Sanchi

Coordinates: 23°28′46″N 77°44′23″E / 23.479410°N 77.739616°E / 23.479410; 77.739616

The Buddhist vihara at Sanchi, famous for its Great Stupa is located at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is 46 km north-east of Bhopal.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure in India and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. The construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka's wife, Devi herself, who was the daughter of a merchant of Vidisha. Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire structure were added.

Maurya Period

Great Stupa of Universal Compassion

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion is a sacred Buddhist monument being constructed in Australia near Bendigo in central Victoria. The basic idea for building this stupa came from Lama Yeshe, and after his passing Lama Zopa Rinpoche decided to model the stupa on the Great Stupa of Gyantse, which is 600 years old. When completed, the Bendigo stupa's exterior will look like an exact replica, and will be 50m high and its four sides will each be 50m long, making it one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the Western world. Buddhists say that viewing the stupa will help purify the mind.

The Bendigo stupa is being designed to last 1,000 years. The interior will have teaching rooms, a central temple, library, and 80 ornate shrine rooms. It will eventually house the 2.5 metre Jade Buddha for Universal Peace statue, the world’s largest gem-quality jade Buddha. There is a vast collection of Asian sacred relics and statues on display at the Great Stupa exhibition centre.

3rd century

The 3rd century was the period from 201 to 300 A.D.

In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, marking the beginning of Late Antiquity. In Persia, the Parthian Empire was succeeded by the Sassanid Empire.

In India, the Kushan Empire was replaced by the Gupta Empire. China was in the Three Kingdoms period. The Xiongnu formed the Tiefu state under Liu Qubei. Korea was ruled by the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Japan entered the Kofun period.

At about this time in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Bantu expansion reached Southern Africa.

In Pre-Columbian America, the Adena culture of the Ohio River valley declined in favor of the Hopewell culture. The Maya civilization entered its Classic Era.

Roman Empire

After the death of Commodus in the previous century the Roman Empire was plunged into a civil war. When the dust settled, Septimius Severus emerged as emperor, establishing the Severan dynasty. Unlike previous emperors, he openly used the army to back his authority, and paid them well to do so. The regime he created is known as the Military Monarchy as a result. The system fell apart in the 230s, giving way to a fifty-year period known as the Military Anarchy or the Crisis of the Third Century, where no fewer than twenty emperors held the reins of power, most for only a few months. The majority of these men were assassinated, or killed in battle, and the empire almost collapsed under the weight of the political upheaval, as well as the growing Persian threat in the east. Under its new Sassanid rulers, Persia had grown into a rival superpower, and the Romans would have to make drastic reforms in order to better prepare their state for a confrontation. These reforms were finally realized late in the century under the reign of Diocletian, one of them being to divide the empire into an eastern and western half, and have a separate ruler for each.