If curry is a national dish of Sumeru, then there is some connection between Sumeru and India, a civilization that has historically had very deep ties with China. One of the greatest cultural ties between China and India is the religion of Buddhism, spread along the Silk Road 2000 years ago. Nowadays, Buddhism is mostly found in China and other parts of East Asia. But even in modern times, Hinduism still retains many similarities with Buddhism, so it would be a mistake to say that Buddhism has disappeared from India. Rather, it lives on in India via Hinduism.
The Indus River Valley is one of the original cradles of civilization (the others being China, Sumer, Egypt). The first script appeared around 2700 bc and is known as the Harappan script. It remains undeciphered to this day. It was used from 2700-1900 bc. Around 2000 bc, the Aryans started settling into north India, bringing with them the Vedic Sanskrit and religion. Sanskrit (梵语) is associated with some of the oldest scripture of the Vedic and Hindu canon. Hindu is from the name Sindhu, referring to the Indus river valley. The change from the s to h sound occurred around 800 bc.
The Vedas (Rigveda, etc.) were composed between 1500-800 bc and passed down via oral tradition. Some famous scriptures such as the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita were composed around 400 bc. In general, the purana refer to a genre of South Asian literature on mythological legends (composed in Sanskrit). The name of the Sumeru chapter 'Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana' makes a reference to this.
The term Vedas means knowledge, suiting how Sumeru is the land of knowledge. It is cognate with words like verify, veritas in European languages. The corpus of similar words between European and Indian languages has led several linguistic scholars to hypothesize that there is a common origin and that the 'Aryan' people are the ancestors of many Europeans and Indians today. Taking this one step further, there are many cognates and linguistic similarities between these 'Aryan' languages and Chinese languages, suggesting a common root for 'Sino-Aryan' languages.
For example, the Andronovo culture spanning Central Asia and West China is thought to be one of the origins of the Aryan people. The connection between the Aryan people and China does not get any more obvious than this.
It is possible the ancient Harappan civilization was not Aryan in origin, but rather indigenous. A contender for the progenitor of this civilization could be the Dravidian people of India (who now inhabit South India).
The first deciphered writing of India appeared around 250 bc with the Edicts of Ashoka as well as Tolkaappiyam (written in Tamil). Ashoka was the third emperor of the Mauryan/Chandragupta empire and grandson of the founder Chandragupta. Today, Ashoka's Chakra (wheel) is adopted as a symbol in the Indian national flag. Ashoka is credited with spreading Buddhism throughout Asia along the Silk Road.
The Edicts contained inscriptions in the Prakrit, Aramaic, and Greek languages (from Alexander's empire). They were carved in stones and pillars scattered throughout Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
The Prakrit language was written in the Brahmi script (an abugida), the ancestor of most scripts now used in India and Southeast Asia (including the Devanagari script) as well as the Kharosthi script (used from India to Central Asia before going extinct).
The Edicts also feature the Hindu-Arabic numeric system, which would later be spread through the works of Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, inventor of algebra and algorithm, as well as Arab Abbasid mathematician Al-Kindi (Abu Yousuf Ya'qub ibn 'Ishaq as-Sabbah al-Kindi). Zero would be invented in India around the 500s ce. The number system used in the USA, Europe, and most of the world is based on the Hindu-Arabic numerals. There are some places in the world that retain their own versions of the number system (the Middle East / Persia, China, India, etc).
The Edicts also cover a lot of other topics, such as the Bodhi tree and Buddhism. Ashoka's Edicts also contain Achaemenid influences in the form of Iranian loanwords (via Aramaic) and terms specifically from Darius' Behistun inscription and Xerxes' daiva inscription in the Persian capital of Persepolis.
Besides Persian, there are theories suggesting that Greek inscriptions of the Delphic maxims in Ai-Khanoum (Afghanistan) from 300 bc may have influenced the Edicts as well.
Meanwhile, the Tolkaappiaym is one of the oldest extant works of classical Tamil literature. Tamil is part of the Dravidian languages of South India, and these are different from the Indo-Aryan languages of the north (Sanskrit, Hindustani, etc). It is believed that the Dravidian and Tamil culture has a longer history in India (and is native to India) whereas the Indo-Aryans and Sanskrit of the north is a more recent invasion into the subcontinent.
Nowadays, there are many words shared between Aryan and Dravidian languages. For example, the term Akasha used in Sumeru means 'sky' (space or aether) in many Indian languages, both Aryan and Dravidian. So the Akasha terminal created by Rukkhadevata can literally mean 'sky terminal'.
Several words in English are loanwords from the Indian languages, including yoga (the exercise) and guru (teacher).
The 6 darshans of the Sumeru Akademiya appear inspired by the 6 darshans of Hindu philosophy. Darshan (दर्शन) means school of thought. Buddhism and Jainism are examples of non-Hindu darshans. Darshanam refers to an auspicious vision of a deity. In Hinduism the 6 darshans are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedanta. In Sumeru, they changed the names of these 6 schools, using some Persian terminology as well.
Besides the Vedas, there was also the Vedanga, the six 'limbs' of Veda or the six auxiliary studies that complemented the Vedas. These six Vedanga included Shiksha (phonetics), Chandas (poetry), Vyākaraṇa (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Kalpa (ritual), and Jyotisha (astronomy). Of these, Kalpa features in the archon quest name for Sumeru (Akasha pulses, Kalpa flame rises). The Kalpa is involved with rites of passage for major life events, such as life, death, etc. In the context of Sumeru's quest, the Kalpa could refer to the death of the former dendro archon Rukkhadevata when Nahida purged the forbidden knowledge from the Irminsul and the world forgets the old Rukkhadevata, the birth of a new god Scaramouche, or the rising of Nahida as the new dendro archon after she is freed from the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Prakrit is an Indo-Aryan language descended from Sanskrit. Some have raised the paradox on how Prakrit inscriptions (Ashoka's Edicts) appear many centuries before the first known Sanskrit inscriptions (~0-100 ce). Perhaps such inscriptions were destroyed in war or maybe not discovered yet. To draw an analogy, to this day, many archaeological discoveries are still being made on China's ancient history (oracle bones, jiaguwen, and writing far before then). Perhaps many more discoveries are yet to be made on India's ancient history.
