The Bloody Origins of the Number Zero

More than two thousand years ago, one of the deadliest battles in Indian history changed the course of the entire empire. Instead of creating a legacy of conquest, it sparked an exchange of ideas, trade and knowledge. Over centuries, these ripples would help shape half of the world, thanks to merchants, monks and scholars who carried Indian culture across Asia and beyond. This is the story of Emperor Ashoka, and how one emperor’s change of heart helped spreading new philosophies and inspired mathematical ideas that still shape how we understand the world today.