If Ashoka was Egyptian

Egyptian history is among the most interesting ones in the world. After reading about the various miracles that these people did in the past, one gets awestruck! After seeing the various monuments in this wondrous country, and after reading a bit about the history of these, I have decided to twist history a bit for this article.

I have written articles that have described my absurd idea of some famous international personalities being Indian. Today, I am going to twist it a little. So let’s see how Ashoka would be if he was Egyptian.

First, let’s go through some statistics. Ashoka’s reign started in 272 BCE. Ptolemy II Philadelphus was his contemporary Egyptian pharaoh. This pharaoh belonged to the same dynasty as the famous Cleopatra, and was half- Greek. In fact, he is mentioned in one of Ashoka’s edicts.

During Ashoka’s times, Egypt followed a religion that comprised of polytheistic beliefs. Many Gods were worshipped. Unlike India, where various religions were followed, only this religion was followed in whole of Egypt. So if Ashoka was Egyptian, we would see him worshipping Gods like Osiris, Ra, Isis, Horus, Anubis, Thoth, Sobek, Noot, Iris and many more. Ashoka would possibly not be the king who propagated Buddhism to various parts of the world.

Also, in ancient Egypt, the king was considered the son of God, and sometimes God himself. He was considered a living form of Osiris, the son of Amun-Ra (king of Gods). Some kings were even worshipped and temples were built in their remembrance. Perhaps we would see a temple dedicated to Ashoka.

Ashoka wore something that was similar to a dhoti. We wore a turban or pagdi and wore various ornaments. He had shoulder-length hair. If he was Egyptian, his ensemble was subject to change. Egyptian pharaohs used to put a false beard to highlight their manliness. Their heads used to have a huge crown.  They wore a bottom similar to a petticoat that Indian women wear. Sometimes they wore a kalsiris, which was basically a large piece of cloth, worn with or without a gown. It was draped in many ways. Even they wore a couple of ornaments.

Egyptian pharaohs had a desire to expand their kingdom and to conquer new territories. Ashoka wanted to make peace with the surrounding areas and not conquer the areas. Perhaps Ashoka might not be as peace-abiding as we see him now if he was Egyptian.

I think that it would be great to imagine Ashoka to be Egyptian, but if all this was real, our country would lose one of its greatest kings.

I hope you all enjoyed this article.