Mauryan Timeline

Key milestones from the rise of the Mauryas to Ashoka’s Dhamma legacy.

322 BCE Chandragupta Maurya
Foundation of the Mauryan Empire.
304 BCE Bindusara
Expansion and consolidation under Bindusara.
268 BCE Ashoka Crowning
Ashoka ascends the Mauryan throne.
261 BCE Kalinga War
The war that transforms Ashoka toward Dhamma.
260 BCE Embrace of Dhamma
Ashoka turns to moral governance and Buddhist patronage.
250 BCE Rock & Pillar Edicts
Inscriptions erected across the empire.
249 BCE Pilgrimage to Lumbini
Ashoka visits the Buddha's birthplace.
232 BCE Ashoka's Passing
End of Ashoka's reign; legacy endures in stone.