When Alexander the Great invaded the Far East, his armies were awed by the strange cultures, exotic animals, and unknown religions of India. Alexander promoted a fusion of cultures and his successors endeavored to adopt the cultures and blend into their conquered environments. So too did Demetrios I, a young king of Greek origin, establish the wealthy city of Sirkap, (in present-day Pakistan) where excavations reveal a rich fusion of Greek and Indian cultures.
Prelude to the Indo-Greek Empire
By 317 BC, in the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great, Chandragupta the founder of the Mauryan Empire (present-day north-western India) had conquered the satraps and defeated Seleucus I, a Macedonian general from Alexander's army.
Whilst the Seleucid Empire to the west was conquered, to the north-east of the Mauryan Kingdom lay the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, (250 – 125 BC) encompassing Bactria and Sogdiana (north of present-day Afghanistan and on the border of Uzbekistan). The King of the Greco-Bactra Empire, Euthydemus, originated from Magnesia, part of the region of Thessaly and he was the son of the Greek General Apollodotus. The Seleucid ruler Antiochus III attacked Euthydemus around 210 BC. Euthydemus lost a battle to Antiochus and retreated to the fortified city of Bactra, where he successfully resisted a siege, until Antiochus finally decided to recognize the new ruler. Euthydemus was succeeded by his son, the young prince Demetrios 1 in 200 BC, and Antiochus sealed a peace treaty with Demetrios, which included offering his daughter to the young prince, as his wife.
Location of the Mauryan Empire. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
