Editing Bactria

{{short description|Historical region in Central Asia}}
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{{Infobox Former Subdivision
| native_name            = Balkh
| conventional_long_name = Bactria
| common_name            = Bactria
| subdivision            = Province
| nation                 = the [[Achaemenid Empire]], [[Seleucid Empire]], and [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]
| era                    = [[Ancient history|Antiquity]]
| capital                = [[Bactra]]
| title_leader           = 
| image_map              = {{Location map+|West Asia|width=300|float=center|caption=Approximate location of the region of Bactria|places={{Location map~|West Asia|lat=38.2|long=67.283333|position=left|mark=U+25AD.svg|marksize=30|label_size=75 |label=Bactria}}}}<br />
[[File:BactriaMap.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Ancient cities of Bactria]]
| image_map_caption      = 
| life_span              = 
| year_start             = 2500/2000 BC
| event_start            = 
| event1                 = 
| date_event1            = 
| year_end               = 900/1000 AD
| event_end              = 
| s1                     = 
| today                  = [[Afghanistan]]<br/>[[Tajikistan]]<br/>[[Uzbekistan]]
}}
'''Bactria''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|k|t|r|i|ə}}; [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]]: {{lang|xbc|βαχλο}}, {{lang|xbc-Latn|Bakhlo}}), or '''Bactriana''', was an ancient [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]]<ref name="shs-conferences.org">{{cite journal |author=Saydali Mukhidinov |title=Ancestral Home of Indo-Aryan Peoples and Migration of Iranian Tribes to Southeastern Europe |journal=SHS Web of Conferences |date=2018 |volume=50 |page=01237 |doi=10.1051/shsconf/20185001237|s2cid=165176167 |doi-access=free }}</ref> civilization in [[Central Asia]] based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern [[Amu Darya]]) and north of the mountains of the [[Hindu Kush]], an area within the north of modern [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bactria {{!}} Map, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bactria |access-date=2025-05-31 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Bactria, ancient country lying between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) in what is now part of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.}}</ref> Bactria was strategically located south of [[Sogdia]] and the western part of the [[Pamir Mountains]]. The extensive mountain ranges acted as protective "walls" on three sides, with the Pamir on the north and the Hindu Kush on south forming a junction with the [[Karakoram|Karakoram range]] towards the east.

Called "beautiful Bactria, crowned with flags" by the [[Avesta]], the region is considered, in the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] faith, to be one of the "[[Avestan geography|sixteen perfect Iranian lands]]" that the supreme deity, [[Ahura Mazda]], had created. It was once a small and independent kingdom struggling to exist against nomadic [[Turya (Avesta)|Turanians]].<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1017/s0035869x00045470 |issn=1356-1863 |title=Bactria: The History of a Forgotten Empire. By H. G. Rawlinson, M.A., I.E.S. Probsthain's Oriental Series |date=1913 |last1=J. K. |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=733–735 }}</ref> One of the early centres of Zoroastrianism, and capital of the legendary [[Kayanian dynasty]], Bactria is mentioned in the [[Behistun Inscription]] of [[Darius the Great]] as one of the [[satrap]]ies of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]; it was a special satrapy, ruled by a crown prince or an intended heir.<ref name="shs-conferences.org"/> Bactria was the centre of Iranian resistance against the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Greek Macedonian]] invaders after [[Wars of Alexander the Great|the fall of the Achaemenid Empire]] in the 4th century BC, but eventually fell to [[Alexander the Great]]. After the death of Alexander, Bactria was annexed by his general, [[Seleucus I]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

The [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]] lost the region after the declaration of independence by the satrap of Bactria, [[Diodotus I]]; thus began the history of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]], and later the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greek]], Kingdoms. By the second century BC, Bactria was conquered by the [[Parthian Empire]], and, in the early first century, the [[Kushan Empire]] was formed by the [[Yuezhi]] within Bactrian territories. [[Shapur I]], the second [[House of Sasan|Sasanian]] [[King of Kings]] of [[Sasanian Empire|Iran]], conquered western parts of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century, and the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]] was formed. The Sasanians lost Bactria in the 4th century, but reconquered it in the 6th century. [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] (natively known as {{transliteration|xbc|ariao}}, 'Iranian'),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-ii-pre-islamic-period/ |access-date=31 July 2023 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> an [[Eastern Iranian languages|Eastern Iranian language]], was the common language of Bactria and surroundings areas in ancient and early medieval times.

