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80-599: The Indo-Greeks are mentioned in ancient sources as having occupied the areas of the Patalene ( Sindh ) and Gujarat , including the strategic harbour of Barygaza ( Bharuch ), conquests also attested by coins dating from the Indo-Greek ruler Apollodotus I and by several ancient writers (Strabo 11; Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , Chap. 41/47): The Greeks... took possession, not only of Patalene, but also, on

160-452: A Buddhist legend, for his deification by later traditions resonates with Macedonian religious trends that granted divine honours to monarchs and members of their family and worshipped them, like Alexander, as gods. It is no coincidence that similar motifs highlight the Buddha’s deification and his funereal rituals are commensurate with those of Macedonian kings and universal monarchs. The evidence

240-611: A Seleucid princess, in accordance with contemporary Greek practices to form dynastic alliances. An Indian Puranic source, the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana , described the marriage of Chandragupta with a Greek (" Yavana ") princess, daughter of Seleucus, before accurately detailing early Mauryan genealogy: " Chandragupta married with a daughter of Suluva , the Yavana king of Pausasa . Thus, he mixed

320-459: A composite and powerful army made up of Yavanas (Greeks), Kambojas , Shakas (Scythians), Kiratas (Nepalese), Parasikas (Persians) and Bahlikas (Bactrians) who took Pataliputra . In 305 BC, Seleucus I led an army to the Indus , where he encountered Chandragupta . The confrontation ended with a peace treaty, and "an intermarriage agreement" ( Epigamia , Greek: Ἐπιγαμία), meaning either

400-568: A danger to both; and that if they admitted them into the country, it would certainly be utterly barbarised. Following the departure of the Seleucid army, the Bactrian kingdom seems to have expanded. In the west, areas in north-eastern Iran may have been absorbed, possibly as far as into Parthia , whose ruler had been defeated by Antiochus the Great . These territories possibly are identical with

480-514: A doubt. Ultimately, a great battle will follow, with tree-like engines (siege engines). Strabo also suggests that Indo-Greek conquests went up to the Shunga capital Pataliputra in northeastern India (today Patna ): Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra The events and results of these campaigns are unknown. Surviving epigraphical inscriptions during this time such as

560-657: A dynastic marriage or an agreement for intermarriage between Indians and Greeks. Accordingly, Seleucus ceded his eastern territories to Chandragupta, possibly as far as Arachosia and received 500 war elephants (which played a key role in Seleucus's victory at the Battle of Ipsus ): The Indians occupy in part some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived

640-512: A faithful observer, and that at the right time, of all the various acts of devotion and ceremony enjoined by his own sacred hymns concerning things past, present, and to come. Many were the arts and sciences he knew-- holy tradition and secular law ; the Sânkhya , Yoga , Nyâya , and Vaisheshika systems of philosophy ; arithmetic ; music ; medicine ; the four Vedas , the Purânas , and

720-735: A fragmented manner until the last Greek king Strato II disappeared around 10 AD. The 1st-2nd century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea further testifies to the reign of Menander and the influence of the Indo-Greeks in India: To the present day ancient drachmae are current in Barygaza , coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander, Apollodorus [ sic ] and Menander. According to tradition, Menander embraced

800-748: A great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, directing his efforts towards the Indian and the Hellenistic worlds from around 250 BC. According to the Edicts of Ashoka , set in stone, some of them written in Greek, he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of the Hellenistic world at

880-489: A means of alluding to his ancestor's conversion. However, Menander I struck a rare bronze series with a Buddhist wheel (coin 3). Plutarch reports that Menander died in camp while on campaign, thereby differing with the version of the Milindapanha. Plutarch gives Menander as an example of benevolent rule, contrasting him with disliked tyrants such as Dionysius , and goes on to explain that his subject towns fought over

