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Indo-Greek Kingdom

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   CAPTION: Indo-Greek Kingdom

   Territories and eastern expansion of the Indo-Greek Kingdom at its
   greatest extent under Menander I.
   Languages Greek ( Greek alphabet)
             Pali ( Kharoshthi script)
             Sanskrit, Prakrit ( Brahmi script)
             Possibly Aramaic
   Religions Buddhism
             Ancient Greek religion
             Hinduism
             Zoroastrianism
   Capitals  Alexandria in the Caucasus
             Sirkap/ Taxila
             Sagala/ Sialkot
             Pushkalavati/ Peucela
     Area    Northwestern Indian subcontinent
    Existed  180 BCE–10 CE

   The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered
   various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent from
   180 BCE to around 10 CE, and was ruled by a succession of more than
   thirty Hellenistic kings, often in conflict with each other. The
   kingdom was founded when the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded
   India in 180 BCE, ultimately creating an entity which seceded from the
   powerful Greco-Bactrian Kingdom centered in Bactria (today's northern
   Afghanistan). Since the term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a
   number of various dynastic polities, it had numerous capitals, but the
   city of Taxila in northern Pakistan was probably among the earliest
   seats of local Hellenic rulers, though cities like Pushkalavati and
   Sagala (apparently the largest of such residences) would house a number
   of dynasties in their times, and based on Ptolemy's Geographia and the
   nomenclature of later kings, a certain Theophila in the south was also
   probably a satrapal or royal seat at some point.

   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 ancient Greek, Hindu and Buddhist religious practices, as seen
   in the archaeological remains of their cities and in the indications of
   their support of Buddhism. The Indo-Greek kings seem to have achieved a
   level of cultural syncretism with no equivalent in history, the
   consequences of which are still felt today, particularly through the
   diffusion and influence of Greco-Buddhist art.

   The Indo-Greeks ultimately disappeared as a political entity around 10
   CE 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 and Kushans.

Background

Preliminary Greek presence in India

   In 326 BCE Alexander the Great conquered the northwestern part of the
   Indian subcontinent as far as the Hyphasis River, and established
   satrapies as well as several cities, such as Bucephala, until his
   troops refused to go further east. The Indian satrapies of the Punjab
   were left to the rule of Porus and Taxiles, who were confirmed again at
   the Treaty of Triparadisus in 321 BCE, and remaining Greek troops in
   these satrapies were left under the command of the general Eudemus.
   Sometime after 321 Eudemus toppled Taxiles, until he left India in 316
   BCE. Another general also ruled over the Greek colonies of the Indus:
   Peithon, son of Agenor, until his departure for Babylon in 316 BCE, and
   a last one, Sophytes, seems to have ruled in northern Punjab until
   around 294 BCE.
   Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna (Pataliputra), 3rd century
   BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).
   Enlarge
   Greek Late Archaic style capital from Patna ( Pataliputra), 3rd century
   BCE, Patna Museum (click image for references).

   According to Indian sources, Greek (" Yavana") troops seem to have
   assisted Chandragupta Maurya in toppling the Nanda Dynasty and founding
   the Mauryan Empire. By around 312 BCE Chandragupta had established his
   rule in large parts of the northwestern Indian territories as well.

   In 303 BCE, 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: Επιγαμια), meaning either a
   dynastic marriage or an agreement for intermarriage between Indians and
   Greeks. Accordingly, Seleucus ceded to Chandragupta his northwestern
   territories as far as Arachosia and received 500 war elephants (which
   played a key role in the victory of Seleucus 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 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." Strabo 15.2.1(9)

   Also several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes followed by
   Deimakos and Dionysius, were sent to reside at the Mauryan court.
   Presents continued to be exchanged between the two rulers.
   Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar.
   Kabul Museum (click image for translation).
   Enlarge
   Bilingual edict ( Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar.
   Kabul Museum (click image for translation).

   On these occasions, Greek populations apparently remained in 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, the
          Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following
          Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma." Rock Edict Nb13
          (S. Dhammika).

   In his edicts, Ashoka claims he sent Buddhist emissaries to Greek
   rulers as far as the Mediterranean ( Edict No13), and that he developed
   herbal medicine in their territories, for the welfare of humans and
   animals ( Edict No2).

   The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the
   propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as
   Dharmaraksita, are described in Pali sources as leading Greek (" Yona")
   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.

   Again in 206 BCE, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus led an army into
   India, where he received war elephants and presents from the king
   Sophagasenus:

          "He (Antiochus) 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

Greek rule in Bactria

   Greco-Bactrian statue, Ai Khanoum, Bactria, 2nd century BCE
   Enlarge
   Greco-Bactrian statue, Ai Khanoum, Bactria, 2nd century BCE

   Alexander also had established in neighbouring Bactria several cities (
   Ai-Khanoum, Begram) and an administration that were to last more than
   two centuries under the Seleucids and the Greco-Bactrians, all the time
   in direct contact with Indian territory.

   The Greco-Bactrians maintained a strong Hellenistic culture at the door
   of India during the rule of the Mauryan empire in India, as exemplified
   by the archaeological site of Ai-Khanoum. When the Mauryan empire was
   toppled by the Sungas around 185 BCE, the Greco-Bactrians expanded into
   India, where they established the Indo-Greek kingdom.

Rise of the Sungas (185 BCE)

   In India, the Maurya Dynasty was overthrown around 185 BCE when
   Pusyamitra Sunga, the commander-in-chief of Mauryan Imperial forces and
   a Brahmin, assassinated the last of the Mauryan emperors Brhadrata.
   Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne and established the Sunga
   Empire, which extended its control as far west as the Punjab. Buddhist
   sources, such as the Asokavadana, affirm that Pusyamitra was hostile
   towards Buddhists and allegedly persecuted the Buddhist faith. A large
   number of Buddhist monasteries ( viharas) were allegedly converted to
   Hindu temples, in such places as Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath or Mathura.

Establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom

   The invasion of northern India, and the establishment what would be
   known as the "Indo-Greek kingdom", started around 180 BCE when
   Demetrius, son of the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I, led his troops
   across the Hindu Kush. In the process of the invasion, the Greeks seem
   to have occupied territory as far as the capital of Pataliputra, before
   ultimately retreating and stabilizing their rule in northwestern India.
   Apollodotus, seemingly a relative of Demetrius, led the invasion to the
   south, while Menander, one of the generals of Demetrius, led the
   invasion to the east. Following his conquests, Demetrius received the
   title ανικητος ("Aniketos", lit. Invincible), a title never given to
   any king before.

   Written evidence of the initial Greek invasion survives in the Greek
   writings of Strabo and Justin, and in Sanskrit in the records of
   Patanjali, Kālidāsa, and in the Yuga Purana, among others. Coins and
   architectural evidence also attest to the extent of the initial Greek
   campaign.

Evidence of the initial invasion

Archaeological remains

   Main archaeological artifacts from the Indo-Greek strata at Taxila.
   From top, left: - Fluted vase with bead and reel design (Bhir Mound,
   stratum 1) - Cup with rosace and decoratice scroll (Bhir Mound, stratum
   1) - Stone palette with individual on a couch being crowned by standing
   woman, and served (Sirkap, stratum 5) - Handle with double depiction of
   a philosopher (Sirkap, stratum 5/4) - Woman with smile (Sirkap, stratum
   5) - Man with moustache (Sirkap, stratum 5) (Source: John Marshall
   "Taxila, Archaeological excavations").
   Enlarge
   Main archaeological artifacts from the Indo-Greek strata at Taxila.
   From top, left:
   - Fluted vase with bead and reel design (Bhir Mound, stratum 1)
   - Cup with rosace and decoratice scroll (Bhir Mound, stratum 1)
   - Stone palette with individual on a couch being crowned by standing
   woman, and served (Sirkap, stratum 5)
   - Handle with double depiction of a philosopher (Sirkap, stratum 5/4)
   - Woman with smile (Sirkap, stratum 5)
   - Man with moustache (Sirkap, stratum 5)
   (Source: John Marshall "Taxila, Archaeological excavations").

Urban remains

   The city of Sirkap, today in northwestern Pakistan near Taxila, was
   built according to the "Hippodamian" grid-plan characteristic of Greek
   cities, and was a Hellenistic fortress of considerable proportions,
   with a 6,000 meter wall on the circonference, of a height of about 10
   meters. The houses of the Indo-Greek level are "the best planned of all
   the six strata, and the rubble masonry of which its walls are built is
   also the most solid and compact". It is thought that the city was built
   by Demetrius.

Artifacts

   Several Hellenistic artifacts have been found, in particular coins of
   Indo-Greek kings, stone palettes representing Greek mythological
   scenes, and small statuettes. Some of them are purely Hellenistic,
   others indicate an evolution of the Greco-Bactrian styles found at
   Ai-Khanoum towards more indianized styles. For example, accessories
   such as Indian ankle bracelets can be found on some representations of
   Greek mythological figures such as Artemis.

   The excavations of the Greek levels at Sirkap were however very limited
   and made in peripheral areas, out of respect for the more recent
   archeological strata (those of the Indo-Scythian and especially
   Indo-Parthian levels) and the remaining religious buildings, and due to
   the difficulty of excavating extensively to a depth of about 6 meters.
   The results, although interesting, are partial and cannot be considered
   as exhaustive. Beyond this, no extensive archaeological excavation of
   an Indo-Greek city has ever really been done.

Stupas

   When the Indo-Greeks settled in the area of Taxila, large Buddhist
   structures were already present, such as the stupa of Dharmarajika
   built by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. These structures were
   reinforced in the following centuries, by building rings of smaller
   stupas and constructions around the original ones. Several coins of the
   Indo-Greek king Zoilos II were found under the foundation of such a 1st
   century BCE stupa.

   Also, various Buddhist structures, such as the Butkara Stupa in the
   area of Swat were decorated with Hellenistic architectural elements
   from the 2nd century BCE.

