who invaded south asia and set up a state following the mauryan period
Maurya Empire The fall of the Mauryas left the Khyber Pass unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion followed. The Greco-Bactrian king, Demetrius, capitalized on the break-up, and he conquered southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180 BCE, forming the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greeks would maintain holdings on the trans-Indus region, and make forays into central India, for about a century. Under them, Buddhism flourished, and one of their kings, Menander, became a famous figure of Buddhism; he was to establish a new capital of Sagala, the modern city of Sialkot. However, the extent of their domains and the lengths of their rule are subject to much debate. Numismatic evidence indicates that they retained holdings in the subcontinent right up to the birth of Christ. Although the extent of their successes against indigenous powers such as the Shungas, Satavahanas, and Kalingas are unclear, what is clear is that Scythian tribes, renamed Indo-Scythians, brought about the demise of the Indo-Greeks from around 70 BCE and retained lands in the trans-Indus, the region of Mathura, and Gujarat.[citation needed]
Safavid dynasty Almost simultaneously with the emergence of the Safavid Empire, the Mughal Empire, founded by the Timurid heir Babur, was developing in South-Asia. The Mughals adhered (for the most part) to a tolerant Sunni Islam while ruling a largely Hindu population. After the death of Babur, his son Humayun was ousted from his territories and threatened by his half-brother and rival, who had inherited the northern part of Babur's territories.[90] Having to flee from city to city, Humayun eventually sought refuge at the court of Tahmﾄ《p in Qazvin in 1543. Tahmﾄ《p received Humayun as the true emperor of the Mughal dynasty, despite the fact that Humayun had been living in exile for more than fifteen years.[90][91] After Humayun converted to Shia Islam (under extreme duress),[90] Tahmﾄ《p offered him military assistance to regain his territories in return for Kandahar, which controlled the overland trade route between central Persia and the Ganges. In 1545 a combined Persian-Mughal force managed to seize Kandahar and occupy Kabul.[92] Humayun handed over Kandahar, but Tahmﾄ《p was forced to retake it in 1558, after Humayun seized it on the death of the Safavid governor.