Ancient World
Arthashastra: Kautilya's Ancient Indian Treatise on Statecraft
A comprehensive Sanskrit treatise on statecraft survived, was lost from view for centuries and was rediscovered in 1905, reshaping the study of ancient Indian government.
Region
Asia
Ancient World
Yoshinogari: Japan's Great Moated Village of the Yayoi Period
The largest known Yayoi moated settlement, it reshaped understanding of early Japanese society and is now a national Special Historic Site and park.
Ancient World
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi: The Ancient Sacred Fig of Anuradhapura
A cutting of the Bodh Gaya fig became Sri Lanka's most sacred tree, often described as the oldest human-planted tree with a recorded planting date.
Ancient World
Han Feizi and Legalism: The Philosophy Behind the Qin State
Han Fei died in Qin captivity in 233 BC, but his writings became the fullest statement of Legalist thought and shaped imperial Chinese government.
Ancient World
Battle of Changping (260 BC): Qin's Crushing Victory over Zhao
Decisive Qin victory; the main army of Zhao was destroyed and no single state could again match Qin.
Ancient World
Kalinga War (261 BC): The Conquest That Transformed Ashoka
Kalinga was annexed to the Maurya Empire; Ashoka, by his own account, renounced wars of conquest and promoted dhamma.
Ancient World
Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya: Site of the Buddha's Awakening
The place of the Buddha's enlightenment became Buddhism's holiest site, crowned by one of the earliest surviving brick temples in India, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ancient World
Edicts of Ashoka: India's Earliest Deciphered Inscriptions
More than thirty inscriptions preserve the Maurya emperor's own words, forming the earliest readable body of writing from South Asia.
Ancient World
Dujiangyan Irrigation System: Li Bing's 2,200-Year-Old Waterworks
The system controlled Min River floods, irrigated the Chengdu Plain and made Sichuan one of China's richest farming regions; it remains in use.
Ancient World
Nisa: The Early Royal City of the Parthian Arsacid Kings
Nisa became one of the earliest royal centres of the Parthian Empire, and its excavated fortress is a key source for Parthian art, language and administration.
Ancient World
Barabar Caves: India's Oldest Surviving Rock-Cut Caves
Mauryan rulers created polished rock-cut retreats for the Ajivika ascetics, setting the model for later Indian cave architecture.
Ancient World
Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra Under Ashoka, c. 250 BC
According to Theravada tradition, dissenting monks were expelled, the Kathavatthu was compiled and missionaries were sent across South and Southeast Asia.