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Megasthenes, the Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gives the first written account of the city. He wrote that the city was situated on the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Arennovoas (Sonabhadra - Hiranyawah) and was 9 miles (14 km) long and 1.75 miles (2.82 km) wide. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, described the city as the greatest city on earth during its heyday. The Sungas ultimately retained control of Pataliputra and ruled for almost 100 years. The Sungas were then followed by the Kanvas and eventually the Guptas.[citation needed] There has been academic controversy regarding whether or not the Indo-Greeks occupied the area around 185 BCE.
A number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their observations about Pataliputra in their travelogues, including those of a Chinese Buddhist Fa Hien, who visited India between 399 and 414 CE, and stayed here for many months translating Buddhist texts.