Greek Gold and the Indian Spice Routes
The first oceanic trading routes between the ancient Greeks and India began in around 130 BC, established by a Greek navigator named Eudoxos of Cyzicus, under Ptolemy VIII, who was king of the Hellenistic/Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. With the assistance of an Indian navigator, Cyzicus made the first recorded journey in c.118 BC. They sailed from the Arabian port of Aden (Eudaemon in Greek) to the west coast of India using the Indian Ocean's seasonal monsoon winds to carry them along.
Perhaps the first commodity that attracted the ancient Greeks was spice, and one of the first spices that was heavily traded was Piper nigrum, or black pepper (Sanskrit: pippali, Latin: piper) from Tamil Nadu in southeastern India. This was followed by other exotic commodities such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, rice, and gemstones.
The Romans expanded trade with the Tamil Chola, Pandyan and Chera dynasties, establishing trading settlements which would remain long after the fall of the Western Roman empire. Spices were not the only commodity that interested the Greeks and Romans - live peacocks were highly prized as garden decor in ancient Greece. In exchange, the Indians got what they wanted from the Greco-Roman world - gold, and lots of it.
Along with gold there were other Mediterranean commodities such as copper, silver, olive oil, and wine, but it was gold that the Indians were after. Rather than use the bartered gold for currency, as did the Greeks, the Indians were simply in search of new ways to decorate themselves. By the latter half of the first century AD Pliny the Elder said of this trade imbalance: "We must be mad bankrupting ourself for India" [5]. One notable manifestation of India's preoccupation with gold and self-decoration was in the Hindu tradition of the "sixteen adornments."
Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 332 BC, the Mauryan Empire was one of the largest empires to rule the Indian subcontinent, and a precursor for the modern nation of India. The golden age of the Guptas began in the Indo-Gangetic Plains in the 3rd century BC, with Chandragupta seizing conquered territories within the Indus basin that had been held by Alexander the Great. At its height in the 2nd century BC the Mauryan Empire extended to Kerala at the tip of India in the south, Afghanistan in the west, and Assam (Bangladesh) in the east.
War and conquest was a fact of life in the ancient world, and India's women were an integral part of the equation. During the time of Gupta, female warriors were common, but they had been celebrated in battle since the time of the Rig Veda in 1,000 BC. With the rise of the Mauryan empire, the city of Patna became the seat of power for the Indian sub-continent, and a symbol of the greatness of India. Patna was situated at the confluence of four rivers — the Ganges, Arennovoas, Sonabhadra and Hiranyawah — and the city became a major trading hub for the ancient world.
The Greek historian Megasthenes (350—290 BCE), who was also an ambassador to the court of Chandragupta, gives the first written account of Patna in his book Indika, which he refers to as Palibothra. Under Chandragupta grandson Ashokavardhan Maurya (alternately "Ashoka the Cruel" or "Ashoka the Great") transformed Patna from a city of wooden construction to a magnificent, 22-mile-long city of stone with over 64 gates.
Late in life, Chandragupta Maurya renounced his throne and material possessions to join a wandering group of Jain monks, ushering in the age of Jainism in India. Like his grandfather Chandragupta before him, Ashoka also renounced bloodshed to follow the teachings of Buddha, after witnessing first-hand the mayhem he had unleashed during the Kalinga War of Orissa in 264 BC.
Ashoka spread his message of non-violence (the "Edicts of Ashoka") on the "Pillars of Ashoka," which were a series of columns dispersed throughout northern Indian. In H. G. Wells' book "The Outline of History" he wrote of Ashoka: In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves "their highnesses," and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."
Punctuating this special time in India's history is the story of Rama who is one of the more popular folk heros and deities in the Hindu religion. The legend of Rama is told in one of India's greatest epics, the Ramayana. The tale of Rama's life, and his spiritual journey is one of perfect adherence to the concept of dharma, that of living a life of goodness and righteousness. But Rama is both a lover, and a warrior, one of the constant contradictions within the Hindu culture.
courtesy google
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