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Yojana
A yojana (Devanagari: योजन; Khmer language: យោជន៍; ; ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Various textual sources from ancient India define Yojana as ranging from 3.5 to 15 km. Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Ashoka, in his Major Rock Edict No.13, gives a distance of 600 yojanas between the Maurya empire, and "where the Yona king named Antiyoga (is ruling)", identified as King Antiochus II Theos, whose capital was Babylon. A range of estimates, for the length of a yojana, based on the ~2,000 km from Baghdad to Kandahar, on the eastern border of the empire, to the ~4,000 km to the Capital at Patna, have been offered by historians. Yojana in geodesy Hindu units of length Units In Hindu scriptures, Paramāṇu is the fundamental particle and smallest unit of length. Variations in length The length of the yojana varied over time and locale, its length has been estimated as: * - 14t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magas Of Cyrene
Magas of Cyrene (; born before 317 BC – 250 BC, ruled 276 BC – 250 BC) was a Greek King of Cyrenaica. Through his mother’s second marriage to Ptolemy I he became a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He managed to wrest independence for Cyrenaica (in modern Libya) from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt, and became King of Cyrenaica from 276 BC to 250 BC. Family background and early life Magas was the first-born son of the Macedonian noblewoman Berenice and her first husband, Philip, who had served as a military officer in the campaigns of Alexander the Great. He had two younger sisters: Antigone of Epirus and Theoxena of Syracuse. His father, Philip, was the son of Amyntas by a mother whose name is unknown. Plutarch (Pyrrhus 4.4) implies that his father was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. Phillip served as a military officer in the service of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and was known for commanding one divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian Indian mathematics, mathematician and Indian astronomy, astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established Siddhanta, doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical treatise, and the ''Khandakhadyaka'' ("edible bite", dated 665), a more practical text. In 628 CE, Brahmagupta first described gravity as an attractive force, and used the term "gurutvākarṣaṇam (गुरुत्वाकर्षणम्)" in Sanskrit to describe it. He is also credited with the first clear description of the quadratic formula (the solution of the quadratic equation)Bradley, Michael. ''The Birth of Mathematics: Ancient Times to 1300'', p. 86 (Infobase Publishing 2006) in his main work, the ''Brāhma-sphuṭa-siddhānta''. Life and career Brahmagupta, according to his own statement, was born in 598 CE. Born in ''Bhillamāla'' in Gurjaradesa (modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandyas
The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world. The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the " three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antigonus II Gonatas
Antigonus II Gonatas (, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had invaded the Balkans. Birth and family Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. Cassander, Antipater's oldest son who would become King of Macedon in 305 BC, was his uncle. The year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further strugg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptolemy II Of Egypt
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great who founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom after the death of Alexander, and Queen Berenice I, originally from Macedon. During Ptolemy II's reign, the material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height. He promoted the Musaeum, Museum and Library of Alexandria. In addition to Egypt, Ptolemy's empire encompassed much of the Aegean Islands, Aegean and Levant. He pursued an aggressive and expansionist foreign policy with mixed success. From 275 to 271 BC, he led the Ptolemaic Kingdom against the rival Seleucid Empire in the First Syrian War and extended Ptolemaic power into Cilicia and Caria, but lost control of Cyrenaica after the defection of his half-brother Magas of Cyrene, Magas. In the Chremonidean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. The Edicts of Ashoka state that during his eighth regnal year (), he conquered Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga after a brutal war. Ashoka subsequently devoted himself to the propagation of "Ashoka's policy of Dhamma, dhamma" or righteous conduct, the major theme of the edicts. Ashoka's edicts suggest that a few years after the Kalinga War, he was gradually drawn towards Buddhism. The Buddhist legends credit Ashoka with establishing a larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major Rock Edicts