Consolidation

Retreat from eastern regions

   The first invasion was completed by 175 BCE, as the Indo-Greeks
   apparently contained the Sungas to the area eastward of Pataliputra,
   and established their rule on the new territory. Back in Bactria
   however, around 170 BCE, an usurper named Eucratides managed to topple
   the Euthydemid dynasty. He took for himself the title of king and
   started a civil war by invading the Indo-Greek territory, forcing the
   Indo-Greeks to retreat from their easternmost possessions and establish
   their new oriental frontier at Mathura, to confront this new threat:

     "The Yavanas, infatuated by war, will not remain in Madhadesa (the
     Middle Country). There will be mutual agreement among them to leave,
     due to a terrible and very dreadful war having broken out in their
     own realm." (Yuga Purana, paragraphs 56–57, 2002 edition).

   Tetradrachm of Menander I (160–135 BCE) in Greco-Bactrian style
   (Alexandria-Kapisa mint). Obv: King Menander throwing a spear. Rev:
   Athena with thunderbolt. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTĒROS MENANDROU "Of
   King Menander, the Saviour".
   Enlarge
   Tetradrachm of Menander I (160–135 BCE) in Greco-Bactrian style (
   Alexandria-Kapisa mint).
   Obv: King Menander throwing a spear.
   Rev: Athena with thunderbolt. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTĒROS MENANDROU
   "Of King Menander, the Saviour".

   The Hathigumpha inscription, written by the king of Kalinga, Kharavela,
   also describes the presence of the Yavana king "Demetrius" with his
   army in eastern India, apparently as far as the city of Rajagriha about
   70 km southeast of Pataliputra and one of the foremost Buddhist sacred
   cities, but claims that Demetrius ultimately retreated to Mathura on
   hearing of Kharavela's military successes further south:

     "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 Dimi[ta] retreated to Mathura having extricated his demoralized
     army and transport." Hathigumpha inscription, in Epigraphia Indica,
     Vol. XX.

   In any case, Eucratides seems to have occupied territory as far as the
   Indus, between ca 170 BCE and 150 BCE. His advances were ultimately
   checked by the Indo-Greek king Menander I (Milinda), previously a
   general of Demetrius, who asserted himself in the Indian part of the
   empire, apparently conquered Bactria as indicated by his issue of coins
   in the Greco-Bactrian style, and even began the last expansions
   eastwards.

Consolidation and rise of Menander I

   Detail of Asia in the Ptolemy world map. The "Menander Mons" are in the
   center of the map, at the east of the Indian subcontinent, beyond the
   Ganges, right above the Malaysian Peninsula.
   Enlarge
   Detail of Asia in the Ptolemy world map. The "Menander Mons" are in the
   centre of the map, at the east of the Indian subcontinent, beyond the
   Ganges, right above the Malaysian Peninsula.

   Menander (Milinda), originally a general of Demetrius, is considered as
   probably the most successful Indo-Greek king, and the conqueror of the
   vastest territory. The finds of his coins are the most numerous and the
   most widespread of all the Indo-Greek kings. In Antiquity, from at
   least the 1st century CE, the "Menander Mons", or "Mountains of
   Menander", came to designate the mountain chain at the extreme east of
   the Indian subcontinent, today's Naga hills and Arakan, as indicated in
   the Ptolemy world map of the 1st century CE geographer Ptolemy.
   Menander is also remembered in Buddhist literature (the Milinda Panha)
   as a convert to Buddhism: he became an arhat whose relics were
   enshrined in a manner reminiscent of the Buddha. He also introduced a
   new coin type, with Athena Alkidemos ("Protector of the people") on the
   reverse, which was adopted by most of his successors in the East.

   Conquests east of the Punjab region were most likely made during the
   second half of the century by the king Menander I.

   Following Menander's reign, about twenty Indo-Greek kings are known to
   have ruled in succession in the eastern parts of the Indo-Greek
   territory. Upon his death, Menander was succeeded by his queen
   Agathokleia, who for some time acted as regent to their son Strato I.

Greco-Bactrian encroachments

   From 130 BCE, the Scythians and then the Yuezhi, following a long
   migration from the border of China), started to invade Bactria from the
   north. Around 125 BCE the Greco-Bactrian king Heliocles, son of
   Eucratides, was probably killed during the invasion and the
   Greco-Bactrian kingdom proper ceased to exist. Heliocles may have been
   survived by his relative Eucratides II, who ruled south of the Hindu
   Kush, in areas untouched by the invasion. Other Indo-Greek kings like
   Zoilos I, Lysias and Antialcidas may possible have been relatives of
   either the Eucratid or the Euthydemid dynasties; they struck both Greek
   and bilingual coins and established a kingdom of their own.

   A stabilizing alliance with the Yuezhi then seems to have followed, as
   hinted on the coins of Zoilos I, who minted coins showing Heracles'
   club together with a steppe-type recurve bow inside a victory wreath.

   The Indo-Greeks thus suffered encroachments by the Greco-Bactrians in
   their western territories. The Indo-Greek territory was divided into
   two realms: the house of Menander retreated to their territories east
   of the Jhelum River as far as Mathura, whereas the Western kings ruled
   a larger kingdom of Paropamisadae, western Punjab and Arachosia to the
   south.

Ideology

   Bilingual silver drachm of Menander I (160-135 BC). With obverse and
   reverse legends in Greek "BASILEOS SOTĒROS MENANDROY" and Kharosthi
   "MAHARAJA TRATASA MENADRASA": "Of The Saviour King Menander". Reverse
   shows Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield.
   Enlarge
   Bilingual silver drachm of Menander I (160-135 BC). With obverse and
   reverse legends in Greek "BASILEOS SOTĒROS MENANDROY" and Kharosthi
   "MAHARAJA TRATASA MENADRASA": "Of The Saviour King Menander". Reverse
   shows Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield.
   Indian-standard coin of Apollodotus I (180–160 BCE).
   Enlarge
   Indian-standard coin of Apollodotus I (180–160 BCE).

   Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and their rule,
   especially that of Menander, has been remembered as benevolent. It has
   been suggested, although direct evidence is lacking, that their
   invasion of India was intended to show their support for the Mauryan
   empire which had a long history of marital alliances, treaties of
   friendship, and exchange of ambassadors and religious emissaries with
   the Greeks, to protect Greek populations in India, and to protect the
   Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Sungas. The city
   of Sirkap founded by Demetrius combines Greek and Indian influences
   without signs of segregation between the two cultures.

   Alternatively, the Greek invasions in India are also sometimes
   described as purely materialistic, only taking advantage of the ruin of
   the Mauryan Empire to acquire territory and wealth.

   The first Greek coins to be minted in India, those of Menander I and
   Appolodotus I bear the mention "Saviour king" (BASILEOS SOTHROS), a
   title with high value in the Greek world which indicated an important
   deflective victory. For instance, Ptolemy I had been Soter (saviour)
   because he had helped save Rhodes from Demetrius the Besieger, and
   Antiochus I because he had saved Asia Minor from the Gauls. The title
   was also inscribed in Pali as ("Tratarasa") on the reverse of their
   coins. Menander and Apollodotus may indeed have been saviours to the
   Greek populations residing in India, and to some of the Indians as
   well.

   Also, most of the coins of the Greek kings in India were bilingual,
   written in Greek on the front and in Pali (in the Kharoshthi script) on
   the back, a tremendous concession to another culture never before made
   in the Hellenic world. From the reign of Apollodotus II, around 80 BCE,
   Kharoshthi letters started to be used as mintmarks on coins in
   combination with Greek monograms and mintmarks, suggesting the
   participation of local technicians to the minting process.
   Incidentally, these bilingual coins of the Indo-Greeks were the key in
   the decipherment of the Kharoshthi script by James Prinsep (1799–1840).
   Kharoshthi became extinct around the 3rd century CE.

   In Indian literature, the Indo-Greeks are described as Yavanas
   (transliteration of "Ionians"). Direct epigraphical evidence involves
   the Indo-Greek kings, such as the mention of the "Yavana king"
   Antialcidas on the Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha, or the mention of
   Menander I in the Buddhist text of the Milinda Panha. In the Harivamsa
   the "Yavana" Indo-Greeks are qualified, together with the Sakas,
   Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas as Kshatriya-pungava i.e foremost among
   the Warrior caste, or Kshatriyas. The Majjhima Nikaya explains that in
   the lands of the Yavanas and Kambojas, in contrast with the numerous
   Indian castes, there were only two classes of people, Aryas and Dasas
   (masters and slaves). The Arya could become Dasa and vice versa.

Religion

   In addition to the worship of the Classical pantheon of the Greek
   deities found on their coins (Zeus, Herakles, Athena, Apollo...), the
   Indo-Greeks were involved with local faiths, particularly with
   Buddhism, but also with Hinduism and Zoroastrianism.

Buddhism

   After the Greco-Bactrians militarily occupied parts of northern India
   from around 180 BCE, numerous instances of interaction between Greeks
   and Buddhism are recorded.

The conversion of Menander

   Menander I, the "Saviour king", seems to have converted to Buddhism,
   and is described in Buddhist texts as a great benefactor of the
   religion, on a par with Ashoka or the future Kushan emperor Kanishka.
   He is famous for his dialogues with the Buddhist monk Nagasena,
   transmitted to us in the Milinda Panha, which explain that he became a
   Buddhist arhat:

          "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 house-less state, grew great in insight, and
          himself attained to Arahatship!" ( The Questions of King
          Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids)

   Plutarch also presents Menander as an example of benevolent rule, and
   explains that upon his death, the honour of sharing his remains was
   claimed by the various cities under his rule, and they were enshrined
   in "monuments" (probably stupas), in a parallel with the historic
   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." ( Plutarch, "Political Precepts" Praec. reip. ger. 28,
          6).

