Legacy of the Indo-Greeks

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Indo-Greek Kingdoms in 100 BC
Part of a series on the
Indo-Greek Kingdom
Coin of King Antialcidas

The legacy of the Indo-Greeks starts with the formal end of the

Western Kshatrapas
.

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

Society

Politics

ancient Taxila (Guimet Museum
).

The 36 Indo-Greek kings known through epigraphy or through their coins belong to the period between 180 BC to AD10–20.[2] There are a few hints of a later Indo-Greek political presence in the Indian subcontinent.

Bajaur
area in the 1st century AD. In the 3rd century, the Scythian
poleis.[3]

Some sort of Greek political organization is thought to have existed in the first half of the 4th century after the rule of the

Kadambas, prior to the rise of Chalukyas.[7]

Cities

Some Greek cities seem to have remained intact under Parthian rule:

Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia
" as being Greek:

"Beyond is Arachosia (Old Persian Hara[h]uvati, Avestan Haraxvaiti)). And the Parthians call this White India; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad (Haraxvat) and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus (Harahvati). As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians."

— "Parthians stations", 1st century AD. Original text in paragraph 19 of Parthian stations

Also, the city of

Peutinger Table
.

Military

Greek mercenary soldiers from northwestern India are mentioned in the accounts of the

Pandyan Kingdom in Madurai, and described in admiring terms: "The valiant-eyed Yavanas, whose bodies were strong and of terrible aspect".[8]

At the beginning of the 2nd century, the Central India

Indo-Parthians)" in his inscriptions, suggesting a continued presence of the Indo-Greeks until that time.[9]

Tillia Tepe, 1st century CE (Guimet Museum).[10]

Around 200 AD, 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

Khashas
." (Manusmritti, X.43–44)

There are important references to the warring Mleccha hordes of the Yavanas, Sakas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, etc. in the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana.[11]

Indologists like Dr H. C. Raychadhury, Dr B. C. Law, Satya Shrava and others see, in these verses, the clear glimpses of the struggles of the Hindus with the mixed invading hordes of the barbaric Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Kambojas, etc. from north-west.[12] The time frame for these struggles is the 2nd century BCE downwards. Dr Raychadhury fixes the date of the present version of the Valmiki Ramayana around/after the 2nd century CE.[13]


There is also a distinct prophetic statement in the Mahabharata which says that the Mlechha (Barbaric) kings of the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Abhiras, etc. will rule unrighteously in Kali Yuga.[14]

According to Dr H. C. Ray Chaudhury, this is too clear a statement to be ignored or explained away.

This statement, couched in the form of

Maurya and Shunga dynasties in North India.[15]
' This chaotic situation of
Parsika hordes by king Vikramaditya of Ujjaini (c. 60 BC) as is related by Brihat-Katha-Manjari of the Kashmiri Pandit Kshemendra and Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, and the establishment of the Vikrama era.[16][17][18]

Trade

See also:
Roman trade with India

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.

Also various exchanges are recorded between India and Rome during this period. In particular, embassies from India, as well as several missions from "

Begram
have confirmed.

Genetics

See also: Kalash people § European descent hypothesis
Portraits from the site of Hadda, 3rd century CE (Guimet Museum).

Limited population genetics studies have been made on genetic markers such as Y-DNA in the populations of the Indian subcontinent, in order to estimate the contribution of the Greeks to the genetic pool. Studies have not found the markers which are present in a large proportion of Greeks today.

"The political influence of

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".[19]

Some Romani people groups, claimed to be descendants of the Athinganoi, who are said to be the remnants of the Indo-Greeks.[20] DNA studies of Romani people,[21][22][23][further explanation needed]

Culture

Main article:
Silk Road transmission of Art

Art

Shukongōshin, manifestation of Vajrapani
, as protector deity of Buddhist temples in Japan.

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.[24][25][26][27][28]

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.[29]

The

Greco-Buddhist image of the Buddha was transmitted progressively through Central Asia and China until it reached Japan in the 6th century.[30]

Numerous elements of Greek

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.[31]

Religion

See also: Greco-Buddhism
The Zeus-like Vajrapani was chosen as a protector of the Buddha, art of Gandhara, (Guimet Museum).

The impact of the Indo-Greeks on Indian thought and religion is unknown, although many influences have been suggested. Initially Greek settlers followed a

Greco-Roman theologies which filtered into India from the northwest".[33]

Linguistic legacy

Brahmi
inscription "Kusumadasasya" ("Flower-Servant"). 4–5th century CE. British Museum.

