But while not admitting the extravagant descriptions in the Hindu poets and historians of the glory and wealth of their country, any more than the whole of the Egyptian story of Sesostris, there is no reason to doubt that the civilization of India dates from a period as early as that of Egypt, and that the fame of its riches may have led to more than one attempt to achieve its conquest. The Râmâyana, one of the most ancient Hindu books, where it informs us, in the glowing language of its poetry, that Ayodhya[248] (Oude), one of the leading commercial cities of India, was “filled with merchants and artificers of all kinds”; that “gold, precious stones, and jewels were there found in great abundance”; that “every one wore costly garments, bracelets, and necklaces”; that “the town always resounded with the noise and bustle of men and women, like the shouts of contending armies”; that “the great men were ever going to and fro upon chariots, elephants, and prancing steeds”; and that “the gardens of pleasure were always crowded with eager inquirers after their friends and lovers,” may have furnished an exaggerated description of its wealth, but far from a fabulous one, as the fame of that great city seems to rest on satisfactory evidence. [Sidenote: The conquests of Darius, and of Alexander.] Of the actual commercial resources of India we have, however, no reliable accounts previous to the conquests of Darius and to the successful navigation of the Indus by his fleets. In his time, the country through which he passed was represented to be very populous and highly cultivated; and though his conquests did not extend beyond the district watered by the Indus, below Peucela, we cannot but form a high opinion of its opulence in ancient times, as well as of the number of its inhabitants, when we learn from Herodotus that the tribute Darius levied upon it was nearly one-third of the whole revenue of the Persian monarchy.[249] But it was only when Alexander, two hundred years later, undertook his celebrated expedition, that sufficient knowledge of India was obtained to enable us fully to realize the real amount of its wealth, and some of the actual conditions of its civilization and commerce. Up to that period the more valuable commerce between Europe and India was conducted mainly by caravans passing through Bactra[250] (Balkh), “the mother of cities,” as it has been called from its great antiquity. From this important seat of inland Asiatic trade, the Oxus on the N.W., the Indus on the E. and S., and the Ganges to the S.E., stretched long-branching arms, and thus afforded ready means for the distribution of the contents of the caravans to the most populous districts. Founded, as is believed, before the dawn of history, Bactra was for many centuries the most flourishing mart of Eastern commerce; the western and the northern roads into India passed through it; and the ruins still surrounding it for miles attest its former size and splendour.