Buddhist proselytism

   Lay devotee couple in Hellenistic dress (right, man holding a lamp),
   and Buddhist monks (shaven, left), circambulating a stupa.
   Enlarge
   Lay devotee couple in Hellenistic dress (right, man holding a lamp),
   and Buddhist monks (shaven, left), circambulating a stupa.

   There are records of the involvement of Greeks in Buddhist pilgrimages.
   During the reign of Menander, the Greek ( Pali: Yona, lit: " Ionian")
   Buddhist monk Mahadhammarakkhita (Sanskrit: Mahadharmaraksita, lit.
   "Great protector of the Dharma") is said to have come from Alasandra
   (thought to be Alexandria of the Caucasus, the city founded by
   Alexander the Great, near today's Kabul) with 30,000 monks for the
   foundation ceremony of the Maha Thupa ("Great stupa") built by king
   Dutthagamani at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, indicating the importance of
   Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern India, and the
   prominent role Greek Buddhist monks played in them:

          "From Alasanda the city of the Yonas came the thera (elder) Yona
          Mahadhammarakkhita with thirty thousand bhikkhus." ( Mahavamsa,
          XXIX)

   Couple of lay devotees in Greek dress (left and right, wearing the
   chiton and himation), around the fasting Buddha. In the background are
   Vajrapani (left) and Indra (right). In the opinion of Marshall in "The
   Buddhist art of Gandhara": "the finest, I think, and the earliest
   version of this episode that has come down to us". British Museum.
   Enlarge
   Couple of lay devotees in Greek dress (left and right, wearing the
   chiton and himation), around the fasting Buddha. In the background are
   Vajrapani (left) and Indra (right). In the opinion of Marshall in "The
   Buddhist art of Gandhara": "the finest, I think, and the earliest
   version of this episode that has come down to us". British Museum.

   Several Buddhist dedications by Greeks in India are recorded, such as
   that of the Greek meridarch (civil governor of a province) named
   Theodorus, describing in Kharoshthi how he enshrined relics of the
   Buddha. The inscriptions were found on a vase inside a stupa, dated to
   the reign of Menander or one his successors in the 1st century BCE
   (Tarn, p391):

          "Theudorena meridarkhena pratithavida ime sarira sakamunisa
          bhagavato bahu-jana-stitiye":
          "The meridarch Theodorus has enshrined relics of Lord
          Shakyamuni, for the welfare of the mass of the people"
          (Swāt relic vase inscription of the Meridarkh Theodoros)

   Although the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and Northern Asia is
   usually associated with the Kushans, a century or two later, there is a
   possibility that it may have been introduced in those areas from
   Gandhara "even earlier, during the time of Demetrius and Menander"
   (Puri, "Buddhism in Central Asia"). There is however some textual
   evidence to suggest that Buddhism had penetrated much earlier to
   Central Asia, at least in a limited form: the first two disciples of
   the Buddha were named Tapassu and Bhallika, from the region of Balhika
   (the present Balkh, and Sanskrit for Bactria), and though it cannot
   necessarily be presumed that any extensive prosyletization occurred on
   their return journey, that the Sanskrit name for Bactria derived from
   the name of a Bactrian-Buddhist disciple is suggestive of some early
   influence. Bhallika and Tapassu were both travellers, and if nothing
   else, the story of their conversion and their home region's Sanskrit
   nomenclature illustrates the possibility of early transmission via the
   local trade routes.

Buddhist symbolism

   From around 180 BCE, Agathocles and Pantaleon, probable successors to
   Demetrius I in the Paropamisadae, and the earliest Greek kings to issue
   Indian-standard square bilingual coins (in Brahmi), depicted the
   Buddhist lion together with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
   Indian coinage of Agathocles, with Chaitya-hill, and tree in railing.
   Enlarge
   Indian coinage of Agathocles, with Chaitya-hill, and tree in railing.

   Some coins of Agathocles in the Indian standard also show a six-arched
   stupa and a tree in a railing, typical symbol of the Bodhi tree in
   early Buddhism. These coins show an unprecedented willingness to adapt
   to every aspect of the local culture: shape of the coinage, coinage
   size, language, and religion.

   Later, some Indo-Greek coins incorporate the Buddhist symbol of the
   eight-spoked wheel, such as those of Menander I, as well as his
   possible grandson Menander II. On these coins, the wheel is associated
   with the Greek symbols of victory, either the palm of victory, or the
   victory wreath handed over by the goddess Nike. This symbology has led
   some to conclude that Menander adopted the Buddhist mantle of a
   "Chakravartin" during his lifetime; lit., "one for whom the wheel of
   law turns," translated as "King of the Wheel" in Western texts.

   The ubiquitous symbol of the elephant may or may not have been
   associated with Buddhism. Interestingly, on some coin series of
   Antialcidas, the elephant holds the same relationship to Zeus and Nike
   as the Buddhist wheel on the coin of Menander II, tending to suggest a
   common meaning for both symbols. Some of the earlier coins of king
   Apollodotus I directly associate the elephant with Buddhist symbolism,
   such as the stupa hill surmounted by a star, also seen, for example on
   the coins of the Mauryan Empire or those of the later Kuninda kingdom.
   Conversely, the bull is probably associated with Shiva, and often
   described in an erectile state as on the coins of Apollodotus I.

   Also, after the reign of Menander I, several Indo-Greek rulers, such as
   Agathokleia, Amyntas, Nicias, Peukolaos, Hermaeus, Hippostratos and
   Menander II, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with
   the right hand a symbolic gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka
   mudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended),
   which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of the Buddha's teaching.
   Indian relief of probable Indo-Greek king (Susan Huntington, "The art
   of ancient India"), with Buddhist triratana symbol on his sword.
   Bharhut, 2nd century BCE. Indian Museum, Calcutta (drawing).
   Enlarge
   Indian relief of probable Indo-Greek king (Susan Huntington, "The art
   of ancient India"), with Buddhist triratana symbol on his sword.
   Bharhut, 2nd century BCE. Indian Museum, Calcutta (drawing).

   At precisely the same time, right after the death of Menander, several
   Indo-Greek rulers also started to adopt on their coins the Pali title
   of "Dharmikasa", meaning "follower of the Dharma" (the title of the
   great Indian Buddhist king Ashoka was Dharmaraja "King of the Dharma").
   This usage was adopted by Strato I, Zoilos I, Heliokles II, Theophilos,
   Peukolaos, Menander II and Archebios.

   Altogether, the conversion of Menander I to Buddhism suggested by the
   Milinda Panha seems to have triggered the use of Buddhist symbolism in
   one form or another on the coinage of close to half of the kings who
   succeeded him. Especially, all the kings after Menander who are
   recorded to have ruled in Gandhara (apart from the little known
   Demetrius III) display Buddhist symbolism in one form or another. On
   the contrary, none of the kings whose rule was limited to Punjab did
   display Buddhist signs (with the exception of the powerful
   Hippostratos, who probably took under his protection many Gandharan
   Greeks fleeing from the Indo-Scythians (Tarn).).

   A 2nd century BCE relief from a Buddhist stupa in Bharhut, in eastern
   Madhya Pradesh (today at the Indian Museum in Calcutta), represents a
   foreign soldier with the curly hair of a Greek and the royal headband
   with flowing ends of a Greek king. In his left hand, he holds a branch
   of ivy, symbol of Dionysos. Also parts of his dress, with rows of
   geometrical folds, are characteristically Hellenistic in style. On his
   sword appears the Buddhist symbol of the three jewels, or Triratana.

Representation of the Buddha

   The anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha is absent from
   Indo-Greek coinage, suggesting that the Indo-Greek kings may have
   respected the Indian aniconic rule for Buddhist depictions, limiting
   themselves to Buddhist symbolism only. Consistently with this
   perspective, the actual depiction of the Buddha would be a later
   phenomenon, usually dated to the 1st century CE, emerging from the
   sponsorship of the syncretic Kushan Empire and executed by Greek, and,
   later, Indian and possibly Roman artists. Datation of Greco-Buddhist
   statues is generally uncertain, but they are at least firmly
   established from the 1st century CE.
   One of the first known representations of the Buddha, Gandhara, in pure
   Hellenistic style and technique: Standing Buddha (Tokyo National
   Museum).
   Enlarge
   One of the first known representations of the Buddha, Gandhara, in pure
   Hellenistic style and technique: Standing Buddha (Tokyo National
   Museum).

   Another possibility is that the Indo-Greeks may not have considered the
   Buddha strictly as a God, but rather as an essentially human sage or
   philosopher, in line with the traditional Nikaya Buddhist doctrine.
   Just as philosophers were routinely represented in statues (but
   certainly not on coins) in Antiquity, the Indo-Greek may have initiated
   anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha in statuary only,
   possibly as soon as the 2nd-1st century BCE, as advocated by Foucher
   and suggested by Chinese murals depicting Emperor Wu of Han worshipping
   Buddha statues brought from Central Asia in 120 BCE (See picture).
   Foucher especially considered Hellenistic free-standing Buddhas as "the
   most beautiful, and probably the most ancient of the Buddhas",
   assigning them to the 1st century BCE, and making them the starting
   point of the anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha.

   The willingness of ancient Greeks to represent and worship local
   deities is also attested in Egypt with the creation of the god Serapis
   in Hellenistic style, an adaptation of the Egyptian god Apis, or in
   Phrygia with the Hellenistic representation of the heretofore aniconic
   Cybele. On the contrary, Indian Buddhist art was traditionally aniconic
   (the Buddha was only represented with symbols), and the Iranian
   tradition (represented by the 1st century Indo-Parthians) also did not
   represent their deities in human form. An Indo-Chinese tradition also
   explains that Nagasena, also known as Menander's Buddhist teacher,
   created in 43 BCE in the city of Pataliputra a statue of the Buddha,
   the Emerald Buddha, which was later brought to Thailand.
   An Indo-Corinthian capital from the Butkara Stupa, representing a
   Buddhist devotee within foliage, dated to 20 BCE (Turin City Museum of
   Ancient Art).
   Enlarge
   An Indo-Corinthian capital from the Butkara Stupa, representing a
   Buddhist devotee within foliage, dated to 20 BCE ( Turin City Museum of
   Ancient Art).

