Friday, April 6, 2007
Tipu Sultan
Tippu Sultan
Tippu Sultan (full name Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu), also known as the Tiger of Mysore (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapatna), was the first son of Haidar Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa. He was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father's death in 1782 until his own demise in 1799. Tippu Sultan was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. He was a devout Muslim, but was also appreciative of other religions. At the request of the French, for instance, he built a church, the first in Mysore. He was proficient in the languages he spoke [1]. He helped his father Haidar Ali defeat the British in the Second Mysore War, and negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore with them. However, he was defeated in the Third Anglo-Mysore War and in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War by the combined forces of Britain and of Travancore. Tippu Sultan died defending his capital Srirangapatnam (frequently anglicized to Seringapatam), on May 4, 1799.
Sir Walter Scott, commenting on the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, wrote: "Although I never supposed that he (Napoleon) possessed, allowing for some difference of education, the liberality of conduct and political views which were sometimes exhibited by old Haidar Ally, yet I did think he (Napoleon) might have shown the same resolved and dogged spirit of resolution which induced Tippoo Saib to die manfully upon the breach of his capital city with his sabre clenched in his hand."[citation needed]
* 1 Early life
* 2 His rule
* 3 Religious Policy
* 4 Description
* 5 Proclamations
* 6 Early Military Career
* 7 Second Mysore War
* 8 Battle of Pollilur
* 9 Fourth Mysore War
* 10 Rocket Artillery in War
* 11 Jacobin Club in Mysore
* 12 In fiction
Early life
Tippu Sultan's summer palace at Srirangapatna, Karnataka
Tippu Sultan's summer palace at Srirangapatna, Karnataka
Tippu Sultan was born at Devanahalli, in present-day Kolar District, some 45 miles east of Bangalore. The exact date of his birth is not known; various sources claim various dates between 1749 and 1753. According to one widely accepted dating, he was born on Nov 10, 1750 (Friday, 10th Zil-Hijja, 1163 AH). His father, Haidar Ali, was the de-facto ruler of Mysore. His mother, Fakhr-un-nissa (also called Fatima), was a daughter of Muin-ud-din, governor of the fort of Cuddapah.
His rule
During his rule, Tippu Sultan laid the foundation for a dam where the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam across the river Cauvery was later built.[2][3] He also completed the project of Lal Bagh started by his father Haidar Ali, and built roads, public buildings, and ports along the Kerala shoreline. His trade extended to countries which included Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, France, Turkey, and Iran. Under his leadership, the Mysore army proved to be a school of military science to Indian princes. The serious blows that Tippu Sultan inflicted on the British in the First and Second Mysore Wars affected their reputation as an invincible power. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tippu Sultan the innovator of the world’s first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, are displayed in the Woolwich Museum Artillery in London. Most of Tippu Sultan's campaigns resulted in remarkable successes. He managed to subdue all the petty kingdoms in the south. He defeated the Marathas and the Nizams several times and was also one of the few Indian rulers to have defeated British armies.
Religious Policy
As a Muslim ruler in a largely Hindu domain, Tippu Sultan faced particular problems in establishing the legitimacy of his rule, and in reconciling his desire to be seen as a devout Islamic ruler with the need to be pragmatic to avoid antagonising the majority of his subjects.[4] His religious legacy has become a source of considerable controversy in the subcontinent, as in Pakistan some groups proclaim him a great warrior for the faith or Ghazi, whilst in India some Hindu groups revile him as a bigot who massacred Hindus.[5] In the first part of his reign in particular he appears to have been notably more aggressive and religiously doctrinaire than his father, Haidar Ali.[6] There are several historians[7] who claim that Tippu Sultan was a religious persecutor of Hindus and Christians. In 1780 CE he declared himself to be the Padishah or Emperor of Mysore, and struck coinage in his own name without reference to the reigning Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. H. D. Sharma writes that in his correspondence with other Islamic rulers such as Shah Zaman of Afghanistan, Tippu Sultan used this title and declared that he intended to establish an Islamic Empire in the entire country, along the lines of the Mughal Empire which was at its nadir during the period in question.[8] His alliance with the French was supposedly aimed at achieving this goal by driving his main rivals, the British, out of the subcontinent.
Tippu Sultan was known as a great secular ruler. Whilst no eminent scholar has denied that, in common with most rulers of his period, Tippu Sultan’s campaigns were often characterized by great brutality, some historians have said that the brutality was not exclusively motivated by religion, and it did not amount to a consistent anti-Kafir policy. Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib and Saletare, amongst others, argue that stories of Tippu Sultan's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians are largely derived from the work of early British authors such as Kirkpatrick[9] and Wilks,[10] whom they do not consider to be entirely reliable.[11] A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks’ account in particular cannot be trusted,[12] Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argues that these early British authors had a strong vested interest in presenting Tippu Sultan as a tyrant from whom the British had "liberated" Mysore.[13] This assessment is echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work where she writes that Wilks and Kirkpatrick must be used with particular care as both authors had taken part in the wars against Tippu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of Lord Cornwallis and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley.[14]
Mohibbul Hasan casts some doubt on the scale of the deportations and forced conversions in Coorg in particular, and says that the English versions of what happened were intended to malign Tippu Sultan, and to be used as propaganda against him. He argues that little reliance can be placed in Muslim accounts such as Kirmani’s "Nishan-e Haidari"; in their anxiety to represent the Sultan as a champion of Islam, they had a tendency to exaggerate and distort the facts: Kirmani claims that 70,000 Coorgis were converted, when forty years later the entire population of Coorg was still less than that number. According to Ramchandra Rao "Punganuri" the true number of converts was about 500.[15]
The portrayal of Tippu Sultan as a religious bigot is disputed, and some sources suggest that he in fact often embraced religious pluralism.[16] Tippu Sultan's treasurer was Krishna Rao, Shamaiya Iyengar was his Minister of Post and Police, and Purnaiya held the very important post of "Mir Asaf". Moolchand and Sujan Rai were his chief agents at the Mughal court, and his chief "Peshkar", Suba Rao, was also a Hindu.[17] There is such evidence as grant deeds, and correspondence between his court and temples, and his having donated jewelry and deeded land grants to several temples, which some claim he was compelled to do in order to make alliances with Hindu rulers. Between 1782 and 1799 Tippu Sultan issued 34 "Sanads" (deeds) of endowment to temples in his domain, while also presenting many of them with gifts of silver and gold plate. The Srikanteswara Temple in Nanjangud still possesses a jewelled cup presented by the Sultan.[18]
In 1791 some Maratha horsemen under Raghunath Rao Patwardhan raided the temple and monastery of Sringeri Shankaracharya, killing and wounding many, and plundering the monastery of all its valuable possessions. The incumbent Shankaracharya petitioned Tippu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada, which were exchanged between Tippu Sultan's court and the Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. The Shankacharya had asked Tippu Sultan for help in consecrating a new idol of the deity Sharada to replace the idol which had been taken by the Marathas. Tippu Sultan replied expressing his indignation and grief at the news of the raid, and wrote:
"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma ruladbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."[19]
He immediately ordered his "Asaf" of Bednur to supply the Swami with 200 "rahatis" (fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles required for the consecration of the new idol of the deity. Tippu Sultan's interest in the temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s CE.[20] In light of this and other events, B.A. Saletare has described Tippu Sultan as a defender of the Hindu Dharma, who also patronized other temples including one at Melkote, for which he issued a Kannada decree that the Shrivaishnava invocatory verses there should be recited in the traditional form. The temple at Melkote still has gold and silver vessels with inscriptions indicating that they were presented by the Sultan. Tippu Sultan also presented four silver cups to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale.[21] Tippu Sultan does seem to have repossessed unauthorised grants of land made to Brahmins and temples, but those which had proper "sanads" were not. It was a normal practice for any ruler, Muslim or Hindu, to do on his accession or on the conquest of new territory.
It is hard to reconcile these two very different profiles of Tippu Sultan, but the truth, it seems, lies somewhere between the two. It seems that when corresponding with other Islamic rulers such as the Amir of Afghanistan or the Ottoman Sultan, Tippu Sultan presented himself as an archetypal Islamic ruler, converting the infidel by the sword, and this was also the external image he presented to the British.[22] The late 18th century CE was a turbulent period in South India, and it seems that, in common with the Marathas, the Nizam, the British, and the French, Tippu Sultan also sometimes instructed his army to loot, pillage and kill civilians for real or suspected disloyalty.[23] He might have at times carried out forced conversions of Hindus and Christians.[24] Nonetheless, in his internal policies, he was conciliatory and tolerant, patronizing Hindu temples and relying heavily on Hindu subordinates. For his royal emblem he chose the tiger, which was religiously neutral and could appeal to both Hindus and Muslims.[25] Some historians including Surendranath Sen and H.H. Dodwell say that Tippu Sultan was neither a benevolent pioneer of religious tolerance nor a religious ideologue and Islamic fanatic, but a wily, ruthless, but above all, a pragmatic ruler operating in a time of great political instability and of constant threats to his rule coming from all sides.[26]
Description
Alexander Beatson, who published a volume entitled "View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with the late Tippoo Sultaun" on the Fourth Mysore War, described Tippu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".
Daria Daulat Bagh
Daria Daulat Bagh
He was called the Tiger of Mysore. It is said that Tippu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He had the image of a tiger on his flag. Tippu Sultan was also very fond of innovations. Alexander Beatson has mentioned that Tippu Sultan was "passionately fond of new inventions. In his palace was found a great variety of curious swords, daggers, fusils, pistols, and blunderbusses; some were of exquisite workmanship, mounted with gold, or silver, and beautifully inlaid and ornamented with tigers' heads and stripes, or with Persian and Arabic verses". Tipu's Tiger, an automaton representing a tiger attacking a European soldier, made for Tippu Sultan, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[27] During Tippu Sultan's reign, a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments, were introduced as well as innovations in the use of rocket artillery.
Proclamations
The following proclamations were issued by Tippu Sultan:
* "Agriculture is the life blood of the nation…" (1788 CE)
* "There can be no glory or achievement if the foundation of our palaces, roads and dams are mingled with the tears and blood of humanity…" (1789 CE)
He is quoted as having said: "It is far better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years".
Early Military Career
Tippu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father, Hyder Ali (also spelled as "Haidar Ali"). At age 15, he accompanied his father Haidar Ali against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.
Second Mysore War
Tippu Sultan led a large body of troops in the Second Mysore War, in February 1782, and defeated Braithwaite on the banks of the Kollidam. Although the British were defeated this time, Tippu Sultan realized that the British were a new kind of threat in India. Upon becoming the Sultan after his father's death later that year, he worked to check the advances of the British by making alliances with the Marathas and the Mughals.
Tippu Sultan had defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. The British army, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tippu Sultan had seized all the guns and taken the entire detachment prisoners. In December 1781 Tippu Sultan had successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tippu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Haidar Ali died in December 1782.
The Second Mysore War came to an end with the Treaty of Mangalore. It was the last occasion when an Indian king had dictated terms to the mighty British, and the treaty is a prestigious document in the history of India. [[28]]
Battle of Pollilur
Mural of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tippu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British.
Mural of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tippu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British.
The Battle of Pollilur took place in 1780 at Pollilur near the city of Kanchipuram. It was a part of the second Anglo-Mysore war. Tippu Sultan was dispatched by Haidar Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Sir Hector Munro, the victor of the Battle of Buxar, who had earlier defeated three Indian rulers (the Mughal emperor Shah Alam, the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-daula, and the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim) in a single battle, was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in the tank of Kanchipuram. [[29]]
Fourth Mysore War
The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun by Henry Singleton c 1800. According to the BBC, "This is a propagandist painting by a British artist."
The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun by Henry Singleton c 1800. According to the BBC, "This is a propagandist painting by a British artist."
After Horatio Nelson had defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798 CE, three armies, one from Bombay, and two British (one of which included Arthur Wellesley the future first Duke of Wellington), marched into Mysore in 1799 and besieged the capital Srirangapatnam in the Fourth Mysore War. There were over 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company comprising about 4000 Europeans and the rest Indians. A column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad consisting of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry, and many soldiers were sent by the Marathas. Thus the soldiers in the British force numbered over 50,000 soldiers whereas Tippu Sultan had only about 30,000 soldiers. The British broke through the city walls, and Tippu Sultan died defending his capital on May 4, 1799 CE [[30]].
Rocket Artillery in War
A military tactic developed by Tippu Sultan and his father, Haidar Ali was the use of mass attacks with rocket brigades on infantry formations. Tippu Sultan wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin in which 200 rocket men were prescribed to each Mysorean "cushoon" (brigade). Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry. The areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as Taramandal Pet ("Galaxy Market").
The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance of the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously were used in war. Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron about 8" long and 1½ - 3" diameter, closed at one end and strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4ft. long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards. In contrast, rockets in Europe not being iron cased, could not take large chamber pressures and as a consequence, were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great.
On 2 May 1799, during the siege of Srirangapatnam, a shot struck a magazine of rockets within the fort at Seringapatam causing it to explode and sent a towering cloud of black smoke, with cascades of exploding white light, rising up from the battlements. After the fall of Srirangapatnam, 600 launchers, 700 serviceable rockets and 9,000 empty rockets were found. Some of the rockets had iron points or steel blades bound to the bamboo, while some had pierced cylinders, to allow them to act like incendiaries. By attaching these blades to rockets they became very unstable towards the end of their flight causing the blades to spin around like flying scythes, cutting down all in their path.
Rockets were also used for ceremonial purposes. When the Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tippu Sultan, 500 rockets were launched as part of the gun salute.
Once the British saw salvos of upto 2,000 rockets of Tippu Sultan fired simultaneously against them at the Royal Woolwich Arsenal which led to the publication of A Concise Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rocket System in 1804 by William Congreve, son of the arsenal's commandant. Congreve rockets find mention in the Star Spangled Banner.
Jacobin Club in Mysore
Tippu Sultan was a founder-member of the Jacobin Club. While accepting the membership, he said of France, "Behold my acknowledgement of the standard of your country, which is dear to me, and to which I am allied; it shall always be supported in my country, as it has been in the Republic, my sister!". He was named as "Citizen Tippu Sultan",
Tippu Sultan (full name Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu), also known as the Tiger of Mysore (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapatna), was the first son of Haidar Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa. He was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father's death in 1782 until his own demise in 1799. Tippu Sultan was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. He was a devout Muslim, but was also appreciative of other religions. At the request of the French, for instance, he built a church, the first in Mysore. He was proficient in the languages he spoke [1]. He helped his father Haidar Ali defeat the British in the Second Mysore War, and negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore with them. However, he was defeated in the Third Anglo-Mysore War and in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War by the combined forces of Britain and of Travancore. Tippu Sultan died defending his capital Srirangapatnam (frequently anglicized to Seringapatam), on May 4, 1799.
Sir Walter Scott, commenting on the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, wrote: "Although I never supposed that he (Napoleon) possessed, allowing for some difference of education, the liberality of conduct and political views which were sometimes exhibited by old Haidar Ally, yet I did think he (Napoleon) might have shown the same resolved and dogged spirit of resolution which induced Tippoo Saib to die manfully upon the breach of his capital city with his sabre clenched in his hand."[citation needed]
* 1 Early life
* 2 His rule
* 3 Religious Policy
* 4 Description
* 5 Proclamations
* 6 Early Military Career
* 7 Second Mysore War
* 8 Battle of Pollilur
* 9 Fourth Mysore War
* 10 Rocket Artillery in War
* 11 Jacobin Club in Mysore
* 12 In fiction
Early life
Tippu Sultan's summer palace at Srirangapatna, Karnataka
Tippu Sultan's summer palace at Srirangapatna, Karnataka
Tippu Sultan was born at Devanahalli, in present-day Kolar District, some 45 miles east of Bangalore. The exact date of his birth is not known; various sources claim various dates between 1749 and 1753. According to one widely accepted dating, he was born on Nov 10, 1750 (Friday, 10th Zil-Hijja, 1163 AH). His father, Haidar Ali, was the de-facto ruler of Mysore. His mother, Fakhr-un-nissa (also called Fatima), was a daughter of Muin-ud-din, governor of the fort of Cuddapah.
His rule
During his rule, Tippu Sultan laid the foundation for a dam where the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam across the river Cauvery was later built.[2][3] He also completed the project of Lal Bagh started by his father Haidar Ali, and built roads, public buildings, and ports along the Kerala shoreline. His trade extended to countries which included Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, France, Turkey, and Iran. Under his leadership, the Mysore army proved to be a school of military science to Indian princes. The serious blows that Tippu Sultan inflicted on the British in the First and Second Mysore Wars affected their reputation as an invincible power. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tippu Sultan the innovator of the world’s first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, are displayed in the Woolwich Museum Artillery in London. Most of Tippu Sultan's campaigns resulted in remarkable successes. He managed to subdue all the petty kingdoms in the south. He defeated the Marathas and the Nizams several times and was also one of the few Indian rulers to have defeated British armies.
