Ashoka

Let’s not put past big rulers into fake competition. Various achievements of many other rulers are attributed to Ashok to make him appear greatest. He wasn’t. 

There had been bigger kings and rulers of local roots or foreign or mixed descents over large period of documented history of subcontinent.  He too was an important ruler who inherited most of the territory he ruled. But is now respected for his quality of rule based on compassion. His story is interesting because of Kalinga atrocities and later his supposed penance by becoming a Bodh and helping take message of Budh dharma to south wards mainly. It will surprise that till as late as 1940s there was no ruler named and  singularly recognised as Ashoka in Indian history whom we could associate all those achievements which we now recognise as his. People before that period possibly never got to know that Ashoka existed. His existence as big king were documented  and established very recently historically speaking. Relax, he was important and now a popular king but was not as big as  vikramditya ,  Chandragupta, Samudragupta, Sakandagupta, or even Tormanam, Kanishka of foreign descents or many others of middle ages I am not naming here.