the persian domination and its impact on gandhara

Vol. 32, No.2, December 2009

-5-

The Persian Domination and its Impact on

Gandhara Region

Kiran Shahid Siddiqui

Abstract

The Gandhara region has always been a prey to foreign invasions

due to its geographical position, and has been a gateway to India

since the earliest times. The first foreign intrusion over this region

was that of the Achaemenid Persians in sixth century B.C. who

conquered it and made it a satrapy of the Persian Empire. The

Achaemenid Persians ruled this region for a period of two

centuries and left a long lasting impression over the society,

economy, religion, art and architecture of the Gandhara region.

The paper is focused on the Persian influence which was noticed in

every aspect of the cultural, social and economic life of Gandhara

region for a considerable period of time. The paper also refers to

the inscriptions of the Persian ruler mentioning Gandhara among

the Persian provinces.

The Persian Domination of Gandhdara Region and its Impact

Since ancient times, India has always been a fascinating land for

the western nations and was never away from their reach. The Persians,

Greeks and others, in different times, invaded the portions accessible to

them and annexed them to their Empires.

These incursions were through land and sea, which resulted in a

continuous foreign interference, and left a long-lasting impression on

the social, cultural, economic and political life of the occupied land.

Gandhara, the north western region of India, was one such land,

which had been an easy prey for many nations coming from abroad

either to rule or to plunder. This was due to its geographical location, as

Journal of Asian Civilizations

Vol. 32, No. 2, December 2009 81

it lies at a confluence of important routes linking the west to east and

without getting the control over this region no invader could proceed to

capture the east.

While Magadha, in the eastern India, was emerging as a

paramount power for the first time in the history of India, Gandhara, a

region in North Western India, which included the present Kashmir, a

greater part of Afghanistan, present Peshawar valley and the upper

Punjab with Swat and Udyana in the North, submitted to the Persian

supremacy in the sixth century B.C. (Sen, 1999) The North-West fell

under the sway of the foreign intrusion due to its internal quarrels and

political disunity caused after the death of Pushkarasarin , a ruler of

Gandhara.(Jain, 1991). Taxila was his capital.

Gandhara was a prosperous and peaceful region in the times of

Pulsaki or Pushkarasarin- (Shah, 1938).There is no historical record

mentioning his ancestors and descendants. Only little is known about

himself. He and the ruler of Magadha, Bimbisara maintained friendly

relations and exchanged gifts with each other (Shah, 1938). Pulusaki is

said to have a wish to meet Bimbisara in person, and to appear in

attendance of the two great reformers of the time, Buddha and

Mahavira, who resided in Magadha.

Pulusaki proceeded towards Magadha but could not reach due to severe

illness and died onhis way ( Shah, 1938). There is no historical proof of

any of his successor who ruled Gandahara and it seems that the region

was thrown into political disorder after his death.

In the 6th

century B.C., the Achaemenians established the first

paramount empire in the documented history after deposing the Medes

who had been ruling the north-west Persia with their capital, Ecbatana

(present-day Hamadan). Cyrus (ca. 558-530 B.C.), the founder of the

Achaemenian Empire, had knowledge about the wealth and prosperity

of India and was almost waiting for an opportunity to absorb it and he

was the first to invade Gandhara, making the most of its political chaos

(Shah, 1938). Pulusaki‟s death provided him with this opportunity and

he began to draw away enormous amount of wealth from this region of

India, as a tribute. The exact limits of his eastern conquests are

unknown. He is said to have sent an expedition towards Kabul and

succeeded in extending his control up to Gandhara or Peshawar

(Ghirshman:1954). There is no evidence to prove these conquests of

Cyrus however, Darius (522-486 B.C.) mentions Gandhara in his

Behistun inscription as one of the countries, he inherited when he

The Persian Domination and its Impact on Gandhara Region

Vol. 32, No.2, December 2009 82

became the king of Persia.

For the knowledge of these events, we are dependant on the

writings of Herodotus, who has portrayed the periods of Darius I and

Xerxes, although the course of events is not very understandable.

