Ashoka
After the bloody conquest of Kalinga he turned to Buddhism, carved edicts on pillars and rocks across his empire and sent missionaries abroad.
| Lived | c. 304 BC – 232 BC |
| Known as | Maurya emperor |
| Birthplace or main place | Patna |
| Places on the map | Patna, Ujjain |
PatnaSee the world of Ashoka in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 323 BC) | At death (map of 300 BC) |
|---|---|---|
| Patna | Magadha | Mauryan Empire |
| Ujjain | Magadha | Mauryan Empire |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 268 BC | Ashoka comes to the throne | Patna |
| 275 BC | Ashoka serves as governor of Ujjain before becoming emperor (about this date) | Ujjain |
Battles and sites of the time
- Battle of Kalinga War · 261 BC
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| c. 287 BC – 212 BC | Archimedes | Mathematician and inventor |
| c. 325 BC – 265 BC | Euclid | Mathematician |
| 259 BC – 210 BC | Qin Shi Huang | First Emperor of China |
| 256 BC – 195 BC | Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) | Founder of the Han dynasty |
| c. 247 BC – 183 BC | Hannibal | Carthaginian general |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.