Alexander’s Invasion Indian provinces provided mercenaries for Persian armies fighting against

the Greeks in c. 5th century BCE. This part of Indian territory continued
to be a part of the Iranian empire till Alexander invaded it in 330 BCE.
We will focus on north-western region of the Indian subcontinent and
learn how it became a vibrant seat of activity due to the events related to As a result of invasions by the Iranians there were lot of cultural
Alexander’s invasion in 4th century BCE. exchanges between Iran and the north-west. A new script was introduced
by the Iranian scribes called Kharoshthi script. It was written from right to
In 6th century BCE India’s north-west consisted of a large number of
left like Arabic. It was derived from Aramaic current in the Achaemenid
independent kingdoms and was a site of conflict between various
empire. Trade also existed between the two regions, as corroborated by
principalities. Some of them had monarchical forms of government, while
the finds of Persian type of coins in the North-West Frontier Province.
some others were republics. In the republics, the power of decision in all
matters of state vested with the Public Assembly which was composed of Effects of the Persian Invasion
the tribal representatives or heads of families. All decisions were by a
The Persian invasion provided an impetus to the growth of Indo-Iranian
majority vote. The Buddhist literature Anguttara Nikaya gives a list of
commerce. Also, it prepared the ground for Alexander’s invasion. The use
sixteen great kingdoms called ‘Sixteen Mahajanapadas’. They were Anga,
of the Kharoshti script, a form of Iranian writing became popular in
Magadha, Kasi, Kosala, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala,
northwestern India and some of Asoka’s edicts were written in that script.
Matsya, Surasena, Asmaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kambhoja. Finally in
the mid 6th century B.C., only four kingdoms – Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala and In short, the Iranian connection with India proved more fruitful than the
Magadha survived. The Kambojas, Gandharas and Madras fought with short-lived Indo- Macedonian contact.
each other. Since there was an absence of an overarching powerful PERSIAN AND GREEK INVASIONS
kingdom the principalities of north-west could not be organized into one
kingdom. Persian Invasions

Due to its political disunity the Achaemenian kings of Persia were Cyrus (558 – 530 B.C):
attracted to this region. In 516 BCE the Achaemenian ruler Darius Cyrus the Great was the greatest conqueror of the Achaemenian Empire.
invaded it and annexed Punjab, west to the Indus river and Sindh. He was the first conqueror who led an expedition and entered into India.
At this time Iran had a total of 28 satrapies of which India’s north-west He captured the Gandhara region. All Indian tribes to the west of the
constituted the 20th province. The Indian satrapy included Sindh, the Indus river submitted to him and paid tribute. His son Cambyses had no
north-west frontier and part of Punjab that lay to the west of Indus. It paid time to pay attention towards India.
a hefty tribute in gold which accounted for one-third of the total revenue Darius I (522 – 486 B.C.)
Iran received from its Asian provinces.
Darius I, the grandson of Cyrus, conquered the Indus valley in 518 B.C. The first part gives a general description of India, based chiefly on the
andannexed the Punjab and Sindh. This region became the 20th Satrapy accounts of India by Megasthenes and Eratosthenes,
of his empire. It was the most fertile and populous province of the
the second is an account of Nearchus’ journey on Indus, and
Achaemenian Empire. Darius sent a naval expedition under Skylas to
explore the Indus. the third contains proofs showing that southern parts of the world were
inhabitable due to excessive heat.
Xerxes (465-456 B.C.)
The first part of Indike has been translated by J. W. Mc. Crindle and is
Xerxes utilized his Indian province to strengthen his position. He
richly supplemented with notes regarding history, geography, archaeology
deployed Indian infantry and cavalry to Greece to fight his opponents.
and the identification of Greek proper names with Sanskrit originals.
But they retreated after Xerxes faced a defeat in Greece. After this failure,
the Achaemenians could not follow a forward policy in India. However, Cunningham remarks that Arrian’s measurements are in close agreement
the Indian province was still under their control. Darius III enlisted Indian with actual size of the country and this is very remarkable as it shows that
soldiers to fight against Alexander in 330 B.C. It is evident that the Indians, even at that early date in their history, had a very accurate
control of Persians slackened on the eve of Alexander’s invasion of India. knowledge of the form and extent of their native land.

Arrian: His account of the different tributaries of Indus and Ganges, tribes of
India, castes of India has been borrowed from Megasthenes’ description.
