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Ashoka summary | Britannica
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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica" data-authors-initial="The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica" data-title="Ashoka summary" data-published-date="2 May. 2020" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ashoka" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=38797] .md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="Ashoka summary" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ashoka" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ashoka">https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ashoka</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-feedback-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom"> Feedback </div> <form method="post" action="/submission/feedback/38797"> <div class="my-20"> Corrections? 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> <div class="mt-20"> <div class="mb-20 font-sans-serif font-weight-bold"> Below is the article summary. For the full article, see <a href="/biography/Ashoka">Ashoka</a>. </div> <div class="collection-content topic-paragraph"> <article class="content"><!--[BEFORE-ARTICLE]--><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><!--[PREMOD1]--><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong>Ashoka </strong>, or <strong>Asoka</strong>, (born <em>c.</em> 304—died <em>c.</em> 232 <span class="text-smallcaps">bc</span>), Last major emperor (<em>c.</em> 269–232 <span class="text-smallcaps">bc</span>) of the Mauryan empire in India and a patron of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Buddhism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Buddhism</a>. After his bloody conquest of Kalinga in the eighth year of his reign, Ashoka renounced military aggression and resolved to live according to the dharma. He spoke of Buddhism only to fellow Buddhists and adopted a policy of toleration for other religions. He spread Buddhist teachings through inscriptions known as the Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts. He enjoined officials to be aware of the needs of common people and to dispense justice impartially; dharma ministers were appointed to relieve suffering and look to the special needs of other religions, women, outlying regions, and neighbouring peoples. He erected stupas and monasteries, developed a course of study for adherents, and sent missionaries to Sri Lanka. He is remembered as the ideal Buddhist ruler.</p><!--[MOD1]--><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> </article></div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal mb-20" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Buddhism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/218561-050-47A98FB5/seated-Buddha-bronze-sculpture.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Buddha" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Buddhism" >Buddhism Summary</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries bce (before the Common Era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan,</div> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal mb-20" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/emperor-title"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/46/91346-050-6B750522/Statue-Augustus-Roman.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="statue of the Roman emperor Augustus" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/emperor-title" >emperor Summary</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Emperor, title designating the sovereign of an empire, conferred originally on rulers of the ancient Roman Empire and on various later European rulers, though the term is also applied descriptively to some non-European monarchs. In republican Rome (c. 509–27 bce), imperator denoted a victorious</div> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal mb-20" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/government"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/64950-050-7FF76F71/cities-records-rivers-mouths-Euphrates-Tigris-countries.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Babylonia and Assyria" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/government" >government Summary</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. 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