The Mauryan Polity c9.s2.t3.3

c9.s2.t3.3

The friendly relations between India and the Hellenistic kingdoms begun by Candragupta continued during the reigns of his successors. Dionysius came to Bindusāra as the envoy of Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt, and Daimachus as the envoy of Antiochus I Soter of Syria. It is not yet settled whether Dionysius delivered his letters of credence to Bindusāra or his son Aśoka, for the rule of Ptolemy Philadelphus extended from 285 to 246 B.C.² It is evident that both these envoys followed the example of Megasthenes and left records of their observations with regard to the country. Very few of the notes of Daimachus are preserved while those of Dionysus are lost. About the latter Pliny mentions in his *Natural History*, VI, 17 and 58.¹