Bactrian and Indo-Greeks (250-55 BC)
(DBA 50)
By Jonathan Lim
During his campaigns of conquest, Alexander the Great drove straight into India. If his army hadn't mutinied, there would have been weird times ahead - Alexander would have driven to the Ganges, crushed the elephant army there, smashed into Burma, Malaya and South China. But, his army mutinied, so that did not happen. When Alexander died in Babylon, his empire was split into several kingdoms, four large - Seleucid, Ptolemaic, Lysimachid and Antigonid - and many small. These kingdoms waged terrible war against each other, until they were rudely interrupted, first by the Pontic Empire, which crushed the centre of the Seleucid kingdom, and then by the Roman Empire, which knocked out everyone else.
About 250 B.C., Diodotos, satrap of Bactria proclaimed the independance from the Seleucids and took the title of king. His son, Diodotos II, was overthrown by Euthydemos I who founded a new dynasty and resisted the efforts of the Seleucid king Antiochos III to reconquer Bactria until finally he was recognized as king.
Demetrios I assumed the throne circa 200 B.C. and started the conquest of the Indo-Kush and North-East India. Demitrios became an Indian folk hero
called Dharma-mitra because of his successful campaigns (To this day Dharma-mitra is a common Indian name). In 190 BC, the throne passed to Demetrios' sons, who governed the kingdom jointly and expanded its boundaries to include modern day Punjab.
In 170 BC, Eucratides overthrew Demetrios II and Antimachos II in the name of the Seleucids and controlled the kingdom. He was murdered about 145 BC by his son Eucratides II.
A Greek general born in India, Menander (165 - ? BC) conquered Northern India, up to the Ganges, and captured Pushkalavita. He established an independent Indo-Greek kingdom with a capital at Taxila. His campaigns were so brilliant that
he gained, in some minds, more respect than was afforded to the great
Alexander. Sadly we have literally no records of his exploits. Five years
after he began his conquest, he stopped - not because his army
mutined....but because he became a Buddhist! The conquered territories were
apparently ceded back to the Indian kings.
Eventually the Indo-Greeks were conquered by the Yueh-Chi, or the
Transoxian barbarians, who crushed the Indo-Greek kingdoms. By 130 BC, they controlled the Bactrian region. In approximately 70 BC, the nomadic tribes took Hermaios' Indo-Kush kingdom. In 10 AD, the last Greek ruler Strato II, disappeared from the Punjab. Around 40 BC, a Chinese traveller was to marvel at the straight streets, deep wells, and "great mansions like we have in China." Because the Chinese had always thought only barbarian horsemen lived to the west,
they were rather surprised. The emperor Han Wu-Di was so fascinated by this
kingdom that he sent out a delegation to make contact with them. However,
it was not the Greeks they came in contact with - by this time they had
been driven out by the Yueh-Chi. The Greeks and Chinese had missed each
other by a mere 10 years. The "mansions" were now occupied by barbarians.
There is virtually no information on the Indo greeks surviving apart from the writings of Strabo - although some bits are turning up in Muslim libraries All we
have, virtually, are a few coins, and of course the ruins of various
Alexandrias. We know the Indo greeks were excellent coin-smiths, with their
coins far exceeding in quality the "true" greek coins. We also know that
they were probably responsible for the creation of the first Buddha
statues. Prior to the Greeks, Indians represented the mighty Buddha as a
series of squiggles, abstract shapes, and various other things. The Greeks,
naturally, didn't like abstract gods - just ask the Romans! - so they
modified several Apollo states to look like an Indian. Whether this led to
"all" Buddha statues remains unknown. But they certainly came into
existence shortly after the Greeks arrived, and the sculptural techniques
have Greek influence.
In India, the Greeks remained very greek. However, they were very
friendly to the Indians, and, as is shown by the bilingual coins, treated
them with great respect. Perhaps some Indo Greeks spoke no Greek, but could
speak only Sanskrit. They built cities in the classical style, with many
Indian influences, as can be seen by the ruins of Taxila in West India. All
these cities had baths, temples and theatres, just as in old Greece.
We know they had much contact with the Indian empire to the south and east, as we see that they were on friendly relations with Chandragupta Maorya and his
grandson the great Ashoka, because they often visited the Indian courts,
and also, Ashoka issued his edicts in Greek as well as Sanskrit, showing a
bilingual India.
We also know that the Indo-Greeks were in a pretty hazy contact with the
Tibetans, who are described as "fair haired" and speaking no Greek or
Indian, but trading using hand-signals. The fair hair might be evidence
that they weren't Tibetans, who all have black hair, but then again, it may
be a story distorted after travelling to Greece.
So ended the mysterious and powerful Indo-Greek kingdom. I hope you found
this story fascinating.
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Last Updated: May 25, 1999
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