Demetrius I of Bactria founded the Indo-Greek Kingdom when he led an army south across the Hindu Kush mountains into the Indian subcontinent around 200 BC. He is generally considered the founder because he was the first to launch a sustained Greek expansion into India proper.
When did Menander I rule Punjab from Sagala and what happened after his death?
Menander I ruled Punjab from Sagala between 165 BCE and 130 BCE before his death triggered cities to divide his ashes equally and erect monuments to him. His reign marked the greatest extent of the kingdom reaching Mathura and possibly the Ganges-Jamuna valley.
What coins were struck by Pantaleon and Agathocles between 185 and 170 BC?
Pantaleon and Agathocles struck the first bilingual coins with Indian inscriptions found as far east as Taxila between 185 and 170 BC. These early coins used the Brahmi script while later rulers generally switched to Kharoshthi and incorporated Indian deities alongside traditional Greek figures.
How many monks did Mahadharmaraksita lead to Sri Lanka in 130 BC?
Mahadharmaraksita led a delegation of thirty thousand monks from Alexandria-of-the-Caucasus to Sri Lanka around 130 BC for the opening of the Great Stupa. This mission established diplomatic and religious ties following Buddhist emissaries sent by Ashoka that reached Greek lands as far as the Mediterranean.
When did the Indo-Greek states disappear as a political entity due to invasions?
Indo-Greek states lasted until the shift between BC and AD when they disappeared as a political entity following invasions of Indo-Scythians. Nomadic people from the Jaxartes region overran northern Bactria killing last Greco-Bactrian king Heliocles around 130 BC before Scythians pushed forward.