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960-530: A nickeliferous copper ore was the source from mines at Anarak . Copper-nickel would not be used again in coinage until the 19th century. The presence of Chinese people in the Indian subcontinent from ancient times is also suggested by the accounts of the " Ciñas " in the Mahabharata and the Manu Smriti . The Han dynasty explorer and ambassador Zhang Qian visited Bactria in 126 BC, and reported

1040-640: A political entity around 10 AD following the invasions of the Indo-Scythians , although pockets of Greek populations probably remained for several centuries longer under the subsequent rule of the Indo-Parthians , the Kushans , and the Indo-Scythians , whose Western Satraps state lingered on encompassing local Greeks , up to 415 CE. Greeks first began to settle the Northwestern part of

1120-576: A quarter Greek." Also several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes , followed by Deimachus and Dionysius , were sent to reside at the Mauryan court. Presents continued to be exchanged between the two rulers. The intensity of these contacts is testified by the existence of a dedicated Mauryan state department for Greek ( Yavana ) and Persian foreigners, or the remains of Hellenistic pottery that can be found throughout northern India. On these occasions, Greek populations apparently remained in

1200-477: A reduced rate, while sea trade between Greek Egypt and Bactria developed. Diodotus was succeeded by his son Diodotus II , who allied himself with the Parthian Arsaces in his fight against Seleucus II : Soon after, relieved by the death of Diodotus, Arsaces made peace and concluded an alliance with his son, also by the name of Diodotus; some time later he fought against Seleucos who came to punish

1280-545: A regent, until his son Strato could rule properly in his stead. Despite the success of his reign, it is clear that after his death, his "loosely hung" empire splintered into a variety of Indo-Greek successor kingdoms, of various sizes and stability. His legacy as a Buddhist arhat reached the Greco-Roman world and Plutarch writes: But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in

1360-596: A river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus ), and Darapsa, and several others. Among these was Eucratidia , which was named after its ruler. When the ruler of neighbouring Parthia , the former satrap and self-proclaimed king Andragoras , was eliminated by Arsaces , the rise of the Parthian Empire cut off the Greco-Bactrians from direct contact with the Greek world. Overland trade continued at

1440-616: A three-year siege in the fortified city of Bactra (modern Balkh ), before Antiochus finally decided to recognize the new ruler, and to offer one of his daughters to Euthydemus's son Demetrius around 206 BC. Classical accounts also relate that Euthydemus negotiated peace with Antiochus III by suggesting that he deserved credit for overthrowing the original rebel Diodotus, and that he was protecting Central Asia from nomadic invasions thanks to his defensive efforts: ...for if he did not yield to this demand, neither of them would be safe: seeing that great hordes of Nomads were close at hand, who were

1520-453: Is in favour of the conversion of King Menander to Buddhism, which is neither an isolated historical incident nor an invention of later traditions." Minadrasa maharajasa Katiassa divasa 4 4 4 11 pra[na]-[sa]me[da]... (prati)[thavi]ta pranasame[da]... Sakamunisa On the 14th day of Kārttika, in the reign of Mahārāja Minadra, (in the year ...), (the corporeal relic) of Sakyamuni , which is endowed with life... has been established From Alasanda

1600-426: Is indicated by the fact that Menander probably overstruck a coin of Zoilos. The Milinda Panha might give some support to the idea that Menander's position was precarious, since it describes him as being somewhat cornered by numerous enemies into a circumscribed territory: After their long discussion Nagasaka asked himself "though king Milinda is pleased, he gives no signs of being pleased". Menander says in reply: "As

1680-638: The Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma . In his edicts, Ashoka mentions that he had sent Buddhist emissaries to Greek rulers as far as the Mediterranean ( Edict No. 13 ), and that he developed herbal medicine in their territories, for the welfare of humans and animals ( Edict No. 2 ). The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in

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1760-644: The Buddhist faith, as described in the Milinda Panha , a classical Pali Buddhist text on the discussions between Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nāgasena . He is described as constantly accompanied by an elite guard of 500 Greek (" Yavana ") soldiers, and two of his counsellors are named Demetrius and Antiochus. In the Milinda Panha , Menander is introduced as King of the city of Euthymedia in India, Milinda by name, learned, eloquent, wise, and able; and

