Antiochus II Theos - Relations With India

Relations With India

Antiochus is mentioned in the Edicts of Ashoka, as one of the recipients of the Indian Emperor Ashoka's Buddhist proselytizing, although no Western historical record of this event remains:

"And even this conquest has been won by the Beloved of the Gods here and in all the borderlands, as far as six hundred yojanas (5,400-9,600 km) away, where Antiochos, king of the Yavanas rules, and beyond this Antiochus four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule,".

Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in the territories of the Hellenistic kings:

"Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochos rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals."