MLCM 90/00759

pT MEADE
GenCoI1
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OF AFGHANISTAN
l
Hr SEP 4
1963

OR ANCIENT AFGHANISTAN
Mohammad All
MLCM 90/00759

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Chapt. Page
preface
1) Introductory.1 .

2) Pre-Aryan Afghanistan.13

3) The Coming of the Aryans.'.16

4) The Great Epic Age .-., . 31

5) The Achaeminids and Aryana.35

6) Alexander the Great and Aryana.43

7) The Graeco-Bactrian Kingdoms.65

8) The Sakas and Aryanas.68

9) The Mauiyan Dynasty..73

10) The Parthians.82

11) The Kushans . 88

12) The Ephthalites. 100

13) The Turks. 103

14) The Kusahno-Ephthalite Dynasties.lOo

Chronology of important events... 114

90-888613
 PREFACE
Very little is known about the ancient history of Afghanistan.
This lack of adequate literature on the subject has created many
misunderstandings and false notions. Some even think that the country
had no political entity before the advent of Islam; while others have
* • looked upon it as a “Country of Dream and a Land of Romance .
It is with a view to dispel these false notions and to rescue the
past history of the country from oblivion that the present volume
w * is offered to the public.

Afghanistan has a glorious past. Its rich archaeological remains

prove the part played by her in the development of human thought
and culture. The remains of Bamian will undoubtedly rank as wonders
in celebrity with the Rock Temples of India at Ajanta or the
Pyramids of Egypt.

The history of its past civilization goes back to at least five

thousand years. Afghanistan was a seat of culture at a time when Egypt
and Babylonia were serving the cause of human thought and art.
Balkh (Bakhdi of the old) can boast of having been one of the great
centres of ancient civilization. It was from here that the Aryan cul¬
ture found its way into the adjacent countries. And again it was
here that Zoroaster for the first time preached his religion, which
later on became the slate religion of Persia for many centuries.
Similalry India, in the field of culture and religion, is indebted to
this country.
Situated as it is in the heart of Asia, Afghanistan naturally be¬
came, even in those distant ages, the meeting ground oi at least

—A—
s><~?
lc O/
four great civilizations of the world-Aryan(or Bactrian), Greek, Iranian
and Buddhist. The result was the birth, of a hybrid culture that
found its expression in different schools of arts, employing a techni¬
que unquestionably borrowed from the foreigners, but modified and
moulded according to local requirements. Greek influence first found
its way into the Bactrian art, and then the Graeco-Bactrian art found
if> way into the Buddhist Art and a new School of Art came into being
known to the historian by the name of Gandhara School or Graeco-
Buddhist School of Gandhara.
’.»c. . . i * . .., ' , > .. , • _ . . .. t

My second object in publishing this book is an attempt to

■' i . ,

toster goodwill and strengthen cultural relations between Afghanistan

and her neighbours that share with her the legacy of her past glo¬
ries. Recent developments throughout the world have demonstrated
that the greatest need of the present 'age is better understanding
and co-operation among the nations of the world, especially arhong
neighbours.
I have to acknowledge the very great'obligation I owe to the
authors of the various publications, that have been of immense use
to me in writing this book. To cite ail the authorities consulted in
' ' * . ,1 > . :

this connection would be a cumbrous task. Of these mention may¬

be made of two books in Persian one entitled “Aryana” by Dr.
Najibullah Khan and the second “Afghanistan” by Mr. Ahmad Ali
Kohzad, Curator of the Kabul Museum and President of the Histo¬
rical Society.
" 7 ’ VI **•?.' ; P -• • • v \ r ~ i

u f have also to thank my friends and colleagues Mir Amanuddin

i^nsary, Dean of the.Faculty of Letters and the late Dr, P.P, Bushnell,
Principal of the Habibia College Kabul, for many, valuable suggestions.
Karta 4. ,
Kabul. Mohammed Ali
e: - .... t . ,
January .
1957

~B
 ARYANA
OR
ANCIENT AFGHANISTAN

By
Mohamad Ali

CHAPTER /.

INTRODUCTORY.

S ITUATION BOUNDARIES:- The term Afghanistan-the

land of the Afghans was applied to the country for the first
time during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747.1773 A. D. ).
Previously it was known by the names of Aryana, Pactia, Khurassan,
Pashtunkhwah and Roh. Ahmad Shah in his poems refers to it as
Pushtunkhwah, that is the land of the Pashtuns. Roh is an obsolete
word signifying a mountain and it was applied to the southeastern
portion of the country which is mainly mountainous. Pactia is used
by Herodotus, the well-knwn Greek historian of the 5th century
B. C.; while most of the classical writers call it by the names
of Aryana, Ariana, Airya, or Airyana, that is the land of the Aryans,
Khurassan-the land of the rising sun-is the term used by the early
Musly writers to the country lying east of Persia.

It is rather difficult to fix the limits of this country either

in the past or in modern times To. some of these writers it exte¬
nded from the Oxus to the Indus, while others contend that it
included all the lands between the Jaxartes and the Indus and
comprised the following provinces:

(I) Bakhdi ( Balhika, Bakhtrish or Bactria)... modern Balkh

or the province of Mazar-i-Sharif.

(2) Aeria ( Aria, Haravia or Haravia ).modern Herat.

(2)
( 3 ) Sogdiana ( Soghdonia, Tranoxiana or Mawarunahr ) . .
Bukhara and Samargand.

( 4 ) Margu ( Margiana ).Morghab walley.

( 5 ) Tukharaistan.modern provinces of Kataghan

and Badakhshan.

( 61 Gandhara.the countries of the lower Kabul valley,

including the districts of Nangrahar
( modern Jalalabad ), Peshawar, Swat
and Ctiarsadda.

(7) Paropamisus ( Paropamisadae, Capisia or Capesene ) modern

Koh Daman, Capisa or Parwan.

( 8 ) Arachosia ( Arakotia, Arakozi or Harhahvaiti) modern

Kandahar.

( 9 ) Gedrosia modern Baluchistan.

(10) Zaranka ( Drangiana. Saksatan, Sakastene or Sajistan )

modern Seistan.

( 11 ) Parthia.the land lying between the Caspian Sea

and Herat,

( 12 ) Mekran.modern Kirman.
Even in modrn age ( beginnig of the 19th century ) it extended
sixteen degress in longitude, frome Sirhind, about one hundred
and fifty miles from Delhi, to Meshad; about an equal distante-
from the Caspian Sea. In breadth it reached from the Oxus to the
Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, a space including sixteen deg
rees of latiude, or over nine hundred miles.

But this vast country has, of late, suffered considerable

diminution in size, with the result that it now extends from
the west of Herat in longitude 60° 30’, to the western boundary
of Sinkiang, in longitude 75° east, and from the Oxus, in
latitude 38° 30’ to the north of Baluchistan, in latitude 29° 30’
north.
 (3)
It is bounded on the east by y the sub-continent of Hindustan
(Pakhtounistan Pakistan and Indid), on the north by Russian Tur¬
kestan (old kingdms of Samarqand , Bukhara and Khiva ), on the
south by Baluchistan, and on the west by Persia ( modern Iran ). Its
gratest length from east to west is about 700 miles while its greatest
breadth from north to sauth is nearly 500 miles. The total area
aggregates 270,000 square milles.

PHYSICAL FEATURES : Afghanistan is an elevated table-land ;

general elevation is over 4000 feet. The north-eastern and central
portions of the country from a plateau with an average height of
6000 feet, and with the Hindu Kush as its backbone . On all sides
the plateau descends abruptly to lowlands , save in the north-east,
where if rises to the lofty Pamirs, mors, generally known as
the “Roof of the World. ”To the south lies the arid land called
Seistan and Registan , average height being 1600 feet. Towards the
north it slopes away into the depressed tract bordering the Amu-a
vast plain of loess. Eastwards there is a sudden drop into the Indus
basin.

The country is mostly mountainous and is largely covered by

aseri e<-> of ranges running in all directions, but generally from north
east to south-west. The central range, Hindu Kush ( Parapomisus of
the old ) takes its source from the Parmir, and passing through the
heart of the country ultimately dwindles away into the steppes and
Namaksars ( salt-deserts ) north of Herat, where they meet the line of
the Elburz coming from the opposite direction.

The Hindu Kush, though a great obstacle, is no effective bar¬

rier in a military or commercial sense, for it is notched by a s eries
of passes, though high and difficult, yet from time immemorial, have
been used by invaders, trades, pilgrims and travellers, and were also
the chief trade routes between India and the central Asian countries.
The most important of these passes are : Kilik ( 15,600 ft. ), Wakjir
( 16,150 ft. ), Mingatake ( 15, 430 ft. ), Broghil (12.460 ft. ), Kachin
( 18,500 ft. ), Sar Ishtrag ( 17, 450 ft. ) Agram ( 16,630 ft. ). Afsik ( 12,300
ft. ), Afsik ( 12, 3a0 ft. ), Durah ( 14,800 ft.), Khawak (11, 640 ft. ),
Khoknol ( 11450 ff. ), T il ( 11640 ft ), Salang-Bajgah ( 12,300 ft. ), Kao-
(4)
shan 14, 340 ft. ) Chardar ( 12, 300 ft.), Bamian ( 8,900 rt, Akrubat-Pelu
( 10,250 ft. ) and Dandenshikan ( 8,830 ft. ).

The second important range goes by the name of Sulaiman.

This range, though inferier in height to that of Hindu Kush, has
snow on its summits through the greater part ot the year . This
mountain system serves as a barrier between the Indus besin and
the highlands of Afghanistan. It, too, is pierced at many places by
passes across which invading hordes have poured in all ages to take
possession of the fertile valleys below. They have also been the chief
commercial links between India and Afghanistan from ancient time
to this day. Most of these passes have been formed by the valleys
of the rivers flowing towards the Indus, and are generally named
after these tributaries. The most famous among these, which have
frequently been trodden, are : the Khyber , The Peiwar, the Tochi,
the Gomal and the Khojak-Bolan.

Besides there are some minor routes from Jalalabad to Bajaur

and Swat via the Kunar valley. Alexander the great, during his
march on India, made use of these routes.

RIVERS : Afghanistan, though well-watered, has few large rivers

for a country of such a“size. With the exception of the Amu (Oxus )
in the extreme north, which forms the natural boundary between
Afghanistan and Russian Turkestan, there is no river in the whole
country which is not fordable throughhout its course for the gre¬
ater part of the year.

The river? of the country can easily be divided into three cate
gories:

(1) Those that flow to the north and ultimately disappe % in

the exitless oases of Central Asia . The Amu or Oxux ( old names :
Wehrodh, Kui-shu, Amuyah and jaihun ), the Kokcha , the Kunduz,
the Murghab and the Hari Rud (Arius of the classical writers) are the
chief rivers of this group.

(2) Rivers that take their waters to the Indus, such as the Ka¬
bul ( Kubha or Cophen of Alexander ), the Kurram ( Krumu ), the
Gomal ( Gomati ) and the Kunar or Kashkar.
 (5)
(3) Rivers that empty their waters into the Seistan Lakes. Chief
rivers of this category are : The Helmand , Heirmand or Hilmand
( Etymander, Etymandoros, Erymanthus and Haetumat of the Greek
writers ), the Arghandab, the Khashrud, the Harut and the Farali Rud.

CLIMATE. The climate of the country, generally speaking, is

cold in winter, hot and dry in summer. Judging from the physique,
strength and activities of its inhabitants, one should pronounce the
climate on the whole bracing and favourable to human constitut-on.

Aryana’s Place, in Histoy : Aryana has behind it a long and

glorious past, and for centuries held the banner of civilization in the
heart of Ada. From dim and distant past it has played an impor¬
tant roel in the development of human thought and culture. It was
here that two of the great and oldest religions of the world Brah¬
manism and Zoroastrianism-orginated, and two of the most impor¬
tant literary monuments , that is the Rigveda and the Avesta, came
into being. From the very dawn of history Aryana has held a key
position in the politics and strategy of Central Asia. It was Aryana
that for centuries served as a bulwark for the adjacent countries,
holding out successfully against the encroachments of non-Aryana
elements, that were trying to reach the fertile and rich plains ot
Indiaon one on side and the beautiful valleys of the west on the other.

Aryana was also an inportant economic factor of Asia even in

those early days. It was a great commercial link between the East
and the West, and much of the trade of these countries had to pass
through it. The famous overland route-the Silken route-passed thro¬
ugh Aryana, and thence proceeded to the Caspian Sea or Persia,
either by the Oxus, which then flowed into the above sea, or enti¬
rely by land via Aeria ( modern Herat). Similarly the intercoures
betweem India and the countries of the West can be traced through
this country from those remote ages. The people of India then car¬
ried a rich and lucrative trade with those countries, using mostly
the highways of Aryana. Their chief articles of trade were : ivory,
cotton goods, pearls and spices.

And finally in that hoary past a rudementary form of democratic

government existed in Aryana , where the chiefs and rulers were
 (6)
elected by the people in a tribal assembly, and where the common
people had a say in the administration of their country. The kings
and rulers of Aryana, though mostly "ery religious, were of broad
outlook and believed in the freedom of religious opinions and modes
of worship. The allowed their subjects of different creeds, not only
free in the discharge of their religious duties, but honoured their
religons as well. The medly their coins, decorated with Bactrian, Greek,
Buddhist, Persian and Hindu deities at one and the same time, bears
testimony to the face.

Lack of Chronology:-It is a pity that through the lack of

reliabl data we furnish a connected story of this early part of the
Afghan history. Much has been done since the beginning of the
nineteenth century in this connection, yet in spite of these efforts,
most of its historical riddles are still largly unsolved and remain
wrapped in darknes-i and oblivion, avaiting further research and
excavations .

One of the most difficult problems that confronts us at the

very stait is the question of chronology, which is, indeed, shrouded
in deepest darkness . Even to this day the important investigatrors
and specialists differ with one another, with regard to the age of
some important events, not by years or decades, but by centuries
and even by thousands of years. For example let us take the case
of the Rigveda, which stands at the beginning of the Aryan literature
and is the fountaimhead of the intellectual and spiritual life of
that noble race. Unfortunatly, as regards the age of this literary
monument, even the most prominet scholars, Sanskrits and Vedic-spec-
ialists, differ by millenniums.

The first scholarly attempt to solve this tangled problem was,

probably, made by Max Muller. But after a good deal of research
and investigation, he too, is disappointed with his success, and
gives his verdict on the subject in these few wores: “Whether
the Vedic hymns were composed 100 or 1000 or 3000 years before
Christ, no power on earth will ever determine.” Two other Sanskrit
scholars, Jacobi and Tilak, working independently on the astronomical
references in the Vedas, came to the conclusion that in the Vedic
Text there are traces of an old calendar, which help one in fixing
 (7)
6,000 B. C. (according to Tilak), and 4, 000 B. C. (according
to Jacobi) as the date of some early Vedic hymns. Professor
Winternitz thinks that on historical grounds the age of the Veda
must be placed nearer the date assumed by Jacobi and Filak than
that suggested by Max Muller.

Recently some documents were discovered from Mitani ( or

Mitannu ) in north-eastern Asia Minor, containing contracts between j 1

two kings ( of Mitani and of Hittites ) in which some Vedic gods,

such as Mi-itra ( Mitra ), Uruwana ( Varuna ), Indara ( Indra ), and
Nasaatiia (Nasatya) were invoked and called to witness. As these
documents can be traced back to about 1450 B. C., this disc¬
overy proves that the Vedic culture is at least older than fifteenth
century B. C. Again some put forward rhe evidence of language
and are of opinion that the language of the Old Persian inscr-
ptions and that of the Avesta is very closely related to the lan¬
guage of the early Vedic hymns. The age of Avesta is not cer-t
tain, but the old Persian inscriptions are not older than sixth
ceniury B. C., and it is, therefore, argued that the Vedic hymns
ean not be very much older.

Similar is the case of Avesta. Modern archaeologists and ant¬

iquarians differ widely as to the age of this religious book, and
even as to the period in which Zoroaster lived. Some think that
the Zend-Avesta originated at Bctria at least no later than the sixth
and seventh century’before Christ. On the other hand, Bunsen
and Eudoxus place him five thousand years before the death of
Plato; while Hermippus puts him five thousand years before the
Trojan War, which would be about 6, 300 B. C. Bunsen, however,
further remarks: At the present stage of the inquiry the question
whether the date is set too high or too low cannot be answered
either in the negative or affirmative.” Spiegal, on the other hand,
regards Zoreaster as contemporary to Abraham, and thus living
about 5,000 B. C. Dollinger believs that he may have flourished
somewhat later than Mosses, perhaps about 1300, B. C. He further
says, “It is impossible to fix precisely when he did live.” Haug
belitves the Gaethas, the oldest songs of the Zend-Avesta, to have
been composed as early as the time of Moses. Duncher and Rapp
(8)

think Zoroaster lived about 1200 or 3000 B. C., and their view
agrees with the period assigned to him by Xanthus of Sarais, a
Greek writer of the sixth century before Christ, and by Cephal-
inon in the Second centry after Christ. Aristetotle and Pliny also were
familiar with the name of Zoroaster as a hoary figure that lived
some five millenia before their time. Some modern Western scholars
put down his era as late as the sixth century before Christ, ma¬
king him practically a contemporary of Buddha. But there are
reasons to believe that he could not have lived so late as that,
and it would be safe to say that he must have lived 1000-1500
B. C. The only work that can he definitely ascribed to him is the
Cathas, which are the oldest documents in Avesta, and bear a
very strong resemblance to Rigveda and Pashto. It is also interes
ting to note in this respect that recenty Mr. Jotindra Mohan
Chatterjee of Bengal made a successful attempt to translate these
Gathas into English by applying the rules of Panini’s Sanskrit
Grammar.

Into such an ocean of doubt and uncertainty we have to

plunge to ;ather facts and figures, and therefore have to admit
that much that can be said in this respect will be purely conje¬
ctural-dark, hazy, faint and indistinct. Chronological puzzles and
controversial matter, have, as far as possible, been scrupulously
avoided and differences of opinion have been briefly alluded to.

Sources of Information:-The sources of early Afghan history

can briefly be classified under the following heads:

(1 ) Indigeonus literature useful for the study of this early period

are: ( a ) The Vedic Literature.-A critical study of the Rigveda may

enable us to construct an interesting picture of the social
and cultural life of the early inhabitants of this country

(b) The Avesta, too, throws a flood of light on this early

period

(2) Archaeological Evidence:-This may be further divided into

(a) Pre-historic finds and excavations,

 (0)
(b) Inscriptions. It is the inscriptions to which we are not
only indebted for the surest data of our early history, but
from which we hope to get the great number of solutions
of problems still unsolved.

(c) Coins. Coins are also one of our mast important

knowledge about this early period, especially tor our in¬
formation about the Graeco-Bactrian kingdoms we are
chiefly indebted to the coins struck by these kings.
Numismtic and epigraphic evidence is very important in
Afghanistan. Ancient coins ar^ so numerous as to give
the imperssion that there is no country in the world hawing
such rich numisainatic treasures. The coins one comes
across there are of unusual varieties Greek, Hadrian,
Thracian, Sassanian, Kushan, sakas, parthians , Hindu,
ancient Afghan, Mughal and modern Afghan etc.

(b) Art and Architecture. Similary stupas, temples, caves,

piliars with edicts, and other religious monuments of these
early settlers help us to trace the development of relig¬
ious thought and cultural uplift of the country at the
dawn of history. They are a living testimony of the art¬
istic achievements of our ancestors. Afghanistan is one
of the most remarkable storehouses of antiquities, only
touched by the hand of modern science. Not onmly are
the relics of Graeco-Bactrian rule aud Buddhist settlements
numerous, there are innumerable pre-Buddhist remains
scattered all over the country, which still await unear¬
thing and unveiling.

The many Buddhist monasteries carved out of rocks are still

the wonder of the scholars. Bamian was a great centre of cult¬
ure, similar to those which are weknown to the Indologists in
Nalanda, Ajanta, Odanapura, etc. The remains of Balkh, the Mother
of Cities “when properly unearthed, might reveal the treasures
of Greek culture, that are still hidden in the soil of Bactria
The same may he said of the valley of Bagram in Kohistan,
which has now been finally identified with the spot occupied by
( lo )

the city of Capisi, made famous by Ptlomey and the Chinese

pilgrim* Huien Tsang, in the 7th century A. D.

Recent excavetions at Capisa, Hadda, tCakrak, Khairkhana Pass

(in the vicinity of Kabul) Kunduz, Fundiqistan and Seistan, carried out
by the French Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan since 1922,
opened a new vista of the ancient civilizations of this country.
The most recent excsvations at Surhh-Kotal, abut 10 miles north¬
west of the textile town of Pul-bKhumri under the supervisor! of
M. Daniel Schlumbergcr, Director of the French Archaeological
Mission to Afghanistan, revealed more about the existence of Gr-
eeko-Kauchan culture than has ever been known before. Two temples
unearthed there have supplied the Mrssion with what it believes
is the the longsought “missing-link ’between Hellenistic culture and
Creek-Buddhism, This discovery has now made it possible to learn
much about Hellenism in these remote areas before it merged
with Buddhism.

Alexander the Great's military conquest ( 334-323 B. C.) extende

Greek culture boyond present-day Persia far into the lowlands of
the Oxus and Javartes ( now Northern Afghanistan and Russian
Tnrkestaun) into the lowlands of the Indus.

After the Conqueror's sudden deate (in 323 B. C. ) a part at least

of these areas remained Greek, with its capital at Bactria. However,
very little is known about the Greek kingdom called “Bactria”;
its conquests of Northern India at the beginning of the second
century B. C., its struggle against central Asian nomads and its
final collapse ( toward 135 B. C. ) In fact, only for a decidedly
later period, have abundant traces of Hellenism been found, and
of a very different kind-Hellenism in the service of Buddhism.

When more than a hundred years ago; returns of the so-ca¬

lled Geco-Buddhist art became known for the first time, they were
recognized at once to be an offshoot of classical art. In that vast
group of monuments the architectural forms are mainly Greek.
Nevertheless the ruins are those of stupas and monasteries, not of
templas; the bas-reliefs picture scenes of the Buddhist legends,
 (11)
not of Greek mythology. For years the actual origins of Greco-
Buddhist art have remained shrouded in deep obscurity.

What made them so diffcult to discover was the total lack

of evidnce in Bactria itself. Monsieur Schlumherger says: Not only
were the monmunts of the Greek kings entirely lost ( except for
the coins) but also the the monuments of their successors, the
rulers during the transitional age between the collapse of Greek
power and the expansion of Buddhism across the Hindu Kush into
the plains of the Oxus. some three or four centuries later.

In 1922 flie French Delegation was fnunded with headquarters

in Kabul, with the express purpose of investigating the problem
of the transmutation of Hellenism into Greco-Buddhism on the soil of
Afghanistan. Since then many Buddhist remains have been brought
to light by French excavators, but neither on the site of Bactria
itself nor elsewhere, until two years ago, had they ever succe¬
eded in finding Greek monuments of non-Buddhist character.

During, the autumn of 1951, M. Schlumherger was informed

by men north of the Hindu Kush that several stones bearing
Greek letters had just been unearthed in the north of Afghanistan.
The inscribed blocks had appeared on the main road from Kabul
to Mazar-i-Sharif during construction of a road. Monsieur Schlu-
inberger immediately decided that the place should be excavated.

Work started at the beginning of April, 1958. Weeks of dig¬

ging rvaeled big sanctuary consisting of a tire temple in the ce¬
ntre fo a courtyard, surrounded by an enclosure built of mud
bricks, reinforced with timbre on a massive basement with a stone
facing adorned with pilasters. The temple consiUe of a square
room or “cella" in the centre of which was a large platform.

How was the temple to be dated ? Parallels between the letters

on the inti ally discovered blocks and on the cions or seals led th«
French excavators to ascribe the temple to the period of the Great
Kuahans. Also the excavation unexpectedly yielded the statue of a
man wearing the very costume known to have been worn by the
Kushan princes. This period i» about three centuries later than the
(12)
end of Greekrule in Baeria but the Hellenistic tradition bad
continued.

It was conjectured that the center platfomonm the temple had

been used for fire rites, since it appeared to loo the pedosal for
some important object.. In the autmn of 1953 the second temple
was discovered, with the fire altar still in place, definitly proving
the first year’s conjecture-

Since the French Archaeological Mission began work in Afgha¬

nistan excavations have been condu cted attlie inonsteries of Hadda
at Pamian and, with very notable results, at Bagram. But even now
uch remains to be done in this connection for many an important
site are still unexplored.

( 3 )\\ riting of Foreigners. Classical writers and Chines pligrims

are a most welcome source of our knowledge in this respeect. De
tailed authentic record of political conditions are not available before
the Achaeminian Empire in the 6th century B. C., when the Greek
writers and the cuneiform inscriptions enable us to trace some of
the important events of the time regarding this country. Then
came the Greek and Roman historians of Alexander the Greatt whos
detailed accounts throw a flood of light on this [.art of history

JNezt it is to the Chinese authorities that we must turn for

the most trustworthy information. From about 400 AD. onwards the
was a regular stream of Chinese pilgrims going to India through Aryan
in order to visit the holy places of Buddhism and to collect Bud
dhistic literature. Some of these were great scholars, who have lef
uabie records of their travels, and have given us a vivid picture
ol the country at this early stage, and their memoirs are indeed a
mine of information to the student of ancient Afghan history. Fortu¬
nately, some of these writers have given us valuable information
regarding the chronological data, which is wonderfully exact and
correct.

And finally the Arab and early Muslim writers, such asAlbu-
runi. Tabari, Balazari, Awfi, Attain and Firshta. also help us a good
deal in elucidating the later part of this period.
 (1H)
CHAPTER 2
Pre- Ary a n Afgha niston

We have no literary history of Afghanistan before the advent

of the Aryans into that country. Research so far has thrown little
light on this subject and therefore no connected story can be told
of this early period. Some interesting information how¬
ever, may he gleaned from prehistoric finds, and from a study of
the languages and sociology of some of the hill tribes inhabiting
certain f inaccessible parts of this country even to day.
Afghanistan, like most countries of the world, was occupied at long
intervals by numerous groups of people differig widely in languages,
customs and levels of culture. The earliest of these were savages
known as the Palaeolithic men; a name derived from a Greek
word meaning ‘‘Old Stone”, and are so called because they used
rude tools of chipped stone. This class of men existed then
not only in Afgamstan, but in Europe and other regions of the
world as well. 1’hev lived in natural caves or under the shelter of
rocks, and sustained themselves on nalural prriducts of the forests
or lived by the chase with the help of their rough stone imple¬
ments, Probably the did not know how to make fire, and they were
certainly ignorant of the use of metals. The only remnants of these
people preserved for us are stone-tools formed by chippig.

