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[German version] (Μαισῶλος; Maisôlos). Indian river, has its source in the Orudia mountain range (unclear according to [1]) and flows south to the Gulf of the Ganges (Ptol. 7,1,15; 37). Either modern Godavari or rather Kistna (Krishna) at whose delta the city of Masulipatam still lies today. Dey [2] also equates the name of the river M. with Old Indian Mahāósāla, a place of pilgrimage on the Godavari. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 O. Stein, s.v. Ὀρούδια, RE 18, 1526f. 2 N. L. Dey, The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India, 1927.

[German version] (Κάβουρα, Ptol. 6,18,5, erroneously there also Károura), also called Ortospana; probably what is now Kabul on the  Cophen (Sanskrit Kubhā). In the Alexander histories, C. is never mentioned; following the  Bematistai however it is cited by Plin. HN 6,61 as Ortospanum. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. Herrmann, s.v. Kabura, RE 10, 1452f. O. Stein, s.v. Ortospanum, RE 18, 1507f.

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[German version] I. Name Old Indian Sindhu as the name for the Indus river, is attested (with Iranian h) as Hindu in the ancient Persian inscriptions; from this came Greek Ἰνδός ( Indōs; with the Ionian loss of h) for the river and then Ἰνδική ( Indikḗ) for the country. The Latin terms are Indus and India. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) [German version] II. Early relationships Whilst relationships between north-western I. and Mesopotamia go back to the 3rd millennium BC, I. became known in Greece only in the late 6th cent. through Scylax (FGrH 709), who visited …

[German version] (Ἰαβαδίου; Iabadíou; Old Indic Yavadvīpa, modern Java or Sumatra). Large island in south-east Asia (Ptol. 7,2,29). The identification is still disputed but Ptolemy knew that the name meant ‘Island of Barley’ (Old Indic, yava, barley). Supposedly it was rich in gold and its capital was called Argyre. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. Herrmann, s.v. I. nesos, RE 9, 1175-77.

[German version] (Ὑδραώτης/ Hydraṓtēs in Arr., Ὑάρωτις/ Hyárōtis in Str., Hiarotis in Curt. is based on a Middle Indian form for Old Indian Airāvatī/Irāwatī, probably passed down through Iranian and following Greek ὕδωρ/ hýdōr); one of the main rivers of the Punjab, modern Rāvī in Pakistan; originates in the western Himalayas, flows into the  Acesines [2] (Chenāb) and became known to the Greeks through Alexander's campaign. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography E. Kiessling, s.v. Hyarotis, RE 9, 23f.

[German version] According to Ptol. 7,1,42, a people of north-western India, in the east of modern Afghanistan; Old Indian …

[German version] (Ἀβαστάνοι; Abastánoi), also Abastanes. Indian people (Arr. Anab. 6,15,1), called …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Virapatnam). Village and archaeological site on the east coast of southern India, in the south of Pondicherry, the Podouke of Peripl. M. Rubr. and Ptol.; finds in A. created the basis for a ch…

[German version] (Ναναγούνας; Nanagoúnas). River in western India, rising in the Vindhya mountains (Οὐίνδιον; Ouíndion). Ptol. 7,1,32 (also 7,1,7 and 66). Perhaps modern Tapti. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Ναναγούνας, RE 16, 1672f.  …

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[German version] Members of an Indian dynasty founded at the end of the 4th century BC by Chandragupta Maurya (

[German version] The modern Indian Ocean (IO) was mostly known to the Greeks as   Erythrá thálatta [1] which actually only referred to the western part. With the increase in geographical knowledge, Erythrá thálatta was also used for the entire ocean (e.g. Peripl. m.r.) that was otherwise called the Indian Sea (Ἰνδικὸν πέλαγος/ Indikòn pélagos, Ptol. 7,1,1; 7,2,1) or IO (Ἰνδικὸς ὠκεανός/ Indikòs ṓkeanós, Agathemerus 2,4; Oceanus Indicus, Mela 1,9, Sen. Q Nat. 4,2,4). With the large gulfs (Sinus Gangeticus, Sabaracus and Perimulicus) it formed the southern bounda…

[German version] (Ἔπανδρος Νικηφόρος; Épandros Nikēphóros) Indo-Greek king in the 1st cent. BC. He is documented only by his coins (Middle-Indian Epadra). Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography Bopearachchi 103, 305f.

[German version] (Νάουρα/ Náoura). Port in the district of Limyrice, southern India (Peripl. m. r. 53). Because both here and in Ptol. 7,1,8f. the name is followed by Tyndis, Muziris and Nelkynda, in that order, N., as the northernmost of the cities, must correspond to the Nitraíai empórion of Ptol. 7,1,7 (cf. Nitriae in Plin. HN 6,26,104). The precise location of N. remains unknown. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Νάουρα, RE 16, 2014f.

[German version] (Νόσαλα; Nósala). Uninhabited island on the Gedrosian coast of the Ichthyophagi (Arr. Ind. 31), location unknown. The island, which was visited by Nearchus [2], was 100 stadia from the coast, and was regarded by the Ichthyophagi as sacred to the Sun. Nearchus' visit to the island is also mentioned in Str. 15,2,13. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Νόσαλα, RE 17, 1051f.

[German version] (Κάσπειρα; Káspeira). City of the Caspiraei in India (Ptol. 7,1,47; 49). The name C. was often associated with modern Cashmere, but whereas Ptolemaeus locates C. in the eastern Punjab, the Caspiraei's territory extends from the Punjab as far as the Vindhya mountains in the south; the Caspiraei appear therefore to have lived approximately in modern Rajasthan and Gujarāt. Ptol. (7,1,42), however, connects the land of Caspeiria with the upper reaches of the Jhelum, the Chenāb and the Rāvi, and this again rather suggests Cashmere. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliograph…

The Old Indian name M. designates two towns. [German version] [1] Indian locality at the confluence of the Yamuna and the Ganges This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | Mauryas The northern M. (also Méthōra/Μέθωρα in Megasthenes fr. 13a apud Arr. Ind. 8,5) in the land of Śūrasena, at the confluence of the Yamuna and the Ganges. It was an old and important centre of the cult of Kṛsṇa, but also of that of the Indian Heracles; the latter may not, however, be simply identified with Kṛsṇa. Ptol. 7,1,…