For example, it is unknown what happened between 1900 bc (the Harappan script) and 250 bc (appearance of first deciphered writing in India and Ashoka's Edicts). But this time period corresponds to the Indo-Aryan invasion and introduction of Vedic Sanskrit and Hinduism.
There is a debate on whether the Brahmic scripts of India have an indigenous origin or were descended from Egyptian hieroglyphs (via Phoenician and Aramaic). Note the Greek alphabet descends from Phoenician. Western scholars point out the many similarities in letters between Aramaic and Brahmi, deducing that Brahmi was influenced by Aramaic.
Other scholars posit that the Indian scripts were invented independently of other civilizations. Perhaps one can hypothesize that between 1900-250 bc, the Brahmic script evolved naturally from the Harappan script. And perhaps one day, if enough archaeological work is done, maybe one can find Sanskrit and Tamil inscriptions dating before the time of Ashoka. It could even be that the Brahmi script combined a possible indigenous script with Aramaic, Phoenician, and Greek influences.
There is a theory that Ashoka was inspired by the Greek and Aramaic scripts used by the northwest Greco-Buddhist kingdoms and then ordered the creation of the Brahmi script in a few years. If this is true (and that Brahmi was not already in development prior to the Greek invasion), then this would make Alexander's empire even more influential in world history, shaping the cultures of not just Europe, Persia, Egypt, but also India. For a single person to do that in 30 years is almost unheard of, and this kind of global influence would only be bested by a handful of conquerors and emperors in history, Genghis Khan being one of them.
If Brahmi (an abugida) is based on Aramaic (an abjad), how is it that there are so many more vowels in the Brahmic scripts? One theory is that Indian scholars took many consonants from Aramaic and later added all the vowel markings (similar to diacritics in Arabic) to mark the pronunciation given that Indian languages usually contain many more phonemes, vowels, diphthongs, etc. than the languages written in Aramaic.
Lastly, there is a possibility that when the British ruled over India, they selectively burned most of the archaeological records from the time period 1900-250 bc, making it appear that Ashoka's Edicts represented the first deciphered writing in India, so that they can claim that Brahmi writing originated from Aramaic. While this cynical theory needs more evidence, the British burning down cultural sites is not unheard of, given that they burned down the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) in Beijing during the Qing dynasty.
But currently there is not enough evidence to suggest how the Indian script evolved if it had an independent origin. We just do not know what scripts existed in India between 1900-250 bc. So the current evidence of the similarities between Aramaic and Brahmi favors a relationship between the two. As of now, this remains an unsolved problem in historical linguistics.
It is generally accepted that in world history, Sumerian glyphs, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese characters, and Mayan glyphs are the original scripts that have independent and indigenous origins.
Since the time of the Harappan civilization, the Aryans, Alans, Scythians, Sogdians were some of the first known nomadic people living to India's north. Many of these nomadic groups spanned west China, Central Asia, and the Eurasian steppe and would migrate and settle in West Asia, Europe, and South Asia.
Over the course of history, these nomadic groups north of India would be replaced by various other groups, including the Greeks, Xiongnu, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, even Russians. Whatever group or empire inhabited the north of India in the past 3000 years, they always seemed to have a connection to ancient Persia, Greece, or China. In particular, Persia and China, two of ancient India's 'neighbors' would always play a huge role in India's history, whether through trade along the Silk Road or the migration of people, ideas, and religions.
One of the first groups to appear north of India after the Aryans and Scythians were the Greeks of Alexander's Hellenistic empire. This occurred at the time when many written records in other languages started appearing, such as Avestan in the Persian Achaemenid empire, Brahmi in Chandragupta's empire, etc.
The earliest writing for the Persian language is the Behistun inscription (522 bc) from the time of Darius' rule during the Achaemenid empire founded by Cyrus. Cyrus conquered as far east as the Indus valley (in 535 bc), establishing Persian influence in Pakistan and northwest India. Alexander's Hellenic empire then succeeded the Achaemenid empire and reached the borders of northwest India. These would eventually be succeded by several Greco-Buddhist kingdoms in Central Asia and northwest India such as the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, Indo-Greek kingdoms, Dayuan (Ionians), Northern Satraps. And these would be absorbed into either Chandragupta's empire, the Kushan empire, or the Han dynasty of China.
Satrap is a term referring to governor. It was used during the Median and Achaemenid empires of Persia, and it was used by their successor states: Alexander's empire and the Sassanid empire.
The Hellenic empire sent ambassadors such as Megasthenes to Maurya India. Megasthenes wrote a treatise Indica on the Mauryan empire, but it is now lost. Later Greek writers such as Strabo would write on the Mauryan empire as well.
After the Hellenistic empire broke up into several smaller empires, including the Seleucid empire. The Diodotus, satrap of Bactria, seceded from the Seleucid empire, forming the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in Central Asia, and the capital was established in Ai-Khanoum (Lady Moon) in Afghanistan. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom encompassed Central Asian territory including Ferghana (of Ferghana horse fame) and Sogdiana.