1840-461: The Itihâsas ; astronomy , magic , causation , and magic spells ; the art of war ; poetry ; conveyancing in a word, the whole nineteen. As a disputant he was hard to equal, harder still to overcome; the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. And as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India. He

1920-508: The Maurya empire . These elements tend to indicate the importance of Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern India, and the prominent role Greek Buddhist monks played in them, probably under the sponsorship of Menander. Menander has left behind an immense corpus of silver and bronze coins, more so than any other Indo-Greek king. During his reign, the fusion between Indian and Greek coin standards reached its apogee. The coins feature

2000-704: The Paropamisadae , thereby consolidating the rule of the Indo-Greek kings in the northwestern part of the Indian Subcontinent. The Milinda Panha gives some glimpses of his military methods: – Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents? – Yes, certainly. – Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food collected? – Not at all. All that had been prepared beforehand. – Or you had yourself trained in

2080-645: The Punjab were left to the rule of Porus and Taxiles , who were confirmed again at the Treaty of Triparadisus in 321 BC, and the remaining Greek troops in these satrapies were left under the command of Alexander's general Eudemus . After 321 BC Eudemus toppled Taxiles, until he left India in 316 BC. To the south, another general also ruled over the Greek colonies of the Indus: Peithon, son of Agenor , until his departure for Babylon in 316 BC. Around 322 BC,

2160-595: The Seleucid Empire , a dynastic alliance or the recognition of intermarriage between Greeks and Indians were established (described as an agreement on Epigamia in Ancient sources), and several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes , resided at the Mauryan court. Subsequently, each Mauryan emperor had a Greek ambassador at his court. Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka converted to the Buddhist faith and became

2240-811: The Seres (Chinese) and the Phryni Several statuettes and representations of Greek soldiers have been found north of the Tien Shan , on the doorstep to China, and are today on display in the Xinjiang museum at Urumqi (Boardman ). Greek influences on Chinese art have also been suggested ( Hirth , Rostovtzeff ). Designs with rosette flowers, geometric lines, and glass inlays, suggestive of Hellenistic influences, can be found on some early Han dynasty bronze mirrors. Numismatics also suggest that some technology exchanges may have occurred on these occasions:

2320-579: The Shunga capital Pataliputra resulting in a conflict. The religious scripture Yuga Purana , which describes events in the form of a prophecy, states: After having conquered Saketa, the country of the Panchala and the Mathuras , the Yavanas (Greeks), wicked and valiant, will reach Kusumadhvaja. The thick mud-fortifications at Pataliputra being reached, all the provinces will be in disorder, without

2400-560: The Yavana Kingdom , was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan , Pakistan and northwestern India . The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of various Hellenistic states, ruling from regional capitals like Taxila , Sagala , Pushkalavati , and Alexandria in the Caucasus (now Bagram ). Other centers are only hinted at; e.g. Ptolemy 's Geographia and

2480-514: The Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. The details of the marriage agreement are not known, but since the extensive sources available on Seleucus never mention an Indian princess, it is thought that the marital alliance went the other way, with Chandragupta himself or his son Bindusara marrying

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2560-561: The Bactrian satrapies of Tapuria and Traxiane . To the north, Euthydemus also ruled Sogdiana and Ferghana , and there are indications that from Alexandria Eschate the Greco-Bactrians may have led expeditions as far as Kashgar and Ürümqi in Chinese Turkestan , leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around 220 BC. The Greek historian Strabo too writes that: they extended their empire even as far as

2640-703: The Buddhists and the Yavanas. He ruled for 60 years. From him, Vindusara was born and ruled for the same number of years as his father. His son was Ashoka ." Chandragupta , however, followed Jainism until the end of his life. He got in his court for marriage the daughter of Seleucus Nicator , Berenice ( Suvarnnaksi ), and thus, he mixed the Indians and the Greeks. His grandson Ashoka , as Woodcock and other scholars have suggested, "may in fact have been half or at least

