The Indian satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire: political, sociocultural and religious conditions for the penetration of Buddhism in the Iranian world

Abstract

The birth of Buddhism, understood as an ascetic tradition, is coeval with the territorial expansion of the Achaemenid dynasty (5th century BC). As a result of Indo-Iranian relations, a scene of philosophical speculation and religious influence arose, allowed Buddhism to spread before the missionary movement of the maurya Asóka (3rd century BC).