The [[Islamization]] of Bactria began with the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim conquest of Iran]] in the 7th century. The capital city of [[Bactra]] was centre of an Iranian Renaissance in the 8th and 9th centuries,<ref>[https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/2816/1/modi_history%20of%20bactria.pdf Asiatic Papers. Bactra] Retrieved 11 March 2023</ref> and [[Persian language|New Persian]] as an independent literary language first emerged in this region. The [[Samanid Empire]] was formed in Eastern Iran by the descendants of [[Saman Khuda]], a Persian from Bactria, beginning the spread of the Persian language in the region and the decline of the Bactrian language.

== Etymology ==
[[File:High Asia Mountain Ranges.jpg|thumb|right|Bactria closing on the mountain range of the Hindu Kush (south) and bordering the Pamirs (north), as well as places that are close to neighboring Bactria on the map as observed on the North and East, the south branch of Tianshan further north, the Ferghana Valley to the north, the western Tarim Basin to the east.]]
The modern English name of the region is Bactria. Historically, the region was first mentioned in [[Avestan]] as ''Bakhdi'' in [[Old Persian]]. This later developed into ''Bāxtriš'' in [[Middle Persian]] and ''Baxl in'' [[New Persian]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/airyanavaeja.htm|title=Aryan Homeland, Airyana Vaeja, in the Avesta. Aryan lands and Zoroastrianism.|last=Eduljee|first=Ed|website=www.heritageinstitute.com|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> The modern name is derived from the {{langx|grc|Βακτριανή}} ([[Romanization of Greek|Romanized Greek]] term: ''Baktrianē''), which is the [[Greek language|Hellenized]] version of the [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] [[endonym]]. Other cognates include {{lang|xbc|βαχλο}} ([[Romanization|Romanized]]: {{lang|xbc|Bakhlo}}). بلخ ([[Romanization|Romanized]]: ''Balx''), [[Chinese language|Chinese]] 大夏 ([[pinyin]]: ''Dàxià''), [[Latin]] Bactriana. The region was mentioned in ancient [[Sanskrit]] texts as बाह्लीक or ''Bāhlīka''. 

[[Wilhelm Eilers]] proposed that the region was named after the [[Balkh River]] (in Greek transliteration ''Βάκτρος'') from underlying ''Bāxtri-'', itself meaning 'she who divides', from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root *''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰeh₂g-|bhag-]]'' 'to divide' (whence also [[Avestan]] {{lang|ae|bag-}} and [[Vedic Sanskrit|Old Indic]] {{lang|vsn|bháj-}}).<ref>{{cite book|last= Tavernier|first= Jan|year= 2007|title= Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts|publisher= Peeters |isbn= 978-90-429-1833-7|page= 25|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6zTASmo6kC&pg=PA25 }}</ref>

Bactria is the geographic location after which [[Bactrian camel]]s are named.

== Geography ==
The Bactrian plain lay between the [[Amu Darya]] (ancient Oxus River) to the north and the [[Hindu Kush]] mountain range to the south and east.<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles F. W. |last=Higham |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations |publisher=Facts On File, Inc. |year=2004 |isbn=0-8160-4640-9 |page=31 }}</ref> On its western side, the region was bordered by the great [[Carmania (region)|Carmanian]] desert and the plain of [[Margiana]].
The Amu Darya and smaller rivers such as (from west to east) the [[Shirin Tagab River]], [[Sari Pul River]], [[Balkh River]] and [[Kunduz River]] have been used for irrigation for millennia. The land was noted for its fertility and its ability to produce most ancient Greek agricultural products, with the notable exception of olives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rawlinson |first=H. G. |title=Bactria: The History of a Forgotten Empire |year=1912 |publisher=Probstain & co. |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/bactriahistoryo00rawl }}</ref>

According to Pierre Leriche:
{{blockquote|Bactria, the territory of which Bactra was the capital, originally consisted of the area south of the Āmū Daryā with its string of agricultural oases dependent on water taken from the rivers of Balḵ (Bactra), Tashkurgan, Kondūz, Sar-e Pol, and Šīrīn Tagāō. This region played a major role in Central Asian history. At certain times the political limits of Bactria stretched far beyond the geographic frame of the Bactrian plain.<ref name=ei>P. Leriche, [https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bactria "Bactria, Pre-Islamic period"], ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', vol. 3, 1998.</ref>}}

