The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya around 320 BCE, with its power base in Magadha. Through conquest and treaties it stretched from Afghanistan to the northern Deccan, and under his grandson Ashoka it briefly controlled most of the subcontinent's major cities except the deep south. Its roads linked the capital Pataliputra to Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea, and it used coinage and writing to support trade. After the bloody Kalinga War, Ashoka embraced Buddhism and carved its teachings into edicts across the land, sending missionaries to Sri Lanka and Central Asia. His Lion Capital at Sarnath became India's state emblem, and the Ashoka Chakra appears on the national flag.

Israeli reports also say the cabinet directed the military to prepare for a possible new attack on Iran.

Angkor, near Siem Reap in northern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. At its height the city spread across about 3,000 square kilometres, making it the largest pre-industrial city on Earth by area. Its growth depended on water: huge reservoirs called barays, along with canals and embankments, stored monsoon rain and carried it to rice fields. That system let farmers harvest more than once a year and fed a very large population through the dry season. The temple complex of Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, is the best-known monument and still stands at the heart of the park.