R: Although
originally a violent ruler bent on conquest, Ashoka revised his foreign and
domestic policies to be in line with the Buddhist teachings of peace of
coexistence.
A: Most of the art made during Ashoka's reign was related to his Buddhist teachings. Early art did not show Buddha directly, but instead used a variety of symbols to represent him
S: Ashoka attempted to unite his immense empire using The Moral Order of the Dharma. But, many social barriers, such as diversity in religion and ethnicities, made it difficult to unite people.
P: As emperor, Ashoka held most of the power over the government. He appointed royal officers that made sure all people were following the word of the Dhamma.
E:
Mauryan punchmark coins used from 300- 100 BCE.
D: While no exact number is known, scholars estimate that the empire had 30 million people in 250 BCE.
I: Ashoka's Edicts formed the basis for much of India's intellectual developments. Large pillars were engraved with humanistic philosophies on life that had their roots in Buddhism.
Here is a video that details how one of the pillars was made, transported, and what it means.
T: Ashoka's empire did not develop any new technologies, but they utilized boats, new medicines, and herbal health treatments.
Great images and information! Besides Jochi being a supreme military influence, was Jochi famous or infamous for anything else?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Jochi was only known for his military conquests and quarreling with his brothers over his father's throne.
DeleteLove the artifacts!<3 Curious when did Buddha directly start showing up in art during Ashoka's reign, if at all?
ReplyDeleteBuddhist influenced art starting appearing in India as early as the second century BCE, but these pieces never directly showed the Buddha. Full representations the Buddha did not appear in India until the beginning of the common era.
DeleteThis was awesome!! I loved it and really enjoyed all the visuals to go along with the information. I work much better with visuals. But I'm curious, how did the civilization's geography effect the economy?
ReplyDeleteI rather liked how you set this up like a grasped it chart, because it did help me grasp it. Guess that's kind of the point, yeah? But I think it would be splendid if you could go on to tell more about the economic aspect of it. Did they use more of a bartering system, or was it just the coins as you showed?
ReplyDeleteI understand that Ashoka based his policies off of Buddhist teaching but what religions did the civilians practice or did they all practice Buddhism?
ReplyDeleteAshoka built many centers for Buddhism in his empire and had government officials make sure citizens were living their life in accordance to Buddhist teachings. But, Buddhism teaches to respect other religions, so it was never enforced that a citizen has to be Buddhist.
Delete*Just to clarify, by "Buddhist teachings" I meant the Dharma.
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ReplyDeleteWhat was the currency like, and how did socioeconomic roles in society come into play?
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ReplyDeleteI quite fancy the artifacts you have here. Most notably the engraved coins, which was an innovation that the Aksumite Empire eventually adopted. Could you perhaps embellish on these fascinating units of currency? How and why were their coins engraved, and how was their economic use and value determined?
ReplyDeleteCan you describe the moral order of Dharma a little more? How did this unite the empire?
ReplyDeleteWhy did Ashoka turn his life around so suddenly? Was there a specific event that triggered this drastic change? Also, what about social standing? I guess Buddhism encourages equality...? But you said that there were social barriers based on diversity in religion. Were Ashoka's subjects allowed to practice any religion freely? How did it affect social standing?
ReplyDeleteIs there any indication as to the Buddhist reasoning for not personifying the Buddha in ancient art? What was their reasoning for using the Buddha's feet in their art?
ReplyDeleteAniconism, the avoidance or shunning of images of religious figures, was a common practice for Buddhism because of a quote from Buddha that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body. Aniconism is still practiced in modern religions, like Islam.
DeleteI love the sandstone footprints~they're beautiful! I'd like to hear more about many things you mentioned - like social barriers interfering with a unified empire. Also, what are some of the herbal health treatments they introduced?
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