Indo-Greek Kingdom
Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom in northwestern South Asia (200 BC–10 AD) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom (also Yavanarajya[4] after the word Yona, which comes from Ionians), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India.[5][6][7][8][9][10] It existed from c. 200 BC to c. 10 AD.
Indo-Greek Kingdom | |||||||||||||
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200 BC–AD 10 | |||||||||||||
The Elephant and the Caduceus on a coin of Demetrius I, the founder of the Indo-Greek kingdom.
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Capital | Alexandria in the Caucasus (modern Bagram)[2] Taxila | ||||||||||||
Common languages | Greek (Greek alphabet) Pali (Kharoshthi script) Sanskrit Prakrit (Brahmi script) | ||||||||||||
Religion | Buddhism Hinduism Hellenism Zoroastrianism | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Basileus | |||||||||||||
• 200 – 180 BC | Demetrius I (first) | ||||||||||||
• 25 BC – 10 AD | Strato III (last) | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||||
• Established | 200 BC | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | AD 10 | ||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||
150 BC[3] | 1,100,000 km2 (420,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Afghanistan Pakistan India |
The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of various Hellenistic states, ruling from regional capitals like Taxila, Pushkalavati, Sagala,and Alexandria in the Caucasus (now Bagram).[11][12][13] Other centers are only hinted at; e.g. Ptolemy's Geographia and the nomenclature of later kings suggest that a certain Theophilus in the south of the Indo-Greek sphere of influence may also have been a royal seat at one time.
The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius I of Bactria invaded India from Bactria in about 200 BC.[14] The Greeks to the east of the Seleucid Empire were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdoms in the North Western Indian Subcontinent.[15]
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 Greek and Indian ideas, as seen in the archaeological remains.[16] The diffusion of Indo-Greek culture had consequences which are still felt today, particularly through the influence of Greco-Buddhist art.[17] The ethnicity of the Indo-Greek may also have been hybrid to some degree. Euthydemus I was, according to Polybius,[18] a Magnesian Greek. His son, Demetrius I, founder of the Indo-Greek kingdom, was therefore of Greek ethnicity at least by his father. A marriage treaty was arranged for the same Demetrius with a daughter of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III. The ethnicity of later Indo-Greek rulers is sometimes less clear.[19] For example, Artemidoros (80 BC) was supposed to have been of Indo-Scythian descent, although he is now seen as a regular Indo-Greek king.[20]
Menander I Soter, being the most well known amongst the Indo-Greek kings, is often referred to simply as "Menander," despite the fact that there was indeed another Indo-Greek King known as Menander II. Menander I's capital was at Sagala in the Punjab (present-day Sialkot). Following the death of Menander, most of his empire splintered and Indo-Greek influence was considerably reduced. Many new kingdoms and republics east of the Ravi River began to mint new coinage depicting military victories.[21] The most prominent entities to form were the Yaudheya Republic, Arjunayanas, and the Audumbaras. The Yaudheyas and Arjunayanas both are said to have won "victory by the sword".[22] The Datta dynasty and Mitra dynasty soon followed in Mathura.
The Indo-Greeks ultimately disappeared as a political entity around 10 AD 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, the Kushans,[lower-alpha 1] and the Indo-Scythians, whose Western Satraps state lingered on encompassing local Greeks, up to 415 CE.