== History ==

=== Bronze Age ===
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=450|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=
| image1   = Seated Goddess, Western Central Asia, Bronze Age Bactria, late 3rd-early 2nd millenium BCE, chlorite and limestone, Miho Museum, Japan.jpg
| caption1=
| image2 = Ancient bowl, Bactria, Central Asia, circa 3000 B.C. Khosrow Mahboubian Collection, London, UK.jpg
| caption2= 
| footer='''Left:''' Seated Goddess, an example of a "Bactrian princess", Bronze Age Bactria, [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]], {{Circa|2000 BC}}. [[Chlorite group|chlorite]] and [[limestone]]. [[Central Asian art]], [[Miho Museum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inagaki |first1=Hajime |title=Galleries and Works of the MIHO MUSEUM |publisher=Miho Museum |page=45 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34579548}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tarzi |first1=Zémaryalaï |title=Les représentations portraitistes des donateurs laïcs dans l'imagerie bouddhique |journal=KTEMA |date=2009 |volume=34 |issue=1 |page=290 |doi=10.3406/ktema.2009.1754 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ktema_0221-5896_2009_num_34_1_1754}}</ref><br />'''Right:''' Ancient bowl with animals, Bactria, 3rd–2nd millennium BC.
}}
The [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]] (BMAC, also known as the "Oxus civilization") is the modern archaeological designation for a [[Bronze Age]] [[archaeological culture]] of [[Central Asia]], dated to {{Circa|2200}}–1700 BC, located in present-day eastern [[Turkmenistan]], northern [[Afghanistan]], southern [[Uzbekistan]] and western [[Tajikistan]], centred on the upper [[Amu Darya]] (known to the ancient Greeks as the Oxus River), an area covering ancient Bactria. Its sites were discovered and named by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] archaeologist [[Viktor Sarianidi]] (1976). Bactria was the Greek name for Old Persian ''Bāxtriš'' (from native *''Bāxçiš'')<ref>David Testen, "Old Persian and Avestan Phonology", ''Phonologies of Asia and Africa'', vol. II (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 583.</ref> (named for its capital Bactra, modern [[Balkh]]), in what is now northern Afghanistan, and ''Margiana'' was the Greek name for the Persian [[satrap]]y of [[Margu]], the capital of which was [[Merv]], in today's Turkmenistan.

The early Greek historian [[Ctesias]], {{Circa|400 BC}} (followed by [[Diodorus Siculus]]), alleged that the legendary Assyrian king [[Ninus]] had defeated a Bactrian king named [[Oxyartes]] in {{Circa|2140 BC}}, or some 1000 years before the [[Trojan War]]. Since the decipherment of [[cuneiform script]] in the 19th century, however, which enabled actual Assyrian records to be read, historians have ascribed little value to the Greek account.

According to some writers, {{who|date=March 2017}} Bactria was the homeland ([[Airyanem Vaejah]]) of [[Indo-Iranians]] who moved south-west into Iran and the north-west of the [[South Asian]] [[subcontinent]] around 2500–2000 BC. Later, it became the northern province of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in [[Central Asia]].<ref>Cotterell (1998), p. 59</ref> It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by the [[Turan Depression]], that the prophet [[Zoroaster]] was said to have been born and gained his first adherents. [[Avestan]], the language of the oldest portions of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] ''[[Avesta]]'', was one of the [[Iranian languages#Proto-Iranian and Old Iranian languages|Old Iranian languages]], and is the oldest attested member of the [[Eastern Iranian languages]].

=== Achaemenid Empire ===
{{Main|Bactria (satrapy)}}
[[File:Xerxes I tomb Bactrian soldier circa 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Xerxes I]] tomb, Bactrian soldier {{circa|470 BC}}.]]

[[Ernst Herzfeld]] suggested that Bactria belonged to the [[Medes]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Herzfeld|first=Ernst|title=The Persian Empire: Studies in geography and ethnography of the ancient Near East|publisher=F. Steiner|year=1968|page=344}}</ref> before its annexation to the [[Achaemenid Empire]] by [[Cyrus the Great]] in [[sixth century BC]], after which it and [[Margiana]] formed the twelfth satrapy of Persia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bactria|title=BACTRIA – Encyclopaedia Iranica|website=www.iranicaonline.org|access-date=7 August 2019|quote=After annexation to the Persian empire by Cyrus in the sixth century, Bactria together with Margiana formed the Twelfth Satrapy.}}</ref> After [[Darius III]] had been defeated by [[Alexander the Great]], the satrap of Bactria, [[Bessus]], attempted to organize a national resistance but was captured by other warlords and delivered to Alexander. He was then tortured and killed.<ref>Holt (2005), pp. 41–43.</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Under Persian rule, many Greeks were deported to Bactria, so that their communities and language became common in the area. During the reign of [[Darius I]], the inhabitants of the Greek city of [[Barca (ancient city)|Barca]], in [[Cyrenaica]], were deported to Bactria for refusing to surrender assassins.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/4G*.html#200 Herodotus, 4.200–204]</ref> In addition, Xerxes also settled the "Branchidae" in Bactria; they were the descendants of Greek priests who had once lived near [[Didyma]] (western Asia Minor) and betrayed the temple to him.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/11K*.html#11.4 Strabo, 11.11.4]</ref> Herodotus also records a Persian commander threatening to enslave daughters of the [[Ionian Revolt|revolting Ionians]] and send them to Bactria.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/6A*.html#9 Herodotus 6.9]</ref> Persia subsequently conscripted Greek men from these settlements in Bactria into their military, as did Alexander later.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh02-06enl.html| title = Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom| website = www.cemml.colostate.edu| access-date = 12 December 2020| archive-date = 23 December 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201223080249/https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh02-06enl.html}}</ref>

