Cultures > Kambojas

Kambojas

Background

The Kambojas were a tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. The tribe coalesced to become one of the solasa (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya. The ancient Kambojas were probably of Indo-Iranian origin. They are, however, sometimes described as Indo-Aryans[page needed][volume needed] and sometimes as having both Indian and Iranian affinities. The Kambojas are also described as a royal clan of the Sakas.The Kambojas entered into conflict with Alexander the Great as he invaded Central Asia. The Macedonian conqueror made short shrift of the arrangements of Darius and after over-running the Achaemenid Empire he dashed into today's eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. There he encountered incredible resistance of the Kamboja Aspasioi and Assakenoi tribes.[40][41]The Ashvayans (Aspasioi) were also good cattle breeders and agriculturists. This is clear from the large number of bullocks, 230,000 according to Arrian, of a size and shape superior to what the Macedonians had known, that Alexander captured from them and decided to send to Macedonia for agriculture.[42][43]

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