History of India 1

HISTORY

Subject : History
(For under graduate student)

Paper No. : Paper - 1

History of Ancient India

Topic No. & Title : Topic - 7

Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

Lecture No. & Title : Lecture - 6

Alexander’s Invasion

GLOSSARY

Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC)

King of Macedonia, a state in the north eastern region of
Greece; creator of one of the largest empires in ancient
history, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas;
considered one of the most successful commanders of all
time.
History of India 2

Darius III (380 – 330 BC)

He was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia
who ruled from 336 BC to 330 BC; tried to prepare his
kingdom against the imminent Macedonian attack.

Justin
He was a Greek historian of the 2nd century CE who gives
an account of Alexander’s campaigns.

Plutarch
Plutarch was a Greek historian and biographer in the 2nd
century CE; concentrates on drawing the persona of
Alexander.

Arrian
He was a Greek historian who wrote on the campaigns of
Alexander in the 2nd century CE, which based largely on
Ptolemy as a founder of military-based focus, in history
writing.
History of India 3

Nanda Dynasty
The ruling house founded by Mahapadma that originated
in the region of Magadha in ancient India during the 5th
and 4th centuries BCE.

Seleucus Nikator (c.358-281BCE)

A Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great, nominated as
the ruler of Babylon in 320BCE; battled with Chandragupta
Maurya was followed by a treaty of friendship.

Achaemenid Empire (c.550–330 BCE)

One of the largest empires of the ancient world founded
by Cyrus the Great after the defeat of the Median
confederacy; it extended from Anatolia and Egypt across
western Asia to Central Asia and northern India.

King Porus
The King of Paurava, the territory between the Rivers
Jhelum and Chenab; ruled from 340 – 317 BCE; was
defeated by Alexander.
History of India 4

King Ambhi
The king who reigned over the tract between the Indus
and the Hydaspes Rivers in the Punjab during the
expedition of Alexander the Great in 327 BCE.