The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BC. Of the pillars erected by him, twenty still survive including those with inscriptions of his edicts. Only a few with animal capitals survive of which seven complete specimens are known.[2] Two pillars were relocated by Firuz Shah Tughlaq to Delhi.[3] Several pillars were relocated later by Mughal Empire rulers, the animal capitals being removed.[4] Averaging between 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each, the pillars were dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected.[5]