Greece

Author: Laxman Burdak, IFS (R).

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Map of Greece

Map of Greece

Map of Greece

Greece (ग्रीस) is a country in south-eastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan peninsula.

Variants

• Greece (Anabasis by Arrian, p. 81, 88, 93, 108, 112, 120, 142, 148, 173, 189, 234, 391, 394, 396, 406, 414, 420.)
• Greeks, passim. (Anabasis by Arrian)

History

Herodotus, a famous Greek historian, has described himself as a descendant of Atre (Atreya).

Some people in Greece consider Balram, brother of Lord Krishna as their ancestor. Yunan, the other name of Greece is after the name of Chandra Vanshi King Yavan who was from Satjit branch of Yadu.

Dr. Radhakrishnan, in his history of the world writes that the people, who were called Hellene in Greece, settled there about 2000 years before Christ and named their country Hellas. They were Aryans and brought their bards with them. They worshipped Sun, Moon and Goddesses like the Indian Aryans. In 480 BC Iranians conquered Greece. At that time King of Sparta was Leonidas.

Alexander's General Seleucus was from Hellene confederacy. After being defeated by Chandra Gupta Maurya, he gave his daughter Eellen in marriage to him. Seleucus, before returning, recruited a large number of Jats in his army and settled them in an area named Mawrya and a small island called Jatroti.

Indo-Greek History

The sources used to reconstruct the history of the Indo-Greeks are few and disparate, leading to much uncertainty about the precise state of the Indo-Greek kingdom and its chronology. Sources related to the Indo-Greeks can be classified into various categories: ancient literary sources from both the West and the Indian world, archaeological sources from the general area of present day Pakistan, Kashmir and North Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Bihar, and numismatical sources, which are abundant and well-preserved but often rather cryptic.

Western literary sources: Some narrative history has survived for most of the Hellenistic world, at least of the kings and the wars; this is lacking for India. The main Greco-Roman source on the Indo-Greeks is Justin, who wrote an anthology drawn from the Roman historian Pompeius Trogus, who in turn wrote, from Greek sources, at the time of Augustus Caesar.Justin tells the parts of Trogus' history he finds particularly interesting at some length; he connects them by short and simplified summaries of the rest of the material. In the process he has left 85% to 90% of Trogus out; and his summaries are held together by phrases like "meanwhile" (eodem tempore) and "thereafter" (deinde), which he uses very loosely. Where Justin covers periods for which there are other and better sources, he has occasionally made provable mistakes. As Tarn and Develin both point out, Justin is not trying to write history in our sense of the word; he is collecting instructive moral anecdotes. Justin does find the customs and growth of the Parthians, which were covered in Trogus' 41st book, quite interesting, and discusses them at length; in the process, he mentions four of the kings of Bactria and one Greek king of India, getting the names of two of them wrong.

Menander I (155-130 BCE) is one of the few Indo-Greek kings mentioned in both Graeco-Roman and Indian sources.

In addition to these dozen sentences, the geographer Strabo mentions India a few times in the course of his long dispute with Eratosthenes about the shape of Eurasia. Most of these are purely geographical claims, but he does mention that Eratosthenes' sources say that some of the Greek kings conquered further than Alexander; Strabo does not believe them on this, but modern historians do; nor does he believe that Menander and Demetrius son of Euthydemus conquered more tribes than Alexander There is half a story about Bactria (only) in one of the books of Polybius which has not come down to us intact.

In the 1st century BCE, the geographer Isidorus of Charax mentions Parthians ruling over Greek populations and cities in Arachosia: "Beyond is Arachosia. And the Parthians call this White India; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus. As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians."