2720-545: The Chinese people, and placing great value on the rich produce of China A number of Chinese envoys were then sent to Central Asia, triggering the development of the Silk Road from the end of the 2nd century BC. The Indian emperor Chandragupta , founder of the Mauryan dynasty , had re-conquered northwestern India upon the death of Alexander the Great around 322 BC. However, contacts were kept with his Greek neighbours in

2800-570: The Greco-Bactrians were the first in the world to issue cupro-nickel (75/25 ratio) coins, an alloy technology only known by the Chinese at the time under the name "White copper" (some weapons from the Warring States period were in copper-nickel alloy ). The practice of exporting Chinese metals, in particular iron, for trade is attested around that period. Kings Euthydemus, Euthydemus II, Agathocles and Pantaleon made these coin issues around 170 BC and it has alternatively been suggested that

2880-724: The Greeks (described as Yona or Yavana in Indian sources) may then have participated, together with other groups, in the uprising of Chandragupta Maurya against the Nanda dynasty , and gone as far as Pataliputra for the capture of the city from the Nandas. 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 , and according to these accounts, this alliance gave Chandragupta

2960-625: The Hathigumpha inscription states that Kharavela sacked Pataliputra. Furthermore, numismatics from the Mitra dynasty are concurrently placed in Mathura during the time of Menander. Their relationship is unclear, but the Mithra may potentially be vassals. In the West, Menander seems to have repelled the invasion of the dynasty of Greco-Bactrian usurper Eucratides , and pushed them back as far as

3040-534: The Indian parts of the Persian empire. In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great defeated and conquered the Persian empire. In 326 BC, this included the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent as far as the Hyphasis River . Alexander established satrapies and founded several settlements, including Bucephala ; he turned south when his troops refused to go further east. The Indian satrapies of

3120-510: The Indian subcontinent during the time of the Persian Achaemenid empire . Darius the Great conquered the area, but along with his successors also conquered much of the Greek world, which at the time included all of the western Anatolian peninsula . When Greek villages rebelled under the Persian yoke, they were sometimes ethnically cleansed, by relocation to the far side of the empire. Thus there came to be many Greek communities in

3200-603: The Indo-Greek Kingdoms in the North Western Indian Subcontinent. During the two centuries of their rule, the Indo-Greek kings combined the Greek and Indian languages and symbols , as seen on their coins, and blended Greek and Indian ideas, as seen in the archaeological remains. The diffusion of Indo-Greek culture had consequences which are still felt today, particularly through the influence of Greco-Buddhist art . The ethnicity of

3280-642: The Indo-Greek kings. Menander might have initially been a king of Bactria. After conquering the Punjab , as far as Taxila , he established an empire which stretched from the Kabul River in the west to the Indus River in the east, and from the Swat River valley in the north to Arachosia (the Helmand Province ). According to Numismatist Joe Cribb and archaeologist Rachel Mairs,

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3360-537: The Indo-Greek kings. Precise dates of his reign, as well as his origin, remain elusive, however. Guesses among historians have been that Menander was either a nephew or a former general of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I , but the two kings are now thought to be separated by at least thirty years. Menander's predecessor in Punjab seems to have been the king Apollodotus I . Menander's empire survived him in

3440-507: The Indo-Greek may also have been hybrid to some degree. Euthydemus I was, according to Polybius, a Magnesian Greek . His son, Demetrius I , founder of the Indo-Greek kingdom, was therefore of Greek ethnicity at least by his father. A marriage treaty was arranged for the same Demetrius with a daughter of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III . The ethnicity of later Indo-Greek rulers is sometimes less clear. For example, Artemidoros (80 BC)

3520-632: The King of Kalinga also places the Yavanas, or Indo-Greeks, in Mathura. Kharavela states to have forced the demoralized Yavana army to retreat back to Mathura: "Then in the eighth year, (Kharavela) with a large army having sacked Goradhagiri causes pressure on Rajagaha ( Rajagriha ). On account of the loud report of this act of valour, the Yavana (Greek) King [ta] retreated to Mathura having extricated his demoralized army." Menander may have campaigned as far as

