Ancient India as described by Ktesias the Knidian (revised, newly composed text edition)

The book ‘Ancient India as Described by Ktesian the Knidian’ by John W. McCrindle offers a unique perspective on India through the lens of Ktesias, a native of Knidos and a member of the Asklêpiadai, a priestly caste with a hereditary profession in medicine. Ktesias, a contemporary of Hippocrates, spent 17 years in Persia, serving as a physician to the royal court under Darius II and Artaxerxes Mnemon. Among Ktesias’s various works, the most significant was his history of Persia, written in 23 books. Unfortunately, this work is lost, but Phôtios provided a brief abstract of its contents. Another notable work was the ‘Indika’ focused on India, which is also lost but abridged by Phôtios, with fragments preserved by other writers like Elian. Ktesias’s ‘Indika’ aimed to capture India’s essence, drawing from reports of Persian officials and possibly Indian sources.