Persian Invasions
Cyrus (558-530 BCE)
- Cyrus the Great was the greatest conqueror of the Achaemenid Empire
- He was the first conqueror who led an expedition and entered into India
- He captured the Gandhara region. All Indian tribes to the west of the Indus river submitted to him and paid tribute
Darius I (522-486 BCE)
- Grandson of Cyrus, conquered the Indus Valley in 518 BCE and annexed the Punjab and Sindh
- This region became the 20th Satrapy of his empire. It was the most fertile and populous province of the empire
- He also sent a naval expedition under Skylas to explore the Indus
Xerxes (465-456 BCE)
- He utilised his Indian province to strengthen his position
- He deployed Indian infantry and cavalry to Greece to fight but faced a defeat in Greece
- After this failure, the Achaemenians could not follow a forward policy in India. However, the Indian province was still under their control
- Darius III enlisted Indian soldiers to fight against Alexander in 330 BCE