3600-403: The Punjab, Pakistan ). His territories covered Bactria (modern-day Balkh Province ) and extended to India (modern-day regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , and Greater Punjab . His capital is supposed to have been Sagala , a prosperous city in northern Punjab (believed to be modern Sialkot , Pakistan ). The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of

3680-410: The Saviour ' ; Pali : Milinda ; sometimes called Menander the Great ) was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c.  165 /155  –130 BC) who administered a large territory in the Northwestern regions of the Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia . Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of

3760-453: The accounts of Menander’s kingdom stretching as far as Sialkot, is hard to believe, as there is no numismatic evidence of him east of Taxila, even more hard is to believe is stretching even further east as thought earlier by historians based upon Indian references, which most likely are referring to Kushans . Large numbers of Menander’s coins have been unearthed, attesting to both the flourishing commerce and longevity of his realm. Menander

3840-401: The advantage of explaining why the Seleucid king Antiochus II issued very few coins in Bactria, as Diodotos would have become independent there early in Antiochus' reign. On the other hand, the low chronology, from the mid-240s BC, has the advantage of connecting the secession of Diodotus I with the Third Syrian War , a catastrophic conflict for the Seleucid Empire. Diodotus, the governor of

3920-418: The camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him." The above seems to corroborate the claim: It is unlikely that Menander’s support of Buddhism was a pious reconstruction of

4000-411: The city of the Yonas came the Thera ("Elder") Yona Mahadhammarakkhita with thirty thousand bhikkhus . A coin of Menander I was found in the second oldest stratum (GSt 2) of the Butkara stupa suggesting a period of additional constructions during the reign of Menander. It is thought that Menander was the builder of the second oldest layer of the Butkara stupa, following its initial construction during

4080-474: The country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander-- by Menander in particular (at least if he actually crossed the Hypanis towards the east and advanced as far as the Imaüs ), for some were subdued by him personally and others by Demetrius , the son of Euthydemus the king of the Bactrians; and they took possession, not only of Patalena , but also, on

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4160-500: The death of Eucratides. Menander was the first Indo-Greek ruler to introduce the representation of Athena Alkidemos ("Athena, saviour of the people") on his coins, probably in reference to a similar statue of Athena Alkidemos in Pella , capital of Macedon . This type was subsequently used by most of the later Indo-Greek kings. A king named Menander with the epithet Dikaios , "the Just", ruled in Punjab after 100 BC. Earlier scholars, such as A. Cunningham and W. W. Tarn, believed there

4240-439: The duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him. Alexander had also established several colonies in neighbouring Bactria , such as Alexandria on the Oxus (modern Ai-Khanoum ) and Alexandria of the Caucasus (medieval Kapisa , modern Bagram ). After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Bactria came under the control of Seleucus I Nicator , who founded the Seleucid Empire . The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

4320-421: The east between the Oxus River, which forms the boundary between the Bactrians and the Sogdians, and the Iaxartes River. And the Iaxartes forms also the boundary between the Sogdians and the nomads. Euthydemus was attacked by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III around 210 BC. Although he commanded 10,000 horsemen, Euthydemus initially lost a battle on the Arius and had to retreat. He then successfully resisted

4400-712: The honour of his burial, ultimately sharing his ashes among them and placing them in "monuments" (possibly stupas ), in a manner reminiscent of the funerals of the Buddha. But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him. Despite his many successes, Menander's last years may have been fraught with another civil war, this time against Zoilos I who reigned in Gandhara. This

4480-481: The island formed by this river are the cities Pantala, Barbaria . (...) The Larica region of Indoscythia is located eastward from the swamp near the sea, in which on the west of the Namadus river is the interior city of Barygaza emporium. On the east side of the river (...) Ozena -Regia Tiastani (...) Minnagara". This Pakistan -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Indo-Greeks The Indo-Greek Kingdom , also known as