I’he next stage of human culture is represented in Afghanis¬

tan by the Neolithic (New Stone) men. They continued to use stone
tools, biit these were ot a more refished character, because after
the chipping was complete, they were ground, grooved, and polished,
and thus converted into highly finished objects of various forms
adapte I to diverse purposes. This Neolithic man was far advanced
in civilization than his predecessor. He domesticated animals,
cultivated land, used pottery, buried the dead, and constructed
tombs.
K

I’he Neoliithic man seems to have acquired, in cousr

of time, the use of metal. The process must have been slow and
gradual. It is noteworthy that early metal forms are close copies
of the stone forms. Numerous settlents of Neolithic man are dfeei
near istes where facilties for mining existde^
(14)
The recent excavations of the city sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-
daro, on the banks of the Indus, have brought to light the
existnce of a highly develop civilization in the third
millennium B.C\ which is particularly interesting because
of its close resemblance and similarity to the contempoiancons
civilizations oi Sumer and Clam.
Of the two cities, Mohenjo-daro seems have been the
smaller one, occupying about a square mile of ground on the
Indus bank. It is by far the better preserved -of the two.
It is possible that Harappa may be slightly older. It appears
that it suffered frequently from floods, and was therefore
rebuilt several times, that it was a flourishing commercial
centre in 'those pre-historic times, is proved beyond dispute.
The a^e of civilzation revealed Jty these , excavations
cannot be fixed with certainty. Certain objects discovered Irotn
excavations now proceeding in Mesopotamia have close lesem-
blance to things found here. The Archaeologists believe that
the upper levels of Mohenjo -- dero are contemporary with
the later part of the early dynastic period ot Babylon ahout-
2550 B. C. ).The lower levels are certainly earlier, but it has not
yet been possible to explore these lowest levels.
Nothing definite is known about the people who laid the
foundation of these two cities. It is believed that they belonged
to a pre-Aryan race. It is not possible to tell whether they
were the original inhabitants of the soil or they too came
from abroad. Their photo graphic script bears a close resemblance
to the script of the Sumerians as inhabitants of Babylon. It
may therefore be assumed provisionally that the builders of these
cities and the; Pro-Elamites and the Sumerians had a common ance-
story.lt has also been suggested that they may be identical with a
people mentioned as Panis in the Kigveda,as the representativs of
an earlier commercial civilization Some scholars believe that this
Mundigak;: Bronze Age of Five Thousand Years Ago.
Painted Pottery
 ( I V)
civilization then extend from the valley of the Nile to the
Indus basin.
fhe French Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan, during the
psace of the last three decades has done some excellent work,and has
been able to discover some Buddhist, Indo-Hellenic, Graeco-Bud¬
dhist and Brahmanic temples, coins, idols, and paintings, w hich vie
with the remarkable discoveries of the same kind in India. Numerous
specimens of this fine arts now decorate the Kabul Museum.
These discoveries are of the first order and have aroused
the interest and pride of the Afghanistan in there forgotten
past,and a desire to join fcrces with these scholars in their
research into the hidden treasures of the country. Young
Afghans in ever increasing numbers are now studying these
new problems, and have already made some valuable comtrilm-
tions to the history of their glorious past. In 1935 M.Hackin
and M. Griechman, two members of the French Mission, made
some valuable excavation in Seistan at a place called Nad
Ali and Tarosar. The finds discovered had a close resembla¬
nce to those found in the Indus Valley, Sumer and Elam, and
it is presumed that the lower depths, if unearthed, will throw
better light on the common civilization of these countries. Seistan
wras then a flourishing province and lay on the highway which
connected the Indus basin with the countries of Western Asia, it
has also been proved that even at this early age commercial
realations existed between Afghanistan and countrties of the Middle
East. For example, lapis lazuli, a produce of Afghan Badakhshan,
had a good market in these countries. Specimens of ornaments,
especially rings and seals, studded with this stone, have been
excavated in different parts of Sumer,Elam, and even as far as the
valley of the Nile. From the tomb of Toutankhammon an Egyptian
Pharoah, some fine articles of Afghan lapis lazuli have been
discovered, which go a long way to prove the existence of close
commercial relations between these countries in that hoary past
(that is second millennium B . C. ).
00)
CHAPTER 3
The Gaining of the Aryans.

Orginal Home of the Aryans. The history of Aryana divides itself

into everaldistinet and well-defined periods or eras, marked hy greathis
torical events.most among these is the coming of theAryans. We shall,the
refore, Foreour history with the settlements of the Aryans in Bactria
(Northern Afghanistan). The hym hns of the Rigveda,which date probably
from2000 to 1400 B.C.,and the songs of the Avesta,perhaps a little later,
furnish us with some valuable materials for a history of this period.
As we have already pointed out we know but little about
the early history of this countiy before the advent of the Aryans.
These Aryans, who originally belonged to a great family of
races .are generally known to the scholars under the name
of Indo-German or Indo-Europeans. The ties of common blood
of these early races which are now spread over the surface
of the earth are proved by the close kinship of their language
beliefs, rituals, manners and customs. If we compare English
German, French. Latin, Greek, llnssian, l’ashto, Persian, and
Sanskrit words of daily use in family life,we shall find in them
remarkable similarities.

The resemblance in the grammatical structure of the seianguages,

though less obvious, is no less real. All this can be explained
by the supposition that the ancestors of the speakers of these
languages must have lived together at some remote past.
When and where they lived together, no one can say definitely.
To frame our reply to these questions, let us first refer
to tradition. The Greeks looked towards the east for the abode
of their gods, and so did the Romans. This would suggest the
idea that they came to Europe from the east, for the nations
of antiquity delieved themselves to be the descendants of their
gods, and consequently it may be fairly taken for granted
that the country of their gods was likewise the coutntry of
heir originalan sestors. The parsis(Zoroasterians) who are descendants
of the same race, also point to the east as their original hdr'ne.
 ( 17)
To the east of Persia we have Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Similarly the Indo - Aryans, when dwelling in the valleys of
the Five Rivers, pointed to the north, that is Afghanistan, as
their heaven. According to these traditions the original home of
the Aryans was Arya - Vesta ( Arya-Vartha or Arya-Versha ), that is
the Abode of the Honourable Men. This seems to be the country
watered by the Oxus and the Murghab, and bounded by theCaspian
Sea on the west, the Hindukush on the south, the Kailas Range on the
east, and the Kizilkum and other sandy deserts on the north.

And according to the Avesta, the original home of the Aryans was
Aryana-Vaejo(Eriene-Veejo or Airyanem-Vego) , which Ahura Mazda
had createdand was a region of delight and a kind of erthly
paradise. Some geological convulsions changed the climate of the co¬
untry, by which this primeval happy home of the Aryans became
suddenly very cold, which induced the migration of the Aryans to
other countries.

The fact that they lived in a country lying in the temperate

zone can be proved by the flora and fauna with which they were
familiar. It is admitted that they were familiar with the oak. beech, wil¬
low, birch, lime, elm, and some coniferous trees. They lived in a country
where barley was grown and horses were reared. The usual animals
best known to them, besides the horse, were the ox and cow, the
sheep, the dog, the pig, and probably some species of deer. The
ass, the camel, and the elephant were apparently unknown to them
at this early stage. Of birds they knew the goose, the duck, and
the eagle. The beasts of prey known to them were the wolf and
the bear, but they were nor as yet familiar. with the lion or
the tiger.

From these the scholars have tried to locate the primitive

home of the Aryans. Bactria, Chinese Turkestan, the Pamirs, Ger-
(18 )
many, plains of the Middle Danube, the Steppes of southern Russia, and
Western Siberia have all been suggested as the original habitat of
these Indo-European races. Some even think that they came from the
land which the ancients knew under the name of Scythia, or from
that vast country which corresponds to the present Southern Russia.
It could not ha' e been the Pamirs, one of the most cheerless
and unhospitable regions of the world, which cannot afford a large popula¬
tion. Others think that they must have come from the countries
between Prussia and Crimea, especially those bordering the Danube,
such as Austria, Hungary, and the other Balkan States, which
fulfil some of the above conditions. This part of Europe,
they argue, combines pastrol and agricultural lands in close connec¬
tion, and is suitable for the growth of grain, and favourable for
the rearing of flocks and herds,and at the same time has trees and
birds with which these primitive Aryans were familiar.
Another theory is that these Aryans came from the steppes of
southern Russia. But others argue that this could not have been the
original home of these people, as the way of Turkestan, that is the land
between the Caspian and Aral the Seas,"which leads through aria and
gloomy plains and sandy deserts, must have been impassable to pri¬
mitive men moving with their families and their flock* an herds.

GENERAL MIGRATION.
To enter into the details of this vexed question is beyond the scope
of this book.The general opinion is that their original home, thai
is Aryana-Vaejo, was somewhere in Central Asia, probably between the
two mighty rivers, Vahri-datya and Arang (present Oxus and Jaxartes),
and that it was from the plains of Bactria ( Northern Afghanistan) that
their general migration took place. Bactria enjoys the reputation of
having-been a great and glorious country in primeval times, and it is con¬
sidered by a large number ot scholars,the pre—historic home of the
Aryans, and the cradle of the Indo-European races, In the oldest-por-
tion of the Zend-Avesta it is celebrated as “Bakhdi eredhwo-drafsha,,
that is Bactria with lofty banners.

Again according to F'ctet the pre-historic Aryans, the ancestors of the

IndianPersians, Medes,Greeks,Latins,Celtic,Teutons,and Slavs, w'ere dwe-
 19)
Iling in Central Asia, in the region of Bactria, some 3000 years before
Christ.They must have lived there for a considerable time so as to
develop a language which became later on the mother-tongue of all the
Indo-European languages, They were mostly a pastrol people, but not no¬
mads, as they had fixed habitations. They had oxen horses, goats, and
domestic fowls. Herds of cows fed in pastures, each owned by a com¬
munity, and each having a cluster of stables in the centre of the
village. They were likewise an agricultural people, as they certainly had
barley,and perhaps some other cereals before their separation into
the three branches, which, ultimately spread over India. Media, Fars
(old name of Persia) and Europe.

Another important question that confronts us now is: When did

this genral migration take place? No one can say with certainty, hut
it coutd not have been before 2500 B. C. Some suggest that at the
beginning of the sixteenth century B. C„ the^lrst great migration of the
Aryans took place. This date is supported by the establishment o
the Aryan dynasties in Mitani between 1500 and 1450 B. C. It
has been proved beyond all doubts that by 'the' fifteenth century
B. C. tribes of Aryan stock held or exercised influence over a
wide area extending from northern Asia Minor to the Indus Basin .
These migrations were not into unpeopled territories, but before
the Aryans reached the frontiers of India or Asia Minor, they had
many hard struggles with the aborigines , who looked upon them
as “some great cloud of destroying locusts” which devoured every
thing that came across their way and left them to perish by starv¬
ation or to survive as miserable captives under cruel conquerors.
Success was achieved only by hard struggle and by successive
waves of the invaders, who knew that if their sucessors delayed
too long, the migrants of the first advancing columns were likely
to be cut to pieces or subdued.

The real cause which led to this generel migration is also not
very clear to us. According to the Avesta, which we have already
quoted, it was due to a sudden change of climate, while others contend
that as time passed the Indo - Europeans increased in numbers,
and their original home became too congested to provide them
(20)

with necessaries of life. They were, therefore, obliged to find new homes
for themselves. Many of their branches migrated in various directions
and gradually settled in the fertile plains of Asia and Europe.

One branch, Indo-Aryans as it is called, crossed the lofty

Hindukush into Eastern Afghanistan, and from there by the valleys
of the Kabul, Kurram and Gomal, they gradually entered the Indus
basin and Sapta Sindhu ( Northern India ). Here after many a bloody
contest, they overpowered the aborigines, probably the Dravidians.
Fresh hordes of their race were following in their wake, and so
to make room for them,the first comers were constantly compelled to
move further east towards the valleys of the Jumna and- the Ganges.

The other branch advancing into Persia first settled in the

provinces of Media and Fars. From them the Kassites learned of the
sun-god ( Surya ), the pest-god ( Marut ), and the .storm-god ( Burya ),
and discovered that the horse , the warrior's animal , far excelled the
slow ox and ass as a draft animal .

The western wing of the Aryans, however, did not pause at the-Zagros
Ranges. Its leaders drove on westward to the great land of the Tigris
and Euphrates, where in Mitani they settled down and established power¬
ful kingdoms. Their names are basically Indo-European; even their gods
bore Indo-Aryan names , such as : Indra , Varuna , Mitra etc . Their
warriors , too , were known by a familiar word in Sanskrit , Marya,
which means heroes.

THE RIGVEDA.

It has been suggested by some writers that when the Aryans entered
the Panjab , they were no hetter^than a group of semi-civilized tribes ,
and that they borrowed the main essentials of their culture from
he aborigines . It is difficult to find support for such a hypothesis .
I he Rigveda , the oldest Indo - European literary monument, is
certainly not borrowed from the aborigines , and it is not the lit¬
erature of semi - civilized people . Similarly the Avesta , another legacy
 (21 )

of the Aryans , has nothing to do with the Dravidian culture . It is

now admitted that before this general migration took place and before
they entered the country of Five Rivers (the Panjab), the Aryans were
fairly advanced in civilization. In she course of that long period known
as the Age of Rigveda , they had developed a peculiar culture , had
succeeded in laying the foundation of prosperous cities and powerful
kingdoms , and had framed some primitive rules of social life .

This anuient poetry , Rigveda , has come down to us in the form

of a collection of hymns . From century to century these hymns were
handed down without break or intermission from father to son . The
youths of the priestly houses spent the prime of their life in learning
them by rote from the lips of their gray - headed sires . It was thus
that this inestimable treasure, the Rigveda , preserved intact for
hundreds of years.

The number of hymus contained in the Rigveda is 1028, which

are grouped in ten books , mandalas or “cycles”. Tradition has it
that various parts wTere written by various priestly families, and
that it was not all written at one time. Some hundreds of years must
have been needed f< r all the hymns found in the Rigveda to come
into being. The poets of Rigveda themselves mention predecessors
in w7hose wise they sing, whose songs they desire to renew, and spe¬
ak of ancestral hymns produced in the days of yore. 1 he Rigveda
deals in particular with the elaborate ceremonies and sacrifices per¬
formed by the kings and nobles on various occasions. By far the
greater part of the poetry of the Rigveda consists of religious lyrics,
only the tenth book containing some secular poems. Its hymns are
mainly addressed to the various gods of the Vedic pantheon, praising
their mighty deeds, their greatness, and their beneficence, or besee¬
ching them for wealth in cattle, numerous offspring, prosperity, long
life, and victory. The Rigveda is not a collection of primitive popu¬
lar poetry; it is rather a body of skilfully composed hymns. Its
language is, generally speaking, simple and unaffected. The hymns
of the Rigveda vary much in literary merit, as is naturally to be
expecBid in the production of many poets extending'over some cen¬
turies. Many display a high order of poetical excellence, while others
consist of Commonplace and mechanical verse. The degree of skill in
composition is remarkably high, especially when we take into consi¬

deration the time when these hymns were written.

The language as well as the mythology of the Rigveda has a

close resemblance with that of the Avesta. The Vedic deities go bac
to the time when the ancestors of Persians and Indiana were still
one people. Among these may be mentioned Yama god of the dea ,
identical with Yima, ruler of paradise, andMitra, th Persian coun¬
terpart of Mithra: Various religious practices can also be traced bac
to this early age. such as the worship of fire and the cult of the
plant Soma (the Avestan Haoma ).

Home of the Rigvedic Aryans.- The historians differ as to the home

of the Rigvedics,Aryans,but a study of the geographical conditions of the
country which they tell us will solve this problem. That the Indo-Aryans
at the time when the hymns of the Rigveda arose, had not yet spread
over the plains of Northern India, and were still domiciled in the valleys
of the Indus and its western tributaries-that is Eastern Afghanistan-,,
borne out by two facts. First, by topographical considerations, fore¬
most among these being the names of rivers mentioned in the Rig¬
veda, such as the Kubha (the Kabul ), the Suvasti ( Swat ), the Krumu
( Kurram ), the Gomati ( Gomal ), and the Sind'hu (Indus ); and second,
bv climatic considerations and the flora and fauna of the country
mentioned in these poems. The animal and the plant worlds m the
Rigveda are essentially different from those of the later years, for
example the Soma, the most important plant of the Rigveda , is a
product of a hilly country, and is grown mainly on the mountains,
and must have been easily obtainable, as its juice was use in
large quantities for the daily rituals. In the later period, when the
Aryans settled in the plains of the Five Rivers, it was brougnt from
long distances, or substitutes had to be used on account of ^s rarity.
The elephant., an animal which is found in nearly every part of India,
was not known to these compositors of early Vedic hymns., e
Rigveda does not mention at all the tree which is most characteristic
of India, and shades wtih its wide-spread foliage a larger area, t an
 (23)
any other tree on theface of the earth, that is the banyan (Ficus-
indica). This tree is stiU considered sacred by the Hindus. Similarly
rice, the chief produce of Indian agriculture and the staple food
of the Indains, is quite unknown to the writers of the Rigveda. The
most dreaded beast of prey in India, the tiger, is also not mentioned
in these hymns.

The Rigveda mentions many tribes among the Aryans, one ef

them being the Gandharis, whe are referred to as breeders of sheep.
They were later well known as Gandharas - inhabitants of the
Kabul vellay. The Rigveda Aryans styled themselves Aryas or "kins¬
men” as opposed to the aborigines, to whom they gave the name of
Dasyu or Dasa, “fiends.” The chief physical difference between the
two races was that of colour . The aborigines were described as
“black”, in contrast with “Aryan colour” or “our colour .

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANSATIONS OF THE EARLY ARYANS.

The Aryans were a martial and energetic race full of self-

assertion and vigour of a young national life, with a strong love
for action and a capacity for active enjoyment. With their strong
arms they were trying to win by force new possessions and realms
from the aborigines, who vainly struggled to hold their own
against the successive waves of these invincible conquerors. Thus
their early period was one of wars and conflicts on various fronts.
These Aryans proudly boast of their victories in their hymns,
and implore their gods to bestow on them new possessions, num¬
erous offsprings, and destroy their enemies, whom they call barb¬
arians.

The Aryans, at this early age, were divided into tribes:

each tribe being a political unit. The tribe was further divided
into families. The social system of the Aryans centred round the family,
the father ( grahpati ) being the head, the mother ( grihapatni)
being the mistress of the house. The family life was
healthy and cheerful, resting upon the sacred tie of marriage,
which was considered indissoluble. The father was the protector
as well as the nourisher of all the members of the famiy, while
the mother ( the mistress of the house ) looked after and fed the
children. The young daughters milked the cows and helped their mother
in her honsehold duties.

Girls had a say in the choice of their husbands. Permission

to marry a girl was asked from her father through the mediation
of an intimate friend. The wedding was celebrated in the house of
the bride’s parents, whither the bridegroom repaired in procession
with his relatives and friends. Here they were sumptuously enterta¬
ined. At the marriage ceremony held openly, the bridgroom taking
the bride’s hand led her round the nuptial fire. At the conclusion
of the wedding festival, the bride, anointed and in festal array,
mounted with her husband a cart adorned with red flowers and
drawn by a team of white bulls. She was thus conducted in pro¬
cession to her new house. In the hymns we hear of married
couples who, with minds in harmony, press the Soma and mix
its juice with milk and offer adoration to the gods.

Though the wife was looked upon as inferior to her husband

and subject to his will, yet she enjoyed great liberty, and occu¬
pied a position of greater honour in ihe age of the Rigveda than she
was allotted in the later periods. She participated with her hus¬
band in religious ceremonies, and was the mistress of the house,
sharing the control, not only 'of the servants a*id slaves, but
also of the unmarried brothers and sisters of her husband.
 (25)

The Aryans of this early age were usually menogamic, though

polygamy was not unknown, especially among the rich and princely
classes. The standard of morality was fairly high. Adultery and rape
wrere counted among the most serious oifences, and illegitimate

birfhs were concealed.

As the family could only be continued in the male line, an

abundance«of sons was constantly prayed for, along with wealth
cattle and lands, and the newly - wedded husband hoped that his
bride might become the mother of heroes. Lack of sons was placed
on the same level as poverty, and adoption was regarded as a mere
makeshift. No desire for the birth of daughter* is ever expressed
in the Rigveda. Even to have a daughter was regarded a* misery.

The Aryans were a democratic people and used to elect their chief
(Raja, Rajan or Visapati) in an elected council called Sabha.
The Samiti was the tribal assembly composed of ad people , while
the Sabha was a Council of the Elders, the priests andfthe nobles.
Even when a Rija enjoyed hereditary rights and was vested with
the supreme power, he was never sbsolute, nor exceeded his autho¬
rity, on the contrary he tried to abide by the will ol hi* people
expressed in the tribal assembly.

In times of national emergency , such as wars, the Raja had

the chief command of all the forces. Besides, it was his duty to
offer sacrifices on behalf of his people , either performing the rites
himself or employing a priest for the purpose.

Dress, Ornaments. Food and Drinks.- A low garment with

a cloak was worn. Clothes were usually woven of sheep’s wool, of¬
ten variegated in colour and sometimes even adorned with gold.
Necklets, bracelelets, anklets, and earings are mentioned in the way
of ornaments. The hair was usually oiled and combtd . Women also
plaited their hair.
(26)
On festive occasions wreaths of flowers were worn by men.

Beards were usual, though shaving was occasionlly practised.

The chief artiele of food was milk, which was either taken
raw, or used in cooking grain, as well as mixing with Soma.
Grain was eaten after being parched, or ground to flour between
millstones, and was then made into cakes with milk or butter.
Variuos kinds of fruits and vegetables were used. The Aryans, though
vegetarians, usually took meat on ceremonial occasions when animals
were sacrificed. Bulls were the chief offerings to the gods, and beet
was probably the kind of meat most frequently eaten. Horse-flesh
must have been less frequently used.

The Rigvedic Aryans were acquainted with at least two

kinds of spiritous liquor. Soma was the principal one. It was usually
restricted to occasions of religious character, such as sacrifices and
festivals. The spirit in ordinary use was called Sura, which was a
kind of beer.

Occupation and Trade.- The principal means of livelihood

was cattle-breeding. But the Aryans were not only a pastoral people;
they knew the art of agriculture as well, and took with them
into India a rich variety of agricultural resources, such aa millet,
barley, wheat and oil-seeds- They also practised hunting of wild
animals to a considerable extent. The hunter pursued his game
usually with bow. or used traps or snares. Birds were generally
caught with nets spread on ground. Some animals were even taken
with the help of trained dogs.

There are many passages in the Rigveda which show that

many arts and crafts were carried to a high stage of excellence.
These Aryans seem to have been well - versed in the art of Spinn¬
ing and weaving, both in wool and silk. They were acquainted
with pottery and had an adequate knowledge of working metals,
 (27)

such as gold, silver, copper and tin. Carpenters and s.ndhs

were held in great esteem. Refrences are patieukrly freooent to
carpenters and joiners who made chariots, boats and carts. The sm.th
knew the smelting of ores in a furnace, using tie wings o >■
instead of bellows to produce a draught. He mac e et et. as
well as other domestic utensils of metal. The igve a a so
to tanners and to women*who were acquainted with sewing, wit
plaiting mats from grass or reeds.
A considerable advance was made with the ^ manufacture ot
arms, weapons, and various kinds of ornaments. The steed of war
had golden caparisons, and the warriors had usually golden orna¬
ments round their necks.
One of the chief occupations of the Rigvedic Aryans was o
course, warfare. They fought on foot, and those who con d afford
them had chariots. Cavalry is'£not mentioned, and probably came
into use at a considerably later period. The warrirs were protected
by coats of mail and helmets of metal. The principal weapons were
bows and arrows with poisonous tips. Lances, swords, shields, spears an
axes are also frequently mentioned. The horse was greatly va ued
and:harnessed to the chariot, bore the warrior to the held ot
battle, and also at the popular chariot races gained praises and glory lor
the victor.
Trade and transactions were carried on by the barter system,
and the chief articles of exchange were domestic animals.
Amusements. The chariot race was a favourables amusement
Among other chief social recreation of men one was gambling
with dice. No certain information can be gathered from the Rigveda
as to how the game was played. Another amusement was dancing,
which seems to have been indulged in by men as well as woman.
Dancing generally took place in the open air.
Various refrences in the Rigveda further show that even in
that early age the Aryans were acquainted with different kinds of
music. Stringed instrutments, the drum, flute, and lute were commonly
used. That they were fond of music may be inferred from the
statement of a Rishi (learned) “that the sound of the flute is
heard in the abode of Yama. where the blessed dwell. ’
 (28)
The religion of the Rigvedic Aryans was simple and poeitc.
They were attracted by the powers of Nature, which mad# » great
impression on their simple minds and imagination. The higher gods
of the Rigveda are almost entirely personifications of natural phe¬
nomena, as Sun, Dawn, Fire and Wind. Their religion was pre¬
eminently the worship of these natural objects in their most imposing
and sublim# aspects. The sky which bends over all, the beautiful
and blushing dawn, which like a busy housewife wakes men from
sleep and sends them to their work, the gorgeous sun, which
vivifies the earth, ‘the life-giving .air which pervades the world,
the fire which cheers and enlightens men and the violent storms
which fill the land with plenty—these were the gods whom the
early Aryans loved to extoll and worship.
The most imortant of their gods was Indra, primrily a thunder
gcd, who represented the warrior - chief leading men to victory
against the non-Aryan races.
Next to Indra, Agni wa* an important deity, being the me¬
ssenger between the gods and their follwers. He is not only the
terrestrial fire, he is also the fire of lighting and the sun, and his
abode is the invisible heaven.
^aruna, god of light, heaven and sky, was also the deity of
rightnousness. His omniscience is often dwelt on. He knows the
flight of the birds in the sky, the path of the ships in the ocean
and the course of far-travelling wind. He beholds all the secret
things that have been or shall be done. He witnesses men’s truth and
falsehood. No creature can even wink without his consent, ihe
following stanzas from a hymn to Varuna will illustrate the above
belief in him:
Whoever stands, whoever moves,
Or steals from place to place,
Or hides him in secret cell,
The gods his movement trace.
Wherever two together plot,
And deem they are alone,
King Varuna is there a third,
And all their schemes are kown.
 (29)

But the most beautiful, creation of the Rigvedic hymns is the charming
godaess of the Dawn, Ushas by name. Indeed there is no lovelier
conception in the Rigveda than that of this goddess, and there are
no hymns more truly poetical than those dedicated to 'her, ^ and
nothing more charming is to be found in the lyrical poetry Ol any
ancient nation. The following stanzas from one of the fairest hymns
addressed to Dawn furnish a vivid picture of this fairest creation
of Vedic poetry :

Thou sweet smilest, goddess-fair,

' ■ TV '

Disclosing all thy youthful grace,

Thy bosom bright, thy radiant face,
And lustre of thy golden hair.

So shines a fond and winning bride,

Who robes her form in brilliant guise,
And to her Lord’s admiring eyes
Displays her charms with conscious pride.

Or virgin by her mother decked,

Who, glorying in her beauty, shews
In every glance, her power she knows
All eyes to fix, all hearts subject.

Or actress, who by skill in song

And dance, and graceful .gestures, light;
And many coloured vestures bright,
Enchants the eager, gazing throng.

Or maid, who wont her limbs to lave

In some cool»stream among the iwoods,
 (30)
<v • •
. Where never vulgar eye intrudes,
Emerges'front the wave. l!< * ■ <■ -
•*tr * r- >■! it**!- v;>j.) iuj I I I t* i 4i! :• S ^u':] i't l i i. ujt j :r')i\ <*

But cldseiy by the, dmorbus sun

Pursued, and vanquished in the race.
Thou art locked in his embrace,
,j i

And with him blendest into one.

r, . TT . .
rair Ushas ! though through years untold,
dr'lii■■■>. ■ i
lhou bast lived on, thou art born
a ’ i ' ■ ' ■- ' ■ ■ ' ■•*
Anew on each succeeding morn,
A J : i * i: 1 •• • * !
And so thou art both young and old.

Behind the belief in many gods there was, however, a deeper

belief in one single spiritual force behind the universe ; one Rea¬
lity embracing all the gods. We get many hints of this deeper belief
in the Rigvedic hymns. One of these explains in clear words that the
different Rigvedic gods are but different names t>f the one incom¬
prehensible Deity or as various manifestations of the One Supreme
Power. It runs thus
rni ,;ij i: n•; i i! //
"He who has given us life, who is the Creator, He, who
knows all the places in the universe, He is one, although He bears
the names of many gods.” • i: ,\

And again: “Truth is one ; the sages call it by many names.”

Sacrifice was an essential part of the creed and was often occupied
by devout prayers. But sacrifice was looked upon as a bargain be¬
tween the gods and men, as a simple give and take husiness. Obla-
tions were offered and hymns were addressed to a number of dei¬
ties having their abodes in natural phenomena but endowed with
human instincts.

