List of Maurya emperors in the context of Amatya

⭐ Core Definition: List of Maurya emperors

The Maurya Empire (c. 322–185 BCE) was an ancient Indian empire. The empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE and lasted until 185 BCE. The Mauryan Empire was the first pan-Indian empire. At its height, the empire covered most of the Indian subcontinent. The Mauryan Emperor was the monarchical head of state and wielded absolute rule over the empire.

Chandragupta's chief minister Chanakya, sometimes called Kautilya, advised Chandragupta Maurya and contributed to the empire's legacy. Bindusara, Chandragupta's son, assumed the throne around 297 BCE. He kept the empire running smoothly while maintaining its lands. Bindusara's son, Ashoka, was the third leader of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka left his mark on history by erecting large stone pillars inscribed with edicts that he issued. After Ashoka's death, his family continued to reign, but the empire began to break apart. The last of the Mauryas, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his Senapati, Pushyamitra Shunga who went on to found the Shunga Empire in 185 BCE.

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List of Maurya emperors in the context of Buddhism in Afghanistan

Buddhism, a religion founded by Gautama Buddha, first arrived in modern-day Afghanistan through the conquests of Ashoka (r. 268–232 BCE), the third emperor of the Maurya Empire. Among the earliest notable sites of Buddhist influence in the country is a bilingual mountainside inscription in Greek and Aramaic that dates back to 260 BCE and was found on the rocky outcrop of Chil Zena near Kandahar.

Many prominent Buddhist monks were based in Afghanistan during this period: Menander I (r. 165–130 BCE), a Greco-Bactrian king, was a renowned patron of Buddhism and is immortalized in the Milinda Panha, a Pali-language Buddhist text; Mahadharmaraksita, a 2nd-century BCE Indo-Greek monk, is said to have led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "Alasandra, the city of the Yonas" (a colony of Alexander the Great, located approximately 150 kilometres or 93 miles to the north of modern-day Kabul) to Sri Lanka for the dedication of the Mahathupa in Anuradhapura, according to the Mahavamsa (Chap. XXIX); Lokaksema, a 2nd-century Kushan monk, travelled to the Chinese capital city of Luoyang during the reign of the Han dynasty, and was the first translator of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language.

View the full Wikipedia page for Buddhism in Afghanistan

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