For the events between 334-323 BCE the scholars depend on Arrian’s
Arrian writes much detail on rivers, mentions barbarous Indians of the old
account.Arrian described himself as a philosopher, statesman, soldier and
times, their dependence on nomadism; how Dionysos, the conqueror of
historian. He is best known for the Asiatic expedition of Alexander, the
India who came even before the mighty Alexander, taught the Indians
narrative of which is remarkable in accuracy and clarity. He claimed that
agriculture and introduced them to the plough and laws.
for his work on Alexander he had relied on most trustworthy of the
primary sources. Arrian writes about absence of slavery in India, modes of hunting
elephants
He authored Anabasis (‘Journey Up Country’) of Alexander which
consisted of seven books. Indike (his book on India) was a shorter SOURCES
companion work of Anabasis. Arrian’s account is the most sober rendition of Alexander’s reign. Arrian
ARRIAN’S INDIKE was a simple soldier who paid his tribute to the memory of Alexander by
selecting the best possible sources and reproducing them faithfully. His
His work on India – Indike – is written in the Ionic dialect. It consists of
seventh book ‘History of Alexander’ was based on Ptolemy, Aristobulus,
three parts:
Nearchus and Eratosthenes. Ptolemy, Aristobulus and Nearchus were all
eyewitnesses to the campaigns of Alexander and were, sometimes, active
participants. The companion work Indike deals with India and the voyage their temples during the Persian war and to liberate the Greek cities of
of Alexander’s fleet in southern ocean and is based on sources by writers Asia Minor. He was assassinated in 336 BCE. Upon his death Greek
such as Eratosthenes, Megasthenes and Nearchus. states revolted from the Macedonian rule.
History of Macedonia: • They were suppressed by Alexander after his accession. Alexander
invaded Persia in 334 BCE with a mighty army and defeated king Darius
• It was an ethnically mixed region in the ancient past, surrounded by
of Persia.
Greek states to the south and tribal kingdoms in other directions. In the
north and the west the mountainous terrain of the Balkans defined the • A. K. Narain, citing Tarn’s work, says that since India was part of the
landscape, while the southern region was fertile alluvium. Iranian empire Alexander’s interest in India was inevitable result of the
completion of his conquest of Persian empire. However, Arrian says that
• There was a distinction in the ancient Greek world between those who
Alexander was more ambitious than that and he harboured zeal to conquer
lived south of the Mount Olympus and those who lived to its north, the
India. Had it not been so he would not have crossed Indus river which
Macedonians. The latter were called ‘Makedones’, a Greek word in
was the boundary between India and Ariana. Ariana was situated to the
origin. As late as by the end of the 4th century BCE the Greeks referred to
west of India and at this time was under the possession of the Persians.
them as ‘Barbarians’, indicating that they did not see them as Greeks.
Indus was the eastern-most boundary of Darius I’s empire.
• Both these regions were mired in conflict with each other and it was
• The political condition in north-west was suitable for Alexander as it
Philip – father of Alexander – who united these territories for the first
was divided into small independent monarchies and tribal republics.
time.
Among the more famous was Porus who ruled a kingdom between
• In 4th century BCE the Macedonians and Greeks were engaged in ethnic Jhelum and Chenab. The confrontation between Porus and Alexander has
rivalry. The two people were distinct and separate. It was Philip II who become legendary.
consolidated his control over the Greeks in 337 BCE.
• Battle of Hydaspes: In 327 B.C. Alexander crossed the Hindukush
ALEXANDER OF MACEDONIA Mountains and spent nearly ten months in fighting with the tribes. In
• Alexander was born in July 356 BCE. He was the son of Philip II, the February 326 B.C. Alexander crossed Indus and was met by Ambhi, the
ruler of Macedonia. By 337 BCE Philip II had consolidated his control prince of Taxila. Both Ambhi and Porus together could have defeated
over the Greeks by creating a union of Greek states called the “League of Alexander but they could not put up a joint front. Ambhi did not oppose
the Corinth”. The union was bound together under the hegemony of the him, rather welcomed him with lavish gifts. Alexander decided to leave
Macedonian king and owed allegiance to the League. his kingdom in peace but appointed Phillipus as a Satrap and left a
garrison there. He was keen to meet Porus who had refused to submit to
• Philip announced his intention to invade Persia in order to avenge on him and proceeded to Jhelum (Hydaspes) and mounted an attack on
behalf of the Arthenians for having faced sufferings and destruction to
Porus’ army which was stationed at the opposite bank. Porus was prelude to the establishment of Hellenistic suzerainty in the region. By
wounded and retreated. However, Alexander was very impressed by his 317 BCE even the Greek outposts in India were given up.
