anaveno - Macedonian Civilization

We continue with the world famous personalities that had Macedonian origin.
We will make a reference of the most famous ancient Indian king Asoka, for who there are strong indications that he had, in part, Macedonian origin.
It is known that after the death of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian army was driven out of India.
On the head of this campaign was the Indian Chandrgupta, who in 326 B.C, when he was a boy, saw Alexander in person in Punjab.

A MACEDONIAN-INDIAN MARRIAGE

During that time with a part of the Asian territories (that were conquered
previously by Alexander the Great), were governed by his general Salvek (who founded the dynasty and the state of the Selvekies). The clash between Selvek and Chandragupta ended with the of the army of Selvek. After that a peace and friendship existed between Chandragupta and Selvek. Chandragupta gave Selvek very expensive gifts and 500 war elephants, and Selvek gave to Chandragupta his daughter for a wife.

In the history of India presented of the Internet, these events are told by the words:
“The invasion of Alexander forced the Indians to create a centralized state. Chadragupta declared war and defeated Selvek Nikator, a Macedonian governor of the northwestern territories, that were conquered by Alexander.
Chandragupta took from Slelvek the territories of: Punjab, Kabul, Kandahar, Gadar and Persia. After that the daughter of Selvek was married to Chandragupta”
(India World Communications PvtLtd Attention: Editor, Itihaas 304, Tul siani Chambers 212,Nariman Point Mumbai 400 021.India http://www.itihaas.com/contrib.html ).
After he abdicated, Chandragupta was inherited by his son Bidusara who, also, maintained good relations with the neineighboring state of the Macedonian Selveky.
Actually, Chandragupta and his heirs are known under the name Mauria dynasty.
Bandusra was replaced by his son Asoka Vardhana (271-232 B.C), who expanded the borders of the Indian state.

Asoka was a big follower of Buddhism. He build a large number of Buddhist temples and sanctuaries and spread Buddhism to a large part of India (and beyond). He sent
Buddhist preacher to various parts of the world. Some of them came even to Macedonia, and others were staying in the states that were governed by the Macedonian dynasties of Selvikidats and the Ptolomueis. Simply, Asoka made a decisive influence on the development of Buddhism and his name was written down in luminous letters in the development
of this religion. Buddhist all over the world treat the image and accomplishment of this king with great respect.

THE ORIGIN OF ASOKA

What is les known in our public is the fact that many of the researchers figure that Asoka had in part Macedonian blood!
Although little is known about his life, there are indications that show a probability that he was the son of the son that was born from the marriage between Chandragupta and the daughter of the Macedonian king Selvek. Practically, the daughter of the Macedonian Selevek was
probably the birth grand mother of the most important Indian king Asoka. The famous
Indian historian and researcher of the heritage of the Balkan culture in India d-r Ranajit Pal from Calcutta, clearly states that the king Asoka was a birth grandson of the daughter of Selevek, and he supports this with the fact that the second name of Asoka (which was Vardana), had Balkan origin (d-r Ranajit Pal: “The Olters of Alexander now standing at Delhi”.
He has published two books in which the stay of Alexander in India is mentioned.

They are: "Gotama Buddha in West Asia", published in Osaka, Japan, together with the historian Toho Shuppan, and the second is "The Mystery of Buddha", which is published together with the Japanese historian T. Sato, by the publishing house of Suppo Shin Sha, Tokyo,Japan.
According to the letter which was sent to us by d-r Pal, his works that are quoted here can be found on the internet at www.geocities.com/ranajitda/
That the most famous ancient king of India Asoka had in part Macedonian origin is some thing that historian R. Tapar also agrees. He figures that the king Asoka and the then Macedonian king Antiox (from the dynasty of the Selvekidats) were close relatives (“Asoka and the Decline
of the Mauryas”, Oxford University Press", 1961).
The same thing is said in the book “Early India and Pakistan” by the historian Wheeler.
For the ethnic origin of the king Asoka, we can read:
“It is quite possible that Asoka carried in his veins carried the blood of Selevekidits. During the time of the rule of his father it is possible that living accounts about Alexander, and he, when he became king, he him self tells us about his relations with the western powers”
(Wheeler: “Early India and Pakistan”, Thames and Hudson, 1968, p. 170).

The king Asoka is also famous by the things he left in his records. They are the famous Pillars of Asoka, that today are considered as one of the most important cultural monuments of ancient India. The texts that are written on these pillars represent a collection of edicts, dedicated to the reforms that Asoka implemented, as well as the moral principals
for the behavior of people. In this work he mentions the current rulers of the state of the Ptolemaist, of the Selevekidits and of Macedonia. Actually he is writing about the attempts of spreading of Buddhism in these states.
(“The Edicts of King Ashoka”, an English rendering by Ven. S. Dhammika The Wheel Publication No. 386/387 ISBN 955-24-0104-6; Published in 1993 Buddhist Publication
Society, Sri Lanka).
Most scientists consider that some of the key ideas which Asoka represented in his edicts actually took the ideas of Alexander the Great. For instance the idea of brotherhood among peoples. Some scientists reconthat the pillars of Asoka, actually represent the oltars
that Alexander placed there, and that the king Asoka, 50 years latter, just used these oltars for his records. After the death of Asoka the mighty Indian state of Magadha fell apart to a few smaller kingdoms.
The dynasty of Mauria is certainly the most famous Indian dynasty in antiquities. In the time of this dynasty the world famous Kama Sutra was made. Because the fact that the daughter of the Macedonian ruler Selevk married the founder of the Mauria dynasty, practically in this most famous Indian dynasty had Macedonian blood that most likely flowed trough the veins of the most famous ancient king Asoka.

Aleksandar Donski

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