Religious Policy
As a Muslim ruler in a largely Hindu domain, Tippu Sultan faced particular problems in establishing the legitimacy of his rule, and in reconciling his desire to be seen as a devout Islamic ruler with the need to be pragmatic to avoid antagonising the majority of his subjects.[4] His religious legacy has become a source of considerable controversy in the subcontinent, as in Pakistan some groups proclaim him a great warrior for the faith or Ghazi, whilst in India some Hindu groups revile him as a bigot who massacred Hindus.[5] In the first part of his reign in particular he appears to have been notably more aggressive and religiously doctrinaire than his father, Haidar Ali.[6] There are several historians[7] who claim that Tippu Sultan was a religious persecutor of Hindus and Christians. In 1780 CE he declared himself to be the Padishah or Emperor of Mysore, and struck coinage in his own name without reference to the reigning Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. H. D. Sharma writes that in his correspondence with other Islamic rulers such as Shah Zaman of Afghanistan, Tippu Sultan used this title and declared that he intended to establish an Islamic Empire in the entire country, along the lines of the Mughal Empire which was at its nadir during the period in question.[8] His alliance with the French was supposedly aimed at achieving this goal by driving his main rivals, the British, out of the subcontinent.
Tippu Sultan was known as a great secular ruler. Whilst no eminent scholar has denied that, in common with most rulers of his period, Tippu Sultan’s campaigns were often characterized by great brutality, some historians have said that the brutality was not exclusively motivated by religion, and it did not amount to a consistent anti-Kafir policy. Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib and Saletare, amongst others, argue that stories of Tippu Sultan's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians are largely derived from the work of early British authors such as Kirkpatrick[9] and Wilks,[10] whom they do not consider to be entirely reliable.[11] A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks’ account in particular cannot be trusted,[12] Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argues that these early British authors had a strong vested interest in presenting Tippu Sultan as a tyrant from whom the British had "liberated" Mysore.[13] This assessment is echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work where she writes that Wilks and Kirkpatrick must be used with particular care as both authors had taken part in the wars against Tippu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of Lord Cornwallis and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley.[14]
Mohibbul Hasan casts some doubt on the scale of the deportations and forced conversions in Coorg in particular, and says that the English versions of what happened were intended to malign Tippu Sultan, and to be used as propaganda against him. He argues that little reliance can be placed in Muslim accounts such as Kirmani’s "Nishan-e Haidari"; in their anxiety to represent the Sultan as a champion of Islam, they had a tendency to exaggerate and distort the facts: Kirmani claims that 70,000 Coorgis were converted, when forty years later the entire population of Coorg was still less than that number. According to Ramchandra Rao "Punganuri" the true number of converts was about 500.[15]
The portrayal of Tippu Sultan as a religious bigot is disputed, and some sources suggest that he in fact often embraced religious pluralism.[16] Tippu Sultan's treasurer was Krishna Rao, Shamaiya Iyengar was his Minister of Post and Police, and Purnaiya held the very important post of "Mir Asaf". Moolchand and Sujan Rai were his chief agents at the Mughal court, and his chief "Peshkar", Suba Rao, was also a Hindu.[17] There is such evidence as grant deeds, and correspondence between his court and temples, and his having donated jewelry and deeded land grants to several temples, which some claim he was compelled to do in order to make alliances with Hindu rulers. Between 1782 and 1799 Tippu Sultan issued 34 "Sanads" (deeds) of endowment to temples in his domain, while also presenting many of them with gifts of silver and gold plate. The Srikanteswara Temple in Nanjangud still possesses a jewelled cup presented by the Sultan.[18]
In 1791 some Maratha horsemen under Raghunath Rao Patwardhan raided the temple and monastery of Sringeri Shankaracharya, killing and wounding many, and plundering the monastery of all its valuable possessions. The incumbent Shankaracharya petitioned Tippu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada, which were exchanged between Tippu Sultan's court and the Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. The Shankacharya had asked Tippu Sultan for help in consecrating a new idol of the deity Sharada to replace the idol which had been taken by the Marathas. Tippu Sultan replied expressing his indignation and grief at the news of the raid, and wrote:
"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma ruladbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."[19]
He immediately ordered his "Asaf" of Bednur to supply the Swami with 200 "rahatis" (fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles required for the consecration of the new idol of the deity. Tippu Sultan's interest in the temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s CE.[20] In light of this and other events, B.A. Saletare has described Tippu Sultan as a defender of the Hindu Dharma, who also patronized other temples including one at Melkote, for which he issued a Kannada decree that the Shrivaishnava invocatory verses there should be recited in the traditional form. The temple at Melkote still has gold and silver vessels with inscriptions indicating that they were presented by the Sultan. Tippu Sultan also presented four silver cups to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale.[21] Tippu Sultan does seem to have repossessed unauthorised grants of land made to Brahmins and temples, but those which had proper "sanads" were not. It was a normal practice for any ruler, Muslim or Hindu, to do on his accession or on the conquest of new territory.
It is hard to reconcile these two very different profiles of Tippu Sultan, but the truth, it seems, lies somewhere between the two. It seems that when corresponding with other Islamic rulers such as the Amir of Afghanistan or the Ottoman Sultan, Tippu Sultan presented himself as an archetypal Islamic ruler, converting the infidel by the sword, and this was also the external image he presented to the British.[22] The late 18th century CE was a turbulent period in South India, and it seems that, in common with the Marathas, the Nizam, the British, and the French, Tippu Sultan also sometimes instructed his army to loot, pillage and kill civilians for real or suspected disloyalty.[23] He might have at times carried out forced conversions of Hindus and Christians.[24] Nonetheless, in his internal policies, he was conciliatory and tolerant, patronizing Hindu temples and relying heavily on Hindu subordinates. For his royal emblem he chose the tiger, which was religiously neutral and could appeal to both Hindus and Muslims.[25] Some historians including Surendranath Sen and H.H. Dodwell say that Tippu Sultan was neither a benevolent pioneer of religious tolerance nor a religious ideologue and Islamic fanatic, but a wily, ruthless, but above all, a pragmatic ruler operating in a time of great political instability and of constant threats to his rule coming from all sides.[26]
Description
Alexander Beatson, who published a volume entitled "View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with the late Tippoo Sultaun" on the Fourth Mysore War, described Tippu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".
Daria Daulat Bagh
Daria Daulat Bagh
He was called the Tiger of Mysore. It is said that Tippu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He had the image of a tiger on his flag. Tippu Sultan was also very fond of innovations. Alexander Beatson has mentioned that Tippu Sultan was "passionately fond of new inventions. In his palace was found a great variety of curious swords, daggers, fusils, pistols, and blunderbusses; some were of exquisite workmanship, mounted with gold, or silver, and beautifully inlaid and ornamented with tigers' heads and stripes, or with Persian and Arabic verses". Tipu's Tiger, an automaton representing a tiger attacking a European soldier, made for Tippu Sultan, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[27] During Tippu Sultan's reign, a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments, were introduced as well as innovations in the use of rocket artillery.
Proclamations
The following proclamations were issued by Tippu Sultan:
* "Agriculture is the life blood of the nation…" (1788 CE)
* "There can be no glory or achievement if the foundation of our palaces, roads and dams are mingled with the tears and blood of humanity…" (1789 CE)
He is quoted as having said: "It is far better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years".
Early Military Career
Tippu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father, Hyder Ali (also spelled as "Haidar Ali"). At age 15, he accompanied his father Haidar Ali against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.
Second Mysore War
Tippu Sultan led a large body of troops in the Second Mysore War, in February 1782, and defeated Braithwaite on the banks of the Kollidam. Although the British were defeated this time, Tippu Sultan realized that the British were a new kind of threat in India. Upon becoming the Sultan after his father's death later that year, he worked to check the advances of the British by making alliances with the Marathas and the Mughals.
Tippu Sultan had defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. The British army, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tippu Sultan had seized all the guns and taken the entire detachment prisoners. In December 1781 Tippu Sultan had successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tippu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Haidar Ali died in December 1782.
The Second Mysore War came to an end with the Treaty of Mangalore. It was the last occasion when an Indian king had dictated terms to the mighty British, and the treaty is a prestigious document in the history of India. [[28]]
Battle of Pollilur
Mural of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tippu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British.
Mural of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tippu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British.
The Battle of Pollilur took place in 1780 at Pollilur near the city of Kanchipuram. It was a part of the second Anglo-Mysore war. Tippu Sultan was dispatched by Haidar Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Sir Hector Munro, the victor of the Battle of Buxar, who had earlier defeated three Indian rulers (the Mughal emperor Shah Alam, the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-daula, and the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim) in a single battle, was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in the tank of Kanchipuram. [[29]]
Fourth Mysore War
The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun by Henry Singleton c 1800. According to the BBC, "This is a propagandist painting by a British artist."
The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun by Henry Singleton c 1800. According to the BBC, "This is a propagandist painting by a British artist."
After Horatio Nelson had defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798 CE, three armies, one from Bombay, and two British (one of which included Arthur Wellesley the future first Duke of Wellington), marched into Mysore in 1799 and besieged the capital Srirangapatnam in the Fourth Mysore War. There were over 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company comprising about 4000 Europeans and the rest Indians. A column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad consisting of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry, and many soldiers were sent by the Marathas. Thus the soldiers in the British force numbered over 50,000 soldiers whereas Tippu Sultan had only about 30,000 soldiers. The British broke through the city walls, and Tippu Sultan died defending his capital on May 4, 1799 CE [[30]].
Rocket Artillery in War
A military tactic developed by Tippu Sultan and his father, Haidar Ali was the use of mass attacks with rocket brigades on infantry formations. Tippu Sultan wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin in which 200 rocket men were prescribed to each Mysorean "cushoon" (brigade). Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry. The areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as Taramandal Pet ("Galaxy Market").
The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance of the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously were used in war. Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron about 8" long and 1½ - 3" diameter, closed at one end and strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4ft. long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards. In contrast, rockets in Europe not being iron cased, could not take large chamber pressures and as a consequence, were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great.
On 2 May 1799, during the siege of Srirangapatnam, a shot struck a magazine of rockets within the fort at Seringapatam causing it to explode and sent a towering cloud of black smoke, with cascades of exploding white light, rising up from the battlements. After the fall of Srirangapatnam, 600 launchers, 700 serviceable rockets and 9,000 empty rockets were found. Some of the rockets had iron points or steel blades bound to the bamboo, while some had pierced cylinders, to allow them to act like incendiaries. By attaching these blades to rockets they became very unstable towards the end of their flight causing the blades to spin around like flying scythes, cutting down all in their path.
Rockets were also used for ceremonial purposes. When the Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tippu Sultan, 500 rockets were launched as part of the gun salute.
Once the British saw salvos of upto 2,000 rockets of Tippu Sultan fired simultaneously against them at the Royal Woolwich Arsenal which led to the publication of A Concise Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rocket System in 1804 by William Congreve, son of the arsenal's commandant. Congreve rockets find mention in the Star Spangled Banner.
Jacobin Club in Mysore
Tippu Sultan was a founder-member of the Jacobin Club. While accepting the membership, he said of France, "Behold my acknowledgement of the standard of your country, which is dear to me, and to which I am allied; it shall always be supported in my country, as it has been in the Republic, my sister!". He was named as "Citizen Tippu Sultan",
ASOKA THE GREAT
Ashoka the Great
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Ashoka the Great
Ashoka the Great
Mauryan emperor
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait.
Reign 273 BCE-232 BCE
Titles Devanampriya Priyadarsi
Predecessor Bindusara
Successor Dasaratha Maurya
Dynasty Mauryan dynasty
Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanāgarī: अशोकः, IAST: Aśokaḥ, IPA: [aɕoːkə(hə)]) (Imperial title: Devanampiya Piyadassi, Prakrit for "He who is the beloved of the Gods and who regards everyone amiably") (304 BCE–232 BCE) was an Indian emperor, who ruled the Maurya Empire in present-day eastern India from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. After a number of military conquests, Ashoka reigned over most of India, South Asia and beyond, from present-day Afghanistan and parts of Persia in the west, to Bengal and Assam in the east, and as far south as Mysore. A later convert to Buddhism, Ashoka established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and according to Buddhist tradition was closely involved in the preservation and transmission of Buddhism.
The word "aśoka" means "without sorrow" in Sanskrit. In his edicts he is referred to as Devānāmpriya (Devanāgarī: देवानांप्रिय)/Devānaṃpiya or "The Beloved Of The Gods", and Priyadarśin (Devanāgarī: प्रियदर्शी)/Piyadassī or "He who regards everyone amiably".
Science fiction novelist H.G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'their highnesses,' 'their majesties,' and 'their exalted majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."
His legend is related in the 2nd century Aśokāvadāna ("Narrative of Ashoka") and Divyāvadāna ("Divine narrative"), and in the Sinhalese text the Mahavamsa.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early life
* 2 Rise to power
o 2.1 Conquest of Kalinga
* 3 Embrace of Buddhism
o 3.1 Policy
o 3.2 The Edicts of Ashoka
o 3.3 Missions to spread the Dharma/Dhamma
* 4 Relations with the Hellenistic world
o 4.1 Greek populations in India
o 4.2 Exchange of Ambassadors
o 4.3 Buddhist proselytism
o 4.4 Marital alliance
* 5 Historical sources
* 6 Death and legacy
o 6.1 Ashoka and Buddhist Kingship
* 7 Ashoka in popular culture
* 8 See also
* 9 Sources
* 10 Notes
* 11 External links
Early life
Scene of "The Gift of Dirt", 2nd century Gandhara. The child Jaya, said to be reborn later as Ashoka, offers a gift of dirt (which, in his game he imagines as food) to the Buddha, hereby acquiring merit, by which the Buddha foresees he will rule India and spread the Buddhist faith.
Scene of "The Gift of Dirt", 2nd century Gandhara. The child Jaya, said to be reborn later as Ashoka, offers a gift of dirt (which, in his game he imagines as food) to the Buddha, hereby acquiring merit, by which the Buddha foresees he will rule India and spread the Buddhist faith.
According to Buddhist tradition, described in the 2nd century "Legend of Ashoka", the birth of Ashoka was foretold by the Buddha, in the story of "The Gift of Dust":
"A hundred years after my death there will be an emperor named Ashoka in Pataliputra. He will rule one of the four continents and adorn Jambudvipa with my relics building eighty four thousand stupas for the welfare of people. He will have them honored by gods and men. His fame will be widespread. His meritorious gift was just this: Jaya threw a handful of dust into the Tathāgata's bowl." Ashokavadana[1]
Following this prophecy, the "Legend of Ashoka" further states that Ashoka was finally born as the son of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusara by a relatively lower ranked queen named Dharma. Dharma was said to be the daughter of a poor Brahmin who introduced her into the harem of the Emperor as it was predicted that her son would be a great ruler. Although Dharma was of priestly lineage, the fact that she was not royal by birth made her a very low-status consort in the harem.[2]
Ashoka had several elder half-brothers and just one younger sibling, Vitthashoka, another son of Dharma. The princes were extremely competitive, but young Ashoka excelled in the military and academic disciplines in which the boys were tutored. There was a great deal of sibling rivalry, especially between Ashoka and his brother Susima, both as warriors and as administrators.
Rise to power
Map of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka's rule.
Map of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka's rule.
Developing into an impeccable warrior general and a shrewd statesman, Ashoka went on to command several regiments of the Mauryan army. His growing popularity across the empire made his elder brothers wary of his chances of being favoured by Bindusara to become the next emperor. The eldest of them, Prince Susima, the traditional heir to the throne, persuaded Bindusara to send Ashoka to quell an uprising in the city of Takshashila in the north-west province of Sindh, of which Prince Susima was the governor. Takshashila was a highly volatile place because of the war-like Indo-Greek population and mismanagement by Susima himself. This had led to the formation of different militias causing unrest. Ashoka complied and left for the troubled area. As news of Ashoka's visit with his army trickled in, he was welcomed by the revolting militias and the uprising ended without a fight. (The province revolted once more during the rule of Ashoka, but this time the uprising was crushed with an iron fist).
Ashoka's success made his half-brothers more wary of his intentions of becoming the emperor, and more incitements from Susima led Bindusara to send Ashoka into exile. He went into Kalinga and stayed incognito there. There he met a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki, with whom he fell in love; recently found inscriptions indicate that she went on to become his second or third queen.
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
Meanwhile, there again was a violent uprising in Ujjain. Emperor Bindusara summoned Ashoka back after an exile of two years. Ashoka went into Ujjain and in the ensuing battle was injured, but his generals quelled the uprising. Ashoka was treated in hiding so that loyalists in Susima's camp could not harm him. He was treated by Buddhist monks and nuns. This is where he first learned the teachings of the Buddha, and it is also where he met the beautiful Devi, who was his personal nurse and the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. After recovering, he married her. Ashoka, at this time, was already married to Asandhimitra who was to be his much-loved chief queen for many years until her death. She seems to have stayed on in Pataliputra all her life.
The following year passed quite peacefully for him and Devi was about to deliver his first child. In the meantime, Emperor Bindusura took ill and was on his death-bed. A clique of ministers lead by Radhagupta, who hated Susima, summoned Ashoka to take the crown, though Bindusara preferred Susima. As the Buddhist lore goes, in a fit of rage Prince Ashoka attacked Pataliputra (modern day Patna), and killed all his brothers, including Susima, and threw their bodies into a well in Pataliputra. It is not known if Bindusara was already dead at this time. At that stage of his life, many called him Chand Ashoka meaning murderer and heartless Ashoka. The Buddhist legends paint a gory picture of his sadistic activities at this time. Most are unbelievable, and must be read as supporting background to highlight the transformation in Ashoka which Buddhism brought about later.
Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years: it grew to encompass an area extending from the present-day boundaries of Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam, in the east, to the territory of present-day Iran and Afghanistan, in the west, and from the Pamir Knots in the north almost to the peninsular tip of southern India. At that stage of his life, he was called Chakravarti which literally translates to "he for whom the wheel of law turns" (broadly meaning the emperor). Around this time, his Buddhist queen Devi gave birth to two children, Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra.