It is noteworthy that at this time the Aryans had no temples,

no idols and no priestly class; each patriarch of the family himself
 (31)
lighted the sacrificial fire on his own hearth, and offered milk and
rice, animals or libations of Soma to the-fire, and invdked the
gods’ blessings, health: and wfealth for himself and the -members
of his family. The-rajas often had priests'( pUrohita ) to perform
sacrifices and utter hymns on their behalf , but there was no
royal caste, and no 1 separate- priestly caste. Men! did not-Ire tire- into-
forests and -subject themselves to penance: On the contrary, the-old
Rishis ( wise men ) nere worldy people,-who- had considerable property
in crops and cattle ahd were surrounded by large families. In the-
time Of peace they took to agriculture or rearing of cattle,: while:
in the time of war, they took up arms, to fight their enemies. - >

"IjjiSi. -'.t- *1 ‘d:’1

Ini.1 -M ub l ' ■ ••••> ■ f .1 . t . ht n tli f

CHAPTER 4 b mf
-. - : ' The Great Epic Age.
. , .,!, ,,j .. h Hh*
. t, I f .,,.' ,-I ./1-0 'M! : , ■ I '•••!.! " ,'t all

In addition to its real history, Afghanistan hae, a ’ legendary

history of its own, based on the Rigveda, the Avesta, the Shahnama,
Nama-i-Khusrowan. Garshasapnama and several other fepic pdems.
A careful study of: this legendary history enables the reader1
to glean some important and ’: interesting information about the
cultnral and religions development of thfe country in the - pre^hi^ .
... | *.» t . f< l ‘• i ) j ) 4 ) x\ l rt\ • > l*
toric period. ' '
*M '

The oldest, legendary dynasties are three in unmbfer, - 'vi®;

(1) Farad hatha' ( Pardadian or Peshdadiari ), ( 2 ) K&vi (Kavian,-
Kiyaniha or Kayaniahs, ( 3 ) Aspaha.
, ,, ... i, ej,f ■. ■ .■ - I'M.' I mil •)! I {!•'<-

(1 ) ,Peshdadian;-According to some traditions the first king

of this dynasty was Kaimurath, who laid the foundation! of Bakh-
di i( modern Balkli ).* Others account the foundation of this city to
Tahmurath, another king of this line ; while a third-group of writers
attributes it to Lchrasp of the Kiyanian dynasty., 1 akhdi,- the
first city of the Aryans and the capital of Bactrta continued to
be'the-seat of the early-kings, of Aryana for several Centuries,
and it! was- hare that the early settlers laid the foundation... of-
their glorious civilization. , . ' - Usd! ■; : ‘ ■"
(32T
Accordingrto another tradition the first king of Peshdadran
was Hawshyangha ( or Hushang ), who, it is said,; had power < over
demons. Hn was followed by Takhmo-urupa ( or Tahmurath:),
surnamed Deo>-Band (Demon binder). According to Avesta he was
able to force Ahriman (the Evil Spirit) to act as his steed,eand to
carry him all over the universe. In his reign civilization made rapid
progress. He taught men the arts of weaving cloth and domesticating
animals.! He trained the snow-leopard and various kinds of falcons
and used them for hunting wild animals and birds. He had an
able and, pious * minister; Skedasp by name, who introduced the
custom, of morning and evening prayers.

Then came Jamshid of the Divine Lustre. He is the seme

as Yima of the Avesta, and Yama of tbs Rigveda. He is looked
upon by some as the reaD founder of the Peshdadian dynasty, and
the king who laid the foundation of “Bakhdi of Lofty Banners.”
He is supposed to be the son of Vivanghana, to whom the extr¬
action of Haoma is-attributed.

Jamshid was a happy and glorious king. In his long reign

there was neither poverty nor hunger or scarcity, neither sickness
noT death. He drove demons into Hell, where they were locked
till the end of his reign. It is also said that he was offered the
task of proclaiming the Sacred Law, but he refused the offer on
the ground that the time was not opportune for such a move. This
was therefore left to Zoroaster. It is aisojalleged that he was constantly
in touch with Ahura Mazda, who gave bim a golden-Tod-and a
golden-plough. The first served him as an emblem of sovereignty,
while the other helped him in teaching his people the art of agricul¬
ture. He also taught men the arts of planting trees; digging canals,
irrigating lands and domesticating animals . I he result was that
men multiplied- and increased to such an extent that the earth
had to be expanded to three times its original size to accommodate
the surplus population.

At the end of his long and glorious reign, Ahura Mazda

announced to him the approach of a severe winter; heavy falls of
snow, and terrible floods that would cover'the face of the earth;-
 (33;
He was,- therefore,- advised to make a square enclosure (Vara-a
citadel) for himself, and there to preserve the sacred fire, fine
pairs of animals, seeds of fairest trees and plants, and a good
number of tall and handsome men and women with sufficient
quantities of food for them. He'was to stay there till the storm
was over.

Jamshid, following the advice, built a beautiful citadel for

himself at Bakhdi, which came to be known as the “City of Lofty
Banners.’" He then took shelter in the castle with all the living ani¬
mals and seeds as he was advised to do, till the deluge subsided and
land reappeared. He then came out of his stronghold and repeopled
the earth with his faithful folk.

It is said that ultimately Janwhid’s good fortune and success

mad-e him proud and forgetful of Ahura Mazda. He thought that
he himself was Gcd, and demanded to be paid divine homage.
Thte Divine Glory, which had accompanied him so far, left him. He
was no longer worthy to rule over the people, and his kingdom
fell into tile hands of Dahak ( Azhi-Dahaka that is the “Deadly-
Snake.”

This Dahak , who had the surname of Boevara-aspa ( lord of

ten thousand horses) was a Semitic, who had come from Babylonia,
and his mother was a descendant of Ahriman. He was a three-heade
snake , with three mouths and six eyes. According to another
legend two snakes had grown out of his shoulders, which had to
be!fed each day with human brains.

Poor Jamshid, leaving his motherland, took shelter with Kureng,

king of Zabul ( old name of the district of Ghazni ), and married
his daughter. From this marriage sprang the line of Rustam, the
famous legendary hero of Seistan. It is said that one of the descen¬
dants of Jamshid from his new wife was Garshasp, the lather of
Neriman, whose son was Sam. This Sam had a son Zal by name,
who during his long wanderings once came to Kabul. Mihrab the
king of Kabul recevied him warmly. Zal, durirg his stay there, fell
(34)
in love with Rudabeh, the king’s daughter, lheir son was Rustam,
the hero of Herculean strength.
• iiri,', t 1*:i

Jumshid could not stay long in Kabul as he was closely, pur¬

sue 1 by Dahak. He took once more to his adventurous wanderings,
and at last made his way to China, where he was caught by Dahak s
men and sawn into two.
I-) ! tjlMil

Dahak was never popular with his people;: he, was rather
looked upon as u usurper. Human brains were required daily to feed ;
his snakes, and this made him all the more detestable. Thraetaona
( popularly known as Feridun ), son of Athwya and a descendant of
Jamshid, who had been brought up in the hills by a herdsman, took ;
up arms against him . Before starting on his expedition , Thraetaona
sacroificed 100 horses. 1000 bullocks and 10,000 sheep to Ardvi ;Sura
Anahita , goddess of water. He was furtunately helped in his, expe- ,
dition by a smith of great experience, Kava by name, who was given |
the command of his forces. Kava overthrew the tyrant. Dahak was
captured and locked up at the foot of Mount Demavend. Two daugh¬
ters of Jamshid, Arnawak ( or Arnawaz ) and Swanhawak ( or Shahrnaz) >
were also rescued from the cruel clutches or the oppressor.

Then Garshasp or Garsaspa came to power. He was the son of

Thrita , a descendant of Jamshid. Thrita was a botanist, and had
extracted Haoma and some useful drugs from plants, which he used
for the welfare of his people. Ahura Mazda, therefore, blessed him
with two sons, Urvakshaya and Garsaspa . I he first was a great
law-giver, while the second rose to power and was able to extend ■!
the limits of his dominions to Arghandab and Seistan.

( 2) The Kianids.-After the collapse of the Peshdadian, the

Kianids came to power. They are so called because every king’s <
name of this line is preceded by the word “Kai, Kavi or Kava’.
The first king of this line was Kava Kovata (or Kai Kubad'b who*
like his predecessor, made Balkh the seat of his government. He
reigned gloriously and was able to vanquish the Iuranian hordes
with the help of Rustam. With the accession of his son Kava
 (35)
t"»a ( or Kai Kaus ) war again broke out with the Turanians.
Kava Usa, after punishing the Turanians, turned his at'ention
towards the west, where the Mazana Devils had created trouble.
After some severe battles Kava Usa was able to drive the enemy
after great slaughter into the Mazindran forests.
14 .r , »'< • • , i ■ - • •

« 1 i Hi f
The third king of this line was Kavi Syavarshana ( Sijavush
or Siyavash ). He too, continued wars against the luranians, who were
again encroaching on Bactria’s borders, He built a strong fortress
on the right bank of the Oxus to stem the tide of these relentless
raiders. Unfortunately he had to give up his life in the defence
of his country.

fit . iiu i. i • • • •< ■

. Kai Khusro (or Kava Husrava), son of Kavi Syavarashana,

is perhaps the last king of this line. He was a great king and an
able administrator. He too, put up a strong resistance against the
inroads of the Turanians, and ultimately with the help of Rustam,
he < was able to annihilate the invaders, whose king Afrasiab was
taken prisoner and put to death. After this his reign was happy,
for the hereditary enemy of Aryana was gone. He is said to have
ultimately disappeared and no one ever found a trace of him.
His followers, including many of the most distinguished nobles
of hjs court, are also said to have perished in a dreadful storm.
, til ;m ! c . > .1 .- I ’ • .. • i

( 3 ) The Aspas.-The thrid legendary dynasty is known by-the

name of the Aspas, as the name of each of king of this family
ends with the word ,aspa or asp’. Kai Khusro had no male issue,
tbut daughters only, four in number. Towards the close of his life
he announced to his people that he had chosen for his succ-
• essor^ Lohrasp (Aurvat-Aspa, Lord of Swift-footed horse ), who
is supposed to have been of collateral line. He, too, had his capital
at Bahhdi, where he set up a new temple. Legend here comes close
to history. Lohrasp had two *ons-Vistaspa ( or Gushtasp ) and Zarir
( Zarivar ).|In his life time Lohrasp handing over the reigns of his
empire to his eldest son Gushtasp, retired to the fire-temple,
which he had erected at Bakhdi.
(36)
It was in the reign of Guslitasp ( about 1,CC0 B. C. ) that the
legend places the death of Spitama Zara-thushtra, whom we speak
of as Zardusht or Zoroaster* and whom classical and oriental writers
concur in designating as a native of Baetria or Balkh. Gushiasp
was one of Zoroaster’s most zealous proselytes. He erected fire-
temples in all parts of his dominions, and put to deatn so many
of those who opposed the new doctrine that his subjects were
intimidated into the universal adoption of worship of fire. His
queen, Hutaosa, and his brother Zarir, together with a large number
of the nobles and courtiers, embraced the new faith, and took a
keen part in its propagation, not only in Aryana itself, but in
foreign countries as well.

The religion which Zoroaster preached was an attempt to

account for the co-existence of good and evil. Creation was thus
divided between two spirits-Ahura Mazda, the Good, and Ahirman
the Evil Spirit. The former represented the beneficial light, the
latter destruction and darkness Life was regarded as a continual struggle
between these two powers. Light is represented by fire and the
sun, hut fire plays a most important part. It is for this reason
that the Zoroactrians ars generally called fire-worshippers- and
sun-worshippers. 1

If Ahura Mazda (or Ormuzd ) was not the only god, he was
undoubtedly the greatest of the gods. He was the sky, he was light,
he was symbolized by fire, but he.had n.>t and could not have
an image.

His will was for good,, and men gained or lost according as they
observed or disobeyed his law. Zoroastrianism aims jat the better¬
ment of the seif by right thinking, right speaking and right
doing. A beautiful Zend formula calls men to humatem, hukbtem ,
huarestem-that is good thoughts, good words and good deeds.
Whatever a man’s condition may be—priest, warrior, farmer or a
craftsman-he must follow the above maxim of good thoughts,
good words and good deeds, if he wants to lead a pure life and
be immune from the evils of Ahirman.
 (33)

Power of evil, that is Ahirman, fights against the creative will,

and against the tendency of good.But Ahura Mazda directs and per¬
fects the world which he has made, and the righteous are the savio¬
urs who aid him in the accomplishment of his work. Here we have a
doctrine of progreses and righteousness.LifeTtecomes the battle- ground
between the good and the evil. Evil may succeed for a time,but the
ultimate victory lies with Ahura Mazda, and good people get their
reward in heaven and the evil get their due in hell.

This simple Zoroastrian faith and worship was maintained with

vigour in its pure state in the rugged uplands of Northern Afganist-
tan, among the hardy shepherds and cultivators,but when it travelled
far into the west, that is in the country of Media,it underwent a cha¬
nge and was corrupted by Magism.

The principal feature of the Zoroastrian religion buring

the first period seems te be the acknowledgment and worship of
one Supreme God, Ahura Mazda or Ormuzd, “the Lord of Heaven,the
Giver of Heaven, and the Creator ef Earth; He who disposes of thr¬
ones and dispenses happinees. From Ahura Mazda proceeds victory, con¬
quest, safety, pros perity, and blessing® of all kinds. The law of Ahura
Mazda is the law of life; the protection of Ahura Mazda is the prec-
iousn blessing for which prayer is constantly offered.

The sacred book of Zoroastrian® is the Zend—A\esta, consisting of

prayers and thanksgivings to Ahura - Mazda and the good spirits.
It was writtenin the sacred Zend language, one of the ancient
Aryan languages.

Vistaspa (Gushtasp),like the Kianids, was engaged inconstant wars

with the Turanians and other non-Aryan elements, who were trying hard
to break _ through the formidable lineset up by the Bactrian.
kings against the inroads of the barbarians. He personally took the
field against them, and after infii icting heavy casualties on them
forced them to retreat. Vistaspa thus earned the title of “Great » for
himself. He beautified Balkh with the help of Zarir, his brother, and
adorned it with some fine edifees.

After his death , Spintoo, entitled the wise (Isfandiyar or Sa-

fid-Dad) sat on the throne. He had inherited the warlike spirit and
(34)
genius of his illustrious lather. Over his whole vast domain, exten¬
ding as far as the valleys of Arghandab and Helmand, he made his
power felt, while his influence extended beyond its limits, where
nations feared and respected him. He was probably the last king of
this line.

After him for a period of some five hundred years the history
of Aryana is nearly blank. With the exceptions of one or two events,
gleaned from the accounts of Greek writers, the very names of the
kings of this long period are almost unknown to us. 1 he first oc¬
casion on which Aryana makes a figure in Greek history is at the
time when Bactria was invaded by Ninus, king of Assyria, with an
army which bespoke the arduousness of the enterprise. According to
Ctesias, as quoted by Didodous Siculus, his force amounted to two
millions (1,700,000 foot, 210. 000 horse, and 11,600 chariots ).

Oxyartes, king of Bactria , at the head of a large force ( some

400,000 strong ) made a stand against this host with indomitable cou¬
rage, and gained some initial successes, killing o\er 100,000 Assyrians.
But in the e,,u me tide of battle turned in favour of the assailants
upon the arrival of strong re-enforcements. The Bactrians were for¬
ced to retreat and seek refuge in their capital, where they were
besieged by the invading force. The city was strong and vigorously
defended, and Ninus despairing of success was^about to call a re¬
treat. But at this time. Semiramis, a lady of exceptional beauty and
courage, who had joined her husband, Menon ( or Oannes ), an officer
in the Assyrian army, proposed a plan of attack by which the city
was taken. Her share in the exploit introduced her to the Lmperor,
and she became his queen and successor.

Shortly afterwards , when she came to the throne , she tilted

out an expedition against India which terminated in her discomfiture
It so appears that Aryana, favoured by nature with rocky hills and
inaccessible mountain fastness, suffered little from the _ ravages of
the W-rians. and was soon able to recover and assert its indepen¬
dence, which continued so until the reign of Cyrus the Great.
 (35)
The second time when a mention is made of Aryana in these
accounts, is at the time of Tiglath-Pilser , who became king of As¬
syria in 745 B. C. and reigned for a period of 18 years. He under¬
took to effect the restoration of the Assyrian Empire by a series
of wars puon different fronts, seeking by his tireless energy to recover
the losses occasioned by the imbecility of his predecessors . From
one of his inscriptions discovered at Chalah we learn that he was
able to extend his influence to the following provinces in the east
of his empire : Narmi , Parsua , Zikratu , Nisae , and Arakutti . The
last appears to be the same as Arakosia, or Arachosia. the country
watered by the Arghandab and Helmand ( modern province of Kand
-ahar ). It also appears that the Assyrian supremacy was soon shaken
off, but the country was divided into a number ol petty independent
states , lacking the essential element of unity, and this made them
an easy prey of foreign aggression in the middle of the sixth cen¬
tury B. C.

CHAPTER 5
The Achaeminids and Aryana
The rlpid increase of the Aryan population in its primeval
home led to the division of these primitive people into three
branenes-cne, the Indo-Aryans, crossing the Hindukush, first settled
in Eastern Afghanistan, whence gradually they entered the plains
of the Five Rivers; second, dividing into a greact number of tribes,
chief among which were the Medes and Parsuas or Persians,
moved west and overspread the plateau of Iran; while the third
migrated into Europe in successive waves, as represented by the
Pelas gic, Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavonic nations, whose descendants
now occupy the greater part of Europe.

lhe Medes, migrating from the region of Central Asia, esta¬

blished themselves bet ween Rhages and Ecabatana, that isin the
north-west of modern Iran- Of their eary history we know very
little with the exception of this that they came under the influence
of their powerful Semitic neighbours, the Assyrians, with whom
<36)
they had frequent intercourse, and from whom they acquired the
art of writing and much else besides. They were divided into
several tribes; each governned by its own chieftain. Deioces was,
perhaps, the first to unite them into a strong nation ( about 713
B. C. ). This centralized monarchy established in Media rapidly
developed into a great military power and about 634 B. C. the
Medes, under Phraortes, undertook an expedition against Nineveh,
capital of the Assyrian Empire. But they were defeated with great
loss in men and material, Phraortes himslf being among the slain.
Nevertheless the fact that the Medes had assumed the offensive
was a potent cause of alarm, as it illustrated a new state of affairs
in Asia, fully demonstrating that the great days of Assyrian supremacy
were over, and she was no longer the arbitress of the destinies
of nations in the East.

Cyaxares, the next Median king, led a second expedition against

Assyria about 632 B. C. He defeated the Assyrians in the open
field, and then laid siege to Nineveh, but was soon recalled to
the defence of his own country in the east against a devastating
barbarian torrent. This new danger was an irresistable inroad of
the Scyths ( or Scyhians ) from Central Asia, who had swept with
destructive force over both Media and Assyria, thereby threatening
the utter annihilation of the civilized world of Western Asia.
Media, due to the mountainous character of the country, suffered
less at the hands of these marauders than Assyria.

The weakness of Assyria and the exhaustion of her resources

soon gave Cyaxares another chance to renew his attack on Nineveh,
which now lay apparently at the mercy of any bold enemy
ready to assail her. The gigantic power which had so long domin¬
ated Western Asia had now fallen into decay; her prestige was
gone, her glory had departed, her army had lost in discipline,
her defences had been weakened, and her morale and haughty
spirit had been broken and shattered.

The last Assyrian king. Asshur-emid-ilin, prepared to defen

his capital against the Medes. He kept a portion of his army
 ( 37 )
for himself, and sent Nabopolassar, his general, at the command
of the remaining force, to check the advance of the Susianians,
coming from the south. But Nabopolassar, proving a traitor, led a
revolt of the Babylonians against the Assyrians . He at the same
time sent an embassy 10 the Median king, and the result
was a close alliance between Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, cemented
by the marriage of the daughter of Cyaxares with Nabopolassar’s son,
Nebuchadnezzar.

The united ar mies of the Medes and Babylonians then advanced

upon Nineveh and laid siege to it. The besieged made a bold and
stubborn resistance for a full two years. But an unusually wet
sesaon in the third year of the siege caused an extraordinary rise
in the Tigris, destroying more than two miles of outer fortifications,
whereupon the Assyrian king, yielding to despair, made a huge
funeral pile of all his richest furniture, and burnt himself with
his concubines and eunuchs in his palace. I be Medes and their
allies jointly entered the city, and plundered it to their heart’s
content. The conquerors then divided the vast Assyrian Empire
between themselves (612 B. C.).
Cyaxares, founder of the Median Empire, died in 584 B. C.,
and was succeeded by his son Astyages,who lacked his father s aoility
and energy. Born to the inheritance of a vast empire and bred in
the luxury of a magnificent oriental court, he was apparently con¬
tent with the lot which fortune seemed to have have assigned to
him. He was surrounded by guards and eunuchs, the latter
holding most of the government offices. His long reign (from 584
to 550 B. C. ), by sheer good luck, was peaceful until near its
close, when occured the event, which ended not only the reign
of Astyages, but sealed the fate of the Median Empire as well.
This blow was struck by Cyrus, king of the Persians.
The Parsuas ( or Persians ) .-The Persians, the Aryan
kinsmen of the Medes, at first inhabited the courtry to the vest of the
Lake Urmia. Like the Medes they, too, at this early stage, were
governed hy many chieftains, each of whom was the lord of a
single town or a small mountain district. Shalmanersar II ( 858 to
823 B, C.), king of Assyria, says in one of his inscritions that
(38)
he took tribute from twenty-five such chiefs. His son and grandson
received similar tokens of submission from these tribes. This
inscription of the Assyrian king also brings to notice that the
Persians at this time ( middle of the ninth century ) occupied a
piece of territory to the south-west of Armenia, where they were
in close contact with the Medes.

For almost about a century thereafter the Assyrian

records say nothing of the Persians, until the reign of Sennacherib
(705-681 B. C. ) when they are found no longer in Armenia, but
seemx to have migrated beyond the Zagros, into the region north
and north-east of Susiana ( modern Fars where they established
their permanent home.

The Persians did not finish their migrations until near the end
of the Assyrian period and perhaps did not form an organised
monarchy until near the fall of Nineveh. The establishment of a
pawerful monarchy in the neighbouring country of Media in the seventh
century, doubtless induced the Perians to follow the example of
their kindred.

According to tradtion their first king was Hakhamanish, a

name the Greek historians changed into Achaemenian, whence comes
the dynastic name of the Achaemenins. Certain writers have doubted
the very existence of Hakhamanish. Even little is konwn of his
successor, Teispes.

According to Herodotus, Persia ( or Fars ) under these early

kings was absolutely under the domination of the Medes, who,
having conquered it, imposed their yoke upon its people before 634 B. C.
The Psrsian monarch at this stage was obliged to send his eldest
son, the heir and crown-prince to Ecabatana to reside at the Median
court as hostage for the faithful discharge of the duties of his father
as a vassal king. Cambyses, the father of Cyrus the Great, was king
of Persia from 600 to 559 B . C., and resided at Pasargadae; his
capital: while his con, Cyrus, was a resident at the Median court
at Ecabatana, where he was in high favour with the reigning
 (39;
sovereign, Astyages. Some historians represent Cyrus as the grandson
of Asiyages, whose daughter Mendane was the wife of * '.ambyses,
and the mother of Cyrus.lt is said that Astyages once dreamt that
there grew from the womb of his daughter Mendane. a vine,
which spreading covered all the surface of Asia. Taking it sa a
had omen, he was afraid to give his daughter to an influential
noble, who might fulfil this dream. He, therefore, gave her to a
Persian of good family, but of quiet temper. This was Cambyses.

Cyrus, while at the Median court, chafed under this indignity and
resolved to liberate his country from the foreign yoke, lie secretly
communicated with his father for this purpose, but his lather did
not agree with him. So when he came the throne of Persia (559
B. C. ) he at once resolved to put his old plan in execution by putt¬
ing an end to this state of vassalage. After repeated defeats, the
Persians made a final stand at Pasargadae, their capital, where in
two great battles, they totally destroyed the power of Astyages. All
the Median royal insignia fell into the hands of the vcitorious
Persian king. Astyages sought safety in flight; his army dispersed,
and most of his followers joined the victors. He was hotly pursued
by the triumphant foe, who, forcing him to an engagement, again
defeated him, and took him prisoner. The Median Empire thus received
its death-blow. Media and all its dependencies at once submitted
to Cyrus, who thus became the founder of the Achaemenian Empire
which was the dominant power in Asia for the next two centuries
(558 to 331 B. C. ).
Cyrus is said to have been forty years of age when he tri¬
umphed over Astyages. With dominion came riches and the wealth
of the Assyrian kings looted by Cyaxares. With an insatiable
ambition and more than ordinary ability, Cyrus aimed at universal
domination. Having first become master of all Asia Minor and
Lydia, he turned his attention towards the east. Herodotus states
that the conqueror now subdued the Batcirans and Sacans in Central
Asia. Ctesias tells us that the Bactrians were among the best sold¬
iers of the east, and that when Cyrus invaded their coutry, they
made a heroic stand. Several indecisive battles were fought, and
the Bactrians were not subdued by force.
(40)

Herodotus also informs us that Cyrus about this time took a

number of other countries in this part of Asia, namely, Hyrcania,
Parthia,Chormasia, Sogdiana, Aira, Drangiana, Aracosia, Sattagydia, and
Gandaria. Pliny tells us that Cyrus destroyed Capisa, north of
Kabul, where he is said to have met a stubborn resistance and
sustained heavy casualties. Tradition states that Cyrus on one
occasion penetrated Gedrosia (modern Baluchistan), and that he
lost his army in the waterless desert of that region. The conquest
of Aryana, the immense region between the Caspian and the Indus,
occupied by a valiant and fredom-loving people, may very likely
have employed Cyrus five to six years ( 549 to 545 B. C.). Alexander the
Great, two centuries later, was also occupied for four long years in
reducing the same region ( 330 to 320 B. C. ).
Herodotus further tells us that in 529 B. C. Cyrus led an
expedition against the Massagetae, a Scythian tribe, whose country
lay on the north-eastern border of his empire, across the Jaxartes,
and defeated them in a great battle by strategem, but was himself
afterwards defeated and slain, his bod'1 having fallen into the enemy's
hands. It is said that Cyrus had offered marriage to Thomyris,
the queen of the Massagetae. The proposal was rejected with scorn,
so Cyrus led his army against her, and by foul play, succeeded
in killing one of the queen’s sons, but he was ultimately defeated
and slain. The queen in revenge for the death of her son, caused
the head of the mighty Persian king to be cut off and thrown into a
skin (or tray) filled with the blood of the Persian soldiers, saying,
as she thus insulted the corpse: “I live, and have conquered thee
in fight and thus I give thee thy fill of blood. Take till your thirst
for bloodshed is satiated.”

Ctesias, on the other hand tells us that the people against

whom Cyrus led his lsast expedition were the Derbices, a nation on
the border of India (probably natives of Eastern Afghanistan ) .
These Derbices encountered Cyrus, who was defeated and mortally
wounded. Xenophon tells us that Cyrus died peacefully in his bed
at Pasargadae.
This conflict of opinion among the Greek historians is indeed
perpilexing and throws a veil of uncertainty over the closing scene
 (41)
of the great founder of the Achaemenian Empire. It is probable
that Cyrus lost his life in an expedition against a nation on the
northeastern portion of his empire in the year 529 B. C., after a reign
of 29 years. It is certain that his body did not fall into the
enemy’s possession from ttie fact that it was conveyd into Persia
and buried at Pasargadae, where his tomb stands to this day.

Cyrus, just before his death, with a view to guard against a disputed
succession, left the inheritance of his great empire to his elder
son, Cambyses, and entrusted the actual govrnment of se\eral large
and important proivnces in the east to his younger son, Smerdis.
But no sooner was Cambyses seated on the throne, than he grew
jealous of his brother, and orderd him to be privately put to death.

