Asoka DBQ

To begin with, Asoka was kind and concerned about people. He became peaceful, enlightened, and more open-minded after finding enlightenment. Asoka’s ideas changed after his conquering of Kalinga because he felt sorry for them. According to historian Michael Wood, “[It was] a rejection of a whole way of understanding history.” ( Doc C). By this, Wood means that Asoka rejected the way rulers in the past felt after conquering land. Regardless of who they were, they enjoyed being victorious. But instead of abandoning the Kalingans, who had lost so much, Asoka’s reaction to the

Asoka was an enlightened ruler because of his intelligence and strategy. Evidence of this is when he conquered Kalinga. This was an important conquest to the economy of the Mauryan Empire. He strategically surrounded Kalinga when conquering it (Doc B). This evidence explains why Asoka was an enlightened ruler because he was doing good for his people and economy. He also

Asoka is one of the greatest rulers of India. He had Rule for thirty eight year 274 BC -232 BC (cite). According to Buddhist dharma and law Asoka ruled over vast empire. His greatest achievements were to spreading Buddhism throughout his empire and beyond. The edicts were translated in the 1830s. According to the Article of ANCIENT History “150 Asoka edicts have been found carved into the face of rock and cave walls as well as pillar all this was mark on his kingdom,.” which was northern India and south areas now known as Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan .

DBQ Essay Asoka Asoka was a enlightened ruler. ; That means that he was nice and caring. Asoka lived over 2000 years ago.

The reforms Asoka wrote were the "ways of life" for the people of India. "According to Document d, these reforms were also known as edicts". The edicts written on pillars were "pillar edicts" the ones written on

Asoka before he became friends he killed a lot people in kalinga’s territory in document d. Asoka felt sorry to what he did to kalinga. Then asoka became friends in india. Asoka made up for that. Asoka killed over 150,000 people.

He goes out seeking a teacher to help him be more enlightened. According to, Asoka: Ruthless Conqueror, or Enlightened Ruler?, it says, “(Doc C) By the riverbank he met a Buddhist monk who told him to sit beneath the Bodhi tree, where the Buddha found enlightenment. And there, the power of ideas, and the power of the state came together in a uniquely Indian way. It was the rejection of the path of violence and a whole way of understanding history.” When he was there, Asoka started thinking about his people. Buddhism is a spiritual practice, which caused this. He gave gifts to the poor, and started ruling in a more political manner, which had never been done

First of all, Asoka wanted and tried to spread Buddhism. For example, in paragraph three it says ¨Äsoka had a serious side known to be very interested in nature and spiritual matters, which led to his study of Buddhism.¨ To explain, he sent warriors and missionaries to make people become part of Buddhism.

“Asoka’s pillars of stone with their inscriptions would speak to me in their magnificent language and tell me of a man, who though was an emperor , was greater than any king or emperors,” stated Nehru, a leading figure in India’s fight for independence (Doc. F). Asoka was a ruler of the Mauryan Empire from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. The Mauryan Empire was established by Asoka’s grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, in 321 BCE. Asoka helped strengthen the Mauryan Empire by conquering the region of Kalinga. Was Asoka, leader of the Mauryan Empire, a cruel or peaceful ruler? Asoka was a peaceful ruler because he conquered Kalinga for the wellness of the Mauryan economy, he felt anguish for the death of those in his conquest at Kalinga, and his edicts were fair.

First, Asoka helped the economy and poor communities. Asoka’s strategy states, “The conquest of Kalinga was of importance to both the strategy and the economy of the Mauryan empire.” Asoka went to war to help the kingdom's economy and make to sure the kingdom was safe. One part of Asoka’s awakening says, “While he was here, Asoka gave rich gifts to the poor. He consulted local communities about proper governance, about good conduct .” This shows Asoka cared about poor communities and gave them advice.

In Document F, “ Asoka’s pillars of stone with their inscriptions would speak to me in their magnificent language and tell me of a magnificent language and tell me of a man, who, though an emperor, was greater than any king.” He did have some bad parts but overall he was a pretty good ruler, and did everything that he thought was right. He carved these messages to show what things meant to him. Yet another example of Document F, “This astonishing ruler, beloved still in India and in many different parts of Asia, devoted himself to spreading the religion.” But then even though he did do this they did not like what he carved or what he was spreading at the end.

However, he mentioned that his people had an important part in impact the way he ruled and he had a new focus on improving the conditions for his citizens. He improved the educational system and tolerated many different religions. Ashoka also sponsored irrigation systems and any project that would allow his citizens to improve their living standards. Even though Ashoka had rule ruthlessly for the first years of his reign, his conversion to Buddhism sponsored more equality between his people. This allowed his people to experience the height of the Gupta Empire during his leadership.

Imperial support played a major part in facilitation and localisation of the spread of Buddhism into Southeast Asia. Asoka, as mentioned, was a big supporter of Theravada Buddhism and was deemed an exemplar for future Buddhist emperor to establish Buddhism as a part of the country’s traditions and lifestyle (Swearer 2010, 71). He believed that true conquest of a country was “by the force of the teachings of religion” (Swearer 1997, 89). Through his persistent method of conquest, he influenced several Theravada Buddhist rulers like King Kyanzittha of Pagan, Burma and King Tilokaraja of Chiang Mai, Thailand during 11th and 15th century respectively to position Buddhism as a part of their reign, conquest and authority (Swearer 2010, 71). This significantly enabled the localization of Buddhism into Southeast Asia especially in countries like Thailand who remains supportive of Buddhism as declared by the Chakri dynasty from the end of 18th century onwards (Bowker 2007, 150). It was through the support of imperial power that led the countries’ citizens to gain interest in and

his power and use of it. The main sticking point that Buddhism had to get past to be

‘’Progress is impossible without change’’ George Bernard Shaw. Asoka was an emperor who conquered Kalinga and most of India also killed over 200,000 people and drove 150,000 people out of Kalinga but, he changed and became a good person. That is why history should see Asoka as an enlightened ruler. He should be remembered as an enlightened ruler for these three reasons. Asoka cared for the people in his empire, Ashoka helped the families in his empire, and Ashoka is inspired people.