Herodotus (ca. 484-425 B.C.), who relied on the oral and written

reports of the East, speaks about the Gandharians as the significant

nation since the ancient times. (Lach & Kley,1993). The Gandharians

held an outstanding position among the residing tribes between India

and Persia but they were included in the Indian rather than the Persian

nation. They were a „warlike‟ tribe conquered by Darius with a long

struggle after which they remained under the status of a submitted

nation till the advent of Alexander the Great. (Rawlinson, Creswicke,

Gardener,1864). He probably annexed the whole of the Western India

and the Indus Valley to the Persian empire (Ghirshman, 1954). An

eastern satrapy was carved out of these conquests which generated a

huge sum of gold transfer in to Persia. (Sykes,1951). The invasion is of

great worth because the chronology of Gandhara commence with this

occupation and this event is the contemporary of Buddha‟s life time.

For an ambitious king like Darius, there were several motives to annex

the land of Gandhara to his dominions.

The Persian Empire during the rule of Darius was divided into

twenty provinces or satrapies (Girshman,1954). The king had appointed

his governors or satraps in each of the satrapies. They usually belonged

to the old ruling families and were appointed for indefinite period

(Girshman, 1954). Satrap is derived from the Old Persian which means

„protector of the realm‟ (Gershevitch, 1985). A strap was responsible

for the maintenance of law and order in his province, tax collection

and remission of tribute to the central treasury, maintenance and

security of Royal high roads were also included in his duty (Marshall,

n.d ). The satrap had a local army with few Persian officers and a

contingent. The satraps were answerable to the king (Docherty, 2008).

Darius followed a harmonious policy towards all his subjects. Anyone

could enter into the military service and could serve not only in his

native satrapy but wherever the royal forces were at war. The

administration of the Persian satrapies was extremely centralized with

an objective to uphold effective control over such a vast empire. Each

satrapy had to pay a specific tribute based on a systematic survey of the

country and its wealth. The remarkable and unique addition to the

empire was Gandhara, who paid a tribute greater than any other satrapy



(Marshall, n.d ). The satrap of Gandhara had to send three hundred and

sixty talents of gold dust which was equal at thirteen times the value of

silver or 4680 talents. (Docherty, 2008) . Gandhara was thought to be

the richest and populous satrapy of the Persian Empire under Darius.

But during the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses there was no defined

amount of tribute paid by the conquered nations but they brought gifts

to the king (Gershevitch, 1985).

Darius built a fleet, at Caspatyrus (a town at the junction of

Kabul and Indus, perhaps modern Peshawar), under the command of

Scylax of Caryanda, a Greek admiral, and assigned him with a mission

to navigate the route to Egypt through Indus (Girshman, 1954). The

outcome of this plan was of much significance as it discovered the new

sea routes which linked up the eastern dominions of Persian empire

with its western dominions. It also helped to build up the trade links

between the east and west.

Darius was the actual empire builder and was fond of

construction (Frye, 1953).He built the Palace at Susa and shifted his

capital from Babylon to this new city, for the construction of this great

edifice he imported material from every part of his Empire. Men from

distant places were employed in the construction of this palace

(Boyle,1978) The details of which are mentioned by Darius in an

inscription at the palace of Susa:

This is the palace which I built at Susa. From afar its

ornamentation was brought. Downward the earth was dug until

I reached the rock in the earth. When the excavation was made,

then rubble was packed down, the Babylonian people they did

(these tasks). The cedar timber, this - a mountain by name

Lebanon – from it was brought; the Assyrian people, they

brought it to Babylon, from Babylon the Carians and Ionians

brought it to Susa. The yaka timber was brought from Gandhara

and from Carmania. The gold was brought from Sardis and

from Bactria, which was wrought here. The precious stones

lapis lazuli and cornelian which were wrought here, these were

brought from Sogdiana. The precious stone turquoise was

brought from Egypt. The ornamentation with which the wall was

adorned, that was brought from Ionia. The ivory which was

wrought here was brought here from Ethiopia and from Sind

and from Arachosia. The stone columns were wrought here – a



village by name Abiradus in Elam – from there they were

brought. The stone cutters who wrought the stone, these were

Ionians and Sardinians. The goldsmiths who wrought the gold,

these were Medes and Egyptians. The men who wrought the

baked bricks these were Babylonians. The men who adorned

the all, these were Medes and Egyptians.