4560-536: The king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas , the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma . Furthermore, according to Pali sources, some of Ashoka's emissaries were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges between the two cultures: Menander I Menander I Soter ( Ancient Greek : Μένανδρος Σωτήρ , romanized :  Ménandros Sōtḗr , lit.   ' Menander

4640-453: The legend ( Ancient Greek : ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ , romanized :  BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU / Kharoshthi : MAHARAJA TRATARASA MENADRASA). These alterations were possibly an adaption on Menander's part to the Indian coins of the Bactrian Eucratides I , who had conquered the westernmost parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, and are interpreted by Bopearachchi as an indication that Menander recaptured these western territories after

4720-444: The level of sophistication of the urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia, who became interested in developing commercial relationships with them: The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana ( Dayuan ) and the possessions of Bactria ( Daxia ) and Parthia ( Anxi ) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of

4800-408: The local king Sophagasenus : He (Antiochus) crossed the Caucasus (the Caucasus Indicus or Paropamisus: mod. Hindú Kúsh ) and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus

4880-414: The management of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in the use of the war chariot, and in archery and fencing? – Not at all. I had learnt all that before. – But why? – With the object of warding off future danger. Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extent of his empire: (with finds as far as Britain) the finds of his coins are the most numerous and the most widespread of all

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4960-403: The nomenclature of later kings suggest that a certain Theophilus in the south of the Indo-Greek sphere of influence may also have been a royal seat at one time. The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius I of Bactria invaded India from Bactria in about 200 BC. The Greeks to the east of the Seleucid Empire were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom and

5040-411: The northwest of the Indian subcontinent under Mauryan rule. Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka , who had converted to the Buddhist faith declared in the Edicts of Ashoka , set in stone, some of them written in Greek, that Greek populations within his realm also had converted to Buddhism: Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas , the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas,

5120-428: The presence of Chinese products in the Bactrian markets: "When I was in Bactria ( Daxia )", Zhang Qian reported, "I saw bamboo canes from Qiong and cloth made in the province of Shu (territories of southwestern China). When I asked the people how they had gotten such articles, they replied, "Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Shendu (India)." Upon his return, Zhang Qian informed the Chinese emperor Han Wudi of

5200-486: The propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka such as Dharmaraksita , or the teacher Mahadharmaraksita , are described in Pali sources as leading Greek (" Yona ", i.e., Ionian) Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa , XII). It is also thought that Greeks contributed to the sculptural work of the Pillars of Ashoka , and more generally to the blossoming of Mauryan art. Some Greeks (Yavanas) may have played an administrative role in

5280-477: The rebels, and he prevailed: the Parthians celebrated this day as the one that marked the beginning of their freedom Euthydemus , a Magnesian Greek according to Polybius and possibly satrap of Sogdiana , overthrew Diodotus II around 230 BC and started his own dynasty. Euthydemus's control extended to Sogdiana, going beyond the city of Alexandria Eschate founded by Alexander the Great in Ferghana : "And they also held Sogdiana, situated above Bactriana towards

5360-417: The rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis . Ptolemy mentioned Patalena in his Geographia : Moreover the region which is next to the western part of India, is called Indoscythia . A part of this region around the (Indus) river mouth is Patalena, above which is Abiria . That which is about the mouth of the Indus and the Canthicolpus bay is called Syrastrena . (...) In

5440-504: The rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis . In short, Apollodorus says that Bactriana is the ornament of Ariana as a whole; and, more than that, they extended their empire even as far as the Seres and the Phryni . Accounts describe Indo-Greek campaigns to Mathura , Panchala , Saketa , and potentially Pataliputra . The sage Patanjali around 150 BC, describes Menander campaigning as far as Mathura. The Hathigumpha inscription inscribed by Kharavela

