Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c13.s1.24

c13.s1.24

Among interesting relics of Persian dominion in India mention is sometimes made of a Taxila inscription in Aramaic characters of the fourth or fifth century B.C.³ But Herzfeld points out⁴ that the form *Priyadarśana* occurs in the record which should be referred to the reign of Aśoka, and not to the period of Persian rule. To the Persians is also attributed the introduction of the *Kharoshṭhī* alphabet, the “Persepolitan capital” and words like “*dipi*” (rescript) and “*nipishṭa*” (“written”) occurring in the inscriptions of Aśoka. Persian influence has also been traced in the preamble of the Aśokan edicts.