HOW ALEXANDER'S INVASION WORKED FOR THE GREEKS AND THE INDIANS

Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BCE, at the end of his brilliant campaign to 'conquer the known world' as he swept through Greece, the Mediterranean world, Syria, Egypt, Persia and Central Asia, dislodging a number of native dynasties and replacing them with his Greek lieutenants. India was the last stop for this voracious conqueror, whose armies were trained to annihilate any resistance to their advances. Alexander invaded India through the frontier kingdom of Takshashila whose ruler Oomphis (Ambhi) discreetly surrendered to Alexander to avoid the destruction of his kingdom. Alexander then, went on to fight the last major battle of his life against King Porus or Puru, at the Battle of Hydaspes (Greek name for Jhelum river).


This brief contact with the Greeks under Alexander has been written off by noted Indian historians as of little consequence to Indian history as it was not even mentioned in Indian sources. However, for the Greeks, it heralded a number of important changes, especially in their perception of India, which earlier depended only on the conquests of Heracles and the Greek God Dionysos, who both reached India. Alexander's brief encounter brought further information about the existence of a number of  tribes at the entrance of the Indian sub-continent. Though not recorded in Indian sources, the Battle of Hydaspes' accounts were written by no fewer than 16 of Alexander's companions, who,among other things, narrate the use of elephants as war machines equivalent to today's battle tanks. The Greek interest in elephants continued with later rulers, as Alexander's successor in his eastern territories, Seleucus Nikator sought 500 war elephants from Chandragupta Maurya to fight his western opponents.

Alexander's invasion also opened up the importance of India's ancient border, the Khyber Pass in Kabul-Gandhara region for its later rulers. Thus, on the conquest of Gandhara from the Greek invaders, Chandragupta Maurya fortified the region and kept a very tight vigil on the region. In fact, all great Indian rulers from Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka to the later Gupta dynasty till the Mughals kept a wary eye on this important outpost which exposed the rest of India to invasions.

It has been recorded by Alexander's biographers that apart from gifting him a large number of animals as tribute, Ambhi also presented to Alexander 200 talents (talent was a Greek weight term of about 33 to 50 kg much like the Indian Maund 'Maan') of coined silver. Indians, later on, discovered the Greek style of die-struck coinage with beautiful images of the king and Greek deities. These coins inspired later Indian rulers to adopt both the technique and the idea of using images of Gods and Goddesses on coins.

Lastly, Alexander's invasion brought one important fact which can be only appreciated in hindsight; the lack of Indian awareness of world affairs and events outside its immediate sphere, which cost them very heavily as invasions from outside were rarely analysed and understood by Indian tacticians about their possible impact on the country.

Source: https://www.dnaindia.com/