Greek culture in Bactria (
Alexandria Oxiana) 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. This site gives a snapshot of Greco-Bactrian culture around 145 BC, as the city was burnt to the ground around that date during nomadic invasions and never re-settled. Ai-Khanoum "has all the hallmarks of a Hellenistic city, with a Greek
theater,
gymnasium and some Greek houses with colonnaded courtyards" (Boardman). Remains of Classical
Corinthian columns were found in excavations of the site, as well as various sculptural fragments. In particular a huge foot fragment in excellent Hellenistic style was recovered, which is estimated to have belonged to a 5–6 meter tall statue. . One of the inscriptions in Greek found at Ai-Khanoum, the Herôon of Kineas, has been dated to 300–250 BC, and describes
Delphic maxims: παῖς ὢν κόσμιος γίνου ἡβῶν ἐγκρατής μέσος δίκαιος πρεσβύτης εὔβουλος τελευτῶν ἄλυπος As children, learn good manners. As young men, learn to control the passions. In middle age, be just. In old age, give good advice. Then die, without regret. Many other Greco-Bactrian cities have been identified, for example
Alexandria Eschate (in modern
Tajikistan),
Eucratideia, and another city named Amphipolis. The latter being a previously unknown city which was mentioned on a Bactrian document and was clearly named after
Amphipolis in ancient Macedonia. File:Head of a Greco-Bactrian ruler, Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i-Sangin, 3rd-2nd century BCE.jpg|Head of a
Greco-Bactrian ruler with diadem, Temple of the Oxus,
Takht-i Sangin, 3rd–2nd century BCE. This could also be a portrait of
Seleucus I. File:Altar to God Oxus, with Marsias playing the aolos, Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i Sangin, dated 2nd century BCE.jpg|Hellenistic silenus
Marsyas from Takhti Sangin, with dedication in Greek to the god of the Oxus, by "Atrosokes" (a Bactrian name). Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i Sangin, 200–150 BCE.
Tajikistan National Museum. File:Alexander-Herakles head, Takht-i Sangin, Temple of the Oxus, 3rd century BCE.jpg|Alexander-Heracles head, Takht-i Sangin, Temple of the Oxus, 3rd century BCE. Greco-Bactrian coins also depict the kings wearing distinct headgear, such as helmets modelled on the
Boeotian cavalry helmet of
Alexander the Great, or the Macedonian
kausia. This is unique to the Greco-Bactrian kings, who first featured such designs on their coins as other Hellenistic rulers are shown to only wear the diadem. As such the Greco-Bactrians are especially known for their innovative coinage designs. Further examples include the use of different metal alloys for their coins and the issue of bilingual coinage, using Greek on the obverse and an Indian language (such as
Pali) in the
Kharoshti or
Brahmi scripts on the reverse. Local Indian symbols and deities are also depicted, i.e. Buddhist symbols and some Hindu deities (see Influence on Indian art subsection below). This syncretic design was first introduced after king Demetrius I of Bactria conquered areas of the Indian subcontinent between 190 and 180 BC, with king
Pantaleon being the first to issue coins of the Indian standard, when the Greeks truly started ruling over Indian populations.
Contacts with Han China To the north, Euthydemus also ruled
Sogdiana and
Ferghana, and there are indications that from
Alexandria Eschate the Greco-Bactrians may have led expeditions as far as
Kashgar and
Ürümqi in
Xinjiang, leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around 220 BC. The Greek historian
Strabo too writes that: "they extended their empire even as far as the
Seres (Chinese) and the
Phryni". (
Strabo, XI.XI.I).|280x280pxSeveral statuettes and representations of Greek soldiers have been found north of the
Tian Shan, on the doorstep to China, and are today on display in the
Xinjiang museum at
Ürümqi (Boardman). Middle Eastern or Greek influences on Chinese art have also been suggested (
Hirth,
Rostovtzeff). Designs with
rosette flowers, geometric lines,
meanders and glass inlays, suggestive of Egyptian, Persian, and/or Hellenistic influences, can be found on some early
Han dynasty bronze mirrors. Some speculate that Greek influence is found in the artworks of the burial site of China's first Emperor
Qin Shi Huang, dating back to the 3rd century BC, including in the manufacture of the famous
Terracotta Army. This idea suggested that Greek artists may have come to China at that time to train local artisans in making sculptures However, this idea is disputed.
