318 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. {Aug.-Sept., 1913. 
not an earlier edict reproduced but is a new one written for 
the occasion. The date of the publication of the series, and there- 
fore also of edict xiii, cannot be earlier than the fourteenth year of 
the coronation of Asoka, as a preceding edict (No. v) mentions 
that year. 
258 B.c. would be the latest possible date of rock-edict 
xiii. The inscription would not have contained the name of 
Magas among the living, had it been published after 258 B.c., the 
date of his death. Now the edict itself is at least fourteen years 
later than the Abhisheka. Therefore (258+14=) 272 B.o. is 
almost the lowest possible year for the coronation of Agoka. I 
of the publication of the rock-edicts. It is thus possible that 
it was 257 B.c. when the edicts were published in the fourteenth 
on his friendship with these individual rulers, it was a matter 
of vital importance to those charitable institutions established 
in Hellenistic kingdoms and to the propaganda generally to 
send news of a change amongst the personnel of those rulers. 
ven assuming that the missionaries of ASoka remained silent, 
emperor’s friends, the news would have none the less travelled 
into India in a short time. The arch-rebel Magas, who had 
from the political stage would have with all rapidity reached, 
and become widely known in, Bactria which was already 
brewing with the ferment of political ambition similar to that 
of Magas. And if the intelligence department under the 
orses (amongst other things), would not have failed to bring 
the information into this country. If the diplomatic man 
1 I, 14, pp. 24-26: I, 16 
, 3 I, 16, p. 32. 
2 See Artha-Sastra, II, 11, pp. 79, 81; II, 30, p. 133 
of Yo 
> . ; A Bisi mi ht 
all asad Visas, the neighbours Yonas (ie Bactstana| of phe IE. 
ot meee ected with some Chi ace 
a form of Biainas 
inas or Van. I 
Hannah of the Calcutta Bar for the latter suggestion, 
