WEBVTT 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:13.109 The Third Century BC was a notoriously violent time, filled with titanic clashes and amazing 00:00:13.109 --> 00:00:19.140 personalities. Alexander’s conquests gave way to a period of constant warfare amongst 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:25.199 his Seleucid, Ptolemaic and Antigonid successors, while the rising Roman juggernaut began a 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:31.589 series of conquests to unite the Italian Peninsula, and fought its Carthaginian Rival, paving 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:38.549 the way for future dominance. India during this period was also experiencing revolutionary 00:00:38.549 --> 00:00:43.789 change, which culminated in the rise of the Mauryan Empire and the reign of Ashoka the 00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:45.570 Great. 00:00:45.570 --> 00:00:50.869 This video is sponsored by Imperator: Rome - the newest historical grand strategy game 00:00:50.869 --> 00:00:57.189 from Paradox Interactive! Build a glorious empire out of blood and marble. Take the reins 00:00:57.189 --> 00:01:02.959 of power over any of hundreds of ancient nations, including Rome and Carthage, as you slowly 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:09.820 expand to dominate the classical Mediterranean, Europe and India. Expand trade, build roads 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:15.279 and command armies on the most detailed map ever made for a Paradox game. But keep an 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.560 eye on your generals and governors! Some of them will increase their own power and plunge 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:25.710 your land into civil war. Enjoy the panoply and majesty of the world of Caesar and Hannibal 00:01:25.709 --> 00:01:32.339 in Imperator: Rome, coming April 25. You can support our channel by buying the game via 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:37.740 the link in the description! 00:01:37.739 --> 00:01:44.259 In 326 BC, Alexander the Great crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and entered India for 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 00:01:50.188 --> 00:01:56.399 two rival kings in the region - Omphis and Porus - to come to him and submit. Omphis 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:02.530 of Taxila surrendered to Alexander, but Porus of Paurava resisted, and forced Alexander 00:02:02.530 --> 00:02:08.009 into a climactic battle at the Hydaspes River, which he won nonetheless. 00:02:08.008 --> 00:02:14.089 Wishing to conquer all India, Alexander marched onward, but his army mutinied at the Hyphasis 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 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:26.998 to rumours of a massive Indian kingdom, possessing innumerable legions, further to the east. 00:02:26.998 --> 00:02:31.908 This was the Nanda Empire centered on the Magadha region, which supposedly fielded a 00:02:31.908 --> 00:02:39.578 colossal force of 250,000 infantry, cavalry, chariots and war elephants. Though he had 00:02:39.579 --> 00:02:45.349 retreated, Alexander’s conquests had destabilised northern India, a fact which would play a 00:02:45.348 --> 00:02:51.248 key role in what was to come. Once the historical shroud falls away once 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. 00:02:59.109 --> 00:03:04.120 This Indian conqueror’s origins are not clear, but less favourable Brahman sources 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:09.808 state that he was a shudra - a peasant or serf - whilst more favourable Buddhist texts 00:03:09.808 --> 00:03:15.919 designate him as a member of the prestigious kshatriya - or warrior caste. He likely knew 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:21.308 about Alexander’s stunning conquests, and was given a crash course in ancient warfare, 00:03:21.308 --> 00:03:26.620 tactics and geopolitics, which he would use to conquer his own empire. 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:31.588 Having gathered followers, he initially attacked the Nanda Empire’s capital, but failed a 00:03:31.588 --> 00:03:37.209 few times. Then he changed his tactics and conquered the northwestern lands, which had 00:03:37.209 --> 00:03:42.650 been weakened by Alexander, using his subsequent control of these prosperous regions to cut 00:03:42.650 --> 00:03:48.489 off supplies to the capital, resulting in the fall of Nanda dynasty. 00:03:48.489 --> 00:03:53.759 After he established his realm he fought, decisively defeated and made an alliance with 00:03:53.759 --> 00:04:00.068 Seleucus, famously gifting him 500 war elephants in exchange for peace and the hand of Seleucus’ 00:04:00.068 --> 00:04:06.858 daughter in marriage. Chandragupta’s successor, Bindusara, continued his father’s wise domestic 00:04:06.859 --> 00:04:12.900 and foreign policies, such as his friendship with Seleucus and his religious tolerance. 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:18.910 In addition, he thrust south into the Deccan plateau and expanded the Empire. 