Afonso de Albuquerque vs Ashoka the Great

Afonso de Albuquerque led a fleet to India, establishing the first Portuguese fort at Cochin. This voyage laid the foundation for Portuguese control of the Indian Ocean trade.

Albuquerque captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur. He made Goa the capital of Portuguese India, a position it held for over 400 years.

Albuquerque led a Portuguese fleet to capture the strategic port of Malacca. This gave Portugal control of the spice trade route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

Albuquerque attempted to capture Aden in Yemen but failed. This failure prevented Portugal from controlling the entrance to the Red Sea and limited their influence in the region.

Afonso de Albuquerque died at sea off the coast of Goa, possibly from illness or poison. His death left the Portuguese Empire in the Indian Ocean without its most capable leader.

Ashoka launched a brutal conquest of the Kalinga region (modern Odisha). The war caused massive casualties, with over 100,000 killed and 150,000 deported. The suffering witnessed during this campaign led Ashoka to renounce military conquest and embrace Buddhism.

After the Kalinga War, Ashoka converted to Buddhism under the guidance of Buddhist monks. He adopted the principle of Dhamma (righteous law) and began promoting non-violence, vegetarianism, and religious tolerance throughout his empire.

Ashoka ordered the carving of edicts on pillars and rocks across the Indian subcontinent. These inscriptions, written in Prakrit and other languages, proclaimed his policies of non-violence, social welfare, and religious harmony. They are the earliest deciphered written records from ancient India.

Ashoka convened the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra to resolve doctrinal disputes within the Buddhist monastic community. The council standardized the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka) and decided to send missionaries abroad, including to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

Ashoka built thousands of stupas and monasteries across his empire, including the Great Stupa at Sanchi. These structures became centers of Buddhist worship and pilgrimage, spreading Buddhist art and architecture throughout Asia.