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Indians and Iranians. The Iranian tradition, preserved in the Avesta and in Firdousi's Shahnama, localizes a part of its heroes and myths in the See also:

east of Iran, and has transformed the old gods who fight with the greatsnake into See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings of Iran who fight with the Turanian. Many modern authors have attempted to make history out of these stories, and have created an old Bactrian See also:

EMPIRE

empire of See also:

GREAT

great extent, . the kings of which had won great victories over the Turanian: But this See also:

HISTORICAL

historical aspect of the myth is of See also:

LATE

late origin: it is nothing but a reflex of the great Iranian empire founded by the Achaemenids and restored by the Sassanids. The only historical fact which we can learn from the Iranian tradition is that the contrast and the See also:

FEUD

feud between the peasants of Iran and the nomads of Turan was as great in old times as it is now: it is indeed based upon the natural See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical conditions, and is therefore eternal.

But a great Bactrian empire certainly never existed; the Bactrian and their neighbours were in old times ruled by See also:

PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty See also:

LOCAL

local kings, one of whom was Vishtaspa, the See also:

PROTECTOR

protector of Zoroaster. See also:

CTESIAS

Ctesias in his history of the See also:

ASSYRIAN

Assyrian empire (Diodor. Sic. ii. 6 ff.) narrates a See also:

war waged by See also:

NINUS

Ninus and Semiram, against the See also:

king of Bactria (whom some later authors, e.g. See also:

JUSTIN (JUNIANUS JUSTINUS)

Justin i. 1, See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call Zoroaster). But the whole Assyrian history of Ctesias is nothing but a fantastic fiction; from the Assyrian inscriptions we know that the Assyrians never entered the eastern parts of Iran. Whether Bactria formed part of the Median empire, we do not know; but it was subjugated by See also:

Cyrus and from then formed one of the satrapies of the Persian empire. When See also:

Alexander had defeated See also:

DARIUS (Pers. Darayavaush; Old Test. Daryavesh)

Darius III., his murderer See also:

BESSUS

Bessus, the See also:

SATRAP [Pers. Khshatrapavan, i.e." protector (superintendent) of the country (or district)," Heb. sakhshadrapan, Gr. taerpan-ris (insc. of Miletus, Sitzungsber. Berl. Ak. 1900, 112), E% u3pa7eixav (insc. of Mylasa, Dittenberger, Sylloge, 95), ital. p6. rr

satrap of Bactria, tried to organize a See also:

NATIONAL

national resistance in the east. But Bactria was conquered by Alexander without much difficulty; it was only farther in the See also:

north, beyond the Oxus, in See also:

SOGDIANA (Sugdiane, O. Pers. Sughuda)

Sogdiana, that he met with strong resistance. Bactria became a See also:

province of the Macedonian empire, and soon came under the See also:

RULE

rule of Seleucus, king of Asia (see SELEUCID See also:

DYNASTY (Gr. &vvaareta, sovereignty, the position of a hevnori7r, lord, ruler, from SuvaaBay to be able, Suvaµas, power)

DYNASTY and See also:

HELLENISM). The Macedonians (and especially Seleucus I. and his son See also:

ANTIOCHUS

Antiochus I.) founded a great many See also:

Greek towns in eastern Iran, and the Greek language became for some See also:

time dominant there.

The many difficulties against which the Seleucid kings had to fight and the attacks of See also:

PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMAEUS)

Ptolemy II., gave to See also:

DIODOTUS

Diodotus, satrap of Bactria, the opportunity of making himself See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent (about 255 B.c.) and of conquering Sogdiana. He was the founder of the Graeco-Bactrian See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom. Diodotus and his successors were able to maintain themselves against the attacks of the Seleucids; and when Antiochus III., " the Great," had been defeated by the See also:

Romans (190 B.c.), the Bactrian king See also:

EUTHYDEMUS

Euthydemus and his son See also:

DEMETRIUS

Demetrius crossed the Hindu Kush and began the See also:

CONQUEST

conquest of eastern Iran and the See also:

