Posted by:
WestBerkeleyFlats
(
)
Date: November 22, 2014 05:00PM
"It is my understanding that there are contemporaneous historical records of both the man who came to be known as the Buddha (he was a prince; there were historical records kept of royal families in that area, at that time), as well as Muhammad (who lived many centuries later)."
It would appear that less is known with precision about the Siddhartha Buddha than Jesus.
Historical Siddhārtha Gautama
Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of Buddha.
Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era in India during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatshatru, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain teacher;[7] however, most scholars do not consistently accept all of the details contained in traditional biographies.[8][9]
The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE.[1][10] More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death.[1][11][note 4] These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.[12][13][note 7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha