Indo-Greek wars
| Indo-Greek wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Pauravas Nanda Empire Mauryan Empire[1] Shunga Empire Mahameghavahana dynasty |
Macedonian Empire Seleucid Empire[2] Greco-Bactrian kingdom | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Porus Abisares Cleophis Sashigupta Dhana Nanda Chandragupta Maurya Chanakya Bindusara Pushyamitra Shunga Agnimitra Vasumitra[8] Kharavela |
Alexander the Great (WIA) Craterus Ptolemy Perdiccas Peithon Coenus Peucestas Demonicus of Pella Seleucus I Nicator Demetrius I of Bactria[9] Menander I[10] | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||||
Background[edit]
Alexander's army mutinied along the Hyphasis, as Alexander died before he could make a conquest in fighting the Nanda Empire, making the Beas River the eastern border of the Macedonian Empire.
Following Alexander's death, Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid dynasty and former Diadochi, gained control over Mesopotamia and the eastern satraps of the former Macedonian Empire. Seleucus unsuccessfully tried to campaign in India by invading what is now Punjab in northern India and Pakistan in 305 BC.[11]
In 180 BC, 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 Pushyamitra Shunga, who then founded the new Indian Shunga dynasty (185 BC-78 BC). 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.[12]
Alexander's Mallian Campaign (Eastern Punjab)[edit]
The Mallian campaign was conducted by Alexander the Great from November 326 to February 325 BC, against the Mallians of the Punjab.[13][14] Alexander was defining the eastern limit of his power by marching down-river along the Hydaspes to the Acesines (now the Jhelum and Chenab), but the Malli and the Oxydraci combined to refuse passage through their territory. Alexander sought to prevent their forces meeting, and made a swift campaign against them which successfully pacified the region between the two rivers. Alexander was seriously injured during the course of the campaign, almost losing his life.[15]
Siege of Citadel (326 BC)[edit]
Alexander arranged two separate forces, one to be led by himself and the other by Perdiccas. The Indians almost immediately retreated into the main citadel. The citadel was substantial, with its walls a mile around.[16] But Alexander was able to force one of the gates, and made his way into the outer parts of the citadel.[16] There the Macedonians began to undermine the next layer of walls.
Alexander quickly became impatient at the pace of the siege, so he grabbed a ladder and went up it himself.[16] He was followed by only two soldiers. The rest of the soldiers, nervous about the safety of their king, crowded the ladders to get up so that they could protect him. There were too many of them, and the ladders collapsed under the weight. The Mallians realised who Alexander was, and focused their energies on him. Many of Alexander's men held out their arms and called for him to jump down to them.[17] The King, however, would not.
Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel,[18] where he killed the Mallians' leader.[19] However, during the fighting an arrow penetrated Alexander's lung, severely wounding him.[20] The Macedonians believed Alexander to be dead. After gaining entrance to the city, they planned to kill everyone in revenge.
Macedonian Conquest of Punjab[edit]
Eventually the two forces met and arrayed themselves for the battle. The Indians were poised with cavalry on both flanks, fronted by their chariots, while their center comprising infantry with war elephants stationed every fifty feet in front of them, to deter the Macedonian cavalry. The Indian war elephants were heavily armoured and had castle-like howdahs on their back carrying a trio of archers and javelin men. Porus's soldiers were dressed in flamboyantly hued outfits with steel helmets, bright scarves and baldrics, and wielded axes, lances and maces. Porus, eschewing the usual tradition of Indian kings fighting from a chariot, was mounted atop his tallest war elephant. This animal in particular was not equipped with a howdah, as the king was clad in chain mail armour and hence had no need of the additional protection of a tower.[21]
Alexander, noticing that Porus's disposition was strongest in the center, decided to attack with his cavalry first on the flanks, having his phalanx hold back until the Indian cavalry had been neutralized.[22] The Macedonian heavy infantry phalanx were outnumbered 1:5 against the Indian infantry. However the latter were at significant disadvantage in close combat due to their lack of armour and the long reach of their opponent's sarissas. Even their heavy armour-piercing bows were inaccurate because of the slippery ground,[23] though the muddy ground was also an advantage to the lighter-armored Indians.[21] Alexander commenced the battle by sending his Dahae horse archers to harass the Indian right-wing cavalry.[23] His armoured Companion cavalry was sent to attack their outnumbered Indian counterparts on the left wing, with Alexander himself leading the charge as was his habit. The rest of the Indian cavalry galloped to the aid of their hard-pressed kinsmen from the right wing, but Coenus's squadrons promptly followed their movement and attacked them from the rear. The Indian horsemen tried to form a double phalanx to face both attacks, but the necessary complicated manoeuvres brought even more confusion into their ranks, making it easier for the Macedonian cavalry to defeat them. The Indian cavalry were thus routed, and fled to the safety of their elephants.[24]
The war elephants now advanced against the Macedonian cavalry, only to be confronted by the Macedonian phalanx. The powerful beasts caused heavy losses among the Macedonian foot, impaling many men with their steel-clad tusks and heaving some of them into the air before pulverizing them, and trampling and disorganizing their dense lines. Nevertheless, the Macedonian infantry resisted the attack bravely, with light infantry who tossed javelins at the elephants' mahouts and eyes while the heavy infantry attempted to hamstring the elephants with the two-sided axes and kopis.[21] Meanwhile, the Indian horsemen attempted another sally, only to be repulsed once again by Alexander's cavalry squadrons, who had all massed together. The elephants were eventually repulsed and fled back to their own lines. Many of their mahouts had been struck down by Macedonian missiles before they could kill their panicked mounts with poisoned rods, and hence the maddened animals wrought enormous havoc, trampling many of their own infantry and cavalry to death.[23] Finally, the Macedonian pezhetairoi locked their shields and advanced upon the confused enemy mass, while the Macedonian cavalry charged from the rear in a classic "hammer and anvil" manoeuvre, putting the entire Indian army to rout.[24] Meanwhile, Craterus and his force in the base camp had succeeded in crossing the river, and arriving just at the right moment proceed to conduct a thorough pursuit on the fleeing Indians.[25]
Throughout the battle, Alexander is said to have observed with growing admiration the valour of Porus, and understood that Porus intended to die in combat rather than be captured. Hoping to save the life of such a competent leader and warrior, Alexander commanded Taxiles to summon Porus for surrender. However, Porus became enraged on the very sight of his nemesis and tossed a spear at him in fury without bothering to listen to his proposal. Porus's aggressive response forced Taxiles to take flight on his steed. In a similar manner, many other messengers dispatched by the determined Alexander were spurned until at last Meroes, a personal friend of Porus, convinced him to listen to Alexander's message. Overpowered by thirst, the weary Porus finally dismounted his war elephant and demanded water. After being refreshed, he allowed himself to be taken to Alexander. On hearing that the Indian King was approaching, Alexander himself rode out to meet him and the famous surrender meeting took place.[26][27][28]
Aftermath[edit]
According to Arrian, Macedonian losses amounted to 80 foot soldiers, ten horse archers, twenty of the Companions and 200 other horsemen.[29] However the military historian J.F.C. Fuller saw Diodorus's casualty figures of 1,000 men killed as more realistic.[30][31] This was certainly a high figure for the victorious army, and more than the Macedonian losses at Gaugamela, yet not improbable considering the partial success of the Indian war elephants.[32] Indian losses amounted to 23,000 according to Arrian, 12,000 dead and over 9,000 men captured according to Diodorus.[33][34][35] The last two numbers are remarkably close, so it might be assumed that Arrian added any prisoners to the total Indian casualties. Among the Indian leadership, two sons of Porus and his relative and ally Spitakes were killed during the battle, as well as most of his chieftains.[29] Around 80 elephants were captured alive.[36][31] Alexander also acquired an additional 70 war elephants due to the late arrival of reinforcements called for by King Porus after the battle was already over, who readily surrendered and offered these beasts as a tribute.[21]
Alexendar's cophen campaigns[edit]
First cophen campaign[edit]
While on the march Alexander sent ambassadors ahead to the various tribes that were ahead of him ordering them to submit and provide him with hostages. Taxila and a number of other princes came to him bringing him gifts as proof of their vassalage and paying tribute with gifts for the Macedonians.Amongst the gifts that the Macedonians had never seen before, the Indian potentates furnished Alexander with 25 elephants[37]
As Alexander had now effectively replaced Darius III as King of Persia, Alexander was now effectively the new overlord of the Empire including this easternmost region.[38] Therefore, Alexander was able to treat anyone who resisted him as in revolt against him. While descending into the Cophen valley, Alexander informed his new vassals of his intentions. He planned to spend the rest of the summer and autumn reducing the region ahead of him up to the Indus river. From there, he was going to proceed beyond the Indus and punish the Indian states and tribes which had not recognised him as their overlord and had not sent him ambassadors with tribute.
However, he found that the campaign was far more difficult than he had anticipated. At Nicaea, he took the time to split his army into two separate forces with the object of retaining the interior lines so that he could reinforce his army at any point should any particular section of his army become threatened during the course of his campaign in the valley of the Cophen. In addition to this, these two forces were to keep the Indian rulers in the region from combining their forces and coordinating their efforts against the Macedonians.[39] The army that was to march along the river Cophen was to be commanded by Perdiccas and Hephaestion.[37] They were accompanied by the king of Taxila to take advantage of his knowledge of the region.[37][40] They were to proceed along the southern bank of the Cophen. They had at their disposal three brigades led by Gorgias, Clitus and Meleager, half the Companion (mostly Macedonian noblemen who were equipped with a spear,[41] a shield and were disciplined to such an extent that they have been called "the first real cavalry")[41] and all the Greek mercenary cavalry.[37][40] Their instructions were to follow the river to the Indus bringing all the cities and fortifications to submission on the way through either systematic reduction or by terms.[37][39] Then they were to build a bridge upon their arrival at the Indus[37] so that when the King arrived and after the winter when Alexander had wintered his army in the region, they could proceed to cross the river and punish the tribes across the Indus.[39]
Meanwhile, Alexander had at his disposal the bulk of the forces in his army.[39] These forces comprised the shield bearing guards (known as the "silver shields"), four regiments of Companion cavalry, the Phalanx (other than those who marched with the first column), the foot agema, the archers, the other half of the horse archers, the Agrianians and the horse lancers.[42][39]
Alexander's plan was to march along all the valleys that were in between Nicaea and the river Indus with the aim of subduing those tribes that had not paid tribute.[42][43]
Alexander received information that the Aspasians, the first tribe whose lands he had entered had retreated to their capital. Eager to defeat them, the Macedonians crossed a river with all the cavalry and eight hundred Macedonian infantry mounted on horses.[44][45] They arrived quickly enough to kill a number of the Aspasians and drive them within their walls.[45] The rest of the army came up the next day and took the city. However, a number of the Aspasians decided to flee before the city was taken, seeing their cause as lost. The Macedonians followed them and killed a great many of them.[45][46] Alexander's men, enraged to see that their king had been injured during the course of the siege, razed the city to the ground. The Macedonians marched off to the next town, Andaca, which capitulated.[45] Alexander then left Craterus, whom he had probably kept in hand in case of just such an occasion, in command of a force responsible for gaining and keeping control of the tribes living in the surrounding valleys.[45]
Alexander's next destination was Euspla,[45] where the King of the Aspasians was based. At this point, deeming their cause lost, the Aspasians burned this city and fled.[45] The Macedonians pursued them. During the ensuing combat, one of the Aspasians thrust his spear right through Ptolemy's breast plate,[42] but the spear did not make contact with him due to the armour stopping the severity of the blow.[42][47] It was at this point that Ptolemy killed the King of the Aspasians.[42][47]
Second and final cophen campaign[edit]
After defeating the Aspasians and thus securing his lines of communication, the Macedonians marched towards the Guraean fortified city of Arigaeum. On hearing news of Alexander's capacity as a general and besieger, the populace razed the fortress.[48] It was at this particular point that Craterus returned to Alexander after gaining control over the Aspasian valleys, including Andaca.[48] Alexander ordered Craterus to set up a number of new colonies in the region, including Arigaeum. Control of Arigaeum and Andaca were important in controlling the Choaspes river, and occupying the fortresses with healthy garrisons would prove advantageous to Alexander in the case of revolts.[48]
The Guraeans had retreated after burning their fortified city, joined up with their fellow tribesmen and prepared themselves to face Alexander.
Siege of Arigaeum and Massaga[edit]
Ptolemy, who had been sent ahead on a foraging expedition,came back to the main contingent of the army under Alexander and reported that there was a very large force assembled and preparing to face the Macedonians.
When the Macedonians arrived where the assembled force had gathered, Alexander divided his army into three parts with Ptolemy taking up the left (he commanded a third of the hypaspists, the brigades of Philip and Philotas, two squadrons of horse archers, the Agrianians and half the remaining cavalry). Leonnatus was ordered to take up the right flank, with Attalus' and Balacrus' brigades.[49] Alexander took up the centre opposed to the Guraean centre. Alexander sent Ptolemy and Leonnatus to their respective flanks by routes that the Guraeans could not observe, thus hiding these two particular flanks of his army (lined roughly obliquely with his centre line from the Guraeans. Alexander's contingent was comparatively small, and his plan was to lure them out and to fight them while Leonnatus and Ptolemy took their flanks.
As expected, the Guraeans attacked Alexander's small contingent and after Ptolemy faced rough fighting, he was able to achieve victory on his flank. Leonnatus' victory was comparatively easier, after which time the enemy surrendered.[50] It is said that 40,000 Guraeans were captured. Alexander then marched towards Massaga, the largest Assacenian fortified city and their capital. The Assacenians had acquired the services of 7,000 mercenaries from beyond the Indus. These mercenaries were soldiers of considerable capability, and as a result of their presence, the Assacenians as well as the mercenaries themselves were confident of victory against the Macedonians.
Upon arriving at Massaga, Alexander ordered that the camp be set up outside of the capital. However, so the Assacenians were so confident thanks to support of their mercenaries that they decided to immediately attack. Seeing an opportunity, Alexander ordered his men to retreat to a hill about a mile distant from the town.[51][52] In pursuing the Macedonians, the Assacenians lost their discipline and became disordered due to their excitement at the prospect of having caught the Macedonians so off guard. However, when they finally came within range of the Macedonian bows, Alexander ordered his bowmen to fire on the Assacenians.The mounted javelin men, Agrianians and archers at once dashed forward to attack.These were swiftly followed by the phalanx, which Alexander led in person.Alexander was injured during the course of this action and is alleged to have stated, "They may call me son of Zeus, but I suffer none the less like a mortal. This is blood, not ichor!"[52]
A subsequent assault on Massaga proved to be unsuccessful[53] with the professional mercenaries showing that they were worth the gold they were getting paid. The next day, Alexander ordered the siege equipment to be brought up and ordered a section of the wall to be battered down.[52] However, the mercenaries were successful in preventing this action from succeeding.[52] As a result, Alexander ordered that a tower and terrace be built; this took nine days.[52] Alexander then ordered that the tower be advanced toward the wall.[52] Archers and slingers, most likely from Cyprus, were stationed on the tower as it was moved forward in order to keep the defenders at a distance.[52]
Alexendar's minor Indian Campaigns[edit]
During the course of the siege of the fortress of Massaga, Alexander was of the view that the taking of Massaga would strike the tribes in the surrounding territory with fear as to his power and ability.[54] When it became clear that the stronghold would surrender,[54] Alexander decided to dispatch a number of his lieutenants to the surrounding fortress towns to follow up on this victory. He ordered Coenus to proceed to Bazira[54] with the expectation that this town would capitulate as a result of Massaga.[54] Simultaneously, he sent Alcetas, Attalus and Demetrius to Ora with the very specific orders to blockade Ora until he could arrive himself and take it.[54]
Upon arriving at Ora, Alcetas was attacked by Ora's inhabitants.[55] However, Alcetas was easily able to drive this sortie back into the town.[55] Bazira, which stood on the precipice of a mountain was fortified by "nature and art" and showed no signs of capitulating.[55] After receiving the submission of Massaga and massacring its inhabitants,[54] Alexander set out in the direction of Bazira.[55] However, while proceeding to Bazira he received the news that Abisares, the ruler of Hazara, was going to cross the Indus[56] with his soldiers to interrupt the siege and assist Ora.[55] Alexander changed his plans and set out for Ora with all the forces under his immediate command.[55] In addition to this, he ordered Coenus to establish a camp and fortify it as an eventual base of operations against the town of Bazira.[55] Coenus was then to leave a suitable garrison at that base to observe Bazira and while he joined Alexander and his forces at Ora.[55] However, when Coenus left Bazira, the town's inhabitants sallied out and attacked the encampment he had set up.[55] These tribesmen lost 500 of their fellow tribesmen during the course of this attack, and were easily driven back.[55] A few days later, the Macedonians were able to take Ora, after which point the inhabitants of Bazira saw their cause as lost, abandoned Bazira to the Macedonians and headed off to Aornus.[55]
It was as a result of these conquests that Alexander did to conquer the inhabitants of the Peshawar valley.[55] The Peshawar valley ran perpendicularly to the Swat river, which was flowed on a north–south axis.[55][56] This valley was effectively an opening through which Abisares could pass through.[55] It was therefore critical for Alexander to take the whole of the valley so that no reinforcements could be brought up into the valley and file through either the north or south exit of the valley and attack Alexander while he was besieging Aornus.[55] A historian of Alexander's, who took up the issue and examined the topography of the region, had this to say about the strategic situation that Alexander had developed for himself as a result of this campaign