In Genshin, this serves as the inspiration for the city of Ay-Khanoum, a city built by the Goddess of Flowers Nabu Malikata and King Deshret for the Jinn. Nabu is the name of the Mesopotamia god of literacy and is recorded in Akkadian cuneiform (𒀭𒀝). Nabu is cognate with words in other Semitic languages, such as نبي nabiyy in Arabic and נביא naví in Hebrew, meaning 'enlightened' or 'prophet'. Malikata is an Arabic/middle Persian word for queen. The Sabzeruz Festival of Sumeru is a celebration of Nabu's (Goddess of Flowers) birthday. In Persian sabze (سبزه) means grass, and ruz (روز) means day, so put together sabzeruz means 'grass day'.
King Deshret was also known as Al-Ahmar and Amun. Deshret is Egyptian for 'red one', and Al-Ahmar is Arabic for 'red one'. Amun was the name of an ancient Egyptian deity. Amun is also the origin for the demon Aamon in the Ars Goetia. King Deshret built the pyramids and advanced technological civilization in the desert. The Eremites descend from King Deshret's people. In the Arabic Book of Wonders, Al-Ahmar is the red king of the Jinn. Al-Ahmar was one of the three Gods of ancient Sumeru, alongside Nabu and Rukkhadevata (Nahida's past incarnation).
Ai-Khanoum's meaning as Lady Moon may have a loose connection to the Yuezhi (月氏 rouzhi) people of China as the character 月 can mean 'moon' (as well as 肉 meaning meat). Specifically, the Yuezhi were related to another Chinese group called the Tocharians in the Tarim basin, and the Tocharians were related to the Saka, Sogdians, and other Central Asian nomadic groups speaking Aryan languages. So the Chinese use of 月 in Yuezhi may be to denote a broad group of Aryan-related people in west China and Central Asia.
The Greco-Bactrian kingdom existed from 256 BC to 120 BC and was ruled by the Diodotids and Euthydemids. Besides Ai-Khanoum, another important city was Bactra (now called Balkh) in modern Afghanistan. They practiced a variety of faiths from Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, to traditional Greek and Iranian religions. It was a culturally syncretic empire, leading to the development of Greco-Buddhism.
Near the end of their rule, Greco-Bactrians were defeated by Parthians and were invaded by nomads to the east and north. Around 176 bc the Xiongnu of north China invaded the Hexi corridor (河西走廊) in central China. This pushed out the Yuezhi people to the west, who then invaded Central Asia. This pushed out the Scythians and Saka people of Central Asia, and around 140 bc they invaded the Greco-Bactrians, causing the kingdom to collapse, as well as the Parthians (the Scythians overthrew a couple of Parthian kings).
In 126 bc, Zhang Qian of the Han empire visited the Yuezhi, who inhabited the area around the Oxus (Amu Darya, Afghanistan), to make an alliance against the Xiongnu. Zhang visited Bactria, called Daxia (大夏) in Chinese, and noted that their customs were similar to those of Dayuan (大宛 Ionians) to the north. The population of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom was 1 million. The Yuezhi had attacked the Daxia, and thus Daxia became a vassal of the Yuezhi. This history is recorded in the Shiji (史记) by Sima Qian.
In 120 bc the Yuezhi were pushed out by the Wusun and further spread south. The Yuezhi pushed the Scythians further south, where they would rule over northwest India as the Indo-Scythians. The descendants of the Greco-Bactrians would become the Indo-Greeks, before again being invaded by the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi would rule Bactria for around a century and become Hellenized, adopting the Greek alphabet. In 12 bc, the Yuezhi moved further south and created the Kushan empire of India.
The Daxia was the name the Han Chinese used to refer to Tokhara, Bactria, around Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Tokhara is also related to the Tocharian people of China (see western regions). During the reign of Liu Che, Zhang Qian was sent to visit the western kingdoms of Daxia, Dayuan, Anxi (Parthia) in Ferghana, Bactria, etc. The Daxia were ruled over by the Yuezhi. These various kingdoms valued Han goods and were militarily weak. This piqued Han China's interest, and they sent multiple embassies to engage in trade, initiating the Silk Road. The name Daxia could be related to the Dahae (also called 大益 Dayi), a kingdom that also inhabited Central Asia.
Dayuan (大宛), the Great Ionians, referred to another Central Asian kingdom around Ferghana valley described by Zhang Qian. Yuan (宛) is believed to be transliterated from Sanskrit Yavana or Pali Yona, referring to the Greeks (Ionians). The Dayuan were descended from Greeks that were forcibly relocated to Central Asia by Cyrus' Persian empire. The region was ruled by the Achaemenids starting with Xerxes I. Greeks who rebelled against the Persians would be exiled to Sogdia in the northeast of the Persian empire. The largest city in the northeast was Cyropolis, named after the founding emperor Cyrus. The region was then conquered by Alexander, who renamed Cyropolis to Alexandria Eschate (Alexandria the furthest). The Seleucids would then rule over Bactria, Transoxiana, and Ferghana. Dayuan would then be ruled by the Greco-Bactrians, Saka, Yuezhi, Scythians, and eventually the Han dynasty. Let's talk more about Han rule over Dayuan, as this is one of the earliest incidents in antiquity of when 'east meets west', when Chinese culture meets Greek culture.
At the time of Zhang Qian's visit, Dayuan was controlled by Alexandria Eschate. In 100 bc, during the reign of Liu Che, the Han dynasty defeated and conquered Dayuan in the Han-Dayuan war (sometimes exaggerated as the Greco-Chinese war), thereby gaining Fergana horses and an ally in the fight against the Xiongnu. This also opened the Silk Road from China to Central Asia, Iran (Parthia), and India, facilitating the exchange of goods, ideas, and religion between these ancient civilizations, between east and west, while boosting the economy and cultural exchange.