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, 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:30.129 whose eldest brother was Susima, and whose younger brother was Tissya. It seemed as though 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:36.810 the future Mauryan emperor at this point had no chance of ever inheriting the throne. For 00:04:36.810 --> 00:04:42.949 one, his mother, Subhadrangi, was a commoner, while the crown prince and favourite child 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:49.759 Susima’s mother was a royal princess. Nevertheless, Indian princes were often sent to govern faraway 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:55.639 provinces, and Ashoka was no different. At the age of 18, the young Mauryan royal was 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 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:06.909 supposedly accomplished quickly. The nature of Taxila as a scholarly and cosmopolitan 00:05:06.910 --> 00:05:11.510 settlement, where intellectual debates were often had amongst different faiths, would 00:05:11.509 --> 00:05:15.789 have improved Ashoka’s knowledge of the world, as well as making him more tolerant 00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:21.750 and sophisticated. His next appointment was at the important city of Ujjaini - capital 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:27.399 of Avanti province. The high quality of the governorship that Ashoka provided is shown 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:32.179 by the fact that he was entrusted with this station - that of administering a crucial 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.990 region connecting the capital city and the coast. 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. 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:45.680 Interestingly, she was a member of the ‘Sakya’ clan, the clan of Siddhartha [Sidd’art-ha] 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:51.609 Gautama - the Buddha himself. It is widely thought that she was a Buddhist upon bearing 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:57.470 Ashoka his two children: their son Mahendra and their daughter Sanghamitra. 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:03.550 This relatively peaceful life would come to an end when, in 274 BC, Emperor Bindusara 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 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:16.250 four-year civil war occurred between Ashoka and his brothers. By acting decisively and 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:22.250 swiftly occupying the capital city, and because he was supported by his father’s ministers, 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:28.420 Ashoka reigned victorious over his brother and was crowned as Emperor in 270 BC - the 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:35.330 same year Hannibal Barca was born in Carthage. After he had ascended to the throne, Ashoka 00:06:35.329 --> 00:06:40.979 continued a policy of expansion and conquest. One of the reasons for this persistent policy 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 00:06:47.610 --> 00:06:54.930 - the king of kings by their royal rivals. Practical and economic reasons were also important, 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, 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:05.389 the more taxes he gained. However, the more administrative and military expenses would 00:07:05.389 --> 00:07:10.019 also pile up, leading to an endless cycle of violence. 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. 00:07:16.899 --> 00:07:22.049 Their past successes would likely have made them confident of an easy victory, but the 00:07:22.050 --> 00:07:28.280 king and his army faced a tough, grinding conflict against a doggedly courageous enemy. 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:33.489 It is said that Ashoka eventually won the war not because Kalinga surrendered, but because 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:39.379 the carnage was so terrible. After the final battle, the victorious monarch stood amongst 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:44.899 his dead and dying foes on the battlefield. Most monarchs would have simply rejoiced in 00:07:44.899 --> 00:07:51.139 the grim victory, but Ashoka, in this moment, felt horror and remorse; it ended up being 00:07:51.139 --> 00:07:56.189 the key moment of his life. Supposedly, ‘One hundred and fifty thousand 00:07:56.189 --> 00:08:01.600 were there from captured, one hundred thousand were slain and many times that died’ from 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:07.730 famine and disease. More than just being horrified by the direct results of the devastation he 00:08:07.730 --> 00:08:13.240 had wrought, Ashoka also was acutely aware of the tragedy that struck those left behind 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:17.960 - the young sons left without a fathers and poor mothers who had been robbed of their 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:23.759 sons, their families and loved ones. The educated and sensitive Ashoka appears 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:29.439 to have been made truly aware of the real cost of war, even admitting publicly what 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:36.019 no victorious ruler ever had before, that he felt ‘remorse on having conquered Kalinga’, 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:41.069 declaring that ‘even one-hundredth or one thousandth part of those who were slain, died 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:47.250 or captured in Kalinga is considered regrettable by the Beloved of the Gods’. This was clearly 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. 