Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s2.t1.13

c9.s2.t1.13

The empire which Darius ruled with wisdom and vigour did not long survive his death. Xerxes, who succeeded his father in 486 B. C. and reigned till 465 B. C., had to face a sea of troubles. Rebellions broke out on all sides. We learn from a Persepolis inscription, usually assigned to the period between 486-480 B. C., that he destroyed the temple of the daivas. This, in all likelihood, has reference to India. It is, however, difficult to determine whether the Achaemenian ruler proclaimed a jihad in honour of Ahuramazda or was faced with a rebellion of the far-eastern province of his empire, the land of the Deva-worshippers. That the monarch succeeded in retaining some hold over the Indian provinces is amply attested by the fact that the people of Gandhāra as well as the Indians figured in the vast host that he led against Hellas in 480 B. C.