(i) The empire that Ashoka ruled was founded by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, more than 2300years ago.
(ii) He was the first ruler who tried to spread his message to the people through inscriptions. Most of Ashoka's inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in Brahmi script.
(iii)He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war.

Kalinga is the ancient name of coastal Odisha. Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. However, he was so horrified when he saw the violence and bloodshed, that he decided not to fight any more wars. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war

There were several cities in the Mauryan Empire. These included the capital Pataliputra, Taxila and Ujjain. Taxila was the gateway to the North- West, including Central Asia, while Ujjain was on the route from North to South India. Merchants, officials and craftspersons probably lived in these cities.

Chandragupta Maurya was supported by a wise man named Chanakya or Kautilya. Many of Chanakya's ideas were written down in a book called' Arthashastra'.

Ashoka's Dhamma was to teach his subjects just as a father tries to teach his children.

Empires need more resources than kingdoms because empires are larger than kingdoms and need to be protected. They also need a larger number of officials who collect taxes.

The lions present on our currency notes and coins have been adopted from Ashokan Sarnath Pillar as these were a symbol of power, authority, and compassion along with being a reflection of our rich heritage.

The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor. This meant that officials were appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders, craftspersons and traders, who lived in villages and towns in the area.

Ashoka felt it was his duty to solve the problems of the people of his empire. So, he appointed officials, known as the dhamma mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma. Ashoka also sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to other lands, such as Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka.

Yes, we think that the slaves and the servants were ill-treated in the society because they have no political rights. The orders of the emperor could have made the slaves free. If the servants were ill-treated, then the master could be punished.

There were a number of problems that troubled Ashoka. He wanted that the slaves should be treated like all other human beings and there should be no religious conflicts. There were quarrels in the family and among the neighbours. Slaves and servants were ill-treated. He decided to overcome this problem and try to solve such other problems with the introduction of his dhamma.

The different occupations followed by the people were:
(i) Farming
(ii) Pastoral farming
(iii) Carpentery
(iv) Masonary
(v) Government officials
(vi) Many people were employed in Royal army.

When Ashoka became the king, Kalinga was not the part of Maury an empire. He decided to conquer Kalinga. He invaded Kalinga and conquered it. But both the armies suffered heavy losses. According to Ashoka, 1,00,000 people were killed in this war, and 1,50,000 were taken prisoners. Ashoka saw the wounded and dying soldiers, and the widows, orphans and the misery and sufferings that war had brought to the people. This caused Ashoka much grief and remorse. So, he decided that he would not fight any more wars in future.

Differences between Pataliputra and Mohenjodaro were as follow:
Pataliputra This was a large and beautiful city. It was surrounded by a massive wall. It had 570 towers and 64 gates. The houses, of two and three storeys, were built of wood and mud brick. The king's palace was also of wood, and decorated with stone carvings. It was surrounded with gardens and enclosures for keeping birds.
Mohenjodaro There was no king, hence there was no palace. The city was divided into two parts-the citadel and the surrounding area. The houses were single-storeyed and made of bricks.

The king was afraid that someone might try to kill him, so he had special servants to taste the food before he ate.