Conquest of Kalinga
Main article: Kalinga War
Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edicts of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstones. British Museum.
Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edicts of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstones. British Museum.
The early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty. Ashoka was constantly on the war campaign, conquering territory after territory and significantly expanding the already large Mauryan empire and adding to his wealth. His last conquest was the state of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day state of Orissa. Kalinga prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy; with its monarchical-parliamentary democracy, it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata, as there existed the concept of Rajdharma, meaning the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and Kshatriya dharma.
The pretext for the start of the Kalinga War (265 BCE or 263 BCE) is uncertain. One of Ashoka's brothers - and probably a supporter of Susima - might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit.
The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tactics of Kalinga's commander-in-chief. Ashoka, baffled by this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever recorded in Indian history until then. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's powerful armies, superior weapons and experienced generals and soldiers. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed; Ashoka's later edicts say that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 10,000 from Ashoka's army; thousands of men and women were deported.
Embrace of Buddhism
Main article: Buddhism in India
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
As the legend goes, one day after the war was over Ashoka ventured out to roam the eastern city and all he could see were burnt houses and scattered corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the famous quotation, "What have I done?" Upon his return to Paliputra, he could, according to legends, get no sleep and was constantly haunted by his deeds in Kalinga. The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism under the guidance of the Brahmin Buddhist sages Radhaswami and Manjushri[3] and he used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. When the war against Kalinga ended, Asoka's warriors had killed over 100,000 people. He was filled with sorrow. He gave up war and violence being almost the exact opposite of his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya. He freed his prisoners and gave them back their land.
As legend goes, there was also another factor that lead Ashoka to Buddhism. A Mauryan princess who had been married to one of Ashoka's brothers (who Ashoka executed) fled her palace with a maid, fearing for her unborn child. After much travel, the pregnant princess collapsed under a tree in the forest, and the maid ran to a nearby ashram to fetch a priest or physician to help. Meanwhile, under the tree, the princess gave birth to a son. The young prince was brought up by the Brahmins of the ashram and educated by them. Later, when he was around thirteen years old, he caught the eye of Ashoka, who was surprised to see such a young boy dressed as a sage. When the boy calmly revealed who he was, it seemed that Ashoka was moved by guilt and compassion, and moved the boy and his mother into the palace.
Meanwhile Queen Devi, who was a Buddhist, had brought up her children in that faith, and apparently left Ashoka after she saw the horrors of Kalinga. Ashoka was grieved by this, and was counselled by his nephew (who had been raised in the ashram and was more priest than prince) to embrace his dharma and draw away from war. Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra, the children of Queen Devi, abhorred violence and bloodshed, but knew that as royals war would be a part of their lives. They therefore asked Ashoka for permission to join the Buddhist monks, which Ashoka reluctantly granted. The two siblings established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He propagated the Vibhajjavada school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BCE. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy.
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
Policy
Emperor Ashoka built thousands of Stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers (the Ashokavadana says 84,000 such monuments were built). The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named Sanchi Stupa 1 was built by Emperor Ashoka. During the remaining portion of Ashoka's reign, he pursued an official policy of nonviolence or ahimsa. Even the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was immediately abolished. Wildlife became protected by the king's law against sport hunting and branding. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism. Enormous resthouses were built through the empire to house travellers and pilgrims free of charge. Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them outside one day each year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The weaker kingdoms surrounding his, which could so easily be overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies. In all these respects, Ashoka far exceeded even modern-day world leaders.
He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and people alike, and renovating major roads throughout India. Dharmashoka defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma in Pāli) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmins and other religious teachers and priests, liberal towards friends, humane treatment of servants, and generosity towards all. These principles suggest a general ethic of behavior to which no religious or social group could object.
The Edicts of Ashoka
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka
The Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath is the most popular of the relics left by Ashoka. Made of sandstone, this pillar records the visit of the emperor to Sarnath, in the 3rd century BCE. It has a four-lion capital (four lions standing back to back) which was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. In translating these monuments, historians learn the bulk of what is assumed to have been true fact of the Maurya Empire. It is difficult to determine whether certain events ever happened, but the stone etchings depict clearly of how Ashoka wanted to be thought and how he wanted to be remembered.
Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: "All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always." Edward D'Cruz interprets the Ashokan dharma as a "religion to be used as a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force to weld the diverse and heterogeneous elements of the empire".
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict is the first edict and remains in its original location and condition. It has not been dismantled and placed in a museum or made into a monument.
Missions to spread the Dharma/Dhamma
Ashoka was the sponsor of the third Buddhist council in which he supported the Vibhajjavada sub-school of the Sthaviravāda sect (which would become known by the Pali Theravada). After this council he sent Buddhist monks to spread their religion to other countries. The following table is a list of the countries he sent missionaries to, as described in the Mahavamsa, XII:[4]
Country name Name of leader of mission
(1) Kashmir-Gandhara Majjhantika
(2) Mahisamandala (Mysore) Mahadeva
(3) Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) Rakkhita
(4) Aparantaka (Gujarat and Sindh) the Yona Dhammarakkhita
(5) Maharattha (Maharashtra) Mahadhammarakkhita
(6) "Country of the Yona" (Bactria/ Seleucid Empire) Maharakkhita
(7) Himavanta (Nepal) Majjhima
(8) Suvannabhumi (Thailand/ Myanmar) Sona and Uttara
(9) Lankadipa (Sri Lanka) Mahamahinda (Asoka's son)
Regarding the "Country of the Yona", Ashoka further specifies in his Edict No 13 (quoted hereafter), that most Hellenistic rulers of the period (Antiochus II Theos, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Antigonus Gonatas, Magas of Cyrene and Alexander II of Epirus) received the teaching of the "Dharma". In the same Edict, Ashoka also adds the Cholas and the Pandyas as recipient of the faith.
Several of these countries are well attested recipients of Ashoka's missions (such as Sri Lanka and Thailand), lending credence to the historicity and the success of these missions. It is all the more surprising that no records of them have remained in the West. The only known record in that sense is that of the 2nd century Saint Origen, who stated that Buddhists co-existed with Druids in pre-Christian Britain:
"The island (Britain) has long been predisposed to it (Christianity) through the doctrines of the Druids and Buddhists, who had already inculcated the doctrine of the unity of the Godhead" Origen, "Commentary on Ezekiel".[5]
Origen himself seems to have been a proponent of the doctrine of rebirth and reincarnation[6] The doctrines of Origen were rejected by a narrow margin at the Council of Nicaea in 325.
Relations with the Hellenistic world
Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna (Pataliputra), thought to correspond to the reign of Ashoka, 3rd century BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).
Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna (Pataliputra), thought to correspond to the reign of Ashoka, 3rd century BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).
Some critics say that Ashoka was afraid of more wars, but among his neighbors, including the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom established by Diodotus I, none seem to have ever come into conflict with him - though the latter eventually conquered at various times western territories in India, but only after the empire's actual collapse. He was a contemporary of both Antiochus I Soter and his successor Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Dynasty as well as Diodotus I and his son Diodotus II of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. If his inscriptions and edicts are well studied, one finds that he was familiar with the Hellenistic world but never in awe of it. The Edicts of Ashoka, which talk of friendly relations, give the names of both Antiochus of the Seleucid empire and Ptolemy III of Egypt. But the fame of the Mauryan empire was widespread from the time that Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta Maurya met Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Dynasty, and engineered their celebrated peace. Chandragupta even supplied 500 elephants to Seleucus, which were critical to his success in his conflict with the Western dynast Antigonus, in exchange for peace (a state that would endure for as long as the Mauryan Empire existed, and was even renewed during the Eastern campaigns of Antiochus III the Great) and the latter's territories in India.
Greek populations in India
Greek populations apparently remained in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent under Ashoka's rule. In his Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, some of them written in Greek, Ashoka describes that Greek populations within his realm converted to Buddhism:
"Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma." Rock Edict Nb13 (S. Dhammika).
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Fragments of Edict 13 have been found in Greek, and a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit:
"Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of) Piety (εὐσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on every occasion, they will live better and more happily." (Trans. by G.P. Carratelli [1])
Exchange of Ambassadors
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court at Pataliputra in India:
"But [India] has been treated of by several other Greek writers who resided at the courts of Indian kings, such, for instance, as Megasthenes, and by Dionysius, who was sent thither by Philadelphus, expressly for the purpose: all of whom have enlarged upon the power and vast resources of these nations." Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21[7]
Buddhist proselytism
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to his Edicts.
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to his Edicts.
Also, in the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his Buddhist proselytism, although no Western historical record of this event remain:
"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400-9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika).
Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in their territories:
"Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochos rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals." 2nd Rock Edict
The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as Dharmaraksita, are described in Pali sources as leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa, XII[8]).
Marital alliance
A "marital alliance" had been concluded between Seleucus and Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta in 303 BCE:
"He (Seleucus) crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship." Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55[9]
The term used in ancient sources (Epigamia) could refer either to a dynastic alliance between the Seleucids and the Mauryas, or more generally to a recognition of marriage between Indian and Greeks. Since there are no records of an Indian princess in the abundant Classical litterature on the Seleucid, it is generally thought that the alliance went the other way around, and that a Seleucid princess may have been bethrothed to the Mauryan Dynasty. This practice in itself was quite common in the Hellenistic world to formalize alliances. There is thus a possibility that Ashoka was partly of Hellenic descent, either from his grandmother if Chandragupta married the Seleucid princess, of from his mother if Chandragupta's son, Bindusura, was the object of the marriage. This remains a hypothesis as there are no known more detailed descriptions of the exact nature of the marital alliance, although this is quite symptomatic of the generally good relationship between the Hellenistic world and Ashoka.[10]
Historical sources
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka, Ashokavadana
"The legend of King Asoka, A study and translation of the Asokavadana", John Strong, Princeton Library of Asian translations.
"The legend of King Asoka, A study and translation of the Asokavadana", John Strong, Princeton Library of Asian translations.
Information about the life and reign of Ashoka primarily comes from a relatively small number of Buddhist sources. In particular, the Sanskrit Ashokavadana ('Story of Ashoka'), written in the 2nd century, and the two Pāli chronicles of Sri Lanka (the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) provide most of the currently known information about Asoka. Additional information is contributed by the Edicts of Asoka, whose authorship was finally attributed to the Ashoka of Buddhist legend after the discovery of dynastic lists that gave the name used in the edicts (Priyadarsi – meaning 'favored by the Gods') as a title or additional name of Ashoka Mauriya.
The use of Buddhist sources in reconstructing the life of Ashoka has had a strong influence on perceptions of Ashoka, and the interpretations of his edicts. Building on traditional accounts, early scholars regarded Ashoka as a primarily Buddhist monarch who underwent a conversion to Buddhism and was actively engaged in sponsoring and supporting the Buddhist monastic institution.
Later scholars have tended to question this assessment. The only source of information not attributable to Buddhist sources – the Ashokan edicts – make only a few references to Buddhism directly, despite many references to the concept of dhamma (Sanskrit: dharma). Some interpreters have seen this as an indication that Ashoka was attempting to craft an inclusive, poly-religious civil religion for his empire that was centered on the concept of dharma as a positive moral force, but which did not embrace or advocate any particular philosophy attributable to the religious movements of Ashoka's age (such as the Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Ajivikas).
Most likely, the complex religious environment of the age would have required careful diplomatic management in order to avoid provoking religious unrest. Modern scholars and adherents of the traditional Buddhist perspective both tend to agree that Ashoka's rule was marked by tolerance towards a number of religious faiths.
Death and legacy
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict inscription at Girnar
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict inscription at Girnar
Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years, and after his death, the Maurya dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but their names are lost to time. Mahindra and Sanghamitra were twins born by his fourth wife, Devi, in the city of Ujjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. Mahindra and Sanghamitra went into Sri Lanka and converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism. So they were naturally not the ones handling state affairs after him.
In his old age, he seems to have come under the spell of his youngest wife Tishyaraksha. It is said that she had got his son Kunala, the regent in Takshashila, blinded by a wily stratagem. But the official executioners spared Kunala and he became a wandering singer accompanied by his favourite wife Kanchanmala. In Pataliputra, Ashoka hears Kunala's song, and realizes that Kunala's misfortune may have been a punishment for some past sin of the emperor himself and condemns Tishyaraksha to death, restoring Kunal to the court. Kunala was succeeded by his son, Samprati. But his rule did not last long after Ashoka's death.
Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali
Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali
The Emblem of India is a replica of Ashoka Pillar.
The Emblem of India is a replica of Ashoka Pillar.
The reign of Ashoka Maurya could easily have disappeared into history as the ages passed by, and would have, if he had not left behind a record of his trials. The testimony of this wise king was discovered in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders with a variety of actions and teachings he wished to be published etched into the stone. What Ashoka left behind was the first written language in India since the ancient city of Harappa. Rather than Sanskrit, the language used for inscription was the current spoken form called Prakrit.
In the year 185 BCE, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, the last Maurya ruler, Brhadrata, was brutally murdered by the commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honor of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga dynasty (185 BCE-78 BCE) and ruled just a fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire. Much of the northwestern territories of the Mauryan Empire (modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan) became the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
Not until some 2,000 years later under Akbar the Great and his great-grandson Aurangzeb would as large a portion of the subcontinent as that ruled by Ashoka again be united under a single ruler. When India gained independence from the British Empire it adopted Ashoka's emblem for its own, placing the Dharmachakra(The Wheel of Righteous Duty) that crowned his many columns on the flag of the newly independent state.
Ashoka was ranked #53 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history.
A semi-fictionalized portrayal of Ashoka's life was produced as a motion picture recently under the title Asoka.
Ashoka and Buddhist Kingship
Main article: History of Buddhism
One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka Maurya was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Throughout Theravada Southeastern Asia, the model of rulership embodied by Ashoka replaced the notion of divine kingship that had previously dominated (in the Angkor kingdom, for instance). Under this model of 'Buddhist kingship', the king sought to legitimize his rule not through descent from a divine source, but by supporting and earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha. Following Ashoka's example, kings established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom. Many rulers also took an active role in resolving disputes over the status and regulation of the sangha, as Ashoka had in calling a conclave to settle a number of contentious issues during his reign. This development ultimately lead to a close association in many Southeast Asian countries between the monarchy and the religious hierarchy, an association that can still be seen today in the state-supported Buddhism of Thailand and the traditional role of the Thai king as both a religious and secular leader.
Ashoka also said that all his courtiers were true to their self and governed the people in a moral manner.
Ashoka in popular culture
Poster of Asoka, the movie.
Poster of Asoka, the movie.
* Ashoka: Innovators for the Public - is a global association of social entrepreneurs
* Asoka is a largely fictionalized film based on his life.
* Ashoka ki chinta is a famous Hindi poem by Jaishankar Prasad. The poem portrays Ashoka's mindset during the Kalinga War.
* In some conspiracy theories Ashoka is mentioned as the founder of a powerful secret society called the Nine Unknown Men.
* Ashoka is a civilization leader in the PC video game Civilization 4. In the game, he is a leader of the Indian Empire, alongside Gandhi.
* In Piers Anthony's series of space opera novels, Bio of a Space Tyrant, the protagonist repeatedly mentions Asoka as a model for rulers to strive for.
* Air India's first 747 aircraft was named after Emperor Ashoka.
See also
* Chakravarti
* Magadhan Empire
* Mauryan dynasty
* Chandragupta Maurya
* Bindusara Maurya
* Dasaratha Maurya
* Chanakya
* Arthashastra
* Hinduism
* Buddhism
* Kalinga War
* History of India
* History of Hinduism
* History of Buddhism
* List of Indian monarchs
* List of people known as The Great
Sources
* Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania : Anima Books, 1981) ISBN 0-89012-023-4
* Thapar, Romila. Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas (Delhi : Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1997, 1998 printing, c1961) ISBN 0-19-564445-X
* Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, [1967] c1952) ISBN 0-89684-167-7
* Bongard-Levin, G. M. Mauryan India (Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division May 1986) ISBN 0-86590-826-5
* Govind Gokhale, Balkrishna. Asoka Maurya (Irvington Pub June 1966) ISBN 0-8290-1735-6
* Chand Chauhan, Gian. Origin and Growth of Feudalism in Early India: From the Mauryas to AD 650 (Munshiram Manoharlal January 2004) ISBN 81-215-1028-7
* Keay, John. India: A History (Grove Press; 1 Grove Pr edition May 10, 2001) ISBN 0-8021-3797-0
Notes
1. ^ The Gift of Dust
2. ^ The unknown Ashoka
3. ^ "Bodhisattva that the Brahman," see Chap. xvi
4. ^ Full text of the Mahavamsa Click chapter XII
5. ^ Mentionned in Mackenzie, Donald A., Buddhism in pre-Christian Britain, p42
6. ^ "Is it not rational that souls should be introduced into bodies in accordance with their merits and previous deeds, and that those who have used their bodies in doing the utmost possible good should have a right to bodies endowed with qualities superior to the bodies of others?" "The soul, which is immaterial and invisible in its nature, exists in no material place without having a body suited to the nature of that place; accordingly, it at one time puts off one body, which is necessary before, but which is no longer adequate in its changed state, and it exchanges it for a second." (Origen, Contra Celsum, also discussed in Des Principiis)
7. ^ Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21
8. ^ Full text of the Mahavamsa Click chapter XII
9. ^ Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55
10. ^ "Demetrius, who was a Seleucid on his mother's side, may conceivably have regarded himself as possessing some sort of hereditary title to the throne of the Mauryas, inasmuch as the Seleucid and Maurya lines were connected by the marriage of Seleucus' daughter (or niece) either with Chandragupta or to his son Bindusara, in which case Ashoka himself would have been half a Seleucid." John Marshall, Taxila, p28
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Ashoka the Great
* King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary studies
* Detailed biography, including key dates in Ashoka's Life
* The life of Asoka Maurya
* Asoka's life and the locations of his edicts
Preceded by
Bindusara Mauryan Emperor
272-232 BCE Succeeded by
Dasaratha
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Ashoka the Great
Ashoka the Great
Mauryan emperor
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait.