According to Strabo, Greek advances temporarily went as far as the Shunga capital Pataliputra (today Patna) in eastern India:

"Of the eastern parts of India, then, there have become known to us all those parts which lie this side of the Hypanis, and also any parts beyond the Hypanis of which an account has been added by those who, after Alexander, advanced beyond the Hypanis, to the Ganges and Pataliputra." — Strabo, 15-1-27

The 1st century BCE Greek historian Apollodorus, quoted by Strabo, affirms that the Bactrian Greeks, led by Demetrius I and Menander, conquered India and occupied a larger territory than the Macedonians under Alexander the Great, going beyond the Hypanis towards the Himalayas:

"The Greeks became masters of India and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander — by Menander in particular, for some were subdued by him personally and others by Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus the king of the Bactrians." — Apollodorus, quoted in Strabo 11.11.1

The Roman historian Justin also mentioned the Indo-Greek conquests, describing Demetrius as "King of the Indians" ("Regis Indorum"), and explaining that after vanquishing him Eucratides in turn "put India under his rule" ("Indiam in potestatem redegit") (since the time of the embassies of Megasthenes in the 3rd century BCE "India" was understood as the entire subcontinent, and was cartographed by geographers such as Eratosthenes). Justin also mentions Apollodotus and Menander as kings of the Indians.

Greek and Indian sources tend to indicate that the Greeks campaigned as far as Pataliputra until they were forced to retreat following the coup staged by Eucratides back in Bactria circa 170 BCE, suggesting an occupation period of about eight years. Alternatively, Menander may merely have joined a raid led by Indian Kings down the Ganges (A.K. Narain and Keay 2000), as Indo-Greek territory has only been confirmed from the Kabul Valley to the Punjab.

To the south, the Greeks occupied the areas of the Sindh and Gujarat down to the region of Surat (Greek: Saraostus) near Mumbai (Bombay), including the strategic harbour of Barygaza (Bharuch), as attested by several writers (Strabo 11; Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Chap. 41/47[failed verification]) and as evidenced by coins dating from the Indo-Greek ruler Apollodotus I:

"The Greeks... took possession, not only of Patalene, but also, on the rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis." — Strabo 11.11.1

The 1st century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes numerous Greek buildings and fortifications in Barigaza, although mistakenly attributing them to Alexander, and testifies to the circulation of Indo-Greek coinage in the region:

"The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza. In these places there remain even to the present time signs of the expedition of Alexander, such as ancient shrines, walls of forts and great wells." — Periplus, Chap. 41

"To the present day ancient drachmae are current in Barygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander, Apollodorus (sic) and Menander." — Periplus Chap. 47

Indian literary sources: There are Indian literary sources, ranging from the Milinda Panha, a dialogue between a Buddhist sage Nagasena and King Menander I, which includes some incidental information on Menander's biography and the geography and institutions of his kingdom, down to a sentence about Menander (presumably the same Menander) and his attack on Pataliputra which happens to have survived as a standard example in grammar texts; none is a narrative history. Names in these sources are consistently Indianized, and there is some dispute whether, for example, Dharmamitra represents "Demetrius" or is an Indian prince with that name. There was also a Chinese expedition to Bactria by Chang-k'ien under the Emperor Wu of Han, recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian and Book of the Former Han, additional evidence is in the Book of the Later Han; the identification of places and peoples behind transcriptions into Chinese is difficult, and several alternate interpretations have been proposed.

Various Indian records describe Yavana attacks on Mathura, Panchala, Saketa, and Pataliputra. The term Yavana is thought to be a transliteration of "Ionians" and is known to have designated Hellenistic Greeks (starting with the Edicts of Ashoka, where Ashoka writes about "the Yavana king Antiochus"), but may have sometimes referred to other foreigners as well, especially in later centuries.

Patanjali, a grammarian and commentator on Pāṇini around 150 BCE, describes in the Mahābhāsya, the invasion in two examples using the imperfect tense of Sanskrit, denoting a recent event: "Arunad Yavanah Sāketam" ("The Yavanas (Greeks) were besieging Saketa") "Arunad Yavano Madhyamikām" ("The Yavanas were besieging Madhyamika" (the "Middle country")).

The Anushasanaparava of the Mahabharata affirms that the country of Mathura, the heartland of India, was under the joint control of the Yavanas and the Kambojas. The Vayupurana asserts that Mathura was ruled by seven Greek kings over a period of 82 years.

Accounts of battles between the Greeks and the Shunga in Central India are also found in the Mālavikāgnimitram, a play by Kālidāsa which describes an encounter between Greek forces and Vasumitra, the grandson of Pushyamitra, during the latter's reign.

