Under Cyrus II (559-529 b.C.), Persia had become an Empire.

His dynasty is known as the Achaemenid. Their big rivals were the western Empires:

Babylon, Lidia, and Egypt: all of them besieged. India appears in inscriptions dated ca. 518,

where the territories belonging to Persia were listed (those under the flow of Indo, where today’s Sind is located). The ruler of Persia by those days was Darius.

The region of the Indo becomes then a satrapy.

Indian archers are to take a part: 1) in the Persian wars against the Greeks,

during Xerxes. The Persian emperor was defeated at Platea in 479 b.C.

2) The battle of Gaugamela (331 b.C.) together with Daryus III vs. Alexander the Great. Are once again defeated.

Persian cultural influence would last and well be seen until the times of Emperor Asoka.

Mahapadma Nanda first king whose transcendence is so big that Roman and Greek tales talk about him.

Born of a Sudra woman, killed the whole Ksatriya aristocracy that was between him and his interests.

Had eight sons who ruled one after the other until they were finally dethroned. All of them are remembered as the navanandah (nine –or new- nandas).

The navanandahs stole enormous loots from the surrounding kingdoms as well as the tributes from their own people. It is said they hid the treasures inside the currents of the Ganges.

The troops of the Nandas were counted in the highs of 20K riders, 200K infantry soldiers, 2K combat chariots each with 4 horses and 3K elephants.

336 b.C. Alexander was proclaimed king of Macedonia.

After conquering and unifying the whole of Greece, Alexander continues his campaign towards the east beginning with Persia.

By 327 he begins his campaign towards India.

Historians taken with him by the Emperor narrate very descriptively about this phase of the campaign.

Alexander departed in 327 from Bactria (todays Afgan-Russian frontier) with 30K men towards india.

As the fine strategist he was, he first tries to convince as many Indian rulers to pact with him to avoid fighting as much as possible.

Taxila immediately accepts. And now, a narration of the Alexander’s

Saga…

The cultural result of the contact of both worlds can be seen in the art of Gandhara.

In it Buddhist content and Greek style are fused. Astronomy is one of the main areas of co-

influence. Old Indian texts in the matter utilize Greek terms.

The Varaha-Mihira (VI C. a.D.), a quite famous Geometry/Astronomy/Mathematics treaty written by V-M, Greek technicalities are commonly used. It is considered one of the nine jewels.

The same happens in the Paulisa-Siddhanta and the Romaka-Siddhanta.

There is no single historical text written by any Indian source that even mentions Alexander and his campaign.

He is remembered in India nowadays not as “The Great” but has only commercial merits recognized.