Alexander the Great's invasion of North-West India in 327/326 BCE; King Porus and Nanda empire then

As per historians, one of the earliest documented important political & military events of ancient India which seems to be part of world history, is Alexander the Great's invasion of North-West India where he won the battle with King Porus who ruled over a small part of North-West India, but after which Alexander turned back, giving up on further invasion into India. This happened in 326 BCE.

I am referring to the above as part of world history as Alexander the Great is a famous figure in world history. He seems to me to be the first important European invader of Asia, and is a figure that seems to be admired by at least some Europeans and some parts of Western society.

Along with Alexander's invasion and conquest of parts of Asia and installation of his satraps (governors) in conquered parts, there seems to have been a significant cultural and intellectual exchange between Greeks and Indians. I don't recall reading about any significant intellectual/cultural contact between Europe and India prior to Alexander's invasion of North-West India. Therefore I think this invasion is an important part of Indian history in the context of India's relationship with the Western world.

So I thought of putting up a short post on political and military powers of ancient India (Northern India to be precise) then, using Romila Thapar's Early India book and Internet sources as references. Such a post will serve as good notes for me to refer later on, if and when needed.

In 330 BCE, Alexander conquered the Achaemenid (Persian) empire then ruled by Darius III. This Persian empire, at its largest extent extended to parts of North-West India in 500 BCE as per this wikipedia map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Achaemenid_Empire_500_BCE.jpg . Thapar writes that Gandhara province was a satrapy of Persian empire at the time of Alexander's invasion. She writes that Takshashila (or Taxila as Greeks called it) was a famous city of Gandhara and Indian and Iranian learning mingled there. After Greek conquest, Greek learning got added to the knowledge in Takshashila. 

[I used to live for some years in rented flats in Takshila society in Andheri (E), Mumbai, https://www.99acres.com/takshila-cooperative-housing-society-mahakali-caves-mumbai-andheri-dahisar-npxid-r13832 , which is very close to Dharmakshetra Sai centre in Mumbai. Just goes to show how noted Takshila/Takshashila ancient city of North-West India is, even today in India due to its fame as a knowledge centre of ancient India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_ancient_Taxila gives some info. about it. 

Also, I have Parsi/Zorastrian friends called Darayus and Cyrus, both of whom are/were based in Mumbai. Darayus seems to be an alternate spelling of Darius, and Cyrus (the Great) is the name of the founder of the Achaemenid empire! As Iran came under Islamic invasion, there was a migration of Zoroastrians to India. The Parsis are that community that migrated from Iran to India many centuries ago. It is fascinating to see how Indian culture has somehow maintained some link to culture over two millennia old. That I think is a great feature of Indian society over centuries and millennia.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire tells us "It (Achaemenid empire) reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece. At its greatest territorial extent, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from the Balkans and Eastern Europe in the west to the Indus Valley in the east. The empire was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning a total of 5.5 million square kilometres (2.1 million square miles).[11][12]" [References: 11: Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 12 September 2016., 12: Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.]

Hmm. So Alexander conquered the largest empire of the world then, which was larger than any previous empire in history! 

After the conquest of the Persian empire, in 327 BC Alexander marched into Indian provinces of North-West India. Thapar writes that the Greek campaign in North-West India lasted 2 years. She writes additionally that the Greek campaign "made little lasting impression historically or politically in India, and not even a mention of Alexander is to be found in early Indian sources." She adds a little later on in this section in her book, "A significant outcome of Alexander's campaign, that was neither political nor military, was that he had with him literate Greeks who recorded their impressions of India, such as the accounts of his Admiral Nearchus and of Onesciritus. These are vignettes of how the Greeks saw northern India." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onesicritus informs us, "Onesicritus (Greek: Ὀνησίκριτος; c. 360 BC – c. 290 BC), a Greek historical writer and Cynic philosopher, who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns in Asia.".. "When he returned home, he wrote a history of Alexander's campaigns."

A famous aspect of Alexander's invasion into North-West India is his battle with Porus where Porus fought valiantly but was defeated by Alexander. For more, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porus . 

After defeat by Porus, while Alexander wanted to go deeper into India, his army refused to do so. A relevant extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_campaign_of_Alexander_the_Great is given below:

Alexander's march east put him in confrontation with the Nanda Empire of Magadha. According to the Greek sources, the Nanda army was supposedly five times larger than the Macedonian army.[4] His army, exhausted, homesick, and anxious by the prospects of having to further face large Indian armies throughout the Indo-Gangetic Plain, mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas River) and refused to march further east. Alexander, after a meeting with his officer, Coenus, and after hearing about the lament of his soldiers,[5] eventually relented,[6] being convinced that it was better to return. This caused Alexander to turn south, advancing through southern Punjab and Sindh, along the way conquering more tribes along the lower Indus River, before finally turning westward.[7]

[References:]

4. Bongard-Levin, G. (1979). A History of India. Moscow: Progress Publishers. p. 264.

5. The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian, Book VI, Chapter XXVII - The Answer of Coenus

6. The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian, Book VI, Chapter XXVIII - Alexander Resolves to Return

7. The Anabasis of Alexander/Book V/Chapter XXVIII

--- end wiki extract ---

Beas river in map: https://edubaba.in/the-indus-river-system/

So the Nanda empire of Magadha was the crucial factor in Alexander's army refusing to continue invasion deeper into India.

Given below are some extracts from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_Empire :

The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the 4th century BCE, and possibly during the 5th century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded their empire to include a larger part of northern India. 

...

Modern historians generally identify the ruler of the Gangaridai and the Prasii mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman accounts as a Nanda king. The chroniclers of Alexander the Great, who invaded north-western India during 327–325 BCE, characterise this kingdom as a military nuisance. The prospect of a war against this kingdom coupled with the fact that the Macedonians had been campaigning for almost a decade now and were clearly exhausted led to a mutiny among the soldiers of Alexander, who subsequently gave in to his soldiers demands.

The Nandas built on the successes of their Haryanka and Shaishunaga predecessors, and instituted a more centralised administration. Ancient sources credit them with amassing great wealth, which was probably a result of introduction of new currency and taxation system. Ancient texts also suggest that the Nandas were unpopular among their subjects because of their low status birth, their excessive taxation, and their general misconduct. The last Nanda king was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire, and the latter's mentor Chanakya.

--- end wiki extract ---

The above wiki page gives a "possible extant" map of Nanda empire in 325 BCE, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nanda_Empire,_c.325_BCE.png .

Alexander's governors could not hold on to his territories in North-West India for long as they came under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya. Given below is a relevant extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_campaign_of_Alexander_the_Great#Aftermath :

In the territory of the Indus, Alexander nominated his officer Peithon as a satrap, a position he would hold for the next ten years until 316 BC, and in the Punjab he left Eudemus in charge of the army, at the side of the satrap Porus and Taxiles. Eudemus became ruler of a part of the Punjab after their death. Both rulers returned to the West in 316 BC with their armies. In c. 322 (BC), Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha founded the Maurya Empire in India and conquered the Macedonian satrapies during the Seleucid–Mauryan war (305–303 BC).

--- end wiki extract --- 

[I thank author Romila Thapar and publisher of her book mentioned above, and Wikipedia, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website (short extracts from Romila Thapar's book mentioned above ) on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]