=== Alexander The Great ===
[[File:Bactrian imitation of an Athenian drachme.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pre-Seleucid Athenian owl imitation from Bactria, possibly from the time of [[Sophytes]].]]
[[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] conquered [[Sogdia]]na. In the south, beyond the Oxus, he met strong resistance, but ultimately conquered the region through both military force and diplomacy, marrying [[Roxana]], daughter of the defeated Satrap of Bactria, [[Oxyartes]]. He founded two Greek cities in Bactria, including his easternmost, [[Alexandria Eschate]] (Alexandria the Furthest).

After Alexander's death, [[Diodorus Siculus]] tells us that Philip received dominion over Bactria, but [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] names [[Amyntas (son of Nicolaus)|Amyntas]] to that role. At the Treaty of [[Triparadisus]], both Diodorus Siculus and [[Arrian]] agree that the satrap [[Stasanor]] gained control over Bactria. Eventually, Alexander's empire was divided up among the generals in Alexander's army. Bactria became a part of the [[Seleucid Empire]], named after its founder, [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus I]].

=== Seleucid Empire ===
The [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonians]], especially Seleucus I and his son [[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochus I]], established the [[Seleucid Empire]] and founded a number of Greek [[town]]s. The [[Greek language]] became dominant for some time there.

The paradox that Greek presence was more prominent in Bactria than in areas far closer to Greece can possibly be explained by past deportations of Greeks to Bactria.<ref>Walbank, 30</ref> When Alexander's troops entered Bactria they discovered communities of Greeks who appeared to have been deported to the region by the Persians in previous centuries.

=== Greco-Bactrian Kingdom ===
{{Main|Greco-Bactrian Kingdom}}
[[File:Monnaie de Bactriane, Eucratide I, 2 faces.jpg|thumb|Gold [[stater]] of the [[Greco-Bactrian]] king [[Eucratides I|Eucratides]]]]
[[File:Greco-BactrianKingdomMap.jpg|thumb|Map of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] at its maximum extent, circa 180 BC.]]

Considerable difficulties faced by the Seleucid kings and the attacks of Pharaoh [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] gave the satrap of Bactria, [[Diodotus I]], the opportunity to declare independence about 245 BC and conquer [[Sogdia]]. He was the founder of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]. Diodotus and his successors were able to maintain themselves against the attacks of the Seleucids—particularly from [[Antiochus III the Great]], who was ultimately defeated by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]] (190 BC).

The Greco-Bactrians were so powerful that they were able to expand their territory as far as [[South Asia]]:
{{blockquote|As for Bactria, a part of it lies alongside Aria towards the north, though most of it lies above Aria and to the east of it. And much of it produces everything except oil. The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Bactria and beyond, but also of India, as [[Apollodorus of Artemita]] says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander...."<ref>[[Strabo]] {{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+11.11.1&redirect=true| title = Geography, Book 11, chapter 11, section 1}}</ref>}}

The last Greco-Bactrian king [[Heliocles I]] lost control of Bactria to nomadic invaders near the end of the 2nd century BC, at which point Greek political power ceased in Bactria, but Greek cultural influence continued for many more centuries.<ref>Jakobsson, Jens. "The Greeks of Afghanistan Revisited." Nomismatika Khronika (2007): page 17.</ref> The Greco-Bactrians used the [[Greek language]] for administrative purposes, and the local [[Bactrian language]] was also Hellenized, as suggested by its adoption of the Greek alphabet and Greek loanwords.<ref>UCLA Language Materials Project: Language Profile: [http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=64&menu=004 Pashto] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103185916/http://lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=64&menu=004 |date=3 January 2009 }}</ref>

=== Indo-Greek Kingdom ===
{{Main|Indo-Greek Kingdom}}
[[File:Demetrius I of Bactria.jpg|right|thumb|The founder of the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] (205–171 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of the Indus valley.]]

