Transcript Buddhism and the First Unification of India

Buddhism and the First
Unification of India
History Alive
Chapter 17
The Mauryas Unify India

First leaders to unify
India.
Chandragupta Maurya
Began building the
Empire in the 320s
B.C.E.
 Used his great army
of 700,000 soldiers
and 9,000 elephants
to overthrow the
other rulers.

Chandragupta Maurya
Used force.
 Powerful army.
 Spies.
 Torture.

Chandragupta’s Accomplishments
Central Government
 Wrote Laws
 Gave farmers water
for crops
 Built a Royal Road
1,000 miles

Toward the end of his life
Chandragupta
became an ascetic.
 He lived in poverty.
 He traveled with
monks.

King Ashoka
Chandragupta’s
grandson.
 Ruled from 269 to
232 B.C.E.
 After one brutal
battle he decided to
reject violence.

Ashoka embraces Buddhism
Supported Buddhist
values of love, peace,
and nonviolence.
 He gave up hunting
and became a
vegetarian.
 He visited Buddhist
sites.

Ashoka embraces Buddhism
Ashoka gave up wars
of conquest.
 He wanted his
people to follow the
Buddhist path.
 He urged them to be
kind, respectful, and
moral.

Ashoka’s Edicts
An edict is a
command that is
obeyed like a law.
 He had edicts carved
into walls, rocks, and
tall pillars in public
places.

FYI: Not all of Ashoka’s actions
reflected Buddhism
He allowed slavery.
 Permitted people to be executed for
serious crimes.
 He kept a strong army.
 Gave up conquest, but would not give the
lands back that he conquered.

Ashoka’s Edicts
Designed to Promote
Buddhist Values
 General Welfare
 Justice
 Security

After Ashoka’s Death
About 45 years after
his death the
kingdom broke apart
into separate
kingdoms.
 Buddhism spread.

The End