 00:11:22,929 --> 00:11:29,229 His change in faith also changed his role as the king. Rather than desiring material 119 00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:34,610 gain which so many kings had in the past, he now sought that his ‘children obtain 120 00:11:34,610 --> 00:11:40,940 every kind of welfare both in this and the next world’, and dictated that reporters 121 00:11:40,940 --> 00:11:47,470 could come to him with the people’s business wherever he might be, at whatever time. 122 00:11:47,470 --> 00:11:52,370 Despite all of this piety and benevolence, we must always keep in mind that Ashoka was 123 00:11:52,370 --> 00:11:57,899 an emperor above all else, not a religious teacher or a philosopher. He had the duty 124 00:11:57,899 --> 00:12:03,980 of running an Empire, and this was not always a job which led to peaceful outcomes. There 125 00:12:03,980 --> 00:12:09,050 was a serious danger that once Ashoka’s supposed pacifism had been announced, the 126 00:12:09,049 --> 00:12:14,458 provinces would rebel and neighboring kings would invade, sensing weakness in the Mauryan 127 00:12:14,458 --> 00:12:20,239 leadership. However, the Emperor, while he had given up on aggressive conquest, would 128 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:26,889 reluctantly but fiercely defend his empire, and refused to disband his army. Every rebellion 129 00:12:26,889 --> 00:12:32,339 would still be put down brutally, and any foreign invader would be met with devastating 130 00:12:32,339 --> 00:12:39,290 military force, a fact which he made clear. To his own subjects he also remained an almost 131 00:12:39,289 --> 00:12:44,958 stern, father-like figure, benevolent and caring but willing to inflict severe punishment 132 00:12:44,958 --> 00:12:50,748 if necessary - though his engravings almost appear to plead with his people not to force 133 00:12:50,749 --> 00:12:56,428 him to inflict these penalties. For example the ‘forest people’, or ‘Adivasi’, 134 00:12:56,428 --> 00:13:01,838 were told that despite Ashoka’s remorse, he still had the power and will to punish 135 00:13:01,839 --> 00:13:07,980 them for their injustices if necessary. They should, he said, ‘be ashamed of their wrongs’ 136 00:13:07,980 --> 00:13:14,699 lest they be killed. Overall, historian A.L. Basham stated that while Ashoka could seemingly 137 00:13:14,698 --> 00:13:20,349 be a bit naive, he was still indefatigable, strong willed and imperious. 138 00:13:20,350 --> 00:13:27,089 Ashoka also worked hard to change the attitude of his subjects; not to force Buddhism onto 139 00:13:27,089 --> 00:13:33,589 them, but to spread his universally ‘right’ values. The Emperor, who had previously enjoyed 140 00:13:33,589 --> 00:13:39,430 pleasure trips of hunting and had wielded a mighty sword, now went on dhammayatras, 141 00:13:39,429 --> 00:13:45,489 or pious pilgrimage tours, during which he visited holy sites and met his subjects. He 142 00:13:45,490 --> 00:13:49,938 frequently talked to local people to make sure they were happy, and would hear their 143 00:13:49,938 --> 00:13:56,139 compliments or complaints about local officials. In this way he was the first Indian king to 144 00:13:56,139 --> 00:14:02,169 think of the welfare of the poor, rather than just using them for tax revenue. As he stated, 145 00:14:02,169 --> 00:14:07,708 ‘the finest conquest is the conquest of Right, and not Might.’ 146 00:14:07,708 --> 00:14:13,039 The values he sought to spread were known as Ashoka’s dharma, a complex term which 147 00:14:13,039 --> 00:14:19,299 essentially were rules of good behavior in this particular context. For example, Ashoka 148 00:14:19,299 --> 00:14:24,479 wished that people should be obedient to parents and teachers, should behave properly towards 149 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:29,928 holy men, relatives, servants, friends and the poor, and should be kind and generous 150 00:14:29,928 --> 00:14:36,169 to the old and vulnerable. Nonviolence towards all living creatures, be they humans, birds 151 00:14:36,169 --> 00:14:43,139 or animals was practiced. One edict in particular goes into detail about how the Imperial kitchens 152 00:14:43,139 --> 00:14:47,579 will no longer slaughter vast amounts of animals for food. 153 00:14:47,578 --> 00:14:52,738 In addition to preaching these noble virtues to his people, Ashoka also sought to try his 154 00:14:52,739 --> 00:14:58,769 best to live by the same tenets. This was exemplified by his thoughtfulness in the construction 155 00:14:58,769 --> 00:15:04,669 and renovation of infrastructure. He ordered that shade trees be planted along roads for 156 00:15:04,669 --> 00:15:10,428 shelter from the sun and rains, that mango groves be planted in order to provide food, 157 00:15:10,428 --> 00:15:14,698 and that watering places be dug to quench a traveler’s thirst. 158 00:15:14,698 --> 00:15:22,058 In 253 BC a great gathering of Buddhist monks was held at Pataliputra, hosted by the king 159 00:15:22,058 --> 00:15:28,509 himself. At this, the third Buddhist council, a momentous decision was taken to send teams 160 00:15:28,509 --> 00:15:33,990 of bhikshus, Buddhist monks, to other foreign kingdoms in order to spread the teachings 161 00:15:33,990 --> 00:15:39,690 of the Buddha. These missionaries are said to have reached as far as Kashmir, Gandhara, 162 00:15:39,690 --> 00:15:45,760 the Greek Hellenistic kingdoms, North Africa, Burma and Sri Lanka. One of the travellers 163 00:15:45,759 --> 00:15:51,759 was a man named Dharmarakshita, and is designated as a ‘Yona’, or ‘Ionian’ in the texts, 164 00:15:51,759 --> 00:15:57,879 so it is possible he was a Greek convert. The most famous missionary of the period however, 165 00:15:57,879 --> 00:16:05,289 was Prince Mahendra - Ashoka’s firstborn son. In 249 BC, Mahendra journeyed to Sri 166 00:16:05,289 --> 00:16:12,548 Lanka - then called Tamraparni - at the invitation of King Devanampiya Tissa, an admirer of Ashoka 167 00:16:12,548 --> 00:16:17,948 and a man who wished to learn more of Buddhist principles. The subsequent mission to this 168 00:16:17,948 --> 00:16:23,969 realm was so successful that it gradually became a Buddhist country and remains so even 169 00:16:23,970 --> 00:16:32,949 today. Such was the legacy of Ashoka the Great. When he died in 232 BC, he was 72 years old, 170 00:16:32,948 --> 00:16:39,429 and had reigned for 38 glorious years. Though his death would instigate the long decay of 171 00:16:39,429 --> 00:16:45,489 his earthly Mauryan Empire, which fell after another half century, Ashoka had ruled over 172 00:16:45,490 --> 00:16:52,249 the largest indigenous empire in Indian history with wisdom, efficiency and most importantly, 173 00:16:52,249 --> 00:16:58,329 compassion. Buddhism in the 21st century is a world religion because the first steps to 174 00:16:58,328 --> 00:17:02,599 spread it to the world were made by Ashoka himself. 175 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:07,798 Gradually, as the centuries progressed after Ashoka’s death, the faith travelled along 176 00:17:07,798 --> 00:17:13,990 the Silk Roads as far as Tibet, China and even Japan, despite its decline in the predominantly 177 00:17:13,990 --> 00:17:20,880 Hindu land of its birth. Writer H.G. Wells stated that ‘Ashoka shines and shines brightly 178 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:26,140 like a bright star’ among the thousands of other kings and majesties ‘even unto 179 00:17:26,140 --> 00:17:28,009 this day’. 180 00:17:28,009 --> 00:17:34,140 We have more stories to tell, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and pressed 181 00:17:34,140 --> 00:17:38,610 the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to our Patreon supporters and 182 00:17:38,609 --> 00:17:43,259 channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now, you can also support 183 00:17:43,259 --> 00:17:48,440 us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description. This is the Kings and 184 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,279 Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.