Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Chapter 12 India Nations in the northwest of the Indian Subcontinent and China PDF Download

India, Nations in the Northwest of the Indian Subcontinent and China

12.1 Trade and Cultural Relations in the Ancient Times

So far, we studied about the transitions in the various fields such as historical, social, financial, cultural etc., over a prolonged period of about 4000 years. In this lesson we are going to study about the impact of the Indian culture on the other countries.

It is very significant that the Indians travelling or migrating to other countries never tried to impose their culture, religions and political rule on the local people. Wherever they went, they had cultural contact and exchange with the native people and it resulted into the enrichment of the native cultures.

The spread of Indian culture in the nations lying beyond the Hindukush mountains was mainly a result of the spread of Buddhist religion.

The Indian trade with distant lands is mentioned in the texts like 'Kathasaritsagara', Jataka Stories, 'Deepvamsa', 'Mahavamsa', etc. These texts narrate many stories of the sea travels and adventures of the Indian merchants. The Sangham literature mentions the boats of the yavanas who brought gold and carried back black pepper in exchange. There are a number of inscriptions reported from the western parts of Maharashtra, that mention the donations given by yavanas.

'Ophir', a port city is mentioned in the 'Old Testament' (Bible), which is supposed to be referring to 'Sopara' near Mumbai. The Indian teakwood and the Himalayan cedar timber was in demand in Babylon. Beside the timber, commodities like sandalwood, ivory, tortoise shells, monkeys, peacocks, pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, as well as black pepper, cinnamon and incense were also exported from India. A sailor's handbook of his sea travels is known as 'Periplus of Erythrean Sea' (Latin name: Periplus Maris Erythraei). The ancient port cities like Bharuch, Sopara, Kalyan, etc. are mentioned in this periplus. Also the important trade centres like Ujjain are described in it.

Beside the periplus there are other texts like 'Geographia' written by the Greek historian Strabo, 'Naturalis Historia' by Pliny the elder, 'Geographia' written by the Greek mathematician-geographer Claudius Ptolemy, 'Indica' by the Greek historian Arrian, etc., which are the sources of information about the Indo-Roman trade.

'Periplus of Erythrean Sea' mentions that Hippalus, the Greek navigator had accurately traced all the ports on the Erythrean Sea.

In the 1st century C.E. the Indo-Roman trade had begun to grow. The silk route and the ports on the south and west coasts of India played vital role in this trade. The records of the Greek historians mention of a group of merchants, who paid a visit to the court of the Roman Emperor Augustus.

The coin hoards found in Tamilnadu had Roman gold coins in it. Many of those coins show cuts taken for the purpose of assaying (for the checking the grade of gold) the gold. It means those coins were not in circulation as coinage but they were valued for its gold. It is said that Nero, the Roman emperor had paid one million gold coins for a single chalice of emerald of Indian make. Pliny the elder had expressed concern about that the Roman gold being drained into India. He compared India to an enormous sink draining all gold of the world. Strabo tells us that animals such as snakes, hunting dogs, tigers, elephants, birds like parrots and peacocks, things like hides and horns of rhinoceros, expensive textiles, pearls, ivory and spices, etc. from India were in great demand among the Roman elites.

Apart from the Roman gold coins, many other things like lead, zinc, corals, wines, olive oil were the Roman imports coming to India. The archaeological survey conducted in the sea near 'Bet Dwaraka' in Gujarat, in the year 2000-2001 has yielded amphorae of various sizes, anchors, potsherds and a lead ball, etc. The amphorae were used to transport olive oil and wines, which were imported from Rome. There are many archaeological sites, which have yielded evidence of the Indo-Roman trade. It confirms that the cities in Maharashtra like Paithan, Ter, Kolhapur, Bhokardan (Bhogvardhan) in the Jalana district were important trading centres.

Teacher's Note

In ancient India, merchants travelled far and wide on dangerous sea routes to trade with Rome. Just like today's traders who send goods to other countries, ancient Indian merchants also sent spices, pearls, and precious stones to Rome.

Exam Trick

Remember: Roman gold coins were found in Tamil Nadu because Romans loved Indian goods. It is just like how people today pay money to buy Indian software and services from other countries.

Points to Remember

Indian merchants never forced their culture on other people, they shared and exchanged cultures peacefully.
Texts like Jataka Stories and Periplus tell us about ancient Indian sea trade.
Rome imported many beautiful things from India like spices, pearls, and precious stones.
India was so rich that Roman gold was flowing into India in huge amounts.
Ancient port cities like Sopara and Bharuch were very important for trade.

12.2 India and Gandhara (Afghanistan and Pakistan)

It is apparent that geographically Afghanistan (Gandhara) was favourably situated on the trade route that linked India and Central Asia. It had close cultural connections with India from the ancient period of janapadas till the introduction of Islam. Whether it were the invaders from the Central Asia, or the Buddhist monks sent out by Emperor Ashoka, or the Chinese monks travelling to India, all had to pass through Afghanistan.