Reign 273 BCE-232 BCE
Titles Devanampriya Priyadarsi
Predecessor Bindusara
Successor Dasaratha Maurya
Dynasty Mauryan dynasty
Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanāgarī: अशोकः, IAST: Aśokaḥ, IPA: [aɕoːkə(hə)]) (Imperial title: Devanampiya Piyadassi, Prakrit for "He who is the beloved of the Gods and who regards everyone amiably") (304 BCE–232 BCE) was an Indian emperor, who ruled the Maurya Empire in present-day eastern India from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. After a number of military conquests, Ashoka reigned over most of India, South Asia and beyond, from present-day Afghanistan and parts of Persia in the west, to Bengal and Assam in the east, and as far south as Mysore. A later convert to Buddhism, Ashoka established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and according to Buddhist tradition was closely involved in the preservation and transmission of Buddhism.
The word "aśoka" means "without sorrow" in Sanskrit. In his edicts he is referred to as Devānāmpriya (Devanāgarī: देवानांप्रिय)/Devānaṃpiya or "The Beloved Of The Gods", and Priyadarśin (Devanāgarī: प्रियदर्शी)/Piyadassī or "He who regards everyone amiably".
Science fiction novelist H.G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'their highnesses,' 'their majesties,' and 'their exalted majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."
His legend is related in the 2nd century Aśokāvadāna ("Narrative of Ashoka") and Divyāvadāna ("Divine narrative"), and in the Sinhalese text the Mahavamsa.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early life
* 2 Rise to power
o 2.1 Conquest of Kalinga
* 3 Embrace of Buddhism
o 3.1 Policy
o 3.2 The Edicts of Ashoka
o 3.3 Missions to spread the Dharma/Dhamma
* 4 Relations with the Hellenistic world
o 4.1 Greek populations in India
o 4.2 Exchange of Ambassadors
o 4.3 Buddhist proselytism
o 4.4 Marital alliance
* 5 Historical sources
* 6 Death and legacy
o 6.1 Ashoka and Buddhist Kingship
* 7 Ashoka in popular culture
* 8 See also
* 9 Sources
* 10 Notes
* 11 External links
Early life
Scene of "The Gift of Dirt", 2nd century Gandhara. The child Jaya, said to be reborn later as Ashoka, offers a gift of dirt (which, in his game he imagines as food) to the Buddha, hereby acquiring merit, by which the Buddha foresees he will rule India and spread the Buddhist faith.
Scene of "The Gift of Dirt", 2nd century Gandhara. The child Jaya, said to be reborn later as Ashoka, offers a gift of dirt (which, in his game he imagines as food) to the Buddha, hereby acquiring merit, by which the Buddha foresees he will rule India and spread the Buddhist faith.
According to Buddhist tradition, described in the 2nd century "Legend of Ashoka", the birth of Ashoka was foretold by the Buddha, in the story of "The Gift of Dust":
"A hundred years after my death there will be an emperor named Ashoka in Pataliputra. He will rule one of the four continents and adorn Jambudvipa with my relics building eighty four thousand stupas for the welfare of people. He will have them honored by gods and men. His fame will be widespread. His meritorious gift was just this: Jaya threw a handful of dust into the Tathāgata's bowl." Ashokavadana[1]
Following this prophecy, the "Legend of Ashoka" further states that Ashoka was finally born as the son of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusara by a relatively lower ranked queen named Dharma. Dharma was said to be the daughter of a poor Brahmin who introduced her into the harem of the Emperor as it was predicted that her son would be a great ruler. Although Dharma was of priestly lineage, the fact that she was not royal by birth made her a very low-status consort in the harem.[2]
Ashoka had several elder half-brothers and just one younger sibling, Vitthashoka, another son of Dharma. The princes were extremely competitive, but young Ashoka excelled in the military and academic disciplines in which the boys were tutored. There was a great deal of sibling rivalry, especially between Ashoka and his brother Susima, both as warriors and as administrators.
Rise to power
Map of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka's rule.
Map of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka's rule.
Developing into an impeccable warrior general and a shrewd statesman, Ashoka went on to command several regiments of the Mauryan army. His growing popularity across the empire made his elder brothers wary of his chances of being favoured by Bindusara to become the next emperor. The eldest of them, Prince Susima, the traditional heir to the throne, persuaded Bindusara to send Ashoka to quell an uprising in the city of Takshashila in the north-west province of Sindh, of which Prince Susima was the governor. Takshashila was a highly volatile place because of the war-like Indo-Greek population and mismanagement by Susima himself. This had led to the formation of different militias causing unrest. Ashoka complied and left for the troubled area. As news of Ashoka's visit with his army trickled in, he was welcomed by the revolting militias and the uprising ended without a fight. (The province revolted once more during the rule of Ashoka, but this time the uprising was crushed with an iron fist).
Ashoka's success made his half-brothers more wary of his intentions of becoming the emperor, and more incitements from Susima led Bindusara to send Ashoka into exile. He went into Kalinga and stayed incognito there. There he met a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki, with whom he fell in love; recently found inscriptions indicate that she went on to become his second or third queen.
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the third century BC
Meanwhile, there again was a violent uprising in Ujjain. Emperor Bindusara summoned Ashoka back after an exile of two years. Ashoka went into Ujjain and in the ensuing battle was injured, but his generals quelled the uprising. Ashoka was treated in hiding so that loyalists in Susima's camp could not harm him. He was treated by Buddhist monks and nuns. This is where he first learned the teachings of the Buddha, and it is also where he met the beautiful Devi, who was his personal nurse and the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. After recovering, he married her. Ashoka, at this time, was already married to Asandhimitra who was to be his much-loved chief queen for many years until her death. She seems to have stayed on in Pataliputra all her life.
The following year passed quite peacefully for him and Devi was about to deliver his first child. In the meantime, Emperor Bindusura took ill and was on his death-bed. A clique of ministers lead by Radhagupta, who hated Susima, summoned Ashoka to take the crown, though Bindusara preferred Susima. As the Buddhist lore goes, in a fit of rage Prince Ashoka attacked Pataliputra (modern day Patna), and killed all his brothers, including Susima, and threw their bodies into a well in Pataliputra. It is not known if Bindusara was already dead at this time. At that stage of his life, many called him Chand Ashoka meaning murderer and heartless Ashoka. The Buddhist legends paint a gory picture of his sadistic activities at this time. Most are unbelievable, and must be read as supporting background to highlight the transformation in Ashoka which Buddhism brought about later.
Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years: it grew to encompass an area extending from the present-day boundaries of Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam, in the east, to the territory of present-day Iran and Afghanistan, in the west, and from the Pamir Knots in the north almost to the peninsular tip of southern India. At that stage of his life, he was called Chakravarti which literally translates to "he for whom the wheel of law turns" (broadly meaning the emperor). Around this time, his Buddhist queen Devi gave birth to two children, Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra.
Conquest of Kalinga
Main article: Kalinga War
Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edicts of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstones. British Museum.
Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edicts of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstones. British Museum.
The early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty. Ashoka was constantly on the war campaign, conquering territory after territory and significantly expanding the already large Mauryan empire and adding to his wealth. His last conquest was the state of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day state of Orissa. Kalinga prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy; with its monarchical-parliamentary democracy, it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata, as there existed the concept of Rajdharma, meaning the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and Kshatriya dharma.
The pretext for the start of the Kalinga War (265 BCE or 263 BCE) is uncertain. One of Ashoka's brothers - and probably a supporter of Susima - might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit.
The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tactics of Kalinga's commander-in-chief. Ashoka, baffled by this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever recorded in Indian history until then. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's powerful armies, superior weapons and experienced generals and soldiers. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed; Ashoka's later edicts say that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 10,000 from Ashoka's army; thousands of men and women were deported.
Embrace of Buddhism
Main article: Buddhism in India
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
The Ashoka Chakra, featured on the flag of the Republic of India
As the legend goes, one day after the war was over Ashoka ventured out to roam the eastern city and all he could see were burnt houses and scattered corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the famous quotation, "What have I done?" Upon his return to Paliputra, he could, according to legends, get no sleep and was constantly haunted by his deeds in Kalinga. The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism under the guidance of the Brahmin Buddhist sages Radhaswami and Manjushri[3] and he used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. When the war against Kalinga ended, Asoka's warriors had killed over 100,000 people. He was filled with sorrow. He gave up war and violence being almost the exact opposite of his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya. He freed his prisoners and gave them back their land.
As legend goes, there was also another factor that lead Ashoka to Buddhism. A Mauryan princess who had been married to one of Ashoka's brothers (who Ashoka executed) fled her palace with a maid, fearing for her unborn child. After much travel, the pregnant princess collapsed under a tree in the forest, and the maid ran to a nearby ashram to fetch a priest or physician to help. Meanwhile, under the tree, the princess gave birth to a son. The young prince was brought up by the Brahmins of the ashram and educated by them. Later, when he was around thirteen years old, he caught the eye of Ashoka, who was surprised to see such a young boy dressed as a sage. When the boy calmly revealed who he was, it seemed that Ashoka was moved by guilt and compassion, and moved the boy and his mother into the palace.
Meanwhile Queen Devi, who was a Buddhist, had brought up her children in that faith, and apparently left Ashoka after she saw the horrors of Kalinga. Ashoka was grieved by this, and was counselled by his nephew (who had been raised in the ashram and was more priest than prince) to embrace his dharma and draw away from war. Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra, the children of Queen Devi, abhorred violence and bloodshed, but knew that as royals war would be a part of their lives. They therefore asked Ashoka for permission to join the Buddhist monks, which Ashoka reluctantly granted. The two siblings established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He propagated the Vibhajjavada school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BCE. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy.
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the Dharmacakra, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century BCE.
Policy
Emperor Ashoka built thousands of Stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers (the Ashokavadana says 84,000 such monuments were built). The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named Sanchi Stupa 1 was built by Emperor Ashoka. During the remaining portion of Ashoka's reign, he pursued an official policy of nonviolence or ahimsa. Even the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was immediately abolished. Wildlife became protected by the king's law against sport hunting and branding. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism. Enormous resthouses were built through the empire to house travellers and pilgrims free of charge. Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them outside one day each year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The weaker kingdoms surrounding his, which could so easily be overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies. In all these respects, Ashoka far exceeded even modern-day world leaders.
He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and people alike, and renovating major roads throughout India. Dharmashoka defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma in Pāli) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmins and other religious teachers and priests, liberal towards friends, humane treatment of servants, and generosity towards all. These principles suggest a general ethic of behavior to which no religious or social group could object.
The Edicts of Ashoka
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka
The Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath is the most popular of the relics left by Ashoka. Made of sandstone, this pillar records the visit of the emperor to Sarnath, in the 3rd century BCE. It has a four-lion capital (four lions standing back to back) which was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. In translating these monuments, historians learn the bulk of what is assumed to have been true fact of the Maurya Empire. It is difficult to determine whether certain events ever happened, but the stone etchings depict clearly of how Ashoka wanted to be thought and how he wanted to be remembered.
Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: "All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always." Edward D'Cruz interprets the Ashokan dharma as a "religion to be used as a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force to weld the diverse and heterogeneous elements of the empire".
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict is the first edict and remains in its original location and condition. It has not been dismantled and placed in a museum or made into a monument.
Missions to spread the Dharma/Dhamma
Ashoka was the sponsor of the third Buddhist council in which he supported the Vibhajjavada sub-school of the Sthaviravāda sect (which would become known by the Pali Theravada). After this council he sent Buddhist monks to spread their religion to other countries. The following table is a list of the countries he sent missionaries to, as described in the Mahavamsa, XII:[4]
Country name Name of leader of mission
(1) Kashmir-Gandhara Majjhantika
(2) Mahisamandala (Mysore) Mahadeva
(3) Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) Rakkhita
(4) Aparantaka (Gujarat and Sindh) the Yona Dhammarakkhita
(5) Maharattha (Maharashtra) Mahadhammarakkhita
(6) "Country of the Yona" (Bactria/ Seleucid Empire) Maharakkhita
(7) Himavanta (Nepal) Majjhima
(8) Suvannabhumi (Thailand/ Myanmar) Sona and Uttara
(9) Lankadipa (Sri Lanka) Mahamahinda (Asoka's son)
Regarding the "Country of the Yona", Ashoka further specifies in his Edict No 13 (quoted hereafter), that most Hellenistic rulers of the period (Antiochus II Theos, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Antigonus Gonatas, Magas of Cyrene and Alexander II of Epirus) received the teaching of the "Dharma". In the same Edict, Ashoka also adds the Cholas and the Pandyas as recipient of the faith.
Several of these countries are well attested recipients of Ashoka's missions (such as Sri Lanka and Thailand), lending credence to the historicity and the success of these missions. It is all the more surprising that no records of them have remained in the West. The only known record in that sense is that of the 2nd century Saint Origen, who stated that Buddhists co-existed with Druids in pre-Christian Britain:
"The island (Britain) has long been predisposed to it (Christianity) through the doctrines of the Druids and Buddhists, who had already inculcated the doctrine of the unity of the Godhead" Origen, "Commentary on Ezekiel".[5]
Origen himself seems to have been a proponent of the doctrine of rebirth and reincarnation[6] The doctrines of Origen were rejected by a narrow margin at the Council of Nicaea in 325.
Relations with the Hellenistic world
Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna (Pataliputra), thought to correspond to the reign of Ashoka, 3rd century BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).
Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna (Pataliputra), thought to correspond to the reign of Ashoka, 3rd century BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).
Some critics say that Ashoka was afraid of more wars, but among his neighbors, including the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom established by Diodotus I, none seem to have ever come into conflict with him - though the latter eventually conquered at various times western territories in India, but only after the empire's actual collapse. He was a contemporary of both Antiochus I Soter and his successor Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Dynasty as well as Diodotus I and his son Diodotus II of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. If his inscriptions and edicts are well studied, one finds that he was familiar with the Hellenistic world but never in awe of it. The Edicts of Ashoka, which talk of friendly relations, give the names of both Antiochus of the Seleucid empire and Ptolemy III of Egypt. But the fame of the Mauryan empire was widespread from the time that Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta Maurya met Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Dynasty, and engineered their celebrated peace. Chandragupta even supplied 500 elephants to Seleucus, which were critical to his success in his conflict with the Western dynast Antigonus, in exchange for peace (a state that would endure for as long as the Mauryan Empire existed, and was even renewed during the Eastern campaigns of Antiochus III the Great) and the latter's territories in India.
Greek populations in India
Greek populations apparently remained in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent under Ashoka's rule. In his Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, some of them written in Greek, Ashoka describes that Greek populations within his realm converted to Buddhism:
"Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma." Rock Edict Nb13 (S. Dhammika).
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar - Afghan National Museum. (Click image for translation).
Fragments of Edict 13 have been found in Greek, and a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit:
"Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of) Piety (εὐσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on every occasion, they will live better and more happily." (Trans. by G.P. Carratelli [1])
Exchange of Ambassadors
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court at Pataliputra in India:
"But [India] has been treated of by several other Greek writers who resided at the courts of Indian kings, such, for instance, as Megasthenes, and by Dionysius, who was sent thither by Philadelphus, expressly for the purpose: all of whom have enlarged upon the power and vast resources of these nations." Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21[7]
Buddhist proselytism
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to his Edicts.
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to his Edicts.
Also, in the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his Buddhist proselytism, although no Western historical record of this event remain:
"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400-9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika).
Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in their territories:
"Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochos rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals." 2nd Rock Edict
The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as Dharmaraksita, are described in Pali sources as leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa, XII[8]).
Marital alliance
A "marital alliance" had been concluded between Seleucus and Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta in 303 BCE:
"He (Seleucus) crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship." Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55[9]
The term used in ancient sources (Epigamia) could refer either to a dynastic alliance between the Seleucids and the Mauryas, or more generally to a recognition of marriage between Indian and Greeks. Since there are no records of an Indian princess in the abundant Classical litterature on the Seleucid, it is generally thought that the alliance went the other way around, and that a Seleucid princess may have been bethrothed to the Mauryan Dynasty. This practice in itself was quite common in the Hellenistic world to formalize alliances. There is thus a possibility that Ashoka was partly of Hellenic descent, either from his grandmother if Chandragupta married the Seleucid princess, of from his mother if Chandragupta's son, Bindusura, was the object of the marriage. This remains a hypothesis as there are no known more detailed descriptions of the exact nature of the marital alliance, although this is quite symptomatic of the generally good relationship between the Hellenistic world and Ashoka.[10]
Historical sources
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka, Ashokavadana
"The legend of King Asoka, A study and translation of the Asokavadana", John Strong, Princeton Library of Asian translations.