Cambyses for the most part of his reign was busy with the
conquest of Egypt. Having completed the subjugation of that
country, he started on his return to Persia, When he reached
Syria, he receivd the news that during his absence a pretender,
whose real name was Gomatas, and who had now declared himself
to be Smerdis, son of Cyrus, had occupied the throne. Cambyses, in
his momentary despondency at the unexpected news, committed
suicide ( 522 B. C. ) .

The death of Cambyses left the pretender at liberty to perfect

his plans. The Pseudo-Smerdis, to strengthen his position, married all
the wi dows of Cambyses.But being afraid to show his face, lest he might
be recognized,he shut himself up in the royal seraglio, never leaving
the place,nor permitting any of the Persian nobles to approach him.
In consequence of this isolation the previous suspicion developed in¬
to a general national belief that the king who occupied the throne
was not Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, but a usurper and an imposter.All
discontent for a time was smothered by a systematic reign of terror. 1 he
arrival of Darius, son of Hystaspes, a prince of the royal blood at the
capital at such a time, was a signal for the general rising which was
to hurl the pretender from the throne.Dartius,placing himself gat the
head of the plottres, entered the palace, and overpowered and killed
the pretender after a short struggle.
(42'
Darius Hystaspes ascended the throne in 521 B.C. His reign was
soon disturbed by revolts in different parts of the empire. For six
long years Darius was employe 1 in qudling those risings,and in reduc-
hin cing province after province. From 516 to 507 B.C. he was busy
in the east, in the region of the Upper Indus,fighting the Gandharis.
His inscriptions at Behistun include the Indus valley in his emp¬
ire. He is said to have sent an expedition under a Greek mercenary,
Skylax,to explore the Indus down to its mouth.Tbis expedition took
two years and a half.
ff 1 . J ( HQ

Darius then proceeded to Susa, his capital, where he had built

the great palace, whose remains were discovered recently. Darius and
his successor knowing very well that Aryana would in no way co¬
operate with a foreign power, decided to weaken the country by di¬
viding it into various satrapies, each under a sperate governorcntru
sted with th collection and transmission of revenue,the administrat¬
ion of justice,the preservation of order,and the general supervision of
the satrapy. These governors enjoyed an almost independent autho¬
rity, frequently transmitting provinces, like hereditary fiefs, to
their heirs, and sometimes defying the sovereign or them brother
satraps in open war.

It is also evident that their hold on Aryana grew feeble with

the advance of time.This state of affairs continued till the reign of Dar¬
ius the Third (or Darius Codomannus), the last of the Achaemenids,
when the Persian Fmpire was attacked by anew power hich had sud-
dueuly risen into prominence on its north-western frontier

In 336 B.C. Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia

upon the'assassination of his father, Philip. After the battle of Mara¬
thon, the final struggle between Greece and Persia was only a question
of time, but the lavish and liberal employment of Persian gold delayed
the inevitable for more than a century and a half.
 (43)

CHaPSER 6
Alexander the Great and Aryana.

At the time of his father’s death Alexander was in his

twentieth year, being horn in 356 B. C. At this tender age he
announced his intention of prosecuting his father s plan of i inging
right into the of heart unknown Asia. Having put the affairs oi reece
on a satisfactory footing, he marched lor the Hellespont, aving
Antipater regent of Macedonia in his absence . In the spring
of ' 334 B. C., he, with his thirty-five thousand troops (about
30,000 foot and 5,000 horse ) crosse i the strait at a place
which Xerxes had passed less than a century and a half
before. Such was the force with which lie now proposed to
attack the immense but ill-cemented Persian Empire. Ihe inferiortiy
of the Greek army in numbers was, however, out-balanced by
its superior efficiency and its high morale. It consisted of veteran
troops in the highest possible coalition of discipline, and every
soldier was animated by the most enthusiastic devotion to his
youthful leader and was confident of victory.
Had the Persians made a serious attempt in the beginning
to stem the tide, it is probable that Alexander’s invasion of Asia
might have been prevented. But unfortunatley the first earnest
attempt was made only at the time when the Macedonians wanted
to cross the Granicus, a little river in Mysia, Bowing into the
Sea of Marmora. Here the Persian generals, with a force of some
20, 000 Greek mercenaries, and about an equal number of native
cavalry, were prepared to dispute the passage of the river. In the
battle that ensued the Persians were totally defeated. In consequence
of this defeat the Persians were thrown on the defensive, and
Alexnder’s conquest of Ada Minor was its immediate rsesult. At
this critical juncture, when Alexander was al-ancing towards the
heart of the Persian Empire, the untimely death of Memnon,
the Persian admiral, deprived Darius of the services of his ablest
general, who collecting a large fleet, was preparing to carry the
war into Greece itself, and thus compel Alexader to withdraw
fr®m Asia Minor.
(44)
In the spring of 333 B.C. Alexander resumed his onward march.
He advanced through Cappodocia without meeting any serious
resistance, and forcing his way through the passes of Mount I arus,
he descended into the plains of Cilicia.He continued his march along the
coast to Mallus, where he first got the news of. the Persian army,
some 700,000 strong,and commanded by Darius in person who had co¬
me with a view to stopping further advance of the Macedonians.Ale¬
xander, losing no time,met them on the plain of Issus But. hemmed
in in a narrow defile between the mountain,the river and the sea Da¬
rius was entirely deprived of the advantage of his numerical superiori¬
ty. Alexander,leading his right wing in person came within shot of the
Per dan arrows. Here he gave order to charge.The Macedonians rushed
impetuously forward, waded the river and were soon engaged in a hand
to hand fight with their enemy, who were easily put to rout. But what
chiefly decided the fate of the day was the timidity ot Darius him¬
self, who on beholding the defeat of his left wing,took to flight with
such haste that his mothert, wife and children were made prisoners by
Alexander, who,however, treated them with great honour.

The defeat was followed by the conquest ot Syria, Phoenicia

and Egypt.In the spring of 331 B.C.,Alexander retraced bis triumph¬
ant march through Syria. After crossing the Euphrates at dhaqsacus,
about the end of August, he struck to the north-east through a
fertile and well-supplied country. Here he learnt that Darius was en¬
camped with his host on one of the extensive plains between the ligris
and the mountains of Kurdistan,near a village called Gagumeia.The
town of Arbela,after which the battle that ensued is commonly called,
lay about twenty miles away, where Darius had deposited his baggage
and treasure.Alexander, after giving his army a few days rest,set out
to meet the enemy soon after midnight, in order that he might come
up with them about daybreak. On ascending some sand-hills the
whole array of the Persians suddenly burst upon the view of the Mac¬
edonians,at a distance of three to four miles. Darius.as usual,had oc
cupied the centre,surrounded by his body-guard and chosen troops.g In
front'of the royal pavilion were ranged the chariots and elepnhants.
Alexander spent the day in reconnitering the ground and preparing
for attack.But he wras so confident of his victory that next morning
 (45)
when his officers came to receive final instructions, they found him in
a deep slumber.The Persians,on the other hand,fearful of being surp¬
rised,had stood under arms the whole nigh,so thal the morning found
them exhausted and disipirited.

Alexander following his usual tactics once more succeeded in

breaking through the Persian line by an impetuous charge. Darius,
seeing this, lode a fleet horse and took to flight. His example was
followed by the whole army. So long as the daylight lasted the Per¬
sians were hotly pursued, Thousands of them perished in the
attempt to cross the river, Greater Zab, which lay in their way.
Atter resting his men for a few hours Alexander continued
the pursuit of the fugitive king in the hope of overtaking him at
Arbela. I he Persian monarch, on the other hand , continued his
flight without a break, leaving the royal baggage and treasure in
the hands of the victors. The battle of Arbela may safely be regar¬
ded as the death-blow inflicted on the Achaemenian Empire.
Although this battle sealed the fate of the Persian Empire, the
war dragged on, and the reduction of the north-eastern and eastern
provinces of the Empire, which consituted Aryana proper , occupied
Alexander and his army, though flushed with victory, several long
and tedious years.

binding any further pursuit of Darius for the lime being

hopeless, Alexander directed his march towards Babylon and made
his triumphant entry into the city without the slightest opposition.
Here he rewarded his army with huge sums of money drawn from the
Persian treasures which had fallen into his bands. After indulging for
some time in luxury, he was again in motion (towards the middle
of November ) for Susa. It was here that most of the Persian trea¬
sures were stored. The city surrendered without a blow . The trea¬
sure found there amounted to 40,000 talents in gold and silver bul¬
lion, and 9000 in gold Darics. At Susa Alexander received re-enfor¬
cements of about 15, 000 men from Greece, He then directed his
march south-east towards Persepolis, which was the real capital
of the Persian kings, though they generally resided at Susa dur¬
ing the winter, and Ecabatana in summer. The treasure found here far
(46 )
exceeded that of Babylon and Susa put together, and it is said to have
amounted to 120,000 talents, or nearly Pound 30,000, It was here that
Alexander is related to have committed an act of senseless folly by
setting fire with his own hand to the ancient and magnificent pala¬
ce of the Persian kings, the ruins of which stand to this day. lhus
within three or four years the grand edifice of the empire founded
by Cyrus the Great crumbled to the ground, and Alexander was able
to establish himself firmly on the Persian ihrone.

After the battle of Arbela Darius made for Ecabatana, where

he stayed for a short time to watch the turn of events. From
Persepolis Alexander, resuming the pursuit, came to Ecabatana,
where be learned that the king had already left for the east.
Leaving the major part of his army behind, he, with his
main body, pursued Darius by forced marches. Such was the
rapidity of the march that many men and horses died of fatigue.
At Rhagae he heard that Darius had already passed the defile
called the ‘'Caspian Gates” leading into the Bactrian province;
and as this was fifty miles distant, urgent pursuit was evidently
useless. He therefore allowed his troops five days’ rest, and then
resumed his march. Soon after he got the news that Dereiusnhad
been seized and loaded with chains by Bessus, governor of Bactria,
who entertained the design of establishing himself in Bactria as
an independent sovereign. This intelligent accelerated his speed. On
the fourth dry he was able to overtake the fugitives with Ms
cavalry, having been obliged to leave his infantry, behind. The ene¬
my,who did not know his real strength, were struck with consternat¬
ion at his appearance and fled precipatately. Bessus and his adherents
now endeavoured to persuade Darius to fly with them, and provided
a fleet horse for the purpose. But the Persian monarch, it so
appears, preferred to fall into the hands of Alexander, whereupon
the conspirators moratally wounded him in bis chariot and took
to flight. Darius expired before Alexander could come. He came
only in time to find him dead in his chariot, transfixed by
the spears of his satraps. Alexander, affected deeply by this scene,
covered the dead body with his own mantle, and directed that a
 ( 47 )
magnificent funeral procession should convey it to Pasargadae, where
it was interred with royal honours.

After reducing Hyrcania, Alexander undertook an expedition

against the Mardians, a warlike tribe in the western part of
Hyrcania, who, thinking themseives secure in the midst of their
forests and mountains, refused to make their submission. After
chastising the Mardians, Alexander pursued his march eastwards.
On reaching Susia ( modern Tus), on the confines of Aeria, it
was his intention to go straight to Baotria and pursue Bessus, who
had by now succeeded in establishing an independent kingdom in
that province. But the revolt of Satibarzanes, the satrap of Aeria,
compelled him to pay his immediate attention to that quarter, as it
was thought dangerous to leave an enemy in such a strong position
behind on his line of communication.

At the time of Alexander’s invasion of Aryana, the country

had no political unity, and exhibited conditons of internal discord,
weakness and chaos. Ihe rulers of the various provinces were
too jealous to unite against the common foe or to select a
generalissimo. In spite of this drawback, it took Alexander four
to five years to break the isolate resistance of these warlike
people, and then to be in a position to turn his attention to India.

From Susia Alexander advanced towards Artacoana, the

capital of the Aerian province. Here he founded a new city on
the banks of the Arius ( the Hari Rud ), called after him Alexan¬
der Arioum, and which under the name of Herat is one of the
chief cities of modern Afghanistan. Thence he proceeded southwards
to Prophthasia ( probably present Farah, ) the capital of Drangiana
or Zaranka (modern Seistan). Here his stay was signalized by a
supposed conspiracy against his life by Piiilotas, son of Parmenio,
one of his trusted generals. Alexander had long entertained
suspicion of Philotas. While in Egypt, Alexander had discovered
that Philotas had spoken disrespectfully of his exploits, and had
boasted that without the aid of his father and himself, Alexander
would never have achieved his conquests.
 He had also ridiculed the oracle respecting Alexander s super¬
natural birth, and had more recently opposed the inclination
which that monarch now began to display in assuming all the
pomp and state of a Persian king. But the immediate subject
of accusation against him was that he had not reported a cons¬
piracy which he knew was being formed against Alexander’s life.
He was consequently suspected of being implicated in it; and on
being put to torture, he not only confessed his own guilt, but
also involved his father. Philotas was executed, and an order was
sent to Ecabatana, where Parmenio then was, directing that the
veteran general was to be immediately put to death. A letter
purporting to be from his son was handed to him; and while
the old general was busy reading it, Polydamas, one of his intimate
friends, with some other officers of high rank, fell upon him and
cut him to pieces. His head was savered from the body and
despatched to Alexander.

From Prophthasia Alexander advanced eastwards towards

the banks of the Etamadrus (the Helmsnd of today), where he
met a people variously called-Eurgetas, Agroaspae, Armiaspi, Arya-
aspa, or Aryaaswas (the riders of excellent steeds) from the
country of the Eurgetae (probably modern Girishk) Alexander
proceeded towards Arachosia, the country round Kandahar, watered
by the Arkandab ( now Arghandab ). Here he met a people called
Arachoti. After subduing these people he laid the foundation
of a second Alexandria, (Alexandria Arachosion ) which is perhaps
the modern city of Kandahar.

Alexander then wanted to find a way across the Hazara

country to Bactria He was soon forced to give up this plan on
account of the rugged nature of the country, and decided to follow
the comparatively easier route via Zabuliitau ( modern Ghazni).
Here he ii said to have met a very stiff resistance at the hands
of the warlike races inhabiting this part of the country, and to (have
suffered baevy losses in men and material. On reaching Ortospanum
( probably modern Kabul) he appears to have moved without much
delay towards the Koh Daman (Paropamisadae or Capisa), where at
 (49)
the foot of the lofty mountains — Paropamisus — called Caucasus by
the Greeks (now Hindukush), he founded a third city in Aryana, called
Alexandria ad Caucasum (Alexandria-under - the Caucasus,) which he
is said to have garrisoned with a continegent ol Macedonians troops.
Opinions differ as to the site where this city stood. Some have
t , tified it with the modern town of Charikar, while others
locate it at Houpian ( Hopina, or present Opian ) three miles west
of Charikar, the foot of the Khwaja Sayyaran Hills. Parwan
Darah ( modern Jabalus Siraj) and even Bagram have also been
suggested as the orignal site of this Greek city. Other important
Greek settlements were established at Cartana and Cadrusi.

But having reached Capisa in winter alexander could not

make an immediate advance upon Bactria, for the passes leading
across the Hindukush were all blocked with snow. He waited there
to pass the winter, till the spring should unlock the passes. In
the spring as soon as the snow was melted enough to make the
passes of the Hindukush practicable, Alexander moved northwards
with a view to reaching Bactria, where Bessus was reported to
have collected a large army. He thought it advisable to beat
this opposition before leaving for India. During his passage over
this lofty range co.ered with deep snow even in spring, the
Macedonians suffered a good deal, both on account of cold and
scarcity of fuel and provisions.

Alexander on entering Baciria did not meet any serious

opposition, for Bessus, on learning that he was coming in that
direction with a strong force, had decided to go to Sogdiana. Early
in the summer of 328 B. C., Alexander followed him across the
Oxus. Bessus was shortly afterwards betrayed by Spitamenes,
commander of the Sogdian cavalry, and was handed over to
Alexander, who had him put to death in a most cruel and barba¬
rous manner.

Alexander marching north took Marcanda ( now Samarkand ),

the capital of Sogdiana. from where he advanced to the river
Jaxartes (Sir Darya), which he designed to make the eastern
(so;
boundary of his empire. On the bank of this river he founded the
city of Alexandria Eschate ( the Extreme or Farthest), probably
the modern city of Khojend, lying 3,500 miles east of
Macedonia. Not content with this he crossed the river and
defeated the Scythians. At this time he got the news that
Spitamanesce rebelling had besieged Samarkand.': A division was
despatched immediately to cope with the situation. But it was
cut to pieces by Spitamenes in the valley of Zaralshan. Alexander
was, therefore, compelled to make a hasty retreat towards Sogdiana.
He had little difficulty in quelling this rising. He then retired
to Zariaspa in Bactria to pass the winter. It was here that he
received strong re-emforcements from Macedonia.

In the following year Alexander again crossed the Oxus.this time

he divided his army into five colums. With the troops under his
command he marched against a fortress called the Sogdian Rock,
perched on a steep isolated hill, so precipitous as to be deemed
impregnable, and so well-supplied with provisions as to defy a pro¬
tracted blockade. The summons to surrender was treated with der¬
ision by the commander of the fort, who enquired sarcastically
whether the invaders had wTings. But they had soon to repent for
their pride, for a small group of the Macedonians succeeded in
scaling some heights overhanging the fortress, and this so disheart¬
ened the garrison, that opening the gates, they surrendered
themselves to the besiegers. Among the prisoners was a girl of
surpassing beauty, Roxana ( or Roshana ), daughter of Oxyartes, a
Bactrian noble, whom Alexander made the partner of his throne,
and appointed her father the governor of Paropamisadae

After reducing the rest of the fortresses in Sogdiana, Alexander

returned to Bactria (327 B. C. ), and began to prepare for his
projected inva-ion of India. He collected a large army ( some
120,000 foot and 15,000 horse ), mostly from among the people
of Ary/ma itself. “Here were troops of horsemen, representing the
chivalry of Bactria, Pashtus (Pushtunsj and men of the Hindwkush,
with their highland-bred horses, people who could, ride and shoot
at the same time.”
 (51 }

While he was busy with these preparations a seond plot was

set on. foot against his life. This time the royal body-guard together
with their leader, Herraolaus, had conspired against him. But the
plot was discovered in time and the ringleaders had to pay with
their lives. These repeated conspiracies against the life fo Alexander
clearly indicated that either he was no longer popular with his own
people, or that they wera sick of his constant wars and expeditions.

While still at Balkh, Alexander was in communication with

the rulers of Northern India. Envoys from Ambhi, Raja of Tasha-
sila (Taxila) made their way over the ridges of the Hindukush to
Bactria. They brought the message that Ambhi was ready to march
by Alexander’s side as soon as he reached India. Early in 52/ B.
C. Alexander crossed the Hindukush and came to Alexandria ad
Caucasum, where he made a short stay. He then moved towards the
town of Nicaea, in the Kabul valley. On arriving there he sent a
message to the Raja of Taxila and other princes of Northern India
to arrange a meeting in the Kabul Valley.

Before setting out on his Indian expedition, Alexander

sacrificed to the Greek goddess, Athena. After crossing the Kup-
hen ( the Kabul), he took the upper route via Laghman and Kunar.
All along this route lay the hills whose inhabitants in their rock-
citadels were unschooled in recognising an overlord. But it was not
Alexander’s way to leave the tribes enroute unsubdued. He therefore
broke his army into two divisions. One was entrusted to Hephaes-
tion and Perdiccas, who were to move to the Indus along the
southern hank of the Kabul river, while the other, led by the
king himself, turned up into the hills. These two divisions were to
meet each other upon the Indus.

It is not possible to follow the tract of Alexander’s march

over the hills with any precision. But we know this much definitely
that the tough highlanders of the Balkans met the stiffest resistance
they had experienced so far. Everywhere on this line lighting was
•f exceptional ferocity. At one place when Alexander was severely
(52)
wounded, the monarch was so enraged that the whole population
was put to the sword. At another place we hear of a huge massa¬
cre, some 40. 000 tribesmen being killed. At a third place, when
the town surrendered, it was agreed that the besieged should
transfer their services to Alexander . But they did not like
to serve the foreigners whose hands were stained with the blood
of their brethren. They determined to slip away at the first
opportunity. The plot was, however, discovered, and all of them
were ruthlessly massacred.
The loot in cattle in these regions was enormous, and we are
told that a herd of the finest animals was actually sent to Macedonia
to improve the breeds there. ^
After crossing the Sawat valley, Alexander stormed the fort
ress of Aornos, not far from modern Amb. The fortress was built on
an isolated mass of rock some 6, 770 feet high, flat on the
top, having great precipitous sides, which on the south went down
straight to the rvier Indus. According to Arrian, it was ascended
by a single path cut by the hand of man, yet difficult. On the
summit of the rock there was plenty of pure water, which gushed
out from a copious spring. There was timber besides, and as much
good arable land as required for its cultivation the labour of
a thousand men. Alexander on learning these particulars was seized
with an ardent desire to capture this mountain also.
Diodorus describes the rock as a natural stronghold, 100 stadia
in circumference, 16 stadia in height, and with a level surface
forming a complete circle. The Indus washed its foot on the south;
elsewhere it was surrounded by deep ravines and inaccessible cliffs.
An old man familiar with the neighbourhood promised against a
reward to take Alexander up the difficult ascent to a position which
would command the barbarians in occupation of the rock.
Following his guidance, Alexander first seized the pass leaking to
the rock, and as there was no other exit from it, blocked up the
barbarians. He then filled up the ravine which lay at the foot of the
rock with a mound and getting thus nearer vigorously pushed th*
siege by assaults made for seven days and nightsfwithout intermission.
( To be Continued )
 (53)
At first the “barbarians” had the advantage owing to the greater
height of their position. But when the mound was completed
and catapults and other engines had been brought into action,
the “barbarians” were struck with despair and escaped from the
roek at night by the pass from which Alexander had on purpose
withdrawn the guard he had left there. Thus Alexander secured
the rock without risk.

After the fall of ihis fortress Alexander rejoined the second

division led by Hesphaestion and Perdiccas on the bank of the
Indus, who had arrived there before him and had made all the
preparations for the passage of that great river. The place at which
the bridge was built was, by the most recent opinion, Ohind,
about 16 miles above the modern Attock. Here the Greeks felt
that they were crossing the threshold of a new world. Sacrifices
to the gods, garms and races in their honour, marked the
occasion. The diviners announced that the omens were favourable.
In the early dawn one day in the spring of 326 B. C. began
the crossing of this river.

On this occasion Ambhi, the Raja of Taxila, sent his homage

to Alexander, and shortly afterwards he himself went out to meet
him at the head of his forces. King Ambhi, known to the Greeks
as Omphis or Taxiles ( apparently a territorial title ) was at war
not only with the powerful kingdom of Porus ( Paura-va ) on the
other side of the Jehlum, but with the neighouring Hill State
of Abhisara as well, and it was probably in the hope of secuing
Alexander’s help against his rivals that he had sent an embassy
to wait upon the Macedonian king fiist at Balkh, and then at
Und (Ohind or Udabhanda), and finally he himself came out with
his troops to meet the coqueror. After entertaining him lavishly
at his capital, Taxila, the Raja provided Alexander with a cont¬
ingent of his forces, some 5,000 in number, for his expedition
against Porus. In return for these services and friendly acts
Ambhi was not only confirmed in the possession of his own
teritrories, but was also rewarded by the accession of new ones
(54)
At Takshacila ( Taxila ) the Greeks for the first time saw the
Brahman Yogis, or “the wise men of the Indians,” as they call
them, and were astonished at their acseticism and strange doctrines.
Alexander now refreshed his army and sent a prompt summons
for surrender to Porus, king of the Panjab. But that proud and
brave prince met his demand with a defiant retort, and at the
same time barred the passage of the Jehlum (Hydaspes) with a
numerous and well-organised force. So when Alexander came
forward with a view to cross the river, he found a formidable
obstacle in his way. The Jehlum was then in full flood and the
opposite bank was vigilantly guarded by a strong force commanded
by Porus in person.
For some days the two armies lay opposite each other. At last
under the cover of dark night and a violent storm Alexaner was
able to convey his troops across the river, some sixteen miles
above his camp. An obstinate battle ensued. The real strength
of Porus’army lay in his elephants, some 200 in number, the
sight and smell of which frightened the horses of the Macedonian
cavalry. But these unweildy animals proved fas dangerous to the
Indians as to the Greeks; for when driven to a narrow space
they became unmanageable and took to their heels, creating great
confusion in the ranks of Porus. The Greeks taking advantage
of this made a few vigorous charges. As a result oi these the
Indians were totally routed, with a loss of 12, 000 killed and
9,000 prisoners. Among the latter was Porus himself, who had
fought bravely and was badly wounded. He was conducted into the
presence of Alexander. The courage which the Raja had displayed
in the battlefield had excited the admiration of the conqueror, who
asked if the Raja had any request to make. “None,’* was the
reply. “And how7 would you like to be treated” asked the King.
“Like a king should treat a king,” was thej short reply. “And
you have no other request to make?” asked Alexander.
“No”, answered Porus, “everything is comprehended in the word
king.” Struck by his noble spirit Alexander not only restored him
to his dominions, but also considerably enlarged them, seeking
by these means to turn the vanquished foe into a faithful and
obedient ally.
 ( 55)
Beating down the opposition of various other tribes of the
Panjab, Alexander penetrated the land as far as the banks of the
Beas ( Hyphasia). Here Macedonian army, worn out by fatigue and
dangers, positively refused to proceed any farther, although Alexander
passionately desired to attack a monarch still more powerful
than Porus ( probably the Raja of Kanauj ), whose dominions, he
had heard, lay beyond that river. But all his attempts to induce
his soldiers to proceed proved ineffectual. The refusal was so
insistent as to practically verge on mutiny. He therefore submit¬
ted with good grace! and gave the order for retreat, having first
erected twelve colossal altars on the banks of the river to mark
the eatsern ounad^y of his conquests-
From there A’exander returned to his newly founded cities
of Nicae and Bucephala on the Hydaspes, where he divided his army
into three detachments. He himself embarked at the head of one
of them and sailed down the Indus . The navigation lasted se¬
veral months, but was accomplished without any serious opposition,
except from the tribe of Mall; ( or Malavae ) in the vicinity of mo¬
dern Multan. In stroming one of their strongholds Alexander was
severely wounded, and was so enraged that he ordered every living
being within the place to be put to the sword.
On arriving at the mouth of the hid us, Alexander explored its
estuaries. Nearchus, with the fleet, was directed to sail to the Per¬
sian Gulf, ; while he himself proceeded with his contingent in the
autumn of 325 B.C. through the burning deserts of Gedrosia ( present
Baluchistan ) toward:; Persia . The march through this inhospitable
region lasted sixty days, during which many of the soldiers perished
from fatigue or disease.
Alexander entered Babylonia in the spring of 324 B.C. where
ambassadors from various countries had assembled to pay him ho¬
mage. His mind was still occupied with the plans of conquest. His
next design was the subjugation of Arabia. Preparations were made,
solemn sacrifices offered to the gods , and banquets were arranged
previous to departure. At one of these feasts Alexander drank deep.
Soon after he was taken with fever. For some days he neglected
the disorder. But on the eleventh day the malady proved iatal, and
he expired on the 28th of June 323 B.C., at tbe early age nf 33.
f 56)
CHAPTER 7
The Graeco-Bactrian Kingdoms.

Alexander left nothing solid behind. Like a meteor he came

and disappeared, leaving behind little of himself but a memory. He
had no time to consolidate the vast empire which he had conquered
by his sword within the space of ten years.

On the day of his death, a military council was held to decide

on the future line of action. Alexander had left no i: sue ; the em¬
pire was therefore divided among his generals. Perdiccas , to whom
Alexander is said to have given his signet-ring on his death-bed ,
was now chossn Regent, pending the birth of an heir , for Roxana
was pregnant. But there was no central power , nor the grip of a
master hand to keep these ambitious generals together. Besides,
Alexander’s invasion had awakened nationalities, each trying to assert
its independence.

