1 72 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
2 his mixed force of Greeks and Indians were either put to the sword, or other-
3 wise dispersed. The result of this proceeding was a massacre of the Indians
4 by the Macedonian contingent, King Porus the First being put to death hy
5 the new governor sent by Alexander, notwithstanding that that monarch
6 had given many practical tokens of friendship towards the Macedonians
7 at the time of Alexander’s invasion. The governor, however was himself
8 Chandragupta, 926 despatched on the approach of Chandragupta, who had established a new
9 ey power in India. This prince, a mere adventurer, had followed Alexander's
10 camp, in the Panjab, after his exile from the Gangetic valley, in the hope of
11 securing his aid in recovering his lost provinces, and, after the departure of
12 the conqueror, he not only managed to recover the Gangetic regions, but
13 expelled the old Nanda dynasty and seized Paliputra, the modern Patna.
14 Seleucus, after crossing the Indus, inflicted several defeats on Chandragupta ;
15 but, on a rebellion breaking out in Babylon, he was compelled to leave the
16 Panjab in order to protect his own territories, Previous to his departure he
17 qronty between the Concluded a treaty of peace by which the Panjab, with the valley of the Indus,
18 Si andtheIndian gg far ag Peshdwar, was ceded to the Indian king, who, in return, presented
19 the Greek general with five hundred elephants and a hundred war chari-
20 ots. In order to cement an alliance with the Indian king, Seleucus gave his
21 daughter in marriage to Chandragupta, and left Megasthenes, the learned
22 Greek, who subsequently wrote his famous account of India, as his ambassa-
23 dor at the court of Magadha. Although, from this time, the power of the
24 Greeks ceased to be dominant in the Panjab, there is no doubt that commer-
25 cial relations of some sort continued to be maintained between India and
26 Syria, coins of Seleucus Nicator having been found in Balkh and Bokhara.
27 : Tnvaton actioertt® In the year 206 B.¢., the Panjab, according to Greek and Roman historians,
28 soon iG: ’ was invaded by Antiochus, the grandson of Seleucus Nicator, called by
29 the Hindus Antiyako Yona Raja*. At that time the Panjdéb was ruled by
30 Asoka, grandson ot Chandragupta, a zealous Buddhist, whose edicts, engraved
31 in stone, are found at Shdhbdz Garhi (in the Peshawar District), the
32 modern name of Sudana, a very ancient Buddhist city, so called from a
33 Buddhist prince. His stone pillars and granite blocks, with inscriptions record-
34 ed thereon in the Pali language, have been traced from Orissa and Kutch
35 to a region beyond Kdbul, and the world is indebted for the collection and
36 translation of these inscriptions to the talents and labours of Mr. James Prin-
37 sep, the eminent Oriental scholar, to whom also is due the credit of having
38 first discovered a key to the ancient Pali characters. Antiochus concluded
39 a treaty of peace with Asoka, and Greek influence was thus maintained in
40 the Panjab. Further proof of this fact is furnished by the discovery of
41 Th oes Greek coins on the frontiers of the Panjab and Afghanistan.
42 eho f ae great inscription of Asoka is on a large trap rock to the north-west
43 G t k present village of Shahbaz Garhi, and contains the names of five
44 Anue La namely, Antiochus of Syria, Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt,
45 E res, Th onatos of Macedon, Magas of Kyrene, and: Alexander I of
46 rp s. fas e shel circuit of Sudana (Shahbaz Garhi), which General Cun-
47 rgnam has identified with the Polusha, or Fo-Sha, of the Uhinese pil-
48 oie Reine and Huen-Thsang, and with the Bazari of Arrian, is four
49 n extent, and the spot is to this day pointed out outside the eastern
50 gate of the city, where Asoka i
51 Brahmin, who sold them into sae mie daughter and-sou: as-alms) t0:¢
52 Invascn of the : :
53 teeter ‘ Rae en oo ene of Bactria, invaded the Panjab in the year 165
54 Pee Sindh, while he ntry as far as Patalé, the modern Hyderabad, in
55 also sent an expedition to Kach and Gujrat. His
56 * Namely, Antiochus, king of: Greece.
57 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com