Invaders and Visitors

Foreign Invaders and points to remember.

Invader

Points to remember

He was the first to invade India in 326 B.C. He defeated King Porus on the banks
of River Jhelum. The battle is known as the Battle of Hydaspes. Dhana Nanda of
Alexander
the Nanda dynasty was in power in northern and eastern India at the time of his
invasion. Alexander's army mutinied, possibly at the prospect of facing a strong
army of the Nandas and Alexander decided to return to Macedonia.
He was a Mongolian who conquered some kingdoms on the banks of River Indus
Chengiz Khan
in 1221 A.D. The ruler of Delhi at that time was Iltutmish.
Mohammed He was first muslim to invade India in 712 A.D. He conquered Sindh and Punjab
Bin Qasim
regions along the Indus river but did not advance further.
Timur Lang or Timur the Lame, was a muslim conqueror who invaded India in
Timur
1398. The ruler of Delhi at the time was Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah.
He was the ruler of Iran who invaded India in 1738. He defeated the Mughal
Nadir Shah
Emperor Muhammed Shah and carried with him the Peacock throne and the
Kohinoor diamond.
He was the ruler of Afghanistan who invaded India several times between 1747
Ahmed Shah
& 1767, the most famous being the invasion of 1761 when he defeated the
Abdali
Marathas in the 3rd battle of Panipat.

Foreign Visitors and points to remember.

Visitor
Megasthenes
Fahien
Huien Tsang
Alberuni
Marco Polo
Ibn Batuta
Thomas Roe
William
Hawkins
Nicolo Conti
Abdul Razak
St Thomas
Francois
Bernier

Points to remember
He was the ambassador of Seleucus in the court of Chandragupta Maurya known
to the Greek as Sandrocottus. He was also the author of a book 'Indica'.
He was a Chinese Buddhist monk who visited India during the reign of
Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II). He is known for his visit to Lumbini, the
birthplace of the Buddha. His journey is described in his travelogue "Record of
Buddhist Kingdoms ...".
He was a Chinese traveller who visited India during the time of Harsha Vardhana.
His book is called Si-yu-ki or 'The Records of the Western World'.
A persian scholar, he accompanied Mohammed of Ghazni and wrote a book titled
'Tahqiq-i-hind'. He was the first mulsim scholar to study India. He is regarded as
the father of Indology.
He was a well known European traveller who visited many Eastern countries,
including India. He visited Southern India where Rudramma Devi of the
Kakatiyas was in power.
Ibn Batuta was a Moroccon traveller who visited India during the time of
Mohammed Bin Tughlaq. His account of travels is known as the Rihla.
Sir Thomas Roe was an English diplomat who visited the court of Jahangir in
1615 to seek protection for an English factory at Surat. His Journal of the mission
to the Mogul Empire is a valuable contribution to the history of India of the time.
Captain William Hawkins led the first voyage of the English East India Company
to India in 1609 when Jahangir was in power. He had a personal letter from King
James I of England 1609, but did not succeed in seeking Jahangir's permission to
establish a factory.
Italian merchant who visited India during the period of Deva Raya I of
Vijayanagar (1420)
He was a Persian cholar and ambassador of the ruler of Persia to Calicut who
visited India during the rule of Deva Raya II of Vijayanagar during 1442 to 1445.
He is believed to be the first Christian saint to visit India in 52 A.D..
He was a French physician and traveller who visited India during 1658 and 1671.
He was the personal physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for around 12
years during his stay in India. He wrote Travels in the Mughal Empire, which is
mainly about the reigns of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.