Gangaridai

Gangaridai (Greek: Γανγαρίδαι Gangaridae) was an ancient state, which existed around 300 BC, in the Bengal region of the Indian Subcontinent. It was described by the Greek traveller Megasthenes in his work Indica. Greek and Latin historians suggested that Alexander the Great withdrew from the Indian Subcontinent, anticipating the valiant joint counterattack of the mighty Gangaridai and Prasii (Nanda) Empires, the latter located in central Bihar. The capital of the Gangaridais is believed to be situated at Kotalipara.

Location

Ptolemy (c.90 – c.168), wrote that the Gangaridai occupied the entire region about the five mouths of the Ganges and that the royal residence was in the city of "Ganges". The five mouths were:

The Periplus refers Gangaridai to be located on the Bay of Bengal north to the port city of Dosarene in Kalinga (ancient Odisha). Its main city, with the same name as the river Ganges, was on the bank of the river. Strabo, Pliny, Arrian, et al. compiled a map of India as known to the early Greeks, based on Indica of Megasthenes (4th century BC), where the Gangaridai state has been shown in the lower Ganges and its tributaries. However, all the Greek, Latin and Egyptian accounts about Gangaridai suggest that the country was located in the deltaic region of Southern Bengal.