Ashoka and Emperor ashoka ( choose heading) Essay

Ashoka and Emperor ashoka ( choose heading) - Essay Example However, a look at some of the stone pillars in some part of the modern-day India proves that such an empire existed. For example in Bihar, India, there are stone pillars that are inscribed with the Emperor’s statues and edicts. Ancient Sanskirt literature also shows that there was a great Emperor called Ashoka. In Sarnath city which is also in India, there are statues of lions which are now part of India’s National emblem (Rao 96). These are the Ashoka lions, of course named after the Emperor Ashoka. He Emperor ordered installation of these pillars (Joshi 60). A look at the statues and some of the stone pillars shows that the Emperor had them inscribed with merciful laws. Based on the evidence from Joshi’s book and a history professor called B.V. Rao, Emperor Ashoka waged a constant war for the first eight years when he was in power. It is also clear that the Emperor had inherited a large empire, which he expanded in his reign to include some of the other Indian subcontinent. He also expanded his empire to the modern-day borders of Burmese eastern border, western side of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Iran (Rao 94). It was only Sri Lanka and other southern parts of India which remained out of the Emperor’s reach. However, despite the ancient Kalinga kingdom, north of India, being out of his reach, he attacked the kingdom in year 265. He took advantage of the fact that it was his second wife’s homeland, Kaurwaki. The Mauryan Emperor had sought refuge from his hostile half-brothers, in the Kalinga kingdom. He gathered the largest army in Indian history to attach Kalinga, which crumbled after losing most of its warriors. After going through the story about this Emperor and his dynasty I got surprised after discovering that he was one of the many ruthless rulers in human history to change into one of the most respected rulers. I expected to find a

The importance of bees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The importance of bees - Research Paper Example Female bees have a stinger where venom s stored. In the collection of pollen and nectar, bees pollinate plant flowers. The research project seeks to find out the importance of bees to plants and the ecosystem at large. A discussion on how Human activities positively or negatively affect the life and functions of bees in the botanical world is of concern in this project. It will also highlight the significance of plants in the ecosystem and the need of bees in diversity of plants. The importance of plants in the ecosystem In any ecosystem, the sun is the main source of energy. Plant community forms the largest component of the ecosystem. They trap the energy from the sun using their chlorophyll and make their own food through photosynthesis. In addition, they constitute the primary producers of the ecosystem and pass the energy to primary consumers that feed on them. The energy continues to flow to secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and then the quaternary consumers. It is clear that directly or indirectly plants provide food to all organisms in the ecosystem including humans. They also provide shelter to a number of organisms in the ecosystem (Jorgensen, 2009). Flowering plants dominate the plant community and have flowers (the reproductive organ) as the distinguishing feature. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves the formation of gametes and the transfer of the male gamete to the female gamete. This transfer of male gametes or pollen grains (pollination) is by animals or wind. The survival of most flowering plant to another generation depends on the formation seeds from fertilization. The agents of pollination determine the propagation of a variety of plant species (Bailey, 2009). Bees as agents of pollination: research on horticultural plantations Flower pollinators are several. They include bees, birds, bat, other insects, and wind. However, bees play the most important and effective role in pollination. Honeybees are advantageous as pollina tors compared to other types of bees especially in crop production. They collect pollen and nectar from a vast area where plants are growing until the supply is exhausted. Their consistence makes them reliable pollinators unlike other bees and insects that just visit flowers occasionally. They move out in larger numbers making every flower occupied. Honeybees are adapted for pollination in various ways. Possession of certain structures on the hind appendages, allow them to carry pollen. As they move from one flower to another, the pollen falls on the stigmas of the flowers. Their forked body hairs enable them to pick pollen and carry it around while their antennae cleaner enable them to clean the antennae. During this cleaning, pollen grains fall on the stigmas of flowers. According to research, these bees have a way of communicating to other bees (Bailey, 2009). They transmit information about flowering crops to other bees thus making pollination effective and fast. Pollination is not important to some plants such as oranges and grapes. They reproduce without fertilization (parthenocarpy). Only few plants reproduce by these means and all the other fruit plants require fertilization. A few plants are wind and self-pollinated while the others need an animal pollinator. Self-pollinations is rare because plant posses structural mechanism to get rid of it (Lovett, 2011). Experiments on