Untold Indian history

Persian invasions of india

For millennia, the northwestern part of India maintained some level of trade relations with the Near East.  Finally, during the reign of Cyrus the Great (c.600–530 BC), the Achaemenid Empire expanded significantly both to the east and west, allowing the dynasty to take a direct interest in the region of northwestern India. 

The conquest is often believed to have begun around 535 BCE, during the time of Cyrus the Great (600–530 BCE).  Cyrus probably moved up to the banks of the river Indus and held the conquered territories under the Satrapi of Gandara (old).  Persian cuneiform: , gadara, which was also transliterated as gandara after the nasal "n" before the consonant was dropped in the Old Persian script, and simplified as gandara according to the Behistun inscription).  In the Babylonian and Elamite versions of the Behistun inscription the province was also known as Parauparasanna (Greek: Parapamisade).  The geographical extent of this province was wider than that of Indian Gandhara.  Various accounts such as Xenophon or Ctesias writing Indica also suggest that Cyrus conquered parts of India.  Another Indian province was named Sattagia (𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁, Thatagus) in the Behistun inscription.  It was probably adjacent to Gandhara, but its actual location is uncertain.  Fleming places it between Aracosia and the Middle Indus.  Fleming also mentions Maca as one of the Indian satraps in the region of Gedrosia.

Cyrus the Great's successor, Darius I, came back in 518 BC.  The date 518 BCE is given by the Behistun inscription, and is also often attributed to the safe capture of Gandhara in the Punjab.  Darius I later conquered an additional province which he calls "Hido" in his inscriptions (Old Persian cuneiform: , H-i-du-u-š, which was pronounced as the nasal "n" before the consonant was dropped in Old Persian script).  Since then was also transliterated as Hindu, and simplified as Hindush), corresponding to the Indus Valley.  The Hamdan Gold and Silver tablet inscription of Darius I also mentions his conquests in India.

The exact area of ​​the Hindu province is uncertain.  Some scholars describe it as an approximate area of ​​the middle and lower Indus Valley and modern Sindh, but there is no known evidence of Achaemenid presence in the region, and deposits of gold, which Herodotus says belong to this province.  are also unknown in the Indus delta region.  Alternatively, the Hindu may have been the region of Taxila and western Punjab, where there are indications that a Persian satrap may have been present.  There are few remains of an Achaemenid presence in the east, but, according to Fleming, the Bhir Mound archaeological site at Taxila remains "the most plausible candidate for the capital of Achaemenid India", based on the fact that many pottery styles are based on their  are equal.  Achaemenids in the east have been found there, and "there are no other sites in the area with great mound potential".

  According to Herodotus, Darius I sent Scyllax, the Greek explorer of Caryanda, to cross the Indus River, leading a team of spies, to trace the course of the Indus River.  After a periplus of 30 months, Skylax is said to have returned to Egypt near the Red Sea, and the seas between the Near East and India were used by Darius.

  Also according to Herodotus, the regions of Gandhara, Sattagidia, Dadyke and Aparita formed the 7th province of the Achaemenid Empire for tax-paying purposes, while the Indus (called , "Indos" in Greek sources) formed the 20th province of the Achaemenid Empire.  They formed the tax zone.

During its existence, the Achaemenids were constantly engaged in wars.  Either by conquering new territories or suppressing rebellions throughout the empire.  To meet this need, the Achaemenid Empire had to maintain a professional standing army that engaged and recruited personnel from all its satraps and territories.

  The Achaemenid army was not distinctly Persian.  Rather it was made up of many different races that were part of the vast and diverse Achaemenid Empire.  Herodotus gives a complete list of the races of the Achaemenid army, which includes the Bactrians, the Sakas (Scythians), the Parthians, the Sogdians.  Ionian (Greek), Egyptian, Ethiopian, etc.  These races are likely to be included in the Achaemenids.  Army during the invasions of India.