(Boyle,1978,pp.21,22)

As mentioned in the above inscription, the Yaka wood was

transported from Gandhara for the construction of the palace of Susa, it

must be the teak wood which is believed to be very precious. It was

Darius who caused the mountain of Behistun to be engraved with

parallel inscriptions in three languages: Elamite, Akkadian and Old

Persian. (Frye, 1953). The Behistun inscription is a multi lingual

inscription located at the ancient trade route linking the Iranian high

Plateau with Mesopotamia. This inscription was ordered by Darius I,

the Great, when he ascended the throne of the Persian Empire (522

B.C.) The bas relief shows Darius with a bow, symbolizing sovereignty,

and crushing a figure before him.

The Behistun inscription mentions the name of Gandhara

among the name of the kingdoms ruled by Darius as follows:

King Darius says: These are the countries which belong to me.

By the favor of Ahura Mazda I was their king : Persia, Elam,

Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, the People –by- the- sea,

Lydia, Ionia, Media, Armenia, Cappadocia, Parthia,

Drangiana, Aria, Chorasmia, Bactria, Sogdiana, Gandhara,

Scythia, Sattagydia, Arachosia and Maka; altogether twenty-

three countries….These are the countries which belong to me.

By the favor of Ahura Mazda they are my subjects: they brought

tribute to me. What I said to them, either by night or by day, that

they did. (Docherty, 2008, p.12).

After the completion of the Palace of Susa Darius is also

attributed with the construction of Persepolis which was continued by

his successor Xerexes. The inscriptions of Persepolis are the best guide

to estimate the Indo Persian relationship (Docherty: 2008). Xerxes



(486-465 B.C.) continued to retain his eastern dominions. Soldiers from

Gandhara, carrying bows of reed and short spears, were present in his

army which he led against Hellas (Raychoudhury, 1953). The

Achaemenian supremacy weakened after the death of Xerxes but,

according to the Persepolis inscription, Gandharians remained their

subject nation till the reign of Artaxerxes II

(Raychoudhury, 1953).

Persian Contribution to Gandhara

It is hard to estimate the Persian influence over Indian history

due to lack of the literary and archaeological authentication. The

absence of Achaemenid coinage in India is one reason. Charsadda and

Bhirmound at Taxila are recognized with the regions of Persian

Achaemenid occupation but they are devoid of distinctive Persian

features. The foundation of Taxila is attributed to the Persian conqueror,

Darius because Bhirmound, the earliest of the cities of Taxila, was

founded a little later after the invasion of Darius (518 B.C.). The city

was irregularly planned, a pattern followed by the Persian town

planners which continued for a long time till the coming of the Bactrian

Greeks. Taxila was probably the capital city of the Persian satrapy of

Gandhara (Rawlinson, 2002).

Persian supremacy had influenced the social, economic,

religious and economic life of the inhabitants of Gandhara. Whatever

ideas were prevalent in Persia and its dominions were also customary in

Gandhara, which were transported in to this region by the coming and

going of the Persian soldiers and exported from here the beliefs to their

native lands. The Achaemenids contributed a lot to uphold commercial

activity and geographical explorations. They took away, from the

Gandhara region, enormous amount of gold dust, ivory and wood and

made the most of their rule, over this region, by utilizing the man

power from hereby giving them military services. (Raychoudhury,

1953). This ultimately resulted in the import of Persian culture in to this

region.

Writing system

The foremost contribution by the Achaemenids to Gandhara



was that of writing system which was a medium of official

communication throughout the empire. The government officials used

Aramaic speech and writing for dealings with their satrapies. (Jain,

1991). The Aramaic language became the lingua franca of the Persian

Empire. (Frye, 1953). It was in this period that Aramaic script was

employed by the locals of Gandhara, with various additions and

modifications , for writing Prakrit language (Marshall, n.d ) . This was,

without any doubt, the outcome of the interaction between the satraps

and locals of the region.(Jain, 1991). The fact is proved by the

presence of an Aramaic inscription found at Sirkap, the second city of

Taxila, dated back to early third century B.C (Marshal,1960,). It

continued to serve as on official script even after the end of Persian rule

in this region. This resulted in the evolution of the Kharoashthi script

which was first noticed in the inscriptions of Ashoka (3rd

century

B.C.), in the Gandhara region. (Marshall, n.d ). Kaharoashthi played a

vital role in the spread of Buddhism in the North Western India where

the script was in vogue and continued to be practiced till the 5th

century

A.D.

Religion

The Persians followed religious tolerance in their dominions.