The Romano-Greek language is a very Hellenized Indo-Aryan language[34]

A few Greek words were adopted in Sanskrit, such as words chiefly related to warfare and numeration:[35]

The "Avaca" Kharosthi inscription, found on a Buddhist relic casket, indicates that the old Greek military title of

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 (Stratega) Viyayamitra is honored too".[44]

The Greek philosopher

Life of Apollonius Tyana to have visited India, and specifically the city of Taxila around 46 CE. He describes constructions of the Greek type,[45]
probably referring to
Indo-Parthian king of Taxila, named Phraotes
, received a Greek education at the court of his father and spoke Greek fluently:

"Ancient Indian and Indo-Greek theater" by M.L. Varadpande explores the Indo-Greek interaction in the theatrical arts.
"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?"[46]
[...]-"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."[47]

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 (c. 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).
Trojan horse was depicted in the art of Gandhara. British Museum
.

Calendar

Yona 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 on a Buddhist reliquary 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
Apraca; 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."[48]

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.[49] The inscription would date to c. 15 CE.

The Yona Calendar was replaced by the

Vikrama era
starting in 58 BCE,

A second inscription, called the Maghera inscription, found in the Mathura district, is dated to the year 116 of the "Era of the Greeks" ("Yavanarajyasya sodasuttare varsasate 100 10 6), which would correspond to 70 BCE.[50]

Macedonian Calendar

Panemos" for calendrical purposes (British Museum
).

The names of the months belonging to the

Panemos".[51] Later, the Dast-i Nawur inscription mentioning the Kushan king Vima Kadphises (reigned circa 90–100 CE) is dated to the 279th year (possibly in the Yona era, which would make it 93 CE, but alternatively in "the Great Arya era" mentioned by Kanishka in the Rabatak inscription, possibly an era started by Mithridates I which would give 108 CE), 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.[52]

Astronomy and astrology

One of the earliest Indian writings on astronomy and astrology, titled the

Rudrakarman I of the Western Satraps. 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 reflecting advancements in astrological techniques. Various astronomical and mathematical methods, such as the calculation of the 'horoskopos' (the zodiac sign on the eastern horizon), were used in the service of astrology.[53]
Saka calendar
and its corresponding horoscopes, which is still used today as the Indian national calendar.

Influence of Indo-Greek coinage

Further information: Post-Mauryan coinage and Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara
Brahmi
legend on the reverse.
Brahmi
.

Overall, the coinage of the Indo-Greeks remained extremely influential for several centuries throughout the Indian subcontinent:

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

See also

  • Similarities between Pyrrhonism and Buddhism
  • Theory of Pashtun descent from ancient Greek-Rajputs
  • Kalash people

