Importance of Inscriptions and the Edicts of Ashoka

As the first urban societies settled down and developed, they laid the foundations for civilizations that followed. Many early ancient civilizations began to thrive and advance after creating a written language. By developing a writing system, rulers of early civilizations were able to commission inscriptions to be carved into a variety of objects, such as stone monuments, walls of religious buildings, or landscapes. These inscriptions have provided valuable insight into the political history of kings and emperors, the legal power of the government, and the legitimacy of their overall rulership.

Inscriptions on monuments are mostly used to gain insight into aspects of past civilizations’ administrative systems. Some of these inscriptions tell a narrative that shows more about how societies functioned. In the Sumerian city of Umma, inscriptions revealed that they had a loan system that accumulated interest based on barley. The Umma leader could not pay it back, so the interest grew until it the Umma ruler came to his aid by irrigating the channels of the gods. This shows that the Sumerians were advanced enough to have such a system, and it also shows the social and economic aspects of their people.

Another instance was in Babylon when Nabonidus was replaced by Cyrus the Great after he banned the cult of Marduk. As a result of this, the previous subjects of Nabonidus were very happy to see Cyrus as their new king because he “saved them all from distress and hardship” and allowed them to keep their religious idols. Unlike Nabonidus, Cyrus was portrayed as ruling with more pluralism and tolerance to his subjects. Cyrus’s legitimacy to overthrow the previous ruler and conquer the empire was due to his utilizing the fact that the subjects worshipped Marduk, making it easier for little resistance. Ancient civilizations had administrative systems that were often easily overthrown by an intruder trying to conquer the empire, which is recorded on these inscriptions.

Early civilizations that had intruders trying to invade threatened the stability of the government and overall social order of the empire. In order to stabilize the ruling power, they turned to inscribe laws and displaying these inscribed monuments in prominent areas where they could easily be seen. The Greeks had their laws inscribed on a stone block set on the island of Crete. The block states, “if he should become Kosmos… he shall be useless as long as he lives” . The punishment of being “useless” in this context means that whoever breaks the law will forfeit their citizenship. Having such consequences, which are also visible to the public to see, prevents subjects from not listening to orders from the emperor/king.

In Rome, Augustus ordered inscriptions on pillars set in the middle of town for everyone to witness. Although he wanted civil order in the empire, he firmly insisted that he was not like his uncle, who ruled under a dictatorship. Instead, he viewed himself as an equal to the people, albeit being put before them. Although he stated that he simply wanted the best for his empire, it seemed as though the purpose of putting up the pillars was to remind the public that he was a powerful yet benevolent emperor to ensure order throughout. Similarly, China’s Shi Huangdi ordered inscriptions of his great achievements and reigned over China to be made. However, his monument was atop a mountain.

He made promises to bring order throughout the land by “establishing laws and regulations… brandishing his military power”. By threatening harsh punishments, he was able to keep his people under his reign. Not only do these monuments spread civil order, but religious order as well. Ashoka, an Indian king, sponsored the creation of The Edicts of Ashoka, a collection of 33 stone pillars inscribed with details of Buddhism's expansion across India and through the Mediterranean. The pillars revolve around themes of Ashoka’s conversion to the religion, Buddhist precepts, and his efforts to spread Buddhism.

Although many rulers do have several great accomplishments throughout their lives, they typically ask subjects to inscribe stories depicting themselves in a moment of pure glory. By doing so, it is hard to discern which events are real and which ones are exaggerated for propaganda purposes, therefore ultimately jeopardizing the legitimacy of their rulership.

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