The subjects were chosen to prominent civil and military posts, and

they were free to practice their religion and customs. The foreigners

who came to Gandhara embraced the Indian religions, most commonly

Buddhism than Brahmanism, due to its simple practices (Iliot, 1998).

Zoroastrianism was the state religion of Persia in the 6th

and 5th

century

B.C. The Zoroastrian practices were observed in the dominions of the

Persian Empire. The fact is endorsed by the inscriptions of Darius in

which he had started with the name of Ahura Mazda, Zoroastrian god.

It seems that „Darius sought to use religion as an ally to his rule‟

(Docerty: 2008). The fact is endorsed by one of the Greek writers, who

accompanied Alexander the Great who during his visit to Gandhara,

states that „the dead were thrown out to be devoured by

vultures‟(Boyce, Grenet, Beck, 1991, p.131), a rite of Zoroastrian

religion, still practiced by the present-day Parsis. He also reports that

there were numerous followers of Zoroastrianism in the region of

Gandhara especially in Taxila. (Boyce, Grenet, Beck, 1991).



The Persian culture was widely influenced by the foreign

cultures. Gandhara, Media, Babylon, Lydia, Greece and Egypt were

governed by the Persian Empire, which resulted in the wider cultural

communion among the Persian dominion. The Persian religion which

was based on sacrifices and fire worship was evolved in to

Zoroastrianism in the times of Darius (Roberts, 1997). The Persian

religion spread swiftly with the Persian rule in every part of the

empire.

Art

The Art of Achaemenid Persians was chiefly a „Court art‟

intended to exalt the supremacy of the monarch, portraying the talent

and genius of their Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and other subjects

(The British museum, 1971). During the Achemenid domination of

Gandhara, there is no ample evidence of the Persian influence over the

art of this region. But many architectural and sculptural elements in

later times owed their origin to Persia. This cannot be suggested when

and how these elements stretched their roots in Gandhara. Most likely,

the Persian styles and some of the Iranian motifs found their route to

Gandhara when it was under the Achaemenian control; if not then they

would be brought by the Parthains who ruled this region in the 1st

century A.D.

The Ashokan palace of Kumrahar at Pataliputra (now Patna)

was a construction surprisingly influenced by the Achaemenian palaces

of Susa, Persepolis and Ecbatana (Hallade, 1968).

The „borrowings‟ from Persian style remained for long and it

came to be noticed at Gandhara (Hallade, 1968). The Gandhara

sculpture is highly influenced by the Graeco-Roman styles, but the

Persian expression is not at all absent in the art. The art of Gandhara

developed as mixture of all classical designs borrowed from Greece,

Rome and Persia mingled with the native Indian style employed

together to produce a distinguished art form. The architectural features

of the palaces of Susa and Persepolis were most abundantly used in this

region for a long period before and after the Christian era.

The bell shaped Persepolitan capital surmounted by the animals

in high relief is duplicated in bas relief at Gandhara (Hallade, 1968).

The appropriateness of the animals depicted on the abacus, their typical

carving technique, truly indicate Persian or more specifically



Achaemenian influence (Craven, 1987). The decoration in the art of

Gandhara appear to be of Achaemenid origin which features „motifs of

high relief and frontal animals, mythical creatures of many kinds

(winged lions, griffons,etc.), the Tree of life the vase with spouting

water, palmettes, rosettes and fish‟ (Hallade, 1968).

The decorative techniques particularly „the lavish employment

of colours, the use of enameled and metallic tiles upon the roof, the

gilded rafters and the elaborately painted ceilings, the rich capitals of

the pillars, the application of inlaying‟ in the sangharamas of Gandhara

region are also thought to be a result of Persian Achaemenid influence

(Banerjee, 1961, p.68)

The Achaemenian styles also influenced the Buddhist art and

architecture of Swat valley which can be observed in the form of

Persepolitan capitals over which the bulls and lions are installed.

(Khan, 1993)

The origin of Buddha image has always been a controversial

subject. Most of the art historians assert that it is „inspired by the

Roman cult of the emperor‟ but they both originated from the Persian

art, as the cult of the Great King has always been a key focus of

Achaemenid art, highlighted at Pesepolis. (Ball, 2000).

