Megasthenes (302 – 298 BC)
- Greek Ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
- Ambassador of Selecus Nicator, who visited in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
- Worte Book Indica – Describing the situation of India – Economic, political and societal scenario.
- He is the first person to describe Ancient India and thereby called as the “Father of Indian History”.
- In INDICA – he wrote that Slavery is absent in India, Indica describes the Gangaridai region and the massive herds of elephants that made the Gangaridai unconquerable by any foreign king.
- Indica by Megasthenes is a description of India’s diverse culture. India was a melting pot of races. There were no foreign colonies, and there are no Indian colonies outside of India.
- There were seven endogamous and hereditary castes in India:
- Philosophers are people who think about things (believed to be most dear to the gods)
- Farmers
- Herders (hunters, lived outside villages and towns)
- Artisans (created weapons and tools)
- Military (secured the city and equipped for war)
- Overseers (carry out administrative tasks)
- Councilors and Assessors (wise people with a good character)
Economy
- Indian soil is rich in gold, silver, copper, and iron.
- A variety of tools, weapons, decorations, and other things are made from tin and other metals.
- India’s plains are extremely fertile, and irrigation is commonly used.
- Rice, millet, a grain called bosporum, other cereals, pulses, and other food plants are the principal crops.
- Because rain occurs in both summer and winter, there are two agricultural cycles every year.
- Rice, millet, bosporus, and sesamum are seeded around the summer solstice. Wheat is seeded in the winter.
- There have never been any famines in India.
- Greek Ambassador in the court of Bindusara.
- Sent by Antiochus I (son of Selecus Nikator)
- Provided information about the contemporary society and polity.
Foreign Invasion in India till Mauryan Age
- Achaemenian Invasion – 550 BCE (Persian)
- Macedonian Invasion of Alexander – 326 BCE (Greek)
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