Hopefully this is not the reason Genshin gave Scaramouche / Wanderer (Liulangzhe) a higher base ATK than Cyno. But if anything, this story shows why Liu and Liulangzhe have any relevance to the history of Sumeru to begin with, whether via the Han dynasty or later the Xiongnu (who would invade the region as various Hunnite/Hunna people). Incidentally, the Akademiya and Dottore attempt to turn Scaramouche (someone from Inazuma, the east) into an artificial god of Sumeru (before he is defeated by Nahida and the traveler), and this is roughly akin to the relationship of the Han dynasty Liu emperors had over the western regions: as their protectors and rulers. Even after the Han dynasty, the Xiongnu and Hunnic nomads (defeated by the Han) would eventually appear in the Sumeru region, establishing various empires there too, before assimilating into the Sumeru region and becoming part of their people. What happened with the Han and Xiongnu would happen again later with the Tang dynasty and the Gokturks. If this is a competition of strength, then in history, on several occasions, China (the Han and Tang dynasties) defeated the very nomadic people that would later conquer the west.
So the Wanderer is not just some random villain plucked from Inazuma sent to take over Sumeru. There is actually a historical reason and ancient relationship between the nomadic people of the north and the Sumeru region.
If the anemo element in Genshin represents the nomadic force (including the Hunnic and Gokturk people), then the Wanderer is like that gust of wind that swept through the region of Sumeru, shaping the fate of the region for eons to come.
So what is Sumeru supposed to represent then? It seems even Greek culture is a part of Sumeru. Rather than say Sumeru just represents one particular culture, Indian, Iranian, Arab, etc. it seems Sumeru refers to the expansive geographic region from Al-Andalus (Spain) to Egypt to Mesopotamia to Persia to Central Asia to India that was influenced by these various cultures. These cultures are grouped together as there is a higher degree of correlation and mutual influence on each other throughout history. Other than that, given the diversity of languages and faiths within this sprawling region, the glue holding Sumeru together as a coherent entity is that all these regions are located west of China.
The reason Greece played a huge rule in the history of the Sumeru region (Egypt, Iran, India) is because of Alexander's empire. Some may think this is an 'anomaly' as the Greeks are typically associated with European culture. But that is the result of western and USA propaganda. This becomes less of an anomaly when you consider ancient Greece as something less European and more Asian and if you treat Greece as something integral to the history of these ancient Asian civilizations rather than something outside it.
What are the origins of the Greeks? Linguists point out that Greek had a relationship with the ancient Indo-Aryan languages, so it could be the Greek people were originally related to the nomadic Aryan, Alan, Saka, Sogdian people of Central Asia and the Eurasian steppe before they settled around the Aegean sea, Balkans, and Black Sea area. Viewed this way, it may not be an exaggeration to conclude that the ancient Greeks were not much different (linguistically or genetically) from 'western Iranians'. Then it makes more sense to include ancient Greek history (Alexander's empire) as part of the culture of Sumeru. What should be more surprising then is how Alexander and his Asian empire had a huge impact on European and Western culture rather than the reverse (a Greek empire having a huge impact on Asian culture, which is the narrative sold by westerners). After all, even Spain itself was ruled by Muslims for 1000 years. One could just say Alexander's empire was another Middle Eastern empire that had a deep influence on Europe, to flip the traditional western narrative on its head. If this sounds surprising, maybe it is because one is brainwashed too much by western propaganda. But if you think about it, if it were another era, like 300 years ago during the Turkish Ottoman era, this Greek culture would have just been part of another Asian empire.
In the Middle East, Persia, and India, Alexander is rendered as Sikandar or Iskandar. Later rulers of India would also take on Alexander's name such as Sikandar Khan Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate. Sikandar Khan was the most successful ruler of the Lodi dynasty as well as a Persian poet. So the history of Alexander is also naturally part of the history of India and surrounding parts of Asia.
In general the distinction between Europe and Asia is quite artificial. History makes more sense when one treats the entire continent as a single Eurasia.
Chandragupta Maurya founded the vast Mauryan empire around 320 bc, covering much of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta's empire is one of the largest empires in South Asian history. Chandragupta along with his teacher (acharya) Chanakya overthrew the Nanda empire to found the Mauryan empire. Chandragupta then defeated the satraps of northwest India, the Seleucids, and other remnants of Alexander's empire and expanded the empire's territory to Afghanistan and Balochistan (Pakistan). Chandragupta was known as chakravartin or universal ruler (similar to the title of Genghis Khan 成吉思汗).
Buddhist and Tamil texts mention that Chandragupta was from the Moriya clan of the Shakyas tribe, the same tribe that Gautama Buddha belonged to. Indeed during Chandragupta's empire (322 BCE – 184 BCE), Buddhism was spread throughout the continent, reaching as far west as Persia, as far north as Central Asia and the Eurasian steppe, and as far east as China.
Moriya were also known as Maurya and lived in a region with many peacocks, known as Mora in Pali. Hence Moriya/Maurya/Mora is written as 孔雀 in Chinese, and Chandragupta's empire is referred to as the 孔雀帝国 or Mora/Peacock empire. This gives a new spin on the Mora and Morax of Genshin Impact, as something that originates from Chandragupta's ancient empire. Perhaps Chandragupta can be thought of as an incarnation of Morax then, giving a new look on Vago Mundo (尘世闲游).
Chandragupta (旃陀罗笈多) was also known as Sandrokottos in Greek records. Today, a memorial erected for him exists in Chandragiri hill.
Chandragupta's was married to empress Durdhara, and their lives were documented in the 12th century Jain text Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra.
