The Story of Ashoka the Great & Mystery of The Nine Unknown Men

Ashoka the Great is one of India's most famous kings, although for centuries he was all but forgotten. Can an emperor be both conqueror and holy man? And did Ashoka start a secret society in India in order to preserve powerful knowledge?

Ashoka was a remarkable military leader and conqueror. After a war in which the death toll was enormous, it's said that Ashoka converted to Buddhism, sent missionaries to foreign lands and attempted to unite an empire not by violence but in shared belief in a better way.

There are many interpretations, legends and myth around Ashoka. This retelling of the life of Ashoka covers some of the most famous events and legends of his life, including the question of The Nine Unknown. Some say Ashoka attempted to assemble the great wisdom of the world that could be used for good or ill in nine books to be guarded and preserved by nine mysterious men — a secret society.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Ashoka's early life
02:49 - Ashoka meets Maharani Devi
03:35 - Ashoka's rise to power
04:23 - The Great Kalinga War
05:53 - Conversion to Buddhism
07:42 - The Nine Unknown
12:13 - The death of Ashoka

SOURCES
The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer

Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor by Charles Allen

https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashoka_the_Great/

https://www.worldhistory.org/Edicts_of_Ashoka/

THAPAR, ROMILA. “Ashoka — A Retrospective.” Economic and Political Weekly 44, no. 45 (2009): 31–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25663762.

The Nine Unknown Men
https://archive.org/details/NineUnknownMen

"Morning Of The Magicians" by Louis Pauwels, Jacques Bergier


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