1840.] from Bactrian and Indo-Scythian coins. 469 



He found these countries and nations in the state which must 

 have subsisted during the whole period of the Achsemenides ; 

 for the rulers of Persepolis in succession to Darius, the son of 

 Hystapes, who perhaps exercised a more vigorous authority, were 

 satisfied with the attendance of those remote nations in the 

 field on occasion of war, and with the regular transmission of 

 tribute ; they did not disturb the tribes in their national customs 

 and institutions, though they were powerful enough to check 

 the violent inroads of the northern hordes, by whose success 

 national characteristics were afterwards introduced of a totally 

 novel description. 



When Alexander after having subdued the Drangges and 

 Arachosians set out for Bactria, he encountered Indians for the 

 first time.* Having subdued them, he reaches the Caucasus, and 

 founded on its skirt an Alexandria, the situation of which, ac- 

 cording to the careful examinations of Mr. Massonf must be 

 most probably looked for near Beghram. The Indians above al- 

 luded to, therefore inhabited the highlands, which separate the 

 streams running to the Helmund, from the tributaries of the Ca- 

 bul. Strabo calls those Indians Paropamisades, but uses, how- 

 ever, as he often does, an inaccurate term, when he states, that 

 Alexander had penetrated to the Arachosians through the Paro- 

 pamisades.J The passage through their country during the 

 winter season was difficult on account of the large quantity of 

 snow, but it abounded with villages and provisions for the army ; 

 it was the highland westwards from Cabul. 



We again follow the march of Alexander, when returning to 

 Alexandria Sub-Caucaso ; he passes for the second time the 

 Hindookush, the town is then called Alexandria in Paropami- 

 sades.§ These Indians are therefore obviously called by a 

 peculiar name, after the mountains, viz. Paropamisades, the 

 name of the mountains which they inhabited, being partly Paro- 

 pamisus,|| and partly Caucasus, and this name refers as well to 



* Arr. III. 28. t As. T. V. p. 6. 



X XV. Ariana, § 10. § Arr. IV. 22. 



|| Ptolemy, more correctly Paropanisus ; it is the country under the 

 mountains, which are called Nishada in Indian geography. That the 

 ancient geographers have assigned the name Paropamisus to the more 

 western mountains, we are not authorized to assert. — (Lassen). 



