Who Ashoka Was

Ashoka was an ancient Indian king. He ruled the Mauryan empire that had been greatly built upon by his grandfather, Chandragupta. At first, Ashoka ruled his empire with great violence. He fought wars of conquest, and is thought to have had one of the worlds first torture chambers. But after one particularly bloody battle, he changed his ways to the beliefs of Buddhism. With his new outlook, he put many edicts up around the kingdom. These edicts promoted following the dharma, or Buddha's teachings.