Royce74

Porter, Royce June 7, 2007 Period 4/5 Ashoka’s Edicts

In early India, there was an emperor named Chandgrupta. He gave up his power to his grandson, Ashoka. He gave Ashoka nearly all of India’s subcontinents. Ashoka wanted a powerful united empire with Buddhist values. He spread those values through his edicts. He spread these values in four different ways. The first edict has to do with Buddhist values. It asked people to be nice, respectful, and nonviolent. People should not get too attached to money, so they say. The second edict has to do with General Warfare and people’s well being. They were supposed to make sure that people had good health, shelter, water, and enough food. The third edict has to do with justice. These edicts have to do with laws, and how people were treated in court and in jail. The last edict has to do with security. These edicts concerned enemies of the Mauryan Empire and non-citizens. Ashoka’s goals were for a foundation that is strong for is empire. His dream of a united empire did not last. 45 years after his death, his empire broke into separate kingdoms. Ashoka’s support of Buddhism lasted a lot longer. Buddhism spread from northwestern India to central Asia. Then it traveled to China, Japan, and Korea.