The Bactrian king [[Euthydemus I]] and his son [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] crossed the [[Hindu Kush]] mountains and began the conquest of the [[Indus valley]]. For a short time, they wielded great power: a great Greek empire seemed to have arisen far in the East. But this empire was torn by internal dissension and continual usurpations. When Demetrius advanced far east of the [[Indus]] River, one of his generals, [[Eucratides]], made himself king of Bactria, and soon in every province there arose new usurpers, who proclaimed themselves kings and fought against each other. For example Eucratides is known to have battled another king named Demetrius of India, probably [[Demetrius II of India|Demetrius II]], the latter ultimately being defeated according to the historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]].<ref>Justin on Demetrius: "Multa tamen Eucratides bella magna uirtute gessit, quibus adtritus cum obsidionem Demetrii, regis Indorum, pateretur, cum CCC militibus LX milia hostium adsiduis eruptionibus uicit. Quinto itaque mense liberatus Indiam in potestatem redegit." {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030828143459/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte41.html Justin XLI,6]}}</ref>

Most of them we know only by their coins, a great many of which are found in [[Afghanistan]]. By these wars, the dominant position of the Greeks was undermined even more quickly than would otherwise have been the case. After Demetrius and Eucratides, the kings abandoned the [[Attic standard]] of coinage and introduced a native standard, no doubt to gain support from outside the Greek minority.

In the [[Indus valley]], this went even further. The Indo-Greek king [[Menander I]] (known as Milinda in [[South Asia]]), recognized as a great conqueror, [[Greco-Buddhism|converted to Buddhism]]. His successors managed to cling to power until the last known Indo-Greek ruler, a king named [[Strato II]], who ruled in the [[Punjab region]] until around 55 BC.<ref>Bernard (1994), p. 126.</ref> Other sources, however, place the end of Strato II's reign as late as 10 AD.

===Daxia, Tukhara and Tokharistan===
''[[Daxia]]'', ''Ta-Hsia'', or ''Ta-Hia'' ({{zh|c=大夏|p=Dàxià}}) was the name given in antiquity by the [[Han Chinese]] to '''Tukhara''' or '''Tokhara''':{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}} the central part of Bactria. The name "Daxia" appears in Chinese from the 3rd century BC to designate a little-known kingdom located somewhere west of China. This was possibly a consequence of the first contacts between China and the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]].

During the 2nd century BC, the Greco-Bactrians were conquered by nomadic [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] tribes from the north, beginning with the [[Sakas]] (160 BC). The Sakas were overthrown in turn by the [[Da Yuezhi]] ("Greater Yuezhi") during subsequent decades. The Yuezhi had conquered Bactria by the time of the visit of the Chinese envoy [[Zhang Qian]] (circa 127 BC), who had been sent by the [[Han dynasty|Han]] emperor to investigate lands to the west of China.<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18006 ''Silk Road, North China''] C. Michael Hogan, the Megalithic Portal, 19 November 2007, ed. Andy Burnham</ref><ref name=Rene>{{Cite book |last=Grousset |first=Rene |title=The Empire of the Steppes |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=0-8135-1304-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/29 29–31] |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/29 }}</ref> The first mention of these events in European literature appeared in the 1st century BC, when [[Strabo]] described how "the Asii, Pasiani, Tokhari, and Sakarauli" had taken part in the "destruction of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom".<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/11H*.html#8.2 Strabo, 1.8.2]</ref> [[Ptolemy]] subsequently mentioned the central role of the Tokhari among other tribes in Bactria. As ''Tukhara'' or ''Tokhara'' it included areas that were later part of [[Surxondaryo Region]] in Uzbekistan, southern [[Tajikistan]] and northern Afghanistan. The Tokhari spoke a language known later as [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] – an [[Iranian language]]. (The Tokhari and their language should not be confused with the [[Tocharians|Tocharian people]] who lived in the [[Tarim Basin]] between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD, or the [[Tocharian languages]] that form another branch of [[Indo-European languages]].)

[[File:MenWithDragons.jpg|thumb|left|The treasure of the royal burial [[Tillia tepe]] is attributed to 1st century BC Sakas in Bactria.]]
[[File:ZhangQianTravels.jpg|thumb|[[Zhang Qian]] taking leave from emperor [[Han Wudi]], for his expedition to [[Central Asia]] from 138 to 126 BC, [[Mogao Caves]] mural, 618–712 AD.]]

The name Daxia was used in the ''[[Shiji]]'' ("Records of the Grand Historian") by [[Sima Qian]]. Based on the reports of Zhang Qian, the ''Shiji'' describe Daxia as an important urban civilization of about one million people, living in walled cities under small city kings or magistrates. Daxia was an affluent country with rich markets, trading in an incredible variety of objects, coming from as far as Southern China. By the time Zhang Qian visited, there was no longer a major king, and the Bactrians were under the suzerainty of the Yuezhi. Zhang Qian depicted a rather sophisticated but demoralised people who were afraid of war. Following these reports, the Chinese emperor [[Emperor Wu of Han China|Wu Di]] was informed of the level of sophistication of the urban civilizations of [[Ferghana]], Bactria and [[Parthia]], and became interested in developing commercial relationship with them: {{blockquote|The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: [[Dayuan]] and the possessions of Daxia and Anxi [[Parthia]]  are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the people of [[Han Chinese|Han]], but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China.<ref>[[Hanshu]], Former Han History</ref>}} These contacts immediately led to the dispatch of multiple embassies from the Chinese, which helped to develop trade along the [[Silk Roads]].

[[File:ZeusSerapisOhrmazdWithWorshipperBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] worshipper with [[Zeus]]/[[Serapis]]/[[Ohrmazd]], Bactria, 3rd century AD.<ref name="ReferenceA">Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition</ref>]]
[[File:PharroAndWorshipperBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|thumb|Kushan worshipper with [[Khvarenah|Pharro]], Bactria, 3rd century AD.<ref name="ReferenceA" />]]

[[Kujula Kadphises]], the ''xihou'' (prince) of the Yuezhi, united the region in the early 1st century and laid the foundations for the powerful, but short-lived, [[Kushan Empire]]. In the 3rd century AD, Tukhara was under the rule of the ''[[Indo-Sasanians|Kushanshas]]'' (Indo-Sasanians).

====Tokharistan====
{{main|Tokharistan}}
The form [[Tokharistan]] – the suffix ''-stan'' means "place of" in Persian – appeared for the first time in the 4th century, in [[Buddhist]] texts, such as the ''Vibhasa-sastra''. '''Tokhara''' was known in Chinese sources as ''Tuhuluo'' (吐呼羅) which is first mentioned during the [[Northern Wei]] era. In the Tang dynasty, the name is transcribed as Tuhuoluo (土豁羅). Other Chinese names are Doushaluo 兜沙羅, Douquluo 兜佉羅 or Duhuoluo 覩貨羅.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}} During the 5th century AD, Bactria was controlled by the [[Xionites]] and the [[Hephthalite]]s, but was subsequently reconquered by the Sassanid Empire.

=== Introduction of Islam ===
{{Main|Muslim conquests of Afghanistan|Umayyad Caliphate|Abbasid Caliphate|Anarchy at Samarra}}
By the mid-7th century AD, [[Islam]] under the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] had come to rule much of the Middle East and western areas of Central Asia.<ref name="ReferenceB">[http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-mongolia-central-asia/history-of-buddhism-in-afghanistan History of Buddhism in Afghanistan] by Dr. Alexander Berzin, ''Study Buddhism''</ref>

In 663 AD, the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] attacked the Buddhist [[Turk Shahi|Shahi]] dynasty ruling in Tokharistan. The Umayyad forces captured the area around [[Balkh]], including the Buddhist monastery at [[Nava Vihara]], causing the Shahis to retreat to the Kabul Valley.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

In the 8th century AD, a Persian from Balkh known as Saman Khuda left Zoroastrianism for Islam while living under the Umayyads. His children founded the Samanid Empire (875–999 AD). Persian became the official language and had a higher status than Bactrian, because it was the language of Muslim rulers. It eventually replaced the latter as the common language due to the preferential treatment as well as colonization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.transoxiana.org/0110/kamoliddin_bahram_chobin.html|title=Origin of the Samanids – Kamoliddin – Transoxiana 10|website=www.transoxiana.org|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>

== Bactrian people ==
[[File:Head of Bactrian ruler (Satrap), Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i-Sangin, 3rd-2nd century BCE (left side).jpg|thumb|Painted clay and [[alabaster]] head of a [[Zoroastrian]] priest wearing a distinctive Bactrian-style headdress, [[Takhti-Sangin]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], 3rd-2nd century BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LITVINSKII |first1=B. A. |last2=PICHIKIAN |first2=I. R. |title=The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |date=1994 |volume=8 |pages=47–66 |jstor=24048765 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24048765.pdf |issn=0890-4464}}</ref>]]
Several important trade routes from [[India]] and [[China]] (including the [[Silk Road]]) passed through Bactria and, as early as the [[Bronze Age]], this had allowed the accumulation of vast amounts of wealth by the mostly nomadic population. The first proto-urban civilization in the area arose during the [[2nd millennium BC]].