Perdiccas possessed more power than any other of Alexaner’s gen

erals, but being ambitious he aimed at supreme power, which ultimately
proved his ruin. His designs were not unknown to the other generals,
such as Antigonus and Ptolemy ; and when he attempted to bring
Antigonus to trial for some trifle offence in the government of his
satrapy, that general made good his escape to Macedonia , where he
revealed to Antipater the full extent of the ambitious schemes of Per¬
diccas. A league was formed that delcared war against the Regent. Thus
assailed on all sides, Perdiccas resolved to dircet his arms, in the
first instance against Ptolemy , governor of Egypt. In the spring of
321 B.C. he accordingly went out on his march against Egypt at the
head of a formidable force, accopanied by Philip Arrhidaeus, Alexan¬
der’s halfbrother, Roxana, and her infant son, Alexander. He advan¬
ced without opposition as far as Pelusium, where he found the
banks of the Nile strongly fortified and vigorously guarded by Pto¬
lemy. Repeated attempts on the part of Perdiccas to force his passage
across the river failed with great loss . In his last attempt near
Memphis he lost great numbers of his men by the depth and rapi¬
dity of the current . Perdiccas due to his haughty spirit, was never
 (75)
popular with the army, and now these set-backs made him all the
more detestable. A conspiracy was formed against him, and some of
the officers, entering the camp, murdered him.

His death was followed by a second division of the empire. Antipater

was selected Regent, retaining the government of Macedonia and
Greece; Ptolemy was continued in the government of Egypt:Seleucus,
a young officer who had taken a prominent part in the wars again¬
st Perdiccas , received the satrapy of Babylon: whilst Antigonus,
not only retained his old province, but was rewarded with that of
Susiana as well.

Antipater did not long survive these events.Soon after his

death a second civil war broke out. This time fortune favoured Ant¬
igonus, who in 315 B.C., was the master of all the countries from the
Mediterranean to Bactria. It was now his turn to aspire after supreme
power. Seleucus turned out of his satrapy,had to take refuge in
Egypt with Ptolemy. Three years later they were able to defeat Dem¬
etrius, son of Antigonus. Seleucus re-entering Babylonia was hailed
as“Saviour” Here he founded the dynasty, which bears his name, the
Seleucids ( October 1, 312 B.C. )

Selecus, entitled Nicater or Cenqueror,now set to consolidate

his position by annexing all the eastern provinces which formed
parts of Alexander’s empire. Not content with these he had also
designs on India, and wanted to complete the conquest of that sub¬
continent, which Alexander was not destined to do. But by the time
he was able to make his position secure so as to be able to turn
his attention to the extreme east, a new ruler had arisen in India.
This was Chandragupta, or as the Greeks call him Sandracutta, the
founder of the Mauryan dynasty, who had by now made himself mas¬
ter of the whole of northern India.

Advancing by the route along the Kabul river,Seleucus crosed

the Indus into India (between 305 and 302 B.C.). It is said that Gha-
ndragupta put into the field more than half a million men,with 9,000
war-elephants,and a large number of chariots. The details of this exp¬
edition are not very clear to us; even the date is variously put betw-
(58)
een 305 and 302 B.C. But this much we know that Seleucus was
reduced to make a hasty and humilating peace with Chandragupta
under the terms of which all the Macedonian provinces as far as.
the Hindukush (the satrapies of Arachosia and the Paropamisadae,
with at least some portion of Gedrosia and Aeria) were ceded to the
Indian monarch. He is also said to have given his daughter in marirage
to Chandragupta. The hasty conclusion of the peace by which Seleu¬
cus received only 500 elephants in exchange for so vast a tract, was
probably due to a call of help from the west , where his colleag-
gues Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy were-hard pressed by Anti-
gonus.

He knew that if he allowed Antigonus to triumph over his

comrades, his own turn would not be long in coming. His troops
of elephants stood him in good stead in the great battle fought
at Ipsus (in Phrygia ) in 301 B. C-, which was to decide the fate
of the civil war broken out just after the death of Alexaeder
the Great. Antigons was killed in the action, his army completely
routed, and his vast dominion shared by the victors.

By the terms of the agreement Seleucus was recognised as

monarch of all the Greek conquests in Asia, with the sole exce¬
ptions of Lower Syria and Asia Minor. The monarchy thus
established extended from the Holy Land and the Mediterranean
on the wqst to the Indus valley in the east, and from the Caspian
and Jaxartes to the Persian Gulf. Babylon was Seleucus’first capital,
and there his court was held for some years, previous to his
march against Antigonus. Later on he founded, and built with,
great rapidity, the city of Seleucia on the Tigris, where he
transferred his capital. But alter Ipsus a further change was made.
Antioch arose in extraorinary beauty and magnificene during the
first few years that followed Ipsus, and Seleucus made it his
capital. But the change weakened the ties which bouned the
Empire together, and loosened the grasp of the goevrmnent on
the more distant provinces.
 (59)
On the death of Seleucus in 281 B. C., his dominions fell
to the lot of his son, Antiochus 1, surnamed Soter, the Saviour.
It was in the reign of Antiochus II ( or Theos), the grandson
of Seleucus, who reigned from 261 to 246 B. C. that Bactria
and Parthia made themselves independent

Alexander the Great, after he took Bactria, had appointed

Artabazus, governor of the province. But being advanced in age,
Artabazus was not long to enjoy his post. He was succeeded by
Amyntas. During the civil war that followed after Alexander’s
death, Bactria was comparatively calm, and was little interfered
with. In the reign of Antiochus Theos, the third prince of the
Seleucid dynasty, Diodotus, governor of Bactria availing himself of
the opportuinity afforded by the perturbed state of affairs at the
centre, revolted and declared his independence (250 B. C. ).

Diodotus 1 (c. 250 to 240 B.C. ).- Early in the reign of Antio¬
chus, Diodotus was appointed governor of Bactria, and the neighbo¬
uring provinces of So gdiana and Margiana. It was a critical time in
the history of the country , as innumerable swarms of barbarians
were hovering ominously all along its northern border, ready to
break through the defences at the first opportuniy and destroy every
vestige of civilization. Diodotus was fully aware that the Seleucids
were too busy with other affairs to pay their immediate attention
to this corner of their empire. He also knew that an independent
kingdom imbued with new life, and strong in its sense of national
unity, would likely prove a better and more formidable barrier aga¬
inst these aggressions than the loosely attached extremity of an
empire, lacking national vigour, and quite incapable to afford effici¬
ent protection at a critical juncture . These conditions led him to
establish a strong national government in Bactria. But it appears
that this change did not take place all at once. There seems to be
a transitional period, which dragged on until the accession of the
second prince of this line, who had the same name . It was during
the reign of his son, Diodotus II, that Bactria declared its complete
independence. It is not yet fully known whether Diodotus I assumed
the title of king or not, but we are quite sure that his son called
himself king, and struck coins in his ow*n name.
(60 )

It was under these circumstances that the foundation of na

national goveroment was laid at Bactria, which we call by the
name of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom of Aryana, and which lasted
for a period of some two hundred years. It was destined to play an
important role in the civilization of Central Asia. But unfortunately
this long period of two centuries and over presents considerable
difficulties to the historians in view of the lack of available material.
Our main sources of information for this long period are chiefly
the coins struck by these Graeco-Bactrian kings. Fortunately these
coins, some of which are very fine from artistic point ot view, are
found in very large numbers in various parts of the country , and
record the names ef no less that forty-five such rulers.

The birth of this new kingdom in the heart of Asia was an

event of first rate political importance. Bactria, which on account of
its natural wealth and strateigical positin. had held a notable part in
the politics of Central Asia since the dawn of history .was once again
to take a leading role. For a period of over a century it
again served as a great bulwark against the inroads of the barbar¬
ian hordes of the north. By establishing peace in this part of Asia it
stimulated its national trade and intercourse, and gave the neigh¬
bouring countries a chance to carry on lucrative trade with the west.
It was also to develop a new culture, which may rightly be called
Craeco-Afghan or Graeco-Bactrian.

Even at this remote age Bactria was highly cultivated and had a
fine system of irrigation.lt was considered to be the most fertile land
in Central Asia.The classical writers all speak of the great fertility
of this province and its network of irrigation canals, by which its
Graecian rulers were enabled to extend their sovereignty over the
adjacent countries. Nor was its prosperity due to its natural produc¬
tiveness only. It seems to have been the chief seat of commerce between
the East and the West. It formed an important link in the chain al¬
ong which the Indian and Chinese goods were carried to Europe by
way of the Caspian and Black Seas.lt also stood on the road of the
confluence of nations, and according to Avesta,it was in this part of
the world that the human race made for the first time advance in
civilization.
 (61)
Heeren dwells repeatedly upon the natural and commercial adv¬
antages of this part of Aryana “It was destined by nature,’he says,’to
be the first place of exchange for the production of India,which it
purchased with there of its own climate.” In another passage he
observes: “The city of Bactria must be regarded as the commercial
entrepot of Asia”. It was due to these considerations that Alexander
the Great planted it thickly with Creek colonists.

Diodotus II .(c.240—227 B.C.).-

His first notable act seems to be the conclusion of an alliance
with the newly-established kingdom of Parthia.The revolt of Parthia
took place simultaneovsly, or a year or two later, with the revolt
of Bactria. A certain ArSaces(or Ashk), perhapss native of Bactria,wih
the help of his brother, Tiridates (or Tirdad),succeeded in murdering
the Seleucid governor Pberecles ( Arthocles, or Andragoras, as he is
variously called), and estanlished an independent kingdom in Parthia
which came te be known as the parthian (Arsacid or Ashkaniyan) dyna¬
sty, and wich was destined to last ior some five centuries (until 226A.D.).

Arsaces I did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his labour.He
fell lighting, pehraps against the Bactrians, with whom his rela¬
tions had been strained towards the close of his reign.His brother
and successsor, Tiridates (c.247 to 214 B.C.), knowing the political im
portance of his next door neighbour-Bactria-decided to comclude a
close alliance with Diodotus II, so that he might be in a position to con¬
centrate all his forces against Seleucus 11(246 226 B.C.),then advancing
eastward on a futile campa ign of reconquest.
Meenwhile Diodotus II, availing himself of the opportunity, extended
his iufluence west towards Herat,and in the north he succeeded
marvelously in keeping the barbarian hordes at bay.His hands were
too full to turn his attention to the south of the HinuKush, where
Asoka the Great the third Mauryan emperor.was at the height of his
power. We do not know exactly horo long DiodotusII ruled.But it appe¬
ars that he was the last king of the line,and that his dynasty came
to an end with his death, probably in 230 B.C. or a little Iater(227B.C)
at the hsnds of Euthydemus.
It is siad that Diodotus I had two wives,one the mother of Dio-
atus II and the other a princess of the Seleucid family. From this Queen
(62)
Diodotus had a daughter who was married to Euthydemus, governor
of Sogdiana. A conspiracy was formed and Fulhyemus with the help
of his mother-in-law succeeded in killing Diodotus II, and ascended
the throne in about 227 B.C.

EUrHYDEMlfS-(c. 227-189B.C.).-i’he new king was a capable and

energetic ruler. Some look upon him as the real founder of the Graeco-
Bactrian kingdom. These internal dissensions of the Bactrians gave a
chance to the Seleucids to turn their attention to the east once more.
About 212 B. C., Antioehus III appeared in the east at the head of
a formidable force determined to reassert the Seleucid supremacy
over the revolted kingdoms of Parthia and Bactria. He had little
difficulty in over-running Parthia. Artabanes ( or Arsaces III from
214 to 196 B. C. ) was defeated and made to yield on terms dictated'
Flushed with this victory, Antioehus now turned his attention
towards Bactria (208 B. C. ) Euthydemus, on learning the news,
hastened to meet him on the western extremity of his kingdom.
With a body of horse at his command he did his best to prevent
Antioehus from crossing the Arius ( Hari Rud ). In the battle that
followed on the banks of this river, Antioehus was wounded in
his mouth, but in the night-attack the Bactrians, being out-numbered
and out-manoeurved, had to fall back on their capital Zariaspa
1Bactria), which was strongly fortified and heroically defended.
The siege lasted two years wihout either side gaining a decisive
victory. The result being that both parties were exhausted and were
anxious to have peace with honour. Euthydemus deputed Teleas.
an officer of rank, to use his good offices in bringing about an
honourable and amicable settlement. Antioehus was pointed out the
perilous position of the east and the importance of Bactria as
a formidable bulwark in the way of the barbarians, who were
ready to swoop down on the civilized world at the first opportunity.
If Bactria was wiped out or enfeebled, he was told, she would
not be in a position to stem this tide then swarming on his
borders, and the result would be that the whole of Central Asia,
Persia, Mesopotamia and even Asia Minor, would be over-run by
these ruthless marauders. Antioehus, too, who could do little
during the last two years aganist the Bactrian, was anxious to
have an honourable settlement of the question, so that he might be
 (63)
in a position to return to his capital, where his presence was
urgently needed. Therefore welcoming the offer, he showed his
willingness for an amicable settlement. Consequently Demetrius, son
of Euthydemus, a handsome youth ol 18, was deputed as envoy
to meet Antiochus in his camp. The youth made a favourable
impression upon the king, who not only signed an agreement
of friendship with the Bactrian Government, but cemented it with
the marriage of his daughter with Demetrius.

By the terms of agreement arrived at, Antiochus waived

his claim of suzerainty over Bactria, and allowed Euthydemus to
retain the name and authority of king for himself. In return for
these concessions, Euthydemus replenished the commissariat of the
invading force, and surrendered some of his war-elephants to
the Seleucid king. Antiochus, after a few days’rest, left Bactria and
di^cted his march towards the south of the Hindukush.

By this time Asoka the Great was dead. After his death
(in 232 B. C. ) the Mauryan dynasty had declined speedily. When
Antiochus entered the valley of Kabul he found that it was held
by a local prince, Sophagasenus by name, who was not in a
position to offer an effective resistance to the invading force.
Antiochus, passing through his territories, hurried back with all
speed to his capita) enroute Arachosia, Drangiana and Persia.

This gave Euthydemus a chance to turn his immediate

attention to the south of the Hidiush, and to avail himslf of
the political situation there. The frontiers were consepuently pushed
southwards until they included the whole of the lower portion
uf Aryana. Some even think that towards the close of his reign
he was able to annex a portion of the northern Panjab too. The
real instrument of his conquest* in these dirtclious was the
energetic crown-prince, Demetrius, who was made governor of the
newly acquired districts.

In the east, too, Euthydemus efforts vere crowned with

great success and he was able to reduce lukharistan (modern
( 64)
Katagban) and Badakhshan. He seems to have carried his arms
in this direction into Chinese Turkestan. The Seres and Phryni
tribes, who infested the highways, were punished and subjugated.
Due to these measures, the trade routes were safer now, and
trade with the adjacent countries and even Europe received a fresh-
stimulus. The luxurious life of the Roman princes and nobles needed
Chinese as well as Indian gccds ( silken fabrics from China, and
fine muslins, pearls, jewels, spices ard pepper from India) on a
large scale. Nickel also found its way' into Bactria at this time,
where coins of this material for the first time were struck and
circulated.

Euthydemus, not content with these successes, advanced west,

and, entering Parthia, wrested two of its eastern provinces-Asta-
uene and Apavartikene. Out of these he created two new provinces,
which he called Tapuria and Tranxiana. He appointed Antimachus,
his second son as governor of these newly-acquired districts.
Antimachus made Merv his capital. Though acknowledging the
suzerainty of Bactria , he had the right to issue coins in his
own name.

Euthydemus was not only a great conqueror he was

also a very efficient administrator and a very capable ruler. Under
his sway Aryana reached a pitch of prosperity such as it had never
before attained. Besides commerce, agriculture received a great
impetus at this time by the digging of new canals. His reign
must have been a long one, for the abundance of his coins bear
testimony to the fact.

DEMETRIUS ( c. 189-167 B. U. ). Like his father he, tod.

was an energetic ruler. Even in his father’s time he took a
keen interest in the adminstration of the country and had a lead¬
ing part in his campaign. He won most of his Indian laurels
at this time. When he came to the throne he made his up his mind to
follow in the footsteps of his father and execute his ambitious
designs. Though successful at first, but this step ultimately
proved his ruin.
 (65)
Leaving Euthydemus the Younger, his son, as Regent in
Bactria, Demetrius left for India at the head of a large army
and accompanied by Appolodotus, his younger brother, and Mena¬
nder, one of his ablest generals. He came first to '1 axila, which
he took without much difficulty. He is said to have built two
other cities at this place, one at Bhir and the other at Sirkap.
From this advance-base he marched into India, and within the
short space of ten years, he not only over-ran the greater part of
the Panjab, but was also in a positon to annex Sindh and Kathiawar
( Surashtra) to his vast empire. He appointed his brother,
Appolodotus, as the governor of these newly conquered Indian
provinces, with Ujjain as his capital. Meanwhile Menander, his
general, proceeding east, was able to take Sagala ( modern Sialkot).
Thence marching along the Jumna and the Ganges, he reached
Pataliputra (modern Patna), the seat of the Mauryan empire,
which he took without much resitance.

Demetrius made the ancient city of Sagala, the capital

of his Indian provinces , which he renamed Euthedemia, in honour
of his deceased father. His empire now extended from Jaxartes
to the Gulf of Cambay, and from Merv to the Ganges. The
head of an elephant which appears in his coins as a head-dress
is a symbol of his Indian conquests. These unpredented victories
on all sides led him to adopt the proud title of “Inviuctus”
that is Invincible.

But to hold successfully such a mighty empire in those

turbulent days was beyond the military capacity even of Demetrius
himself.
r 4M
On the contrary his very success in so many directions,
which led to the dispersion of his forces, ultimately proved his
undoing. The centre of his activities was now shifted from Bactria
to India, and this gave a chance to his rivals to take advantage
of his long absence in that direction. He was at Mathura (in India),
when he heard that a conspiracy had been formed against him at
Bactria, headed by Eucratides.
(66)

Eucratides was a leader of great • vigour and ability. He

was connected with the Seleucid family from his mother side.
Under instructions from Antiochus Epaphanes he came out of
Babylon in 169 B. C. at the head of a large army and made for
Aryana. Passing through southerny Persia, Seistan and Aeria, he
entered Balkh at a time when Demetrius was busy with his
Indian conquests. On receiving the news of this invasion, Demetrius
immediately left for Bactria with all the forces at his disposal,
instructing Menander at the same time to quit Pataliputra and
hasten to his help with the force at his comm ind. But by the
time Demetrius could reach Bactria, Eucratides was able to win over
most of the influential Bactrian chiefs to his side, who rallied
to his standard with’ their followers. Detai's of this conflict are
still wanting, but so much is clear that Demetrius finding that the
game was lost, fell back. The ountrv north of the Hindukush was
pernmanetly lost to him. We dont know how Demetrius passed the
remaining days of his life, but so much is clear that he did
not live long after the fall of Bactria.

Demetrius is also called the “King of the Indians" as he held

sway over the whole of northern India, Lower Indus, Malwa, Gujarat,
and probably Kashmir. He was the first to introduce a bilingual
coinage by adding an Indian inscription in Kharoshti characters on
the reverse to the Greek on the obverse.

EUCRATIDES ( c .157-147 B. C. ). Eucratides, from the very

beginning of his reign, was beset with numerous difficulties on all
sides. On the north the Scythians had become bolder by these in¬
ternecine wars ;wrhile in the west the Parthians were making prepara¬
tions to pounce upon Aryana at the fir t available opportunity.
Unfortunately these internal troubles and dissensions had practically
drained Bactria of its life-blood, and she was not in a position to
stem the surging waves which had completely encircled her. It is
certain that the catastrophe could not have been averated, but no one
can deny that it could have been postponed for a few more decades
had Eucratides worked more cautiously.

Instead of consolidating his position in the north, the vulnerable

part of his empire, he turned his attention towards the south of the
 (67)
Hindukush, where the successors of Demetrius were in power. Leaving
Helicoles, his son in Bactria, he crossed the Hindukush in 165 B.C.,
and took Capisa without much difficulty. Whence proceeding east he
defeated and killed Appolodotus, who then held Gandhara. Not con¬
tent with these victories, he penetrated into the Panjab, but here
he sustained a crushing defeat at the hands of Menander, who had
succeded by this time in establishing a powerful kingdom in northern
India.

Menander, who had left Pataliputra under instructions of his

master, could not arrive in time to help Demetrius in his struggle
against Eucratides. After the fall of Demetrius, he consolidated his
position in northern India, and now when Eucratides advanced to
meet him in the field, he was in position to inflict a crushing
defeat on his opponent and to make him sue for peace at his terms.
According to this treaty, Eucratides had to give up his claims over
Taxila and Gandhara, and had to be content with Paropamisadae,
Bactria and Sogdiana.

It was at such a critical juncture that Mithradates I of Parthia,

flushed with the conquest of Media, invaded Bactria at the head of
a large force. Eucratides, with his energies exhausted and his
resources drained by constant wars south of the Hindukush, was
not in position to stem the tide. Hurriedly collecting a force, he
left for the north to meet the invaders. But his sudden death, at
this time, probably caused by the machination of Heliocles, his son,
enabled the Parthians to lay their hands on some of the north-wes¬
tern districts.

HELIOCLES ( c. 147-130 B. C. ). He is the last of the

Graeco-Bactrian kings to rule over Bactria. Mithriuates, after annexing
some of the frontier districts, left Aryana to pursue his conquests
in the west.

Heliocles, availing of this opportunity, rallied his father’s forces,

and was able to recapture some of the lost districts. But his good
days were numbered, as he was unable to face two formidable foes
on the north and west of his kingdom. Hemmed in by the Parthians
on the west, and exposed to the constant invasions of the Scythians
(68)

from the north, he was at last forced to give up all his territories
north of the Hindukush, and had to he content with his southern
districts. Leaving Baotria in 135 B. C., he came to Capisa, where
he succeeded in laying the foundation of a new kingdom, which was
destined to last till the beginning of the first century A. D. In the
south Heliocles was successful in annexing Gandhara and Taxila, and
pushing the frontiers of his kingdom up to the river Jehlum.

CHAPTER 8.
The Sakas and Ary ana
The Sakas ( Scyths, Scythians, Sse, or Sais ) were a branch
of the Aryan race and first make their appearance in history
in the 7th., century, B. C., wnen they assumed the offensive
against the Medes and the Assyrians . The second time we hear
of them is during the reign of Cyrus the Great. It is said
that after the conquest of Bactria, Cyrus attacked the Sakas
(Sacae), whose country lay beyond Bactria. The Sakas were
considered very good soldiers. They were formidable enemies on
foot as well as on horseback. Ctesias says that their women
went to the field in nearly equal numbers with their men,
and that the mixed army which resisted Cyrus consisted of half
a million, comprising both sexes, three hundred thousend men
and two hundred thousand women. They were commanded by a
king, Amorges by name, whose wife was called Sparethra. The
king was taken prisoner in a battle with the Persians, whereupon
his wife took command ot the Scythian forces, defeated Cyrus,
and took so many prisoners of rank that the Persian monarch
gladly released Amorges in exchange for them. The third time
a mention is made of them is daring the reign of Alexander the
Great, who crossing the Jaxrates in 328 B. C. inflicted a crushing
defeat on the Scythians, but the revolt of Spitamenes in Sogdiana
at this juncture compelled him to make a hasty retreat in that
direction.

Their original home was the land beyond the jaxartes (Sir
Darya ). They were held at bay for more than a century by the
 (69)

early Graeuo-Bactrian kings. Bat the mutual jealousies of these

kings and their internal dissensions , combined with the inter¬
ference of the Seleucids, gradaully exhausted the resource* of Bac-
tria, making it an easy prey to these ruthless barbarians, who were
powerful both on account ol their vast numbers and a system
ot warfare not easy to withstand.

Herodotus and Hippocrates describe the Scythians1' as coarse

and rude in their habits, repulsive in appearance, and ferocious in
temper; with large fleshy bodies, loose joints, soft swollen bellies,
and scanty hair.

They never washed themselves, only cleansing their persons with

a vapour bath; their women applying to their bodies a sort ol
paste, which made the skin glossy after it had been removed.
They dwelt in wagons or in rude tents, consisting ol woolen felts,
arrayed around three bent sticks inclined towards each other.
They subsisted mostly on mare’s milk and cheese, adding at times
some boiled beef or horseflesh as a delicacy. They drank the
blood of their enemies fallen in the field of battle. I hey cut off
the heads of their dead foes, and showed them to their chiefs,
who gave them a share of the spoils, according to the numbers
produced. They also stripped the scalps from the skulls of their
fallen enemies, and suspended them on their bridle-reins as tro¬
phies. Occasionally they flayed the right arms and hands of
their slain enemies, and used the skins as covers for their quivers. The
upper part of the skulls were usually converted into drinking
cups. They spent the greater part of the day on horse-back, at¬
tending to the vast herds of cattle and horses which constituted
their chief wealth. They used the bow, their favourite weapon,
while riding, shooting their arrows wih unerring aim. They also
carried a short sword or a battle-axe.

The Scythians were divided into many tribes, each having

a hereditary chief. Several kings and chiefs ruled at the same
time, but in great emergencies they elected one of them, who
was vested with full supreme povvt .
(70)
They worshipped the sun, the earth, the moon, air, water,
and fire, and had a deity resumbling the Greek Herocles. But
their chief object of adoration was a naked sword. On a specified
day of each year solemn sacrifices of human beings and animals
were offered and warm blood from the victims was poured upon
the sword hung for the purpose. They had no priestly class.

The migration of these people was one of those great human

upheavals, which have so often changed the current of history. The
chief cauc of this general migration is said to be the construction of
the Creat. Wall of China extending from the Yellow Sea to the confines
of Tibet. The Chinese emperors with a view to put a check to the cons¬
tant inroads ofthe turbulent nomadic tribes living north of their country
completed this wall in the second century B.C.The Hioang-nu,who are
better known by the name of Huns, thus checked, were compelled to
to find occupation in other directions.They therefore attacked thir nei¬
ghbours, the Yueh-chi, who were living in the western corner of the
Kan-su province. The Huns were able to defeat them and to drive them
out of their grazing grounds( about 175 B .C.).lhus dislodged from their
original home, the Yueh-Chi took to the west and soon came "into conf¬
lict with other fierce tribes chief among these being the Wu-sun, inhabit¬
ing the valley ofIlli,and the Sakas,living north of the Sir Daryafjaxar-
tes).These onward movements,attacks and defeats of the tribbes ulti¬
mately resulted in a great commotion all along the north-eastern border
of Arvana. The Sakas, who were unable to check the attacks launched
by the Yueh-chi, crossed the Jaxartes into Sogdiana and ocupied the land
lying between that river and the Oxus. Shortly afterwards a second
wave of the Yueh-chi pushed them forward,and the Sakas,crossing
the Oxus,entered Bactria (Tahia of the Chine e writers).By this time
the strengh of the Bactrians bad been greatly sapped by the constant
domestic strifes, and consequntly they wrere no match for the fierce
warriors of the north.In the battles that ensued the flower of the Bac-
trian nobles fell fighting, while the remnant made for the remote and
inaccessible parts of the Hindukush, where they succeeded in estab¬
lishing independent petty principalities of their own.
 (71)
A few years later a fresh wave of the Yueh-chi dislodged the
Sakas from Bactria also, and they were forced to move west towards
Aeria. Here they soon came into conflict with the Parthians. Phr-
aaies II (138-128),and Artabanus (128-li?4B.C.),the Parthian kings one
after the other fought desperately to stem this tide, but both of them
were defeated and slain. Mithridates II, their successor,was more for¬
tunate and defeated them more than once.Parthia now took the pla¬
ce of Bactria as a barrier to impede the westward movement of these
nomadic tribes. The Sakas,thus finding themselves hemmed in on three
sides,north,east and west,naturally f reed th irway to the south and
came to Drangiana, which they renamed Sakastan,that is the land of
the Sakas, from which Sajistan and moden Seistan have been derived.

