Dateline: 323BC - 185 BC
India was in a state of disarray by around 323 BC. Magadha, the major Indian kingdom of that time was ruled by a king who was unpopular amongst his people. Foreign invaders had overrun large sections of the country. Alexander the Great, the great Greek conquer had taken over significant amounts of territory.
Alexander entered India in approximately 327 BC, through the Hindukush mountains. He fought his way through and by 326 BC he had crossed the Indus. Here he was met by the king of Takshashila (Taxila), who welcomed Alexander. He extended Alexander and his men, generous hospitality, and is reported to have fed them with the meat of 3,000 oxen and 10,000 sheep. He also provided 5,000 troops to help Alexander in his future conquests, notably against King Poros, his neighbour. Alexander confronted the 2,000 strong elephant army of King Poros, and was successful in defeating him. He, however, re-instated the vanquished king and made him his ally. Around this time the monsoons began to set in, and the rains made progress difficult. His army had reached near present day Lahore, when for the first time since they began his conquest to rule the world, his soldiers refused to obey him. Alexander believed that they would
reach the end of the world soon, but his soldiers began losing hope, as the further east they went, mightier armies confronted them. Finally inspite of an extremely eloquent speech by Alexander, he was forced to turn back. In 323BC Alexander died, at Babylon. The exit of Alexander and the gradual decline of Magadha, led to a gradual splintering of territories held by them. In this chaotic picture, a new leader emerged, a man called Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the first empire of India, the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya first major challenge was Seleucos Nicator, a general of Alexander who had remained behind and ruled over the lands to the west of the Indus. Seleucos attempted to regain the territories to the east, once held by Alexander, and thus came into conflict with Chandragupta Maurya. In 305BC they fought a battle, and in the peace treaty that was signed, Seleucos conceded all territories to east of the Indus. The Mauryan empire now extended over an extremely large area, which was equalled only by the Mughals 2,000 years later.
Dateline: 323BC - 185 BC
India was in a state of disarray by around 323 BC. Magadha, the major Indian kingdom of that time was ruled by a king who was unpopular amongst his people. Foreign invaders had overrun large sections of the country. Alexander the Great, the great Greek conquer had taken over significant amounts of territory.
Alexander entered India in approximately 327 BC, through the Hindukush mountains. He fought his way through and by 326 BC he had crossed the Indus. Here he was met by the king of Takshashila (Taxila), who welcomed Alexander. He extended Alexander and his men, generous hospitality, and is reported to have fed them with the meat of 3,000 oxen and 10,000 sheep. He also provided 5,000 troops to help Alexander in his future conquests, notably against King Poros, his neighbour. Alexander confronted the 2,000 strong elephant army of King Poros, and was successful in defeating him. He, however, re-instated the vanquished king and made him his ally. Around this time the monsoons began to set in, and the rains made progress difficult. His army had reached near present day Lahore, when for the first time since they began his conquest to rule the world, his soldiers refused to obey him. Alexander believed that they would reach the end of the world soon, but his soldiers began losing hope, as the further east they went, mightier armies confronted them. Finally inspite of an extremely eloquent speech by Alexander, he was forced to turn back. In 323BC Alexander died, at Babylon.
The exit of Alexander and the gradual decline of Magadha, led to a gradual splintering of territories held by them. In this chaotic picture, a new leader emerged, a man called Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the first empire of India, the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya first major challenge was Seleucos Nicator, a general of Alexander who had remained behind and ruled over the lands to the west of the Indus. Seleucos attempted to regain the territories to the east, once held by Alexander, and thus came into conflict with Chandragupta Maurya. In 305BC they fought a battle, and in the peace treaty that was signed, Seleucos conceded all territories to east of the Indus. The Mauryan empire now extended over an extremely large area, which was equalled only by the Mughals 2,000 years later.
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