From the Oxus to the Indus: A Political and Cultural Study C. 300bce - C. 100 Bce

From Oxus to Indus explores the political and cultural history of the Indo-Iranian borderlands during the reign of the Bactrian and Indo-Greek rulers, known as yavanas in the subcontinent. This was a region sans frontière and shows unrestricted exchanges between cultures. The book, in a sweeping survey of the power politics in the region, identifies certain salient features of the political processes in the period discussed. One of the major themes addressed in this book is 'Hellenism'. The changing nature of Hellenism is explored from a study of the sites from the Oxus to the Indus, the foremost among them being Ai Khanum. The study demonstrates that the region should be treated as an independent cultural zone with its multi-ethnic population, multipronged linkages, multiple political authorities and pluralistic culture. The iconographies and languages chosen by the Indo-Greek rulers have a direct relationship with their own religious beliefs and culture as well as with the ethnicity of their subjects. There was perhaps no effort to wipe out every other mode of life.