After consolidating their position at Sakastan and Arachosia,

they again set in motion, and by the way of Bolan Pass, entered
the lower basin of the Indus, where they easily succeeded in
establishing a powerful kingdom, called after them the Scythian
or fndo-Scythian kingdom. Then proceeding along the Indus and
its tributaries, the Sakas under their great leader Moa (or Maues)
attacked the Yavana (Indo-Bactrian ) kings of the northern Punjab.
After taking Taxila ( Takshacila ) they advanced towards Gandhara
which they took about 78 B.C. The Sakas thus succedeed in driving
a wedge between the two reigning Graceco-Bactrian houses-successors
of Euthydemus and Eucratides-who after the loss of Bactria had been
able to establish independent kingdoms south of the Hindukush.

Shortly after the reign of Maues, the house of the Euthy¬

demus was extinguished, and the Yavana rule in the northern
Panjab brought to an end. but the house of Eucratides, who
were ruling in the upper valley of Kabul, (Capisa) lingered a
little longer. The last king of this line was Hermaeus , who was
finally driven out from his possessions ( early in the first century
A. D. ) either by the Kushan king, Kajula Kadphises, or by
Gondophernes, the Pahlava.

Maues was succeeded by Azes 1, who destroyed the Yavana

rule in the Eastern Panjab. It is believed by some scholars that
there are two princes of the same name, who probably ruled one
(72)
after the other. The sesond Azes was parhaps the son of Spalirises
and the nephew of Vonones, whose reign ended in 19 A. D.,
and was succeeded by Gondophernes.

At the time when the Sakas were establishing their power in

northern India, Vonones succeeded in founeding a powerfu1 kingdom
south-west of Aryaria, that is in Arachosia. He, too, like the
Sakas’kings adopted the proud title of “Great King, or King of
Kings”-

Vonone3, who began to reign about 30 B.C. ruled conjointly

with his brother, Spalaphores, and with his nephew, Spalagadames, son
of Spalahores. This family, which seems to be blended with that
of the Parthians is called the house of Pahlavas, to distinguish
it from the Parthians on one side, and from the Sakas on the
other.

Gondophernes (19 to 45 A. D. ), the son of Spalahores, succ¬

eeded Azes II as king of Arachosia in 19 A. D. He was an
ambitious king, and was soon able to lay his hand on Taxila.
This union of the two kingdoms (Taxila and Arachosia) seems
to have been a peaceful one. After this achievement Gondophernes
proceeded to annex the Kabul valley, probably from the Kushans,
who seem to have already supplanted the Greeks in that region.
But there appears to be little cohesion in the empire established by
Gondophernes, for soon after his death in 45 A.D, it fell to pieces,
each province asserting its independence. Western Panjab fell to the
lot of Abdagases; Orthagames and Pacores took Arachosia and Sindh,
while other parts of his dominons succeeded in establishing independent
sovereign states. Pacores is supposed to be the last king of this line.

Gondopherens’name is associated, according to a widely-circu¬

lated legend, with that of St. Thomas, by whom he is said to
have been converted to Christianty.

With the dismemberment of the Pahlava dynasty a way was opened

to the Kushans, who not only retook their old possessions in the
valley of Kabul, but pushing their conquests further towards east,
cocupied Gandhara and the Panjab.
 (73)
But the Sakas’rule in India lingered a little longer. I hey
had penetrated into that country as far as Ujjain. Inscription* at
Mathura and N&sik indicate that their power extended in the
east as far as the Jumna, and in the south it reached the Goda¬
vari. The Sakas of Ujjain, according to Jaini legend, were
expelled from that province by Vikramaty*, who commemorated
his triumph by the inauguration of a new era, Sakas rule aver
Ujjain was re-established toward* the beginning of the second
century A. D., which lasted for three centuries.

Similarly the rule of the Yavana kings ( Indo-Bactiiau or

Indo-Greek ) rule lasted in India a little longer. Menander, as a
general of Demetrius, had penetrated the Ganges valley as far
as Pataliputra. But at this time he was summoned by his
master to Aryana to help him in the serious rising that had
taken place in Bactria between Demetrius and Eucratides. After
the fall of his master he succeeded in establishing a powerful
independent kingdom in northern India. Hi* death took place
between 150 and 145 B. C. Larg numbers of his coin* are found
from various parts of India. It is said that he was an ardent
follower of Buddhism.

After his death, his son, Agathocleia, being a minor, the

Queen took the reins of government in her hand as the regent of
her infant son. The reign of Strato, a member of this line, saw the
decline of the Yavana rule in India, for a fresh wave of invasion
from the north-west had commenced which ultimately proved its ruin.

CHAPTER 9.
The Mauryan Dynasty.
Alexander came to India in 326 B. C. His coming was no more
than a raid, and it had very little effect on that country. Alexander,
on his return, seems to have entrusted the control of Peshawar dis¬
trict to one of his generals named Pithon , son of Agenor. Ambhi
was left in the country between the Indus and the Jehlum, with
174)
Eudemus, a Thracian officer, who was given the command of the
Greek colonies in that area . Poms was not only confirmed in the
possession of his own territories, but was rewarded with the acces¬
sion of new ones. His sphere of influence now extended all the way
down the main streams of the Panjab to the Arabian Sea. But no
sooner had Alexander turned his back on India than he learned that
a mutiny had broken out in his Indian satrapies, and as a result of
that Phiiippus, one of his satraps , was assassinated. Shortly after¬
wards Eudemus came into conflict with the Indian princes. In 317
B. C. he treacherously killed Porus and seized his war-elephants. Then
leaving India he marched wes-ward to take part in the civil wa^ that
had broken out after Alexander’s death. Pithon, loo, left his satrapy
to join the fray. Both of these generals fell fighting. Similarly Arn-
bhi , the Raja of Taxila , disappears from the stage. These hasty
changes in the administration of the country led to a great rebellion
in which India was, at last, able to cast off the foreign yoke and
establish a strong national government of its own.

By the time that SeJeucus Nicator , one of the ablest generals

of Alexander, was able to restore order and turn his attention to
the east of the dominions that had fallen to his lot, a new ruler
had arisen in India. This was Chandragupta Maurya ( Sadrakutta of
the Greeks ). In 326 B. C. when Alexander invaded India, Charidra-
gupta went north to meet him at Taxila. With him was a very
able Brahman named Viehungupta , popularly known Chanakya or
Kautilya. Both had great ambitious schemas in their heads. It so
appears that Chandragupta being dazzled and attracted by the ghrry
of Alexander the Great wanted to follow his example as soon as he
had left the Indian soil. In Chanakya he had an ideal friend and a
very wise counsellor for this purpose. They both kept their eyes open
and watched carefully what was then happening in India. No sooner
had he left India than they came forward to execute their plans.
First of all putting himself at the head of a national rising, Chand¬
ragupta attacked and drove the Greek garrison that Alexander had
left behind in the Indian territories. After taking possession of
Taxila in 317. B.C. he marched south to Pataliputra, where he defe¬
ated and dethroned the Nanda king. He thus became the master of
the whole of northern India, from the Indus to the Ganges.
 (75)

The dynasty which he founded is known by the name of Ma-

nryan. It lasted for a period of 137 years(315 to 178 B.C.l.His empire
was, the largest hitherto known in India,as it embraced the whole
♦erritory between the Himalayas and the Vindhya, and trom the mouths
of the Canges to the Indus, including Gujarat.

If is a pitty that we donot know much about the early life of

Chandragupta.IIe is said to have been a man of lowp birth, perhaps a men¬
ial of Nanda house.His dynasty is called 'Maurya after the name of his
mother, Mura. Others say that his mother’s father was the keeper of
the'king’s peacock, and the Sanskrit word for peacock is Maurya, whe¬
nce comes the word Mauryan. Early in life he came into contact with
Chanakya, a Brahmin of Taxila,who was well-versed in arts of peace
and war. Henceforward he was Chandragupta’s most trusted adviser
and sincere friepd. It i said that Chanakya brought about the down¬
fall of the Nanda dynasty without having recourse to arms. Chand-
ragupta then made Pataliputra his capital

Within a short time he was able to carry bis victorious arms

through the length and breadth of the country. These extraordinary
achievements were, undoubtedly, due more to the statesmanship of
his capable minister than to his own military genius.As soon as the
ta^k of conquest was over, Chandragupta with the help of his minis
ter, set himself to the work ef consolidating his vast empire. How
far he succeeded in this was seen when ins territories were invaded
by Seleucus Nicator, who wanted to repeat the exploits of hi - master,
Alexander the Great.The invader soon realised his mistake in esti¬
mating the strength of his opponent. He found himsell face to face
with a powe-ful and organised force led by an able and energetic
king in person. He was forced to conclude a hasty alliance and
march back to Syria where his presence was urgently needed.
By the terms of the treaty signed, the Syrian king ceded to Chand-
ragupta the whole tract of land lying south of the Hindukush,and he
is also said to have married his daughter to the Indiad prince.In ret¬
urn for these concessions he got only 500 fighting elephants.

Seleucus sent a Greek ambassador, Megasthenese, to represent

him at the Mauryan court. The Ambassador lived at Pataliputra
(76)
for a considerable time, and has left behind a very interesting account
of India of those days. Unfortunately, his valuable work entitled.

“Ta Indica,, is lost,bud a few fragments of it are Preserved to

U8 in the accounts of other GreeK writers, which present us with
a vivid picture of India and its people at this early stage. I his is the
earliest authentic record of India by a foreigner who knew the country
himself. Megasthenes furnishes us with particulars about tht strength
of Chandragupta’s army and the administration of the State. He men¬
tions forest ascetics,whom he calls Hylobioi, and distinguises Bramanes
and Sarmanai as two classes of Indian priests and philosophers, mean¬
ing perhaps the Brahmans and the Buddhists. He also tells us that
the Indians worshipped the rain-bringing Zeus,whom they called Indra,
as well as the river Ganges.
Chanakya is said to have compiled for the guidance of his royal
disciple a comprehensive book on political science.called Artha-shas-
tra, whicn also furnishes us many useful information on the social,
economic,and political life of ancient India.

Hitherto learning was confined to the one class of Indians,that

is Brahmans,and to the Sanskrit language as its medium,bud ChamUa-
gupta, probably with the help of his able minister, cultivated the spo¬
ken language pali, a dialect of Sanskrit,and thus threw open the acqu¬
isition of knowledge to all classes of his people, chandragupa died in
about 297 B.G., ofter a reign of 18 years, and was succeeded by his
son, Bindusara.
Bindusara ( 297-272 B.C.). Chandragupta was succeeded by his
son Mitra-Gupta or Bindusara as he is popularly Known . Like his
father, he, too, was a Hindu by religion. He renewed the treaties
of friendship with the Seleucids , and maintained the honour! and
prestige of his empire till his death . The only important event of
his reign was the rebellion of Faxila, which , however , was easily
crushed.
ASOKA (272-232 B.C.).- Asoka, whose real name is Piyadaai,
succeeded to the throne of Maurya in 2/2 B.C. after the death of
his father, Bindusara. The Mauryan Empire at this time included
 (77)
tb« whole of south-eastern Afghanistan, northern and central India,
and in the south it extended to the very heart of the Deccan. Not
content with this vast empire, Asoka in 261 B.C. started the conquest
of Kalinga, an ancient and powerful kingdom on the south-east coast
of India, between the Mahanadi, Godavari and Kistna rivers. The people
of Kalinga put up a heroic resistance, defending every inch of their
motherland , but being outnumbered they were in the end subdued
after terrible salughter. It is said that more than one hundred thousand
of them fell fighting, while a greater number were taken prisoners.
The horror and brutality of this scene of battle filled Asoka with a
sense of deep remorse, and awakened in him a genuine compassion for
the sufferers and an abhorrence of war. He took a solemn oath that
he would have no war in future, and if is to his credit, that he kept his
promise faithfully to the end of his long reign. For the rest of his life
he devoted the vast resources of his Empire for the general welfare
ot his people and the betterment ot his country. Thus the Kalinga war
was the turning point in Aooka’s career, who shortly after that adop¬
ted Buddhism and took steps in the propagation of that religion. It is
said that he abolished capital punishment throughout his vast empire.
His compassion for protecting life was not limited to human beings,
but extended to animals as well. Hospitals, especially meant for them,
were erected in different parts of the country,and animal sacrifice
was strictly forbidden.

Asok* is noted for his rock and pillar edicts,which are scatt¬
ered all over India and in some parts of Eastern Aryana a3 well,
which tell 11s of his principles of government and of his ethical
system. In these edicts, over 50 in number , we still have his mes
sage to his people and to posterity.

He is credited to have lent active support to the propaga¬

tion of Buddhism (1) and spread of education. Four universities

(l)Buddhism. The founder of the faith Prince Gautama ( Siddarta

or Sakayamani ) was the son of Suddodaua, a petty chief in the
submountane Tarai of the Himalayas on the borders of Nepal.
The scholars have assigned to his birth the year 557 B. C., and
he is said to have lived till the advanced age of eighty, (f)
Takshacila in the north , Mathura and Ujjain in Central India,
and Nalanda near Patna, attracted students not only from all parts
of his dominions, but from foreign countries as well.

Asoka convened the Ihird Buddhist Council at Pataliputra,

which' deliberated for nine months to settle the disputed points
about Buddhist doctrines. Shortly after1 this he sent religious
missions to various countries, such as Tibet, Burmah Cambodia,
Siam Ceylon, Sin-kiang, and even to distant kingdoms of Lgypt,
Syria, Macedonia and Albania. It was under his patronage that
Buddhism for the first time found its way into ■ Aryana and
made rapid progress in the various parts of the country. It was
one of the important religions of Aryana till the advent of Islam.

Maj'jhantika, Dhammarakhita, and Maharakhita formed ■•■■the.

group of missionaries sent to Afghanistan and other countries oi
the west. Thus we see that in the first had of*-the third century
B. C.. Buddhism entered Gandhara, and*' the entire Kabul valley
became the “New Magadhah”-Buddhism,s new land of promise.
According to M. Toucher, a member of the French Archaeological
Mission to Afghanistan, Buddhism spread from Nagarahara ( present
Jalalabad ) to Lampnka (now Laghman ), and from there it found
its way to Tagab and Nijrab, and then to Kabul and Capisa. A few<
years later, through Ghorband, Pundiqistan and Bamian, it reached
Haibak, Bactria and Tnkharistan. As a result of this new religious
movement Mazdism (a corrupt form of Zoroastrianism) gave vway
(T) In thj beginning of his life Gautama was steeped in all
sorts of human pleasure, hut later on the sight of the miseries
of life wrought a complete change in him, and Gautama at the
early age of twenty-nine renounced the world. The very universe
appeared to him as a maze. All things were passing away;
nothing appeared permanent or* stable. Only the truth; only.-the .
absolute eternal law of things seemed immutable. “Let me see
that , he said to himself, and I can give lasting peace to mankind.
Then shall 1 become their deliverer. “ Thus against the strong entre
aties of his father, wife and friends. Gautama made up his mind
to leave the palace and all its comforts and seek the truth. (t+)
 (79)
■gradually to Buddhism • in the eastern half of the country. A fire
altar at Balkh, built by Spindat, son of Vishtasp, was turned into a
Buddhist Sangharamab and renamed Navavihara, the Nobahar of
the early Muslim writers.

This state of affairs continued till the middle of the <th

century A.. 1).; At the time when Huien Tsang visited Balkh,
it was still a great Buddhist centre, and was known as Bajagriha,
that is the Little Royal City, and the temple of Nava-vihara was
in full bloom. Parajanakara, the distinguished priest ol this religious
institution, received the Chinese Master of Law1,
- ►

Asoka sent his son Mahendra, to Ceylon with a mission to

introduce Buddhism into that island. He was soon followed by
his sister, Sangharnitta, who took with her a group of nuns to
that country.

Asoka is said to have erected great monasteries--'vihara as

it called, and several thousands of stupas, enshrining the relics
.of the Buddha in various corners of his wide-flung empire. He
maintained friendly intercourse with the Graeco-Bactrian and Syrian
monarchs, and even with Egypt. He introduced many of the useful
(tf) One night mounting his horse he rode off into a jungle.
During his sojourns he met many Brahmanieal priests and teachers,
and , had talks and discussions with them, but nothing could satisfy
his acute intelligence. Leaving their society he came to the village
of Uruvela near Gaya. It is said that it was here that after protracted
meditations he attained enlightenment, and became to be known
the Buddha, or the Enlightened One. Then he came to Benares
and there in the well-known. Deer Park ( Marigdava ) he began to
preach his new faith-that is Buddhism. The Eight-fold Path, which,
in his opinion, give* insight, and leads to wisdom, calmness, know¬
ledge , enlightenment, and ultimately to Nirwan (the Abode of
Peace ) is:
(1). Right View', (2).Right Aspirations, (3) Right Speech.
.(4 ) Right Conduct, (5) Right, Living, (6) Right Efforts, (7) Right
Mindfulness, and (8) Right Meditations, (ftt)
(80)
arts of these countries into his own. To him can be traced the
commencement of architecture and sculpture in India, as applied
to religious and other public edifices, which had been introduced
from Bactria. It has been ascertained beyond doubt that before
his reign architecture was not applied to public buildings, as
temples and the liKe; in fact none existed. It may be assumed
that even up to Asoka’s period, the most populous cities in India
consisted of little better than clay and wooden dwellings. But m
his reign for the first time stone was substituted for wood.

The extent of Asoka’s empire can very well be gauged from

one of his Rock-Edicts ( No. 13). It included South-Eastern Afgha¬
nistan, Nepal, the whole of India, except the southern extremity
of the Peninsula.
On Asoka's death in 232 B. C., the Empire, founded by his
grandfather Chandragupta, declined rapidly. The provinces fell
off one by one. Taxila and other outlying provinces were able
once more to assert their independence. This gave a chance to the
Graeco-Bactrian kings to turn their attention in that direction.
The first of these kings to reaeh Taxila was Demetrius.

The rule of these Graeco-Bactrian kings at Taxila lasted for

more than a century. It was finally swept away by the invading
hordes of the Sakas in the first century A. D. From their
base in Seistan and Arachosia, these Sakas had crossed the Indus
under their chief Maues to the conquest of Sindh and the Panjab.

The Mauryan Empire came t© an end in about 185 B. C.,

when General Pushtyamitra Sunga, having treacherously slain his
master, Brihadratta, the last king of the line, usurped the throne,
and founded the Sunga Dynasty, which lasted till 73 B. C._
(f+t) The Buddha belives that all existence is an evil, and that
release from this state of change and decay could only be attained
through knowledge , by which he meant the sight of everlasting
truth, the power of perceiving the immutable laws of the universe.
This knowledge could only be attained by moral teaching, by purity
of heart and soul.
 CHAPTER 10.
Ths Parthian*.

1 arliiia was a small hilly country comprising the north-western

corner of Aryana. It was bounded on the north by Margiana,
on the east by Aeria, on the south by Sarangiana (modern Seislan);
and on the west by Hyrcania and Sogatia. Its greatest length
from east to west was 230 miles, with a breadth of nearly 200
miles from north to south.

four or five distinct ranges of mountains here run roughly

parallel to one another. The elevation of these mountains- is not
ve-y great; the highest peaks rise to 7,000 feet only. They are
for the most part barren and rugged, and very scantily supplied
with timber, but their lower skirts in many places are capable
of furnishing good pasturage for flocks arid herds. The valleys,
on the othere hand, are rich and fertile in the extreme. Compared
with the arid and inhospitble deserts, which adjoin it upon the
north and the south, Parthia was Tooked upon as a terrestrial
paradise-

Its winters, though protraced, are not very harsh; the ther¬
mometer seldom sinking below ten or eleven degrees of Fahrenheit
during the nights, and during the day-time rising (even in December
and January) to 40 or 50 degrees. During cold weather storms
of sleet and hail are very common, while in summer the heat
is quite considerable,

I he situation and character of Parthia, thus on the whole,

favoured her becoming an imperial power. She had abundant
resources, and a terrliory apt for the production of a hardy race,
but for centuries Parthia lived in obscurity. The name is not mentioned
either in the Did Testament Scriptures or in the Zend-Avesta. J'he
Assyrian inscriptions are also silent on this point. It is not until
the reign of Darius Hystaspes that we have any historical evidence of
the existence of the Parthians in that country. It is said that in
521 B.C. Parthia revolted, and Hystaspes, father of Darius, who
was the governor of the province, was able to crush the rebellion.
(82)
We do not know exactly who the Parthians were. On the eth¬
nology of this nation historians differ a lot. and it is only after they
emerged from obscurity and became a great people, that the classical
writers take the trouble of investigating this point. Some say that they
are a brunch of the Scythians, who at a remote period had migrated to
this land, and gradually made themselves master of the region. Others
add to this that the Scythic tribes to which they belonged were
called Dahae; that their own proper name wasH’arin. or Aparni. W hile
others contend that they were a branch of the Ractrian - Aryans,
and derive their names from the Packast (packtyus and moedrn pash-
tun). Unfortunately the remains of the parthian language, which we
possess, beyond their names, are too scanty and too little to furnish a
clue in settling this vexed question of their ethnic character.

The Parthias probably maintained their independence from the

time of their settlement in the district called after their anme until
the sudden arrival in the country of the great Persian conqueror.
Cyrus, who hsd, it is probable, littel difficulty in obtaining tkeir submis¬
sion. Except on a single occasion to which reference has already
been made, they did not make a serious attempt to shake off the
alien yoke.

In the final struggle of Persia against Alexander the Great, the

parthians fought on the Persian side at Arbela.

The struggle for power which broke out almost immediately af¬
ter Alexander’s death among his generals, may be regarded as having
been brought to a close by the battle of Ipsus 301 B.C. His vast emp¬
ire was divided into four parts. Of the fourt powers thus established,
the most important, and the one with which we are here specially
concerned, was that of the Seleucids, founded by Seleucus Nicator, one
of Alexander’s generals, who was recognised as monarch of all the
Greek conquests in the East. It was in the reign of his grandson, An-
tiochus Theos that the standard of revolt was raised successfully by
Diodotus in Bactria. The example set by Bactna wras followed soon in
the neighbouring country of parthia. We do not know exaitly howr
this revolt took Place. According to one account the leader
 (83)
of the revolt. Arsaces, was a Bactriati, to whom the success of Diodotus
was not agreeable, and who therefore, leaving Bactria with his brother
Tiridates came to Parthia, where he induced the people to take up
• arms against the Seleutids. Another version says that the real cause
of revolt was the gross insult offered by Andragoras ( or phercles )
the Seleucid satrap to one of the brotners.

Where upon the Perthians under their chiefs, Arsaces and

Tiridates, rose against the governor, and had him killed. Arsaces
then seized the supreme power. He. however, lived but for a short
time. Within less than two years after coming to power he was
killed in a battle by a spear-thrust in his side, and was succeeded
by his brothsr Tiridates in c. 247 B. C.

Tiridates, the successor of Arsaces 1, is known in history as

Arsaces II. This custom was later on followed by all the kings ol
this dynasty bearing the name of Arsaces in addition to their real
appellation. If the Parthian kingdom owed its origin to Arsaces 1,
it was indebted for its consolidation and settled government to
Arsaces II. He had the good fortune to reign for about 33 years
(from c. 247 to 214 B. C.). During this time he enlarged its boun¬
daries on all sides, and strengthened its defences. Not teeling
himself altogether strong enough to face the Seleucids single-handed,
he prudently entered into an alliance with Diodotus, king of Bactria.
Having secured his friendship and moral support he then marched
boldly against Callinicus, the Syrian monarch, who had sought to
reclaim the lost territories. In the battles that followed the Seleucide
were defeated with great loss.

Tiridates, during the rest of his life, was busy strengthening

and adorning his kingdom. He built a city in the vicinity of modern
Meshad, to which he gave the name of Dara and mads it the seat
of his government. After his death, however , successors preferred
to keep Hecatompylos , as before, the headquarters of their govern¬
ment.

After Tiridates, death, his son Artabanus 1, ascended the

Parthian throne ( c 214 B. C. ). who taking advantage of the war
(84)
then raging between Anticobus If! the second son of Sileucus
Callinicus and Achaeus, one of the rebel satraps, advanced into
Media and took Ecabatana. and added to his dominions the entire
tract of land lying between Hyrcania and the Zagros mountains.

Antiochus, advancing suddenly against him. was able to

disperse the Parthian forces. Pressing forward he occupied Hecatom
pylos, the chief city. Up to this point the Parthian king had
declined to offer any serious resistance. He had a ithdrawn his
main forces towards Hyrcania and was waiting for his opportunity.
Antiochus, after giving his army a few days’rest at the Parthian
capital, set out in pursuit of the enemy. At this time Artabanus
displayed great valour, but was at last compelled to submit a peace
was concluded by which the Parthian monarch promised to lend
assistance in the expedition which the latter was about to conduct
against Bactria.

Bactria, however, maintained her ground with courage, and

after a siege of two years, Antiochus was compelled to recognize
the complete indpendence of Bactria. Thus we see that the Bactrian
monarchy came out of the contest quite unscathed, and the terms
of peace consituted almost a proof that the Syrian yoke would never
be re-imposed on the Bactrian nation.

Soon after the departure of the Antiochus, Euthydemus, the

Bactrian king, launched his expeditions to the south of the
Hindukush. With the help of his energetic son, Demetrius, he was
able to occupy the whole of Eastern Aryana. He did not stop there.
Demetrius crossed the Indus into the Panjab, and the city of
Euthydemia, on the Hydaspes, was perhaps the limit of the empire
in that direction. The coins of Euthydemus, which are found over
a wide area, show that he was the master of the following provinces:

Sogdiana, Bactria, Margiana, Aeria. Paropamisadae, Drangiana.

Gandhara and Arachosia. The Power and successes of the Bactrian
arms at '-his time account sufficiently that the contemporary
Parthian moachs stood upon their guard and made no attempt
 (85)
to pick up a quarrel with such a formidable neighbour. 0«
the contrary Euthvdemus, availing himself of the opportunity,
led an expedition into Parthia, and was able to annex two of her
eastern provinces, namely lapuria and Iranxiana, to his empire.

Mithridates I.who came to power in about 174B.C.was one of the great

kings. His reign which lasted till c. 136 B. C„ is the most important
period in Parthian history. Receiving from his brother,Phraates a small
kingdom, confined between the city of Charax on one side, and the
river Arius (or the Had Rud ) on other, he transformed it within
thirty-eight years of his reign into a great and flourishing empire.

Meanwhile the Bactrian monarchs, who in their ambitious designs

had been able to extend the limits of their empire to the Gulf
of Cambay and the river Ganges, overstrained the strength of their
State, and by shifting the centre of their power from Bactria to India,
had injured irretrievably its northern defences. Besides, internal
troubles had practically drained Bactria of its life-blood. Eucratides,
who had succeeded Demetrius, was like his predecessors, anxious to
devote his attention to the south. While he carried on successtul wars
against the Arachosians, the Drangians, and the Indians, his hold
on the northern districts was greatly relaxed. Incursions oi the
Scythians from the steepes beyond the Jaxartes caried fire and sword
over the greater part of his northern provinces.

Such was the'political condition of Bactria when it was attacked

by Mithridates . Eucratides,with his energies wasted and his resour¬
ces exhausted by constant wars south of the Ilir.dukush, hurried to
meet the Parthian king.His sudden death, however,at this juncture, per¬
haps by the machination of his son Heliocles, the governor of Bactria,
enabled the parthians to annex some of the frontier districts.

It is conjectured that Heliocles took this step against his

father because he regarded with disapproval his tame submission
to parthia on a previous occasion when he allowed parthia to take
possession of Tapuria and I ranxiana. He desired the recovery of these
provinces which Eucratides had been content to cede for the sake
of peace. He justified his crime on the ground that his father was
a public enemy.
 (86)
Ueliocles accession to the throne was a challenge to the parthian
king who now redoubled his efforts, and marched with all speed
against the Bactrian king. Elated by his initial successed in the north
he is said to have attacked and annexed Arachosia and Drangiana to
his empire, and penetrated as far as the Hydaspes. But it so appear*
that he di i not effect permanent conquest of these Indian province.