As for Chanakya, he was also the author of Arthashastra, an influential book in Sanskrit on politics, economics, and military.
During the Maurya period, acharya Pingala would also write the Chandaḥśāstra (the Pingala-sutras), the first treatise on Sanskrit prosody.
Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara (also called Allitrochades or Amitrochates), and then Bindusara was succeded by Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka, known for Ashoka's Edicts. Ashoka's life is documented in the Ashokavadana (अशोकावदान), translated into Chinese by An Faqin (安法钦) in 300 ce. The Chandragupta empire defeated and conquered the Kalinga empire, and some of the first known writing in India appeared during Chandragupta's empire (the Brahmi script, Edicts, etc.). During the empire, Buddhism flourished and spread around the world along the Silk Road.
To this day, Chandragupta's empire is considered one of, if not the greatest golden ages in India, with Chandragupta often considered the greatest emperor in Indian and South Asian history.
Nepal, Tibet
Northeast India is the home of Han-Tibetan (Sino) people like the Nagas. They speak languages that are similar to Chinese, but write in the Brahmic scripts of India. Their culture is similar to the neighboring country of Myanmar.
Various placenames in the Sumeru rainforest are related to Buddhist terminology. Gandharva ville is a reference to gandharvanagara (गन्धर्वनगर), an imaginary city that does not exist. In Chinese it is called 化城郭 a term from the Lotus Sutra meaning phantom or apparitional city. Gandharva refers to a kind of musician and is associated with the Gandhara region around the Hindu Kush (Afghanistan, Pakistan). Gandhara was an Indo-Aryan tribe from 1500-1200 bc and is documented in the Rigveda and Avestan Zoroastrian sources. The region was conquered by Cyrus, Alexander, Chandragupta's empire, Indo-Greeks, Kushans, Alchon Huns, Ghaznavi, etc. In Chinese texts Gandhara was known as Qiantuoluo (犍陀罗) or Jibin (罽宾).
Sometime between 563-480 bc, Siddharta Gautama (乔达摩·悉达多), also called Sakyamuni (释迦牟尼), was born in Lumbini, Nepal. He is also known as the Buddha (awakened). As legend goes, the Buddha sat under a Bodhi tree and became enlightened, and so Buddhism became a religion.
Jnanagarbha day is a celebration in Sumeru. In Sanskrit, Jnanagarbha (ज्ञानगर्भ) means 'filled with knowledge'. The root jna also appears in jnata (retuo, in Azhdaha's name) and jnana. It means 'knowledge' and is related to the English word know.
Jnanagarbha is also a name of a Tathāgata (Buddha), a disciple of Sakyamuni. It is mentioned in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: a tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom). The teachings originate from Mañjuśrī, and Buddha Śākyamuni taught it to Jñānagarbha.
Buddhism never disappeared from India. It is just that other religions such as Hinduism and Islam gained popularity in India. The reason for this is not because the Arabic expansion during the Tang dynasty. Buddhism faded out in Central Asia, India, and west China (displaced with Islam) around the time of the Mongol empire.
Ashoka of the Chandragupta empire was an ardent promoter of Buddhism. The Guptas also embraced both Hinduism and Buddhism, as noted by the Chinese monk Xuanzang. Even the western Liao practiced Han Chinese Buddhism before the Mongol conquest.
Near the end of the Maurya empire, it broke up into smaller states. To the north, Khyber pass (Afghanistan) was left unguarded, allowing the Greco-Bactrians (Demetrius) of Central Asia to invade south and capture Afghanistan and parts of north India, forming the Indo-Greek kingdom around 180 bc.
After being pushed south by northern nomads due to developments in China (Han-Xiongnu war), the Greco-Bactrians were succeeded by the Indo-Greek kingdom (200 BC - 10 AD) which spanned Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northwest India. They were also known as the Yavana kingdom, where Yavana or Yona was the Sanskrit term referring to Greeks (Ionians). Ionian is also supposedly the origin for the Chinese term Dayuan (大宛) referring to another Greek Central Asian kingdom at the time. See western regions. The kingdom was founded by Demetrius I Anicetus of Greco-Bactria, and there were 30 kings that ruled the kingdom, including Menander I.
The capital was located in Alexandria in the Caucasus (Afghanistan), founded by Alexander in 329 bc (and one of the many cities named Alexandria). In antiquity, the Hindu Kush was sometimes called the Caucasus. The place was also known by the older name of Kapisa (in Chinese Caoguo 漕国 or Jibin 罽宾). Jibin was also used to refer to the Gandhara region in general. In 600 ce, Xuanzang traveled to Kapisa and described a community of Buddhists there. They cultivated rice and wheat. From 665–822, it was ruled by the Turkic Shahis from the Western Gokturks.
Later, king Menander I established a capital in modern Pakistan (Sagala). There were other capitals like Taxila in Pakistan as well. The Indo-Greeks were a syncretic empire, combining Greek and Indian scripts and developing Greco-Buddhism. Under the Indo-Greeks, Buddhism flourished in Central Asia and South Asia.
For a century, they would make forays into central India and battle against the Shungas, Kalingas, Satavahanas, etc. After Menander died, the Indo-Greeks lost territory to various other Indian kingdoms. By 70 bc, the Indo-Scythians, Yuezhi, and Saka took over Indo-Greek territory around the Hindu Kush. The Indo-Greeks disappeared altogether from history around 10 AD after being invaded by the Indo-Scythians. Some Greeks still remained in the subsequent Indo-Parthian and Kushan empires, but over time they would assimilate into South Asian culture.
All of this occurred during the early Han dynasty. And so history sees the following succession of great empires in Asia, during which much of the modern writing and language was formed: from Cyrus' Achaemenid empire, Alexander's Hellenistic empire, Changragupta's empire, to the Han empire.
