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[boredhistoryfan]

Battle of Hydaspes - Background

Alexander inherited the throne of the small kingdom of Macedonia, which the Greeks viewed as Barbaric, at the age of 20 after his father Phillip II was assassinated in 336 BCE. Phillip had been ambitious but he was clearly even more so for his son. Before he breathed his last, he is believed to have said to Alexander "Carve for yourself another kingdom, because the one I leave for you is too small". Alexander took his father's words to heart.

Before the 4th Century, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes. But even these city-states couldn't match the heights of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Stretching from the Balkans and Eastern Europe in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was larger than any previous empire in history.

But the young and ambitious Alexander wasn't daunted and he led an army against the Persian ruler Darius III and decisively defeated him in 331 BCE. Next he turned towards the Eastern Provinces of the Persian Empire. After establishing a series of outposts in Afghanistan, he ventured further into the sub continent.... his eyes were leading him towards India.

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/history-of-india-2000-years/when-alexander-reached-the-indus-326-323-bce/

[boredhistoryfan]

Battle of Hydaspes - Alexander's trail in India

When Alexander arrived in 327 BCE, the North-West of the larger Indian Sub-continent was peppered with a number of provinces. Some indulged in long and bitter fighting, while some easily surrendered. For example, the walled city of Astes, which was the stronghold of the Assakenoi (Ashvakayanas) faced Alexander on the battleground. Another important mention is that of Alexander's siege of the hill fort of Aornos, which according to the Greek Tradition, even Greek God Heracles has been unable to take.

One of Alexander's more famous encounters was with Ambhi, the King of Taxila. The encounter finds a mention in the 1st century Greek Literature. It describes how Omphis (Ambhi) whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Hydaspes (Jhelum), reached out to Alexander and extended a hand of friendship in exchange of 650 elephants and 3000 bulls.

It was now time for Alexander to cross the Indus. It was 326 BCE. The rationale for his further campaigns was his desire to conquer the entire world, which the Greeks then thought ended with India...

[academic-on-a-midnight-dreary-d]

Ik roz apni rooh se poocha, ke dilli kya hai, toh yun jawab me keh gayi, yeh duniya maano jism hai aur dilli uski jaan. (One day I asked my soul: what is Delhi? She replied: The world is the body and Delhi is its soul.)

-Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib

[a-smr-things]

An Indian Classical Music Aesthetic

Tagging people who might like this: @indianaesthetic @jugn00 @gopikanyari @didyouputyournameinthegobi @holding-infinity-and-a-book @sinkyx01 @starviki @supermeh-krishnah @chaashni @psycho-mocha @tothestarsandback @the-stars-love-me @simposexual

[kavinam-indra-bharathi]

Credit to Smr-the-tired-crackhead

[mayavanavihariniharini-deactiva]

CLASSICAL MUSIC IS MY LIFE! And OMG MS SUBBULAKSHMI IS A FOREVERFAVE!

Thanks for doing this, @smr-the-tired-crackhead!

Idk if you have seen this but @gayromanticsap​ @chaitastrophicpeepalert​ this reminded me of you, my fellow classical music (especially Carnatic classical) nerds!

[boredhistoryfan]

Yellow | White | Green | Brown

Nandalal Bose Paintings

[boredhistoryfan]

Yellow | Brown | White | Blue

Nandlal Bose Paintings

[drama-is-for-youu]

Pakeezah (1972)

[boredhistoryfan]

Follow me on insta at @pastlore for more interesting tidbits on Indian history ❤️

[boredhistoryfan]

Brown | Black | Yellow

Abinandranath Tagore Paintings

[boredhistoryfan]

Afghanistan | Cambodia | Japan | Bhutan | Thailand | Korea | Sri Lanka | India

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth"

Happy Buddha Purnima

[boredhistoryfan]

Yellow | Black | Green | Red

4 colours, Infinite Stories ; Paintings by Raja Ravi Varma

[acrosscenturiesandgenerations]

▪Throne and footstool. Place of origin: South India (Travancore) Date: 1850 Provenance: Presented to Queen Victoria by the Maharajah of Travancore in 1851.

[ashmoleanmuseum]

OUR MUSEUM: OUR VOICES

Part of the beauty of an object, or a museum collection, lies in its capacity to respond to more than one gaze and to unlock more than one story. We're committed to hearing and telling as many of those stories as possible.

One of the ways we're doing this is through 'Our Museum: Our Voices', a programme in which we asked 24 students to write alternative labels for objects on display in our galleries. The labels are written from personal experience as well as expertise, with participants considering their ethnicity, gender and sexuality in responding to the collections.

Keep an eye out for 'Our Museum: Our Voices' labels as you roam the galleries during your next visit, and explore a virtual exhibition of the objects and their labels here: https://www.ashmolean.org/omov

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Seated Vishnu Depicted as King of Boon Bestowers (Varadaraja).

Date: A.D. 14th century

Place of origin: India, Tamil Nadu

Medium: Lost-wax cast copper alloy.

[boredhistoryfan]

Thanjavur attained prominence under The Cholas in the 9th century. Vijayalaya, the first great ruler of the dynasty made it his capital.

The Brihadisvara temple is a symbol of the greatness of the Chola empire under its author, emperor Rajaraja (985-1012), whose splendour it reflects.  The long series of epigraphs incised in elegant letters on the plinth all round the gigantic edifice reveals the persona¬ lity of the emperor. 

As we gather from the inscriptions running throughout the plinth, the king, on the two hundred and seventy-fifth day of the twenty-fifth year of the reign (1010), presented a gold-covered finial to be planted on the top of the vimdna of the temple. The temple is the most ambitious of the architectural enterprises of the Cholas and is a fitting symbol of the magnificent achievements of Raja Raja. The endowments that he made for his temple were numerous and in his munificence he was joined by not only the members of his family but high officials and noble¬ men.

[gulposh]

Dil Se (1998)

[niramish]

Kṛṣṇa and the Pandavas visiting the dying Bhishma from the epic Razmnameh. Mughal, by Ram Das, c.1598.

Razm-nama, last hours of Bhisma, talking to Yudhisthira, by Husain ‘Ali, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, 1598

Bhishma on the deathbed, 1750, Folio from a smaller Mahabharata Series, Manaku and his workshop. 

Death of Bhīṣma, from a Mahābhārata]. Kishangarh, Rajasthan, India, ca. 1775.

Bhisma felled in battle, an illustration to the Mahabharata, India, Pahari, first half 19th century

Bhishma Pitamaha on arrow bed, Rajasthan, 18th century

Bed of Arrows (Bhishma), Gaganendranath Tagore, 1922-25.

Untitled (Bhishma), M.F. Husain, 1970s

Bhishma - 10th Day Kurukshetra

Bhishma, M.F. Husain, 1983

Mahabharata, M.F. Husain 1990