Greco-Bactrian Kingdom: Map & History

History

The Oxus Valley region was originally settled by nomadic Zoroastrian tribes, referred to generally as Scythian by classical Greek writers. Bactria is referenced multiple times in the Avesta. In Zaroastrian writings the region is associated with the Turanian people.

Bactria (known to the Greeks as Βακτριανή, i.e. Baktrianē) was inhabited by Greek settlers since the time of Darius I, when the majority of the population of Barca, in Cyrenaica, was deported to the region for refusing to surrender assassins. Greek influence increased under Xerxes I, after the descendants of Greek priests who had once lived near Didyma (western Asia Minor) were forcibly relocated in Bactria, and later on with other exiled Greeks, most of them prisoners of war.

Culture and legacy

Greeks first began settling the region long before Alexander conquered it. The Persian Empire had a policy of exiling rebelling Greek communities to that region long before it fell to Greek conquest. Therefore, it had a considerable Greek community that was expanded upon after Macedonian conquest.

The Greco-Bactrians were known for their high level of Hellenistic sophistication, and kept regular contact with both the Mediterranean and neighbouring India. They were on friendly terms with India and exchanged ambassadors.

Their cities, such as Ai-Khanoum in northeastern Afghanistan (probably Alexandria on the Oxus), and Bactra (modern Balkh) where Hellenistic remains have been found, demonstrate a sophisticated Hellenistic urban culture.