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Megasthenes
Megasthenes ( ; , died 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, indologist, diplomat, ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructed from literary fragments found in later authors that quoted his work. Megasthenes was the first person from the Western world to leave a written description of India. Biography While Megasthenes's account of India has survived in the later works, little is known about him as a person. He spent time at the court of Sibyrtius, who was a satrap of Arachosia under Antigonus I and then Seleucus I. Megasthenes was then an ambassador for Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator and to the court of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra (modern Patna). Dating for his journey to the Mauryan court is uncertain; Seleucus I reigned from 305 to 281 BCE for the loose range of years that Megasthenes' mission might have begun. As ambas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indica (Megasthenes)
''Indika'' (Greek: Ἰνδικά; Latin: ''Indica'') is an account of Mauryan India by the Greek writer Megasthenes (died c. 290 BCE). The original work is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo (''Geographica''), Pliny, and Arrian ('' Indica''). Reconstruction Megasthenes' ''Indica'' can be reconstructed using the portions preserved by later writers as direct quotations or paraphrase. The parts that belonged to the original text can be identified from the later works based on similar content, vocabulary and phrasing, even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes. Felix Jacoby's ''Fragmente der griechischen Historiker'' contains 36 pages of content traced to Megasthenes. E. A. Schwanbeck identified several fragments attributed to Megasthenes and compiled them into a collection in Latin in 1846. Based on Schwanbeck's work, John Watson McCrindle publish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pataliputra
Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajgriha to Pataliputra due to the latter's central location in the empire. It became the capital of major powers in ancient India, such as the Shishunaga Empire (–345 BCE), Nanda Empire (), the Maurya Empire (–180 BCE), and the Pala Empire (–1200 CE). During the Maurya period (see below), it became one of the largest cities in the world. As per the Greek diplomat, traveler and historian Megasthenes, during the Mauryan Empire (–180 BCE) it was among the first cities in the world to have a highly efficient form of local self government. The location of the site was first identified in modern times in 1892 by Laurence Waddell, published a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandracottus
Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: [ t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ">elp:IPA/Sanskrit">t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian subcontinent. His rise to power began in the period of unrest and local warfare that arose after Alexander the Great's Indian campaign and early death in 323 BCE, although the exact chronology and sequence of events remains subject to debate among historians. He started a war against the unpopular Nanda dynasty in Magadha on the Ganges Valley, defeated them and established his own dynasty. In addition, he raised an army to resist the Greeks, defeated them, and took control of the eastern Indus Valley. His conquest of Magadha is generally dated to ca. 322–319 BCE, and his expansion to Punjab subsequently at ca. 317–312 BCE, but some scholars have speculated that he might have initially consolidat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: [Help:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ]) (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian subcontinent. His rise to power began in the period of unrest and local warfare that arose after Alexander the Great's Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, Indian campaign and early death in 323 BCE, although the exact chronology and sequence of events remains subject to debate among historians. He started a war against the unpopular Nanda dynasty in Magadha on the Ganges, Ganges Valley, defeated them and established his own dynasty. In addition, he raised an army to resist the Greeks, defeated them, and took control of the eastern Indus Valley. His conquest of Magadha is generally dated to ca. 322–319 BCE, and his expansion to Punjab subsequently at ca. 317–312 BCE, but some scholars have speculated that he might have initially con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deimachus
Deimachus or Daimachus (; ) was a Greek from Plataeae, who lived during the third-century BCE. He became an ambassador to the court of the Mauryan ruler Bindusara "Amitragatha" (son of Chandragupta Maurya) in Pataliputra in India. Deimachus was sent by Antiochus I Soter. As an ambassador, he was the successor to the famous ambassador and historian Megasthenes. Both of them were mentioned by Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si .... Deimachus apparently wrote extensively on India, and is quoted as a reference in geographical matters, although his works are now lost. Strabo, however, disputed these figures, and some of the fanciful accounts of both men, although they also brought extensive knowledge about India. Modern assessments Although Deimachus's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sibyrtius
Sibyrtius ( ''Sivyrtios''; lived 4th century BC) was a Greek officer from Crete in the service of Alexander the Great, who was the satrap of Arachosia and Gedrosia shortly after the death of Alexander until about 303 BC. After serving in Alexander's army for a number of years, Sibyrtius was appointed by Alexander, on his return from India (326 BCE), governor of the province of Carmania. Shortly after, Sibyrtius exchanged this post for the more important satrapy of Arachosia and Gedrosia, to which he succeeded on the death of Thoas (Θόας). Following the death of Alexander in 323, Sibyrtius, in common with most of the other governors of the remote eastern provinces, retained possession of his satrapy, which was again confirmed to him in the second partition at Triparadisus in 321. In the subsequent divisions involving the eastern satraps, Sibyrtius was one of those who supported Peucestas against Peithon and Seleucus, and afterwards accompanied Peucestas when he joined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patna
Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the List of cities in India by population, 19th largest city in India. Covering and over 2.5 million people, its urban agglomeration is the List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, 18th largest in India. Patna also serves as the seat of Patna High Court. The Buddhist, Hindu and Jain pilgrimage centres of Vaishali district, Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodh Gaya and Pawapuri are nearby and Patna City is a sacred city for Sikhs as the tenth 10th Sikh Guru, Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh was born here. The modern city of Patna is mainly on the southern bank of the river Ganges. The city also straddles the rivers Son River, Son, Gandak and Punpun River, Punpun. The city ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamuna River
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Lower Himalayan Range, Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels and has a Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system of , 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. It merges with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Prayagraj, which is a site of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years. Like the Ganges, the Yamuna is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as the Yamuna in Hinduism, goddess Yamuna. In Hinduism, she is believed to be the daughter of the sun god, Surya, and the sister of Yama, the god of death, and so she is also known as Yami. According to popular Hindu legends, bathing in Yamuna's sacred waters frees one from the torments of death. The river crosses several states such as Haryana, Uttar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganga River
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly River. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the major estuary of the Ganges ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. The Edicts of Ashoka state that during his eighth regnal year (), he conquered Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga after a brutal war. Ashoka subsequently devoted himself to the propagation of "Ashoka's policy of Dhamma, dhamma" or righteous conduct, the major theme of the edicts. Ashoka's edicts suggest that a few years after the Kalinga War, he was gradually drawn towards Buddhism. The Buddhist legends credit Ashoka with establishing a larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Fragment
A literary fragment is a piece of text that may be part of a larger work, or that employs a 'fragmentary' form characterised by physical features such as short paragraphs or sentences separated by white space, and thematic features such as discontinuity, ambivalence, ambiguity, or lack of a traditional narrative structure. While it is difficult to classify literary fragments, a number of critics agree on a basic taxonomy of two types of fragment: those who intentionally use fragmentation as a form in their writing, and those that are fragmented because they are incomplete or because parts have been lost over time. As a form, the literary fragment has been employed during the Romantic, Modernist, Postmodern and Contemporary literary periods as a way to reckon with the challenges of modernity. Criticism and theory The literary fragment and the concept of fragmentariness presents several challenges to literary criticism, in part because of the difficulty in determining what const ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porus The Elder
Porus or Poros ( ; 326–321 BC) was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Jhelum River (Hydaspes) and Chenab River (Acesines), in the Punjab region of what is now India and Pakistan. He is only mentioned in Greek sources. Said to be a warrior with exceptional skills, Porus unsuccessfully fought against Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BC).Fuller, pg 198 In the aftermath, an impressed Alexander not only reinstated him as his satrap but also granted him dominion over lands to the south-east extending as far as the Hyphasis ( Beas).p. xl, ''Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare,'' J. Woronoff & I. SpenceArrian, ''Anabasis of Alexander,'' V.29.2 Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315 BC. Sources The only contemporary information available on Porus and his kingdom is from Greek sources, whereas Indian sources do not mention him. These Greek sources differ considerably among themselves. Identification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
