Maurya, Yunani Bakhtri aur Kushan

Atemad E-Magazine 16 October 2026 · 13 minute ka mutalia

Sikandar-e-azam 323 qabl masih mein mar gaya. Is ke baad taqriban paanch sau baras tak Balochistan ke bare mein hamare paas koi aisi tafseeli tehreer nahin jaisi pichhle baab mein Sikandar ke Makuran wale safar ki milti hai. Magar yeh sadiyan khali nahin thin. Shumal mein Kandahar, mashriq mein Sindh aur Punjab aur maghrib mein Seistan ek ke baad ek badi saltanaton ke haath mein aaye: Maurya, Yunani Bakhtri, Saka, Hind Parthi aur Kushan. Balochistan in sab ka kinara tha. Yeh baab batata hai ke in ke bare mein hum kya jante hain, aur Balochistan ki zameen se is daur ka kya saboot mila hai.

Seleucus aur Chandragupta: paanch sau hathiyon ka sauda

Sikandar ke mashriqi ilaqe us ke sipah salar Seleucus ke hisse mein aaye. Roomi muarrikh Appian likhta hai ke Seleucus ne darya-e-Sindh paar kiya aur Hindustani badshah Androcottus se jang ki, yahan tak ke donon mein samjhauta aur rishtedari ho gayi. Yeh Androcottus, jise Strabo Sandrocottus likhta hai, wohi Chandragupta Maurya hai jis ne Maurya saltanat ki bunyad rakhi thi.

Yunani jughrafiya dan Strabo tafseel batata hai: darya-e-Sindh ke kinare ke ilaqe, jin mein Paropamisadae (Kabul ke gird), Arachosia (Kandahar ka ilaqa) aur Gedrosia (Makuran) ke log shamil the, Seleucus ne rishtedari ki shart aur paanch sau hathiyon ke badle Sandrocottus ko de diye. Hindustani mahir-e-katbat D. C. Sircar ke mutabiq yeh muahida taqriban 305 qabl masih ka hai, aur is mein Afghanistan aur Balochistan ke bade ilaqe Chandragupta ko mile.

Yani kaghaz par Makuran aur Kandahar Maurya saltanat ka hissa ban gaye. Magar yeh muahida hamein sirf Yunani aur Roomi musannifeen se maloom hai; Makuran ki zameen par Maurya daur ka koi saboot ab tak samne nahin aaya.

Ashoka ki awaz Kandahar mein

Saboot shumal se mila. Chandragupta ka pota Ashoka, jis ka daur-e-hukumat Sircar ke mutabiq taqriban 272 ta 232 qabl masih hai, apne farman chattanon aur sutunon par khudwata tha. Yeh farman Hindustan, Nepal, Pakistan aur Afghanistan mein kai maqamat par mile hain. Kandahar ke qareeb Shar-i-Kuna ke maqam par ek chattan se Ashoka ka ek farman mila jo do zubanon mein tha: Yunani aur Aramaic. Sircar ne 1967 mein likha ke isi ilaqe se ek aur farman milne ki khabar bhi aayi hai.

Baad ka Yunani musannif Isidore Arachosia ke sadr shehar Alexandropolis ko, jise us ka mutarjim Schoff aaj ka Kandahar manta hai, "Yunani" shehar kehta hai; Ashoka ne yahan ke Yunaniyon se un ki zubaan mein baat ki. Farman mein woh apne akhlaqi usoolon ki tableegh karta hai, jin mein jaan na lena aur maan baap aur buzurgon ka khayal rakhna shamil hai. Apne terahwen chattani farman mein bhi Ashoka Yunani badshah Antiochus ka naam leta hai; Maurya darbar Yunani duniya se waqif tha.

Kandahar Balochistan ki sarhad ke qareeb hai, aur yeh farman is baat ka sab se thos saboot hain ke Maurya hukumat Balochistan ke shumali kinare tak pahunchi thi. Magar un ki nauiyat par behas hui hai: katbe ke nashireen mein se G. Levi Della Vida ke mutabiq Aramaic matan Yunani ka tarjuma nahin balke donon ek mushtarka asl se nikle, aur muarrikh D. D. Kosambi ke khayal mein yeh farman khas isi sarhadi ilaqe ke liye likha gaya tha.

