Gedrosia

Gedrosia (/dʒɪˈdroʊʒə/; Greek: Γεδρωσία) is the Hellenized name of the part of coastal Baluchistan that roughly corresponds to today's Makran. In books about Alexander the Great and his successors, the area referred to as Gedrosia runs from the Indus River to the southern edge of the Strait of Hormuz. It is directly to the south of the countries of Bactria, Arachosia and Drangiana, to the east of the country of Carmania and due west of the Indus River which formed a natural boundary between it and Western India. The native name of Gedrosia might have been Gwadar as there are two towns by that name and a bay (Gwadar Bay) in central Makran. It, along with Saurashtra, was an important part of the Maurya Empire of ancient India.[1][2]

Gedrosia Γεδρωσία گدرۏچ
Region
Map showing Gedrosia in the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great
Country	Baluchistan

Maurya Empire of ancient India under the rule of Ashoka the Great

History

Gedrosia, along with Saurashtra, were regions in ancient India that formed an important part of the Maurya Empire, before being attacked by Indo-Greeks from the west.[1] Following his army's refusal to continue marching east at the Hyphasis River in 326 BCE, Alexander the Great crossed the area after sailing south to the coast of the Indian Ocean on his way back to Babylon. Upon reaching the Ocean, Alexander the Great divided his forces in half, sending half back by sea to Susa under the command of Nearchus.[3] The other half of his army was to accompany him on a march through the Gedrosian desert, inland from the ocean.[4] Throughout the 60-day march through the desert, Alexander lost at least 12,000 soldiers, in addition to countless livestock, camp followers, and most of his baggage train.[5] Some historians say he lost three-quarters of his army to the harsh desert conditions along the way.[6] However, this figure was likely based on exaggerated numbers in his forces prior to the march, which were likely in the range of no fewer than 30,000 soldiers.[7]

There are two competing theories for the purpose of Alexander's decision to march through the desert rather than along the more hospitable coast. The first argues that this was an attempt to punish his men for their refusal to continue eastward at the Hyphasis River.[8] The other argues that Alexander was attempting to imitate and succeed in the actions of Cyrus the Great, who had failed to cross the desert.[7]

After the death of Alexander, this region became part of the holdings of Seleucus, who also held Ariya (modern-day Kabul), Gedrosia (Baluchistan), Arakeshiya (Kandhar), and Peripemisdai (Herat). The territories, known collectively as Ariyana were later lost to the Mauryan Empire of ancient India under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya.[2]

See also

• Gedrosia (satrapy)
• Zephyrus (soldier)
• Hannibal's crossing of the Alps
• Balochistan

References

1. The Journal of the Bihar Research Society. Bihar Research Society. 1949. p. 74. Gedrosia and Saurashtra had formed important parts of the Mauryan empire before the Indo-Greek adventurers attacked in on the west.
2. Ray, Himanshu Prabha (2003). The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01109-9. In spite of the vagueness of the historical texts, the consensus among scholars is that the treaty concluded between Candragupta Maurya and Seleucus acknowledged Indian control of territories to the west of the Indus. These included Gedrosia, Paropamisadae (the region of Kabul and Begram) and Arachosia (the Kandahar region).
3. Bosworth (1988), p. 139
4. Bosworth (1988), p. 142
5. Bosworth (1988), p. 145
6. Plutarch, The Life of Alexander, 66.
7. Bosworth (1988), p. 146
8. Heckel (2002), p. 68