5520-415: The territories ruled by Ashoka: the Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman records that during the rule of Ashoka, a Yavana King/ Governor named Tushaspha was in charge in the area of Girnar , Gujarat , mentioning his role in the construction of a water reservoir. Again in 206 BC, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus led an army to the Kabul valley, where he received war elephants and presents from

5600-407: The thousand cities of Bactria ( Latin : Theodotus, mille urbium Bactrianarum praefectus ), defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians. The new kingdom, highly urbanized and considered one of the richest of the Orient ( opulentissimum illud mille urbium Bactrianum imperium "The extremely prosperous Bactrian empire of

5680-464: The thousand cities" Justin, XLI,1 ), was to further grow in power and engage into territorial expansion to the east and the west: The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana , but also of India , as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were Bactra (also called Zariaspa, through which flows

5760-562: The time. The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy , Antigonos , Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas , the Pandyas , and as far as Tamraparni . Some of the Greek populations that had remained in northwestern India apparently converted to Buddhism: Here in

5840-432: The world, but Plutarch says that he died in camp while on a military campaign, and that his remains were divided equally between the cities to be enshrined in monuments, probably stupas , across his realm. Menander was born into a Greek family in a village called Kalasi adjacent to Alexandria of the Caucasus (present day Bagram , Afghanistan), although another source says he was born near Sagala (modern Sialkot in

5920-521: The world: And afterwards, taking delight in the wisdom of the Elder, he handed over his kingdom to his son, and abandoning the household life for the houseless state, grew great in insight, and himself attained to Arahatship ! There is however little besides this testament to indicate that Menander in fact abdicated his throne in favour of his son. Based on numismatic evidence, William Tarn believed that he in fact died, leaving his wife Agathocleia to rule as

6000-580: Was also a patron of Buddhism , and his conversations with the Buddhist sage Nagasena are recorded in the important Buddhist work, the Milinda Panha ("The Questions of King Milinda"; panha meaning "question" in Pali ). After his death in 130 BC, he was succeeded by his wife Agathocleia , perhaps the daughter of Agathocles , who ruled as regent for his son Strato I . Buddhist tradition relates that he handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from

6080-620: Was considerably reduced. Many new kingdoms and republics east of the Ravi River began to mint new coinage depicting military victories. The most prominent entities to form were the Yaudheya Republic, Arjunayanas , and the Audumbaras . The Yaudheyas and Arjunayanas both are said to have won "victory by the sword". The Datta dynasty and Mitra dynasty soon followed in Mathura . The Indo-Greeks ultimately disappeared as

6160-484: Was founded when Diodotus I, the satrap of Bactria (and probably the surrounding provinces) seceded from the Seleucid Empire around 250 BC. The preserved ancient sources (see below) are somewhat contradictory and the exact date of Bactrian independence has not been settled. Somewhat simplified, there is a high chronology (c. 255 BC) and a low chronology (c. 246 BC) for Diodotos' secession. The high chronology has

6240-448: Was only one Menander, and assumed that the king had changed his epithet and/or was expelled from his western dominions. A number of coincidences led them to this assumption: However, modern numismatists such as Bopearachchi and R.C. Senior have shown, by differences in coin findings, style, and monograms, that there were two distinct rulers. The second Menander could have been a descendant of the first, and his Buddhist symbols may have been

6320-400: Was rich too, mighty in wealth and prosperity, and the number of his armed hosts knew no end. Buddhist tradition relates that, following his discussions with Nāgasena, Menander adopted the Buddhist faith: May the venerable Nâgasena accept me as a supporter of the faith, as a true convert from to-day onwards as long as life shall last! He then handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from

6400-476: Was supposed to have been of Indo-Scythian descent, although he is now seen as a regular Indo-Greek king. Menander I Soter , being the most well known amongst the Indo-Greek kings, is often referred to simply as "Menander," despite the fact that there was indeed another Indo-Greek King known as Menander II. Menander I's capital was at Sagala in the Punjab (present-day Sialkot). Following the death of Menander, most of his empire splintered and Indo-Greek influence

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