1. Indo-Greeks and Graeco-Bactrians
Greek garrisons left by Alexander in the Indus region were
overrun soon after he left in 325 BC
- the precise dates are controversial but by 305 BC
Mauryan control extended to Kabul – treaty with Seleukos
Nikator -
Menander sent as ambassador to the court of
Chandragupta Maurya
- by 250
BCE
Bactrian
Greeks
revolt
2. - 246-241 BCE, Parthia (eastern Iran)gains independence
- 208 BCE the Seleucids formally recognize Graeco-
Bactrian King Euthydemus
- by 155 CE most of eastern Afghanistan, the Punjab and
parts of Sindh were being governed by Indo-Greek
governors (satraps or strategoi)
The areas of western Afghanistan were soon to be
conquered by outside invaders; the Parthians
(Pahlavas) of Iran, the Yueh-chi (Kushana) and Sakas
(Scythians) from the north.
3. Kushana or Yueh-chi
- Kushana rulers emerged from the Yueh-chi nomadic
tribes who moved into Bactria from somewhere in
western China between 165-135 BC
- by the 1st century CE, they had begun to expand to the
south, displacing earlier Graeco-Bactrian rulers
4. -characterized as
foreigners, official
portraits on coins and
sculptures depict them
in Central Asian dress
and with Kushana
names- often lumped
together with the Shaka
or Scythians , but the
elite classes did become
more integrated over
time
- Kanishka statue, Mat,
Mathura
5. Kujala Kadphises – united five main Yueh-chi principalities
– extended power south, driving out the Parthians from
Kabul circa 50 CE – controls Kashmir and eventually
Gandhara, Punjab and Sindh
V’ima I and Vima II Kadphises – extend control to Mathura
on the Yamuna and eventually the Ganga region
New Calendar established Saka Era circa 78 (or 120) CE
6. Kanishka – 120-143 CE
-enlightened ruler and
excellent military strategist
- convened the third major
Buddhist council that resulted
in the establishment of
Mahayana Buddhism
- Deification of Kushana rulers
was the continuation of a
process begun much earlier by
Hellenistic states in Egypt and
the Near East
- royal sculptures set up in
ritual centers at Mathura and in
other major cities
9. Political organization
Kingship – rulers used titles in different
languages and associated with different major
religions by including images of specific deities
10. - appointed a Kushana or Saka Kshatrapa or
governor to replace local rulers
- allowed local headmen to govern and collect taxes
at the village level
11. Trade- controlled the subcontinent from the northwest –
a strategic location for international overland trade
- strengthened and revived internal trade networks that
had become disrupted at the end of the Mauryan empire
12. Depictions of different ethnic groups with appropriate
dress - Indian gods and elites, and Indo-Greek
musicians and revelers
16. -Connected Indian commercial system to the Roman
world by using the same weight gold coins and even
names of coins - double and single dinar 15.97 and 7.96
grams-
-led to
resurgence of
production
- increased
importance of
the merchant
class
- inflow of cash-
gold from Rome
17. -Kushana controlled the major production centers
- maritime trade from coastal areas was controlled
by Saka Kshatrapas in Sindh and Satavahana
Hindu rulers in peninsular India
18. Urbanism
- major period of urban growth and expansion
New types of cities emerge
Nigama – banking town, Janapya – district town,
Khandavara – military camp, Nivesa – encampment
8 types of fortified cities
Royal capital - Rajadhaniya nagara , Non-royal
capital - kevala nagara
Pura, Nagari, Kheta, Kharvata, Kubjaka, Pattana
- smaller settlements referred to as villages – gram
or grama
20. - city planning includes outside influences – Greek,
Parthian, Sasanian, etc. along with indigenous
styles of drains, wells and central courtyards
21. Art and Architecture
- increased patronage of
religious institutions by rulers
and merchants
- temples, monasteries and
stupas
- Gandhara and Mathura styles
24. Sirkap- Shaka capital (1-3rd c.
CE) , terracotta figurines and
household shrine reveal a
mixture of many different styles
25. Caste System - Jati
- hereditary endogamous occupational specialists
(jati) grouped in the four varna according to ritual
purity or pollution
- codification of social hierarchy in the Laws of
Manu (Manavadharmashastra), a text that had been
passed down for hundreds of years but was
codified between 200BCE-200 CE
26. Gupta Period: 320- 540 CE
- urban decay and decentralization, due in part to
the decline in long distance trade and the collapse
of the Roman Empire
- first clear evidence off World Systems model –
where major economic, political and social changes
can be linked to global transformations in another
part of the world
