Greek inscriptions and documentary texts and the Graeco-Roman historical tradition

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first reviews the epigraphic and documentary material in Greek from Central Asia and north-western India. Only a small number of such inscriptions and texts on perishable material survive. Although few in number, they can be used to explore questions of administration, religious practice and the ethnic and linguistic landscape of the region. The second part assesses the Greek and Roman sources transmitted through the European manuscript tradition which bear upon the history of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. Until the middle of the twentieth century, such sources – along with coins – were the only ones at the disposal of the historian.