Emperor Ashoka's Period: We have seen that the 13th edict of Emperor Ashoka mentions the names of Greek kings, who were his contemporaries. It also mentions that people in their kingdoms were following the path of morality as outlined to his message of Dhammavijaya. Among these kingdoms was included the kingdom of Kamboja in Afghanistan.

The Ashokan edict at Kandahar is in Greek language and the script used for it is Aramaic. This inscription shows that Afghanistan was the integral part of Ashoka's empire.

Ashoka had sent 'Thera Mahyantika' (Majjhantika) to Kashmir and Afghanistan and 'Thera Maharakkhita' to the Greek (Yona) kingdoms, for spreading the teachings of Gautama Buddha.

Kushana Emperor Kanishka and Post-Kushana Period: Kanishka's empire had spread from Pataliputra in the east to Kashmir in the north and further to Central Asia. Purushspur (Peshawar) and Mathura were the two capitals of his empire. Ancient Kapisha (Begram) was an additional capital of the Kushanas, which was located on the silk route at a vantage point. The trade route from Afghanistan to China was under the rule of Kushanas. This route starting from Taxila extended further, crossing through Khyber pass to Bamiyan in Afghanistan and from there to China through the plateau of Pamir.

In the Kushana period, Buddhism reached China by this trade route. Some of the coins of emperor Kanishka carry the image of Gautama Buddha. It also has a legend which reads, 'Boddo'. This is the oldest representation of Gautama Buddha in an image form on a coin.

The Chinese monks like Fa-Hien, Yuan Chwang, who travelled through India have described the Buddhist viharas and stupas in India. There are numerous remains of viharas and stupas in Afghanistan. Among them a place called 'Shahji-ki-Dheri' near Peshawar in Pakistan was excavated. The importance of the stupa discovered at this place is underlined by the fact that it was built during Kanishka's period. It is also known as 'Kanishaka's Stupa'. According to prevailing tradition, the sacred remains in the box (karandaka) found there are of Gautama Buddha. The box has an inscription. It also mentions the name 'Agnishala', the main supervisor of the building work of 'Kanishka Vihara', in the precincts of 'Mahasena Sangharama'. This box is in the Peshawar museum at present.

The ancient 'Nagarhar', modern 'Hadda' near Jalalabad in Afghanistan was another important centre of Buddhism. There are several remains of stupas and viharas scattered over the place. The sculptures found around the stupas are excellent specimens of Gandhara style. 'Takht-i-Bahi' is another important place, which is enlisted as 'World Cultural Heritage'. It is in the Pakhtunkhwa province of Gandhara region. It is a part of Pakistan now.

The building of the vihara complex at Takht-i-Bahi had begun in the 1st century C.E. The work was continued till 7th century C.E. Among the remains discovered there are three stupas and other buildings.

Apart from these remains in Afghanistan, the famous 'Bamiyan statues of Buddha' are declared as the World Cultural Heritage. Bamiyan is 250 kilometres away from Kabul, to the west of it. There are about 750 caves hewn out in one of the cliffs of the mountain ranges known as 'Kuh-e-Baba'. There were very beautiful Buddhist murals painted inside these caves. The same cliff has two huge niches dug in it. In these niches were built two standing Buddha statues in stucco. One of it was 53 metres tall the other was 38 metres. The core of these statues was carved out in the original sandstone of the cliff. The core was plastered with several layers of mud mixed with straw. The folds of Gautama Buddha's robes were modelled in this clay plaster. His forearms were supported with the help of wooden armatures and fixed with wooden pegs. According to Yuan Chwang the statues were surrounded by colourful murals and even the statues were painted and decorated with gold coating and precious stones.

These statues were destroyed by Taliban, a fundamentalist organisation in 2001 C.E.

The government of Afghanistan, with the help of UNESCO and various associations from countries like Japan, France, Switzerland, etc. is working to restore this World Cultural Heritage. Some of the murals inside the Bamiyan caves were rediscovered, when the work of restoration began. Also, remains of a 19 metres long 'Mahaparinibban' image of Gautama Buddha were found.

According to Yuan Chwang's description there was a library of rare Buddhist manuscripts at Bamiyan. Archaelogists have indeed found birch bark and palm leaf manuscripts in a Bamiyan vihara.

Teacher's Note

Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhist monks to Afghanistan to teach people about Buddhism. Just like today, when Indian teachers go to other countries to teach, ancient monks also travelled to spread knowledge and peace.

Exam Trick

Remember: Afghanistan was on the Silk Road, so it was a meeting place of cultures. Think of it like a highway where people from different places meet and share their ideas.

Points to Remember

Afghanistan was on the main trade route between India and China, so it was very important.
Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhist monks to spread Buddhism in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The Bamiyan Buddha statues were 53 metres and 38 metres tall - they were giant sculptures.
These statues were destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban, but people are working to restore them.
Many Buddhist temples, caves, and sculptures found in Afghanistan show Indian influence.

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