In response to the hypothesis that the Buddha was a mythical figure, this article establishes his historicity through four main arguments. The Buddhist canon is situated in a verifiable historical context, with its places, rulers, and rivalries corroborated by external sources like the Aśokan edicts and Jain texts, while linguistic analysis of names and cultural terms reveals authentic indigenous roots. The unique, coherent, and profound system of Buddhist teachings is most parsimoniously explained as the product of a single, brilliant individual rather than an invention or organic evolution. Furthermore, the canon's un-idealized portrayal of the Buddha as a human being who aged, suffered from physical ailments like a bad back, expressed anger, and died a painful death contradicts the notion of a purely mythologized character. Finally, despite later biographical embellishments, a core, unembellished biography of a real person can be discerned in the earliest scriptural layers, suggesting an authentic figure whose life was later aggrandized rather than a complete fabrication.