Bakhtar ke Yunani

Maurya saltanat ke shumal mein, aaj ke shumali Afghanistan yani Bakhtar mein, Seleucid saltanat ke Yunani governoron ne baghawat kar ke apni badshahat qaim kar li. Roomi musannif Justin likhta hai ke Bakhtar ke "hazar shehron" ka governor Theodotus baghi ho kar badshah ban gaya. Yeh Yunani Bakhtri badshah phir junoob ki taraf barhe. Strabo ke baqol unhon ne Sikandar se zyada qabail fateh kiye, khas taur par Menander ne, aur darya-e-Sindh ke dahane ka ilaqa bhi un ke qabze mein aaya. Encyclopaedia Iranica ke mutabiq Bakhtar ke badshah Euthydemus ke bete Demetrius ne Hindustan mein badi futuhat keen; Justin use "Hindustaniyon ka badshah" kehta hai. Taqriban 175 qabl masih mein ek harif Eucratides Bakhtar mein ubhra aur Demetrius us se shikast kha kar ghaliban mara gaya.

In badshahon ke bare mein hum jo jante hain woh zyada tar sikkon se hai; Iranica mein un ke fauran baad ke Saka daur ka maqala nigar saaf kehta hai ke is daur ki tareekh ke liye sikkon ke tajziye ke siwa bohat kam kuch bacha hai. Balochistan mein Yunani Bakhtri ya Hind Yunani hukumat ka koi katba ya imarat hamare ilm mein nahin.

Saka aur Hind Parthi

Doosri sadi qabl masih ke aakhir mein wasti Asia se Saka qabail junoob ki taraf aaye. Iranica ke mutabiq Maues Hindustan ka pehla Saka badshah tha, aur aakhri Saka badshah Azes doyam 6 eswi mein bhi Arachosia aur Punjab par hukumat kar raha tha. Isi daur ka Yunani musannif Isidore, jo Iran se Hindustan ke raste ki manzilen bayan karta hai, Arachosia ke bare mein likhta hai ke Parthi use "safed Hindustan" kehte hain.

Saka ke baad Hind Parthi aaye. Un ka sab se mashhoor badshah Gondophares tha jis ne Iranica ke mutabiq taqriban 20 se 46 eswi tak Seistan, Arachosia aur khas taur par Punjab par hukumat ki; us ki tareekh Takht-i Bahi ke ek katbe se tay hoti hai. Hind Parthi sikke Kandahar aur Begram ki taksalon se nikalte the aur un ki hukumat Seistan se Sindh tak phaili thi. Yani Balochistan ke shumal, maghrib aur mashriq, teenon taraf ek hi hukumat thi, magar Balochistan ke andar us ka koi nishan nahin mila.

Kushan: wasti Asia se Gandhara tak

Kushanon ki kahani China ki sarhad se shuru hoti hai. Chini tareekhon ke mutabiq Yuezhi namee qabail ko 176 qabl masih mein Xiongnu qabail ne shikast di aur woh maghrib ki taraf hijrat kar ke Bakhtar mein abad hue. Unhi ke ek hisse, Kushanon, ke sardar Kujula Kadphises ne pehli sadi eswi mein poori qabaili wafaq par hukumat qaim ki. Rabatak se milne wale Bakhtri zubaan ke katbe ne sab se mashhoor Kushan badshah Kanishka ka shajra de diya: Kujula Kadphises us ka pardada aur Vima Takto us ka dada tha; Kanishka se pehle Vima Kadphises ka daur aaya.

Kanishka ki tareekh par mahireen ek sadi se behas kar rahe hain; Iranica ke mutabiq ab yeh masla hal ke qareeb hai aur Kanishka ka sana 127 ya 128 eswi se shuru hota hai. Kushan saltanat wasti Asia aur shumali Hindustan ki badi taqat thi. Is daur mein Budh khanqahon aur stupon ki tameer barhi aur Gandhara ka woh fan paravan charha jis mein Buddha ko insani soorat mein classical tarz ke libas mein dikhaya gaya. Teesri sadi mein Sasani badshah Shapur awwal ne apne katbe mein dawa kiya ke "Kushan shehar" us ke qabze mein hai; woh kahani agle baab ki hai.

Balochistan ki zameen kya kehti hai?

Is poore daur ka sab se aham saboot Balochistan ke shumal mashriq, Loralai aur Duki ke ilaqe se mila hai. 1926 aur 1927 ke mausam-e-sarma mein Sir Aurel Stein ne darya-e-Thal ke kinare Tor Dherai namee teelay par ek Budh ibadatgah ki khudai ki. Unhein tarashe hue pattharon ka ek chabutra mila jis ki shumali deewar 47 feet aur mashriqi deewar 54 feet tak mili, aur jis ki sajawat Gandhara ke stupon jaisi thi. Stupe ke beech se haddiyon ke tukdon wala matti ka ek sandooqcha mila, aur pachas ke qareeb toote bartanon ke tukde jin par Kharoshthi aur Brahmi rasm-ul-khat mein tehreer thi.