The Indo-Scythians or Indo-Saka (150 BC–400 AD) originated from nomadic Scythian people from Central Asia. They ruled over much of northwest India and conquered the Indo-Greeks. Eventually they were conquered by the Kushan empire formed by the Yuezhi of Central Asia and China. The Saka would go on to form satrapies such as the Northern satraps (vassals of Kushan) and Western satraps. In the 2nd century, the Indo-Scythians were defeated by the Satavahana dynasty (Andhras). And in 395 ce, Indo-Scythian rule ended after the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II defeated western satrap Rudrasimha III.
The influx of migrations from Central Asia to India was mainly triggered by the Han-Xiongnu war in China, which pushed out many groups from China into Central Asia such as the Yuezhi. These groups would then push out many Central Asian people such as the Greco-Bactrians, Scythians, Saka further south into India.
As for the Saka, they were an Iranian nomadic group from Central Asia and China that spread throughout the world, being mentioned in ancient texts from China, Egypt, Iran, Europe, India. They were related to the Scythians that invaded Europe, and Saka, Scythians, along with the Aryans were from the Andronovo culture. Their names are recorded in various languages as 塞 sai (Chinese), while Σάκαι (Greek), 𐎿𐎣𐎠 (Old Persian), 𑀰𑀓 (Brahmi), 𓋴𓎝𓎡𓈉 (Egyptian). Roman historians such as Ptolemy would even mention the Scythian / Sakai / Saka nomads. So the Saka / Scythians can be grouped with other Eurasian steppe people such as the Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc. as nomads that impacted a vast geographic region across the continent for centuries.
One of the successor states of the Indo Scythians were the Indo-Parthians (19 CE–226 CE), a Parthian kingdom spanning Iran, Afghanistan, South Asia, including Sakastan (land of Sakas), Pakistan, and northwest India. It was founded by a governor of Drangiana who declared independence from the Parthians (Persia). The rulesr may have been from the Parthian House of Suren. The empire is known for building the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi, a UNESCO site in Pakistan. Languages used included Parthian, Greek, Sanskrit/Prakrit, Pali (in Kharosthi), and Aramaic. The Indo-Parthians would ultimately be absorbed into the Kushan empire and Sasanian Persian empire.
The Kushan empire (贵霜 30–375) of Central Asia and South Asia was founded by one of the five branches of the Yuezhi people from China. The five branches of the Yuezhi were the Xiūmì (休密), Xìdùn (肸頓), Guìshuāng (貴霜), Shuāngmǐ (雙靡), and Dūmì (都密). The Yuezhi were pushed out of China by the Xiongnu and were related to the Tocharian people of China (see western regions for details). The Yuezhi were allies and vassals of the Han dynasty of China (the Han protectorate of the western regions). The Han and Yuezhi were allied against their mutual enemy, the northern Xiongnu. The Kushans would maintain this allied relationship with the Han dynasty, ensuring friendly trade, commerce, and religious exchange in the region. The point is: it becomes hard to trade and develop the economy in a safe and secure way when a country is getting bombed or engaged in war all the time. That is why the Han dynasty chose to step in to take the security of the Central Asia region into their own hands, to guarantee the economic security and cultural prosperity within the western regions.
The Kushans took over the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians, forming a syncretic empire that combined Indian, Greek, and Chinese influences. They promoted Greco-Buddhism and helped spread Buddhism between China, Central Asia, and India. Other religions they practiced were Hinduism and Zoroastrianism. Languages used included Sanskrit, Prakrit, Greek, and Bactrian. Saka, Scythians, Greeks also lived in the Kushan empire.
The empire ushered in a period called Pax Kushana, bringing peace to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north India, promoting cultural exchange and prosperous trade along the Silk Road. This is in stark contrast to the USA, which brought war, destruction, and famine when they invaded Afghanistan.
In Genshin Kujou Sara and Kuki Shinobu share the 'ku' sound in their name with Kushan. Both units synergize well with dendro teams, such as spread, aggravate, and hyperbloom comps. Kuki's hair is green and her talents are named after grass, while Kujou's ascension material is dendrobium. Their names also sound eerily similar to some Kushan rulers. This could reflect the interaction between electro and dendro or the north Asian steppe force with the Sumeru region as ultimately the Kushans / Yuezhi are a people from the east (China) that shaped the civilization of the Sumeru region. See Tevyat for more details on the symbolism of dendro.
There is also the kingdom of Kucha, home of the Tocharians, in west China as well as the Buddhist monk Kumarajiva from Kucha that share the Ku sound.
In the 3rd century, the Persian Sasanians took over the western parts of the Kushan empire, forming the Kushano-Sasanian kingdom (230-365) in Sogdiana, Bactria, Gandhara. This kingdom would then be invaded by northern nomadic invaders such as the Kidarites, Hephthalites, and other Hunnic groups. In the 4th century, the Guptas succeeded the Kushans in India.
The Kumo Xi (库莫奚) were a Mongolic steppe people that lived in northeast China (207-907). They were related to the Khitans.
The Gupta empire (笈多王朝) existed from the 200s to 500s ce (exact boundary dates unknown, but it was before the Tang dynasty). It was founded by Sri Gupta (Che-li-ki-to) who built a temple in Mṛgaśikhāvana (northeast India) for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims (according to the Tang Buddhist Yijing). The Allahabad Pillar (one of Ashoka's Edicts) describes Gupta as Maharaja (great king) and his grandson Chandragupta I as Maharaja dhi raja (king of great kings). The dhi in this epithet is like the 的 in Chinese, denoting the possessive particle.