Also the Brahmanical text of the Yuga Purana, which describes Indian historical events in the form of a prophecy, relates the attack of the Indo-Greeks on the capital Pataliputra, a magnificent fortified city with 570 towers and 64 gates according to Megasthenes, and describes the ultimate destruction of the city's walls:

"Then, after having approached Saketa together with the Panchalas and the Mathuras, the Yavanas, valiant in battle, will reach Kusumadhvaja ("The town of the flower-standard", Pataliputra). Then, once Puspapura (another name of Pataliputra) has been reached and its celebrated mud[-walls] cast down, all the realm will be in disorder." — Yuga Purana, Paragraph 47–48, 2002 edition.

According to the Yuga Purana a situation of complete social disorder follows, in which the Yavanas rule and mingle with the people, and the position of the Brahmins and the Sudras is inverted:

"Sudras will also be utterers of bho (a form of address used towards an equal or inferior), and Brahmins will be utterers of arya (a form of address used towards a superior), and the elders, most fearful of dharma, will fearlessly exploit the people. And in the city the Yavanas, the princes, will make this people acquainted with them: but the Yavanas, infatuated by war, will not remain in Madhyadesa." — Yuga Purana, Paragraph 55–56, 2002 edition.

Garuda (Heliodorus) Pillar of Besnagar

Archaeological sources: There is also significant archaeological evidence, including some epigraphic evidence, for the Indo-Greek kings, such as the mention of the "Yavana" embassy of king Antialcidas on the Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha,primarily in Indic languages, which has the same problems with names as the Indic literary evidence.

Besnagar Pillar of Garuda (Heliodorus)'

Text A:

"This Garuda-standard was made by order of the Bhagavata ……….Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a man of Taxila, a Greek ambassador from King Antialkidas, to King Bhagabhadra, the son of the Princess from Benares, the saviour, while prospering in the fourteenth year of his reign."

• On the other side of the pillar the following inscription is found:-

Text B:

• "Three are the steps to immortality which ………… followed lead to heaven, [namely] self-control, self-denial and watchfulness."

• From: Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1912, 129.

Urban remains: The city of Sirkap, today in northwestern Pakistan near Taxila, was built according to the "Hippodamian" grid-plan characteristic of Greek cities, and was a Hellenistic fortress of considerable proportions, with a 6,000 meter wall on the circumference, of a height of about 10 meters. The houses of the Indo-Greek level are "the best planned of all the six strata, and the rubble masonry of which its walls are built is also the most solid and compact".It is thought that the city was built by Demetrius.

Artifacts: Several Hellenistic artifacts have been found, in particular coins of Indo-Greek kings, stone palettes representing Greek mythological scenes, and small statuettes. Some of them are purely Hellenistic, others indicate an evolution of the Greco-Bactrian styles found at Ai-Khanoum towards more indianized styles. For example, accessories such as Indian ankle bracelets can be found on some representations of Greek mythological figures such as Artemis.

The excavations of the Greek levels at Sirkap were however very limited and made in peripheral areas, out of respect for the more recent archaeological strata (those of the Indo-Scythian and especially Indo-Parthian levels) and the remaining religious buildings, and due to the difficulty of excavating extensively to a depth of about 6 meters. The results, although interesting, are partial and cannot be considered as exhaustive.Beyond this, no extensive archaeological excavation of an Indo-Greek city has ever really been done.

Quantities of Hellenistic artifacts and ceramics can also be found throughout Northern India.Clay seals depicting Greek deities, and the depiction of an Indo-Greek king thought to be Demetrius, were found at Benares.

Greek provinces in India

From ancient authors (Pliny, Arrian, Ptolemy and Strabo), a list of provinces, satrapies, or simple regional designations, and Greek cities from within the Indo-Greek Kingdom can be discerned (though others have been lost), ranging from the Indus basin to the upper valley of the Ganges. Greek provinces in India according to Classical sources:

• Patalene - the whole Indus delta region, with an apparent capital in "Demetrias-in-Patalene;" presumably founded by Demetrius (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 55/ Strabo 11.11.1)

• Abiria - North of the Indus delta and apparently named for the Ahbira peoples, presumably in residence of the region. (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 55).

• Prasiane - North of Abiria and East of the main Indus channel. (Pliny, Natural history, VI 71)

• Surastrene - Southeast of Patalene, comprising the Kathiawar peninsula and parts of Gujarat to Bharuch (modern Saurashtra and Surat), with the city of "Theophila". (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 55/ Strabo 11.11.1/ Periplus, Chap.41–47).