Notes

  1. ^ "Though the Indo-Greek monarchies seem to have ended in the first century BC, the Greek presence in India and Bactria remained strong", McEvilley, p. 379.
  2. ^ Boppearachchi, "Monnaies Indo-Grecques".
  3. ^ McEvilley, p. 385.
  4. ^ David Pingree, "The Yavanajataka of Sphujidhvaja", p4. Quotes in McEvilley, p. 385.
  5. ^ Comments given in Rapson "Catalogue of the Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc...", Rapson, p LXVIII:
    "These must, no doubt, belong to some dynasty of Greek descent, but it is impossible to determine which dynasty this could have been"
    The full list, with comments, is given in Rapson "Catalogue of the Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc...", Rapson, p LXVIII:
    • 7 other Andhras kings (called "Andhrabhrytias", or "Servant of the Andhras", probably the
      Chutus
      in the Western and Southern districts.
    • 10
      Nasik
      .
    • 7 Gardabhila kings, who ruled in the area of Ujjain
    • 18 Saka kings, probably the Western Satraps.
    • 8
      Yavana
      kings, thought to be some dynasty of Greek descent.
    • 14
      Kushans
      (who are called "Turuska" in the Rajatarangini).
    • 13 Murunda or Gurunda kings.
    • 21
      Indo-Hephthalites
      .
  6. ^ Dr. Lewis Rice, S. R. Sharma and M. V. Krishna Rao Arthikaje, Mangalore. "History of Karnataka-Gangas of Talkad". 1998-2000 OurKarnataka. Com, Inc. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  7. ^ (2001), "A Concise History of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present", Jupiter books, MCC (Reprinted 2002), p. 57.
  8. ISBN 9788170172215
    . Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  9. ^ From Rapson, "Indian coins in the British Museum". Following the above quote, Rapson writes: "The Kashtriyas are the native Indian princes, the Rajputs of Rajputana, Gujarat and Central India; and the Sakas, Yavanas, and Pahavas are respectively Scythian, Greeks and Persian invaders from the north, who established kingdoms in various districts of Northern and Western India", p. xxxvii, Rapson.
  10. ^ "Afghanistan, les trésors retrouvés", Guimet Museum, item 79.
  11. ^ (1.54.21-23; 1.55.2-3).
    taih asit samvrita bhuumih Shakaih-Yavana mishritaih || 1.54-21 ||
    taih taih Yavana-Kamboja barbarah ca akulii kritaah || 1-54-23 ||
    tasya humkaarato jatah Kamboja ravi sannibhah |
    udhasah tu atha sanjatah Pahlavah shastra panayah || 1-55-2 ||
    yoni deshaat ca Yavanah Shakri deshat Shakah tathaa |
    roma kupesu Mlecchah ca Haritah sa Kiratakah || 1-55-3 ||
    (Ramayana 1.54.21-23; 1.55.2-3)
  12. ^ The Śakas in India, 1981, p. 12, Satya Shrava; Journal, 1920, p. 175, University of Calcutta. Department of Letters; Political History of India from the Accession of Parikshit to the Coronation of Bimbisara, 1923, Page iii, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 4, Raychaudhury; Indological Studies, 1950, p. 4, Dr B. C. Law.
  13. ^ Political History of Ancient India, 1996, pp. 3–4.
  14. ^
    viparite tada loke purvarupa.n kshayasya tat. 28.
    bahavo mechchha rajanah prithivyam manujadhipa.
    mithyanushasinah papa mrishavadaparayanah. 29.
    Andhrah ShakAh Pulindashcha Yavanashcha naradhipah.
    Kamboja Aurnikah Shudrastathabhira narottama. 30.
    (MBH 23/187/28-30)
  15. ^ "After the disintegration of Mauryan empire, the insecured frontier region of north-western part of India invited several foreign invaders i.e. Yavasnas, Sakas, Kambojas, Pahlavas from western and Central Asia who came in India through migrations and invasions. ...The moral and social degradation in the Indian society is indicated due to foreign invasions. Mahabharata states that Andhara, Sakas, Kambojas, Pulinda, Yavans, Vahlikas, Sudras, Abhiras, Mlechchas, will rule over the land and also will be addicted to falsehood" (Ref: Social Justice: Problems & Perspectives {Seminar Proceedings of March 5–7, 1995}, 1996, p. 173, Jhinkoo Yadav, Dr Suman Gupta, Chandrajeet Yadav); See also: Ancient Kamboja People and the Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj.
  16. ^
    ata shrivikramadityo helya nirjitakhilah|:
    Mlechchana Kambojan Yavanan Neecan Hunan Sabarbran||
    Tushara Parsikaanshcha tayakatacharan vishrankhalan|
    hatya bhrubhangamatreyanah bhuvo bharamavarayate||
    (Brahata Katha, 10/1/285-86, Kshmendra)
  17. ^ Kathasritsagara 18.1.76-78.
  18. ^ Cf:"In the story contained in Kathasaritsagara, king Vikarmaditya, is said to have destroyed all the barbarous tribes such as the Kambojas, Yavanas, Hunas, Tokharas and the Persians"(See: Ref: Reappraising the Gupta History, 1992, p. 169, B. C. Chhabra, Sri Ram; Cf also: Vikrama Volume, 1948, p xxv, Vikramāditya Śakāri; cf: Anatomii͡a i fiziologii͡a selʹskokhozi͡a ĭstvennykh zhivotnykh, 1946, p 264, Arthur John Arberry, Louis Renou, B. K. Hindse, A. V. Leontovich, National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Recreational Reading - Sanskrit language.
  19. ^ Greek impact on the genetics of India (last paragraph):Text
  20. ^ https://romahistory.romaedu.org/indogriechen/
  21. PMID 26374132
    .
  22. S2CID 27898320
    .
  23. PMID 31545809
    .
  24. ^ Tarn, p. 355.
  25. ^ The Greeks in Bactria & India By William Woodthorpe Tarn
