Asoka Dbq Essay

Have you ever heard of the ancient ruler that unified most of modern-day India? In 268 B.C.E Asoka first took leadership of the Mauryan Empire. Not too long after that, Asoka invaded Kalinga in 261 BCE. 200,000 Kalingans died as a result of his conquest. Events throughout Asoka's life portrayed him as a villain. There are some people that believe he was actually enlightened. However, based on his expanding empire, his greed, and forcing people to follow his rules, Asoka is a ruthless conqueror.

Asoka was a ruthless ruler because he was responsible for killing a lot of people. According to the map of document A it states,” Asoka invaded Kalinga in 261 BCE. 100,000 Kalingans died in battle as a result of Asoka’s invasion. This proves that Asoka was willing to kill innocent people for his own conquest. Document A also states,” 100,000 more Kalinga die due to diseases So many Kalingas might have died because during war they might have run out of money or their farm lands were taken over”. The rest of the

As stated in document E, “He says that he has remorse and wants to be friends with them as long as they do what he says because he has power over the forest people”. I believe that this shows that he wants to have a relationship with the people of his empire and wants them as part of his empire. However, Asoka clearly demands that the forest people have to be friends with him and be a part of his empire. This is because Asoka says,“ as long as they will do what he says because he has power over the forest people”. He is offering them to become a part of his empire but without a choice, just because he has power over them. All this information proves that He could be considered ruthless because he was willing to kill his people if they did not repent and he will only be friends with these people if they do what he says and agrees with