Commercial Relations

The Persian Empire was linked up with all its dominions

through a network of roads which stimulated the fusion of cultural

activities in all parts of the empire itself. Various skills were carried

from one region to the other under the patronage of the government

(Roberts, 1997). Daius was the emperor who introduced coined money

on a „world scale‟ (Frye, 1953). Daric, a fine gold coin with a weight

of 130 grains, was the only gold currency of the ancient world. (Sykes,

1951). Darius also issued silver coins. Persia and Gandhara had

established commercial relations during the Achaemenian rule which is

proved by the discovery of early silver coinage found from Taxila,

strucked on the Persian standard. “The pieces being equivalent to

double sigloi, half and quarter sigloi”. (Marshall, 1960, p.11). Known

to the rest of the world by their sophisticated looks, the similar Persian

standard and technique was utilized in the minting of coins of this

region dated to relatively later period. Darius launched a standardized

weight and coinage through out his empire. It was due to his monetary



concern of his empire that Herodotus declared „Cyrus was a father,

Cambyses a tyrant and Darius a tradesman.‟(Docherty: 2008). Besides

the Imperial currency, separate coins were struck by the Persian satraps

in their own satrapies, sometimes bearing the portrait of the satrap,

while others bear a traditional motif, depicting a fight between the king

and a wild animal.(The British Museum, 1971).

Persia established its trade relationships with India since

Gandhara had become a part of its domain. Items like peacock and

sandal wood were exported from India to the west by sea in the fifth

century B.C. Rice were exported from India and planted in the Near

East (Roberts, 1997). While items like silver, gold, gems, pearls and

corals were exported from Persia to India. (Jain,1991)

A road system was established by Darius throught his empire to

confirm a speedy contact with all his satrapies for efficient

government. These Royal roads also helped in the development of

commerce across the empire. Trade was encouraged by the safe

guarding of high roads for the welfare and betterment of the satrapy.

The road system was stretched up to Kabul and Gandhara with the

expansion of Persian rule in east (Docherty:2008).

The Scythian influence was noticed in Gandhara region, in the

late 6th

century B.C., brought here by the Achaemenians. The presence

of Scythians was reported in the „northern belt of their empire and

beyond‟ (Vogelsang, 2002). Herodotus states that the natives of

Gandhara were using the Scythian weapons and costumes which

differed from the Persian ones (Vogelsang, 2002).

Conclusion

Gandhara has been a western gateway to the subcontinent since

its earliest times. This region has always provided access to different

nations in different times to penetrate in India. Some of the invaders

only entered to acquire the wealth of India and they returned back to

their native lands while others, inspired of the wealth and the vastness

of the region decided to rule and never to leave India. The invaders left

a lasting effect on the religious, economic, social and cultural life of

Gandhara creating a jumbled culture which can be traced in every

prospect.

The Persian occupation of Gandhara in 6th

century B.C. is the

earliest event in recorded history in the region. This event is stated to



be the beginning of the history of Gandhara. The Persian domination

left its influence over the religion, art and architecture of the conquered

nation.

There has been a long debate estimating the Greek and Roman

influences over the art of Gandhara since the time of its discovery.

Researches led to the conclusion that the art of Gandhara was

influenced by the Greek, Roman, Scythian and Parthian elements,

besides its indigenous nature; although the Persian influence over the

art can never be denied as the Gandhara region had been an

Achaemenian satrapy for a period of nearly two centuries, a time

sufficient for an administration to leave behind its imprints over a

subdued nation, which had a tendency to absorb the exotic elements.

Persian influence could not be traced in the early art and

architecture of Gandhara when it was under the control of the

Achaemenians, but it began to assert itself after the Achaemenians lost

their mastery over this region. It seems that the Persian influence

penetrated in Gandhara with the coming of Alexander the Great and

after, which can be noticed in the architectural and plastic arts of the

region. And there can be no doubt that it was through this region that

the Persian influence stretched its roots as far as the Pataliputra in the

extreme eastern India displayed in art and architecture of the Mauryan

period.

Thus, this can be inferred that India, in general, and Gandhara,

in particular, had close political, economic, social and cultural

relationships with the west before Alexander‟s invasion. The

Achaemenians showed the way of invasion and cultural transmission to

the conquerors from the west. These contacts built up in the days of

Persian domination paved the way for further intrusions in to India

which started with the coming of Alexander in this region and the Indo-

Persian elements in the architecture and art of Gandhara were most

widely used and almost copied directly.



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Figure 1: Persepolitan Pillar at Persepolis

Figure 2: Persepolitan capital depicted in the panel of Gandhara Art

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