The distribution of the edicts of Ashoka, is a concrete indication of the extent of Ashoka's rule. To the west , it went as far as Kandahar (where the edicts were written in Greek and Aramaic, and bordered the contemporary Hellinistic Metropis of Ai Khanoum.
For the first time in South Asia Political unity and military security allowed for a common economic system and enhanced trade and commerce , with increased agricultural productivity. Chandragupta Maurya established a single currency across India, and a net work of regional governors and administrators and civil service provided justice and security for traders, farmers and merchants. During Ashoka time, according to Megasthenes, the empire wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and 9,000 war elephants.
budhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BCE).
