Madisen Charles
AP World History (3rd Period)
October 5, 2015 Most Successful Ruler In a certain time in history, there were three rulers who each ruled in their own way. While all were successful, there was one that stood out in history and made an impact in his lifetime. This ruler's name was Ashoka, and he ruled what was called the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka, in comparison to Augustus and Qin Shihuangdi, was more successful because he cared about his legacy and the teachings he was leaving behind for his people. After he died, he wanted the Mauryans to be known as a group who were taught well and for those people to keep teaching what he taught to future generations. A lot of information that historians have gathered about Ashoka has …show more content…
He had a moralistic approach, or strong opinions, as to what he thought was right or wrong. The way he ruled his empire was different than how other great rulers governed, such as Alexander (Greece) and Shihuangdi (China). He also wanted to focus on the religious aspect of life. Ashoka, as stated previously, ruled over the Mauryan Empire or what is now known as India. There is a legend that states that once he had conquered every land that he could acquire, he got upset because he wanted to conquer more land. He was someone that wanted a vast empire that he could have power over. A part of what is now India became the Gupta Empire. It separated from Ashoka's Mauryan Empire and, when it separated, Ashoka did not rule over the people in the Gupta empire. What made Ashoka successful was that he became an enlightened ruler. Enlightenment is when you want to teach people different laws and policies. This is what he wanted to do with his empire, as he wanted to teach people what he had learned and what he thought was the correct and incorrect way of doing things. The way he wanted to rule was with moral teachings, with his people having religious values. He wanted to teach people beliefs from both Hinduism and …show more content…
After his passing, some of his policies drifted away, but they were touched upon by a Chinese Buddhist, whose name was Faxian. Faxian wanted to compare and contrast the way Ashoka had ruled with Hinduism and Buddhism, to the way that he, Faxian, had been taught to rule. Ashoka's legacy was more lasting because it served as a base for the emperors to follow and how they wanted to rule their empires. When Faxian touched upon Ashoka's way of ruling and his teaching ideas that he thought were correct or incorrect, it not only showed that it served as a base for rulers later on in history, he also talked about how Ashoka was a peaceful ruler that had acquired a very large empire. It was not just a large empire, it was an empire that had flourished under Ashoka. When part of Ashoka's empire became the Gupta Empire, it flourished because it kept the same ideas from Buddhism that Ashoka followed, even though Ashoka did not rule over those people
AP World History (3rd Period)
October 5, 2015 Most Successful Ruler In a certain time in history, there were three rulers who each ruled in their own way. While all were successful, there was one that stood out in history and made an impact in his lifetime. This ruler's name was Ashoka, and he ruled what was called the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka, in comparison to Augustus and Qin Shihuangdi, was more successful because he cared about his legacy and the teachings he was leaving behind for his people. After he died, he wanted the Mauryans to be known as a group who were taught well and for those people to keep teaching what he taught to future generations. A lot of information that historians have gathered about Ashoka has …show more content…
He had a moralistic approach, or strong opinions, as to what he thought was right or wrong. The way he ruled his empire was different than how other great rulers governed, such as Alexander (Greece) and Shihuangdi (China). He also wanted to focus on the religious aspect of life. Ashoka, as stated previously, ruled over the Mauryan Empire or what is now known as India. There is a legend that states that once he had conquered every land that he could acquire, he got upset because he wanted to conquer more land. He was someone that wanted a vast empire that he could have power over. A part of what is now India became the Gupta Empire. It separated from Ashoka's Mauryan Empire and, when it separated, Ashoka did not rule over the people in the Gupta empire. What made Ashoka successful was that he became an enlightened ruler. Enlightenment is when you want to teach people different laws and policies. This is what he wanted to do with his empire, as he wanted to teach people what he had learned and what he thought was the correct and incorrect way of doing things. The way he wanted to rule was with moral teachings, with his people having religious values. He wanted to teach people beliefs from both Hinduism and …show more content…
After his passing, some of his policies drifted away, but they were touched upon by a Chinese Buddhist, whose name was Faxian. Faxian wanted to compare and contrast the way Ashoka had ruled with Hinduism and Buddhism, to the way that he, Faxian, had been taught to rule. Ashoka's legacy was more lasting because it served as a base for the emperors to follow and how they wanted to rule their empires. When Faxian touched upon Ashoka's way of ruling and his teaching ideas that he thought were correct or incorrect, it not only showed that it served as a base for rulers later on in history, he also talked about how Ashoka was a peaceful ruler that had acquired a very large empire. It was not just a large empire, it was an empire that had flourished under Ashoka. When part of Ashoka's empire became the Gupta Empire, it flourished because it kept the same ideas from Buddhism that Ashoka followed, even though Ashoka did not rule over those people