If there is little written record of Baktria, then how is it known that Baktria conquered deeply India, and there was not simply a Baktrian trade and Hellenistic influence on India?
Now I'm curious about Baktria...
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If there is little written record of Baktria, then how is it known that Baktria conquered deeply India, and there was not simply a Baktrian trade and Hellenistic influence on India?
Now I'm curious about Baktria...
You know, I was Japan with my family during the summer for a few weeks. One place we visited was Nara, one of their first capitals. There was one really old Buddhist temple there, something like one of the first built in the country when the faith was introduced well over a millenia ago (the deer of the region, whose ancestors supposedly led some important Buddhist monk to the place where the first temple was built or something along those lines, are to this day protected, no doubt still regarded as sacred in some circles, and as a result quite tame, indifferent to humans, and often act like damn four-legged pigeons or seagulls...).
What caught our attention was the mention in the guidebook about - believe it or not - Greek-style pillars being imitated in the woodwork, as well as Helelnic influences in the appereance of the guardian deities around the main Buddha statue. And true enough, the wooden pillars holding up the ceiling had been cut in rather loyal imitation of that Greek stonework you can see in assorted museums and neo-classical architecture... Some of the guardian deity thingies seemed to have what looked like derivations of pteryges in parts of their armour too.
I quickly played connect-the-dots with what I knew of the interaction of the Hellenic world and the home haunts of Buddhism, and promptly remembered what I'd read of Baktria on the EB site which got me relatively curious on the subject too. Looking it up on the Wiki turned up interesting names like "Indo-Scythian" and "Indo-Greek"...
Which goes to show: EB is good for learning odd and interesting things. :rtwyes:
...speaking of which, is there some connection between what's apparently the Gallic word for king rix by what I've read in these forums (as in Verrix and Vergingetorix) and the Latin word for same rex ?
Yes, they are all indo-european languages so their origins are the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by Watchman
Foot
Nevermind next-door neighbours. Heck, we picked up the proto-German word for king and still use it almost unchanged (kuningas) and we're not even in the same language family...
Indian written records describe Greek invasions, and the current archaeology of the region suggests Hellenic style fortifications were built under their rule, beyond the old Mauryan capital in Pataliputra. The huge distribution of coins and markers on them also helps pinpoint certain kings (there are several dozen known Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings) to particular regions like Gandara or the Punjab.Quote:
If there is little written record of Baktria, then how is it known that Baktria conquered deeply India, and there was not simply a Baktrian trade and Hellenistic influence on India?
Don't forget coins with Greek and Indian text on them. I would say that the use of both languages is a good indicator of conquest.
I seem to recall that those guardian statues at the temple, had some connection to Greek-Buddhist artistic depictions of Herakles.
Well, many Buddha icons were found to have obvious resemblances to depictions of Alexander and Herakles, so that's not surprising.
It's not surprising that when Buddhism spread eastwards along the silk road, the Hellenic art style migrated with it.