Ancient World
Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath: India's National Emblem
A polished sandstone pillar capital commemorating the Buddha's first sermon survived in fragments, was excavated in 1905 and became the State Emblem of India.
Region
Asia
Ancient World
Great Stupa of Sanchi: Ashoka's Monument and Its Carved Gateways
A brick Maurya stupa grew into one of the finest surviving early Buddhist monuments, whose gateways are masterpieces of ancient Indian narrative sculpture.
Ancient World
Arsaces I and the Founding of the Parthian Empire
The Parni under Arsaces took Parthia and Hyrcania from Seleucid control and founded the Arsacid dynasty, which ruled Iran until AD 224.
Ancient World
Mahinda's Mission: How Buddhism Reached Sri Lanka in 247 BC
King Devanampiya Tissa and his court accepted Buddhism, the Mahavihara was founded and Sri Lanka became a lasting centre of Theravada Buddhism.
Ancient World
Zhengguo Canal (246 BC): The Spy Who Watered Qin's Fields
Meant to drain Qin's resources, the canal irrigated a large area of saline land and strengthened Qin's economy on the eve of unification.
Ancient World
Terracotta Army: The Clay Soldiers of China's First Emperor
Thousands of life-size pottery warriors, horses and chariots were buried near the First Emperor's tomb; rediscovered in 1974, they became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Ancient World
Jing Ke's Attempt to Assassinate the King of Qin (227 BC)
The attempt failed; Jing Ke was killed, and Qin invaded Yan, which it conquered by 222 BC.
Ancient World
Qin Unification of China (221 BC): The Birth of an Empire
Qin conquered Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi and founded China's first centralised empire, whose institutions outlived the dynasty's fall in 207 BC.
Ancient World
Lingqu Canal (214 BC): Linking China's Great River Systems
The canal let Qin move supplies south, enabling the conquest of Lingnan and the creation of three new commanderies in 214 BC.
Ancient World
Great Wall of China: How the Qin and Han Built the First Walls
Older state walls were joined into a Qin frontier line, which the Han later extended west to Dunhuang and beyond.
Ancient World
Burning of Books and Burying of Scholars in Qin China (213 BC)
Private copies of the classics and histories of rival states were ordered destroyed, and more than 460 men were put to death in Xianyang.
Ancient World
Qin Straight Road: The First Emperor's Military Highway
A direct military road linked the Qin capital region with the northern frontier; it was largely complete but reportedly unfinished when the emperor died.