Chandragupta I ruled from 319 ce. Chandragupta II ruled from 375 ce and took the Gupta empire to its zenith, defeating the Western Satraps (Indo-Sychitans) and expanding to Bengal in the east. In Chinese, Chandragupta II was also known as Yue Ai (月爱), meaning moon-lover. Chandragupta II is known as one of the most powerful and expansionist emperors of the Gupta dynasty.
The Gupta empire is considered a golden age in India and also brought in the Pax Gupta. It brought many cultural, scientific, and artistic advancements in Indian civilization. For one, the Gupta script (evolved from Brahmi) was used to write Sanskrit and ultimately led to the development of the Nagari and Devanagari scripts used in India today.
Ultimately the empire collapsed due to invasions from the Huna people (Kidarites, Alchon Huns, Xionites/Chionites) from Central Asia. These Huna people in turn descended from the ancient Xiongnu/Huns of north China. After the Xiongnu were conquered by the Han dynasty, they either assimilated into Chinese culture or migrated west and invaded Europe and South Asia (this is a common theme with northern Chinese nomadic groups throughout history, including the Turks, Mongols, Alans, Scythians, Aryans, etc.). For more info on the Xiongnu see Western Regions.
After the Gupta empire, there appears to have been a power vacuum in India, with several smaller kingdoms vying for power.
The Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) was an Islamic empire that ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent. The sultanate was founded by the Turkic general Qutb ud-Din Aibak. It was a successor of the Tajik-established Ghurid dynasty. Over the centuries, the Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties would rule over the Delhi Sultanate. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq was the first sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty.
In 1526, the Delhi Sultanate (ruled by the Lodi dynasty) collapsed and was succeeded by the Mughal / Moghul Empire (1526–1857; 莫卧儿帝国 or 蒙兀儿帝国). 'Mughal' is from the Arabic / Persian word for Mongol. The empire was also referred to as Shahan-e Gurkani (مغلیہ سلطن), where Gurkani referred to the ruling family of the Timurids and Mughals and referred to descendants of Genghis Khan. The Mughal empire would become one of the largest in India's history, encompassing the modern nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as well.
The Mughal/Gurkani empire was founded by Babur, born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad (查希尔丁·穆罕默德), which is Arabic for 'defender of faith' (of Islam). Babur claimed descent from Genghis Khan and Timur via the Barlas nomads of Central Asia, who descended from the House of Borjigin. Babur was born in the Timurid empire in Andijan, Ferghana valley, modern-day Uzbekistan in Central Asia. He conquered Fergana, Samarkand, Kabul (Afghanistan), and formed an alliance with the Safavids of Iran. However, he lost the Central Asian regions to Muhammad Shaybani, the Shaybanids (昔班), and other Mongol-Turkic kingdoms in Central Asia. Shaybani descended from Shiban, who descended from Jochi, son of Genghis. The Shaybanids also recognized the authority of Shiban's brothers (such as Batu, who conquered Europe) and their descendants (such as Oz Beg, whose name is the basis for the word 'Uzbek').
Afterwards, Babur headed south and focused on conquering India. He enlisted help from the Safavids and Ottomans, defeating Ibrahim Lodi in 1526, marking the beginning of the Mughal era. (Let's make fun of how badly Lodi lost, create several version trailers, version events, and stories highlighting how Lodi lost, and then spam comments on USA media like Reddit saying how the best part of the story was how Lodi lost.) Babur then defeated Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, conquering north India. Babur died in Agra (India), where the Mughals later built the Taj Mahal (in 1643). To this day, Zahir is celebrated as a national hero of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (the places he originated from).
Babur's first wife was Aisha Sultan Begum, a Timurid princess and first empress of the Mughal empire. She was named after Aisha, wife of the Islamic prohpet Mohammed.
Babur was fluent in Chaghatai Turkic and Persian. Some of Babur's relatives identified as Mongol, and the Mughal armies would be ethnically diverse, composed of Mongols, Turks, Persians, Sarts, Tajiks, Arabs, Afghans, etc. The name Babur is taken from the Persian word for 'tiger', which itself is a loanword from Turkic languages in Central Asia.
The Mughal empire was expanded under Babur's grandson Akbar (1556-1605). Akbar also went by the title ghazi, meaning warrior in Arabic and used by the various Turkic empires in the SWANA region. Akbar was known for his pluralism, religious tolerance, and for growing the Indian economy, leading to the development of Indo-Persian and Timurid culture, continuing the Timurid Renaissance. Akbar promulgated the Din-i Ilahi (دین الهی), a syncretic religion based on Yasa-i Changezi (Code of Genghis Khan), a Timurid concept of considering all sects as one. The Din-i Ilahi drew inspiration from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and even Christianity, etc. The Din-I Ilahi even adapted ideas from the Al-Andalus mystic Ibn Al-Arabi. And thus the ideas from Islamic Spain reached India. The Mughal empire goes full circle, encompassing the breadth of culture emblematic of the Sumeru region, from Spain through the Middle East to India and Central Asia.
So this kind of wide-scale religious unity was achieved by several empires in history, including the Mongol empire, Timurid empire, and Mughal empire. Pitting different religious sects against each other is more like an evil motive of the USA, which seeks to divide and conquer the world through any means possible.
Akbar was then succeeded by his son Jahangir (1605-1627). Jahangir was born to Akbar's wife Mariam-uz-Zamani and named after a saint of the Chishti Order of Islam. He also went by the title Al-Sultan al-Azam.
They say history does not always repeat itself, but that it rhymes. More than 2000 years ago, the Central Asian Greco-Bactrian kingdoms left by Alexander would influence the transmission of Buddhism in India. Generations later, time and again Central Asia would shape the Indian subcontinent whether through the Huns, Hephthalites, Turks, etc. almost like a samsara loop of its own. The most recent 'reincarnation' is via the Timurid prince Babur and Mughal empire.
