c. 302 B.C.-c. 232 B.C.

Indian Emperor

Asoka ruled India's Mauryan Empire at its height, and brought most of the subcontinent under his control, but he was more than a mere conqueror. At the end of a bloody conquest in the eighth year of his reign, he experienced a religious conversion that led him to dedicate the remainder of his life to doing good for his people. Thereafter he devoted himself to making life better for his subjects, establishing rest stations and other public works projects throughout his realm, and he commanded that his principles of morality be carved onto rocks where his words can still be viewed today.

In 326 B.C., armies under Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) invaded India. They soon left, but the impressive conquests of Alexander inspired a dream in a young Indian monarch named Chandragupta Maurya (r. 324-301 B.C.). Chandragupta...