1. It marked the beginning of the interaction between India and the West, which spanned many centuries to follow.
2. Greek governors and kings ruled in the north-western region of India, which introduced new styles of art and governance.

1. A centralised state required a new administrative framework to govern an extensive territory, the creation of a bureaucracy, resources of money and men for managing the administrationand the army.
2. A system of revenue administration had to be developed to raise the funds needed for the state through taxation.
3. A political formation led to the development of cities as administrative centres, distinct from villages and rural areas.
4. A large standing army was required for expanding and retaining the empire.

Bimbisara extended the territory of Magadhan Empire by matrimonial alliances and conquests.

Trade routes opened up with the West.
1. There were four different trade routes in use, which facilitated the movement of Greek merchants and craftsmen to India, establishing direct contact between India and Greece.
2. As trade contact increased, many Greek settlements were established in the northwest of India.
3. Alexandria near Kabul, Boukephala near Peshawar in Pakistan and Alexandria in Sindh were some of the prominent Greek settlements.

Alexander's invasion led to the establishment of Greek satrapies in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent.
1. Trade routes opened up with the West.
2. The Greek accounts of India provide valuable information but with a bit of exaggeration.
3. There were four different trade routes in use, which facilitated the movement of Greek merchants and craftsmen to India.

1. Archaeology and epigraphy are the tools that provide rich information periods of history.
2. The Brahmi script of the inscriptions at Sanchi was deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837.
3. Excavations reveal the nature of urban morphology, that is, layout of the city and construction of buildings.
4. Epigraphical evidence is scanty for the period.
5. The most widely known are the edicts of Ashoka.

1. The north-western part of India came under the control of the Persian Empire from about middle of the sixth century, the region became a centre of confluence of Persian and Indian culture.
2. The Persian contact left its impact on art, architecture, economy and administration of ancient India.
3. The cultural impact was felt most in the Gandhara region.
4. Most significant impact was the development of the Kharosthi script, used in the north-western part of India.
5. It was used by Ashoka in his inscriptions in the Gandhara region.
6. The Kharosthi script was derived from Aramaic used widely in the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.

1. The edicts of Ashoka thus constitute the most concrete source of information about the Mauryan Empire.
2. There are 33 edict comprising 14 Major Rock Edicts, 2 known as Kalinga edicts, 7 Pillar. Edicts, some Minor Rock Edicts and a few Minor Pillar Inscriptions.
3. The Major Rock Edicts extend from Kandahar in Afghanistan, Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra in northwest Pakistan to Uttarakhand district in the north, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, Odisha in the east and as far south as Karnataka and Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.
4. Minor Pillar Inscriptions have been found as far north as Nepal (near Lumbini).
5. The edicts were written mostly in the Brahmi script and in Magadhi and Prakrit.
6. The Kandahar inscriptions are in Greek and Aramaic, while the two iriscriptions in north-west Pakistan are in Kharosthi script.