• Sigerdis - a coastal region beyond Patalene and Surastrene, thought to correspond to Sindh. (Strabo 11.11.1)

• Souastene - subdivision of Gandhara, comprising the Swat Valley (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 42).

• Goryaea - smaller district located between the lower Swat river and the Kunar (Bajaur), with the city of "Nagara, also called Dionysopolis". (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 42).

• Peucelaitas - denotes the immediate district around Pushkalavati (Greek: Peucela). (Arrian, On India, IV 11)

• Kaspeiria - comprising the upper valleys of the Chenab, Ravi River, and Jhelum River (ie, southern Kashmir). (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 42).

• Pandouorum - Region of the Punjab along the Hydaspes river, with the "city of Sagala, also called Euthydemia" and another city named "Bucephala" (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1), or "Bucephalus Alexandria" (Periplus, 47).

• Kulindrene - as related by Ptolemy, a region comprising the upper valleys of the Sutlej, Jumna, Beas, and Ganges. This report may be inaccurate, and the contents of the region somewhat smaller. (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1, 42).

Migrations from Indian to north western countries

Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria) writes that We may now cite at some length from Pococke who has traced Indian migrations to all corners of the world solely through linguistic similarities. This extreme reliance on phonetic similarities seems to weaken his argument, but there is ample support, from other disciplines, techniques and lines of investigation, for his claims. Further, the large body of data, he has massed together cannot be brushed away lightly. When supported by other evidence, his thesis becomes incontrovertible. According to Pococke a great number of adventurous preux chevalier tribes from India migrated to Spain, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor,Persia, Colchis, Armenia and the Caucasus region, all of which provide distinct and startling evidence of Indian colonization in great profusio. We have tried (Appendix No.6) to pinpoint the Indian names and places of the origin of the migrated tribes as well as the altered forms of their names in their new settlements in other countries. The appendix indicating all this, is by no means, exhaustive. It may not be unnecessary here to point out that in some countries the presence of Indian tribes can be construed by their names, though distorted, while, in others their identity can be traced by place names in these transformed phonemic nomenclatures. All the more significant is the fact that almost all the tribes are considered Saca-Getae (Jats) or Scythians by the learned scholar.(cf. Appendix No.6).

Pococke believes that the major migrations took place from India as a result of internecine wars and religious persecutions in which the Buddhists had been the main victims.

To these may be added the Parasurama-Haihayas (Scythians) wars, Sagar's war against Haihayas and their allies (Sakas, Parthas,Pahlavas etc) the Dasarajna Wars, the Rama-Ravana Yudha, the Mahabharata war. Pococke lays special stress on the virulent religious strife for a long time between the Brahmins and the Buddhists for supremacy, leading to Brahmanic victory and the gigantic expulsion of the Buddhists. Pococke claims that this was the most crucial event which compelled migrations and

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The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of page 307

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banishment of the vanquished to the north-western countries. The Saga of the Kurus and Pandus, though ostensibly political was in reality, as Pococke contends, a struggle between the Brahminical and the Buddhistic parties. Profound night clouds this portion on Indian history. What Pococke regards as clear is that the emigrants coasted along the shores of Mekran, traversed the mouth of Persian Gulf. Adhering to the sea-board of Oman, Hadramant and Yemen (the Eastern Arabia), they sailed up the Red Sea, and ascending the mighty stream - the Nile - that fertilizes a land of wonders, founded the kingdoms of Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia and Ethiopia. Fhilostratus, Julius Africanus, Eusebius and Syncellus, the Greek writers assert that the Ethiopians were originally an Indian race, emigrated from the river Indus and settled in the vicinity of Egypt. This assertion cannot be dismissed lightly.

