Among the numerous Indo-Greek rulers who seized power in the fragmented north- west territories of India during the earliest days of first century AD, one figure that stood out in particular was Menander, who went down in Indian tradition by the name Milinda.
In the Buddhist text Milinda-panho (second century AD), reference is made to a dispute between King Milinda and the Buddhist philosopher, monk Nagasena. Some coins from Meander’s kingdom have the chakra or wheel -the Buddhist symbol of power, which presumably means that the king either adopted Buddhist teaching or patronized its adherents. The capital of the state in question was Sagala the modern Sialkot. Meander’s kindgdom incorporated gandhara, arachosia and some parts of the Punjab. The Greek army, by all accounts, during the reign of Menander, advanced to Eastern India.
In the first century B.C., the Iranian tribes of the Shakas made their way into North-Western India from Central India. Initially, the Shakas after encountering the Indo-Greekk dynasties, came under the latter’s domination but later on they set up their on Indo-Shaka states. One of the most famous Indo-Shaka rulers was King Maues who appears to have ruled in the mid-first century B.C. He established himself in Gandhara and his rule extended over the Swat valley and possibly a part of Kashmir. Azes, his heir, extended his domains still further and bestowed upon himself the title of the “Great King of Kings.” However, the Indo-Greek and Indo-Shaka dynasties lost their supremacy in fierce struggle which they had to fight later on with the new invaders- the kushanas.
Initially, the Khushana kingdom incorporated parts of Bactria within Central Asia. According to Chinese sources, it was Yueh-chi tribes that invaded Bactria from the East in the second century B.C and set up five domains. Later, the Kushanas referred to as a Kuei-shuang in the Chinese chronicles came to dominate the others. Classical writers also recorded that these tribes that came in from the East and conquered Bactria. There is mention that these tribes won Bactria from the Greeks. At the time of the Kushana tribes’ invasion, Bactria was a highly advanced country with firmly established traditions of statehood and a well-developed culture.
The Kushana Empire reached the height of its power during the reign of Kanishka, one of the most famous of all rulers of ancient India. Apart from coins and a small amount of epigraphic evidences there are a few dated or contemporary sources of information relating to Kanishka’s reign. There are references to him and his activities in many of the late-Buddhist legends and tales also.
It was under Kanishka that the power of the Kushanas was extended as far as into Central and Eastern India. Chinese and Indian sources present Kanishka as a true adherent of Buddhism and it is with his name that the convocation of the Buddhist council in Kashmir is linked.