Control of these lucrative trade routes, however, attracted foreign interest, and in the 6th century BC the Bactrians were conquered by the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]], and in the 4th century BC by [[Alexander the Great]]. These conquests marked the end of Bactrian independence. From around 304 BC the area formed part of the [[Seleucid Empire]], and from around 250 BC it was the centre of a [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], ruled by the descendants of [[Greeks]] who had settled there following the conquest of [[Alexander the Great]].

The Greco-Bactrians, also known in [[Sanskrit]] as [[Yavanas]], worked in cooperation with the native Bactrian aristocracy. By the early 2nd century BC the Greco-Bactrians had created an impressive empire that stretched southwards to include north-west India. By about 135 BC, however, this kingdom had been overrun by invading [[Yuezhi]] tribes, an invasion that later brought about the rise of the powerful [[Kushan Empire]].

Bactrians were recorded in Strabo's ''Geography'':
"Now in early times the Sogdians and Bactrians did not differ much from the nomads in their modes of life and customs, although the Bactrians were a little more civilised; however, of these, as of the others, Onesicritus does not report their best traits, saying, for instance, that those who have become helpless because of old age or sickness are thrown out alive as prey to dogs kept expressly for this purpose, which in their native tongue are called "undertakers," and that while the land outside the walls of the metropolis of the Bactrians looks clean, yet most of the land inside the walls is full of human bones; but that Alexander broke up the custom."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/11K*.html|title=LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XI Chapter 11|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|language=en|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>

The Bactrians spoke [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]], a [[East Iranian|north-eastern Iranian]] language. Bactrian became extinct, replaced by north-eastern<ref>[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eastern-iranian-languages "The Modern Eastern Iranian languages are even more numerous and varied. Most of them are classified as North-Eastern: Ossetic; Yaghnobi (which derives from a dialect closely related to Sogdian); the Shughni group (Shughni, Roshani, Khufi, Bartangi, Roshorvi, Sarikoli), with which Yaz-1ghulami (Sokolova 1967) and the now extinct Wanji (J. Payne in Schmitt, p. 420) are closely linked; Ishkashmi, Sanglichi, and Zebaki; Wakhi; Munji and Yidgha; and Pashto.]</ref> Iranian languages such as [[Munji language|Munji]], [[Yidgha language|Yidgha]], [[Ishkashimi language|Ishkashimi]], and [[Pashto]]. The ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]'' states:{{blockquote|Bactrian thus occupies an intermediary position between [[Pashto language|Pashto]] and [[Yidgha language|Yidgha]]-[[Munji language|Munji]] on the one hand, [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]], [[Khwarezmian language|Choresmian]], and [[Parthian language|Parthian]] on the other: it is thus in its natural and rightful place in Bactria.<ref>N. Sims-Williams. [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bactrian-language "Bactrian language"]. ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. Originally Published: December 15, 1988.</ref>}} The principal religions of the area before the Islamic invasion were [[Zoroastrianism]] and [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Peoples, nations and cultures|author=John Haywood and Simon Hall| location=London |year=2005}}</ref>

Contemporary [[Tajiks]] are the descendants of ancient Eastern Iranian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular, the [[Sogdia]]ns and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of Western Iranian Persians and non-Iranian peoples.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/97005110/ Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan : country studies] Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, page 206</ref><ref>[[Richard Foltz]], ''A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East'', London: [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]], 2019, pp. 33-61.</ref><ref>[[Richard Nelson Frye]], ''"Persien: bis zum Einbruch des Islam"'' (original English title: ''"The Heritage Of Persia"''), German version, tr. by Paul Baudisch, Kindler Verlag AG, [[Zürich]] 1964, pp. 485–498</ref> The ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' states:{{blockquote|The Tajiks are the direct descendants of the Iranian peoples whose continuous presence in Central Asia and northern Afghanistan is attested from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The ancestors of the Tajiks constituted the core of the ancient population of Khwārezm (Khorezm) and Bactria, which formed part of Transoxania (Sogdiana). They were included in the empires of Persia and Alexander the Great, and they intermingled with such later invaders as the Kushāns and Hepthalites in the 1st–6th centuries AD. Over the course of time, the eastern Iranian dialect that was used by the ancient Tajiks eventually gave way to Persian, a western dialect spoken in Iran and Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581047/Tajikistan/214553/History#ref=ref599015| title = Tajikistan: History| date = 28 August 2023}} ''Britannica Online Encyclopedia''</ref>}}

== In popular culture ==
* The six-part documentary ''Alexander's Lost World''<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.alexanderslostworld.com/ |title= Alexander's Lost World: EPISODE 3 – Alexandria on the Oxus |author= David Adams |authorlink= David Adams (photojournalist) |year= 2013}}</ref> explores the possible sites of Bactrian cities that historians believe were founded by [[Alexander the Great]], including [[Alexandria on the Oxus]]. The series also explores the pre-existing [[Oxus civilization]].
* The site was portrayed in the 2004 film ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'' where [[Darius III]] was found dying.