इतिहास

दिलीपसिंह अहलावत लिखते हैं ....मौर्य साम्राज्य के पतन के बाद भारत के इतिहास में विदेशी जातियों का आना बहुत महत्त्व रखता है। ये जातियां मध्य एशिया की रहने वाली थीं। इनमें बैक्ट्रिया (बल्ख) के यूनानी और शक और कुषाण प्रमुख हैं। इनके बहुत समय बाद हूणों ने भी आक्रमण किये जो बाद में लिखे जायेंगे।

यवन अथवा यूनानी - सम्राट् सिकन्दर की मृत्यु के पश्चात् उसके साम्राज्य को उसके सेनापतियों ने आपस में बांट लिया। सैल्यूकस ने सीरिया, पार्थिया, बैक्ट्रिया तथा पश्चिमी भारत पर अपना अधिकार जमा लिया। कुछ समय बाद उसका साम्राज्य नष्ट होने लगा। 250 वर्ष ई० पू० में पार्थिया और बैक्ट्रिया राज्य स्वतन्त्र हो गये। इसी राज्य के शासकों ने मौर्य राज्य के पतन के पश्चात् भारत पर आक्रमण आरम्भ किए। सिकन्दर के बाद भारत में दूर-दूर तक हमले करने वाला बैक्ट्रिया का शासक डेमिट्रियस था। उत्तर-पश्चिम भारत की दुर्बलता और अव्यवस्था का लाभ उठाकर उसने अफगानिस्तान, पंजाब और सिन्ध के कुछ भागों पर लगभग 175 ई० पू० में अपना अधिकार कर लिया। परन्तु उसकी भारत विजय बहुत स्थायी नहीं रही।

इसी दौरान बैक्ट्रिया पर युक्राटायडस ने अपना अधिकार कर लिया और फिर भारत की ओर बढ़ा। उसने डेमिट्रियस से भारत का कुछ भाग भी छीन लिया।

इस तरह से भारत की सीमा पर दो अलग-अलग यूनानी खानदानों के राज्य स्थापित हो गये। एक खानदान (डेमिट्रियस) के पास पूर्वी पंजाब, सिंध, पश्चिमी पंजाब आदि का भाग जबकि दूसरे के पास बैक्ट्रिया, काबुल, कन्धार, गांधार और पश्चिमी पंजाब आदि के भाग थे। इन यूनानियों का शासन बहुत समय तक चलता रहा। इनमें केवल दो ही शासक प्रसिद्ध थे। (1) मिनाण्डर (2) एनटालकेडस।

मिनाण्डर - यह डेमिट्रियस के खानदान का था। डॉ० वन्सन्ट स्मिथ के अनुसार यह 160 ई० पू० से 140 ई० पू० तक शासक रहा। यह शुङ्गवंश के राजा पुष्यमित्र का समकालीन था। मिनाण्डर एक

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जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठान्त-486

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बड़ा विजेता शासक था जिसने व्यास नदी को पार करके गंगा और यमुना नदियों के मध्य क्षेत्रों को जीत लिया। इसके अतिरिक्त काठियावाड़ और भडोच को भी विजय कर लिया। इसने पाटलिपुत्र पर भी आक्रमण किया परन्तु वहां से इसे पुष्यमित्र ने वापिस धकेल दिया। इसके साम्राज्य में अफगानिस्तान, पंजाब, काठियावाड़, सिन्ध, राजपूताना और मथुरा तक के प्रदेश थे। इसकी राजधानी शाकल (सियालकोट) थी। यह बौद्ध-धर्म का अनुयायी था।

एनटालकेडस - यह टिक्रीटाईड्स के खानदान से था। इसकी राजधानी तक्षशिला थी। इसके बाद यह यूनानी राज्य दुर्बल हो गया। बाद के शासक दुर्बल थे। उन्होंने हिन्दू व बौद्ध-धर्म अपना लिया और सदा के लिए भारतीय हो गए। डा० वन्सन्ट स्मिथ के अनुसार 140 ई० पू० से 120 ई० पू० के लगभग कई विदेशियों (शकों) ने भारत पर आक्रमण किए और इन साम्राज्यों को समाप्त कर दिया। परन्तु छोटे-छोटे क्षेत्रों पर इन यूनानी सरदारों का राज्य फिर भी रहा जिसको बाद में कुषाण लोगों ने समाप्त कर दिया।

ग्रीस (यूनान)

