under Menander The Indo-Greek king Menander I (reigned 160- 135 BCE) had his capital in Sagala, in today’s northern Punjab, and is described by Strabo as one of the most powerful Greek kings of the period, even greater than Alexander the Great. Menander probably converted to Buddhism, and seems to have encouraged the spread of the faith within the Indian subcontinent, and possibly into Central Asia as well. A documented example of the influence of a Greek Buddhist monk is found in the Mahavamsa again: Mahadharmaraksita During the time of Menander I, the Yona (Ionian) Mahadhammarakkhita () is said to have come from “Alasandra” (thought to be Alexandria of the Caucasus, the city founded by Alexander the Great, near today’s Kabul) with 30,000 monks for the foundation ceremony of the Maha Thupa ("Great stupa") at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, during the 2nd century BCE. "From Alasanda the city of the Yonas came the thera Yona Mahadhammarakkhita with thirty thousand bhikkhus." (Mahavamsa, XXIX) These elements tend to indicate the importance of Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern India, and the prominent role Greek Buddhist monks played in them, as well as throughout the Indian subcontinent and possibly as far as the Mediterranean, during the last centuries before the current era. See also Buddhist monasticism & Sangha Milinda Panha Edicts of Ashoka Greco-Buddhism Mahadharmaraksita Buddhism in Greece History of Buddhism Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations References “The shape of ancient thought. Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian philosophies”, by Thomas Mc Evilly (Allworth Press, New York 2002) "The Edicts of King Asoka: An English Rendering" by Ven. S. Dhammika (The Wheel Publication No. 386/387) External links Full text of the Mahavamsa Full text of the Milinda Panha Full text of the Edicts of Ashoka Description of Ashoka’s proselytism according to the Pali canon Greco-Buddhism Indo-Greek religions and philosophy