The Major Rock Edicts of Indian emperor Ashoka refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent some of the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts. History Ashoka was the third monarch of the Maurya Empire in the subcontinent, reigning from around 269 BCE. Ashoka famously converted to Buddhism and renounced violence soon after being victorious in a gruesome Kalinga War, yet filled with deep remorse for the bloodshed of the war, but findings suggest that he had already converted to Buddhism 4 years before the war. Although he was a major historical figure, little definitive information was known as there were few records of his reign until the 19th century when a large number of his edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, were found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In India, Places where rock edicts were found are – Kalsi, Uttarakhand; Sopa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandahar
Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Province and the centre of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar. The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known areas of human settlement. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as 1000–750 BC,F.R. Allchin (ed.)''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States'' (Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp.127–130 and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC.Gérard Fussman"Kandahar II. Pre-Islamic Monuments and Remains", in ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2012 Alexander the Great laid the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar (in the southern section of the city) in the 4th century BC and named it Alexandria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhāskara I
Bhāskara (; commonly called Bhāskara I to avoid confusion with the 12th-century mathematician Bhāskara II) was a 7th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer who was the first to write numbers in the Hindu–Arabic decimal system with a circle for the zero, and who gave a unique and remarkable rational approximation of the sine function in his commentary on Aryabhata's work. This commentary, ''Āryabhaṭīyabhāṣya'', written in 629, is among the oldest known prose works in Sanskrit on mathematics and astronomy. He also wrote two astronomical works in the line of Aryabhata's school: the ''Mahābhāskarīya'' ("Great Book of Bhāskara") and the ''Laghubhāskarīya'' ("Small Book of Bhāskara"). On 7 June 1979, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Bhāskara I satellite, named in honour of the mathematician. Biography Little is known about Bhāskara's life, except for what can be deduced from his writings. He was born in India in the 7th century, and wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varāhamihira
Varāhamihira ( 20/21 March 505 – 587), also called Varāha or Mihira, was an ancient Indian astrologer-astronomer who lived in or around Ujjain in present-day Madhya Pradesh, India. Date Unlike other prominent ancient Indian astronomers, Varāhamihira does not mention his date. However, based on hints in his works, modern scholars date him to the 6th century CE; possibly, he also lived during the last years of the 5th century. In his '' Pancha-siddhantika'', Varāhamihira refers to the year 427 of the ''Shaka-kala'' (also ''Shakendra-kala'' or ''Shaka-bhupa-kala''). Identifying this calendar era with the Shaka era places Varāhamihira in the 505 CE. Alternative theories identify this calendar era with other eras, placing him before the 5th century CE. However, these theories are inaccurate, as Varāhamihira must have lived after Aryabhata (born 476 CE), whose work he refers to. The particulars of the date mentioned by Varāhamihira - Shukla '' pratipada'' of the Chai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surya Siddhanta
The ''Surya Siddhanta'' (; ) is a Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy dated to 4th to 5th century,Menso Folkerts, Craig G. Fraser, Jeremy John Gray, John L. Berggren, Wilbur R. Knorr (2017)Mathematics Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "(...) its Hindu inventors as discoverers of things more ingenious than those of the Greeks. Earlier, in the late 4th or early 5th century, the anonymous Hindu author of an astronomical handbook, the ''Surya Siddhanta'', had tabulated the sine function (...)" in fourteen chapters.Plofkerpp. 71–72 The ''Surya Siddhanta'' describes rules to calculate the motions of various planets and the moon relative to various constellations, diameters of various planets, and calculates the orbits of various astronomical bodies. The text is known from a palm-leaf manuscript, and several newer manuscripts. It was composed or revised probably c. 800 CE from an earlier text also called the ''Surya Siddhanta''. The ''Surya Siddhanta'' text is composed of verses mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aryabhata
Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the '' Āryabhaṭīya'' (which mentions that in 3600 '' Kali Yuga'', 499 CE, he was 23 years old) and the ''Arya- siddhanta''. For his explicit mention of the relativity of motion, he also qualifies as a major early physicist. Biography Name While there is a tendency to misspell his name as "Aryabhatta" by analogy with other names having the " bhatta" suffix, his name is properly spelled Aryabhata: every astronomical text spells his name thus, including Brahmagupta's references to him "in more than a hundred places by name". Furthermore, in most instances "Aryabhatta" would not fit the metre either. Time and place of birth Aryabhata mentions in the ''Aryabhatiya'' that he was 23 years old 3,600 years into the '' Kali Yuga'', but this is not to mean that the text was composed at that ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
