THE CONQUEST OF PATALIPUTRA BY THE GREEKS ( EASTERN INDIA )

Then, after having approached Saketa…the Yavanas (Greeks),valiant in battle, will reach “The Town of the Flower-Standard”(Pataliputra). Then once Pataliputra has been reached and its mud-walls cast down, all the realm will be in disorder.

Indian texts
(Yuga Purana: Slokas 47-48)

By the time the Greek King Demetrius had risen to power in Bactria, India was no stranger to invaders from the West. First Darius I and then Alexander the Great would fix their eyes on this sub-continent. 

Yet, by the start of the 2nd century BCE, India was no longer the enigma that it had been for past invaders. By then – following amicable relations and peace with the Hellenistic World for the past 100 years – Greek knowledge of the country’s northern lands had significantly increased. Quickly those in the West began to realise how daunting a task it would be for anyone planning to invade that land – the Indian kingdoms could boast of having some of the largest armies in the world. Demetrius, however, remained undeterred. He saw an opportunity; a vast empire was crumbling.

 The great Mauryan Empire, whose past rulers, like Chandragupta Maurya and the Buddhist hero, Ashoka was coming to an end.    In the height of this empire, their lands and armies became so formidable that they had even threatened the Hellenistic World in Asia. By 184 BCE, however, that Mauryan ‘golden age’ had long passed.

After the assassination of Chandragupta’s last direct descendant by the usurper Pushyamitra Shunga, many Indians would voice their dissatisfaction to his accession. Internal turmoil inevitably followed.

 Hearing of this trouble in India, Demetrius saw a great opportunity.  He believed that he would save Northern India from this turmoil, reviving the once-great Mauryan Empire with himself as King.  Gathering a large army, Demetrius prepared to follow in the footsteps of Alexander. The second ever Greek invasion into India was about to commence.

Crossing over the Hindu Kush with a large army of Greeks and native Bactrians, Demetrius arrived to a hero’s welcome. To many Indians this Greek king was the man they had been waiting for.

With little difficulty, Demetrius soon made great progress into North-West India. As city after city realigned with him and his cause, the Greek King quickly began to establish his own kingdom on that part of the Indian subcontinent. There Demetrius would find wealth and willing new Indian recruits aplenty. Yet this was just the beginning.

After many successes, a part of Demetrius' army, under the command of Menander, marched towards Pataliputra. Menander was one of Demetrius’ greatest and most loyal generals.  Setting off from Taxila – the most prestigious city in North West India – he and his army would have likely faced constant opposition, fighting through hundreds of miles of territory loyal to Pushyamitra. Yet Menander and his army of Greeks, Bactrians and Indians, proved unstoppable.

Beating off any attempts to halt their advance, the Greek army traversed almost the entirety of Northern India. Finally, they would reach Pataliputra: The former Mauryan capital situated on the banks of the Ganges River. 

Soon enough, as predicted, Menander and his army tore down Pataliputra’s mud walls and the city fell to the invaders. The capital of the most formidable Indian Empire for the past 200 years was now in the hands of forces loyal to Demetrius; a Greek now ruled the most prestigious city in India.

  SOURCE: http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com