<p>Wikipedia's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka" rel="noreferrer">Ashoka</a> article includes this map:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MQ99h.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MQ99h.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Its western border is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_Empire" rel="noreferrer">Seleucid empire</a> which appears to be where modern-day <strong>Iran</strong> is (note that Iran I think might be ethnically Persian rather than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs" rel="noreferrer">Arabian</a>).</p>

<p>It also includes modern-day countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan (which are Islamic but not exactly Arabic).</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yona" rel="noreferrer">This map</a> is labelled "Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260–218 BCE)":</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jpHL9.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jpHL9.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>It shows Buddhist proselytism reaching (beyond the Maurya empire) to Alexandria (which is in modern-day Egypt), and Antioch (modern Turkey).</p>

<p>This may not be "expansion of Buddhism" though, it's more like "envoys from the Buddhist empire".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-30T22:30:34.280Z
2015-10-30T22:51:42.033Z
2015-10-30T22:51:42.033Z
ChrisW
<p>In the age of king "Asoka", the expansion of Buddhism reached Arabic countries. Does anybody know what those countries are called now?</p>

<p>Can anyone provide details about what happened to those places / Temples ?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-31T10:53:36.090Z
See also [Buddhism in the Middle East](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/1621/254)
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-31T19:31:37.260Z
Thank you.I got a good answer from "ChrisW" but a lot is still out there,like what happened to those places. @Lanka
Theravada
<theravada><history>
Buddhism in ancient Arabic regions
# Buddhism in ancient Arabic regions

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-10-28)

In the age of king "Asoka", the expansion of Buddhism reached Arabic countries. Does anybody know what those countries are called now?

Can anyone provide details about what happened to those places / Temples ?

**Tags:** theravada, history

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: See also [Buddhism in the Middle East](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/1621/254)  
> **username_0**: Thank you.I got a good answer from "username_1" but a lot is still out there,like what happened to those places. @Lanka  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-10-30. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Wikipedia's [Ashoka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka) article includes this map:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/MQ99h.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/MQ99h.jpg)

Its western border is the [Seleucid empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_Empire) which appears to be where modern-day **Iran** is (note that Iran I think might be ethnically Persian rather than [Arabian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs)).

It also includes modern-day countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan (which are Islamic but not exactly Arabic).

[This map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yona) is labelled "Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260–218 BCE)":

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/jpHL9.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/jpHL9.png)

It shows Buddhist proselytism reaching (beyond the Maurya empire) to Alexandria (which is in modern-day Egypt), and Antioch (modern Turkey).

This may not be "expansion of Buddhism" though, it's more like "envoys from the Buddhist empire".


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