UNIT V (7 MARKS)
EFFECTS OF IRANIAN & MECEDONIAN INVASIONS.
EFFECTS OF IRANIAN INVASION:
About the time when Bimisara ruled in Magadha, a powerful kingdom rose in Persia under Cyrus (558-530 BC) , the founder of Achaemenian dynasty in Persia. He was a great conqueror who expanded his power in the east to the borders of india. The Achaemenian rulers of Iran, who expanded their empire at the same time as the Magadhan princes, took advantage of the political disunity on the north-western frontier. The Persian domination in India was further enlarged by King Darius (522-486 BC ). The Iranian ruler Darius penetrated into north-western India in 516 BC & annexed Punjab, west of the Indus, & Sindh.
The Indo-Persian contacts lasted for about 200 years. It gave an impetus to Indo-Persian trade & commerce. Through the Iranians, the Greeks came to know about the great wealth of India which eventually led resulted in Alexander’s invasion of India. Indian philosophers, scholars, & preachers went to Iran & thus brought the two countries closer. The vast empire of Iran inspired the Indian kings to unify their country & they learnt the idea of building an empire. It was probably the Great Iranian Empire that inspired the Indians to establish a unified Empire in India. Chandragupta, the Mauryan Emperor, imbibed several of the court manners of the Iranian court. He also adopted their custom of washing the hair. The Persian scribes brought into India a form of writing which came to be known as Kharosthi script. This script is written from right to left. Persian influence may also be traced in the preamble of Ashoka’s edict’s & in the bell-shaped capital of Ashoka’s pillers. It was from the Iranians that the Indians learnt the art of polishing the stones.
EFFECTS OF MECEDONIAN INVASION:
The invasion of India by Alexander, the great of Mecedonia in 326 BC is an episode of early Indian history. About the time of Alexander’s invasion, the Indus was the official Boundary of the Persian Empire, but there was no trace of Persian rule anywhere in Punjab. On the contrary, we learn from account of Greek writers that north western India was split into a number of small independent states like, Taxila, kingdom of Porus, kingdom of Gandharas, etc. Except king Porus who fought the famous battle of Hydaspas (Jhelum) with Alexander, all other kings submitted meekly. Porus was a great & powerful ruler of ‘puru’ dynasty. Before Alexander’s invasion his realm comprised the Jhelum, Gujarat & Shahpur. King Porus was powerful as well as ambitious. All the neighboring states were against him because he had occupied all the adjoining territories.
Alexander advanced as far as river Beas but his soldiers, war weary & disease stricken, refused to go farther. So he was forced to give orders of retreat. To mark the farthest point of his advance, he erected twelve huge stone altars on the northern bank of Beas.
The direct result of Alexander’s invasion were small. India was not Hellenized. The only direct effect of Alexander’s raid was the establishment of a number of Greek settlements in north western India. But indirectly, Alexander’s expedition had an appreciable influence on the history of the country. Firstly, it exposed India to the full gaze of Europe by opening up four distinct lines of communication three by land & one by sea. Secondly, as a result of the cultural contact, there grew up in course of time, a cosmopolitan school of art in Gandhara, which was largely inspired by the Hellenistic influence. Thirdly, of Indian religions, Buddhism was possibly modified by the influence of Greek religious ideas. Alexander’s invasion paved the way for the unification of northern India under Chandragupta by Weakening the small states & the turbulent tribes of the Indus valley. Alexander’s historians left valuable geographical account & clearly dated records.
Alexander the Great: (356-323 bc), king of Macedonia, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Alexander, born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympias, a princess of Epirus. Aristotle was Alexander's tutor; he gave Alexander a thorough training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy. In the summer of 336 BC Philip was assassinated, and Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne. He found himself surrounded by enemies at home and threatened by rebellion abroad. Alexander disposed quickly of all conspirators and domestic enemies by ordering their execution. Later in 332 he founded, at the mouth of the Nile River, the city of Alexandria, which later became the literary, scientific, and commercial center of the Greek world.
In order to complete his conquest of the remnants of the Persian Empire, which had once included part of western India, Alexander crossed the Indus River in 326 BC, and invaded the Punjab as far as the river Hyphasis (modern Beas); at this point the Macedonians rebelled and refused to go farther. He then constructed a fleet and passed down the Indus, reaching its mouth in September 325 BC. The fleet then sailed to the Persian Gulf. With his army, he returned overland across the desert to Media. Shortages of food and water caused severe losses and hardship among his troops. Alexander spent about a year organizing his dominions and completing a survey of the Persian Gulf in preparation for further conquests. He arrived in Babylon in the spring of 323 BC. In June he contracted a fever and died.
Alexander was one of the greatest generals of all time, noted for his brilliance as a tactician and troop leader and for the rapidity with which he could traverse great expanses of territory. He was usually brave and generous, but could be cruel and ruthless when politics demanded. To bind his conquests together, Alexander founded a number of cities, most of them named Alexandria, along his line of march; these cities were well located, well paved, and provided with good water supplies.
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