write short note on kingdoms of the south ncert ch 10 the post mauriyan period
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The most important political developments of the Post-Maurya period was the onslaught of foreigners from the north-west.
The first among them were the Bactrian Greeks, known in earlier Indian literature as Yavanas; the word was derived from the Old Persian from Yauna, signifying originally Ionian Greeks but later all people of Greek nationality.
The first to invade India were the Greeks or Bactrian Greeks who were called the Indo-Greeks or Bactrian Greeks in the early second century B.C. The history of the Indo-Greeks has been reconstructed mainly on the evidence of their coins bearing legends in Greek and later in Brahmi as well.
Demetrius, son of Euthydemus, king of Bactria was perhaps the first foreign (Indo-Greek) king after Alexander who carried Greek arms into the interior of India. He reduced to submission a considerable portion of Afghanistan, the Punjab and Sind.
The best remembered of the Indo-Greek kings was Menander, (165-145 D C.) who, as Milinda, attained fame in the Buddhist text Milindapanho or the question of Milinda-a catechismal discussion in Buddhism supposedly conducted by Menander and the Buddhist philosopher Nagasena, resulting in Menander’s conversion to Buddhism.
Menander stabilised Indo-Greek power, in addition to extending its frontiers in India.
He had his capital at Sakala (modern Sialkot) in Punjab. There is little doubt that the attempted to conquer territory in the Ganges valley, but he failed to retain it. He may well have attacked the Sungas in the Yamuna region, if not Pataliputra itself. A Brahmi inscription engraved on a Garuda Pillar found are Besnager near Bhilsa records that Antialkidas of Taxila sent an ambassador, named Heliodorus, to the court of Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, identified with the last but one Sunga, Bhagavata.
Helidorus in this inscription professes to be a follower of Vasudeva, associated with the God Vishnu. Hemaeus was the last Indo- Greek ruler who has to maintain his precarious hold against the advancing menace of the Sakas, Parthians and the Yuechis.
Importance of the Indo-Greek rule:
The Indo-Greeks were the first to issue coins which can be definitely attributed to the kings. They were the first to issue gold coins in India which increased in number under the Kushans.
1. The Greeks also introduced the practice of military governorship called strategos for maintaining the power of the new rulers over the conquered people.
2. The Greek rule introduced features of Hellenistic art in the North-west frontier of India. The Gandhara art was largely Hellenistic in the beginning, but as time passed the style became more and more Indian and less and less Greek. The idea of representing the Buddha as a human being (idol worship) originated with the Greeks.
3. The Greeks contributed to the development of the Indian theatre by the use of curtains (known as Yavanika, Sutradhara (stage manger), Nepathya (back stage, etc.)
4. Indian astrology came to be influenced by Greek ideas, and from the Greek term horoscope was derived the term horasastra used for astrology in Sanskrit.
The Shakas:
The decline of the Greek kingdoms in the north-west coincided with an attack on Bactria itself by nomadic tribes from central Asia. These tribes included the Scythians, who were primarily responsible for destroying Bactrian power
The first among them were the Bactrian Greeks, known in earlier Indian literature as Yavanas; the word was derived from the Old Persian from Yauna, signifying originally Ionian Greeks but later all people of Greek nationality.
The first to invade India were the Greeks or Bactrian Greeks who were called the Indo-Greeks or Bactrian Greeks in the early second century B.C. The history of the Indo-Greeks has been reconstructed mainly on the evidence of their coins bearing legends in Greek and later in Brahmi as well.
Demetrius, son of Euthydemus, king of Bactria was perhaps the first foreign (Indo-Greek) king after Alexander who carried Greek arms into the interior of India. He reduced to submission a considerable portion of Afghanistan, the Punjab and Sind.
The best remembered of the Indo-Greek kings was Menander, (165-145 D C.) who, as Milinda, attained fame in the Buddhist text Milindapanho or the question of Milinda-a catechismal discussion in Buddhism supposedly conducted by Menander and the Buddhist philosopher Nagasena, resulting in Menander’s conversion to Buddhism.
Menander stabilised Indo-Greek power, in addition to extending its frontiers in India.
He had his capital at Sakala (modern Sialkot) in Punjab. There is little doubt that the attempted to conquer territory in the Ganges valley, but he failed to retain it. He may well have attacked the Sungas in the Yamuna region, if not Pataliputra itself. A Brahmi inscription engraved on a Garuda Pillar found are Besnager near Bhilsa records that Antialkidas of Taxila sent an ambassador, named Heliodorus, to the court of Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, identified with the last but one Sunga, Bhagavata.
Helidorus in this inscription professes to be a follower of Vasudeva, associated with the God Vishnu. Hemaeus was the last Indo- Greek ruler who has to maintain his precarious hold against the advancing menace of the Sakas, Parthians and the Yuechis.
Importance of the Indo-Greek rule:
The Indo-Greeks were the first to issue coins which can be definitely attributed to the kings. They were the first to issue gold coins in India which increased in number under the Kushans.
1. The Greeks also introduced the practice of military governorship called strategos for maintaining the power of the new rulers over the conquered people.
2. The Greek rule introduced features of Hellenistic art in the North-west frontier of India. The Gandhara art was largely Hellenistic in the beginning, but as time passed the style became more and more Indian and less and less Greek. The idea of representing the Buddha as a human being (idol worship) originated with the Greeks.
3. The Greeks contributed to the development of the Indian theatre by the use of curtains (known as Yavanika, Sutradhara (stage manger), Nepathya (back stage, etc.)
4. Indian astrology came to be influenced by Greek ideas, and from the Greek term horoscope was derived the term horasastra used for astrology in Sanskrit.
The Shakas:
The decline of the Greek kingdoms in the north-west coincided with an attack on Bactria itself by nomadic tribes from central Asia. These tribes included the Scythians, who were primarily responsible for destroying Bactrian power
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