Kambojas, Madras, Gandharas

While I was digging the web for images of the Khyber and Bolan passes, Swat valley etc.. I came across a reference to the ancient tribe/kingdom of Kamboja. I had heard about references to it in the Mahabharata and other scriptures. We know Cambodia got its name from a Kamboja king. So, expecting some link between the central asian region and them.. and that our Sanskrit scriptures have recorded the association in history, I tried finding more info on them.

Kambojas were tribesman from the current Afghan-Iran-Pakistan border which includes the present day NWFP, Kabul, Punjab, etc regions. There were other tribes too from around that region like Madras (plural of Madra), Gandharas, Sakas, Rishikas, Tusharas, etc.
In some places they say Kambojas were Indo-Iranian and in some places they say they were Central Asian... I think its not pin pointed to that extent.
The wiki says they were particularly, good horsemen and warriors. They lent their services to any country which wanted to wage wars. Duryodhana, they say, hired their services against the Pandavas.
They are also referred to as Ashvakas in the ancient Sanskrit literature. There are Sanskrit scripts mentioning their horses to be of the finest breed and courage.
In some places they are also referred to as barbarians and that even when emperor Ashoka annexed those regions, he had granted them autonomy.
Doesn't the case of FATA in Pakistan sound familiar now? The people have been like that for ages I think!

Dhritarashtra married Gandhari from Gandhara (Kandahar, Afghanistan).
The Sakas, Rishikas, etc were other such tribesmen.. and they were all conquered by Arjuna.
The puranas have so many references to the people from Central Asia.

And about Madras... they were from the region closer to the British Punjab. They were horsemen and warriors too. Madra women were beautiful and they served their husbands till their death. They would immolate themselves on their husband's funeral pyre.
Madri, wife of Pandu in Mahabharata, was a princess from the Madra kingdom. And if one can remember from the story, she laid down her life when Pandu died. And the children born to her - Nakul and Sahadev were good horsemen! If its a coincidence or is if its a true relation I don't know.

Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madra#cite_ref-16
"....The caste observances were so slack in the frontiers that the Brahmanical literature began to look upon the Madra, Gandhara and Kamboja peoples as loose-lived and barbaric. As compared to the rigid four-class social system of Madhyadesa, these tribes of the frontiers followed two social classes and further there was permissible vertical mobility.... The women were treated equal to men and there was no taboo of social mixing among the two sexes. Both sexes ate meat, drank strong liquor and there would be mixed public dancing in a state of undress. Such way of life was positively obscene to the eastern Brahmin eyes. The custom of bride price among the Madras (instead of dowry) appeared degrading to the easterners. Nevertheless, the beauty, the loving nature and utter fidelity of the women of the north-west including Madra, Bahlika remained proverbial (e.g: Immortal Love Legend of Savitri & Satyavan. Savitri was the daughter of Asvapati, king of Madra tribe). A warrior's widow in these regions would even immolate herself with her husband's corpse.
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Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambojas_in_Kautiliya%27s_Arthashastra
Dr A. H. Dani also notes: "Kautiliya‘s Arthashastra mentions the Kamboja horse as one of the best breeds for war and also speaks of Kambojas’ military organization and their warlike way of life" ^[13].
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People of the current era from the same region bear resemblance to these characteristics.
They are fierce warriors and have never allowed the ruling governments to settle. The regions, be it Afghanistan, North West Frontier province of Pakistan continue to be unstable. And they are good source mercenaries for all wars in the region.

Links I was going through
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambojas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madra
http://www.indiandance.ru/En/Mahabharata.htm