Central Asian Contacts established in the era about 200 BCE did not witness an empire as massive as the Mauryas, it is nevertheless recognised as a crucial time in terms of the close and extensive contacts between Central Asia and India. The Mauryas were followed in power in Eastern India, Central India, and the Deccan by a variety of indigenous dynasties, including the Sungas, the Kanvas, and the Satavahanas. Several Central Asian kingdoms that ruled in northwestern India after the Mauryas succeeded them. This article will explain to you about the Central Asian Contacts during the Mauryan period which will be helpful in Ancient History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

The Indo - Greeks

• Greeks, sometimes known as Indo-Greeks or Bactrian Greeks, were the first people to conquer India. The Indo-Greeks controlled a sizable portion of northwest India during the start of the second century B.C.
• Menander or Milinda was the most well-known Indo-Greek emperor (165-145 B.C.).
• He conquered the Ganga-Yamuna doab and held his capital at Sakala in Punjab.
• Nagasena, better known as Nagarjuna, persuaded him to embrace Buddhism.
• Menander bombarded Nagasena with inquiries on Buddhism.
• The Milinda Panho, also known as the Question of Milinda, is a book that contains Nagasena's responses to these queries.
• Due to the numerous coins that the Greeks produced, the Indo-Greek Empire is significant in India's history.
• The first kings in India to produce coins that can be directly linked to them were the Indo-Greeks.
• The first gold coins in India were produced by the Indo-Greeks. Hellenistic art elements were introduced to India's northwest border during the Greek era.
• This art form wasn't only Greek.
• After Alexander's death, it was a result of Greek engagement with non-Greek conquered peoples. The finest example of this in India was Gandhara art.

The Shakas

• The Shakas came after the Greek. There were five lineages of the Shakas, and they held authority in various regions of Afghanistan and India.
• Afghanistan is the first branch, followed by Punjab (with Taxila as its capital), Mathura, Western India, and Upper Deccan in that order.
• A king of Ujjain fought the Shakes in around 57–58 B.C. and was successful in driving them out during his reign. Self-referred to as
• From the time of his triumph over Shakas in 57 B.C., an era known as the vikrama Samvat is calculated.
• Vikramaditya rose to prominence after this point. Just as the Roman rulers used the title of Caesar to show their tremendous authority, everyone who accomplished anything significant took this title.
• This method has produced as many as 14 Vikramadityas throughout Indian history.
• The Shaka benefitted from Gujarat's seaborne trade and struck several silver coins.
• Rudradaman-1 (A.D. 130–150), the most well-known Shaka king of India, is remembered for the improvements he made to the Sudarshana in Kathiawar's semi-arid region.

The Parthians

• The Parthians took over after the Shakas did in northwestern India.
• The Parthians originated in Iran before migrating to India.
• In the first century, they merely controlled a limited area of northwest India.
• During the reign of this most well-known Parthian ruler, St. Thomas is reputed to have travelled to India to spread Christianity.
• The Parthians eventually assimilated into Indian politics and society.

The Kushanas

• The Kushans, also known as Yuechis or Tbcharians, were the people who came after the Parthians.
• North Central Asian steppes were home to the nomadic Kushans.
• From Khorasan in Central Asia to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, their Empire stretched from the Oxus to the Ganga.
• Two succeeding dynasties ruled the Kushans. A house of leaders known as the Kadphises established the first dynasty and reigned for 28 years.
• Two kings ruled it. The first was Kadphises-I, while Kadphises II extended his territory east of the Indus while issuing a significant amount of gold coins.
• A greater level of metallic purity than that seen in the Gupta gold coins was used in the early Kushan rulers' many gold coins.
• Mathura was the Kushans' second city in India, the first being Purushapura or Peshawar, according to coins, inscriptions, buildings, and art pieces discovered there.
• Kanishka built a monastery and a huge stupa or relic tower in Purushapura, which amazed visitors from other countries.
• The most well-known Kushan emperor was Kanishka.
• In the year 78 A.D., he began a period that is still utilised by the Indian government today and is called the Shaka era.
• Second, Kanishka showed Buddhism his unwavering support.
• The definitive principles of the Mahayana school of Buddhism were discussed at a Buddhist council he hosted in Kashmir. Some of Kanishka's successors had traditional Indian names like Vasudeva.
• He was also a great supporter of the arts and Sanskrit literature.

Impacts of Central Asian Contacts

• Nearly all aspects and areas of social life were affected by Central Asian influences.
• The Shaka-Kushana period saw the introduction of novel aspects in trade, agriculture, literature, art, ceramics, science, and other fields.

Trade and Agriculture

• Direct communication between India and Central Asia was established during the Shaka-Kushana era, which aided in the growth of commerce between the two regions.
• The Altai Mountains in Central Asia were a major source of gold imports for India. It's also possible that commerce with the Roman empire brought gold to India.
• The Kushanas were in charge of the silk road, which went from China via their kingdom in Central Asia and Afghanistan to Iran and Western Asia.
• Because of the taxes collected by the travellers, the Kushanas were able to establish a sizable, rich kingdom.
• The Kushans were the first kings in India to print gold coins on a significant scale, despite the Indo-Greeks having initially introduced gold coinage to the country.
• The Kushans supported agriculture as well. Parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Western Central Asia have seen the archaeological remains of irrigation systems.