00:08:53.458 --> 00:08:59.419 Rather, it was a changed man, finally admitting to his mistakes and thinking on the futility 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 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:11.629 arms again, and also dedicated his life and huge wealth towards building a society where 00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:16.659 people lived by the rules of virtue and good moral behavior. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:22.370 This abrupt change of heart gradually led Ashoka to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:27.600 - the Buddha - who had preached the same values of peace, nonviolence and benevolence two 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:33.889 centuries earlier. Ashoka had likely known of Buddhism from an early age, as his wife 00:09:33.889 --> 00:09:38.990 was an adherent of the Buddha’s teachings and the faith was popular with certain segments 00:09:38.990 --> 00:09:45.129 of the population. However, he was the first king in history to convert to this apparently 00:09:45.129 --> 00:09:50.949 revolutionary religion. Contrary to what popular legends depict, Ashoka 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 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:01.240 thoughtfully and practically chose a slow path which would benefit both him and the 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:06.959 welfare of his subjects. Particular care was taken to remain tolerant of the two other 00:10:06.958 --> 00:10:14.078 dominant Indian religions - the Hindu Brahmanic faith and Jainism. In one of his major edicts, 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 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:25.829 own religion, they are instead doing harm to it, an act which should not be done. 00:10:25.828 --> 00:10:31.778 He began to study under Buddhist monks and, two years later, was accepted into the Sangha, 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 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:43.669 on a pilgrimage of all the important sites in their shared faith, such as: Lumbini, where 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:49.789 Siddhartha Gautama had been born, Bodh Gaya, where he had achieved enlightenment, Sarnath, 00:10:49.789 --> 00:10:55.009 where he had delivered his first lecture, and Kushinagar, where he had died and gained 00:10:55.009 --> 00:11:00.019 Nirvana. At all of these places and more, Ashoka erected 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:06.198 pillars and carved rocks with his edicts and royal orders. These proclamations were routinely 00:11:06.198 --> 00:11:11.799 read out to the illiterate population by the empire’s officials, and appeared to be personal 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 00:11:17.369 --> 00:11:22.930 voice speaks to us 2,500 years later when we read them today. 00:11:22.929 --> 00:11:29.229 His change in faith also changed his role as the king. Rather than desiring material 00:11:29.230 --> 00:11:34.610 gain which so many kings had in the past, he now sought that his ‘children obtain 00:11:34.610 --> 00:11:40.940 every kind of welfare both in this and the next world’, and dictated that reporters 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:47.470 could come to him with the people’s business wherever he might be, at whatever time. 00:11:47.470 --> 00:11:52.370 Despite all of this piety and benevolence, we must always keep in mind that Ashoka was 00:11:52.370 --> 00:11:57.899 an emperor above all else, not a religious teacher or a philosopher. He had the duty 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 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:09.050 was a serious danger that once Ashoka’s supposed pacifism had been announced, the 00:12:09.049 --> 00:12:14.458 provinces would rebel and neighboring kings would invade, sensing weakness in the Mauryan 00:12:14.458 --> 00:12:20.239 leadership. However, the Emperor, while he had given up on aggressive conquest, would 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.889 reluctantly but fiercely defend his empire, and refused to disband his army. Every rebellion 00:12:26.889 --> 00:12:32.339 would still be put down brutally, and any foreign invader would be met with devastating 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 00:12:39.289 --> 00:12:44.958 stern, father-like figure, benevolent and caring but willing to inflict severe punishment 00:12:44.958 --> 00:12:50.748 if necessary - though his engravings almost appear to plead with his people not to force 00:12:50.749 --> 00:12:56.428 him to inflict these penalties. For example the ‘forest people’, or ‘Adivasi’, 00:12:56.428 --> 00:13:01.838 were told that despite Ashoka’s remorse, he still had the power and will to punish 00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:07.980 them for their injustices if necessary. They should, he said, ‘be ashamed of their wrongs’ 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:14.699 lest they be killed. Overall, historian A.L. Basham stated that while Ashoka could seemingly 00:13:14.698 --> 00:13:20.349 be a bit naive, he was still indefatigable, strong willed and imperious. 