[Cronos]

Well, ok, I'll agree that there isn't direct way of proving that it was / wasn't spread by the sword, but history books normally indicate the latter

Also, Indian Buddhist i.e. the older Theravada tradition does state that the Buddha did die from eating spoiled meat while checking up on your answer, I find that Mahayana tradition states that he died of eating spoiled mushrooms and another conclusion (more modern) is that he died of old age. Ah, well, since this was 2500 + years ago, any one of these could be true.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) The most interesting thing about Ashoka may be his Pillars, which he erected along the frontiers of his empire. Each one is a sort of Rosetta Stone, containing the same message (I think it’s Buddhist in part, something like, “fail to convert, or eff with me in any other way, and I’ll shove this big post right up your keister”) but in whatever the local language was at the time.

Two, maybe three, maybe more, remain in Afghanistan, and are in Aramaic.