INDUS

Indus valley. For a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time they wielded great See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power; a great Greek empire seemed to have arisen far in the East. But this empire was torn by See also:

INTERNAL

internal dissensions and continual usurpations. When Demetrius advanced far into See also:

India one of his generals, See also:

EUCRATIDES

Eucratides, made himself king of Bactria, and soon in every province there arose new usurpers, who See also:

pro-claimed themselves kings and fought one against the other. Most of them we know only by their coins, a great many of which are found in See also:

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan and India. By these See also:

WARS

wars the dominant position of the Greeks was undermined even more quickly than would otherwise have been the See also:

case. After Demetrius and Eucratides, the kings abandoned the See also:

ATTIC (i.e. "in the Attic style ")

Attic See also:

standard of coinage and introduced a native standard; at the same time the native language came into use by the See also:

side of the Greek: On the coins struck in India, the well-known Indian See also:

ALPHABET (see also WRITING)

alphabet (called Brahmi by the Indians, the older See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the Devanagari) is used; on the coins struck in Afghanistan and in the See also:

PUNJAB

Punjab the Kharoshthi alphabet, which is derived directly from the Aramaic and was in See also:

COMMON

common use in the western parts of India, as is shown by one of the inscriptions of See also:

ASOKA

Asoka and by the See also:

RECENT

recent See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery of many fragments of Indian See also:

MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts, written in Kharoshthi, in eastern See also:

Turkestan (formerly this alphabet has been called Arianic or Bactrian See also:

PALI

Pali; the true name is derived from Indian See also:

SOURCES

sources). The weakness of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdoms was shown by their sudden and See also:

COMPLETE

complete overthrow. In the See also:

west the Arsacid empire had risen, and See also:

MITHRADATES

Mithradates I. and Phraates II. began to conquer some of their western districts, especially Areia (See also:

HERAT

Herat). But in the north a new race appeared, Mongolian tribes, called Scythians by the Greeks, amongst which the Tochari, identical with the Yue-chi (q.v.) of the See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese, were the most important.

In 159 B.C., according to Chinese sources, they entered Sogdiana, in 139 they conquered Bactria, and during the next See also:

GENERATION (from Lat. generare, to beget, procreate; genus, stock, race)

generation they had made an end to the Greek rule in eastern Iran. Only in India the Greek conquerors (See also:

Menander, Apollodotus) maintained themselves some time longer. But in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the 1st See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century B.C. the whole of eastern Iran and western India belonged to the great " Indo-Scythian " empire. The ruling dynasty had the name Kushan (Kushana), by which they are called on their coins and in the Persian sources. The most famous of these kings is See also:

KANISHKA

Kanishka (ca. 123-153), the great protector of See also:

BUDDHISM

Buddhism. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal seat of the Tochari and the Kushan dynasty seems to have been Bactria; but they always maintained the eastern parts of modern Afghanistan and See also:

BALUCHISTAN

Baluchistan, while the western regions (Areia, i.e. Herat, See also:

SEISTAN, or SISTAN (SEJISTAN)

Seistan and part of the See also:

HELMUND

Helmund valley) were conquered by the Arsacids. In the 3rd century the Kushan dynasty began to decay; about A.D. 320 the See also:

GUPTA

Gupta empire was founded in India. Thus the Kushanas were reduced to eastern Iran, where they had to fight against the Sassanids. In the 5th century a new people came from the east, the See also:

EPHTHALITES, or WHITE HUNS

Ephthalites (q.v.) or " See also:

white See also:

HUNS

Huns," who subjected Bactria (about 450); and they were followed by the See also:

TURKS

Turks, who first appear in history about A.D.

560 and subjugated the country north of the Oxus. Most of the small principalities of the Tochari or Kushan became subject to them. But when the See also:

SASSANIAN

Sassanian empire was overthrown by the See also:

ARABS

Arabs, the conquerors immediately, advanced eastwards, and in a few years Bactria and the whole Iran to the See also:

banks of the Jaxartes had submitted to the rule of the See also:

CALIPH, CALIF

caliph and of See also:

ISLAM

Islam.

End of Article: BACTRIA (Bactriana)

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