Heliocles held his own for some time in the north, but a fresh wave
of the Scythians forced him to retreat towards the south of the Him
dukush. He is tne last of the Graeco-Bactrian kings to rule over
Bactria.

Mithridates died after a glorious reign of 38 years. He was suc¬

ceeded by his sun,Phraates II,who,like his father,entertained the de¬
sign of invading Syria. While he was thus busy with his Syrian wars,
th&! Scythians invaded parthia from the rear. The parthian army hur¬
ried to meet them,but they were routed with great losses, Phraates
himself being among the slain.

He was succeeded by his uncle, Artabanus, a man of great

energy. But the situation of Bactria at this time was very critical.
Fresh hordes of the Scythians were pouring into the country,hotly pur¬
sued by the Yuehchi. The Bactrians had to pay a heavier toll. Pro¬
vince after province of their kingdom was swollowed up by these
barbarous hordes. Pressed on continually by the newly arrived tribes
such as Massagtae, the Tukhari, the Asii ( or Asiani) and Sakaruli,
the old inhabitants of Transoxiana were thrown out of their conqu¬
ests and were compelled to seek new settlements further west in
Aeria and Parthia. They in their turn threatened to carry all before
them. Artabanus II, thinking that the best method to check their
advance lay in aggression, invaded them at the head of a large force,
in the thick of an engagement, Artabanus was wounded in his
aim, from the effect of which he died almost immediately.

1 he parthians,losing their monarch,were disheartened,and fell

back precipitately.

On the death of Artabanus II (c 124 B.C.), his son,Mithridates II

was proclaimed lung. He was entirely successful where his father

 (87)
and cousin had signally failed. He gained a number of victories
over the Scythians, and effectually checked their advance towards
parthia, thus forcing the flood of invasion to take a southerly direction
towards Drangiana, Arachosia and the Sindh basin.Henceforth dan¬
ger to parthia at the hands of the Scythians passed away,and the
invaders found a vent for their excess population in another direction
Victories in the east encouraged Mithridates to turn his at¬
tention in the opposite direction towards Armenia. Hitherto no oc¬
casion had ar;sed for any direct dealings between Rome and Parthia.
1 heir respective spheres of influence were separated by hundreds
of miles. But the progress of the two empires in the opposite direc¬
tions was gra lu.dly bringing them nearer to each other.
Mithridates II died probably in 89 B.C. .after a reign of
35 y ars.iic was one of die most vigorous and successful of the Par-
tnian monarch®. It is to his credit »that he saw the advantage of
establishing diplomatic relations with Rome.Sulla a Roman general
from his base in Cilicia, swept unopposed through Cappadocia to the
banks of the Euphrates,where lie was met by Orobazus, a Parthian
ambassador,with proposal for a defensive and offensive alliance with
Rome. Sulla, this however was not authorized to conclude such an alli¬
ance. Shortly alter the interests of these two imperial powers approa¬
ching from the opposite directions clashed and they -took up arms against
each other (55 B.C.) .These wars,between Rome and parthia,drag¬
ged on for more than two centuries and a half. The long roll of
campaigns thus begun between these two powers came to a olose
w th a signal victory for the parthians in 217 A. D. But Parthia was
not destined to enjoy the fruit of this victory for long,for the dy¬
nasty was over-thrown by Ardsher Babakan, (1) the vas-al king of
Pars, some nine years later ( in 226 A. D. )
I he parthians inherited the eulture and refinement of both
Greece and persia. On their coins the Partian kings repeat the
Greek royal tiltle “Great King”, or the style of “Great King of
Kings” a title which is distinctly persian. Greek was also used as
the offical language of the parthians. _
(1) Ardsher Babakan alter overthrowing the parthian monarch
Ardawan (or Artaban) in 226 A.D. founded the Sassanian Dynasty,
which farted for over four centuries, until it was overthrown by
the Arabs in the middle of the VII th,century A.D.
(88)
CHAPTER 11
The Kvslums.
The Kushans were a branch of a great nomadic race called
Yueh-chi by the Chinese writers, i'heir original home was Kan-su,
extreme north-west corner of China. I hey were defeated and driven
out from that region in about 175 B. C. by llioang-nu (on the Huns),
another powerful tribe. Proceeding westward the Yueh-chi soon came
into conflict with the Wu-sun, inhabiting the country of the llii
and Tarim rivers, now know by the name of Kulja. the Wu-sun
were routed and their king was slain in the action. 1 he Yuen-chi,
however, did not stay there, but continuing their journey westward,
they came into contact with another powerful people called the
*
Scythians, who were occupying the land on the right bank oi the
Jaxartes. The Scythians in their turn were routed and pushed south¬
wards towards the Oxus basin. Thus a general condition ot unrest
and commotion took place among all the nomadic tribes living on
the north-western fringe of China and in Central Asia. Wave followed
wave in quick succession, and on they came towards Aryana
itself. The Yueh-ehi in their turn were defeated and dislodged of
tneir newly-acquired possessions by the revival of the V\ u-sun tribe,
who had now the active support of the Huns as well. Crossing the
Jaxartes the Yueh-chi entered Sogdiana, that is the land between
the Jaxartes and the Oxus, while the Scythians driven onwards had
to seek new homes south of the Oxus. Such was the political con¬
dition of Central Asia, when Won-tu, the Chinese emperor, sent
Tchang-kieu, as his envoy to the Yueh-chi, requesting them
to help China in her struggle against the Huns ( c. 138 B.C. ). He
is perhaps the first Chinese writer to leave useful information about
Central Asia. According to him Tahia, that is the country south of
the Oxus, was then a flourishing centre of trade, and its capital
was Lan-shi.
Kabul Museum : Koushan Couple
 (89)
A little later the Yueh-chi were again driven out from their
trans-Oxus territories by a fresh wa\e of the Wu-sun. Crossing
the Oxux, they now entered Bactria forcing the Scythians 'o
move west towards Aeria and Parthia. Here in Bactria the 5 ueh-
chi came into contact with a highly civilized and cultured people,
who lived mostly by trade and crafts. Ihe rough conquerors
gradually gave up their nomadic habits and adopted a sedantary
mode of life. Mingling with the Bactrums, they soon learnt
their art aid trade. The pi eminent tribes of the Yueh-chi tl at
took part in these early incursions are known by the names of Asioil,
the Pasionoi, the Tukharo and the Sakaruli. Driving out the
Scythians from that quarter (between 140-130 B.O.). they occupied
the whole of Northern Afghanistan and divided it into five
independent principalities, namely, Hiu-mi, Kuei-shauang, Shanang-
mi, Hitu and Kaofu.

A century later the ehiei ol the Kushans, one of these

tribes, gained supremacy over all the other clans, and succeeded
in founding a united and powerful kingdom in Bactria, known
by the name of his own tribe. Thus Bactria became once more the
nerve centre of a power that was destined to play an important role
in the history of Aryana and the adjacent countries for many centuries
to come . In the west the Kushans measured sword successfully with
the Parthians, in the east they waged wars with China, while in the
south they over-rail the whole of Northern India as far as Mathura.
Malwa and Pataliputra. Their power in Aryana with the excep¬
tion of an interval of about a century and a half, lasted till the
middle of the ninth century A.D. This long period of nearly eight
hundred years may roughly be divided into following periods :

1) The Golden Period of the Kusban rule, lasting from A.D. 40

to the beginning of the third century A.D.

2) The Break-up of the Kushan Empire or the Period of Petty

Kushan Kings, lingering for another two centuries ( c. 2Z0-425 A.D.).

3) The Supremacy of the Ephthalites ( c.425 to 553. A.D. ).

4) The Invasion of the loukieu Turks ( c.5d3-64 > A.D. ).
5) The Kushano-Ephthalite Dynasties (from 7th Century A.D. to
the middle of the ninth century.).
 ( 90 )
o
The Kushans, like their predecessors, the Graeco-Bactrians,
speedily gaining power became the masters of not only the whole
of Aryana but succeeded in establishing a vast and powerful empire.
According to Chinese sources their first king was Kieu-Tsiu-Kiu,
who trad been identified with Kajula Kadphises ( or Kozola Kadaphes).
After uniting the tribes and consolidating his position in the north,
he crossing the Hindukush, entered Eastern Afghanistan about the
middle of first century of tha Christian era, and succeeded in taking
Kipin ( Capisa ), Kao-fu ( Kabul ), and Pouta ( the country round Ghaz¬
ni and Gardez )• Some even look upon him as the conqueror of
1 akshacila ( 1 axila ) tco, hut the Chinese writers think that it was
not Kajula Kadphises but his son and successors, Vima Kadphises,
who extended the dominions of the Kushan empire from the Kabul
valley to Taxi la.

Kajula Kadphises in his coins which are struck mostly in the

Kabul valley calls himself Maharajasa, that is the king of kings; or
after the fashion of the Chinese emperors, he stlyes himself Dera-
putra, that is the son of god or heaven. He died at the advanced
age of eighty in or about 78 A. D., and was succeeded by his son,
Vima Kadphises (or Kadphises II. )

Vima Kadphises ( c.78 to 110 A. D. ) . - He, too, like his

father was a great conqueror, and enlarged the empire which his
predecessor had left him in legacy. He subjugated the whole of
northern India as far as Benares in the east and the mouth of
the Indus in the west. Some are even of the opinion that his
power extended southwards as far as the Narbada.

Towards the close of the first century A.D., China had become
extremely powerful and was fastly extending her empire towards
*he west . This step soon brought her in clash with Aryana. A great
Chinese general, Pan-chao by name, led his army from victory to victory
till it reached the shores of the Caspian Sea. Kadphises II was naturally
alarmed by these military achievements of China in his close vicinity.
He challenged the Chinese power by demanding the hand of a Chinese
princess in marriage ( about 90 A.I).). The refusal of the Chinese
 (91 )
emperor led to hostilities between China and Aryana. Kadphises des¬
patched a formidable force , about 700,000 horse, to the Chinese
frontier of Sinkiang under one of his generals,Si by name. But the
long and tedious journey over a difficult and inhospitable country,
such as the Pamirs-told heavily on the general health of the soldiers
who, after sustaining, a crushing defeat, retired precipitately .As a
result of this defeat Kadphises was compelled to pay annual tri -
bute to the Emperor of China.

Not disappointed by his defeat, Kadphises tried to open new

avenues for his people. He established commercial relations with Indian
and the Roman Empire. As a result of royal encouragement Roman
gold began to pour in to his vast dominions at a rate that Kadphises
was in position to issue gold coinage in large numbers.

He, too, calls himself Maharajasa and Devaputra. The figure

of Shiva and the sacred cow Nandi on the back of his coins, and
the title of Mahishivara are evidences to show that he was inclined
to Shivaism. Kadphises’ reign saw the decline of the Graeco-Bactrian
art and the beginning of a new school of sculpture known by the
name of Gandhara (or Graeco-Buddhist) School. The Kharoshti and
the Greek alphabets were in vogue in his time, and both characters
appear on his coins.

Soter Megas. The history of the next ten to fifteen years is

by no means very clear to us, and there seems to have been a break
between the reign of Kadphises II and his illustrious successors,
Kanishka the Great. To about this period belongs the coins of the
nameless ruler, who is content to call himself Soter Megas, that is
the grest saviour.

He has been identified by some writer with Vima Kadphises,

while others contend that he was the military commander appointed
by Kadphises the second to rule over his Indian Empire.
(92)
Kanishka the Great ( e.I2() to 160 A.D. ). Kanishka, the
third king of this line, was the most famous of all the Rushan
king*. Under him the Rushan power attained its zenith. In the east
he carried his successful arms over a greater part of the Chinese
Turkestan, while in the south he over-ran the whole of northern
India as far as the jurnr.a and the Ganges or ( Gbazipu.r ) the Chamhal
and the Vindhya,

Ranishka was not the son of Radphises II. It seems probable

that he belonged to another tribe, the Little Yueh-chi as it is called,
that catne from Rhotan ( Chinese Turkestan ). It so appears that after
the death of Radphises II, some of his Indian provinces asserted their
independence, and when Ranishka ascended the throne, he was obliged
to conquer them once more. He first took Rashinir, where he laid
the foundation of a new city called after him, Ranishkapura. He
then extended his authority over the whole of northern India, from
Ghazipur in the east to the Vindhya Hills in the south.

But most of his time was spent in waging successful wars

against China and the wild tribes of Central Asia. He subdued the
chiefs of Rhotan. Yarkand and Rashghar. To the west he extended
his dominions at the cost of the Parthians. After a glorious reign ot
over forty years, Kanishka was at last murdered by his own officers
(probably in 160 A.D. ), who were, tired of his long and ardous
wars on all sides.

Kanishka had two capitals; one Purushapura (Peshawar), where

he spent his winters, the other at Capisa ( Bagram ) which was his
summer resort. Besides, he spent his early spring and late autumn
in the happy valleys of Nangrahar (modern Jalalabad).

It so appears that Kanishka had at first leanings towards Zoroast¬

rianism, but at the same time worshipped some Hindu deities as
well.

Later on he embraced Buddhism, ano like Asoka became an

active and liberal Patron of that faith. In pesliawar Museum a casket
 ( 93 )
wifh a portrait oi this king is still preserved which proves the above
fact. He convened the Fourth Council (l) of the Buddhist monks,
the last great assembly of its kind, in Kashmir or Peshawar under
the presidency of Vasumitra to settle the disputed points ot the faith,
and he tiimsell became the follower of the Mahayana (great way of
salvation) School. Buddhism can be divided into two distinct schools;
1 ) The Hinayana ( short way to salvation ) School or Southern
School adheres to the original faith preached by the Buddha himself,
and which still flourishes in Ceylon, Burmab, and Siam; (2) The
Mahayana School, or Northern Buddhism, has undergone many
changes and has developed into a new' religion.

According to this new School the Buddha is looked upon as

a divinity-a living saviour, ever present in the hearts of his follow¬
ers. The Buddhist of this new school adopted the Hindu idea of
Yoga also. This new faith finds expression in innumerable images of
the Buddha portraying every incident of his life. Before this the
Buddhist had not ventured to form an image of their teacher.

But though an ardent Buddhist, Kanishka continued to honour

other religions of his vast dominions as well. A curious medley of
his coins, decorated with the deities of Hindu, Bactrian, Greek and
Persian bears testimony to the fact. Besides Afghanistan, his coins
have been discovered from all over his extensive empire. In his
coins he calls himself the ‘"King of Gandhara and Roanao Rao ,
that is king of kings. In India his coins have been found in
large numbers from Mathura, Sarasvasti, Sarnath and Gurakhpur.
(1) The First Council was held near Rajagriha shortly after the death of the Buddha, under the
presidency of Kasyapa to settle and codify the doctrines of Buddhism. According to the
legend three of his disciples were selected to recite from memory the teachings
of the Sage, for like Jesus. Gautama had left nothing in writing. He simply taught
by personal conversation.

The Second Council was held about a century later under the leadership ol
Yasa at Vaisali ( modern Barah ) to correct some of the abuses that had crept
into the Church in the march of time.

The Third Council was held at Pataliputra by Asoka, in the eighteenth year
of his reign under the presidency of Tissa.
(94)
Buddhist art and religion flourished rapidly under the royal
patronage. The famous school of sculpture known by the name of the
Gandhara or Graeco-Buddhist School also made great progress during
this period. The most important innovation of this School is the
image of the Buddha. In the Early Indian School, the Buddha is never
represented in his bodily form, but his presence is depicted merely
by a symbol, such as his throne, footprints, umbrella, or an empty
seat under a banyan tree, indicating his enlightenment. The Buddha
in his teachings has never emphasised the existance of a creator or
of the individual self, but the, Mahayana School elevated him in the
course of time to the position of a godhead and the saviour of man¬
kind. The Graeco-Buddhist School of Gandhara, strongly impreg¬
nated with the influence of classical Greek art, at first started the
portrayal of the figure of the Buddha and produced the principal
events of his life, as well as the Jataka legends in bas-reliefs with
which the stupas were decorated.

Here in Aryana Buddhism absorbed many elements of foreign

culture. The primitive Buddhism was a system of practical morals
combined with a tender regard for the sanctity of all living crea¬
tures. Greek as well as other foreign influences stimulated mythology
and imagery, and these sweeping changes had became possible under
the patronage of Kanishka. It was under him that the centre of
Buddhism shifted from Pataliputra to Gandahara. His patronage to
this religion gave a renewed stimulus to the spread of that religion
in the vast Kushan empire , whence it found its way to China and
other Far Eastern Countries,

Kanishka was a great builder. He adorned his capitals with

magnificent buildings and monasteries. In Peshawar, his winter ca¬
pital, he is said to have built a beautiful Sangharama with a lofty
stupa of 150 feet in height, perhaps one of the most magnificent
temples of the world . Similarly at Capisi, his summer residence,
innumerable monasteries were erected. One of these Shalokia ( or
Srika Vihara ) was built by the Chinese princes kept as hostages by
Kanishka in his court. This temple was in a fair state of preser¬
vation when Huien Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, visited the country
 (95)
in 630 ( or 632 A.D. He describes with great satisfaction the wealth
)

and splendour of these monasteries and the innumerable stupas of

the Kushan period which dotted the country. The 35 metres statue
at Bamiyan, or at least the stupa at its feet which became the core
of later Buddhistic buildings in this famous valley, may be ascribed
to the efforts of this great king.

Kanishka was a liberal patron of men of letters, and his name

is associated with at least a dozen of these literary luminaries, fore¬
most among these being : Ashvaghosha, ’Vasumitra, Nagarjuna, and
Charaka, the last being the well-known court - physician. He also
extended his patronage to Agesilaos, the Greek and many other
foreigners.

With the rise of the Kushan power in the East and that of
the Roman in the West trade with that country received a great
stimulus. Trade route, thanks to the vigilance of Kanishka, were
now much safer and the luxurious life of the Roman nobles and
princes needed products of the East on an unprecedented scale. Fine
muslins, pearls and spices from India, and silk from China, were
amongst the most highly prized luxuries in Rome. Similarly there
was a great demand for foreign goods at the Kushan capitals. A
fine collection of these foreign goods comprising Greek and Roman
glasswares and Indian ivory plaques are now preserved in the Kabul
Museum.

The Graeco-Buddhist School of Art. We are not quite sure

of the beginnings of this famous school of art. According to some
writers it originated about the second century B.C. in Gandhara, a
name generally applied to the lower valley of the Kabul river, which
included the important cities of Purushapura (Peshawar), Pushkalavati
( Charsada ) and Hadda ( near modern Jalalabad ), while the districts
of Hazara, Rawalpindi, together with Taxila (ancient Takshacila) were
also sometimes included in it. Subsequent discoveries by M. Hackin
in (1936) at Qundtiz ( Kohin Diz of the old) and by Russian Archaeo-
legists, Mr. and Mrs. Traiver in the vicinity of iimnz. trace e
source of the School in Bactria. M. Hackin ns perhaps the firs
scholar to modify his opinion regarding the place ot origin o
art. His arguments in support of his opinion are embodied in an
article entitled “L’art Greco-Bactrien et l/art Greco-Bouddhique de
la Bactriane”. In this he tries to prove that this art originated in
Bactria and developed later on at the end of the fust centuiy an
at the beginning of the second century A.D., particularly during
reign of Kanishka, at Gandhara.

The characteristic “Gandhara art” was recognized for the first

time in 1833-31 when a circular stone relief representing the Bum m
was excavated by Dr. Gerad near Kabul. According to him the
inception of the School took place during the rule of the Parthians
in Gandhara though it was largely influenced by the Bactnan-Greek
culture. There is no doubt that the School attained its zenith under
the Kushans in the second century A.D., and faded out of existence
bv the end of the third century.

As we have seen Aryana was the meeting ground of various

civilizations. The fusion of Hellenistic and Bactrian ideas took place
for the first time in Bactria, shortly after the colonisation of the
province by Alexander the Great. It then found its way into India.
The artists responsible for the Asokan columns appear to have been
trained in the Hellenistic School of Bactria. According to Sir-John
Marshall the columns were the handiwork of Bactrian artists. During
the next century the same Bactrian School was responsible for the
realistic portraits and figures of the kings and divinities of the
Indo-Greek coins. Previous to that the Indian coins, puch-marked,
as ihey are generally called, were altogether crude, ugly and out of
proportion, having no pretentions, whatsoever, to artistic merits.
This contrast between the Indian and Craeco-Bactnan workmanship
is also equally apparent in the plastic art of this period. It is not
until the advent of the Graeco-Hadrian kings in Ind'a (at the
beginning of the second century B.C.) that the Graeco-Eactrian
influence really begins to make itself felt in the Indian art. This
influence manifests itself most prominently in the coinage. The stand¬
ard weight of the coins is the standard established by the Athens;
 ( 97 )
the legends are Greek: the types are taken from Greek mythology,
and are designated with grace and beauty peculiar to that art.

Later on the Graeco-Baclrian art underwent an inevitable

transformation on Indian soil. Bilingual legends, on the one side
Greek, on the other Kharoshthi, were substituted for the Greek. Little
by little other Creek peculiarities also faded, and Indian elements
took their place, which lacked fresnness and animation. 11ns process
of Regeneration continued, more rapidly when the Graeco-Bactrian
kings were supplanted by the Scythians. This Graeco-Bactrian influ¬
ence was not limited to the coins alone, it is also traceable in
other minor Indian antiquities of the age, such as gems, terracotta
etc.

Under the Scythians, who followed the Greeks in the first

century B.C., this influence of foreign elements in the Indian art
grew weaker and weaker, and gradually it degenerated into a crude
imitation of the Greek forms. But with the coming of the Kushans
in the first century A.D. fresh stimulus was given to Hellenistic
culture in Eastern Aryana. Gandhara became the centre of a great
empire and a meeting ground of various civilizations-Bactrian, Greek,
Indian, Buddhist and Iranian . The result was the birth of a new
eultur that found expression in a new schoal of art, known by the
name of Gandhara or the Graeco-Buddhist School. This School seeks
to express Buddhistic ideas in Greek forms. The images of Buddha
and other deities are modelled after the forms of Greek gods. The dra¬
pery and the ornamentations also are the copies of Greek models.

About 400 A.D., there arose another school of art, which gave
fresh impetus to the dying elements of the old School. This school,
Indo-Afghan as it is called, can be distinguished from the Graeco-Budd¬
hist School in spirit as well as in technique. The materials, too,
which the artists employ are quite different. I he Gandhara School
is using mainly a kind of soft bluish stone called clay-slate or
schist, which was querried from the hills of Swat and Buner
(93 ) , . t
to the north of the Peshawar District, representing the ancient,
province of Udayana, while the Indo- Afghan or more properly the.
Later Gandhara School employs mainly stucco or clay.

The story of the Buddha’s life was the principal theme of these,
two schools. It may be remembered that in the earlier Indian sch¬
ools the Buddha is never represented in human form; his presence
is indicated merely by symbols. In Gandhara, however, we are for
the first Lme face to face with his human representations. The head
of the Gandhara Budda is fashioned like that of Appolo, and in the
standing posture he is always robed in a thick garment reaching
his knees. The folds of the cloth are indicated by horizontal and
parallel curves in relief, resembling the Roman toga.

The earliest dateable representation of the Buddha occurs on a

casket found inside the relic chamber at Bimaran in Afghanistan, where
it was deposited along with some freshly minted copper coins of
Azes II (end of the first century B.C.). The second representation ap¬
pears on another casket found from the stupa of Shahhi-ki-dhen,
belonging to the reign of Kanishka the Great.

HUVISHKA ( c.160-182 A.D. ). Kanishka was succeeded by

his son, Huvishka, who was the Viceroy of India during his father’s
reign. Unfortunately the events of his reign are not clear to us.lt is
probable that he ruled for a period of twenty to twenty-five years.
Some are of the opinion that after the death of Kanishka his vast
empire was divided among his two sons -Vasishka, and Huvishka, but
of the former no coins have so far been discovered. The coinage
of Huvishka, like that of his father, exhibits a medley of deities, but
he seems to have been inclined to Hinduism, and worshipped Shiva
and Vishnu.

VASUDEVA (c„ 182-220 A.D.). Huvishka was followed by his

son, Vasudeva. The break-up of the Kushan empire begins with his
reign. In Afghanistan petty kingdoms arose on all sides,
some of which continued to reign independently in different parts
Kabul Muwuti; Funlukistai Room, women,
in water poo!6 < th Cii tury
 t 99 )
of the country until the invasion of the Ephthalites, which commen¬
ced in the fifth century A.D. Some of the smaller principalities
even survived thereafter in the mountain fastness of the country,
especially in the eastern districts, until the invasions of the
Arabs (7th century A. D. ). Vasudeva, too, seems to have been of
Hindu inclination and bis coins exhibit Hindu deities, such as Shiva
and Nana. He is said to have reigned for a quater of a century.
He lost his hold on Aryana, and had to be content with his Indian
possessions. His death occurred probably in 220 A,D., and from
this time onward the Kushan power declined rapidly.

We do not know claerly the causes that led to this hasty

break-up of the Kushan Empire. The rise of the Sassanian power in the
west may possibly be attributed as one of its chief causes. Another
cause which lei to the downfall of the Kushan power in Aryana was
. undoubtedly the increased interests of the last Kushan kings in Indian
affairs, leaving the country an easy prey to the Ephthalites snd
various other nomadic Turkish tribes, such as Juan Juan and 1 u-
kieu.

THE KIDARA DYNASTY.- After the break-up of the Kushan

power, Kidara, one of the Kushan princes, was able to establish
an independent kingdom in Aryana with Bactria as its capital . It so
appears, however, that he could not keep his hold on that province for
long, and had to be content with the southern portion of his domi¬
nions, that is Gandhara. He then shifted his capital to Peshawar.
Meanwhile the Sassanians, availing themselves of the disruption
of the Kushan Empire were able to lay their hands on Aeria and
Bactria, while the north-eastern parts of the country fell in to the
hands of the Ephthalites and Turkish tribes, and from here begins
a rivalry for power in Aryana between the Sassanians and the
Ephthalites.

The history of this period is by no means clear. According to

Chinese sources Kidara was followed by his son Kunkhas, and he in
his turn was succeeded by Piro. The last king of this line was
probably Varahran,
( 100 )

CHAPTER 12.
The Ephthalites.

The Ephthalites are known to us by various names. The Persians

an 1 the Arabs ealled them Habtal, Hayatal and llethak the Greeks
named them Ephthalites, while the Romans used to call them white
Huns. There is also much controversy as regard their origin. Some
look upon them as a branch of the Yellow Race, while others con¬
tend that they were Aryans, aa there language is decisively Indo-Eu¬
ropean.

According to the Chinese sources the original home of the

Ephthalites ( Hoa or Hoatun as they call them ) was the country north
of the great wall of China. They were first subjugated by a Tur¬
kish tribe, Juan Juan by name. Shortly afterwards they were able to
assert their independence . Gradually gaining power they were in a
position to turn their attention to foreign conquests. Passing through
Khotan ( Chinese Turkestan ) in their westward movement, they en¬
tered Aryana in about 425 A.D. and within a short time they were
able to establish a powerful empire extending from the Caspian Sea
to Khotan. This brought them into clash with the Sassanian Empire
of Persia. Bahrain Gur ( 420-440 A.DJ, the Persian monarch, appointing
Narse, his brother, as regent behind, came to meet the Ephthalites
at the head of a formidable force. A battle ensued near Merv. The
Ephthalites were defeated and their king, probably Ifathilito, was
slain, and his crown fell into the hands of Bahram, which he pre¬
sented to the fire-temple of Bactria.

Shortly after, during the reign of Yazdigird II ( 440-457 A.D. ) the

Ephthalites, repairing their losses, were in a position to assume offen-
 ( 101 )

give once more. This time they inflicted a crushing defeat on the
Persians. The Ephthalite king who led the expedition was probably
Mehrpur. who was able to regain the lost provinces.

