Cyrus the Great of Persia and Emperor Ashoka of India

Cyrus the Great of Persia and Emperor Ashoka of India

The history of a nation is measured chronologically by its rulers. An era of history can be discussed while comparing the government and sociology of one nation to that of another existing in the same time period. How then, can we compare two nations that existed in two different portions of the world, nearly three centuries apart? Since one cannot do a direct comparison of the individuals, the only thing that can be measured is their historical impact. Which man, Cyrus the Great of Persia or Emperor Ashoka of India, was the better man? That is to say, when comparing their lives, their successes, and their failures, which man did a better job as a successful ruler of his nation?

Ashoka, also written as Asoka, ruled India during the Mauryan Dynasty from approximately 269 to 232 BCE. His reign is marked by many characteristics uncommon with a successful leader. After converting to Buddhism, Ashoka became a devotee of ahimsa, which means nonviolence. Before then, the future emperor was a trained warrior who led armed forces of the Mauryan army into battle. It was while being treated for injuries by Buddhist monks that Ashoka learned about Buddhism and went on to marry a Buddhist woman. For this, he was exiled for two years and then returned to the family when he was needed. Before his conversion Ashoka was known for his cruelty, going so far as to have his own brother beheaded so as not to thwart his attempts to take the throne. It was only after the conquest of Kalinga that Emperor Ashoka saw the wasted lives of his bloodlust and converted to Buddhism. He is to famously have said:

What have I done? If this is a victory, what's a defeat then? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it gallantry or a rout? Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Do I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the other's kingdom and splendor? One has lost her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant…What's this debris of the corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil? (Abeyasingha 134).

After this conversion, Ashoka's energies were devoted to the improvement of his nation and to the bettering of conditions for his people. Additionally, he built temples and other Buddhists sites, spreading the religion through his empire (Smith 18). Today the story of the Emperor is considered by Buddhists to be historical evidence of the positive effects of religion, nonviolence, and compassion for fellow human beings. Yet, he still supported the death penalty seeing it as a necessary condition for preserving the peace (Smith 29). Therefore, he was a ruler first and a man of his religion second.

Some three hundred years later, Cyrus the Great became ruler of the nation of Persia. Cyrus was abandoned as an infant, taken in by a lowly herdsman and his wife, and then returned to take his rightful place as a ruler. When Cyrus began his rule, Persia was controlled by the Median Empire. Cyrus impelled his countrymen to rebel against the Meds and become their own sovereign nation. After this war succeeded, Cyrus became King of Persia. The Persians would go on to conquer Lydia and then Babylon. By the time of his death, Cyrus' domain, now called the Achaemenid Empire, stretched from Asia Minor to India. In the siege of Lydiea, soldiers were dumbfounded when Cyrus ordered the monarch not to be killed. According to Jacob Abbott, "Cyrus had not ordered his soldiers to spare the life of Croesus in battle for any sentiment of humanity toward him, but because he wished to have his case reserved for his own decision" (182). In all things, Cyrus was a methodical leader who determined the logical repercussions of his decisions before acting.

Little is known what religion Cyrus may have practiced. What is evident was that he held a policy of religious tolerance, especially for the time period. For example, when the Jews were exiled in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great offered them refuge in a world where they were unwelcome. So revered was Cyrus by the Jewish people that he is the only gentile to have been labeled with the name "Messiah," which is any divinely appointed leader (Captivity). Cyrus was a respected man according to friend or foe, citizen or stranger. However, he was never one to stay his hand when it came to expansion of his territory, nor was he above changing his open policies when his advisors suggested otherwise.