ICSE Class 6 Answered

Inscriptions are the engravings on solid objects such as metal and stone tablets, rocks, pillars etc. Such inscriptions provide historians and historiographers with invaluable data about rulers, the extent of their empires, major events, political conditions, religious and cultural practices etc. The study of epigraphs or old inscriptions is called epigraphy. Epigraphic evidence is considered reliable since it is in its original form and is a formal source of information.

Edicts are royal commands issued by the rulers and kings. Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire left behind many edicts engraved on rocks and pillars. These have been of great help to historians in the reconstruction of the Mauryan period.