1. The cultural influence of the Greeks is evident from the capitals of monuments at Pataliputra.
2. Many historians argue that the elaborate administrative institutions of the Mauryan Empire drew inspiration from the administrative systems of the Persians and Greeks.
3. The eventual rise of Indo-Greek kingdoms in western India strengthened these cross-cultural influences and gave rise to a distinct school of art.

1. Tamil region is more than probable that they exchanged their salt for other goods and necessities, rather than selling the salt for money.
2. However, the extent of the overland and overseas trade, as well as the descriptions of the city markets in the literature would imply that money was the main medium of exchange.

1. Roman ships did not venture past the western coast of India around Cape Comorin.
2. So the ports on the west coast were the main ports involved in trade with Rome.
3. From the west coast, the Roman traders travelled overland through the Palghat pass to production centres further east.
4. Kodumanal and Padiyur in Erode.Vaniyampadi near Salem ,Chennimalai near karur.
5. The Roman coins of the earlier period are concentrated in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Karur districts.

1. Menander (c. 165/145-130 BCE) was the best known of the Indo-Greek kings.
2. He is said to have ruled a large kingdom in the at Pataliputra.
3. Many historians argue that the elaborate administrative institutions of the Mauryan Empire drew inspiration from the administrative systems of the Persians and Greeks.

He issued bi-lingual square coins with Greek on the obverse and Kharoshti (the local language of north-western Pakistan) on the reverse.

1. This period, invasion of Ayodhya (Saketa) and further east into the Magadha territory.
2. However, since the Greeks seem to have been beset by internal dissensions, they did not retain any of this territory.
3. They ceded land to Pushyamitra, the Sunga emperor who had usurped the throne after the last Mauryan ruler.
4. Numismatic evidence also proves Demetrius's association with India.
5. He issued bi-lingual square coins with Greek on the obverse and Kharoshti (the local language of north-western Pakistan) on the reverse.

1. Euthydemus's son Demetrius succeeded him (c. 200 BCE), and another Demetrius, probably Demetrius II, was the first known Indo-Greek king (c. 175 BCE).
2. The distinguishing feature of the reign of the Indo-Greek kings was their exquisite coinage.
3. Minted in the same style as Greek coins of silver, they carried the portrait of the reigning king on one side with his name.
4. The coins thus give us a visual picture of the kings, who are represented
5. In various kinds of headgear and with distinctive facial and physical features.
6. Extensive collections of these coins have been found from the period, which makes it possible to reconstruct the lineage of the Indo-Greek kings

1. Around the first century CE, the Satavahana kingdom was established in the Deccan area, comprising the modern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
2. This, however, was not like the centralised empire of the Mauryas, and the provincial governors of the Satavahanas had a considerable degree of autonomy.
3. The second development was the discovery of the pattern of monsoon winds in the Arabian Sea in the first century CE by Hippalus, an Egyptian sailor.
4. A first century CE account in Greek, the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei), is the most reliable source of information on the ports of the Indian coast and trade.
5. Archaeological findings confirm the information from all these sources.

During the reign of Kushanas, there was great creative energy when art and literature flourished.
1. The Greek influence led to an Indo-Greek style of sculpture and art commonly referred to as Gandhara art. Statues of Buddha, sculpted particularly in Taxila
2. The north-western regions, show him in graceful garments, surrounded by cherubs and leaves inspired by the Greek tradition.
3. The red sandstone sculpture with intricate carving produced near Mathura.
4. The Buddhists began to carve out rock caves in the hills of western India, which served as religious centres with chaityas and viharas, stretching from the Ajanta caves to the Kanheri caves in Mumbai.
5. Large statues of Buddha were sculpted in these caves as apart of the Mahayana tradition, and in later centuries, they were further-embellished with murals of extraordinary beauty, as seen in the Ajanta caves.
6. Kanishka was the patron of Buddhist philosophers such as Asvaghosha, Parsva and Vasumitra, as well as the great Buddhist teacher Nagarjuna.
7. Asvaghosha is known for his Buddhacharita and is celebrated as the author of the first Sanskrit play, Sariputraprakarana, in nine acts.
8. The great dramatist Bhasa, whose plays werere-discovered only about a hundred years ago in South India.

1. This regular interchange of ambassadors and correspondence, as well as the extension of the Mauryan Empire till Afghanistan, facilitated regular trade from India to the West as far as Egypt
2. Trade was carried on by the overland route via north-west Afghanistan (Bactria) and also partly by the coastal route along the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
3. A variety of luxury goods, including ivory, tortoise shell, pearls, indigo and other dyes.
4. aromatic substances like spikenard or nard (a fragrant oil from the Gangetic region) and malabathrum (leaf of cinnamon, used as an aromatic) and rare woods were exported from India.
5. Thus, The rise of Indo-Greek kings in Western India strengthened trade and cultural contacts.