to understand the sound strategic reasons which caused Alexander, before attacking Aornus, first to turn south to the Peshawar valley. Once he had consolidated his hold there and made his arrangements for crossing the Indus quite secure, he could safely move up to the right bank and attack the mountain retreat of the Swat fugitives from the south. He thus avoided the entanglement of the mountainous region that would have attended and hampered direct pursuit from the Swat side. The fugitive host could be cut off from retreat to the east of the Indus and from such assistance as Abisares, the ruler on that side, might offer. Finally, when attacking Aornus from the south, Alexander could command all the advantages that the Indus valley and the fertile plains of the Peshawar valley would offer in respect of supplies and other resources[57][58]
Siege of Aornus[edit]
Aornos (modern Swat, Pakistan) was the site of Alexander the Great's last siege, "the climax to Alexander's career as the greatest besieger in history" according to Alexander's biographer Robin Lane Fox.[59] The siege took place in the winter of 327–326 BC. (The site has been identified as being near the Pir-Sar mountain in Swat by Aurel Stein in 1926, and has been confirmed by archaeologists.) It offered the last threat to Alexander's supply line, which stretched in a dangerously vulnerable manner, over the Hindu Kush back to Balkh. The site lies north of Attock in Punjab, on a strongly reinforced mountain spur above the narrow gorges in a bend of the upper Indus River. It had a flat summit well supplied with natural springs and wide enough to grow crops. Therefore, it could not be starved to submission. Neighbouring tribesmen who surrendered to Alexander offered to lead him to the best point of access.
Ptolemy and Alexander's secretary Eumenes, whose account provided material for all later records of the event, reconnoitred and reinforced a neighbouring spur to the west with a stockade and ditch. Their signal fire to Alexander also alerted the defenders of Pir-Sar, and it took two days of skirmishing in the narrow ravines for Alexander to regroup. At the vulnerable north side leading to the fort, Alexander and his catapults were stopped by a deep ravine. To bring the siege engines within reach, an earthwork mound was constructed to bridge the ravine with carpentry, brush and earth. The first day's work brought the siege mound 50 metres (60 yards) closer, but as the sides of the ravine fell away steeply below, progress rapidly slowed. Nevertheless, at the end of the third day, a low hill connected to the nearest tip of Pir-Sar was within reach and was taken, after Alexander in the vanguard and his first force were repelled by boulders rolled down from above. Three days of drumbeats marked the defenders' celebration of the initial repulse, followed by a surprise retreat. Alexander hauled himself up the last rock face on a rope. Alexander cleared the summit, slaying some fugitives (inflated by Arrian to a massacre), and erected altars to Athena Nike, Athena of Victory, traces of which were identified by Stein.[60]
Siege of Nysa[edit]
When Alexander arrived at the city of Nysa, which was between the rivers Cophen and Indus, the city's citizens sent out to him their president, whose name was Acuphis (Ἄκουφις), and thirty of their most distinguished men as envoys. When they entered the Alexander's tent and saw him, they made a Proskynesis. When Alexander told them to rise, the Acuphis started his speech. In his speech he said that the god Dionysus founded the city and named it Nysa and the land Nysaea (Νυσαία) after his nurse and also he named the mountain near the city, Meron (Μηρὸν) (i.e. thigh), because he grew in the thigh of Zeus and Alexander should leave their city independent for the sake of the god. Alexander believed them and left the city self governed but asked from the Acuphis to send his own son, his daughter's son and some horsemen to accompany him.[61][62][63]
Then, together with his Companion cavalry went to the mountain and they made ivy garlands and crowned themselves with them, as they were, singing hymns in honor of Dionysus. Alexander also offered sacrifices to Dionysus, and feasted in company with his companions.[62] On the other hand, according to Philostratus although Alexander wanted to go up the mountain he decided not to do it because he was afraid that when his men will see the vines which were on the mountain they would feel home sick or they will recover their taste for wine after they had become accustomed to water only, so he decided to make his vow and sacrifice to Dionysus at the foot of the mountain.[64]
Outsiding of Macedons[edit]
Indian kings Porus and Phegeles (Bhagala) are said to have informed Alexander of the unpopularity of Agrammes among his subjects.[65] According to the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, his army had as 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 four-horsed chariots and 3,000 elephants.[66] The Greek accounts describe Agrammes as the ruler of the Gangaridai (the Ganges valley) and the Prasii (probably a transcription of the Sanskrit word prachyas, literally "easterners").[67] When faced with the prospect of facing the powerful army of Nanda, Alexander's soldiers mutinied, forcing him to retreat from India.[68]
Seleucid invasion of India and aftermath[edit]
According to Appian,
[Seleucus] crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and some afterward.
— Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars"
It is unknown if there was in fact a pitched battle.[69] Military historian John D. Grainger has argued that Seleucus, upon crossing the Indus, "would find himself in a trap, with a large river at his back and a hostile continent before him," and consequently could not have advanced much farther than the Indus. According to Grainger, the details of the conflict are unclear, but the outcome clearly must have been "a decisive Indian victory," with Chandragupta driving back Seleucus' forces as far as the Hindu Kush and consequently gaining large territories in modern-day Afghanistan.[70] Wheatley and Heckel suggest that the degree of friendly Maurya-Seleucid relations established after the war implies that the hostilities were probably "neither prolonged nor grievous".[71] Seleucus Nicator ceded the Hindu Kush, Punjab and parts of Afghanistan to Chandragupta Maurya.[72] In consequence of their arrangement, Seleucus received 500 war elephants from Chandragupta Maurya, which subsequently influenced the Wars of the Diadochi in the west. Seleucus and Chandragupta also agreed to a marriage alliance, probably the marriage of Seleucus' daughter (named Berenice in Indian Pali sources) to Chandragupta. According to Strabo, the ceded territories bordered the Indus:
The geographical position of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain: then, towards the south, the Arachoti: then next, towards the south, the Gedroseni, with the other tribes that occupy the seaboard; and the Indus lies, latitudinally, alongside all these places; and of these places, in part, some that lie along the Indus are held by Indians, although they formerly belonged to the Persians. Alexander [III 'the Great' of Macedon] took these away from the Arians and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus [Chandragupta], upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange five hundred elephants. — Strabo 15.2.9[73]
The arrangement proved to be mutually beneficial.[69] The border between the Seleucid and Mauryan Empires remained stable in subsequent generations, and friendly diplomatic relations are reflected by the ambassador Megasthenes।,[75] and by the envoys sent westward by Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka. Chandragupta's gift of war elephants "may have alleviated the burden of fodder and the return march"[69] and allowed him to appropriately reduce the size and cost of his large army, since the major threats to his power had now all been removed.[70]
With the war elephants acquired from the Mauryas, Seleucus was able to defeat his rival, Antigonus, along with his allies at the Battle of Ipsus. Adding Antigonus's territories to his own, Seleucus would found the Seleucid Empire, which would endure as a great power in the Mediterranean and the Middle East until 64 BC.
Mauryan control of territory in what is now Afghanistan helped guard against invasion of India from the northwest.[70] Chandragupta Maurya went on to expand his rule in India southward into the Deccan.[72]
Demetrius I's invasion of India[edit]
The Greco-Bactrians might have invaded the Indus Valley to protect Greek expatriates in the Indian Subcontinent. Also, the Mauryans had had diplomatic alliances with the Greeks, and they may have been considered as allies by the Greco-Bactrians.[76] [77] In 186 BCE, northwestern India (parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) was occupied by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (Dharmamita), followed by the overthrow of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pushyamitra Shunga. The Mauryans had diplomatic alliances with the Greeks, and they may have been considered as allies by the Greco-Bactrians. A key detail is mentioned by Ceylonese Buddhist monks, pointing that Brihadratha married Demetrius' daughter, Berenice (Suvarnnaksi in Pali texts).[78] The Greco-Bactrians may also have invaded India in order to protect Greek populations in the subcontinent. He established his rule in the Kabul Valley and parts of the Punjab region. Soon, however, they had to leave for Bactria to fight a fierce battle (probably between Eucratides I and Demetrius).[79]
The hypothesized Yavana invasion of Pataliputra is based in the Yuga Purana. The scripture describes the campaign of King Dharmamita:
- Then, having approached Saketa, together with Panchala and the Mathuras, the Yavanas (Indo-Greeks), wicked and valiant, will reach Kusumadhvaja ("The city of the flower-standard", Pataliputra).
- Then, once Puspapura (Pataliputra) has been reached, [and] its celebrated mud[-walls] cast down, all the realms will be in disorder, there is no doubt.
- There will then finally be a great war, of wooden weapons, and there will be the vilest of men, dishonourable and unrighteous.