ग्रीस (यूनान) - सल्तनत यूनान को ग्रीस कहते हैं। ग्रीस अपभ्रंश है गौरेश का। गोर = गौरे, ईश = स्वामी अर्थात् यूरोप निवासी गोरे आदमियों का देश। इसीलिए महाभारत आदि में गौराण्ड करके पुकारा गया है। यूनान में जो सबसे पहला राजा हुआ उसका नाम माइनस् था। माइनस् अपभ्रंश है मनु का। मनु सबसे प्रथम श्रेणी का फिलोस्फर (योगी), लेजिस्लेटर (कानूदां) और चक्रवर्ती महाराजा हुआ है।

जाट इतिहास

विश्व विजय सिकन्दर के देश ग्रीस में भी जाटों ने अपना उपनिवेश स्थापित किया था, यद्यपि इस समय ग्रीस में उनका अस्तित्व नहीं पाया जाता, किन्तु उसके मोरिया (Morea) के निकट ज्यूटी (Zouti) द्वीप के निवासी जाटों के उत्तराधिकारी हैं।

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डॉ रणजीतसिंह के अनुसार ... देशराज अपने इतिहास में लिखते हैं- "उनका (जाटों का) विस्तार उत्तर में जगजार्टिस और पश्चिम में ईरान की खाड़ी तक हो गया था। ईरान के डेरियस के अलावा अपने नेताओं के साथ उन्होंने यूनान को पहले ही देख लिया था। समय पाकर तथा अधिक संख्या एवं अन्य परिस्थितियों से वे आगे की ओर बढ़े और रोम तथा इटली में पूर्व की ओर से आक्रमण करने लगे। उधर मध्य एशिया में हूणों का प्रथम उपद्रव खड़ा हुआ तब जगजार्टिस के किनारे पर बसे हुए जाट लोगों का कुछ भाग नए और हरे-भरे देशों की खोज के लिए यूराल पर्वत को पार कर गया और जर्मनी में जा बसा। उससे भी अधिक उत्साही लोगों को वहां पहुंचा दिया जहां से आगे थल न था अर्थात जमीन का खात्मा हो गया था, वह देश था स्कंधनाभ अथवा स्कैंडिनेविया।"

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डॉ रणजीतसिंह लिखते हैं ...शिवदास गुप्ता ने 'जाटों का विस्तार' के संबंध में अपने विचार इस प्रकार प्रकट किए हैं- "जाटों ने तिब्बत, यूनान, अरब, ईरान, तुर्किस्तान, जर्मनी, साइबेरिया, स्कैंडिनेविया, इंग्लैंड, ग्रीक, रोम तथा मिस्र में कुशलता, दृढ़ता और साहस के साथ राज्य किया और वहां की भूमि को विकासवादी उत्पादन के योग्य बनाया था।"

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डॉ रणजीतसिंह लिखते हैं...जाटों के विषय में सर्वप्रथम जानकारी देने वाले हेरोडोटस थे। इन्होंने अपने यात्रा विवरणों के अध्ययन के आधार पर यह लिखा है कि प्रथम दारा के पुत्र जरक्सीज के यूनान पर आक्रमण के समय उसके साथ भारतीय जाटों का दल था। इसी प्रकार बहुत से विद्वान भागवत और महाभारत के आधार पर यह मानते हैं कि अर्जुन के साथ में द्वारिका से आने वाला यादव कुलीन जाटों का समूह था और यह परिवार (जाट) घुमक्कड़ कबीलों के रूप में भारतीय सीमाओं से बाहर इधर-उधर बिखर गया। सिकंदर के आक्रमणों के बाद ईसाई तथा मुस्लिम संघर्षों के बाद वे पुनः ईरान के मार्ग से भारत में लौट आए। इस प्रकार के जाट पच्छान्दे कहलाते हैं। इलियट तथा डाउसन के विचार में इस्लाम धर्म की स्थापना के समय सिंधु प्रांत (शाक द्वीप) में जाट शक्ति का बोलबाला था। इस प्रांत के जाट शासक जागीरदार तथा उपजाऊ भूमि के स्वामी होने के साथ-साथ वैदिक संस्कृति के पोषक भी थे और वे आत्मा के अमरत्व में विश्वास करते थे।

See also

• List of ancient Greek cities

Further reading

• Ram Swarup Joon: History of the Jats, Rohtak, India (1938, 1967)

References

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