   Stylistically, Indo-Greek coins generally display a very high level of
   Hellenistic artistic realism, which declined drastically around 50 BCE
   with the invasions of the Indo-Scythians, Yuezhi and Indo-Parthians.
   The first known statues of the Buddha are also very realistic and
   Hellenistic in style and are more consistent with the pre-50 BCE
   artistic level seen on coins. This would tend to suggest that the first
   statues were created between 130 BCE (death of Menander) and 50 BCE,
   precisely at the time when Buddhist symbolism appeared on Indo-Greek
   coinage. From that time, Menander and his successors may have been the
   key propagators of Buddhist ideas and representations: "the spread of
   Gandhari Buddhism may have been stimulated by Menander's royal
   patronage, as may have the development and spread of Gandharan
   sculpture, which seems to have accompanied it" (Mc Evilly, "The shape
   of ancient thought", p378)
   The Bimaran casket, representing the Buddha may be Indo-Greek work from
   around 30-10 BCE. British Museum.
   Enlarge
   The Bimaran casket, representing the Buddha may be Indo-Greek work from
   around 30-10 BCE. British Museum.

   The representation of the Buddha may also be connected to his
   progressive deification, which is usually associated with the spread of
   the Indian principle of Bhakti (personal devotion to a deity). Bhakti
   is a principle which evolved in the Bhagavata religious movement, and
   is said to have permeated Buddhism from about 100 BCE, and to have been
   a contributing factor to the representation of the Buddha in human
   form. The association of the Indo-Greeks with the Bhagavata movement is
   documented in the inscription of the Heliodorus pillar, made during the
   reign of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas (r.c. 115-95 BCE). At that
   time relations with the Sungas seem to have improved, and some level of
   religious exchange seems to have occurred. The point of time when
   bhakti fervour would have encountered the Hellenistic artistic
   tradition would then be around 100 BCE.

   Most of the early images of the Buddha (especially those of the
   standing Buddha) are anepigraphic, which makes it difficult to have a
   definite datation. The earliest known image of the Buddha with
   approximate indications on date is the Bimaran casket, which has been
   found buried with coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (or possibly
   Azes I), indicating a 30-10 BCE date, although this date is not
   undisputed. Such datation, as well as the general Hellenistic style and
   attitude of the Buddha on the Bimaran casket ( himation dress,
   contrapposto attitude, general depiction) would made it a possible
   Indo-Greek work, used in dedications by Indo-Scythians right after the
   end of Indo-Greek rule in the area of Gandhara. Since it already
   displays quite a sophisticated iconography ( Brahma and Śakra as
   attendants, Bodhisattvas) in an advanced style, it would suggest much
   earlier representations of the Buddha were already current by that
   time, going back to the rule of the Indo-Greeks ( Alfred A. Foucher and
   others):

          "It seems highly probable to me that the unknown artist who
          created the initial model [for the Buddha] was a Yavana, both
          artist and philosopher, who belonged both to Greece and India."
          Mario Bussagli, "L'art du Gandhara"

Hinduism

   The first known bilingual coins of the Indo-Greeks were issued by
   Agathocles around 180 BCE. These coins were found in Ai-Khanoum, the
   great Greco-Bactrian city in northeastern Afghanistan, but introduce
   for the first time an Indian script (the Brahmi script which had been
   in use under the Mauryan empire), and the first known representations
   of Hindu deities, in a very Indian iconography: Krishna- Vasudeva, with
   his large wheel with six spokes ( chakra) and conch (shanka), and his
   brother Sankarshan- Balarama, with his plough (hala) and pestle
   (masala), both early avatars of Vishnu. The square coins, instead of
   the usual Greek round coins, also followed the Indian standard for
   coinage. The dancing girls on some of the coins of Agathocles and
   Pantaleon are also sometimes considered as representations of Subhadra,
   Krishna's sister.

   These first issues were in several respects a short-lived experiment.
   Hindu anthropomorphic deities were never again represented in
   Indo-Greek coinage (although the bull on the vast quantity of
   subsequent coins may have symbolized Shiva, as the elephant may have
   symbolized Buddhism), and the Brahmi script was immediately replaced by
   the Kharoshti script, derived from Aramaic. The general practice
   however of minting bilingual coins and combining Greek and Indian
   iconography, sometimes in the Greek and sometimes in the Indian
   standard continued for the next two centuries.

   In any case, these coins suggest the strong presence of Indian
   religious traditions in the northwestern Indian subcontinent at that
   time, and the willingness of the Greeks to acknowledge and even promote
   them. Artistically, they tend to indicate that the Greeks were not
   particularly reluctant to make representations of local deities, which
   has some bearing on the later emergence of the image of the Buddha in
   Hellenistic style.

   The Heliodorus pillar inscription is another epigraphical evidence of
   the interaction between Greeks and Hinduism. The pillar was erected
   around 110 BCE in central India at the site of Vidisha, by Heliodorus,
   a Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas to the court of
   the Sunga king Bhagabhadra. The pillar was surmounted by a sculpture of
   Garuda and was apparently dedicated by Heliodorus to the temple of
   Vasudeva.

          "This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva ( Vishnu), the God of Gods
          was erected here by the Bhagavata Heliodoros,
          the son of Dion, a man of Taxila,
          sent by the Great Greek ( Yona) King
          Antialkidas, as ambassador to
          King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior
          son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his
          reign."
          ( Heliodorus pillar inscription)

Zoroastrianism

   Persian culture and religion seem to have been rather influential among
   the Western Indo-Greeks, who, located around the Paropamisadae, lived
   in direct contact with the Central Asian cultural sphere and the
   eastern reaches of the Parthian empire. Images of the Persian
   Zoroastrian god Mithra appear extensively on the Indo-Greek coinage of
   the Western kings, as a god with a radiated phrygian cap.

   This Zeus-Mithra god is also the one represented seated (with the rays
   around the head, and a small protrusion on the top of the head
   representing the cap) on many coins of Hermaeus, Antialcidas or
   Heliokles II, or possibly even earlier during the time of Eucratides I,
   on whose coins the deity is said to be the god of the city of Kapisa.

   The future Buddha Maitreya, usually represented seated on a throne
   Western-style, and venerated both in Mahayana and non-Mahayana
   Buddhism, is sometimes considered as influenced by the god Mithra.
   "Some scholars suggest he (Maitreya) was originally linked to the
   Iranian saviour-figure Mitra, and that his later importance for
   Buddhist as the future Buddha residing in the Tusita heaven, who will
   follow on from Sakyamuni Buddha, derives from this source." (Keown,
   Dictionary of Buddhism)

Art

Incipient Greco-Buddhist art

   In general, the art of the Indo-Greeks is poorly documented, and few
   works of art (apart from their coins and a few stone palettes) are
   directly attributed to them. The coinage of the Indo-Greeks however is
   generally considered as some of the most artistically brilliant of
   Antiquity. Traditionally, very few sculptural remains have been
   attributed to the Indo-Greeks, although their Hellenistic heritage and
   artistic proficiency would naturally have encouraged such creations (as
   neighbouring and contemporary Ai-Khanoum abundantly suggests). On the
   contrary, most Gandharan Hellenistic works of art are usually
   attributed to the direct successors of the Indo-Greeks in India, such
   as the Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Parthians and the Kushans, from the 1st
   century CE, although Kushan Greco-Buddhist art is usually considered as
   already decadent.
   The Buddha with Herakles/Vajrapani (left detail) and Tyche/Hariti
   (right detail) may be "incipient Buddhist sculpture in Indo-Greek
   style" (Boardman). Herakles still has his lion skin on the left
   shoulder, although his club has been replaced by Vajrapani's
   thunderbolt. Tyche holds a Classical cornucopia, Tapa-i-Shotor, Hadda,
   eastern Afghanistan (Click on the image for photographic reference).
   Enlarge
   The Buddha with Herakles/ Vajrapani (left detail) and Tyche/ Hariti
   (right detail) may be "incipient Buddhist sculpture in Indo-Greek
   style" (Boardman). Herakles still has his lion skin on the left
   shoulder, although his club has been replaced by Vajrapani's
   thunderbolt. Tyche holds a Classical cornucopia, Tapa-i-Shotor, Hadda,
   eastern Afghanistan (Click on the image for photographic reference).
   Coin of the Indo-Greek king Amyntas, 95-90 BCE. Seated Tyche with
   cornucopia in left hand, and, with the right hand, making a benediction
   gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka mudra.
   Enlarge
   Coin of the Indo-Greek king Amyntas, 95-90 BCE. Seated Tyche with
   cornucopia in left hand, and, with the right hand, making a benediction
   gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka mudra.

   The possibility of a direct connection between the Indo-Greeks and
   Greco-Buddhist art has been reaffirmed recently as the dating of the
   rule of Indo-Greek kings has been extended to the first decades of the
   1st century CE, with the reign of Strato II in the Punjab. Also,
   Foucher, Tarn and more recently Boardman, Bussagli or McEvilley have
   taken the view that some of the most purely Hellenistic works of
   northwestern India and Afghanistan, may actually be wrongly attributed
   to later centuries, and instead belong to a period one or two centuries
   earlier, to the time of the Indo-Greeks in the 2nd-1st century BCE.
   This is particularly the case of some purely Hellenistic works in
   Hadda, Afghanistan, an area which "might indeed be the cradle of
   incipient Buddhist sculpture in Indo-Greek style". Referring to one of
   the Buddha triads in Hadda (drawing), in which the Buddha is sided by
   very Classical depictions of Herakles/ Vajrapani and Tyche/ Hariti,
   Boardman explains that both figures "might at first (and even second)
   glance, pass as, say, from Asia Minor or Syria of the first or second
   century BC (...) these are essentially Greek figures, executed by
   artists fully conversant with far more than the externals of the
   Classical style". Many of the works of art at Hadda can also be
   compared to the style of the 2nd century BCE sculptures of the
   Hellenistic world, such as those of the Temple of Olympia at Bassae in
   Greece, which could also suggest roughly contemporary dates.