Yazdigird, dying shortly afterwards, was succeeded by his son

Firoz. By this time Akhshnur ( Khushnawaz of the Persian writers )
had come to power in Aryana. Firoz, who owed his throne to the
assistance of Akhshnur, proving ungrateful, declared war on his be¬
nefactor. But he had soon to repent his lolly, for being defeated
he was forced to sue for terms. He gave his daughter in marriage
to Akhsnur and promised to pay tribute and war indemnity, leav¬
ing his son, Kubad, as hostage behind , for the faithful discharge
of the terms of treaty.

Shortly afterwards, Firoz, violating the peace treaty, luanched

a second attack. The Persian army was totally annihilated, while
Firoz himself was among the slain. This gave Akhshnur an oppor¬
tunity to divert his attention in other directions. Crossing the Hin-
dukush he took Capisia, Kabul, Ghazni, Pactia, and the whole of
Gandhara (c. 465 A. D) .

One of the Ephthalite tribes, Zabul or Zawal by name, settled

in Ghazni. Henceforth the district came to be known as Zabulistan,
that is the country of zabuls. Toramana and his son, Mihirakaula,
who came to power one after the other and extended their way
to the very heart of India, belonged to this tribe.

Akhshnur, whose capital was Tokhari, on the Oxus, dying shortly

afterwards, was succeeded by his Viceroy ( or Tagin ), Toramana, a
remarkable warrior, W'ho in the space of a shert time created an
extensive empire in Northern and Central India. Turanian’s conquest
of India began probably in the beginning of the sixth century. At
this time India w'as governed by a powerfuy king of the Gup.a dy¬
nasty, Skandagupta by name. But the magnificent fabric of
the Gupta Empire built up by the genius of Samudragubta and
Vikrmaditva could not sustain the onslaught of the Ephthalites e
b, their I,rave leader, Toramana. After an initial victory, Skanda-
gup,a sustained defeat after defeat, and by 500 A.D.Toramana was able to
shatter the military organisation of the Guptas and to wrest the whole of
Northern and Central India with its capital at Malwa. He thus
became the acknowledged paramount power of India. Hut I “tainana
did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his victory, dyrng in 50.
A.D. he was succeeded by his son Mihirakula.

MIHIRAKULA (c. 502-542 A.D.). Mihirakula, the last king

of this dynasty was a blood-thirsty tyrant, and massacred a large
number of the Buddhist monks and destroyed their monasteries. He
had two capitals; one at Sakala ( present Sialkot ), the other at
Balkh, while his military headquarters were at Bannan, in the
Hindukush. In the beginning of his reign he added Kashmir to his
dominions, and then led his expeditions in other directions It is
said that he levied tribute from forty countries extending from the
frontiers of Persia to Khotan, on the border of China. Malwa was
ruled by a prince of this line; while Valabhai and other kingdoms
in its vicinity were tributary to Mihirikula. His cruelty and oppres¬
sion. however , gradually alienated the hearts of his subjects from
him, who were forced to take up arms against him . In 532
A.D. under the leadership of Yasodharman, they defeated Mihiri¬
kula and made him a prisoner. Later on he was released, perhaps
by the intercession of his mother. Driven out of the plains of nor-
tliern India, he retired to the valley of Kashmir, where he remain¬
ed until his death (in 542 A.D.).

His death shattered the fabric of the Ephthalite Empire and involved
Aryana in confusion and anarchy. A few of the petty Ephthalite chiefs
maintained their independence for some time in the various parts
of the country. But they were absorbed gradually in the local
populace like the Greeks and other foreign elements. (1)

(1) I, is believed that the Rajputs of Central India and some other tribes in Western
India are their descendants-
 (103)
Meanwhile the Kushans, who, on the approach of the
Ephthalites, had taken to their mountain fastness, came out
of their strongholds, and succeeded in establishing independent
principalities in different parts of the country, such as Zabul ( or
Ghazni), Capisia, Bamian, Jaghori (in Hazarajat), Badghis, Gurjistan,
Badakhshan, and Fundiqistan ( north of Kabul). It so appears
that these petty Kushan chiefs, seeing themselves menaced by
formidable foes ( the Sassanians and the Turks ) from two sides
joined hands with the Ephthalites , and made common cause
with them. It is for this reason that these local dynasties have come
to be known by the name of Kushano-Ephthalites. A large number of
their coins have been discovered from Deh Mozang (near Kabul)
Rezah Kohistan, Ghazni Fundiqistan , and Kakrak Pass ( near
Bamian). lluien Tsang, the well-known Chinese pilgrim, who visited the
country in the early part of the 7th. century, speaks of some of
these local chiefs, who still held their own against heavy pressure
from the north and west. At this time a new foe had also appeared
on the scene.

The Turks, under their great leader, Istami had by non

attained great power in Central Asia, and threatened to wipe out
Aryana altogether. Simultaneous with their raids, Nausherwan, the
Sassanid, king, also invaded Afghanistan ( about 566 A.D. ). and
occupied Seistan, Balkh and Aeria. Not content with these, he cast
longing eyes on the southern and eastern provinces of the country
as well.

CHAPTER 13.
THE TURkS.

The" - Ttirks that pounced upon Aryana by the middle of the

sixth century A.D. are known to us by the names of Tu Chueh, Durko,
Turkut, Toukieus, and Assena. They were a branch of the great
( 104 )
Hioang-nu (or Huns). Their original home was the province of Irklij,
somewhere near the Altai mountains. About 533 A.D. they were
attacked by the third emperor of the Wei dinasty and driven to
the borders of the Juan Juan country, whom they served as smiths
for some time. Shortly afterwards a battle ensued between these two
Turkish tribes, which terminated in the total annihilation of the
Jaun Juan. Flushed with victory, the Turks under their chief Tumen
advanced, westward, and took the fertile valleys of the larim and
the Jaxartes. They then entered Aryanna, and were soon in a position
to establish their authority on all the territories from Mongolia to
the Black Sea (e.553 A.D.).

l umen did not live long to reap the fruits of his victories, and
alter his death his vast empire was divided between his two sons,
namely Mouhan and Istami.Mouhan got the eastern portion of the Empire,
while the western part fell to the lot of the younger brother, Istami.
The former called himself Khaqan while the latter took the title of
Yabghu, though he, too, is sometimes called by the name of Khaqan.

Istami, who became the master of the western part of his father
empire, is also the leader of the western Turks. In about 554 A.D.
he entered into an alliance with Nausherwan of Persia. In a joint
campaign against the Ephthalites, whose power was on the wane,
they won a signal victory. As a result of that the Turks took the
whole of north eastern part of Aryana, while the Persians laid their
hands on two of its most fertile provinces, that is Aeria and Bactria.

To cement this alliance Nausherwan married the daughter of

th 3 Yabghu. Their cordial relations, however, didjnot last long, as each
was jealous of the growing influence of the other. The Yabghu
despatched an embassy to the Court of Byzantium, and prevail¬
ed upon Justin II to attack Persia from the west. But Justin had
soon repent for his folly as to the Roman army sustained two
crushing defeats at the hands of Nausherwan as Nisibi and Dara, (573
A.D.). The death of Nausherwan in 579 encouraged the Turks to
launch an attack on Persia from the east. But they, too, were utterly
 (105 )
defeated at the hands of Bahram Chobeen, a Persian general of great
renown. Yabghu was killed in the engagement, while his son was
made a prisoner (588 A.D.).

In 630 A.D. when Huien-Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, on his way

* to India, reached Aryana, he met bung, the chief of the Western
l urks on the shore of the Issik-Kui ( Hot-water Lake ). Aabghu
, at this time, profiting by the war that was going on between
Persia and Byzantium, extended his influence south of the
Hindukush as far as Gandhara. His son, lardushad or ( lardu-chad )
was ruling at Kunduz. when Huien-Tsang passed that way. At the
instigation of Taginshah (lardushad) , the Chinese pilgrim visited
Balkh, which according to him was included in the dominions of the
king of Kunduz. In spite of the ravages caused by the Ephthalites
at Balkh, it was still a flourishing town, having no less than 100
monasteries, rich in relics of the Buddha and inhabited by three
thousand monks, The famous Buddhist Sangharamah. Nava Vihara
( popularly known as Nao-Bahr ) was still intact.

The days of the Western l urks were however, umbered, for hardlv
had the Chinese pilgrim left their territories, when the people of
Balkash rose in rebellion . As a result of this revolt l ung was
assassinated and his vast empire broke up into two rival Khanates.Their
* weakness and mutual jealousies gave China a chance to extend her
influence further west in the heart of Asia. Tai-tusung, the Chinese
* Emperor, took Turfan in 640 A.D., Kotcha. and Karajar in 648, and
by 640, the year of his death, he had reached as far as the Pamirs
and Transoxiana. But in Kunduz the Turks were able to held their
own. till the arrival of Qutaiba. the famous Arab general (beginning
of the 8th Century). This dynasty was known to the Arab writers
by the'name of Tagin Shahi or Tajin Shah).

< • »
( 106 )
CHAPTR 14.

The Kushuno-Ephthalite Dynasties.

We have seen in the previous Chapter that the Toukieu Turks

did not penetrate far into Aryana. and were centrist with their posses¬
sions north of the Hindukush. Only once we hear of them to have
extended their sphere of influence to the confines of Gandhara.
But their success in that direction appears to he of a very
short duration as no mention is made of them again in the country
south of the Hindukush. Similarly the Sassanians, in spite of
their best efforts, were unable to touch the core of the country,
where after the break-up of the Ephthalite Empire about a dozen
independent principalities had come into being.

1 hese petty dynasties are known to us by the general name

of kushano-Ephthalites. It is a pjty that this part of the Afghan
history is by no means very clear to us, and there is such a
divergence of opinion among the historians that we are not in
a position to write a connected story of this long period of over
two centuries and a half. The information obtained from these various
sources is meager and at the same time the writers differ from one
another not only in the names of rulers and dynasties but even
in the narration of some important events.

The Ratbils or (Tagin-Shahan). Huien Tsang, who visited the

country in the early part of the 7th., century A. D., speaks of
the local independent principalities at Bamian, Capisia (the Chin-
pin of the Chinese) and Jaghori (in Hazarajat). It is gathered from
his writings that the ruler of Capisia, whom he met at his summer
capital (Capisi) during his sojourns in about 632 A- D. was not
a Turk, as the Arab and some of the early Muslim historians
have thought him to he, but a member of the well-known
Kashitriya (Warrior) Caste, and that he had two capitals; one at
Capisi, north of Kabul, and the second at Udhanbhanda ( Und,
Bamiyang: Wall™Painting of ^Moon God, Covering the Root of the
Nich of the Buddah of 35meters.
 (107)
Waihand, Ohind, or Uwand) near Attock. The king of Capisia, accord¬
ing to the same source, held sway over the whole of Eastern and
Southern Afghanistan, from D.I. Khan and the Waziri country to
Arachosia and the Seistan Lake. He was in possession of no
less than ten principalities , fort roost tnung these being :
Latipu ( Lanipaka or Laghrnan ), Nagarahara (modern Jalalabad).
(Jan lhara (lower Kabul valley) and Takshacila (Taxila). He was a
brave , intelligent and benevolent king and loved his subjects
dearly, and was very popular with them, lie was a devout Buddhist
and was delighted to entertain the Chinese pilgrim as an honour¬
able guest. On hi- return from India (c. 644 A.D.) Huien-lsang met
the same ruler again at Und, his winter head-quarters, and was again
honourably received and entertained.

According to Chinese sources the first king of this line was

Hing - ye. who ruled in the biginning of the e ight century A.D. pro.
bably from 719 to 739. He was entitled Tele, delete or lekin. Al-
BitUni, the great .Mohammedian traveller, philosopher and geographer,
calls this ruling lynuty by the n i ne ot lurkni 3 t ihi, I urkiri S i.tai oi
Tagir; Shahi, while the Arabs put it as Ratbil>, Zaibals or Ranthils.
Again according to al-Biruni the first king of this line was Be-
ratagin and the last Lakaturrrian, who was cruel and dissipated. 1’his
led to his ruin, for his chief minister. Kaiar. an influential Brah¬
man, putting himself at the head of a popular rising, succeeded in
imprisoning and dethroning the king, probably in 850 A.D. Kaiar
usurping the throne laid the foundation of a new dynasty which
has come to he known by the names of Brahman Shahi, Kabul
Shahi. Hindu Shahi or Rayans of Kabul. ITie Ratbils professed
Buddhism, while the Brahman Shahs were Hindus and worshipped
Shiva and other Hindu deities.

We do not know when the Ratbils were forced to quit their

capital at Capisi and shift to Kabul. According to Wou-kong. another
Chinese pilgrim, who visited Gandhara between 751-769 A.D., Capisi
was still the seat of the local government and a flourishing town.
( 108)
Probably this state of affairs continued until 798 A.D. when Ibrahim
ibn Jabal, under orders from Fazal bin Yahya, governor of Khurasan,
led an expedition against Capisia via the Ghorband Valley. It is
said that during this raid Capisi, the Royal City, sustained irrepar--
able loss and was literally wiped out of existence. This made the
Ratbils to shift their capital to Kabul. There is again difference of
opinion as regard the original site of this historical town. Probably
the old city of Kabul lay to the south of the modern capital on
the river Lohgar, somewhere near the present village of Shivaki.
Kabul continued to be the seat of government both of the Ratbils
and later on of the Kabul Shahans till 871 A.D. , when Yakub bin
Laith, founder of the Saffarid dynasty took it and destroyed its tem¬
ples. The seat of government was then shifted to Gardez, where a
fresh wave of invasion under directions of Amro bin Laith, Yakub’s
brother, made the Kabul Sha'ni to quit Gardez and move east towards
Uhind, and from there a little later the capital was shifteil to the
interior of t e Punjab.

THE BRAHMAN SHAHAN or KABUL SHAHAN.- Kalar is the

first king of this line, but we do not know much about bis life.
He was followed by Santa Deva. or Sri Samanta Deva as he styles
himself on his coins. It was during his reign that Yakub bin Laith
invaded Kabul and forced Santa Deva to move south and make
Gardez the seat of his government.
our* , *

The third king of this line was Kamla or Kaltnu. It was in his
days that Amro bin Laith directed an expedition against him and
as a reullt of that Sakawand. the fine temple of the Lohgar valley,
fell into the hands of the Muslims, and the sefrt oi Kabul Shahi
government was .Shifted from Gardez to Uhind.

The fourth king of this dynasty was Bhim Pal. In his coins
- or
he calls himself Bhima Deva or Sri Bhima. He, ruled between 782
 ( 109)
i he fifth king of the Kabul Shahi was lshtpal or Rai Jaipal,
who was contemporary to Sabuktagin of Gahzni. His kingdom extend¬
ed from Lahgman in the west to Satlaj in the east, and from Kash¬
mir in the north to Multan in the south. It was he , who ,
alarmed at the establishment of a powerful Muslim kingdom to his
close vicinity in Gtiazni, took up arms against the Ghazna-
vids, and from here a, series of war took place between the Ghazna-
vids, and the Brahman Shahan, which ultimately resulted in the
complete ruin of the latter dynasty.
■t : ■:

The Coming of Islam.- In 622 the Arabian Prophet Hazrat

Mohammad was forced to leave Mecca and take refuge in Madina. Hardly
a century had elapsed when Palestine. Syria, Egypt and the whole of
Northern Africa, and even the distant Spain and Southern France, had
been brought under the banner of Islam. In the east, too, the war¬
riors of Islam succeeded in reducing Persia, Baluchistan, Sindh and
a great part of Central Asia.

By 644 A.B. the Arabs penetrated to the vicinity of Kabul, but

had to fall back, as here they met the severest resistance they had
experienced so far. No nation or race has shown more dauntless
courage or more indomitable energy than the Afghans in their wars
with the Arabs. I’he Arabs attacked Kabul no less than six time*, but
all their efforts were frustrated and each time they had to fall back
after sustaining havy losses, and Kabul remained in the hand of Kabul
Shahan until 871 A. D. when it was reduced by Yakub bin Laith.

It was in 645 that Yazdigird III of Persia, after his repeat¬

ed setbacks at the hands of the Arabs, took refuge in Khurasan. A
Contingent of PO.OOO Arabs led by Ahnif bin Qais followed him into
that country.
"’V1 <-,• •’

In the battle that took place near Merv, Yazdigird and Khaqan,
his colleague, sustained a crushing defeat. The unfortunate monarch
fleeing from the field of battle, came to Tukharistan and appealed
(110)
to China to assist him in his struggle against the Arabs. But the
Chinese emperor, was in no mood to send his forces to such long
distances. In his de-pair the Persian monarch came to Balkh. Abnif
availing of the opportunity, led a second expedition against him. A
battle took place in the vicinity of Balkh. Once more Yazdigird was
defeated and forced to seek safety in flight. He took refuge in the
Murghab basin, while his son Piroz fled to China.

In 652, during the Caliphate of II. Usman, Abdullah bin Amir,

one of the famous Arab generals, led an expedition into Khura¬
san. lie made Nishapur his military head-quarters, and from there he
sent expeditionary forces in various directions. One of these under
Rabi bin Zayad came towards Herat, and a second under Abdur Raman
bin Samirah made for Seistan. Abdur Rahman besieged and finally
captured Zaranj ( now Zahidan). from Seistan as his advance base
Abdur Rahman advanced into Zamindawar. Here in a temple devoted
to the sun-god at Zu'- (or Zuz) he got an idol of gold with ruby
eyes (653 A.D.).

Amir Moawiyah. after restoring peace, again appointed Abdallah

ibn Amir governor of Khurasans. By this time Herat and Balkh
had reasserted their independence. Abdulah, after reducing the cities
in retaliation issued orders for the demolition of the famous shrine
of Naobahar at Balkh.

In 706, howerer. the great Muslim conqueror Qutaiha entered

Merv and called upon its inhabitants to unite in a Jehad or
Holy War agair.st non-believers. He advanced as far as the borders
of Chinese Turrkestan. In 709 Niazak. prince of Badghis. raised the
standard of revolt. He sent his treasures for safe keeping to
the kmg of Kabul, and attempted to unite all the local rulers
against the Arabs. But he failed in his attempt and the rising
did not take the form of a national upheaval. It was therefore easily
put down, and Niazak. who had surrendered on terms, was
executed-
 (Ill)
In .682 A.D. Yazid bin Zaiyad with his brother Buobaidah led
an expedition against Kabul. It was a complete failure. In the battle
that ensued the Arab, met a severe defeat, and a large number of them
were either killed in the action or taken prisoners. Yezid himself fell
.fighting, while his brother was imprisoned. The Caliph was
forced to pay half a million Dinars to the king of Kabul as a
ransom for his army. Shortly afterwards a second expedition
under Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah for the same purpose, had to fall
hack after sustaining heavy losses both in men and materials.

When Abdul Malik became Caliph, he appointed Hajjaj

bin Yusuf governor of the east. Hajjaj equipped another expedition
under Abdullah to take Kabul. It is said that the king of Kabul
was ready to pay a million Dirham if Abdullah would give up
his expedition and return to his base- But Abdullah puffed up by
his recent mccess into an overweening confidence in his own
abil ties, both as a soldier and as a statesman, rejected the offer.
The king of Kabul did not think it advisable to meet this
grand army in the open field. Falling back on his capital, he destroyed
the villages enroute, so that the enemy should not be able to
get provisions for his large army on his way to Kabul. When
the Arabs reached the hilly part of the count!y, they found
their retreat cut off. Abdullah realising his folly sued for p?ace.
He was allowed to return on payment of three hundred thousand
Dinars, and the pledge that he would not meddle with the
affairs of the King of Kabul any more. Hajjaj, on hearing these
humiliating terms, disaowing the treaty, dismissed Abdullah, and
appointed Musa lbn Talha in his place.

In 698 Obaidullah ibn Abi Bakr came with a large force

towards Kabul. The king of Kabul again took to his old tactics.
When Obaidullah reached the hilly tract of his country, he sud¬
denly found himself cut off from his base. He was therefore
forced to make good his escape on payment of seven hundred
thousand Dinars.
(112)
In 700 A.D. Hajjaj sent a third contingent of 10,000 force
under Abdur Rahman ibn Ashas to reduce Kabul. The:king of Kabul
was again willing to pay annual tribute if his country was
spared But the offer was rejected. The same tactics were again
resorted to. When winter set in. Abdur Raman found out that
further advance was suicidal. He wrote to Hajjaj in this respect,
requesting him to postpone further advance till spring. Hajjaj
reprimanded Abdur Rahman of his cowardice, whereupon Abdur
Rahman rebelling, made peace with Kabul Shah, and returned
with all haste to Basra to punish Hajjaj for his impudency. In the
battle that ensued Abdur Rahman was defeated and he had to
seek safety in flight.

He took refuge with the king of Kabul, but died shortly

afterwards. This was perhaps the last attempt of the Arabs in
this direction, and Kabul remained in the hands of the Kabul
Shahi until the end of the eight century A.D,, when it was
reduced by Yakub bin Liith.

After the death of Harun-ur-Rashid in 806 A.D. the Abbasi.de

Empire could not maintain its integrity. The provincial governors
founded dynasties owing nominal allegiance to the Caliph mt
virtually independent. The first to assert his independence was Tahir
of Khurasan, who laid the foundation of the lahirids m Herat.
They were succeeded in 872 by the Saffarids. The founder of
this short-lived dynasty was Yakub, a brazier of Seistan. who
became a military adventurer of much celebrity. The Saffarids,, in
their turn, were subdued by the Samanids of Bukhara in 903 A.D.,
a dynasty which continued to exist in the heart of Asia for
about 120 years. The fifth prince of this line, Abdul Malik, had a
Turkish slave. Alaptagin by name. He was appointed the
governor of Khurasan. On the death of Abdul Malik, his patron
(in 961 A.D.), the chief officers of the State assembled to nominate
a successor.

Alaptagin voted||against Mansur, the minor son of the deceased

Sultan. He nevertheless, ascended the throne by securing, the majority
of votes in his favour.
 (113 )
V\ 1 er< i} < n Alaptagin finding his life in danger escaped to Ghazn
an outlying province, where aided by the warlike Afghans, he
was'1 able to throw off the yoke of the Samanids and lay the
foundation pf the famous Ghaznavid dynasty.

Alaptagin was succeeded by his son Ishaq, on whose death

Mansur of Ruknara acknowledged Ralkatagin, a former slave of
Alaptagin, as ruler of Ghazni.Balkatagin was succeeded by Pirai in 972.
ft was during the reign of this prince that the first conflict between
the Brahman Shahis and Gbaznavids took place, the former being
the aggressors.’

Jaipal, whose dominions extended to the Hindukush in the

west, was alarmed by the establishment of a powerftl kingdom in
his vicinity. He resolved to nip it in the bud. At the head of a
large force he crossed the Indus and came as far as Baghman.
Sabuktagin, who had succeeded Pirai in 977, was keenly7 watching
the movements of his oponent. He marched to meet him (9BB
A.D.). Before the armies engaged, a violent storm broke out at
night, which so disheartened the superstitious Hindus, that Jaipal
sued for peace. According to the treaty signed Jaipal agreed to
give up fifty fighting-elephants and pay a large sum of money as
indemnity. However, on reaching Lahore, his capital, he not
only refused to carry out the terms of the agreement, but
instigated by his Brahman counsellors, imprisoned the Sultan’s
envoys, who had come to receive the indemnity. This breach
of faith on the part of the Indian prince could not be tolerated by the
Sultan, who at once made up his mind to enforce the terms.
He left for his eastern border at the head of a large force.

Jaipal, who by now7 had fully realised the strength and ability of
his opponent, invoked the help of the Indian princes. The response
was encouraging, and all sent their quotas. Very soon the Baja found
himself at the head of a large and well - equipped force, 100,000
horse, and an immense body of infantry . Jaipal marched
(114)
northwards full assured of his victory. Once more fortune favoued
Sabuktagin, and the Indian army was routed with great slaughter.
But .Sabuktagin did not lollow his beaten foe inte the 1 alljab,
and was content with the possession of the Peshawar plain, ibis
was the end of the Kabul Shahis rule in Afghanistan.

Subaktagin, for the rest of his life, was busy in leading

expeditions in other directions ol his dominoins. After a reign of
twenty years he died at Tirmiz in 997A.D. in the 56th year of his
age.His body was taken to Ghazni and interred there. He was succeed¬
ed by Mahmud , who after deposing a younger brother, ascended
the throne in 999 A.D. The illustrious career of this Sultan and
his Indian expeditions fall outside the scope of the present volume.
 ( 115)

CHRONOLOGY OF
IMPORTANT EVENTS

c.3000 B.C. First Aryans'setiJement at Bakhdi (modern Balkh).

c.2,500-1500 B.C. General migration of the Aryans from Northern

Afghanistan to India. Media, Fars and other parts
* of the world.

c,2,(XX)-1,400 B.C. Composition of the Rigvedic hymns.

f
c. 1,000 B. C. Death of Spitarna Zorathustra, popularly known as
Zardusht or Zoroaster, whom most of the classical
and oriental writers concur in designating as a native
of Balkh.

B.C.745-725. Tiglath-Pilser II of Assyria extends his empire to

Arakosia (modern Kandahar).

B.C.577, Birth of Siddharta or Gautama Sakyamuni, the Buddha,

in India.

B.C.549. Cyrus (Kaikhusro) the founder of the Achaemenids,

attacks Aryana.

i 518 B.C. Darius Ilystaspes, king of Persia, ventures further

eastwards than Cyrus, and conquers the right bank
f of the Indus.

334.BC. Alexander the Great launches his Attack and crosses the
Hellespont into Asia Minor.

333 B.C. The defeat of Darius at Issus.

331. B.C. The battle of Gaguniela or Arbela and the collapse of

the Achaemenian Empir,
 (116)
330 B.C Alexander enteis Aria (modern Herat).

326 B.C. Alexander crosses the Indus into India.

323 B.C. Death of Alexander at Babylonia.

320 B.C. Chai dra Gupta, surnamed Maurya, lays the foundation
of a powerful empire in Northern India.

395-302 B.C. Seleueus Nicator concludes a treaty, of friendship with

Cbandragupta. by which he surrenders the whole of
Southern Afghanistan to , the. Indian monarch. 4

272 B.C. Accesssion of Asoka.

? *

‘C. ‘ • * '
. () BC. Bactria and Parthiu assert their independence. Diodotus,
the governor of Balkh lays the foundation of the
Graeco-Bactrian kindom at Bakhdi (Balkh).

232 B.C. Death of Asoka the great and the break-up of the
Mauryan Empire.

C. 227-189 B.C. Euthydemus conspires against Diodotus-11 and killing

him ascends the throne.

212 B.C. Antiochus .Ill appears in the east to reassert the

Seleucid supremacy over the revolted kingdoms of
Parthia and Bactria.

c. 189-167. Demetrius the Invincible extends his empire as far

as Pataliputra (modern Patna).

135 B.C. Debacles, son of Eucratides. is defeated at the hinds

of the Sakas and comes to Capisia, where he lays
the foundation of a new kingdom destined to last
for another century.

140 13U B.C. . i’he Yueh.che occupy the whole of Northern Afghanistan.

'85-80 B.C. Maues, the Scythian king, conquers'faxila.

 (117)

or R r ronauest of Kabul by Gondophernes.

c.35 B.G. L.onquesi ui Gandhara and
c,40 to 75 A. D. Kajula Kadphises conquer. Kabul,
Taxila
78.110 A.D. Vitna Kadphises rules Alghani.tan and northern India.

c.120-160 A.D. Kanishk. the Great rules over Central Asi

220425 A.D. A period of chaos and anarchy.

425 A.D. The- invasions of tne Ephthaliles begin.

405411 A.D. Fa.Hien, the Chinese pilgrim visit, India.

553- 649 A.D. The Western Turk, or Tonkien. establish

themselves in Northern Afghamsatn
tt i' or itif. Chinese pilgrim visits Afghanistan.
529 to 645. A.D. Hsuan-lsang, the Chinese p g
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