Mahir-e-katbat Sten Konow ne 1929 mein in tukdon ko jor kar ek tehreer padhi: yeh "shahi Yola Mira" namee shakhs ki taraf se Budh bhikshuon ke liye ek "pani ghar" ka waqf tha, yani musafiron ke liye pani ki sabeel. Konow ka khayal tha ke yeh shakhs Kushanon ka koi maqami matehat hakim tha aur tehreer Kushan badshah Vasudeva ke zamane ya us ke baad ki hai. 2012 mein Boston University ke Pankaj Tandon ne dikhaya ke Yola Mira darasal ek maqami khandan "Paratа Raja" ka pehla sikka jari karne wala badshah tha, jis ka zamana taqriban 125 ta 150 eswi hai. In badshahon ke sikke Loralai ke gird milne ki ittilaat bar bar aayi hain, aur yeh khandan taqriban 300 eswi tak chala; us ke aakhri badshah ke sikke Kushano Sasani badshah Hormizd awwal ke sikkon par dobara thappe laga kar banaye gaye. Yani Kushan daur mein Balochistan ke is hisse mein ek maqami Budh hukmran khandan maujood tha.

2020 mein Hazara University ke mahireen Muhammad Zahir aur Muhammad Adris Khan ne Loralai ki tehsil Bori ka baqaida survey kiya aur 26 asari maqamat record kiye jin mein se barah par ibtidai tareekhi ya Budh daur ke asar the. Un ka nateeja yeh hai ke Balochistan mein Budh mat ki aamad, taraqqi aur zawal ke bare mein "amalan koi maloomat nahin" aur sooba mein asari tehqeeq "zyada se zyada be tarteeb" rahi hai. Yeh baab isi aitraf par khatam hota hai: is daur ke bare mein hum jo jante hain woh Kandahar, Gandhara aur Sindh ke sabooton se jante hain. Balochistan ke andar Loralai ka Tor Dherai is daur ki akeli roshan khirki hai, aur woh bhi ek sadi se band pari hai.

Agle itwar: Sasani daur: Turan aur Makuran, jab Iran ki nayi saltanat ne Balochistan ko apne subon mein shumar kiya.