Shunga-Greek war[edit]
The Shunga–Greek War was a number of conflicts fought between the Shunga Empire and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. The Greek ruler Demetrius is regarded to have invaded the subcontinent after his win over the Kabul Valley.[82] After the return of Demetrius I to Bactria, Pushyamitra decided to take back the lost territories of the Subcontinent back from the Greeks. Vasumitra, the Grandson of Pushyamitra Shunga was sent to protect the horse of Ashvamedha on the banks of river Indus.[83] He was successful in defeating the unit of cavalry of the Greeks.[84] The territory of Shungas now extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Berar in south and from Sagala to Magadha in the west.
Kharavela's war against Greeks(1st Century BCE)[edit]
In the Eight years of his reign,he diverted his attention towards Northern India.The Line-7 and Line-8 of Hatigumpha inscription translated and states That,In this Year of reign Kharavela with a large army sacked Goradhagiri causes pressure on Rajgriha. On Account of loud report of this act of valour,The yavan king generally informed Here by Indo-Greek Kingdom king Dimita, retreated to mathura.[85]
In Line 8 of the record we have a reference to that yavana raja Dimitra who fled away to mathura on Approach of Kharavela army,and Dimita can only be identified as Demetrius I of Bactria who was contemporary of Pushyamitra Shunga.It was First and important campaign in North india by Kharavela in which he captured goradhagiri or Modern day Barabar hills From the baraber hill kharavela Harrassed The ancient metropolis Rajgriha and we learned from hatigumpha inscription itself that the Greek king Demetrius had to fell back on mathura, apparently on his base,on hearing the approach of Kharavela, unfortunately the rest of line-8 of inscription record is damaged and therefore further sequel of campaign in this eigth year of reign is not known to us.[86]
References[edit]
- ^ Barnes, Ian; Hudson, Robert; Parekh, Bhikhu C. (1998). The history atlas of Asia. Internet Archive. New York : Macmillan. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-02-862581-2.
- ^ Barnes, Ian; Hudson, Robert; Parekh, Bhikhu C. (1998). The history atlas of Asia. Internet Archive. New York : Macmillan. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-02-862581-2.
- ^ "Pg.101 : Towards the close of the reign of Chandrgupta, the Maurya empire received a further extension in the north-west Seleucus the general of Alexander, who had made himself master of Babylon, gradually extended his empire from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus and even tried to regain the provinces to the east of that river. He failed and had to conclude a treaty with Chandragupta by which he surrendered a large territory including, in the opinion of certain writers, the satrapies of Paropanisadai(Kabul), Aria (Herat), Arachosia (Qandahar), and Gedrosia (Baluchistan), in return for 500 elephant."Majumdar, R. C. (1953). Advanced history of India. Macmillan & Company. p. 101.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (c). ISBN 0226742210.
- ^ A Journey Through India's Past Chandra Mauli Mani, Northern Book Centre, 2005, p.39
- ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International, 1999. p. 170. ISBN 978-8-12241-198-0.
- ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p.51
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemachandra (1923). Political History of Ancient India. University Of Calcutta. p. 205.
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemachandra (1923). Political History of Ancient India. University Of Calcutta. p. 205.
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemachandra (1923). Political History of Ancient India. University Of Calcutta. p. 205.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Military History, R Dupuy and E Dupuy p76
- ^ "...those who, after Alexander, advanced beyond the Hypanis to the Ganges and Palibothra." Strabo, XV.27 [1]
- ^ Ian Worthington 2014, p. 219.
- ^ Peter Green 2013, p. 418.
- ^ Theodore Dodge 1890, p. 605.
- ^ a b c Theodore Dodge 1890, p. 603.
- ^ Benjamin Wheeler 1900, p. 458.
- ^ Dave, Wood. "In the footsteps of Alexander the Great". The City of Multan. BBC. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Arrian 1893, p. 604.
- ^ Theodore Dodge 1890, p. 604.
- ^ a b c d Kistler 2006.
- ^ Arrian, Book V, Chapter XVI.
- ^ a b c Roy 2004, pp. 19–23.
- ^ a b Arrian, Book V, Chapter XVII.
- ^ Montagu, John Drogo (2006). Greek & Roman Warfare: Battles, Tactics, and Trickery. London: Greenhill Books. p. 154.
- ^ Green 1991, p. 400.
- ^ Sastri 1988.
- ^ Savill, Agnes (1993). Alexander the Great and His Time. Barnes & Noble Publishing. ISBN 0-88029-591-0 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Arrian, Book V, Chapter XVIII.
- ^ Diodorus 17.89.3
- ^ a b Fuller 1960, p. 199.
