INDIA

(Inʹdi·a) [Heb., Hodʹdu; compare Sanskrit Sindhu, meaning “sea, great river” and therefore evidently referring primarily to the Indus River].

The exact area designated by the Bible name “India” is uncertain. (Esther 8:9) Scholars generally suggest that it denotes the area drained by the Indus River and its tributaries, that is, the Punjab region and perhaps also Sind. The testimony of the historian Herodotus (III, 88, 94; IV, 44) indicates that “India” first became a part of the Persian Empire during the rule of Darius Hystaspis (c. 522-486 B.C.E.). In the time of Ahasuerus (considered to be Xerxes I, son of Darius Hystaspis) India still constituted the eastern limit of the empire. (Esther 1:1) Inscriptions of Xerxes I also list India as part of his domain.

Archaeological evidence shows that a civilization flourished in the Indus Valley centuries before the Persian period. The most ancient sites there give evidence of city planning and attention to sanitation. Streets were carefully laid out to form blocks, and a drainage system led from the homes into bricklined sewers. The cities also had large public baths.

Likely the Indus Valley was settled not long after the language of Babel’s builders was confused. A comparison of the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley with that of Mesopotamia does, in fact, reveal similarities. These include the erection of structures like the ziggurat platforms of Mesopotamia, sculptures of the human figure with heads having the masklike features typical of ancient Mesopotamian sculpture, and pictographic signs that bear a resemblance to early Mesopotamian forms. Assyriologist Samuel N. Kramer has suggested that the Indus Valley was settled by a people who fled from Mesopotamia when the Sumerians took control of the area.