| When? |
What? |
| Circa 268 to 232 BC |
This is when Emperor Ashoka the Great ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent. He actively promoted Buddhism and supported missionary activity. The first known carvings of Buddhist monumental shrines into mountainsides were made in Bihar, India, during his reign. |
| Circa 100 BC – 200 AD |
Buddhism flourished in Kushan |
| Around the year 0 |
Buddhist settlement present in Aitam-Termez, Bactria |
| 1st century AD |
The Mahayana school emerged |
| Early 2nd century AD |
Gandhara Buddhist art flourished, including the making of Buddha images in the Gandhara style. |
| 144-172 |
During his reigh, the Kushan leader Kanishka promoted the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road |
| 148 |
The Buddhist missionary An Shih-kao from Parthia arrived to China, where he translated Buddhist texts into Chinese. |
| 170 |
The Buddhist missionary Chu-sho-fu from India arrived to China, where he translated Buddhist texts into Chinese. |
| 181 |
The Buddhist missionary An Hsuan from Parthia arrived to China. |
| 3rd century |
The Buddhist shrine at Giaur Kala (Merv) is created. |
| 223-253 |
The Buddhist missionary Che K’ien from Yueh-chich translates Buddhist writings into Chinese in China. |
| Circa 300 |
The oldest of the Buddhist caves at Kizil in Xinjiang, China, have been dated to around year 300.
The Kizil Caves are Buddhist rock-cut caves on the northern bank of the Muzat River. This area used to be a commerical hub of the Silk Road.
The caves are believed to have been abandoned sometime around the beginning of the 8th century, after Tang influence reached the area
Out of the 236 cave temples, 135 are still relatively intact. |
| 4th century |
Buddhist stupa created at Merv |
| 4th century |
Buddhist settlements exist at Hadda in todays Afghanistan. (Destroyed by the Hephthalites in mid-5th century.) |
| 4th century |
The world’s largest Buddha statue is created in Bamiyan. |
| 4th century |
Sassano-Buddhic art present in the Kabul valley and the Tarim basin |
| 4th century |
Mazdean evangelist Kartir, advisor to Varahran II, spreads anti-buddhist propaganda in Sania (Persia) |
| 344-413 |
Large Buddhist text translation center run in China by Kumarajiva, a Buddhist pilgrim from India |
| 366 |
Work starts on the Mogao Caves southeast of Dunhuang. The first caves are dug out this year to create places for Buddhist meditation and worship.
Today, this is an extensive complex, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, which include 492 temples. |
| 395-414 |
Fa-hsien carries out his pilgrimage to India. |
| 446 |
The Toba Turkic king presecutes practicioners of the Buddhist religion. |
| 5th century |
Creation of the Yungang Grottoes near the city of Datong.
Buddhism had reached this location via the North Silk Road.
The first period of work on the grottos lasted until 465, followed by a second work period that lasted from 471 to 494. |
| 494 |
Toba Turkic King Hung II adopts Buddhism |
| 6th century |
Ferven Buddhist practicioners present in the Tarim Basin, including Kucha |
| 515-528 |
Sung Yun carries out his pilgrimage to northwestern India, at the behest of Queen Hu of Toba. |
| 520 |
Hephthalites presecute Buddhist practicioners in the Gupta Empire. |
| 550s |
Indian Buddhist Paramartha translates approximately 70 Buddhist works in China. |
| 7th century |
Xuanzan, who lived circa 602-664, was a Chinese Buddhist monk, traveller and translator who went on a pilgrimage to India. His writings include information about the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism during the early Tang dynasty. Xuanzan travelled to many sacred Buddhist sites in what are now Nepal, Pakistan, Indian, and Bangladesh. |
| 9th century |
The start of the Buddhist Uighur kingdom in Turfan |
| 845 |
Buddhists are persecuted in China. |
| 1307-1311 |
Many Buddhist texts are translated into Mongolian. |