"The legend of King Asoka, A study and translation of the Asokavadana", John Strong, Princeton Library of Asian translations.
Information about the life and reign of Ashoka primarily comes from a relatively small number of Buddhist sources. In particular, the Sanskrit Ashokavadana ('Story of Ashoka'), written in the 2nd century, and the two Pāli chronicles of Sri Lanka (the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) provide most of the currently known information about Asoka. Additional information is contributed by the Edicts of Asoka, whose authorship was finally attributed to the Ashoka of Buddhist legend after the discovery of dynastic lists that gave the name used in the edicts (Priyadarsi – meaning 'favored by the Gods') as a title or additional name of Ashoka Mauriya.
The use of Buddhist sources in reconstructing the life of Ashoka has had a strong influence on perceptions of Ashoka, and the interpretations of his edicts. Building on traditional accounts, early scholars regarded Ashoka as a primarily Buddhist monarch who underwent a conversion to Buddhism and was actively engaged in sponsoring and supporting the Buddhist monastic institution.
Later scholars have tended to question this assessment. The only source of information not attributable to Buddhist sources – the Ashokan edicts – make only a few references to Buddhism directly, despite many references to the concept of dhamma (Sanskrit: dharma). Some interpreters have seen this as an indication that Ashoka was attempting to craft an inclusive, poly-religious civil religion for his empire that was centered on the concept of dharma as a positive moral force, but which did not embrace or advocate any particular philosophy attributable to the religious movements of Ashoka's age (such as the Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Ajivikas).
Most likely, the complex religious environment of the age would have required careful diplomatic management in order to avoid provoking religious unrest. Modern scholars and adherents of the traditional Buddhist perspective both tend to agree that Ashoka's rule was marked by tolerance towards a number of religious faiths.
Death and legacy
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict inscription at Girnar
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict inscription at Girnar
Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years, and after his death, the Maurya dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but their names are lost to time. Mahindra and Sanghamitra were twins born by his fourth wife, Devi, in the city of Ujjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. Mahindra and Sanghamitra went into Sri Lanka and converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism. So they were naturally not the ones handling state affairs after him.
In his old age, he seems to have come under the spell of his youngest wife Tishyaraksha. It is said that she had got his son Kunala, the regent in Takshashila, blinded by a wily stratagem. But the official executioners spared Kunala and he became a wandering singer accompanied by his favourite wife Kanchanmala. In Pataliputra, Ashoka hears Kunala's song, and realizes that Kunala's misfortune may have been a punishment for some past sin of the emperor himself and condemns Tishyaraksha to death, restoring Kunal to the court. Kunala was succeeded by his son, Samprati. But his rule did not last long after Ashoka's death.
Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali
Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali
The Emblem of India is a replica of Ashoka Pillar.
The Emblem of India is a replica of Ashoka Pillar.
The reign of Ashoka Maurya could easily have disappeared into history as the ages passed by, and would have, if he had not left behind a record of his trials. The testimony of this wise king was discovered in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders with a variety of actions and teachings he wished to be published etched into the stone. What Ashoka left behind was the first written language in India since the ancient city of Harappa. Rather than Sanskrit, the language used for inscription was the current spoken form called Prakrit.
In the year 185 BCE, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, the last Maurya ruler, Brhadrata, was brutally murdered by the commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honor of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga dynasty (185 BCE-78 BCE) and ruled just a fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire. Much of the northwestern territories of the Mauryan Empire (modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan) became the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
Not until some 2,000 years later under Akbar the Great and his great-grandson Aurangzeb would as large a portion of the subcontinent as that ruled by Ashoka again be united under a single ruler. When India gained independence from the British Empire it adopted Ashoka's emblem for its own, placing the Dharmachakra(The Wheel of Righteous Duty) that crowned his many columns on the flag of the newly independent state.
Ashoka was ranked #53 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history.
A semi-fictionalized portrayal of Ashoka's life was produced as a motion picture recently under the title Asoka.
Ashoka and Buddhist Kingship
Main article: History of Buddhism
One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka Maurya was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Throughout Theravada Southeastern Asia, the model of rulership embodied by Ashoka replaced the notion of divine kingship that had previously dominated (in the Angkor kingdom, for instance). Under this model of 'Buddhist kingship', the king sought to legitimize his rule not through descent from a divine source, but by supporting and earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha. Following Ashoka's example, kings established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom. Many rulers also took an active role in resolving disputes over the status and regulation of the sangha, as Ashoka had in calling a conclave to settle a number of contentious issues during his reign. This development ultimately lead to a close association in many Southeast Asian countries between the monarchy and the religious hierarchy, an association that can still be seen today in the state-supported Buddhism of Thailand and the traditional role of the Thai king as both a religious and secular leader.
Ashoka also said that all his courtiers were true to their self and governed the people in a moral manner.
Ashoka in popular culture
Poster of Asoka, the movie.
Poster of Asoka, the movie.
* Ashoka: Innovators for the Public - is a global association of social entrepreneurs
* Asoka is a largely fictionalized film based on his life.
* Ashoka ki chinta is a famous Hindi poem by Jaishankar Prasad. The poem portrays Ashoka's mindset during the Kalinga War.
* In some conspiracy theories Ashoka is mentioned as the founder of a powerful secret society called the Nine Unknown Men.
* Ashoka is a civilization leader in the PC video game Civilization 4. In the game, he is a leader of the Indian Empire, alongside Gandhi.
* In Piers Anthony's series of space opera novels, Bio of a Space Tyrant, the protagonist repeatedly mentions Asoka as a model for rulers to strive for.
* Air India's first 747 aircraft was named after Emperor Ashoka.
See also
* Chakravarti
* Magadhan Empire
* Mauryan dynasty
* Chandragupta Maurya
* Bindusara Maurya
* Dasaratha Maurya
* Chanakya
* Arthashastra
* Hinduism
* Buddhism
* Kalinga War
* History of India
* History of Hinduism
* History of Buddhism
* List of Indian monarchs
* List of people known as The Great
Sources
* Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania : Anima Books, 1981) ISBN 0-89012-023-4
* Thapar, Romila. Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas (Delhi : Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1997, 1998 printing, c1961) ISBN 0-19-564445-X
* Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, [1967] c1952) ISBN 0-89684-167-7
* Bongard-Levin, G. M. Mauryan India (Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division May 1986) ISBN 0-86590-826-5
* Govind Gokhale, Balkrishna. Asoka Maurya (Irvington Pub June 1966) ISBN 0-8290-1735-6
* Chand Chauhan, Gian. Origin and Growth of Feudalism in Early India: From the Mauryas to AD 650 (Munshiram Manoharlal January 2004) ISBN 81-215-1028-7
* Keay, John. India: A History (Grove Press; 1 Grove Pr edition May 10, 2001) ISBN 0-8021-3797-0
Notes
1. ^ The Gift of Dust
2. ^ The unknown Ashoka
3. ^ "Bodhisattva that the Brahman," see Chap. xvi
4. ^ Full text of the Mahavamsa Click chapter XII
5. ^ Mentionned in Mackenzie, Donald A., Buddhism in pre-Christian Britain, p42
6. ^ "Is it not rational that souls should be introduced into bodies in accordance with their merits and previous deeds, and that those who have used their bodies in doing the utmost possible good should have a right to bodies endowed with qualities superior to the bodies of others?" "The soul, which is immaterial and invisible in its nature, exists in no material place without having a body suited to the nature of that place; accordingly, it at one time puts off one body, which is necessary before, but which is no longer adequate in its changed state, and it exchanges it for a second." (Origen, Contra Celsum, also discussed in Des Principiis)
7. ^ Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21
8. ^ Full text of the Mahavamsa Click chapter XII
9. ^ Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55
10. ^ "Demetrius, who was a Seleucid on his mother's side, may conceivably have regarded himself as possessing some sort of hereditary title to the throne of the Mauryas, inasmuch as the Seleucid and Maurya lines were connected by the marriage of Seleucus' daughter (or niece) either with Chandragupta or to his son Bindusara, in which case Ashoka himself would have been half a Seleucid." John Marshall, Taxila, p28
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Ashoka the Great
* King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary studies
* Detailed biography, including key dates in Ashoka's Life
* The life of Asoka Maurya
* Asoka's life and the locations of his edicts
Preceded by
Bindusara Mauryan Emperor
272-232 BCE Succeeded by
Dasaratha
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Achilles:complete story
"... Unequal is your birth, my son, and only on your mother's side is the way of death barred for you." [Thetis to Achilles. Statius, Achilleid 1.256]
"For although you have been taught by me thus gently the art of horsemanship, and are suited to such a horse as I, some day you shall ride on Xanthus and Balius; and you shall take many cities and slay many men." [The Centaur Chiron to young Achilles. Philostratus, Imagines 2.2]
"Indeed, my dreaded master, we will once more bring you safely home today. Yet the hour of your death is drawing near; and it is not we who will be the cause of it, but a great god and the strong hand of Destiny." [Xanthus 1, Achilles' horse, to its master. Homer, Iliad 19.408]
"All these nights I am absent from your side, and not demanded back; you delay and your anger is slow." [Briseis to Achilles. Ovidius, Heroides 3]
"For my mother the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, tells me that twofold fates are bearing me toward the doom of death: if I abide here and play my part in the siege of Troy, then lost is my home-return, but my renown shall be imperishable; but if I return home to my dear native land, lost then is my glorious renown, yet shall my life long endure, neither shall the doom of death come soon upon me." [Achilles to Odysseus. Homer, Iliad 9.410]
Background
His mother
The Nereid Thetis, Achilles' mother, is known for her multiple interventions in the affairs of both gods and mortals. Thus when Hephaestus was cast from Heaven by Zeus, falling into the sea, he was saved by Thetis [Apd.1.3.5]; and when Dionysus 2 was persecuted by King Lycurgus 1 of the Edonians, he sought refuge in the sea with her [Apd.3.5.1]; and when the ARGONAUTS, after having met the SIRENS, encountered Charybdis and Scylla 1 and the Wandering Rocks, Thetis, along with the other NEREIDS, put them out of danger by safely steering their ship through those threats [Apd.1.9.25]. Even Zeus received Thetis' assistance, for when once a minor conspiracy took place in Olympus, and Hera, Poseidon and Athena plotted against Zeus, planning to chain him, she averted it by calling to Olympus one of the HECATONCHEIRES (Briareus), who, squatting down by Zeus and displaying his force, frightened the rebellious deities away [Hom.Il.1.400].
Son mightier than his father
No wonder then that Zeus and Poseidon once competed for the hand of this enchanting goddess [Apd.3.13.5], who proved so many times her ability to provide valuable services. But it was prophesied by Themis [Apd.3.13.5], as once before with regard to Metis 1 [Apd.1.3.6], that if one of these gods lay with the Nereid, the son born to her would be mightier than his father, wielding a more powerful weapon than the thunderbolt or the trident, and she added:
"Let her accept a mortal's bed, and see her son die in battle, a son who is like Ares in the strength of his hands and like lightning in the swift prime of his feet. My counsel is to bestow this god-granted honor of marriage on Peleus son of Aeacus, who is said to be the most pious man living on the plain of Iolcus." [Themis to the gods. Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.35]
The secret that set Prometheus 1 free
It is also said that Zeus did not know of this prophecy, or rather that he ignored who the girl was that could endanger his rule. But Prometheus 1 —whom the god had chained in Caucasus for having giving fire, along with blind hope, to mankind—did know, and succeeded in exchanging that information for freedom. Otherwise had not Heracles 1 appeared to shoot the eagle that devoured Prometheus 1's liver for many years, setting the prisoner free.
"Truly the day shall come when, although I am tortured in stubborn fetters, Zeus will need me to reveal the new design whereby he shall be stripped of his sceptre and his dignities ... No matter what, this must be kept concealed; for it is by safeguarding it that I am to escape my dishonorable bonds and outrage." [Prometheus 1 to the OCEANIDS. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 170, 525]
Thetis refuses Zeus
But others have said that it was Thetis herself, who, out of respect for Hera who had brought her up, refused to marry Zeus, and that he, as a punishment, decided that she would marry a mortal man. And Hera, in recognition for what Thetis had done—or rather not done—, chose Peleus as Thetis' husband, for, according to her, he was the best man on earth at that time.
"For to Zeus such deeds are ever dear, to embrace either goddesses or mortal women. But in reverence for me you did shrink from his love." [Hera to Thetis. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.793]
This is how Peleus, who had been banished from the island of Aegina by his father Aeacus on account of the death of his half-brother Phocus 3 [see Psamathe 1 at NEREIDS], was appointed to be the husband of enchanting Thetis, a greater honour for him than for the goddess, who saw herself—by heaven's decree—bound to a mortal through an inferior wedlock, as she regarded it.
Peleus' uncertain background
When Peleus (who is counted among the ARGONAUTS and the CALYDONIAN HUNTERS) left Aegina, he came to Phthia, in southern Thessaly, where Eurytion 2 was king. He received from his host the third part of the country and the hand of Antigone 1, the king's daughter. This girl, however, killed herself as a result of an intrigue conceived by Astydamia 3, wife of King Acastus of Iolcus, and Eurytion 2 himself was (as they say) accidentally killed by Peleus while they were hunting the Calydonian Boar.
Peleus cannot catch his bride
In this way Peleus inherited the kingdom of Phthia, and when time came for him, mortal as he was, to marry Thetis, he could not seize the goddess, for, even when he caught her in a slumber, she, always refusing him, turned herself into a bird and into a tree, and as Peleus still held her, she turned into a tigress, and he in fear let her go. But then Peleus received lessons in changing shapes from Proteus 2, who being a master in that art, told him to hold her whatever form she might take. Following these instructions, Peleus held her, even when she turned into fire and water, until she finally gave up. Noticing that a mortal could not accomplish such a prowess by himself, she asserted:
"It is not without some god's assistance that you conquer." [Thetis to Peleus. Ovidius, Metamorphoses, 11.293]
Some have said, however, that Peleus received these simple, and yet difficult to perform instructions, not from Proteus 2 but from the Centaur Chiron
Wedding gifts
So having learned to hold the bride, Peleus married the Nereid Thetis, and to the wedding party in Mount Pelion came many gods, from whom Peleus received valuable gifts, among which the two immortal horses Balius 1 and Xanthus 1, who later followed his son Achilles to the Trojan War.
Dispute at the party
Yet the wedding party was spoiled; for Eris (Discord) appeared uninvited, and throwing an apple through the door, exhorted the fairest of the goddesses to take it up. Thus she started a dispute between the three goddesses whose beauty was to be judged by Paris, an until then unknown shepherd from Mount Ida, not far away from Troy.
Achilles' Life and Deeds
Birth of the demigod
When Achilles was born, his loving mother Thetis wished to make him immortal, and for that purpose she dipped him in the waters of the river Styx [for this river see Underworld]. But others affirm that she, without the knowledge of the child's father, used to put the babe in the fire by night in order to destroy the mortal element which Achilles had inherited from Peleus, while anointing him with ambrosia during the day. But when Peleus saw the child writhing on the fire, he cried out, thus preventing Thetis from accomplishing her purpose [Apd.3 .13.6]. Then she threw the screaming child to the ground, and leaving both husband and son, departed to the NEREIDS and never returned again to Phthia, though she always kept an eye on her offspring.
His teacher
When Achilles was a child, his father brought him to Chiron, the wise Centaur living in Mount Pelion, who educated him and fed him on the inwards of lions and wild swine, the marrows of bears, milk and honey.
Calchas' prophecy
And when Achilles was nine years old, the seer Calchas, whom Agamemnon has called 'prophet of evil', declared that Troy could not be taken without him. This is one of the reasons why Achilles came to Troy; for he, who had not been among the SUITORS OF HELEN, was not bound by the Oath of Tyndareus.
Worries of the loving mother
From then on there was no rest for Thetis, the loving mother. For she knew that the Judgement of Paris would cause the abduction of Helen, which would cause the Trojan War, which would lead to Achilles' death. And yet she looks into the interstices of fate hoping for a way out, and asks Poseidon to send a storm and let the Trojan fleet sink on its way to Sparta. But not even the gods can change what fate has ordained:
"Seek not in vain, Thetis, to sink the Trojan fleet: the fates forbid it, it is the sure ordinance of heaven that Europe and Asia should join in bloody conflict." [Poseidon to Thetis. Statius, Achilleid 1.80]
Teacher cannot control his disciple
For the pious Centaur Chiron, who was not a drunkard like other CENTAURS, and who never had used his weapons against a man, and who spent his Old Age learning about herbs and teaching to play the lyre to his pupils, Achilles proved to be a difficult task. For when the boy had for ever left his tender years behind him, he started wandering wherever he pleased, disobeying his teacher, and indulging in what he thought to be a good time, plundering the homes of neighbouring CENTAURS, stealing their cattle, and provoking a growing anger in the whole province.
That is why, when Thetis, being afraid of what was being planned by fate and by Zeus (who had issued his decree of war), came to Chiron to see her sweet darling son Achilles, the Centaur begged her to take him away.
Achilles to Scyros
So Thetis, seeing that it was fated that Achilles should perish in the war, and still looking for a way out, disguised him as a female and entrusted him to king Lycomedes 1 of Scyros ( the island in the Aegean Sea northeast of Euboea), the same man who is believed to have treacherously murdered his guest, the exiled King Theseus of Athens.
achilles disguised as a girl
Achilles, they say, would not accept to be dressed like a girl, no matter how much her mother worked on his rough heart, until he noticed that this was the only way to come closer to the king's daughter Deidamia 1. Having accepted the looks of a girl, he was presented by Thetis to the king as Achilles' sister. And the king swallowed the lie, for a mortal cannot avoid being deceived by a deity.
