Ashoka: dhamma, edicts and their sites

Concepts to cover

1. Kalinga war, the turn to dhamma, Rock Edict XII on respect for all sects, tolerance as policy
2. Major and minor rock edicts, pillar edicts, separate Kalinga edicts; Brahmi, Kharosthi, Greek and Aramaic versions
3. Sites and states: Dhauli, Jaugada (Odisha), Erragudi (Andhra), Kalsi (Uttarakhand), Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra (Pakistan), Girnar, Sopara, Sannati
4. James Prinsep deciphers Brahmi and Kharosthi (1837); Devanampiya Piyadasi identified as Ashoka
5. Dhamma mahamatras, welfare measures, missions to Sri Lanka and Hellenistic kings
6. Kanganahalli relief labelled 'Ranyo Ashoka' as the only inscribed portrait of Ashoka