Bibliography

• Bosworth, A. B. (1988). Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Canto. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521406796.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Heckel, Waldemar (2002). The Wars of Alexander the Great. Essential Histories. Osprey. ISBN 9781841764733.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Saul, David (2009). War: From Ancient Egypt to Iraq. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781405341332.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Middle kingdoms of India
Timeline and cultural period	Northwestern India (Punjab-Sapta Sindhu)	Indo-Gangetic Plain			Central India	Southern India
		Upper Gangetic Plain (Ganga-Yamuna doab)	Middle Gangetic Plain	Lower Gangetic Plain
IRON AGE
Culture	Late Vedic Period	Late Vedic Period (Srauta culture)[lower-alpha 1] Painted Grey Ware culture	Late Vedic Period (Shramanic culture)[lower-alpha 2] Northern Black Polished Ware		Pre-history
6th century BC	Gandhara	Kuru-Panchala	Magadha		Adivasi (tribes)
Culture	Persian-Greek influences	"Second Urbanisation" Rise of Shramana movements Jainism - Buddhism - Ājīvika - Yoga			Pre-history
5th century BC	(Persian conquests)		Shaishunaga dynasty		Adivasi (tribes)
4th century BC	(Greek conquests)	Nanda empire
HISTORICAL AGE
Culture	Spread of Buddhism				Pre-history	Sangam period (300 BC – 200 AD)
3rd century BC	Maurya Empire					Early Cholas Early Pandyan Kingdom Satavahana dynasty Cheras 46 other small kingdoms in Ancient Thamizhagam
Culture	Preclassical Hinduism[lower-alpha 3] - "Hindu Synthesis"[lower-alpha 4] (ca. 200 BC - 300 AD)[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] Epics - Puranas - Ramayana - Mahabharata - Bhagavad Gita - Brahma Sutras - Smarta Tradition Mahayana Buddhism					Sangam period (continued) (300 BC – 200 AD)
2nd century BC	Indo-Greek Kingdom		Shunga Empire Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty			Early Cholas Early Pandyan Kingdom Satavahana dynasty Cheras 46 other small kingdoms in Ancient Thamizhagam
1st century BC
1st century AD	Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthians		Kuninda Kingdom
2nd century	Kushan Empire
3rd century	Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom	Kushan Empire	Western Satraps	Kamarupa kingdom	Kalabhra dynasty Pandyan Kingdom (Under Kalabhras)
Culture	"Golden Age of Hinduism"(ca. AD 320-650)[lower-alpha 7] Puranas Co-existence of Hinduism and Buddhism
4th century	Kidarites	Gupta Empire Varman dynasty				Kalabhra dynasty Pandyan Kingdom (Under Kalabhras) Kadamba Dynasty Western Ganga Dynasty
5th century	Hephthalite Empire	Alchon Huns				Kalabhra dynasty Pandyan Kingdom (Under Kalabhras) Vishnukundina
6th century	Nezak Huns Kabul Shahi		Maitraka		Adivasi (tribes)	Badami Chalukyas Kalabhra dynasty Pandyan Kingdom (Under Kalabhras)
Culture	Late-Classical Hinduism (ca. AD 650-1100)[lower-alpha 8] Advaita Vedanta - Tantra Decline of Buddhism in India
7th century	Indo-Sassanids		Vakataka dynasty Empire of Harsha	Mlechchha dynasty	Adivasi (tribes)	Pandyan Kingdom (Under Kalabhras) Pandyan Kingdom(Revival) Pallava
8th century	Kabul Shahi		Pala Empire			Pandyan Kingdom Kalachuri
9th century			Gurjara-Pratihara			Rashtrakuta dynasty Pandyan Kingdom Medieval Cholas Pandyan Kingdom (Under Cholas) Chera Perumals of Makkotai
10th century	Ghaznavids			Pala dynasty Kamboja-Pala dynasty		Kalyani Chalukyas Medieval Cholas Pandyan Kingdom (Under Cholas) Chera Perumals of Makkotai Rashtrakuta
References and sources for table References Samuel Samuel Michaels (2004) p.39 Hiltebeitel (2002) Michaels (2004) p.39 Hiltebeitel (2002) Michaels (2004) p.40 Michaels (2004) p.41 Sources Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press Hiltebeitel, Alf (2002), Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture", Routledge Michaels, Axel (2004), Hinduism. Past and present, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press Samuel, Geoffrey (2010), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century, Cambridge University Press