But some have thought that the story of Achilles disguised under the name Pyrrha in Scyros is absurd, and argue that Achilles lived in that island because he had conquered it.
achilles' true identity discovered
When war approached, the trick of Achilles being his own sister was discovered by Odysseus, who, for the purpose of revealing Achilles' true identity, used a trumpet. He reasoned that a girl would not react to its sound as a man does.
General at fifteen
In that way Achilles, then fifteen years old, became Leader of the Myrmidons, a people of Phthia, to lead them against Troy, along with the other allies. Nevertheless Destiny (so they say) left, at any moment, two courses for Achilles: to stay in the siege of Troy, die and win everlasting Fame, or go home and fameless have a long life.
Marriage
That is how Achilles sailed from Scyros and went to the war, leaving in grief the pregnant Deidamia 1, whom he married before his departure:
"Is this free wedlock? ...You are given to me only to be torn away...Remember that the fears of Thetis were not in vain." [Deidamia 1 to Achilles. Statius, Achilleid 1.938]
Achilles comes to Aulis
Achilles arrived with his fifty or sixty ships to the harbour of Aulis, opposite to the island of Euboea, where the powerful Achaean fleet was gathering in order to sail against Troy and obtain through persuasion or by force the restoration of Helen and the Spartan property, both stolen by the seducer Paris. [For the first attack, see Telephus]
The King abuses his name
But because of the inconvenience posed by the winds, the fleet at Aulis could not leave. It was then that the seer Calchas concluded that human sacrifice could make the weather better, and consequently recommended Agamemnon to let his daughter Iphigenia die in the altar. Following the prophet's advice, the king wrote a treacherous letter asking his daughter to leave Mycenae and come to Aulis so that she should marry Achilles, who himself knew nothing about the king's scheming.
Fatal death
When Iphigenia, or the deer which Artemis substituted, was sacrificed at Aulis, the fleet left and came to Tenedos, an island off the coast of the Troad. There Achilles killed King Tenes, though Thetis had warned him not to do so, as it was known that the man who killed Tenes would die by Apollo's hand. As it is said, Thetis even commissioned a servant to always remind Achilles not to kill this man who was honoured by Apollo or perhaps was his son. But Achilles, for whom getting and keeping sweethearts was a matter of the utmost importance, came across Tenes' sister Hemithea 1. When her brother defended her, she escaped, and then Achilles in anger killed Tenes. And having thus done what he should not, he also killed the servant, because he, although present, had not reminded him of his mother's warning.
Protesilaus' death
Thetis also warned Achilles not to be the first to land on Trojan land, for it had been prophesied that the first to land would be the first to die. This Achilles was able to avoid. The first among the Achaeans to land was unlucky Protesilaus, who, having killed several defenders, was also the first to die.
Military situation
Now, it has been conjectured by military expertise, that the Achaeans, on their arrival to enemy land obtained a victory; for otherwise they could not have landed or even less built fortifications. But at the same time, not having enough supplies, they dispersed being obliged to resort to plunder, piracy and perhaps even agriculture. It was lack of supplies, then, that led to the dispersion of the army, making it possible for the Trojans to defend their city for ten years, although many other cities in Asia Minor were destroyed by the invaders.
During this phase Achilles sacked the islands of Tenedos and Lesbos, and the cities of Thebe, Antandrus, Adramytium, and Lyrnessus; and reaching far to the south, he sacked also Cyme, Phocaea, Smyrna, Clazomenae and Colophon.
The king's arrogance
In the tenth year of the war, King Agamemnon delivered himself to arrogance, humiliating a priest of Apollo who had come to ransom his daughter, Agamemnon's prize. So Apollo, although called 'the bright one', came down from Olympus darker than night, and let a pestilence decimate the Achaean army, thus avenging the humiliated priest. When the seer Calchas declared that Agamemnon's way of treating Apollo's priest was to blame, the king, though insulting the seer too, agreed to renounce his girl, but at the same time annouced his intention of compensating himself by taking someone else's prize.
Achilles loses his sweetheart
On hearing the king's threat, Achilles called him a shameful schemer and a man always ready to take the lion's share and to profit by others' efforts piling wealth for himself. Agamemnon was then utterly displeased, and answered by letting Achilles know that, by taking away his sweetheart Briseis, he would teach him a lesson in both power and kingship. Having heard the new threat, Achilles considered killing Agamemnon, but while he pondered, Athena came from heaven, and, invisible to the others present, seized him by his hair and stayed his anger.
Keeping his word, Agamemnon let Achilles' sweetheart Briseis be fetched and taken away from his tent. This is what allowed wrath to make its nest in Achilles' heart, keeping him in a dark mood and away from the battlefield. Accordingly, the host of Myrmidons that had followed him to Troy became an idle mass.
Thetis meets Zeus
But in the view of Thetis nothing could be more unfair. For Achilles' life was fated to be short, and she could not see any justice in letting it be miserable too. So in order to redress what she deemed to be an unjust state of affairs, she went to see Zeus, and putting her left arm round his knees while her right hand touched his chin, asked of him compensation for her son:
"Avenge my son, Olympian Zeus, lord of counsel; and give might to the Trojans, until the Achaeans pay him due respect, and magnify him with recompense." [Thetis to Zeus. Homer, Iliad 1.507]
Zeus both listened to this prayer and granted it, and that is why the Achaeans suffered many defeats in the battlefield; for the god resolved that they should learn to honour the man they had outraged.
Achilles does not care for wealth
As time went by and the Trojans became more and more dangerous, Agamemnon agreed to appease Achilles' wrath. It is for this purpose that he offered him the seven tripods, the seven women, the seven cities, and many other gifts including Briseis, whom Agamemnon claimed he had not touched (and no one has ever contradicted his assertion).
But gifts, profit and riches were the same as nothing to Achilles, for whom friendship, honour, and being of one heart, was far more important. And so, convinced that the king would for ever lack the means to appease his offended heart, he turned down the gifts of the man who had committed against him the kind of crime they had come to Troy to avenge:
"Why has he gathered and led here his host, this son of Atreus? Was it not for Helen's sake? Do they then alone of mortal men love their wives, these sons of Atreus? No, for he who is a true man loves his own and cherishes her, as I too loved Briseis with all my heart." [Achilles to Agamemnon's envoys. Homer, Iliad 9.340]
And because no agreement was reached between the king, who thought that wealth is coveted by all, and the warrior, who was proud of his own heart, new defeats fell upon the Achaeans.
Wrath overcome by sorrow
But when the Trojans, having come closer, succeeded in setting fire to the ships, Achilles consented to send his close friend Patroclus 1 to battle again in order to stop their offensive. And when Patroclus 1, according to heaven's decree, was killed by Hector 1 in battle, Achilles came back to life again, although life had no more meaning for him:
"It is true that Zeus has done that much in my behalf. But what satisfaction can I get from that, now that my dearest friend Patroclus is dead? I have no wish to live unless Hector falls by my spear and dies." [Achilles to Thetis. Homer, Iliad 18.80]
Achilles asked his mother to let him go and seek death, since he had not been able to save Patroclus 1 from dying. She then, knowing that heaven had decided that Achilles would die shortly after Hector 1's death, began to accept her son's fate.
Achilles' regrets
It is then that Achilles regretted bitterly to have sat idle by his ships, wasting his force and eluding his duty. For, as it has been said, Achilles forgot that he had come to Troy, not to have a good time with girls, but in order to fight. Consequently, he now felt that, by letting himself be deluded by the poisoned honey of anger, he had acted like a man with no wit, and that, though always resenting that mistake, he could still put things aright, by coming back to battle and seeking Hector 1, the destroyer of his dearest friend Patroclus 1. That is why he begs her:
"And you, Mother, as you love me, do not try to keep me from the field. You will never hold me now." [Achilles to Thetis. Homer, Iliad 18.126]
On hearing this, Thetis promised to fetch a new armour from Hephaestus for him, since the first one had been taken by Hector 1 when he killed Patroclus 1, who wore it
Achilles and Agamemnon reconciled
While Thetis fetched the new armour for his son, Achilles called a council and in it, without asking anything in return, he ended his feud with Agamemnon, who acknowledging that he himself had been the one whom the gods had blinded, declared that he was ready to make amends and pay Achilles the compensation of the seven tripods, the seven women, the seven cities, and all other magnificent gifts which included Achilles' sweetheart Briseis.
And this is how much Achilles was interested in all that wealth:
"Your Majesty, the gifts can wait. Produce them, if you like, at your convenience; or keep them with you. But now let us turn our thoughts to battle." [Achilles to Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 19.145]
And concerning his sweetheart Briseis, the reason of their dispute, he dared to say:
"Has it proved a good thing, either for you or for me, to keep up this desperate feud about a girl? I only wish that Artemis had killed her ... that day I chose her for myself." [Achilles to Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 19.55]
Towards the end
When the new armour arrived, Achilles sought Hector 1 and, having killed him, outraged his body, intending to give it to the dogs, until, by the will of the gods, he was convinced to accept a ransom from King Priam 1 of Troy, who humiliated himself in front of the man who had killed his son. And as it had been predicted, shortly after the death of Hector 1, Achilles himself was killed.
But before that, Achilles slew many others:
Acestor.
A Boeotian, son of Ephippus.
Aenius.
Astypylus.
Mnesus.
Mydon 1.
Ophelestes 2.
Thrasius 1.
Paeonian allies of the Trojans.
Antandre.
Antibrote.
Harmothoe.
Hippothoe 4.
Penthesilia.
Polemusa.
AMAZONS who came with Queen Penthesilia to the Trojan War. The Queen herself was killed by Achilles, who fell in love with her after her death.
Areithous 2.
The squire of Rhigmus [see below].
Asteropaeus.
A warrior serving in the ally army of Sarpedon 1. Asteropaeus was son of Pelegon, son of the river god Axius and Periboea 7, the daughter of Acessamenus. The river Axius is in Macedonia.
Cycnus 1
King of Colonae, a city in the Troad. Cycnus 1 was son of Poseidon and Calyce 2, daughter of Hecato. Cycnus 1 married Proclia, sometimes called daughter of King Laomedon 1 of Troy, and had by her, according to some, a son Tenes and a daughter Hemithea 1. Cycnus 1 married a second wife Philonome, daughter of Tragasus, but she fell in love with her stepson Tenes, and being rejected by him, falsely accused him before her husband of having made love to her. However, Cycnus 1 discovered the truth and let her be buried alive. Some say that Cycnus 1 was turned into a swan.
Dardanus 2.
Laogonus.
Sons of Bias 2, son of Priam 1.
Demoleon 2.
Thersilochus 1.
Sons of the Elder of Troy Antenor 1.
Demuchus.
Son of Philetor.
Dryops 2.
Hector 1.
Hippodamas 2.
Hipponous 2.
Lycaon 1.
Mestor 2.
Polydorus 3.
Troilus.
Children of Priam 1.
Polydorus 3 is also said to have been killed by Polymestor 1, king of the Bistonians, who should have taken care of him, when his father sent him far away from war. However, Polymestor 1, tempted by the treasure Polydorus 3 had brought, murdered him. Yet sometimes it is said that he killed his own son by mistake, and was instead killed by Polydorus 3. Polymestor 1 was blinded before his death, either by Queen Hecabe 1 of Troy, or by Polydorus 3 himself.
Echeclus 2.
Son of Agenor 8, son of Antenor 1.
Eetion 1.
King of Cilician Thebe, killed by Achilles when he sacked this city. He is the father of Andromache and Podes, a man of wealth killed by Menelaus.
Epistrophus 2.
Leader of the Alizonians, Trojan allies, inhabiting the Troad. He was son of Mecisteus 3.
Hicetaon 2.
Hypsipylus.
Lampetus.
Lepetymnus.
Pisidice 4.
Men from Methymna, Lesbos. They were killed by Achilles, when he was attacking the islands close to the mainland.
Pisidice 4 is the Princess of Methymna who was killed by Achilles' soldiers. She fell in love with Achilles when he was besieging the city, and promised to put the town into his possession if he would take her to wife. Achilles accepted, but when the town was in his power he bade his soldiers stone her.
Iphition 1.
Leader of a large contingent of Trojans. Son of Otrynteus and a Naiad.
Las.
Founder of a town called Las near Gythium in Laconia. This man was killed in Hellas before the Trojan War [see also Patroclus 1].
Memnon.
King of the Ethiopians who came with a great force to defend Troy. Memnon is son of Tithonus 1 and Eos. The father of Tithonus 1 is Laomedon 1, who is also father of Priam 1. After his death, Memnon was made immortal by Zeus at his mother's request.
Menoetes 2
A Lycian ally of Troy.
Mentes 3.
Thalius
Warriors in Memnon's army.
Mynes 2.
King of the city of Lyrnessus which was sacked by Achilles. Here Achilles captured his sweetheart Briseis.
Orythaon.
A comrade of Hector 1. Achilles had already been wounded by Apollo when he killed Orythaon.
Rhigmus.
A Thracian ally of Troy, son of Peiros, son of Imbrasus, also killed at Troy
Tenes.
King of Tenedos, killed with a sword-cut in the breast [see main text above]. Some say Tenes was son of Apollo; others call him son of Cycnus 1 and Proclia.
Thersites.
Ugly Thersites laughed at Achilles' love for Penthesilia after her death, and for that laughter Achilles killed him. Thersites is son of King Agrius 3 of Calydon, son of Porthaon.
Trambelus.
This man is said to be the son of Telamon. He resisted Achilles' invasion of Lesbos.
Tros 2.
Son of Alastor 2, who was also killed at Troy, though by Odysseus.
Others:
Achilles also killed the Trojans Alcathous 5, Deucalion 3 and Mulius 3.
Death
Some say that Achilles was slain by Paris and Apollo at the Scaean gate at Troy. But others say that it was Apollo alone who took his life. Still others say that Achilles fell in love with Polyxena 1, daughter of Priam 1, and when Achilles, who had sought her in marriage, came for an interview, he was treacherously killed by Paris' men of by Paris and Deiphobus 1:
1.
Achilles is killed by Paris and Apollo, as Hector 1 foretells in Hom.Il.22.359, and also the immortal horse (Xanthus 1) says "by a god and a mortal" in 19.416. Yet we also learn that Thetis had foretold Achilles that he would die by the arrows of Apollo (Hom.Il.21.275ff.), a prophecy that Quintus Smyrnaeus evokes in Fall of Troy 3.95.
2.
Apollo guides Paris' shaft in Ov.Met.12.605, and Vir.Aen.6.56-58. But Higynus (Fabulae 107) says that Apollo himself killed Achilles, having taken the form of Paris.
3.
No mention of Paris is made by Sophocles: (Philoctetes 334: "Dead—not by a mortal hand, but by a god's," says Neoptolemus), or by Euripides (Andromache 1108: "I demanded once that the god pay the penalty for my father's death," says Neoptolemus), or by Quintus Smyrnaeus:
"From mortal sight he [Apollo] vanished into cloud,
And cloaked with mist a baleful shaft he shot
Which leapt to Achilles' ankle..." (The Fall of Troy 3.70)
4.
However, Euripides, in Andromache 655, mentions only Paris as the slayer of Achilles, and in his Hecuba, he makes Hecabe 1 say:
"...it was I that bore Paris, whose fatal shaft laid low the son of Thetis."
5.
Otherwise Achilles is said to have been killed in the temple of Apollo when he was about to meet Polyxena 1 (Hyg.Fab.110, Dictys 4.11, Dares 34, etc.).
After death
According to some Achilles came, after death, to the White Isle or to the Islands of the Blest. It is said that there he lives in all happiness, either with Iphigenia, or with Helen, or with Medea.
Yet it is also told that when Odysseus descended to Hades, he met Achilles' soul who complained thus:
"Do not speak soothingly to me of death, Odysseus. I should choose to serve as the hireling of another, rather than to be lord over the dead that have perished." [Achilles' soul to Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey 11.486]
Addendum
Details, for the most part not included in the narrative above.
Abbreviations | Dictionary
First years
It is told that Achilles was born in Pharsalus (Thessaly), and that he was the seventh child of Thetis and Peleus. The previous children died when their mother dipped them in simmering water to test their immortality, a procedure which Peleus could prevent in Achilles' case.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 18-30 [Schol. Il. 23.144; Schol. Il.16.37; Lycophron 178; Pto.Heph. 6].
Otherwise it is said that Thetis attempted to burn her children mortal parts. They all died, but when she was about to repeat the ritual with Achilles, she was caught red-handed by Peleus, who took the child. Some have said that she did that by night while anointing the child with ambrosia by day.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 31-41 [Schol. Il.16.37; Arg.4.869; Apd.3.13.6]
According to some, only the ankle of the right foot was burnt. So when Achilles was living with Chiron, the centaur sought the body of the giant Damysus (the fastest among the giants), which was buried under a mountain in Pallene, took his ankle and replaced the burnt one in Achilles' foot.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 41 [Pto.Heph. 4]
It is also told that Thetis gave the newborn Achilles the wings of Arce (Arke), which she had received as a wedding present from Zeus. This accounts for Achilles proverbial speed. Arce was the daughter of Thaumas (son of Pontus and Gaia), and resembles Podarge (one the HARPIES--daughters of Thaumas. For the HARPIES see BESTIARY and Phineus 2).