military prowess and persona and decided to reinstate Porus who, then,
ALEXANDER’S SUCCESSORS AND SELEUCUS NICATOR
became his ally. Alexander’s victory was momentous and he celebrated it
by the founding of two cities –Nicaea and Bucephala. Alexander also • Alexander, after his retreat from India and Persia, did not organize his
issued a commemorative coinage at a mint in Babylon. conquests in any systematic fashion. As part of his arrangements most of
the conquered states were restored to their rulers who accepted his
• Alexander continued his march and crossed Chenab and Ravi (Acesines
authority. His territorial possessions were divided into three parts and
and Hydraotes). He defeated many principalities and fought a fierce battle
placed under Greek governors. Soon, destabilization and anarchy marked
with the Kathas of Punjab. The Kathas did not submit and fought
the period. Successor kingdoms emerged under various satraps and
valiantly. Alexander was able to capture Sagala, the hill fortress of Kathas
Macedonia lost its importance.
and razed it to ground. Thereafter, he was informed by a nearby king
about the might of the Nandas, east of the Beas. His information was • At Alexander’s death the number of satrapies was 20. By 308 BCE they
corroborated by Porus too. Alexander wanted to proceed but his troops terminated all contacts with the Macedonian kingdom and coalesced into
refused to advance. three separate groupings under Antigonus, Seleucus and Ptolemy.

• Hence, he was forced to return to Jhelum. He handed all the country • Seleucus Nicator was at the helm at the satrapy of Babylonia. After
between Jhelum and Beas to Porus and sailed down Jhelum for his return being thrown out of Babylon by Antigonus he reclaimed it and was
journey. Below the confluence of Jhelum and Chenab he fought his last successful in expanding his dominions right down to the Indus, placing all
important campaign against the Malavas (Malloi). The republican states eastern satraps under his sway.
of Malavas and Kshudrakas wished to form a confederacy against him, • In the meantime, Chandragupta Maurya was busy capturing the Ganga
but he was successful in preventing Kshudrakas from joining with the plains. He proceeded to north-west to exploit the power vacuum created
Malavas. The Malavas fought bravely but were defeated. The by Alexander’s departure. Once he reached Indus he came face-to-face
Kshudrakas, also, could not stand anywhere before him. with Seleucus Nicator who had a stronghold in that region. The battle
• Three years after his campaigns in India, in 324 BCE, Alexander was between the two was won by Chandragupta, as evident from the terms of
back at Susa in Persia. In the following year he died at Babylon. Upon the Treaty of 303 BCE. The Seleucid territories of eastern Afghanistan,
being asked at his death-bed as whom his empire should be bequeathed Makran and Baluchistan were ceded to Chandragupta. In return, Seleucus
to, he supposedly replied “to the strongest”. Thereafter ensued a long obtained 500 elephants. Seleucus also gave his daughter in marriage to
series of struggles between his generals and governors for control of his Chandragupta. With this victory the routes and important regions of
vast empire. The struggle among the Diadochis, his successors, was a north-west region came under Mauryan control.
• Friendly relations seem to have been established between Sandracottos one because of the expansion of Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta
(Chandragupta was referred to by the Greeks by this name) and the Maurya.
Seleucids. Seleucus’s envoy Megasthenes spent time at the court of
Chandragupta and left an account titled Indica.
• Friendly relations were carefully cultivated. Several Greek ambassadors
visited his court such as Megasthenes, Daimachos, Hegesandros.
THE IMPACT OF ALEXANDER’S INVASION
• R. K. Mukherjee believes that his campaigns in India were not an
example of brilliant military achievement, as he did not come face-to-face
with any powerful Indian monarchs. The effects of his campaigns were, at
best, indirect.
• According to A.K. Narain the people of north-west realized that small
states and principalities were no match to the disciplined and organized
campaigns of Alexander. Chandragupta was quick to realize the
importance of erecting a huge empire. He went about to unite the whole
of Punjab and, later, the northern India after overthrowing the Nandas. He
not only added the southern states but also integrated the four satrapies of
Aria, Arachosia, Gedrosia and Paropamisadae which were ceded by
Seleucus to Chandragupta after the demise of Alexander.
• The immediate effect of Alexander’s invasion was that it encouraged
political unification of north India under the Mauryas. The system of
small independent states came to an end.
• The routes opened by him and his naval explorations increased the
existing facilities for trade between India and West Asia. However, his
aim of annexing the northwestern India to his empire was not fulfilled due
his premature death. His authority in the Indus valley was a short-lived