Greek conquests in India

From New World Encyclopedia
Revision as of 16:16, 1 December 2008 by Dan Davies (talk | contribs) (reference added)
Campaigns and landmarks of Alexander's invasion of India.

In ancient times, trade between India and Greece flourished with silk, spices and gold being traded. The Greeks invaded India several times, starting with the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Conquests of Alexander The Great (327-326 B.C.E.)

In 327 B.C.E. Alexander the Great began his foray into Punjab.[1] King Ambhi, ruler of Taxila, surrendered the city to Alexander. Many people had fled to a high fortress/rock called Aornos. Aornos was taken by Alexander by storm after a successful siege. Alexander fought an epic battle against the Indian monarch Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes (326). After victory, Alexander made an alliance with Porus and appointed him as satrap of his own kingdom. Alexander continued on to conquer all the headwaters of the Indus River.

East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the powerful kingdom of Magadha. Exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, his army mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas), refusing to march further East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, was convinced that it was better to return.

Alexander was forced to turn south, conquering his way down the Indus to the Indian Ocean. He sent much of his army to Carmania (modern southern Iran) with his general Craterus, and commissioned a fleet to explore the Persian Gulf shore under his admiral Nearchus, while he led the rest of his forces back to Persia by the southern route through the Gedrosia (modern Makran in southern Pakistan).

Coin of Sophytes (305-294 B.C.E.)
Hellenistic satrapies in India after Alexander.

Alexander left behind Greek forces which established themselves in the city of Taxila, now in Pakistan. Several generals, such as Eudemus and Peithon governed the newly established province until around 316 B.C.E. One of them, Sophytes (305-294 B.C.E.), was an independent Greek prince in the Punjab.

Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire apparently met with Alexander in Taxila:

"Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." Plutarch 62-3 [2]

The Macedonians (described as Yona or Yavana in Indian sources) may also have participated, together with other groups, to the armed uprising of Chandragupta against the Nanda Dynasty. The Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadutta as well as the Jaina work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandragupta's alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, often identified with Porus.[3] This Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite and powerful army made up of Yavanas (Greeks), Kambojas, Shakas (Scythians), Kiratas (Nepalese), Parasikas (Persians) and Bahlikas (Bactrians) who took Pataliputra (also called Kusumapura, "The City of Flowers"):

"Kusumapura was besieged from every direction by the forces of Parvata and Chandragupta: Shakas, Yavanas, Kiratas, Kambojas, Parasikas, Bahlikas and others, assembled on the advice of Canakya" Mudrarakshasa 2 [4]

With the help of these frontier martial tribes from Central Asia, Chandragupta was apparently able to defeat the Nanda/Nandin rulers of Magadha so as to found the powerful Maurya empire in northern India.

Seleucid Invasion (304 B.C.E.)

Seleucus I Nicator founder of the Seleucid dynasty and one of Alexander's former generals. He invaded India (modern Punjab in northern India and Pakistan) in 304 B.C.E.

It is said that Chandragupta Maurya put an army of 100,000 men and 9,000 war elephants and forced Seleucus to conclude an alliance. Seleucus gave him his daughter in marriage, ceded the territories of Arachosia, and received from Chandraguta 500 war elephant which he used decisively at the Battle of Ipsus.

Seleucus also sent an ambassador named Megasthenes to Chandragupta's court, who repeatedly visited Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state), capital of Chandragupta. Megasthenes has written detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign.

Continued diplomatic exchanges and good relations are between the Seleucids and the Mauryan empirors are then documented throughout the duration of the Mauryan empire.

Indo-Greek rule (180 B.C.E.-10 C.E.)

The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom Demetrius I (205-171 B.C.E.), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquests in India.

In 180 B.C.E., the Indo-Greeks, invaded parts of northwest and northern India and ruled in the Punjab region. They are an extension of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek kings (the Euthydemids) located in neighbouring Bactria.

The invasion of northern India followed the destruction of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pusyamitra Sunga, who then founded the new Indian Sunga dynasty (185 B.C.E.-78 B.C.E.). The Indo-Greek king Menander may have campaigned as far as the capital Pataliputra in eastern India (today Patna): "Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra" (Strabo, XV.698). The Indian records also describes Greek attacks on Saketa, Panchala, Mathura and Pataliputra (Gargi-Samhita, Yuga Purana chapter).

The Indo-Greeks ruled various parts of northwestern India until the end of the 1st century B.C.E., when they were conquered by the Scythians and Kushans.

Legacy

Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greeks, leading to the Greco-Buddhist cultural syncretism. The arts of the Indian sub-continent were also quite affected by Hellenistic art during and after these interactions.

See Also

Notes

External links Retrieved December 1, 2008.

  1. Michael Wood, In the footsteps of Alexander the Great: a journey from Greece to Asia (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), p. 198
  2. Plutarch 62-3
  3. John Hubert Marshall, A guide to Taxila (Cambridge [Eng.]: For the Dept. of Archeology in Pakistan at the University Press, 1960), p. 18
  4. Sanskrit original: "asti tava Shaka-Yavana-Kirata-Kamboja-Parasika-Bahlika parbhutibhih Chankyamatipragrahittaishcha Chandergupta Parvateshvara balairudidhibhiriva parchalitsalilaih samantaad uprudham Kusumpurama." From the French translation, in "Le Ministre et la marque de l'anneau," ISBN 2-7475-5135-0

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Marshall, John Hubert. 1960. A guide to Taxila. Cambridge [Eng.]: For the Dept. of Archeology in Pakistan at the University Press. OCLC 833691.
  • Wood, Michael. 2001. In the footsteps of Alexander the Great: a journey from Greece to Asia. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520231924.

External Links

Middle kingdoms of India
Timeline: Northern Empires Southern Dynasties Northwestern Kingdoms

 6th century B.C.E.
 5th century B.C.E.
 4th century B.C.E.

 3rd century B.C.E.
 2nd century B.C.E.

 1st century B.C.E.
 1st century CE


 2nd century
 3rd century
 4th century
 5th century
 6th century
 7th century
 8th century
 9th century
10th century
11th century


  • Kuninda Kingdom



  • Western Satraps


  • Gupta Empire


  • Harsha


  • Pala Empire
  • Solanki
  • Sena dynasty


  • Satavahana empire










(Persian rule)
(Greek conquests)





  • Indo-Sassanids
  • Kidarite Kingdom
  • Indo-Hephthalites


(Islamic invasions)

  • Shahi

(Islamic empires)

[[Category:]]

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.