King Ashoka’s Buddhism and Egeria’s Christianity Quest Essay (Essay Sample)

King Ashoka’s Buddhism and Egeria’s Christianity Quest
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract
The subject surrounding the ancient world is vast and made up of diverse communities which while unaware of each other’s existence, shared the same or slightly differentiated characteristics. This text shall look at two of those ancient communities in the form of Ancient Rome as we look at Egeria’s travels and Ancient India under Ashoka, the king that adopted and aided the spread of Buddhism. The text starts by looking at India under Ashoka’s leadership and why he converted to Buddhism. It then looks at Egeria, who she was and what her journey to Jerusalem was intended to achieve. It then looks at Ashoka’s writings in detail before doing the same for Egeria. The means of travel, culture, and pursuit of the religions get reviewed. Finally, a brief comparison of the two subjects of this text is conducted to find differences or similarities, and the role writing played in their cultures and teachings getting passed down.
King Ashoka’s Buddhism and Egeria’s Christianity Quest
India under Ashoka
Ashoka was an Indian king between 268 BCE and 232 BCE, and during his reign, he commandeered his Indian army on raids in the North and Central India which led to bloodshed in Kalinga, which today is known as Orissa, somewhere on the Indian East Coast. During the raids, his army emerged victorious, but the losses either side of the war left him sickened and regretting since the war may have worked out in favor of his Mauryan Dynasty, but the loss was to the Indian communities that had earlier coexisted and lived as one (Hansen, & Curtis, 2016). He, therefore, decided to embrace the teachings of Buddhism, a move that served to preserve the religion and change its course even after Ashoka’s dynasty came to an end in 185 BCE.
Egeria