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 41, 1. 553. 51.
Later accounts have affirmed that Thetis dipped Achilles in the river Styx to make him immortal, but the heel by which she held him was never touched by the waters of the Styx, and therefore remained vulnerable.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 58 [Stat.Achil.1.269; Fulg.Myth. 3, 7; QS.3.62; Hyg.Fab.107; Serv. on Vir.Aen.6.57].
The birth of Achilles separated the couple, and the boy was henceforth educated by the Centaur Chiron, along with Asclepius, Protesilaus, Palamedes and Ajax, the son of Telamon. The centaur instructed them in the fear of the gods, justice, noble habits, disinterestedness, the contempt of earthly matters, the art of healing, and music (lyre and song). Thus Achilles grew up separated from his father, but Peleus was shown his child when Chiron came to the beach to say farewell to the ARGONAUTS.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 3-17, 1. 25. 30.
It is also told that Heracles 1 was Achilles' lover when they met at Chiron's home.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 26. 13. [Eratosthenes, Catast. 40].
Achilles grew up hunting lions and boars, catching stags without nets or dogs, and in general rejoicing in weapons and music. Later but while still being with Chiron, he also attacked the CENTAURS, pillaged their abodes and robbed their cattle.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 48-57.
Concerning Achilles' musical talent, it is told that the Muse Calliope [see MUSES] appeared to him in a dream, and promised that his skill would be great enough to placate his sorrow one day (but as we later learn, only war and revenge placated him). The Muse said that his deeds at war, not his songs, would gain him fame, and that she alone would inspire the song that would give eternal fame to his deeds. So Achilles learned to sing and play the lyre without difficulty.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 60.
His education being completed, Achilles returned to his father's house, and as Patroclus, the son of Menoetius, came to Phthia, they became close friends. At this time, Achilles and Patroclus defeated Paris in Thessaly, near the banks of the Spercheius, but Hector 1 marched against Troezen, plundered the city and carried away Aethra (Theseus' mother), but Plutarch finds the latter anecdote "very doubtful".
Plutarch, in Theseus 34, quoting Ister's "Attic History".
When Achilles was nine years old, Thetis brought him to the court of King Lycomedes 1 in Scyros (the island in the Aegean Sea, northeast of Euboea) to protect him from the coming war. There he lived disguised as a girl. Following an oracle uttered by Calchas, which said that Troy could not be taken without Achilles, the Achaeans (some say Odysseus, Phoenix 2, and Nestor; others say Ajax 1, or Odysseus and Diomedes 2) came to Peleus' house looking for him. Having been rejected, they went to the hiding place that Calchas had pointed out. In Scyros, they showed (following Odysseus' advice), a basket to the disguised Achilles and to the king's daughter containing weapons and domestic appliances. As it may be guessed, Achilles seized the former and the girl the latter. Others say that Odysseus blew a trumpet, causing Achilles to reveal himself by reacting in a warlike manner. It has also been told that Achilles feared Hector 1 and death, being this the real cause of his sejour in Scyros.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 27. 9-68, 1. 28. 5.
Others (Philostratus, Heroicus 731), however, believing the Scyros tale unworthy of the hero, affirm that Peleus sent Achilles to Scyros to avenge Theseus, who had been murdered by King Lycomedes 1. Achilles then captured the island and its king, and married his daughter Deidamia 1, begetting by her a son, Neoptolemus. Thetis kept her son in Scyros after his marriage, but sent him back to Peleus when the Achaeans were gathering the fleet in Aulis (the Boeotian city opposite Euboea) with the purpose of sailing against Troy.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 28. 9, 1. 28. 62.
While in his father's house, Achilles received from Thetis exceptional weapons, and, as later authors say, his immortal steeds. These horses (Xanthus 1 and Balius 1) were Poseidon's wedding present to Achilles' parents, whereas the armour and the sword were presents of Hephaestus.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 28. 66-1. 29. 7.
As Achilles joined the fleet at Aulis, Thetis ordered a slave called Mnemon to follow her son at all times to warn him, in accordance with an oracle, not to kill a son of Apollo. For should he did so, then he would die by the hand of the god. But the slave failed, and later Achilles killed Tenes, king of Tenedos (the island off the Troad).
Roscher, Lex. 1. 29. 8, Plu.GQ.28.
"For although you have been taught by me thus gently the art of horsemanship, and are suited to such a horse as I, some day you shall ride on Xanthus and Balius; and you shall take many cities and slay many men." [The Centaur Chiron to young Achilles. Philostratus, Imagines 2.2]
"Indeed, my dreaded master, we will once more bring you safely home today. Yet the hour of your death is drawing near; and it is not we who will be the cause of it, but a great god and the strong hand of Destiny." [Xanthus 1, Achilles' horse, to its master. Homer, Iliad 19.408]
"All these nights I am absent from your side, and not demanded back; you delay and your anger is slow." [Briseis to Achilles. Ovidius, Heroides 3]
"For my mother the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, tells me that twofold fates are bearing me toward the doom of death: if I abide here and play my part in the siege of Troy, then lost is my home-return, but my renown shall be imperishable; but if I return home to my dear native land, lost then is my glorious renown, yet shall my life long endure, neither shall the doom of death come soon upon me." [Achilles to Odysseus. Homer, Iliad 9.410]
Background
His mother
The Nereid Thetis, Achilles' mother, is known for her multiple interventions in the affairs of both gods and mortals. Thus when Hephaestus was cast from Heaven by Zeus, falling into the sea, he was saved by Thetis [Apd.1.3.5]; and when Dionysus 2 was persecuted by King Lycurgus 1 of the Edonians, he sought refuge in the sea with her [Apd.3.5.1]; and when the ARGONAUTS, after having met the SIRENS, encountered Charybdis and Scylla 1 and the Wandering Rocks, Thetis, along with the other NEREIDS, put them out of danger by safely steering their ship through those threats [Apd.1.9.25]. Even Zeus received Thetis' assistance, for when once a minor conspiracy took place in Olympus, and Hera, Poseidon and Athena plotted against Zeus, planning to chain him, she averted it by calling to Olympus one of the HECATONCHEIRES (Briareus), who, squatting down by Zeus and displaying his force, frightened the rebellious deities away [Hom.Il.1.400].
Son mightier than his father
No wonder then that Zeus and Poseidon once competed for the hand of this enchanting goddess [Apd.3.13.5], who proved so many times her ability to provide valuable services. But it was prophesied by Themis [Apd.3.13.5], as once before with regard to Metis 1 [Apd.1.3.6], that if one of these gods lay with the Nereid, the son born to her would be mightier than his father, wielding a more powerful weapon than the thunderbolt or the trident, and she added:
"Let her accept a mortal's bed, and see her son die in battle, a son who is like Ares in the strength of his hands and like lightning in the swift prime of his feet. My counsel is to bestow this god-granted honor of marriage on Peleus son of Aeacus, who is said to be the most pious man living on the plain of Iolcus." [Themis to the gods. Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.35]
The secret that set Prometheus 1 free
It is also said that Zeus did not know of this prophecy, or rather that he ignored who the girl was that could endanger his rule. But Prometheus 1 —whom the god had chained in Caucasus for having giving fire, along with blind hope, to mankind—did know, and succeeded in exchanging that information for freedom. Otherwise had not Heracles 1 appeared to shoot the eagle that devoured Prometheus 1's liver for many years, setting the prisoner free.
"Truly the day shall come when, although I am tortured in stubborn fetters, Zeus will need me to reveal the new design whereby he shall be stripped of his sceptre and his dignities ... No matter what, this must be kept concealed; for it is by safeguarding it that I am to escape my dishonorable bonds and outrage." [Prometheus 1 to the OCEANIDS. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 170, 525]
Thetis refuses Zeus
But others have said that it was Thetis herself, who, out of respect for Hera who had brought her up, refused to marry Zeus, and that he, as a punishment, decided that she would marry a mortal man. And Hera, in recognition for what Thetis had done—or rather not done—, chose Peleus as Thetis' husband, for, according to her, he was the best man on earth at that time.
"For to Zeus such deeds are ever dear, to embrace either goddesses or mortal women. But in reverence for me you did shrink from his love." [Hera to Thetis. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.793]
This is how Peleus, who had been banished from the island of Aegina by his father Aeacus on account of the death of his half-brother Phocus 3 [see Psamathe 1 at NEREIDS], was appointed to be the husband of enchanting Thetis, a greater honour for him than for the goddess, who saw herself—by heaven's decree—bound to a mortal through an inferior wedlock, as she regarded it.
Peleus' uncertain background
When Peleus (who is counted among the ARGONAUTS and the CALYDONIAN HUNTERS) left Aegina, he came to Phthia, in southern Thessaly, where Eurytion 2 was king. He received from his host the third part of the country and the hand of Antigone 1, the king's daughter. This girl, however, killed herself as a result of an intrigue conceived by Astydamia 3, wife of King Acastus of Iolcus, and Eurytion 2 himself was (as they say) accidentally killed by Peleus while they were hunting the Calydonian Boar.
Peleus cannot catch his bride
In this way Peleus inherited the kingdom of Phthia, and when time came for him, mortal as he was, to marry Thetis, he could not seize the goddess, for, even when he caught her in a slumber, she, always refusing him, turned herself into a bird and into a tree, and as Peleus still held her, she turned into a tigress, and he in fear let her go. But then Peleus received lessons in changing shapes from Proteus 2, who being a master in that art, told him to hold her whatever form she might take. Following these instructions, Peleus held her, even when she turned into fire and water, until she finally gave up. Noticing that a mortal could not accomplish such a prowess by himself, she asserted:
"It is not without some god's assistance that you conquer." [Thetis to Peleus. Ovidius, Metamorphoses, 11.293]
Some have said, however, that Peleus received these simple, and yet difficult to perform instructions, not from Proteus 2 but from the Centaur Chiron
Wedding gifts
So having learned to hold the bride, Peleus married the Nereid Thetis, and to the wedding party in Mount Pelion came many gods, from whom Peleus received valuable gifts, among which the two immortal horses Balius 1 and Xanthus 1, who later followed his son Achilles to the Trojan War.
Dispute at the party
Yet the wedding party was spoiled; for Eris (Discord) appeared uninvited, and throwing an apple through the door, exhorted the fairest of the goddesses to take it up. Thus she started a dispute between the three goddesses whose beauty was to be judged by Paris, an until then unknown shepherd from Mount Ida, not far away from Troy.
Achilles' Life and Deeds
Birth of the demigod
When Achilles was born, his loving mother Thetis wished to make him immortal, and for that purpose she dipped him in the waters of the river Styx [for this river see Underworld]. But others affirm that she, without the knowledge of the child's father, used to put the babe in the fire by night in order to destroy the mortal element which Achilles had inherited from Peleus, while anointing him with ambrosia during the day. But when Peleus saw the child writhing on the fire, he cried out, thus preventing Thetis from accomplishing her purpose [Apd.3 .13.6]. Then she threw the screaming child to the ground, and leaving both husband and son, departed to the NEREIDS and never returned again to Phthia, though she always kept an eye on her offspring.
His teacher
When Achilles was a child, his father brought him to Chiron, the wise Centaur living in Mount Pelion, who educated him and fed him on the inwards of lions and wild swine, the marrows of bears, milk and honey.
Calchas' prophecy
And when Achilles was nine years old, the seer Calchas, whom Agamemnon has called 'prophet of evil', declared that Troy could not be taken without him. This is one of the reasons why Achilles came to Troy; for he, who had not been among the SUITORS OF HELEN, was not bound by the Oath of Tyndareus.
Worries of the loving mother
From then on there was no rest for Thetis, the loving mother. For she knew that the Judgement of Paris would cause the abduction of Helen, which would cause the Trojan War, which would lead to Achilles' death. And yet she looks into the interstices of fate hoping for a way out, and asks Poseidon to send a storm and let the Trojan fleet sink on its way to Sparta. But not even the gods can change what fate has ordained:
"Seek not in vain, Thetis, to sink the Trojan fleet: the fates forbid it, it is the sure ordinance of heaven that Europe and Asia should join in bloody conflict." [Poseidon to Thetis. Statius, Achilleid 1.80]
Teacher cannot control his disciple
For the pious Centaur Chiron, who was not a drunkard like other CENTAURS, and who never had used his weapons against a man, and who spent his Old Age learning about herbs and teaching to play the lyre to his pupils, Achilles proved to be a difficult task. For when the boy had for ever left his tender years behind him, he started wandering wherever he pleased, disobeying his teacher, and indulging in what he thought to be a good time, plundering the homes of neighbouring CENTAURS, stealing their cattle, and provoking a growing anger in the whole province.
That is why, when Thetis, being afraid of what was being planned by fate and by Zeus (who had issued his decree of war), came to Chiron to see her sweet darling son Achilles, the Centaur begged her to take him away.
Achilles to Scyros
So Thetis, seeing that it was fated that Achilles should perish in the war, and still looking for a way out, disguised him as a female and entrusted him to king Lycomedes 1 of Scyros ( the island in the Aegean Sea northeast of Euboea), the same man who is believed to have treacherously murdered his guest, the exiled King Theseus of Athens.
achilles disguised as a girl
Achilles, they say, would not accept to be dressed like a girl, no matter how much her mother worked on his rough heart, until he noticed that this was the only way to come closer to the king's daughter Deidamia 1. Having accepted the looks of a girl, he was presented by Thetis to the king as Achilles' sister. And the king swallowed the lie, for a mortal cannot avoid being deceived by a deity.
But some have thought that the story of Achilles disguised under the name Pyrrha in Scyros is absurd, and argue that Achilles lived in that island because he had conquered it.
achilles' true identity discovered
When war approached, the trick of Achilles being his own sister was discovered by Odysseus, who, for the purpose of revealing Achilles' true identity, used a trumpet. He reasoned that a girl would not react to its sound as a man does.
General at fifteen
In that way Achilles, then fifteen years old, became Leader of the Myrmidons, a people of Phthia, to lead them against Troy, along with the other allies. Nevertheless Destiny (so they say) left, at any moment, two courses for Achilles: to stay in the siege of Troy, die and win everlasting Fame, or go home and fameless have a long life.
Marriage
That is how Achilles sailed from Scyros and went to the war, leaving in grief the pregnant Deidamia 1, whom he married before his departure:
"Is this free wedlock? ...You are given to me only to be torn away...Remember that the fears of Thetis were not in vain." [Deidamia 1 to Achilles. Statius, Achilleid 1.938]
Achilles comes to Aulis
Achilles arrived with his fifty or sixty ships to the harbour of Aulis, opposite to the island of Euboea, where the powerful Achaean fleet was gathering in order to sail against Troy and obtain through persuasion or by force the restoration of Helen and the Spartan property, both stolen by the seducer Paris. [For the first attack, see Telephus]
The King abuses his name
But because of the inconvenience posed by the winds, the fleet at Aulis could not leave. It was then that the seer Calchas concluded that human sacrifice could make the weather better, and consequently recommended Agamemnon to let his daughter Iphigenia die in the altar. Following the prophet's advice, the king wrote a treacherous letter asking his daughter to leave Mycenae and come to Aulis so that she should marry Achilles, who himself knew nothing about the king's scheming.
Fatal death
When Iphigenia, or the deer which Artemis substituted, was sacrificed at Aulis, the fleet left and came to Tenedos, an island off the coast of the Troad. There Achilles killed King Tenes, though Thetis had warned him not to do so, as it was known that the man who killed Tenes would die by Apollo's hand. As it is said, Thetis even commissioned a servant to always remind Achilles not to kill this man who was honoured by Apollo or perhaps was his son. But Achilles, for whom getting and keeping sweethearts was a matter of the utmost importance, came across Tenes' sister Hemithea 1. When her brother defended her, she escaped, and then Achilles in anger killed Tenes. And having thus done what he should not, he also killed the servant, because he, although present, had not reminded him of his mother's warning.
Protesilaus' death
Thetis also warned Achilles not to be the first to land on Trojan land, for it had been prophesied that the first to land would be the first to die. This Achilles was able to avoid. The first among the Achaeans to land was unlucky Protesilaus, who, having killed several defenders, was also the first to die.
Military situation
Now, it has been conjectured by military expertise, that the Achaeans, on their arrival to enemy land obtained a victory; for otherwise they could not have landed or even less built fortifications. But at the same time, not having enough supplies, they dispersed being obliged to resort to plunder, piracy and perhaps even agriculture. It was lack of supplies, then, that led to the dispersion of the army, making it possible for the Trojans to defend their city for ten years, although many other cities in Asia Minor were destroyed by the invaders.
During this phase Achilles sacked the islands of Tenedos and Lesbos, and the cities of Thebe, Antandrus, Adramytium, and Lyrnessus; and reaching far to the south, he sacked also Cyme, Phocaea, Smyrna, Clazomenae and Colophon.
The king's arrogance
In the tenth year of the war, King Agamemnon delivered himself to arrogance, humiliating a priest of Apollo who had come to ransom his daughter, Agamemnon's prize. So Apollo, although called 'the bright one', came down from Olympus darker than night, and let a pestilence decimate the Achaean army, thus avenging the humiliated priest. When the seer Calchas declared that Agamemnon's way of treating Apollo's priest was to blame, the king, though insulting the seer too, agreed to renounce his girl, but at the same time annouced his intention of compensating himself by taking someone else's prize.
