Ashoka the Great vs Khosrow II Parviz

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.

Khosrow II Parviz ascended the throne after the overthrow of his father Hormizd IV. His reign began amid civil war, as the general Bahram Chobin had declared himself king, forcing Khosrow to flee to the Byzantine Empire.

Khosrow II secured military support from the Byzantine Emperor Maurice to reclaim his throne. With a Byzantine army, he defeated Bahram Chobin and was restored as king, ceding territory in Armenia and Mesopotamia to the Byzantines in return.

During the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628, Khosrow II's forces captured Jerusalem after a siege. They seized the relic of the True Cross and took it to Ctesiphon, a major symbolic and religious blow to the Byzantine Empire.

Khosrow II's armies conquered Egypt, the breadbasket of the Byzantine Empire. This occupation cut off grain supplies to Constantinople and brought the Sasanian Empire to its greatest territorial extent, stretching from the Indus to the Nile.

The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius launched a counter-offensive and defeated the Sasanian army at the Battle of Nineveh. This victory allowed the Byzantines to advance towards Ctesiphon, leading to the collapse of Khosrow's conquests.

Following the military disaster, Khosrow II was overthrown in a palace coup led by his son Kavad II. He was imprisoned and executed, and Kavad II immediately sued for peace with the Byzantines, ending the war.