Ashoka

Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Maurya Empire, which covered most of the Indian subcontinent. He became emperor around 268 BC after a struggle among the royal princes. About eight years into his reign he conquered Kalinga, a kingdom on India's east coast. In his own words, carved later on rock, a hundred and fifty thousand people were carried away, a hundred thousand were killed, and many times that number died. Ashoka wrote that he felt deep remorse. He became a devoted follower of Buddhism and announced a policy he called dhamma: respect for parents and teachers, kindness to servants and animals, honesty, and tolerance among religious groups. He had his edicts carved on rocks and tall polished stone pillars throughout the empire, many of which survive, along with wells, rest houses and hospitals for people and animals. He sent missionaries abroad, including, by tradition, his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka. The lion capital from one of his pillars is now the national emblem of India.

Faith: Indian emperor who adopted Buddhism and vigorously patronized it during his reign. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica