The study explores the impact of the Bactrian-Greeks on the region of Kashmir c. 200 BCE after Alexander's death and the partition of his empire by Alexander's generals. The Hellenic realm of Seleucus and the formation of Bactria as an important satrapy prepared the way for the dissemination of Greek culture in Kashmir. The study addresses different kinds of evidence, such as archaeological, numismatic, literary and anthropological in order to support the evidence of presence and predominance of Bactrian-Greeks in Kashmir. Greek coins, pottery, terracotta figurines and other such finds at sites like Semthan, and references in texts like the Rājataraṅgiṇī, give ample support to this cultural integration. The rule of important Indo-Greek kings like Euthydemus, Demetrius and Menander is discussed, and their role in the development of the region and the extent of their empires. The study also addresses the impact of these rulers on the local infrastructure including the building of dams and irrigation systems that were well established in Zoroastrian practices and in the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire. It explores the effect of Greek culture on the social and cultural life of Kashmir and the lessons learnt from Ibn Khaldun on the imitation of conquerers by the conquered. The discussion of Greek presence in Kashmir and the location of Indo-Greek capitals near Kashmir are noted as significant factors in cultural exchange; in many cases the Kashmiri place names are of Greek origin or have an Indo-Greek connection. Among the significant features of the Bactrian-Greek influence was the use of the coins with inscriptions on the Indian subcontinent, including Kashmir.
1. For details about Indo-Greeks and their occupation of the north-west of India, see Taran, WW, The Greeks in Bactria and India, New Delhi, 1980, p.155.2. Ibid.3. Holt, Frank L. Alexander the Great and Bactria. Leiden, 1993, p. 2.4. Ibrahim, Asma. “Greek Rulers in the land of Sind.” Yavanika, No. 3, 1993, p.92.5. Indian Archaeology − A Review, 1980–816. Siudmak, John. The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influ¬ences. Leiden, 2013, p. 32.7. Kak, RC. Handbook of the Archaeological and Numismatic Sections of the Sri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar. Calcutta, 1923, pp. 58, 125–130.8. Pandit, RS (tr.). Kalhana’s Rājataraṅgiṇī.New Delhi, 1968, I: 115.9. Witzel, Micheal. “The Kashmiri Pandits: Their Early History.” In: Aparna Rao (ed.), The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? New Delhi, 2008, pp. 53–54.10. Kalhana, I: 153.11. Ibid.12. At least from the period of the Śakas and Kuṣāṇas, Sanskrit became the language of religion as well as the official language of Kashmir. The Tibetan and Chinese writers refer to many Sanskrit Buddhist literary compositions written during the Kuṣāṇa period. The Sanskrit continued to enjoy the position of official language and the language of dominant religion up to fourteenth century CE.13. Sohini also suggests that King Damodara in the Rājataraṅgiṇī might be Dem¬etrius. Sohini, SV. “The Chavillakara Fragments in Kalhana’s Rājataraṅgiṇī.” Journal of the Bihar Research Society (JBRS), Vol. 36, No. 1/2, 1950, pp. 71–75.14. Taran, WW.The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge, 1938, p. 155.15. Kalhana, I: 157.16. Ibid, I: 159.17. Taran, op. Cit., pp. 102–3.18. Ibid, 238.19. Milindapanha, pp. 82–83.20. Taran, Op.Cit., p.267.21. Ibid.22. Ibid., p. 49.23. Ibid, p. 11.24. Ibid.25. Kak, Op. cit26. Ibid.27. Bopearachchi, Osmund. “Contribution of Greeks to the Art and Culture of Bactria and India: New Archaeological Evidence.” In: The Indian Historical Review, Vol. XXXII. No. I, 2005, p.114.28. For the frequent references of ‘dinnara’ by Kalhana, see Kalhana (1979), III: 103; IV: 495, 617, 898; V: 71, 84 sq; 87, 89, 108, 116; VI: 38; VII: 163, 406 sq; 500, 950, 1118, 1220; VIII: 124, 151sq, 883, 3335.29. Siudmak, John. The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and Its Influences. Leiden: Brill, 2013, pp. 31–35.30. Taran, W. W. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1938.31. Holt, Frank L. Alexander the Great and Bactria. Leiden: Brill, 1988.32. Siudmak, John. The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and Its Influences. Leiden: Brill, 2013.33. Boardman, John. The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity. Princeton University Press, 1994.34. Marshall, John. Taxila. 3 Vols. Cambridge University Press, 1951.35. Behrendt, Kurt A. The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007.36. Bopearachchi, Osmund. "Contribution of Greeks to the Art and Culture of Bactria and India: New Archaeological Evidence." The Indian Historical Review 32, no. 1, 2005, pp. 103–144.