Makhaz

Appian, Syrian Wars 55 (Seleucus "crossed the Indus and waged war with Androcottus, king of the Indians … until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship"), in Appian's Roman History, translated by Horace White, Loeb Classical Library, vol. II, 1912, p. 209. https://archive.org/details/appiansromanhist0002hora_s7t8/page/n220
Strabo, Geography 15.2.9 (the Paropamisadae, Arachoti and Gedroseni; "Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus, upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange five hundred elephants"), Loeb Classical Library vol. VII, 1930, p. 143, and 11.11.1 (the Greeks of Bactria, Menander and "Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus the king of the Bactrians"; Patalena), Loeb vol. V, 1928, pp. 279–281, translated by H. L. Jones. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57231/page/n153 · https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57229/page/n285
D. C. Sircar, Inscriptions of Asoka, revised edition, Publications Division, Government of India, Delhi, 1967: Chandragupta founder of the dynasty, Seleucus repulsed "About 305 B.C." and areas of Afghanistan and Baluchistan ceded, Bindusara and Ashoka (c. 272–232 B.C.), the Kandahar edicts, pp. 13–14; Antiyoka = Antiochus II, p. 17; the bilingual Greek–Aramaic edict at Shar-i-Kuna near Kandahar and "another edict of the same type", rocks and pillars, Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi, pp. 29–30; the pillars in the Nepalese Tarai, p. 35; Rock Edict XIII, p. 58. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.53393/page/n19 · https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.53393/page/n36
D. D. Kosambi, "Notes on the Kandahar Edict of Asoka", Miscellanea, pp. 204–205 (on the edition by G. Pugliese Carratelli and G. Levi Della Vida; "the Aramaic is not a translation of the Greek, but … both derive from a common source"; "The edict was composed specially for the frontier region"; non-killing and attentiveness to parents and elders). Journal offprint on archive.org. https://archive.org/details/notes-on-the-kandahar-edict-of-asoka-d.-d.-kosambi
Justin, Cornelius Nepos, and Eutropius, literally translated by J. S. Watson, Bohn's Classical Library, London, 1853: Justin 41.4 ("Theodotus, governor of the thousand cities of Bactria, revolted, and assumed the title of king"), p. 275; 41.6 ("Demetrius king of the Indians"), p. 277. https://archive.org/details/justincorneliusn00watsuoft/page/n296
A. D. H. Bivar, "Demetrius", Encyclopaedia Iranica VII/3, p. 257, 15 December 1994 (son of Euthydemus I; campaigns in India; Eucratides "around 175 B.C.E."; Demetrius "defeated, and apparently slain"; Justin 41.6 calls him king of India). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/demetrius
Robert C. Senior, "Indo-Scythian Dynasty", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 20 July 2005 (Maues "the first (Indo-)Scythian king of India"; "With so little else revealing the history of this period, it is left to an analysis of the surviving numismatic material"). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-scythian-dynasty
Isidore of Charax, Parthian Stations 18–19 ("Sacastana of the Scythian Sacae"; Arachosia, "the Parthians call this White India"; Alexandropolis, "the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek"), translated by Wilfred H. Schoff, Philadelphia, 1914, p. 9; Schoff's note identifying Alexandropolis with "the modern Kandahar", p. 34. https://archive.org/details/schoff-1914-parthian-stations-isidore-charax/page/n11
A. D. H. Bivar, "Gondophares", Encyclopaedia Iranica XI/2, pp. 135–136, 2002 (Gondophares 20–46 CE in Drangiana, Arachosia and especially the Punjab; the Takht-i Bahi inscription), and Christine Frohlich, "Indo-Parthian Dynasty", Encyclopaedia Iranica XIII/1, pp. 100–103, 2004 (rule "from Seistan … to Sindh"; Arachosian mints in the Kandahar area and the Begram region). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gondophares · https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-parthian-dynasty
A. D. H. Bivar, "Kushan Dynasty i. Dynastic History", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 15 July 2009 (the Yuezhi defeated by the Xiong-nu in 176 BCE and their migration west; Azes II in Arachosia and the Punjab in 6 CE; Kujula and the Tochari confederacy; the Rabatak genealogy; Vima Kadphises; Buddhist monuments and Gandhara sculpture "characterized by the human Buddha figure with classical draperies"; Shapur I's claim to Kusan-sahr; the era of Kanishka beginning 127/8 CE). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-dynasty-i-history
Pankaj Tandon, "The Location and Kings of Paradan", Studia Iranica 41 (2012), pp. 25–56 (coins reported repeatedly around Loralai, dynasty c. 125–300 CE, p. 27; Stein's potsherds of 1926–27 and Konow's reading, p. 31; Yolamira "the first to issue coins … dated to c. 125-150 CE", p. 32; overstrikes of Datayola II on Hormizd I, p. 35). Scan: https://archive.org/details/Tandon2012TheLocationAndKingsOfParadan/page/n6
Muhammad Zahir and Muhammad Adris Khan, "Tracking the Kingdom of Paradan in Balochistan Through Contextualization of the Early Historic/Buddhist Material Culture from Systematic Archaeological Survey at District Loralai, Pakistan", Sindh Antiquities (Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department, Government of Sindh) vol. 6 no. 1 (2020), pp. 25 ff. (26 sites, 13 multi-period, all but one with early historic/Buddhist material, and research "sporadic at best", p. 25; Tor Dherai, the 47 x 54 ft platform and Gandharan parallels, pp. 26–27; the relic casket citing Stein 1929, pp. 66–67, Konow's views and the prapa "for travellers", p. 27; "practically no information" and the century of neglect, p. 40). Journal PDF: https://www.saj.sindhculture.gov.pk/images/SAJ/Vol6No12020/03_Tracking_the_Kingdom_of.pdf · scan: https://archive.org/details/sindh-antiquities-volume-6-no-01/page/n27
Sten Konow (ed.), Kharoshthi Inscriptions with the Exception of those of Asoka, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum vol. II part I, Government of India Central Publication Branch, Calcutta, 1929 (Yola Mira "to belong to the time of Vasudeva or even later", p. lxxxii; the Tor Dherai potsherds, about fifty, five in Brahmi, pp. 173–176; prapa "a place or hall for providing water"; Yola Mira "a local governor or chief, probably under Kushana suzerainty", p. 175; translation, p. 176). https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.53483/page/n377
Aurel Stein, An Archaeological Tour in Waziristan and Northern Baluchistan, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India no. 37, Calcutta, 1929 (Tor-dherai "above the left bank of the Thal river", p. 64; the base, north side "47 feet" and east side "54 feet", mouldings and pilasters, p. 65). https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.35549/page/n69

Balochistan: Tareekh ka Safar: tamam tehreerein →