- ^ Roy, Kaushik (2015). Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-74270-0 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Diodorus Siculus, Library, Book XVII, Chapter 89, section 1". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ "Diodorus Siculus, Library, Book XVII, Chapter 89, section 2". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ "Diodorus Siculus, Library, Book XVII, Chapter 89, section 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ Diodorus, 17.89.2
- ^ a b c d e f Arrian, XXII
- ^ Fuller 1959, p. 126
- ^ a b c d e Dodge 1890, p. 515
- ^ a b Dodge 1890, p. 514
- ^ a b Delbrück 1990, p. 177
- ^ a b c d e Arrian, XXIV
- ^ Delbrück 1990, p. 231
- ^ Arrian, XXIII
- ^ a b c d e f g Dodge 1890, p. 517
- ^ Delbrück 1990, p. 232
- ^ a b Dodge 1890, p. 518
- ^ a b c Dodge 1890, p. 519
- ^ Dodge 1890, p. 520
- ^ Dodge 1890, p. 521
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Fuller-245was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g Dodge 1890, p. 523
- ^ Dodge 1890, p. 524
- ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference
Fuller-246was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Fuller 1959, p. 247
- ^ a b Fuller 1959, p. 125
- ^ Fuller 1959, p. 247–248
- ^ Stein 2004, p.123–4
- ^ Lane Fox, p. 343ff.
- ^ Lane Fox (1973); Arrian.
- ^ Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, 5.1
- ^ a b Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, 5.2
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 6.23.5
- ^ Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana, 2.10
- ^ Mookerji 1966, p. 35.
- ^ Mookerji 1966, p. 34.
- ^ Irfan Habib & Vivekanand Jha 2004, p. 13.
- ^ Ian Worthington 2014, pp. 251–253.
- ^ a b c Kosmin 2014, p. 33–34.
- ^ a b c Grainger 2014, pp. 108–110.
- ^ Wheatley & Heckel 2011, p. 296.
- ^ a b Publishing, D. K. (2010-08-16). Commanders. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7566-7341-3.
- ^ Strabo, Geography, xv.2.9
- ^ Bernard, Paul; Pinault, Georges-Jean; Rougemont, Georges (2004). "Deux nouvelles inscriptions grecques de l'Asie centrale". Journal des Savants. 2 (1): 301 ff. doi:10.3406/jds.2004.1686.
- ^ "Seleucus maintained friendly relations with the Mauryan Court and sent Megasthanes as his ambassador who lived in Pataliputra for a long time and wrote a book on India." Munishi, K.M. (1953). The Age Of Imperial Unity Volume II. p. 60.
- ^
- Description of the 302 BCE marital alliance in Strabo 15.2.1(9): "The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus I Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants." The ambassador Megasthenes was also sent to the Mauryan court on this occasion.
- In the Edicts of Ashoka, king Ashoka claims to have sent Buddhist emissaries to the Hellenistic west around 250 BCE.
- When Antiochus III the Great, after having made peace with Euthydemus, went to India in 209 BCE, he is said to have renewed his friendship with the Indian king there and received presents from him: "He crossed the Caucasus (Hindu Kush) 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 the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him."Polybius 11.39 Archived October 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Obviously, for the Greeks who survived in India and suffered from the oppression of the Shunga (for whom they were aliens and heretics), Demetrios must have appeared as a saviour" Mario Bussagli, p. 101
- ^ S. Paranavithana. The Greeks and the Mauryas, 1971. https://archive.org/details/thegreeksandthemauryassenartparanavitana1971_104_N
- ^ Lahiri, B. (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) , Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.22-4
- ^ The Yuga Purana. Translated by Mitchiner, John E. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society. 1986. p. 91.
- ^ The Sungas, Kanvas, Republican Kingdoms and Monarchies, Mahameghavahanas, Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, p.6 [2]
- ^ Mauli, Mani (2005). A journey through India's Past. Northern Book Centre. p. 38. ISBN 9788172111946.
- ^ M.A., C. H. TAWNEY (1891). THE MALAVIKAGNIMITRA A SANSKRIT PLAY BY KALIDASA (2nd ed.). p. 91.
- ^ MAULI MANI, CHANDRA (2005). A Journey Through India's Past. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi. p. 39.
- ^ ପ୍ରଫୁଲ୍ଲ କୁମାର ମହାନ୍ତି (2002). ଷ୍ଟେଟ୍ ଫର୍ମେସନ୍ ଇନ୍ ଆନସିଏଣ୍ଟ ଓରିଶା (ଇଂ) (in Oriya). pp. 58–59.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974). Some Early Dynasties of South India.