Achilles loses his sweetheart
On hearing the king's threat, Achilles called him a shameful schemer and a man always ready to take the lion's share and to profit by others' efforts piling wealth for himself. Agamemnon was then utterly displeased, and answered by letting Achilles know that, by taking away his sweetheart Briseis, he would teach him a lesson in both power and kingship. Having heard the new threat, Achilles considered killing Agamemnon, but while he pondered, Athena came from heaven, and, invisible to the others present, seized him by his hair and stayed his anger.
Keeping his word, Agamemnon let Achilles' sweetheart Briseis be fetched and taken away from his tent. This is what allowed wrath to make its nest in Achilles' heart, keeping him in a dark mood and away from the battlefield. Accordingly, the host of Myrmidons that had followed him to Troy became an idle mass.
Thetis meets Zeus
But in the view of Thetis nothing could be more unfair. For Achilles' life was fated to be short, and she could not see any justice in letting it be miserable too. So in order to redress what she deemed to be an unjust state of affairs, she went to see Zeus, and putting her left arm round his knees while her right hand touched his chin, asked of him compensation for her son:
"Avenge my son, Olympian Zeus, lord of counsel; and give might to the Trojans, until the Achaeans pay him due respect, and magnify him with recompense." [Thetis to Zeus. Homer, Iliad 1.507]
Zeus both listened to this prayer and granted it, and that is why the Achaeans suffered many defeats in the battlefield; for the god resolved that they should learn to honour the man they had outraged.
Achilles does not care for wealth
As time went by and the Trojans became more and more dangerous, Agamemnon agreed to appease Achilles' wrath. It is for this purpose that he offered him the seven tripods, the seven women, the seven cities, and many other gifts including Briseis, whom Agamemnon claimed he had not touched (and no one has ever contradicted his assertion).
But gifts, profit and riches were the same as nothing to Achilles, for whom friendship, honour, and being of one heart, was far more important. And so, convinced that the king would for ever lack the means to appease his offended heart, he turned down the gifts of the man who had committed against him the kind of crime they had come to Troy to avenge:
"Why has he gathered and led here his host, this son of Atreus? Was it not for Helen's sake? Do they then alone of mortal men love their wives, these sons of Atreus? No, for he who is a true man loves his own and cherishes her, as I too loved Briseis with all my heart." [Achilles to Agamemnon's envoys. Homer, Iliad 9.340]
And because no agreement was reached between the king, who thought that wealth is coveted by all, and the warrior, who was proud of his own heart, new defeats fell upon the Achaeans.
Wrath overcome by sorrow
But when the Trojans, having come closer, succeeded in setting fire to the ships, Achilles consented to send his close friend Patroclus 1 to battle again in order to stop their offensive. And when Patroclus 1, according to heaven's decree, was killed by Hector 1 in battle, Achilles came back to life again, although life had no more meaning for him:
"It is true that Zeus has done that much in my behalf. But what satisfaction can I get from that, now that my dearest friend Patroclus is dead? I have no wish to live unless Hector falls by my spear and dies." [Achilles to Thetis. Homer, Iliad 18.80]
Achilles asked his mother to let him go and seek death, since he had not been able to save Patroclus 1 from dying. She then, knowing that heaven had decided that Achilles would die shortly after Hector 1's death, began to accept her son's fate.
Achilles' regrets
It is then that Achilles regretted bitterly to have sat idle by his ships, wasting his force and eluding his duty. For, as it has been said, Achilles forgot that he had come to Troy, not to have a good time with girls, but in order to fight. Consequently, he now felt that, by letting himself be deluded by the poisoned honey of anger, he had acted like a man with no wit, and that, though always resenting that mistake, he could still put things aright, by coming back to battle and seeking Hector 1, the destroyer of his dearest friend Patroclus 1. That is why he begs her:
"And you, Mother, as you love me, do not try to keep me from the field. You will never hold me now." [Achilles to Thetis. Homer, Iliad 18.126]
On hearing this, Thetis promised to fetch a new armour from Hephaestus for him, since the first one had been taken by Hector 1 when he killed Patroclus 1, who wore it
Achilles and Agamemnon reconciled
While Thetis fetched the new armour for his son, Achilles called a council and in it, without asking anything in return, he ended his feud with Agamemnon, who acknowledging that he himself had been the one whom the gods had blinded, declared that he was ready to make amends and pay Achilles the compensation of the seven tripods, the seven women, the seven cities, and all other magnificent gifts which included Achilles' sweetheart Briseis.
And this is how much Achilles was interested in all that wealth:
"Your Majesty, the gifts can wait. Produce them, if you like, at your convenience; or keep them with you. But now let us turn our thoughts to battle." [Achilles to Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 19.145]
And concerning his sweetheart Briseis, the reason of their dispute, he dared to say:
"Has it proved a good thing, either for you or for me, to keep up this desperate feud about a girl? I only wish that Artemis had killed her ... that day I chose her for myself." [Achilles to Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 19.55]
Towards the end
When the new armour arrived, Achilles sought Hector 1 and, having killed him, outraged his body, intending to give it to the dogs, until, by the will of the gods, he was convinced to accept a ransom from King Priam 1 of Troy, who humiliated himself in front of the man who had killed his son. And as it had been predicted, shortly after the death of Hector 1, Achilles himself was killed.
But before that, Achilles slew many others:
Acestor.
A Boeotian, son of Ephippus.
Aenius.
Astypylus.
Mnesus.
Mydon 1.
Ophelestes 2.
Thrasius 1.
Paeonian allies of the Trojans.
Antandre.
Antibrote.
Harmothoe.
Hippothoe 4.
Penthesilia.
Polemusa.
AMAZONS who came with Queen Penthesilia to the Trojan War. The Queen herself was killed by Achilles, who fell in love with her after her death.
Areithous 2.
The squire of Rhigmus [see below].
Asteropaeus.
A warrior serving in the ally army of Sarpedon 1. Asteropaeus was son of Pelegon, son of the river god Axius and Periboea 7, the daughter of Acessamenus. The river Axius is in Macedonia.
Cycnus 1
King of Colonae, a city in the Troad. Cycnus 1 was son of Poseidon and Calyce 2, daughter of Hecato. Cycnus 1 married Proclia, sometimes called daughter of King Laomedon 1 of Troy, and had by her, according to some, a son Tenes and a daughter Hemithea 1. Cycnus 1 married a second wife Philonome, daughter of Tragasus, but she fell in love with her stepson Tenes, and being rejected by him, falsely accused him before her husband of having made love to her. However, Cycnus 1 discovered the truth and let her be buried alive. Some say that Cycnus 1 was turned into a swan.
Dardanus 2.
Laogonus.
Sons of Bias 2, son of Priam 1.
Demoleon 2.
Thersilochus 1.
Sons of the Elder of Troy Antenor 1.
Demuchus.
Son of Philetor.
Dryops 2.
Hector 1.
Hippodamas 2.
Hipponous 2.
Lycaon 1.
Mestor 2.
Polydorus 3.
Troilus.
Children of Priam 1.
Polydorus 3 is also said to have been killed by Polymestor 1, king of the Bistonians, who should have taken care of him, when his father sent him far away from war. However, Polymestor 1, tempted by the treasure Polydorus 3 had brought, murdered him. Yet sometimes it is said that he killed his own son by mistake, and was instead killed by Polydorus 3. Polymestor 1 was blinded before his death, either by Queen Hecabe 1 of Troy, or by Polydorus 3 himself.
Echeclus 2.
Son of Agenor 8, son of Antenor 1.
Eetion 1.
King of Cilician Thebe, killed by Achilles when he sacked this city. He is the father of Andromache and Podes, a man of wealth killed by Menelaus.
Epistrophus 2.
Leader of the Alizonians, Trojan allies, inhabiting the Troad. He was son of Mecisteus 3.
Hicetaon 2.
Hypsipylus.
Lampetus.
Lepetymnus.
Pisidice 4.
Men from Methymna, Lesbos. They were killed by Achilles, when he was attacking the islands close to the mainland.
Pisidice 4 is the Princess of Methymna who was killed by Achilles' soldiers. She fell in love with Achilles when he was besieging the city, and promised to put the town into his possession if he would take her to wife. Achilles accepted, but when the town was in his power he bade his soldiers stone her.
Iphition 1.
Leader of a large contingent of Trojans. Son of Otrynteus and a Naiad.
Las.
Founder of a town called Las near Gythium in Laconia. This man was killed in Hellas before the Trojan War [see also Patroclus 1].
Memnon.
King of the Ethiopians who came with a great force to defend Troy. Memnon is son of Tithonus 1 and Eos. The father of Tithonus 1 is Laomedon 1, who is also father of Priam 1. After his death, Memnon was made immortal by Zeus at his mother's request.
Menoetes 2
A Lycian ally of Troy.
Mentes 3.
Thalius
Warriors in Memnon's army.
Mynes 2.
King of the city of Lyrnessus which was sacked by Achilles. Here Achilles captured his sweetheart Briseis.
Orythaon.
A comrade of Hector 1. Achilles had already been wounded by Apollo when he killed Orythaon.
Rhigmus.
A Thracian ally of Troy, son of Peiros, son of Imbrasus, also killed at Troy
Tenes.
King of Tenedos, killed with a sword-cut in the breast [see main text above]. Some say Tenes was son of Apollo; others call him son of Cycnus 1 and Proclia.
Thersites.
Ugly Thersites laughed at Achilles' love for Penthesilia after her death, and for that laughter Achilles killed him. Thersites is son of King Agrius 3 of Calydon, son of Porthaon.
Trambelus.
This man is said to be the son of Telamon. He resisted Achilles' invasion of Lesbos.
Tros 2.
Son of Alastor 2, who was also killed at Troy, though by Odysseus.
Others:
Achilles also killed the Trojans Alcathous 5, Deucalion 3 and Mulius 3.
Death
Some say that Achilles was slain by Paris and Apollo at the Scaean gate at Troy. But others say that it was Apollo alone who took his life. Still others say that Achilles fell in love with Polyxena 1, daughter of Priam 1, and when Achilles, who had sought her in marriage, came for an interview, he was treacherously killed by Paris' men of by Paris and Deiphobus 1:
1.
Achilles is killed by Paris and Apollo, as Hector 1 foretells in Hom.Il.22.359, and also the immortal horse (Xanthus 1) says "by a god and a mortal" in 19.416. Yet we also learn that Thetis had foretold Achilles that he would die by the arrows of Apollo (Hom.Il.21.275ff.), a prophecy that Quintus Smyrnaeus evokes in Fall of Troy 3.95.
2.
Apollo guides Paris' shaft in Ov.Met.12.605, and Vir.Aen.6.56-58. But Higynus (Fabulae 107) says that Apollo himself killed Achilles, having taken the form of Paris.
3.
No mention of Paris is made by Sophocles: (Philoctetes 334: "Dead—not by a mortal hand, but by a god's," says Neoptolemus), or by Euripides (Andromache 1108: "I demanded once that the god pay the penalty for my father's death," says Neoptolemus), or by Quintus Smyrnaeus:
"From mortal sight he [Apollo] vanished into cloud,
And cloaked with mist a baleful shaft he shot
Which leapt to Achilles' ankle..." (The Fall of Troy 3.70)
4.
However, Euripides, in Andromache 655, mentions only Paris as the slayer of Achilles, and in his Hecuba, he makes Hecabe 1 say:
"...it was I that bore Paris, whose fatal shaft laid low the son of Thetis."
5.
Otherwise Achilles is said to have been killed in the temple of Apollo when he was about to meet Polyxena 1 (Hyg.Fab.110, Dictys 4.11, Dares 34, etc.).
After death
According to some Achilles came, after death, to the White Isle or to the Islands of the Blest. It is said that there he lives in all happiness, either with Iphigenia, or with Helen, or with Medea.
Yet it is also told that when Odysseus descended to Hades, he met Achilles' soul who complained thus:
"Do not speak soothingly to me of death, Odysseus. I should choose to serve as the hireling of another, rather than to be lord over the dead that have perished." [Achilles' soul to Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey 11.486]
Addendum
Details, for the most part not included in the narrative above.
Abbreviations | Dictionary
First years
It is told that Achilles was born in Pharsalus (Thessaly), and that he was the seventh child of Thetis and Peleus. The previous children died when their mother dipped them in simmering water to test their immortality, a procedure which Peleus could prevent in Achilles' case.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 18-30 [Schol. Il. 23.144; Schol. Il.16.37; Lycophron 178; Pto.Heph. 6].
Otherwise it is said that Thetis attempted to burn her children mortal parts. They all died, but when she was about to repeat the ritual with Achilles, she was caught red-handed by Peleus, who took the child. Some have said that she did that by night while anointing the child with ambrosia by day.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 31-41 [Schol. Il.16.37; Arg.4.869; Apd.3.13.6]
According to some, only the ankle of the right foot was burnt. So when Achilles was living with Chiron, the centaur sought the body of the giant Damysus (the fastest among the giants), which was buried under a mountain in Pallene, took his ankle and replaced the burnt one in Achilles' foot.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 41 [Pto.Heph. 4]
It is also told that Thetis gave the newborn Achilles the wings of Arce (Arke), which she had received as a wedding present from Zeus. This accounts for Achilles proverbial speed. Arce was the daughter of Thaumas (son of Pontus and Gaia), and resembles Podarge (one the HARPIES--daughters of Thaumas. For the HARPIES see BESTIARY and Phineus 2).
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 41, 1. 553. 51.
Later accounts have affirmed that Thetis dipped Achilles in the river Styx to make him immortal, but the heel by which she held him was never touched by the waters of the Styx, and therefore remained vulnerable.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 24. 58 [Stat.Achil.1.269; Fulg.Myth. 3, 7; QS.3.62; Hyg.Fab.107; Serv. on Vir.Aen.6.57].
The birth of Achilles separated the couple, and the boy was henceforth educated by the Centaur Chiron, along with Asclepius, Protesilaus, Palamedes and Ajax, the son of Telamon. The centaur instructed them in the fear of the gods, justice, noble habits, disinterestedness, the contempt of earthly matters, the art of healing, and music (lyre and song). Thus Achilles grew up separated from his father, but Peleus was shown his child when Chiron came to the beach to say farewell to the ARGONAUTS.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 3-17, 1. 25. 30.
It is also told that Heracles 1 was Achilles' lover when they met at Chiron's home.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 26. 13. [Eratosthenes, Catast. 40].
Achilles grew up hunting lions and boars, catching stags without nets or dogs, and in general rejoicing in weapons and music. Later but while still being with Chiron, he also attacked the CENTAURS, pillaged their abodes and robbed their cattle.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 48-57.
Concerning Achilles' musical talent, it is told that the Muse Calliope [see MUSES] appeared to him in a dream, and promised that his skill would be great enough to placate his sorrow one day (but as we later learn, only war and revenge placated him). The Muse said that his deeds at war, not his songs, would gain him fame, and that she alone would inspire the song that would give eternal fame to his deeds. So Achilles learned to sing and play the lyre without difficulty.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 25. 60.
His education being completed, Achilles returned to his father's house, and as Patroclus, the son of Menoetius, came to Phthia, they became close friends. At this time, Achilles and Patroclus defeated Paris in Thessaly, near the banks of the Spercheius, but Hector 1 marched against Troezen, plundered the city and carried away Aethra (Theseus' mother), but Plutarch finds the latter anecdote "very doubtful".
Plutarch, in Theseus 34, quoting Ister's "Attic History".
When Achilles was nine years old, Thetis brought him to the court of King Lycomedes 1 in Scyros (the island in the Aegean Sea, northeast of Euboea) to protect him from the coming war. There he lived disguised as a girl. Following an oracle uttered by Calchas, which said that Troy could not be taken without Achilles, the Achaeans (some say Odysseus, Phoenix 2, and Nestor; others say Ajax 1, or Odysseus and Diomedes 2) came to Peleus' house looking for him. Having been rejected, they went to the hiding place that Calchas had pointed out. In Scyros, they showed (following Odysseus' advice), a basket to the disguised Achilles and to the king's daughter containing weapons and domestic appliances. As it may be guessed, Achilles seized the former and the girl the latter. Others say that Odysseus blew a trumpet, causing Achilles to reveal himself by reacting in a warlike manner. It has also been told that Achilles feared Hector 1 and death, being this the real cause of his sejour in Scyros.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 27. 9-68, 1. 28. 5.
Others (Philostratus, Heroicus 731), however, believing the Scyros tale unworthy of the hero, affirm that Peleus sent Achilles to Scyros to avenge Theseus, who had been murdered by King Lycomedes 1. Achilles then captured the island and its king, and married his daughter Deidamia 1, begetting by her a son, Neoptolemus. Thetis kept her son in Scyros after his marriage, but sent him back to Peleus when the Achaeans were gathering the fleet in Aulis (the Boeotian city opposite Euboea) with the purpose of sailing against Troy.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 28. 9, 1. 28. 62.
While in his father's house, Achilles received from Thetis exceptional weapons, and, as later authors say, his immortal steeds. These horses (Xanthus 1 and Balius 1) were Poseidon's wedding present to Achilles' parents, whereas the armour and the sword were presents of Hephaestus.
Roscher, Lex. 1. 28. 66-1. 29. 7.
As Achilles joined the fleet at Aulis, Thetis ordered a slave called Mnemon to follow her son at all times to warn him, in accordance with an oracle, not to kill a son of Apollo. For should he did so, then he would die by the hand of the god. But the slave failed, and later Achilles killed Tenes, king of Tenedos (the island off the Troad).
Roscher, Lex. 1. 29. 8, Plu.GQ.28.
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