Pottery and Architecture

• Red clay, both in simple and polished form with medium to fine fabric, was the characteristic pottery of this era (Shaka-Kushana).
• Sprinklers and spouted channels are the unique pots.
• Brick barriers were built in this era, which was identifiable.
• It was clear that tiles were used for both roofing and flooring, as well as burned bricks for flooring.

Indian society

• The Shakas and the Kushanas contributed new components to Indian culture and enhanced it greatly.
• They made a permanent home in India and became fully absorbed in its culture.
• They embraced these aspects of Indian culture since they lacked a script, language, or religion of their own.
• Over time, they underwent a complete Indianization.
• Since the majority of them were conquerors, they were integrated into Indian culture as the Kshatriya warrior class.
• The Shakas and the Parthians, according to the lawgiver Manu, were Kshatriyas who had lost their position and were thus regarded as second-class Kshatriyas.
• The post-Mauryan period saw the largest-scale integration of foreigners into Indian civilization during all of ancient history.

Military

• Better cavalry and widespread horseback riding were both established by the Shakas and Kushanas.
• During this time, it was popular to employ reins, saddles, and toe stirrups made of rope.
• Additionally, they introduced the tunic, turban, pants, bulky long coats, and long boots, all of which helped win wars.

Polity

• The Shakas-Kushanas spread the notion that kinship has a heavenly origin.
• The Kushan rulers were referred to as god's sons.
• The Kushanas established the "satrap system," in which the empire was split up into multiple satrapies, each of which was governed by a Satrap.
• By electing their governors, known as strategos, the Indo-Greeks invented the practice of military governance.
• To keep the conquered population under foreign control, military governors were required.

Art and Architecture

• The two most notable aspects of this era's art and architecture are the building of stupas and the growth of regional schools of sculpting.
• Stupas: A stupa is a large hemispherical dome with a tiny chamber in the centre that contains relics of the Buddha or another Buddhist monk.
• A path for circumambulation (pradakshina) around the base is enclosed by wooden railings that were later replaced with stone ones.
• The three largest stupas from this era are located in Bharhut (which dates to the middle of the second century and has red stone railings), Sanchi (three enormous stupas were built there; the largest was initially built by Ashoka and doubled in size in the second century), Amravati, and Nagarjunkonda (Andhra Pradesh).

• Schools of Sculpture: The Central Asian kings enthusiastically supported Indian art and culture and established new art schools with great passion.
• Masons and other craftspeople with training from many institutions and nations were brought together by the Kushana kingdom.
• Particularly in Gandhara, on India's northern border, Indian artisans interacted with Greek and Roman craftspeople.
• The Gandhara School of Art, the Mathura School of Art, and the Amaravati School of Art were the three major schools of sculpture that emerged during this time.

Literature and Learning

• Sanskrit was patronised and fostered by the Central Asian emperors.
• In Kathiawar, a Rudradaman inscription is the first example of the Kavya style.
• The Kushanas provided support to some of the greatest creative writers, including Asvaghosha.
• A biography of the Buddha was written by Asvaghosha and is titled the Buddhacharita.
• Additionally, he wrote the Sanskrit Kavya poem Saundarananda.
• As Mahayana Buddhism advanced, a large number of avadanas were composed.
• These books were written in a hybrid Buddhist and Sanskrit, and their primary goal was to spread the Mahayana Buddhist doctrines.
• The Mahavastu and the Divyavadana were two notable novels in this genre.

Science and Technology

• The interactions with the Greeks were advantageous for Indian astrology and astronomy.
• Horasastra, the Sanskrit word for astrology, was taken from the Greek word "horoscope."
• Ancient Indian doctors mostly used plants, or "oshadi" in Sanskrit, to treat illnesses, giving rise to the word "aushadhi" for the type of medication they prescribed.
• Greeks made significant contributions to the advancement of chemistry, botany, and medicine.
• It appears that around this time leather object production (such as boot production) got its start.
• The copper and gold coins resembled Roman coinage.
• Foreign methods had a particular effect on glassmaking during this time period, and glassmaking in India had never advanced to this level before.

Religion

• A few of the foreign tyrants adopted Vaishnavism, or the worship of Vishnu, the deity of preservation and protection.
• In Madhya Pradesh, close to Vidisha, the Greek envoy Hellodorus erected a monument in honour of Vishnu.
• A select few others converted to Buddhism, such as the Greek tyrant Menander.
• Shiva and the Buddha are both shown on Kushana coins, which is evidence that these emperors revered both of these deities.
• The Central Asian interactions had an impact on Indian faiths, particularly Buddhism, which is where Mahayana Buddhism originated.
• Buddhism was once too abstract and puritanical for outsiders.
• The current Buddhist schools' emphasis on Buddhism's philosophical tenets was lost on them.
• As a result, a new school of Buddhism known as the Mahayana, also known as the Great Wheel, emerged and the Buddha's image started to be worshipped.
• This sect extended its doors for all parts of mankind.
• The members of the Hinayana sect or the Small Wheel came to be characterised as those who did not adhere to this (just discovered) group.
• In addition to organising the fourth Buddhist council in Srinagar, Kanishka was a big supporter of the Mahayana school of Buddhism and built several stupas to preserve the Buddha's legacy.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the Maurya Empire was not as large as the Central Asian Relations created in the period about 200 BCE, it is acknowledged as an important period in terms of the tight and wide contacts between Central Asia and India. The Sungas, the Kanvas, and the Satavahanas were some of the local kings who succeeded the Mauryas in Eastern India, Central India, and the Deccan. The Mauryas in northwest India were replaced by a number of Central Asian kingdoms.