== See also ==
* [[Bactrosaurus]]
* [[Bactrian camel]]
* [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]]
* [[Bahlikas]]
* [[Dalverzin Tepe]]
* [[Greater Khorasan]]
* [[History of Afghanistan]]
* [[History of Uzbekistan]]
* [[Tajiks]]
* [[Tillya Tepe]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}}
* Bernard, Paul (1994). "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." In:'' History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250,'' pp.&nbsp;99–129. Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
* Beal, Samuel ([[Translation|trans.]]). ''Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang.'' Two volumes. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1969. [https://archive.org/search?query=title%3A%28Buddhist%20records%29%20AND%20creator%3A%28Beal%29 Several editions online at Archive.Org]
* Beal, Samuel (trans.). ''The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li, with an Introduction containing an account of the Works of I-Tsing''. London, 1911. Reprint: [[New Delhi]]: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.
* Cotterell, Arthur. ''From Aristotle to Zoroaster'', 1998; pages 57–59. {{ISBN|0-684-85596-8}}.
* Hill, John E. 2003. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the ''Hou Hanshu''."] Second Draft Edition.
* Hill, John E. 2004. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 AD.''] Draft annotated English translation.
* Holt, Frank Lee. (1999). ''Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria''. Berkeley: University of California Press.(hardcover, {{ISBN|0-520-21140-5}}).
* Holt, Frank Lee. (2005). ''Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-24553-9}}.
* Omar, Coloru (2009). ''Da Alessandro a Menandro. Il regno greco di Battriana.'' Pisa/Roma: Fabrizio Serra.
* Posch, Walter (1995). ''Baktrien zwischen Griechen und Kuschan. Untersuchungen zu kulturellen und historischen Problemen einer Übergangsphase.'' Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, {{ISBN|3-447-03701-6}}
*Waghmar, Burzine. (2020). [https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/34707/ "Between Hind and Hellas: the Bactrian Bridgehead (with an appendix on Indo-Hellenic interactions)"]. In: ''Indo-Hellenic Cultural Transactions''. (2020). Edited by Radhika Seshan. Mumbai: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 2020 [2021], pp.&nbsp;187–228. ISBN 978-938-132418-9, (paperback). 
* Tremblay, Xavier (2007) "The Spread of Buddhism in Serindia ― Buddhism among Iranians, Tocharians and Turks before the 13th century." Xavier Tremblay. In: ''The Spread of Buddhism''. (2007). Edited by Ann Heirman and Stephan Peter Bumbacher. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section Eight, Central Asia. Edited by Denis Sinor and Nicola Di Cosmo. Brill, Lieden; Boston. pp.&nbsp;75–129.
* Watson, Burton (trans.). "Chapter 123: The Account of Dayuan." Translated from the [[Shiji]] by Sima Qian. ''Records of the Grand Historian of China II'' (Revised Edition). [[Columbia University Press]], 1993, pages 231–252. {{ISBN|0-231-08164-2}} (hardback), {{ISBN|0-231-08167-7}} (paperback).
* Watters, Thomas. ''On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India ([[Anno Domini|A.D.]] 629–645)''. Reprint: New Delhi: Mushiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1973. [https://archive.org/details/cu31924071132769/page/n3/mode/2up Online at Archive.Org]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Bactria|volume=3|pages=180–181}}
* Walbank, F.W. (1981). "The Hellenistic World". Fontana Press. {{ISBN|0-006-86104-0}}. 
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [https://www.livius.org/articles/place/bactria/ Livius.org: Bactria]
* [http://coinindia.com/index-greek.html Bactrian Coins]
* [http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2281950 Bactrian Gold]
* [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/33948 Art of the Bronze Age: Southeastern Iran, Western Central Asia, and the Indus Valley], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Bactria

{{Authority control}}

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{{Central Asian history}}

[[Category:Bactria| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 10th century]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Iran]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Iran]]
[[Category:History of Central Asia]]
[[Category:History of South Asia]]
[[Category:1000 disestablishments]]