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:27.089 Ashoka also worked hard to change the attitude of his subjects; not to force Buddhism onto 00:13:27.089 --> 00:13:33.589 them, but to spread his universally ‘right’ values. The Emperor, who had previously enjoyed 00:13:33.589 --> 00:13:39.430 pleasure trips of hunting and had wielded a mighty sword, now went on dhammayatras, 00:13:39.429 --> 00:13:45.489 or pious pilgrimage tours, during which he visited holy sites and met his subjects. He 00:13:45.490 --> 00:13:49.938 frequently talked to local people to make sure they were happy, and would hear their 00:13:49.938 --> 00:13:56.139 compliments or complaints about local officials. In this way he was the first Indian king to 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, 00:14:02.169 --> 00:14:07.708 ‘the finest conquest is the conquest of Right, and not Might.’ 00:14:07.708 --> 00:14:13.039 The values he sought to spread were known as Ashoka’s dharma, a complex term which 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:19.299 essentially were rules of good behavior in this particular context. For example, Ashoka 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:24.479 wished that people should be obedient to parents and teachers, should behave properly towards 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:29.928 holy men, relatives, servants, friends and the poor, and should be kind and generous 00:14:29.928 --> 00:14:36.169 to the old and vulnerable. Nonviolence towards all living creatures, be they humans, birds 00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:43.139 or animals was practiced. One edict in particular goes into detail about how the Imperial kitchens 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.579 will no longer slaughter vast amounts of animals for food. 00:14:47.578 --> 00:14:52.738 In addition to preaching these noble virtues to his people, Ashoka also sought to try his 00:14:52.739 --> 00:14:58.769 best to live by the same tenets. This was exemplified by his thoughtfulness in the construction 00:14:58.769 --> 00:15:04.669 and renovation of infrastructure. He ordered that shade trees be planted along roads for 00:15:04.669 --> 00:15:10.428 shelter from the sun and rains, that mango groves be planted in order to provide food, 00:15:10.428 --> 00:15:14.698 and that watering places be dug to quench a traveler’s thirst. 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 00:15:22.058 --> 00:15:28.509 himself. At this, the third Buddhist council, a momentous decision was taken to send teams 00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:33.990 of bhikshus, Buddhist monks, to other foreign kingdoms in order to spread the teachings 00:15:33.990 --> 00:15:39.690 of the Buddha. These missionaries are said to have reached as far as Kashmir, Gandhara, 00:15:39.690 --> 00:15:45.760 the Greek Hellenistic kingdoms, North Africa, Burma and Sri Lanka. One of the travellers 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:51.759 was a man named Dharmarakshita, and is designated as a ‘Yona’, or ‘Ionian’ in the texts, 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, 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:05.289 was Prince Mahendra - Ashoka’s firstborn son. In 249 BC, Mahendra journeyed to Sri 00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:12.548 Lanka - then called Tamraparni - at the invitation of King Devanampiya Tissa, an admirer of Ashoka 00:16:12.548 --> 00:16:17.948 and a man who wished to learn more of Buddhist principles. The subsequent mission to this 00:16:17.948 --> 00:16:23.969 realm was so successful that it gradually became a Buddhist country and remains so even 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, 00:16:32.948 --> 00:16:39.429 and had reigned for 38 glorious years. Though his death would instigate the long decay of 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:45.489 his earthly Mauryan Empire, which fell after another half century, Ashoka had ruled over 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:52.249 the largest indigenous empire in Indian history with wisdom, efficiency and most importantly, 00:16:52.249 --> 00:16:58.329 compassion. Buddhism in the 21st century is a world religion because the first steps to 00:16:58.328 --> 00:17:02.599 spread it to the world were made by Ashoka himself. 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:07.798 Gradually, as the centuries progressed after Ashoka’s death, the faith travelled along 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 00:17:13.990 --> 00:17:20.880 Hindu land of its birth. Writer H.G. Wells stated that ‘Ashoka shines and shines brightly 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:26.140 like a bright star’ among the thousands of other kings and majesties ‘even unto 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:28.009 this day’. 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 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:38.610 the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to our Patreon supporters and 00:17:38.609 --> 00:17:43.259 channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now, you can also support 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:48.440 us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description. This is the Kings and 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:51.279 Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.