If one had to choose only one empire in history that represents Sumeru, the Mughal Empire would probably be the closest bet. The Mughal Empire incorporated influences from everything that Sumeru is about, including the Indian, Persian, Arabic, Central Asian, Turkic, and even Mongol culture.
To make this discussion more complete, perhaps the British empire could also count as the British ruled over not just Mughalized India but also Egypt and other parts of the MENA. However, we stick with Mughal because the British culture itself seems closer to the culture of Fontaine rather than Sumeru.
In terms of territory, the Mughal empire was one of the largest empires of India, alongside the Chandragupta empire, the Delhi Sultanate, and British Raj. Of these, perhaps only the Chandragupta empire is the 'most Indian' or 'indigenous', originating from the subcontinent. But even the Indo-Aryan people migrated into the subcontinent from the north Eurasian steppe. Ultimately, what counts as 'Indian' and 'not Indian' is a debate left to the people of India. It is just noted that throughout history, the definition of 'India', its scope and civilizational reach, has changed over time. The modern incarnation of India appears to be largely influenced by the most recent empires, the Mughals and British Raj.
The influence that the Mughals had in shaping modern India today may even be comparable to the influence that the Qing dynasty had in shaping modern China.
Around 1674, the Marathas of South India revolted against Mughal rule due to the abuse of power by Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb is universally condemned and hated as one of the worst and most abusive people in Mughal, Indian, and world history. Aurangzeb abused the kafirs, reversed previous policies of religious tolerance, wasted resources and money, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Indians. During his leadership, even bubonic plague and famine arose, killing not just the people, but also the camels and elephants, weakening India's army, plundering the empire of its gold and rupees, bankrupting the nation for wasteful, avaricious, and opulent personal spending. Revolt against Aurangzeb's oppression was inevitable, and Aurangzeb failed to appoint a successor, choosing instead to divide the empire amongst three of his descendants. Aurangzeb's idiotic and myopic vision, wasteful spending, narrow-minded oppression, and garbage succession practices ultimately caused the downfall and implosion of the empire, leading India to be conquered and colonized by the British. So the collapse of Mughal India and subsequent British colonization is largely the fault of Aurangzeb.
Ultimately, the Marathas, under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji (Chhatrapati being an imperial title), overthrew Aurangzeb, eventually leading to his death. The Marathas advocated for Hindavi Swarajya (or Hindu self-determination/self-rule) and established their capital at Gingee (Jinji). While there was a religious element to the revolution, the ultimate cause for the Mughal decline was Aurangzeb's incompetency and failure to manage a large empire.
Since then the Mughals no longer ruled over all of the South Asian continent, with the subcontinent divided amongst the Marathas and many other kingdoms. The Mughals would still exist for around 100 more years, and some still viewed the Mughal emperor as the highest power in India. However the century of 1700-1800 can be mostly characterized as a warring state period, with several regional polities and 'princely states' battling each other. During this time period, the Europeans started meddling in Indian politics as well.
In 1739, Nader Shah of Afsharid Iran defeated the Mughals and captured the capital Delhi. From 1744-1763, the British, French, and Mughals fought each other in the Carnatic wars, resulting in the victory of the British East India Company, forming the company rule over India, which would lead to the British Raj. The French were pushed out, and the British then consolidated rule over South India. In 1764, the British once again defeated the Mughals in the Buxar war (part of the Bengal war). Around this time, the Mughals also sought help from the emirs of Afghanistan, but in 1771 the Marathas captured Delhi from Afghan control and became the protectors of Delhi. In the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Maratha wars (1805-1818), the British defeated the Marathas, deposed the Maratha puppet ruler Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II, and seized control over most of India. The British became the protectors of Mughal India.
Beware of some USA companies hiring people who share the names of those defeated by the British in India.
The final nail in the coffin came in the Indian war of 1857-1858, when the British defeated the Mughal empire and sepoys. The Mughal empire then ended, and the last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Myanmar. The British liquidated the East India Company and transferred rule of India to the British crown directly, establishing the British Raj (1858-1947), which would last around 100 years until after WW2. Charles Canning would rule as the first governor (viceroy) of British India, and Edward Stanley ruled as first secretary of state.
This happened around the time of the Opium wars, when the Qing dynasty was also defeated by the British. Due to more advanced gunpowder weapons (originally a Chinese invention) and navy, the British were able to establish an empire rivalling the Mongol empire in territory and global influence, the so-called empire where the sun never sets.
There is no doubt that the British Raj was quite large, but the British failed to capture Afghanistan in the Great Game with Russia, so in that regard the British were outdone by the Mughals.
But the time period from 1800-1900 was basically the hey day or golden age of the nations that seem to correspond to the Fontaine region, including the British empire, the French empire, and the USA.
The emperors / empresses of the British Empire in India would be: Alexandrina Victoria (descended from Prince Edward and Charlotte), Edward the 7th (Albert Edward), George the 5th (George Albert), Edward the 8th (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew), George the 6th (Albert George).
WW2 really damaged Europe, weakening the British, French, Germans, etc. leaving the USA and USSR to dominate the continent. The Pacific theater also impacted British India as the Japanese invaded the South Asian region too. Perhaps the WW2 Japanese invasion of India could more directly symbolize the Scaramouche that invaded the Sumeru region. And in the end, both were defeated.
The British and French empires collapsed as they withdrew from their overseas imperial holdings. As for the Raj, the British did perhaps the most illogical thing one can do: they split it into several countries, including the modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Or perhaps some people would say this was very logical.