  26. ^ Early History of North India, from the Fall of the Mauryas to the Death of ... By Sudhakar
  27. ^ Trade and Commerce of Ancient India, C. 200 B. C.-c. 650 A. D. By Haripada Chakraborti
  28. ISBN 9780874713053
    .
  29. ^ Boardman, pp. 141–144.
  30. ^ "Needless to say, the influence of Greek art on Japanese Buddhist art, via the Buddhist art of Gandhara and India, was already partly known in, for example, the comparison of the wavy drapery of the Buddha images, in what was, originally, a typical Greek style" (Katsumi Tanabe, "Alexander the Great, East-West cultural contacts from Greece to Japan", p. 19).
  31. ^ "The origin of the image of Vajrapani should be explained. This deity is the protector and guide of the Buddha Sakyamuni. His image was modelled after that of Hercules. (...) The Gandharan Vajrapani was transformed in Central Asia and China and afterwards transmitted to Japan, where it exerted stylistic influences on the wrestler-like statues of the Guardian Deities (Nio)." (Katsumi Tanabe, "Alexander the Great, East-West cultural contacts from Greece to Japan", p. 23).
  32. ^ Foltz, "Religions of the Silk Road", p. 9.
  33. ^ Tom Lowenstein, The Vision of the Buddha, p. 63.
  34. ^ "Language Contact Manchester".
  35. ^ Quoted in Tarn, "The Greeks in Bactria and India", p. 376, based on Weber, B. Liebich, O. Stein.
  36. ^ "khalina -". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  37. ISBN 9788120603707
    . Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  38. ^ "Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit". spokensanskrit.de. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  39. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  40. ^ "kendra -". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  41. ^ A Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Theodor Benfey.
  42. ^ "Google Translate". Archived from the original on 2002-08-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  43. ^ "Google Translate". Archived from the original on 2002-08-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  44. ^ Avaca inscription: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1 (January–March, 1982), pp. 59–68.
  45. ^ Description of the Hellenistic urbanism of Taxila:
    • "Taxila, they tell us, is about as big as Nineveh, and was fortified fairly well after the manner of Greek cities" (Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 20)
    • "I have already described the way in which the city is walled, but they say that it was divided up into narrow streets in the same irregular manner as in Athens, and that the houses were built in such a way that if you look at them from outside they had only one story, while if you went into one of them, you at once found subterranean chambers extending as far below the level of the earth as did the chambers above." (Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 23)
  46. ^ Jona Lendering. "Flavius Philostratus: The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, II 29". livius.org. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  47. ^ Jona Lendering. "Flavius Philostratus: The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, II 31". livius.org. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  48. ^ "Afghanistan, carrefour en l'Est et l'Ouest", p. 373. Also Senior, 2003.
  49. ^ See Chronology of Indian eras
  50. ^ "Afghanistan, carrefour en l'Est et l'Ouest", p. 373.
  51. ^ Tarn, p. 494.
  52. ^ Mario Bussagli, "L'art du Gandhara", p. 187.
  53. ^ McEvilley, pp. 384–386.
  54. ^ Indian sources on Yavana learning:
    • A comment in "
      Varahamihira
      says:
      "The Greeks, though impure, must be honored since they were trained in sciences and therein, excelled others....." ("mleccha hi yavanah tesu samyak shastram kdamsthitam/ rsivat te 'p i pujyante kim punar daivavid dvijah" (Brihat-Samhita 2.15)).
    • Also the Mahabharata compliments the Greeks as "the all-knowing Yavanas" (sarvajnaa yavanaa):
      "The Yavanas, O king, are omniscient; the Suras are particularly so. The mlecchas are wedded to the creations of their own fancy." ("sarvajnaa yavanaa rajan shuraaz caiva vishesatah/ mlecchah svasamjnaa niyataanaanukta itaro janah (Mahabharata VIII (Karna Parva).45.35))
  55. ^ Tarn, pp. 324–325.
  56. ^ Rapson, clxxxviFF.
  57. ^ R. B. Whitehead, Indo-Greek Coins, 1914, pp. 91–97.
  58. ^ Rapson "A catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. p.cix
  59. ^ "It was their (the Indo-Greek's) commercial success that led the western Satraps to imitate them." Narain, The Indo-Greeks, p. 115.
  60. ^ Whitehead, pp. 171–177.
  61. ^ "Evidence of the conquest of Saurastra during the reign of Chandragupta II is to be seen in his rare silver coins which are more directly imitated from those of the Western Satraps... they retain some traces of the old inscriptions in Greek characters, while on the reverse, they substitute the Gupta type (a peacock) for the chaitya with crescent and star." in Rapson "A catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. The Andhras etc...", p. cli.

References

  • Senior, R.C. (2006). Indo-Scythian coins and history. Volume IV. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.
    ISBN 0-9709268-6-3
    .
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