Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c5.58

c5.58

The Greek Satrapies. Nor was the attitude of the Indians, who were subdued, more favourable. Their spirit of revolt was not subdued. The administrative arrangements which Alexander made to secure his conquests betray his own sense of their insecurity. He divided Greek India into six Satrapies, three on the west side of the Indus, and three on the east. The three western Satraps were Greeks, but not the eastern Satraps who were all Indians. Of the three western Satraps, Peithon was posted as governor of Sind. Nicanor was placed in charge of the province called 'India-west-of-the Indus'. It comprised lower Kabul valley and the hill-tracts up to the Hindukush, with its capital at Pushkalāvatī (Charsadda). The governor had at his disposal a Macedonian garrison under commandant Philip. Higher up, Oxyartes was appointed governor of the province of Paropanisadae (Kabul valley) with its capital at the new city called 'Alexandria under the Caucasus'. At first, Alexander tried Persian Satraps, but they failed. As Curtius informs us [IX. 8], "there were charges of extortion and tyranny proved against the Persian Satrap, Tyriespes, by the people of the Paropanisadae." This was about 326 B.C. Conditions were sought to be stabilised by Alexander appointing as Satrap his own father-in-law, Oxyartes, another Iranian noble.