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Persian and Greek Invasions of India Ancient Indian History For UPSC

Cyrus the Great of Persia invaded northwestern India in 550 BC, bringing areas like Gandhara and Punjab under Persian control. This opened trade between India and Persia. The Persian invasion introduced the Kharosthi script, which was derived from Aramaic and used in some of Ashoka's inscriptions. Alexander the Great conquered Persia and marched into India in 327 BC. He defeated King Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes but his army revolted when he tried to cross the Beas river, forcing his retreat. Alexander's invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas and established direct contact between India and Greece, resulting in Indo-Greek rule and influence on

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309 views3 pages

Persian and Greek Invasions of India Ancient Indian History For UPSC

Cyrus the Great of Persia invaded northwestern India in 550 BC, bringing areas like Gandhara and Punjab under Persian control. This opened trade between India and Persia. The Persian invasion introduced the Kharosthi script, which was derived from Aramaic and used in some of Ashoka's inscriptions. Alexander the Great conquered Persia and marched into India in 327 BC. He defeated King Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes but his army revolted when he tried to cross the Beas river, forcing his retreat. Alexander's invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas and established direct contact between India and Greece, resulting in Indo-Greek rule and influence on

Uploaded by

Gaurav Sindhiya
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UPSC Civil Services Examination

UPSC Notes [GS-I]

Topic: Persian and Greek Invasions of India [Ancient Indian History for
UPSC]

Persian Invasion of India


Persian Invasion

 Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire in ancient Iran invaded the North-Western front of
India in 550 BC.
 At that time, there were many small provinces like Gandhara, Kamboja and Madra who were
constantly fighting one another.
 At that time, Bimbisara of Haryanka dynasty was ruling over Magadha.
 Cyrus succeeded in bringing under Persian control all the Indian tribes west of the Indus like
Gandhara.
 Punjab and Sindh were annexed by Darius I, Cyrus’s grandson.
 Son of Darius, Xerxes, could not move ahead with the further conquest of India because of war with
the Greeks. He had employed Indian cavalry and infantry.

What were the effects of Persian Invasion?


Effects of Persian invasion

 Trade between India and Iran grew.


 The Kharoshti script was brought to northwest India by the Persians.
 Some inscriptions of Ashoka were written in the Kharoshti script in these parts.
 Kharoshti script is derived from the Aramaic script and is written from right to left.

Greek Invasion of India and its Impact


Alexander’s Invasion (327 BC)

 Alexander (356 BC – 323 BC) was the son of Philip of Macedonia.


 He became king in 336 BC.
 Alexander had conquered Asia Minor along with Iran and Iraq. He then marched into northwest India
from Iran.
 He had annexed the whole of Persia (Babylon) by defeating Persian King Darius III in the Battle of
Arbela (330 BC).

 Alexander was attracted to India’s wealth.


 In northwest India, just before Alexander’s invasion, there were many small rulers like Ambhi of
Taxila, and Porus of the region of Jhelum (Hydaspes).
 Ambhi accepted Alexander’s sovereignty but Porus put up a valiant but unsuccessful fight.
 Alexander was so impressed with Porus’s fight that he granted him his territory back. Porus might
have accepted lordship. The battle between him and Porus is called the Battle of Hydaspes.
 After that, Alexander’s army crossed the river Chenab and annexed the tribes between Ravi and
Chenab.
 But his army refused to cross the river Beas and revolted. They were exhausted after years of
battles.
 Alexander was forced to retreat in 326 BC. On his way back, he died at Babylon in 323 BC aged 32.
 After his death, the Greek Empire split in 321 BC.
 In northwest India, Alexander left four of his generals in charge of four regions, one of them being
Seleucus I Nicator, who would later trade his territories in the Indus Valley with Chandragupta
Maurya.
 Eudamas was the last General of Alexander in India.
Effects of Alexander’s invasion

 Alexander’s invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas.
 After the invasion, there was direct contact between India and Greece.
 Post the invasion there were Indo-Greek rulers in the northwest part of India.
 Grecian impact on Indian art can be seen in the Gandhara School of art.

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