Indo-Greek Kingdom

Indo-Greek Kingdom /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Greek_Kingdom /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom[1] was a Hellenistic kingdom covering various parts of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries BC, and was ruled by more than 30 kings,[2] often in conflict with each other. The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded India early in the 2nd century BC. Pushed by the Scythian tribes, the Graeco-Bactrians were forced to invade India. The Greeks in India were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrians centered in Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan). But, the Greeks failed to establish a united rule in north-western India. The most famous Indo-Greek ruler was Menander (Milinda). He had his capital at Sakala in Punjab, modern Pakistan, and he successfully invaded the Ganges-Yamuna doab. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom Demetrius I (c. 205– c. 170 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquests in India.[64 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// When Alexander the Great died (June 10, 323 BC), he left behind a huge empire which was composed of many essentially independent territories. Alexander's empire stretched from his homeland of Macedon itself, along with the Greek city-states that his father had subdued, to Bactria and parts of India in the east. It included Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. It is unclear how much longer the Greeks managed to maintain a distinct presence in the Indian sub-continent. The legacy of the Indo-Greeks was felt however for several centuries, from the usage of the Greek language and calendrical methods,[194] to the influences on the numismatics of the Indian subcontinent, traceable down to the period of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century.[19