   Alternatively, it has been suggested that these works of art may have
   been executed by itinerant Greek artists during the time of maritime
   contacts with the West from the 1st to the 3rd century CE.

   The supposition that such highly Hellenistic and, at the same time
   Buddhist, works of art belong to the Indo-Greek period would be
   consistent with the known Buddhist activity of the Indo-Greeks (the
   Milinda Panha etc...), their Hellenistic cultural heritage which would
   naturally have induced them to produce extensive statuary, their know
   artistic proficiency as seen on their coins until around 50 BCE, and
   the dated appearance of already complex iconography incorporating
   Hellenistic sculptural codes with the Bimaran casket in the early 1st
   century CE.

Indo-Greeks in the art of Gandhara

   Hellenistic culture in the Indian subcontinent: Greek clothes,
   amphoras, wine and music (Detail of Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa, Hadda,
   Gandhara, 1st century CE).
   Enlarge
   Hellenistic culture in the Indian subcontinent: Greek clothes,
   amphoras, wine and music (Detail of Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa, Hadda,
   Gandhara, 1st century CE).

   The Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, beyond the omnipresence of Greek
   style and stylistic elements which might be simply considered as an
   enduring artistic tradition, offers numerous depictions of people in
   Greek Classical realistic style, attitudes and fashion (clothes such as
   the chiton and the himation, similar in form and style to the 2nd
   century BCE Greco-Bactrian statues of Ai-Khanoum, hairstyle), holding
   contraptions which are characteristic of Greek culture ( amphoras,
   "kantaros" Greek drinking cups), in situations which can range from
   festive (such as Bacchanalian scenes) to Buddhist-devotional.

   Uncertainties in dating make it unclear whether these works of art
   actually depict Greeks of the period of Indo-Greek rule up to the 1st
   century BCE, or remaining Greek communities under the rule of the
   Indo-Parthians or Kushans in the 1st and 2nd century CE.

Stone palettes

   Numerous early stone palettes found in Gandhara are quite unanimously
   considered as direct productions of the Indo-Greeks during the 2nd to
   the 1st century BCE. The art style of the palettes later evolved under
   the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians, but production stopped with the
   advent of the Kushans. Usually these palettes represent people in Greek
   dress in mythological or gallant scenes.

   Man with cup in hand, riding a Ketos sea-monster.

   Banquet scene.

   Woman in Greek chiton and himation, riding a Ketos sea-monster.

   Female triton in Greek attire, Tokyo National Museum

Hellenistic groups

   A series of reliefs, several of them known as the Buner reliefs which
   were taken during the 19th century from Buddhist structures near the
   area of Buner in northern Pakistan, depict in perfect Hellenistic style
   gatherings of people in Greek dress, socializing, drinking or playing
   music. Some other of these reliefs depict Indo-Scythian soldiers in
   uniform, sometimes playing instruments. Finally, revelling Indian in
   dhotis richly adorned with jewelry are also shown. These are considered
   some of the most artistically perfect, and earliest, of Gandharan
   sculptures, and are thought to exalt multicultural interaction within
   the context of Buddhism, sometime during the 1st century BCE.

   Greek Buddhist devotees, holding plantain leaves, in purely Hellenistic
   style, inside Corinthian columns, Buner relief, Victoria and Albert
   Museum.

   Takht-i-Bahi relief, dubbed "Presentation of the bride to Siddharta".
   The third caracter holds Buddhist devotional flowers, the fifth forms a
   benediction gesture. British Museum.

   Greek Buddhist devotees, drinking and playing music. Buner relief.
   Cleveland Museum of Art.

   Hellenistic group in more Indianized style, Zar Dheri stupa, Hazara
   district of Gandhara ( NWFP).

Bacchic scenes

   Greeks harvesting grapes, Greeks drinking and revelling, scenes of
   erotical courtship are also numerous, and seem to relate to some of the
   most remarkable traits of Greek culture. These reliefs also belong to
   Buddhist structures, and it is sometimes suggested that they might
   represent some kind of paradisical world after death.

   Bacchanalian scene, representing the harvest of wine grapes,
   Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, 1st-2nd century CE.

   Indo-Greek bacchanalian scene, 1st-2nd century.

   Drinking scene, with Dionysus and Ariadne on his lap, Greek drinking
   cups, Greek dress. Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara. Dated 3rd century
   CE.

   Erotical scene in a Buddhist monument in Swat, Gandhara.

Greek devotees

   Depictions of Greek devotees within a Buddhist context are also
   numerous. Some show a Greek devotee couple circambulating stupas
   together with shaven monks, others Greek protagonists are incorporated
   in Buddhist jataka stories of the life of the Buddha (relief of The
   Great Departure), others are simply depicted as devotees on the columns
   of Buddhist structures.

   Indo-Corinthian capital representing a Buddhist devotee wearing a Greek
   cloak ( chlamys) attached by a fibula. Dated to the 1st century BCE.
   Butkara Stupa.

   Devotee in Greek dress, on a Buddhist pilaster. Chakhil-i-Ghoundi
   Stupa.

   Devotee couple in Greek dress, circambulating a stupa. British Museum.

   Man in Greek dress, inside a Buddhist arcade, National Museum of
   Oriental Art.

   Man in Greek dress, seated on a folding stool and reading books.
   British Museum.

   "The Great Departure", with the Buddha amid Greek deities and costumes.

   Hellenistic man or God, Gandhara.

   Depiction of the Trojan horse in the art of Gandhara. British Museum.

Economy

   Very little is known about the economy of the Indo-Greeks. The
   abundance of their coins would tend to suggest large mining operations,
   particularly in the mountainous area of the Hindu-Kush, and an
   important monetary economy. The Indo-Greek did strike bilingual coins
   both in the Greek "round" standard and in the Indian "square" standard,
   suggesting that monetary circulation extended to all parts of society.
   The adoption of Indo-Greek monetary conventions by neighbouring
   kingdoms, such as the Kunindas to the east and the Satavahanas to the
   south, would also suggest that Indo-Greek coins were used extensively
   for cross-border trade.

Tribute payments

   It would also seem that some of the coins emitted by the Indo-Greek
   kings, particularly those in the monolingual Attic standard, may have
   been used to pay some form of tribute to the Yuezhi tribes north of the
   Hindu-Kush. This is indicated by the coins finds of the Qunduz hoard in
   northern Afghanistan, which have yielded quantities of Indo-Greek coins
   in the Hellenistic standard (Greek weights, Greek language), although
   none of the kings represented in the hoard are known to have ruled so
   far north. Conversely, none of these coins have ever been found south
   of the Hindu-Kush.

Trade with China

   An indirect testimony by the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian, who visited
   Bactria around 128 BCE, suggests that intense trade with Southern China
   was going through northern India, and therefore probably through the
   contemporary Indo-Greek realm. Zhang Qian explains that he found
   Chinese products in the Bactrian markets, and that they were transiting
   through northwestern India, which he incidentially describes as a
   civilization similar to that of Bactria:

          "When I was in Bactria," Zhang Qian reported, "I saw bamboo
          canes from Qiong and cloth (silk?) made in the province of Shu.
          When I asked the people how they had gotten such articles, they
          replied: "Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Shendu
          (northwestern India). Shendu, they told me, lies several
          thousand li southeast of Bactria. The people cultivate land, and
          live much like the people of Bactria". ( Sima Qian, "Records of
          the Great Historian", trans. Burton Watson, p236).

Indian Ocean trade

   Maritime relations across the Indian ocean started in the 3rd century
   BCE, and further developed during the time of the Indo-Greeks together
   with their territorial expansion along the western coast of India. The
   first contacts started when the Ptolemies constructed the Red Sea ports
   of Myos Hormos and Berenike, with destination the Indus delta and the
   Kathiawar peninsula. Around 130 BCE, Eudoxus of Cyzicus is reported (
   Strabo, Geog.  II.3.4) to have made a successful voyage to India and
   returned with a cargo of perfumes and gemstones. By the time Indo-Greek
   rule was ending, up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos
   Hormos to India (Strabo Geog. II.5.12).

Armed forces

   Greek combatants in an armored turret on an Indian war elephant.
   Phalera of the 3rd-2nd century BCE, Greco-Bactrian or Indo-Greek work,
   found in the Ural. Hermitage Museum, Russia. Click image for
   references.
   Enlarge
   Greek combatants in an armored turret on an Indian war elephant.
   Phalera of the 3rd-2nd century BCE, Greco-Bactrian or Indo-Greek work,
   found in the Ural. Hermitage Museum, Russia. Click image for
   references.

   The coins of the Indo-Greeks provide rich clues on their uniforms and
   weapons. Typical Hellenistic uniforms are depicted, with helmets being
   either round in the Greco-Bactrian style, or the flat kausia of the
   Macedonians (coins of Apollodotus I).

Military technology

   Their weapons were spears, swords, longbow (on the coins of
   Agathokleia) and arrows. Interestingly, around 130 BCE the Central
   Asian recurve bow of the steppes with its gorytos box starts to appear
   for the first time on the coins of Zoilos I, suggesting strong
   interactions (and apparently an alliance) with nomadic peoples, either
   Yuezhi or Scythian. The recurve bow becomes a standard feature of
   Indo-Greek horsemen by 90 BCE, as seen on some of the coins of
   Hermaeus.
   Relief showing a male Buddhist devotee in chiton and himation (top),
   and Hellenistic soldiers wearing the chlamys (bottom). Butkara,
   National Museum of Oriental Art.
   Enlarge
   Relief showing a male Buddhist devotee in chiton and himation (top),
   and Hellenistic soldiers wearing the chlamys (bottom). Butkara,
   National Museum of Oriental Art.

