Greek Invasion of India

Macedonia, a region of Greece was located in its north-central region. Post the Greek conquests in India, a rich trade flourished between India and Greece. The most important trade item includes spices, silk, and gold.

• The Greeks invaded India with the conquest of Alexander the Great between 327 to 326 BCE.
• Alexander left his Greek troops in Taxila (contemporary Pakistan).
• His troops governed the region till 316 BCE.
• Later, Seleucus I Nicator, who was one of the generals of the Alexander troops, invaded Punjab of today’s Pakistan in 304 BCE.
  • He founded the Seleucid dynasty thus.
• The Greek empire spread the Greco-Bactrian dynasty from 180 BCE to 10 CE till the north and north-western part of India.
• The final Greek empire to rule were the Scythians and Kushanas.

Condition of India during that time

Political Condition

• During this time, there was no empire who could command authority in India. The whole country was a division of several smaller monarchs and republics.
• There was a lack of unity among all of them and they were in constant fights with each other.
• Magadhan Empire didn’t look much into the political changes happening in the North West.
  • Porus’s Kingdom
    • His territory laid between Jhelum and Chenab rivers.
    • He also battled against Alexander, and his strong army helped him with the battle.
  • Ambhi’s Kingdom
    • Ambhi ruled over Taxila, which lay between Indus and Jhelum.
    • Ambhi and Porus were sworn enemies.
  • Magadhan Empire
    • Nandas ruled Magadha at the bay of Beas river.
    • Nandas boasted of a powerful army consisting of more than 2,00,000 foot soldiers, 6000 elephants, and 2000 horse drawn chariots.
    • The capital during this time was Patliputra.
• Indians were progressive in fields like art, literature, architecture, and education.

Social Condition

• People led a simple life, with no incidents of thefts recorded.
• The practice of Sati, Polygamy, Slavery was prevalent.

Economic Condition

• People practiced mainly agriculture.
• However, trade and crafts was also practiced as an economic activity.
• Trade was developed.
• Indians travelled far off places and countries.
• Items sold included woolen blankets, horses, elephants, precious stones.
• The traders were prosperous and trade was controlled by the state.
• Coins was used as a medium of exchange.

Conquests of Alexander (327-326 BCE)

• Alexander started with foray into Punjab in 327 BCE.
• He fought the battle against Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BCE).
• He then made alliance with Porus, and appointed him as the Satrap of his Kingdom.
• Magadha kingdom was present east of the Porus Kingdom, near the Ganges River.
• Exhausted and daunted by the prospect of facing another formidable Indian army of the Magadhan empire, his army refused to March further east.
• Impact of Alexander’s Invasion
  • Alexander’s invasion didn’t leave any permanent marks on the Indian Civilization.
  • This was due to his untimely death, short stay in India (no influence of Greeks on Indian Civilization).
  • Further, since Alexander could only invade till the borders of the country, he couldn’t leave a significant mark.
  • The last vestiges of Greek invasion were obliterated by the invasion of territories by Chandragupta Maurya

What were the other impacts on Indian Civilization, as a result of the Greek Invasion?

Consequence	Explanation
Helped strengthen the Mauryan Dynasty	Alexander’s invasion had reduced the strength of the various states as well as the warlike tribes of the Punjab, so that it became quite easy for Chandragupta to subdue them
Helped promoting India’s Unity	One significant result of these petty state and warlike tribes being crushed by Alexander was the task of establishing a strong empire became too easy
Helped enhance relations with the Western World	1. Alexander’s invasion opened four new routes between India and Europe so that India could now have direct relations with the European countries. 2. The discovery of these routes also encouraged trade. 3. Several Indian traders, artisans and religious scholars went to other countries and some people came to India from other countries
Helped in building Indian Chronology for subsequent Events	1. Alexander’s invasion helped in the construction of the Indian history. 2. He invaded India in 326 A.D. a date which helped us a lot in determining the Indian chronology. 3. Indian texts especially the Puranas have ignored to record events in chronological order. 4. Megasthenes and other Greek writers have written a lot about the contemporary Indian society. Their descriptions have proved valuable in this respect. 5. Thus, Historians who accompanied Alexander have given an important information about the social and economic conditions of India.
Exchange of Culture	1. The Indians learnt from the Greeks the art of making beautiful idols and coins. 2. The Gandhara School of Art is a direct consequence of the Greek art. 3. The Indians also learnt a lot from the Greek astronomers. 4. On the other hand, the Indians greatly influenced the philosophy and several Greeks embraced the Hindu faith.