With Asoka’s great conquest and his disturbing dark side, people can not decide to this day, was he a ruthless conqueror or an enlightened ruler? Asoka ruled most of India, from 268 BCE until his death 232 BCE. After Asoka’s death, his land the Mauryan empire collapsed fifty years later. During his rule, Asoka also send missionaries to spread Buddhism through the subcontinent. Based on the evidence, I claim that we should rementinentmber Asoka as an enlightened ruler. My first reason why Asoka should be remembered as an enlightened ruler is that he was generous to his empire. He planted medicinal herbs everywhere they did not grow to help his “people”. Asoka decreed that prisoners who have sentenced to death would be
