077: The Indo-Greeks - Invasion of the Yavanarajas

With the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, the rulers of Greco-Bactria would seize the opportunity to invade India in approximately 185 B.C. Famous conquerors like Demetrius and Menander would campaign throughout the subcontinent, seizing the lands of Arachosia and Gandhara (southern Afghanistan and Pakistan) as their new domains, the so-called "Indo-Greek" kingdoms. Despite the hostilities, the Indo-Greeks would quickly acclimate to their new cultural environment: figures like Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador from Taxila and worshipper of Vasudeva-Krishna, or Sophytos, an Indian merchant from Alexandria-in-Arachosia who prided himself on his knowledge of Homer and Callimachus, provide hints of the complex interactions between the Hellenistic world and South Asia.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2022/07/28/077-the-indo-greeks-invasion-of-the-yavanarajas/)

Episode 077 Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/077-the-indo-greeks-invasion-of-the-yavanarajas-transcript.pdf)

The Hellenistic Far East Map 4 - The Indo-Greek Kingdoms (https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/the-indo-greek-kingdom-map-4.pdf)

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