Intercourse between India and the Western World from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome c8.63

c8.63

Of the army of Chandragupta, the famous force which defeated Seleukus Nikator, Megasthenes gives us a very full account². Its numbers are possibly exaggerated, as is the size of nearly everything in India by the Greeks. It consisted of cavalry, infantry, chariots and elephants³, and its total number was said to be 400,000. Possibly this includes the grooms, buglers, gong-beaters, ox-drivers, mechanics and foragers—the vast array of suttlers which follows an oriental army. It was managed by a very efficient War Office, with a department in charge of each arm of the service. There were stables for the horses, chariots and elephants, and magazines where all arms had to be stored when not in use. The chariots on the march were drawn by oxen, so as to keep the horses fresh: in battle, two men-at-arms stood by the driver, and each elephant carried four sharpshooters. The horses were driven with a spiked muzzle, a halter instead of a bridle, and the infantry were armed with long shields of undressed oxhide, two-handed swords, and bows of great length and power, which they discharged by resting them on the ground against the left foot.