   Generally, Indo-Greek kings are often represented riding horses, as
   soon as the reign of Antimachus II around 160 BCE. The equestrian
   tradition probably goes back to the Greco-Bactrians, who are said by
   Polybius to have faced a Seleucid invasion in 210 BCE with 10,000
   horsemen. Although war elephants are never represented on coins, a
   harness plate ( phalera) dated to the 3-2nd century BCE, today in the
   Hermitage Museum, depicts a helmetted Greek combatant on an Indian war
   elephant, and would be either Greco-Bactrian or Indo-Greek work. Indian
   war elephants were a standard feature of Hellenistic armies, and this
   would naturally have been the case for the Indo-Greeks as well.
   Indo-Greek officer (on a coin of Menander II), circa 90 BCE. He is
   equipped with a cuirass, lamellar armour for the thighs, and leg
   protections.
   Enlarge
   Indo-Greek officer (on a coin of Menander II), circa 90 BCE. He is
   equipped with a cuirass, lamellar armour for the thighs, and leg
   protections.

   The Milinda Panha, in the questions of Nagasena to king Menander,
   provides a rare glimpse of the military methods of the period:

          "(Nagasena) Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival
          kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents?
          -(Menander) 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 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."
          ( Milinda Panha, Book III, Chap 7)

   The Milinda Panha also describes the structure of Menander's army:

          "Now one day Milinda the king proceeded forth out of the city to
          pass in review the innumerable host of his mighty army in its
          fourfold array (of elephants, cavalry, bowmen, and soldiers on
          foot)." (Milinda Panha, Book I)

Size of Indo-Greek armies

   The Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides (171-145 BCE) is said to have
   vanquished 60,000 Indo-Greeks, before being himself defeated by
   Menander.
   Enlarge
   The Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides (171-145 BCE) is said to have
   vanquished 60,000 Indo-Greeks, before being himself defeated by
   Menander.

   The armed forces of the Indo-Greeks during their invasion of India must
   have been quite considerable, as suggested by their ability to topple
   local rulers, but also by the size of the armed reaction of some Indian
   rulers. The ruler of Kalinga, Kharavela, claims in the Hathigumpha
   inscription that he led a "large army" in the direction of Demetrius'
   own "army" and "transports", and that he induced him to retreat from
   Pataliputra to Mathura. A "large army" for the state of Kalinga must
   indeed have been quite considerable. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes
   took special note of the military strength of Kalinga in his Indica in
   the middle of the 3rd century BCE:

          "The royal city of the Calingae ( Kalinga) is called Parthalis.
          Over their king 60,000 foot-soldiers, 1,000 horsemen, 700
          elephants keep watch and ward in "procinct of war." (Megasthenes
          fragm. LVI. in Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8-23. 11.).

   That this kind of military strength was needed to confront the
   Indo-Greeks is indicative of the Indo-Greeks' own military commitment.
   Indo-Greek cavalryman, circa 80 BCE, according to coins of Hermaeus. He
   wears a cuirass for the upper body and lamellar armour for the thighs,
   as well as a cape, boots and a round crested helmet. His weapons are a
   recurve bow, stowed in a gorytos, and a straight sword with round
   pommel. The flowing headband indicates royalty.
   Enlarge
   Indo-Greek cavalryman, circa 80 BCE, according to coins of Hermaeus. He
   wears a cuirass for the upper body and lamellar armour for the thighs,
   as well as a cape, boots and a round crested helmet. His weapons are a
   recurve bow, stowed in a gorytos, and a straight sword with round
   pommel. The flowing headband indicates royalty.

   An account by the Roman writer Justin gives another hint of the size of
   Indo-Greek armies, which, in the case of the conflict between the
   Greco-Bactrian Eucratides and the Indo-Greek Demetrius II, he numbers
   at 60,000 (although they allegedly lost to 300 Greco-Bactrians):

          " Eucratides led many wars with great courage, and, while
          weakened by them, was put under siege by Demetrius, king of the
          Indians. He made numerous sorties, and managed to vanquish
          60,000 enemies with 300 soldiers, and thus liberated after four
          months, he put India under his rule" (Justin, XLI,6)

   These are considerable numbers, as large armies during the Hellenistic
   period typically numbered between 20,000 to 30,000.

   However, the military strength of nomadic tribes from Central Asia (
   Yuezhi and Scythians) probably constituted a significant threat to the
   Indo-Greeks. According to Zhang Qian, the Yuezhi represented a
   considerable force of between 100,000 and 200,000 mounted archer
   warriors, with customs identical to those of the Xiongnu.

   Finally, the Indo-Greek seem to have combined forces with other
   "invaders" during their expansion into India, since they are often
   referred to in combination with others (especially the Kambojas), in
   the Indian accounts of their invasions.

Later History

Eastern Indo-Greek territories

   Tetradrachm of Hippostratos, reigned circa 65-55 BCE.
   Enlarge
   Tetradrachm of Hippostratos, reigned circa 65-55 BCE.
   The last Indo-Greek king Strato II, whose reign ended circa 10 CE.
   Enlarge
   The last Indo-Greek king Strato II, whose reign ended circa 10 CE.
   The Indo-Scythian king Azes II (r.35-12 BCE) (click image for
   reference).
   Enlarge
   The Indo-Scythian king Azes II (r.35-12 BCE) (click image for
   reference).

   After around 100 BCE, Indian kings recovered the area of Mathura and
   Eastern Punjab east of the Ravi River, and started to mint their own
   coins. The Arjunayanas (area of Mathura) and Yaudheyas mention military
   victories on their coins ("Victory of the Arjunayanas", "Victory of the
   Yaudheyas"). During the 1st century BCE, the Trigartas, Audumbaras and
   finally the Kunindas (closest to Punjab) also started to mint their own
   coins, usually in a style highly reminiscent of Indo-Greek coinage.

   The Western king Philoxenus briefly occupied the whole remaining Greek
   territory from the Paropamisadae to Western Punjab between 100 to 95
   BCE, after what the territories fragmented again. The eastern kings
   regained their territory as far west as Arachosia.

   Around 80 BCE, an Indo-Scythian king named Maues, possibly a general in
   the service of the Indo-Greeks, ruled for a few years in northwestern
   India before the Indo-Greeks again took control. King Hippostratos
   (65-55 BCE) seems to have been one of the most successful subsequent
   Indo-Greek kings until he lost to the Indo-Scythian Azes I, who
   established an Indo-Scythian dynasty.

   Throughout the 1st century BCE, the Indo-Greeks progressively lost
   ground against the invasion of the Indo-Scythians. Although the
   Indo-Scythians clearly ruled militarily and politically, they remained
   surprisingly respectful of Greek and Indian cultures. Their coins were
   minted in Greek mints, continued using proper Greek and Kharoshthi
   legends, and incorporated depictions of Greek deities, particularly
   Zeus. The Mathura lion capital inscription attests that they adopted
   the Buddhist faith, as do the depictions of deities forming the vitarka
   mudra on their coins. Greek communities, far from being exterminated,
   probably persisted under Indo-Scythian rule. There is a possibility
   that a fusion, rather than a confrontation, occured between the Greeks
   and the Indo-Scythians: in a recently published coin, Artemidoros
   presents himself as "son of Maues", and the Buner reliefs show
   Indo-Greeks and Indo-Scythians reveling in a Buddhist context.

   The Indo-Greeks continued to rule a territory in the eastern Punjab,
   until the kingdom of the last Indo-Greek king Strato II was taken over
   by the Indo-Scythian ruler Rajuvula around 10 CE.

Western Indo-Greek territories

   A Yuezhi/ Kushan man in traditional costume with tunic and boots, 2nd
   century CE, Gandhara.
   Enlarge
   A Yuezhi/ Kushan man in traditional costume with tunic and boots, 2nd
   century CE, Gandhara.

   Around eight western Indo-Greek kings are known. The last important
   king was Hermaeus, who reigned until around 70 BCE; soon after his
   death the Yuezhi took over his areas from neighbouring Bactria. Chinese
   chronicles (the Hou Hanshu) actually tend to suggest that the Chinese
   general Wen-Chung had helped negotiate the alliance of Hermaeus with
   the Yuezhi, against the Indo-Scythians. When Hermaeus is depicted on
   his coins riding a horse, he is equipped with the recurve bow and
   bow-case of the steppes.

   After 70 BCE, the Yuezhi became the new rulers of the Paropamisadae,
   and minted vast quantities of posthumous issues of Hermaeus up to
   around 40 CE, when they blend with the coinage of the Kushan king
   Kujula Kadphises. The first documented Yuezhi prince, Sapadbizes, ruled
   around 20 BCE, and minted in Greek and in the same style as the western
   Indo-Greek kings, probably depending on Greek mints and celators.

   The Yuezhi expanded to the east during the 1st century CE, to found the
   Kushan Empire. The first Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises ostensibly
   associated himself with Hermaeus on his coins, suggesting that he may
   have been one of his descendants by alliance, or at least wanted to
   claim his legacy. The Yuezhi (future Kushans) were in many ways the
   cultural and political heirs to the Indo-Greeks, as suggested by their
   adoption of the Greek culture (writing system, Greco-Buddhist art) and
   their claim to a lineage with the last western Indo-Greek king
   Hermaeus.

   The last known mention of an Indo-Greek ruler is suggested by an
   inscription on a signet ring of the 1st century CE in the name of a
   king Theodamas, from the Bajaur area of Gandhara, in modern Pakistan.
   No coins of him are known, but the signet bears in kharoshthi script
   the inscription "Su Theodamasa", "Su" being explained as the Greek
   transliteration of the ubiquitous Kushan royal title "Shau" (" Shah",
   "King").

Enduring legacy of the Indo-Greek Kingdom

   From the 1st century CE, the Greek communities of central Asia and
   northwestern India lived under the control of the Kushan branch of the
   Yuezhi, apart from a short-lived invasion of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom.
   The Kushans founded the Kushan Empire, which was to prosper for several
   centuries. In the south, the Greeks were under the rule of the Western
   Kshatrapas.

   It is unclear how much longer the Greeks managed to maintain a distinct
   presence in the Indian sub-continent.

Military role

   At the beginning of the 2nd century CE, the Central India Satavahana
   king Gautamiputra (r. 106–130 CE) adopted the epithet Sātakarni,
   meaning "Destroyer of Sakas ( Western Kshatrapas), Yavanas (
   Indo-Greeks) and Pahlavas ( Indo-Parthians)" in his inscriptions,
   suggesting a continued presence of the Indo-Greeks until that time.

   Around 200 CE, the Manu Smriti describes the downfall of the Yavanas,
   as well as many others:

   "43. But in consequence of the omission of the sacred rites, and of
   their not consulting Brahmanas, the following tribes of Kshatriyas have
   gradually sunk in this world to the condition of Shudras;
   44. (Viz.) the Paundrakas, the Chodas, the Dravidas, the Kambojas, the
   Yavanas, the Shakas, the Paradas, the Pahlavas, the Chinas, the
   Kiratas, the Daradas and the Khashas." (Manusmritti, X.43-44)

   The Brihat-Katha-Manjari text of the Sanskrit poet Kshmendra (11th and
   12th centuries) (10/1/285-86) relates that around 400 CE the Gupta king
   Vikramaditya ( Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the
   Barbarians" like "the Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas,
   Parasikas, Hunas" etc… by annihilating these "sinners" completely.

Linguistic legacy

   A Greco-Roman-style carnelian seal from the Punjab region, with Brahmi
   inscription "Kusumadasasya" ("Flower-Servant"). 4-5th century CE.
   British Museum.
   Enlarge
   A Greco-Roman-style carnelian seal from the Punjab region, with Brahmi
   inscription "Kusumadasasya" ("Flower-Servant"). 4-5th century CE.
   British Museum.

   A few common Greek words were adopted in Sanskrit, such as words
   related to writing and warfare:
     * " ink" (Sankrit: melā, Greek: μέλαν "melan")
     * " pen" (Sanskrit:kalamo, Greek:κάλαμος "kalamos")
     * "book" (Sanskrit: pustaka, Greek: πύξινον "puksinon")
     * a "horse's bit" (Sanskrit: khalina, Greek: χαλινός "khalinos")
     * "centre" (Sanskrit: kendram, Greek: κενδρον "kendron")
     * a "siege mine" (used to undermine the wall of a fortress):
       (Sanskrit: surungā, Greek: σύριγγα "suringa")

   The "Avaca" Kharosthi inscription, found on a Buddhist relic casket,
   indicates that the old Greek military title of strategos ("commander")
   had apparently endured the Indo-Scythian invasion and was being used by
   the Apracarajas of Bajaur during the 1st century CE (the inscription
   mentions the dedication date of the casket as "the year 63 of the late
   Maharaja Aya", Aya being the Indo-Scythian ruler Azes I, who started
   the Vikrama era in 58 BCE, therefore suggesting a date around 5 CE).
   The dedication mentions "vaga stratego puyaite viyayamitro ya" i.e.
   "The Lord Commander (Stratego) Viyayamitra is honored too"

   The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related by Philostratus in
   Life of Apollonius Tyana to have visited India, and specifically the
   city of Taxila around 46 CE. He describes constructions of the Greek
   type, probably referring to Sirkap, and explains that the Indo-Parthian
   king of Taxila, named Phraotes, received a Greek education at the court
   of his farther and spoke Greek fluently:

          "Tell me, O King, how you acquired such a command of the Greek
          tongue, and whence you derived all your philosophical
          attainments in this place?"
          [...]-"My father, after a Greek education, brought me to the
          sages at an age somewhat too early perhaps, for I was only
          twelve at the time, but they brought me up like their own son;
          for any that they admit knowing the Greek tongue they are
          especially fond of, because they consider that in virtue of the
          similarity of his disposition he already belongs to themselves."

   Lastly, from the Rabatak inscription we have the following information,
   tending to indicate that Greek was still in official use until the time
   of Kanishka (circa 120 CE):

          "He (Kanishka) issued(?) an edict(?) in Greek and then he put it
          into the Aryan language". …but when Kanishka refers to "the
          Aryan language" he surely means Bactrian, …"By the grace of
          Auramazda, I made another text in Aryan, which previously did
          not exist". It is difficult not to associate Kanishka's emphasis
          here on the use of the "Aryan language" with the replacement of
          Greek by Bactrian on his coinage. The numismatic evidence shows
          that this must have taken place very early in Kanishka's
          reign,…" — Prof. Nicholas Sims-Williams (University of London).

   The Greek language was probably still "alive" during the time of
   Kanishka, as this king introduced a new title in Greek on his early
   coins (BACIΛEΥC BACIΛEWΝ, "King of Kings" in the nominative), as well
   as the name of Greek deities such as HΛIOC (Sun god Helios), HΦAHCTOC
   (Fire god Hephaistos), and CAΛHNH (Moon goddess Selene).

   The Greek script was used not only on coins, but also in manuscripts
   and stone inscriptions as late as the period of Islamic invasions in
   the 7th-8th century.

Greek era

   A Greek "Yona" calendar era seems to have been in use in Northwestern
   Indian for several centuries following the foundation of the Indo-Greek
   kingdom. A recently discovered inscription in Kharoshthi gives a
   relationship between several eras of the period:

          "In the twenty-seventh - 27 - year in the reign of Lord
          Vijayamitra, the King of the Apaca; in the seventy-third - 73 -
          year which is called "of Azes", in the two hundred and first -
          201 - year of the Yonas (Greeks), on the eighth day of the month
          of Sravana; on this day was established [this] stupa by Rukhana,
          the wife of the King of Apraca, [and] by Vijayamitra, the king
          of Apraca, [and] by Indravarma (Indravasu?), the commander
          (stratega), [together] with their wives and sons." (Senior 2003)

   As the Azes era is usually considered as starting in 58 BCE, the Yona
   era would correspond to 186 BCE, which falls in the reign of Demetrius
   I, although dates ranging from 186 to 150 BCE are still debated.

Macedonian calendar

   The names of the months belonging to the Ancient Macedonian calendar
   remained in use under the Indo-Scythians and the Kushans until around
   the 2nd century CE. For example, the Dast-i Nawur inscription
   mentionning the Kushan king Vima Kadphises (reigned circa 90-100 CE) is
   dated to the 279th year (possibly of the Yona era), and the 15th day of
   the month of Gorpaios (Γορπιαίος), which is the 11th month of the
   Macedonian calendar, corresponding to the moon of August.

Astronomy and Astrology

   One of the earliest Indian writings on astronomy and astrology
   (although not the earliest, as the Vedanga Jyotisha is dated to around
   1350 BCE), titled the Yavanajataka or "The Saying (Horoscopy to some)
   of the Greeks", is a translation from Greek to Sanskrit made by
   "Yavanesvara" ("Lord of the Greeks") in 149–150 CE under the rule of
   the Western Kshatrapa king Rudrakarman I. The Yavanajataka contains
   instructions on calculating astrological charts (horoscopes) from the
   time and place of one's birth. Astrology flourished in the Hellenistic
   world (particularly Alexandria) and the Yavanajataka reflects
   astrological techniques developed in the Greek-speaking world.
   Astronomical mathematical methods, such as the calculate of the
   'horoskopos' (zodiac sign on the eastern horizon) was used in the
   service of astrology.

   Another set of treatises, the Paulisa Siddhanta and the Romaka
   Siddhantas, are attributed to later Greek influence in India. The
   Paulisa Siddhanta has been tentatively identified with the works of
   Paulus Alexandrinus, who wrote a well-known astrological hand-book.

   Indian astronomy is widely acknowledged to be influenced by the
   Alexandrian school, and its technical nomenclature is essentially
   Greek: "The Yavanas are barbarians, yet the science of astronomy
   originated with them and for this they must be reverenced like gods"
   (The Gargi-Samhita). Several other Indian texts show appreciation for
   the scientific knowledge of the "Yavana" Greeks.

Influence of Indo-Greek coinage

   Overall, the coinage of the Indo-Greeks remained extremely influential
   for several centuries throughout the Indian subcontinent:
   Coin of the Western Kshatrapa ruler Bhratadaman (278-295), with
   corrupted Greek legend on the obverse and Brahmi legend on the reverse.
   Enlarge
   Coin of the Western Kshatrapa ruler Bhratadaman (278-295), with
   corrupted Greek legend on the obverse and Brahmi legend on the reverse.
   A silver coin of the Gupta King Kumara Gupta I (414-455) influenced by
   Indo-Greek coinage through the Western Kshatrapas, with profile of the
   ruler and obverse legend in pseudo Greek (succession of letters H and
   O), and reverse legend is in Brahmi.
   Enlarge
   A silver coin of the Gupta King Kumara Gupta I (414-455) influenced by
   Indo-Greek coinage through the Western Kshatrapas, with profile of the
   ruler and obverse legend in pseudo Greek (succession of letters H and
   O), and reverse legend is in Brahmi.
     * The Indo-Greek weight and size standard for silver drachms was
       adopted by the contemporary Buddhist kingdom of the Kunindas in
       Punjab, the first attempt by an Indian kingdom to produce coins
       that could compare with those of the Indo-Greeks.
     * In central India, the Satavahanas (2nd century BCE- 2nd century CE)
       adopted the practice of representing their kings in profile, within
       circular legends.
     * The direct successors of the Indo-Greeks in the northwest, the
       Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians continued displaying their kings
       within a legend in Greek, and on the obverse Greek deities.
     * To the south, the Western Kshatrapas (1st-4th century) represented
       their kings in profile with circular legends in corrupted Greek.
     * The Kushans (1st-4th century) used the Greek language on their
       coinage until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka, whence
       they adopted the Bactrian language, written with the Greek script.
     * The Guptas (4th-6th century), in turn imitating the Western
       Kshatrapas, also showed their rulers in profile, within a legend in
       corrupted Greek, in the coinage of their western territories.

   The latest use of the Greek script on coins corresponds to the rule of
   the Turkish Shahi of Kabul, around 850.

Genetic contribution

   Portraits from the site of Hadda, 3rd century CE.
   Enlarge
   Portraits from the site of Hadda, 3rd century CE.

   Limited population genetics studies have been made on genetic markers
   such as mitochondrial DNA in the populations of the Indian
   subcontinent, to estimate the contribution of the Greeks to the genetic
   pool. Although some of the markers which are present in a large
   proportion of Greeks today have not been found, the Greek/European
   genetic contribution to the Punjab region has been estimated between
   0%–15%:

   "The political influence of Seleucid and Bactrian dynastic Greeks over
   northwest India, for example, persisted for several centuries after the
   invasion of the army of Alexander the Great (Tarn 1951). However, we
   have not found, in Punjab or anywhere else in India, Y chromosomes with
   the M170 or M35 mutations that together account for 30% in Greeks and
   Macedonians today (Semino et al. 2000). Given the sample size of 325
   Indian Y chromosomes examined, however, it can be said that the Greek
   homeland (or European, more generally, where these markers are spread)
   contribution has been 0%–3% for the total population or 0%–15% for
   Punjab in particular. Such broad estimates are preliminary, at best. It
   will take larger sample sizes, more populations, and increased
   molecular resolution to determine the likely modest impact of historic
   gene flows to India on its pre-existing large populations." (Kivisild
   et al. "Origins of Indian Casts and Tribes").

   Some pockets of Greek populations probably remained for some time, and
   to this day, some communities in the Hindu Kush claim to be descendants
   of the Greeks, such as the Kalasha and Hunza in Pakistan, and the
   neighbouring Nuristani in Afghanistan.

   One cannot assume however that the present Greek population is
   representative of the Macedonian army under Alexander. This army
   probably contained a large number of Persians and other groups such as
   Scythians and Thracians.

Greco-Roman exchanges with India

   A Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century CE.
   Enlarge
   A Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century CE.

   Although the political power of the Greeks had waned in the north,
   mainly due to nomadic invasions, trade relations between the
   Mediterranean and India continued for several centuries. The trade
   started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept on increasing, and
   according to Strabo (II.5.12), by the time of Augustus, up to 120 ships
   were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos to India. So much gold
   was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the Kushans for
   their own coinage, that Pliny (NH VI.101) complained about the drain of
   specie to India. In practice, this trade was still handled by Greek
   middlemen, as all the recorded names of ship captains for the period
   are Greek.
   Sea trade route between the Mediterranean and India in Antiquity.
   Enlarge
   Sea trade route between the Mediterranean and India in Antiquity.

   In India, the ports of Barbaricum (modern Karachi), Barygaza, and
   Muziris and Arikamedu on the southern tip of India were the main
   centers of this trade. Ptolemy described Muzuris as "a port packed with
   Greek ships" (VII.I.8), and the Tamil Sangam describes that "fine
   vessels, masterpieces of Yavana workmanship, arrive with gold and
   depart with pepper". In the south, the main trading partners were the
   Tamil dynasties of the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras. The 2nd century
   Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes Greco-Roman merchants selling
   in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens, topaz, coral, storax,
   frankincense, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little
   wine" in exchange for "costus, bdellium, lycium, nard, turquoise, lapis
   lazuli, Seric skins, cotton cloth, silk yarn, and indigo". In Barygaza,
   they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth. At Cape
   Comorin and in Sri Lanka, they would buy pearls and gems.

   Also various exchanges are recorded between India and Rome during this
   period. In particular, embassies from India, as well as several
   missions from " Sramanas" to the Roman emperors are known (see Buddhism
   and the Roman world). Finally, Roman goods and works of art found their
   way to the Kushans, as archaeological finds in Begram have confirmed.

Artistic legacy

   The " Kanishka casket", dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in
   127 CE, was signed by a Greek artist named Agesilas, who oversaw work
   at Kanishka's stupas (caitya), confirming the direct involvement of
   Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date.
   Iconographical evolution from the Greek god Herakles to the Japanese
   god Shukongōshin. From left to right:1) Herakles (Louvre Museum).2)
   Herakles on coin of Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I.3) Vajrapani, the
   protector of the Buddha, depicted as Herakles in the Greco-Buddhist art
   of Gandhara.4) Shukongōshin, manifestation of Vajrapani, as protector
   deity of Buddhist temples in Japan.
   Enlarge
   Iconographical evolution from the Greek god Herakles to the Japanese
   god Shukongōshin. From left to right:
   1) Herakles (Louvre Museum).
   2) Herakles on coin of Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I.
   3) Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, depicted as Herakles in the
   Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.
   4) Shukongōshin, manifestation of Vajrapani, as protector deity of
   Buddhist temples in Japan.
   Iconographical evolution of the Wind God.Left: Greek Wind God from
   Hadda, 2nd century.Middle: Wind God from Kizil, Tarim Basin, 7th
   century.Right: Japanese Wind God Fujin, 17th century.
   Enlarge
   Iconographical evolution of the Wind God.
   Left: Greek Wind God from Hadda, 2nd century.
   Middle: Wind God from Kizil, Tarim Basin, 7th century.
   Right: Japanese Wind God Fujin, 17th century.

   Greek representations and artistic styles, with some possible
   admixtures from the Roman world, continued to maintain a strong
   identity down to the 3rd–4th century, as indicated by the
   archaeological remains of such sites as Hadda in eastern Afghanistan.

   The Greco-Buddhist image of the Buddha was transmitted progressively
   through Central Asia and China until it reached Japan in the 6th
   century.

   Numerous elements of Greek mythology and iconography, introduced in
   northwestern India by the Indo-Greeks through their coinage at the very
   least, were then adopted throughout Asia within a Buddhist context,
   especially along the Silk Road. The Japanese Buddhist deity
   Shukongoshin, one of the wrath-filled protector deities of Buddhist
   temples in Japan, is an interesting case of transmission of the image
   of the famous Greek god Herakles to the Far-East along the Silk Road.
   The image of Herakles was introduced in India with the coinage of
   Demetrius and several of his successors, used in Greco-Buddhist art to
   represent Vajrapani the protector of the Buddha, and was then used in
   Central Asia, China and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist
   temples.

   Another case of artistic transmission is the Greek Wind God Boreas,
   transiting through Central Asia and China to become the Japanese Shinto
   wind god Fujin. In consistency with Greek iconography for Boreas, the
   Japanese wind god holds above his head with his two hands a draping or
   "wind bag" in the same general attitude. The abundance of hair have
   been kept in the Japanese rendering, as well as exaggerated facial
   features.

Intellectual and religious legacy

   The impact of the Indo-Greeks on Indian thought and religion is
   unknown, although many influences have been suggested. Scholars believe
   that Mahayana Buddhism as a distinct movement began around the 1st
   century BCE in the North-western Indian subcontinent, corresponding to
   the time and place of Indo-Greek florescence. Intense multi-cultural
   influences have indeed been suggested in the appearance of Mahayana:
   "Key formative influences on the early development of the Mahayana and
   Pure Land movements, which became so much part of East Asian
   civilization, are to be sought in Buddhism's earlier encounters along
   the Silk Road". As Mahayana Buddhism emerged, it received "influences
   from popular Hindu devotional cults ( bhakti), Persian and Greco-Roman
   theologies which filtered into India from the northwest". Many of the
   early Mahayana theories of reality and knowledge can be related to
   Greek philosophical schools of thought: Mahayana Buddhism has been
   described as "the form of Buddhism which (regardless of how Hinduized
   its later forms became) seems to have originated in the Greco-Buddhist
   communities of India, through a conflation of the Greek Democritean-
   Sophistic- Skeptical tradition with the rudimentary and unformalized
   empirical and skeptical elements already present in early Buddhism".

List of the Indo-Greek kings and their territories

   Today 36 Indo-Greek kings are known. Several of them are also recorded
   in Western and Indian historical sources, but the majority are known
   through numismatic evidence only. The exact chronology and sequencing
   of their rule is still a matter of scholarly inquiry, with adjustments
   regular being made with new analysis and coin finds (overstrikes of one
   king over another's coins being the most critical element in
   establishing chronological sequences).

   Lastly Theodamas, not mentioned in this list, may have been an
   Indo-Greek ruler in the Bajaur area in the 1st century CE.

                   INDO-GREEK KINGS AND THEIR TERRITORIES
                        Based on Bopearachchi (1991)
                                Territories/
                             Dates PAROPAMISADAE
              ARACHOSIA GANDHARA WESTERN PUNJAB EASTERN PUNJAB
                           200-190 BCE Demetrius I
                      190-180 BCE Agathocles Pantaleon
                          185-170 BCE Antimachus I
                          180-160 BCE Apollodotus I
                          175-170 BCE Demetrius II
                          160-155 BCE Antimachus II
                           170-145 BCE Eucratides
                           155-130 BCE Menander I
                      130-120 BCE Zoilos I Agathokleia
                         120-110 BCE Lysias Strato I
                    110-100 BCE Antialcidas Heliokles II
                      100 BCE Polyxenios Demetrius III
                            100-95 BCE Philoxenus
                     95-90 BCE Diomedes Amyntas Epander
                     90 BCE Theophilos Peukolaos Thraso
                  90-85 BCE Nicias Menander II Artemidoros
                        90-70 BCE Hermaeus Archebios
                    Yuezhi tribes Maues ( Indo-Scythian)
                      75-70 BCE Telephos Apollodotus II
                      65-55 BCE Hippostratos Dionysios
                 55-35 BCE Azes I (Indo-Scythian) Zoilos II
                           55-35 BCE Apollophanes
                           25 BCE- 10 CE Strato II
                          Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)

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