Numismatics also suggest that some technology exchanges may have occurred on these occasions: the Greco-Bactrians were the first in the world to issue
cupro-nickel (75:25 ratio) coins, an alloy technology only known by the Chinese at the time under the name "White copper" (some weapons from the
Warring States period were in copper-nickel alloy). The practice of exporting Chinese metals, in particular iron, for trade is attested around that period. Kings Euthydemus I, Euthydemus II,
Agathocles and
Pantaleon made these coin issues around 170 BC. An alternative suggestion is that the metal in the coinage derived from a mine where a cupro-nickel alloy occurred naturally, perhaps
Anarak in eastern
Iran. Copper-nickel would not be used again in coinage until the 19th century. The presence of Chinese people in India from ancient times is also suggested by the accounts of the "
Ciñas" in the
Mahabharata and the
Manu Smriti. When the famous
Han dynasty explorer and ambassador
Zhang Qian visited Bactria in approximately 126 BC, he reported the presence of Chinese products in the Bactrian markets: "When I was in Bactria (
Daxia)", Zhang Qian reported, "I saw bamboo canes from
Qiong and
cloth made in the
province of Shu (territories of southwestern China). When I asked the people how they had gotten such articles, they replied, "Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Shendu (India)." :—
Shiji 123,
Sima Qian, translation by Burton Watson). , the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the
Maurya Empire and the
Yuezhi.|280x280px The purpose of Zhang Qian's journey was to look for civilizations on the steppe that the Han could ally with against the Xiongnu. Upon his return, Zhang Qian informed the Chinese emperor Han
Wudi of the level of sophistication of the urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia, who became interested in developing commercial relationships with them: The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus:
Ferghana (
Dayuan) and the possessions of
Bactria (
Daxia) and
Parthia (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, and placing great value on the rich produce of China. (
Hanshu, Former Han History). A number of Chinese envoys were then sent to Central Asia, triggering the development of the
Silk Road from the end of the 2nd century BC.
Contacts with the Indian subcontinent (250–180 BC) The Indian emperor
Chandragupta, founder of the
Maurya Empire, conquered the northwestern subcontinent upon the death of
Alexander the Great around 323 BC. However, contacts were kept with his Greek neighbours in the
Seleucid Empire, a dynastic alliance or the recognition of intermarriage between Greeks and Indians were established (described as an agreement on
Epigamia in Ancient sources), and several Greeks, such as the historian
Megasthenes, resided at the Mauryan court. Subsequently, each Mauryan emperor had a Greek ambassador at his court. of
Ashoka (in
Greek and
Aramaic), found in
Kandahar. BC,
Kabul Museum. Chandragupta's grandson
Ashoka converted to the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of
Theravada Buddhism, directing his efforts towards the Indo-Iranic and the Hellenistic worlds from around 250 BC. According to the
Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, some of them written in Greek, he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of the
Hellenistic world at the time. The conquest by
Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred
yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king
Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named
Ptolemy,
Antigonos,
Magas and
Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the
Cholas, the
Pandyas, and as far as
Tamraparni. (
Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika). Some of the Greek populations that had remained in northwestern India apparently converted to Buddhism: Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the
Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the
Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in
Dharma. (
Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika). Furthermore, according to
Pali sources, some of Ashoka's emissaries were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges between the two cultures: When the (elder) Moggaliputta, the illuminator of the religion of the Conqueror (Ashoka), had brought the (third) council to an end ... he sent forth theras, one here and one there: ... and to Aparantaka (the "Western countries" corresponding to
Gujarat and
Sindh) he sent the Greek (
Yona) named
Dhammarakkhita ... and the Maharakkhita he sent into the country of the Yona. (
Mahavamsa, XII). Greco-Bactrians probably received these Buddhist emissaries (at least Maharakkhita, lit. "The Great Saved One", who was "sent to the country of the Yona") and somehow tolerated the Buddhist faith, although little proof remains. In the 2nd century AD, the Christian dogmatist
Clement of Alexandria recognized the existence of Buddhist
Sramanas among the Bactrians ("Bactrians" meaning "Oriental Greeks" in that period), and even their influence on Greek thought: Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations. And afterwards it came to Greece. First in its ranks were the prophets of the
Egyptians; and the
Chaldeans among the
Assyrians; and the
Druids among the
Gauls; and the
Sramanas among the
Bactrians (""); and the philosophers of the
Celts; and the
Magi of the
Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of
Judea guided by a star. The Indian
gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called
Sramanas (""), and others
Brahmins ("").
Influence on Indian art during the 3rd century BC s" and
lotus designs, which may have been transmitted through Ai-Khanoum.
Rampurva bull capital, India, circa 250 BC. The Greco-Bactrian city of
Ai-Khanoum, being located at the doorstep of India, interacting with the Indian subcontinent, and having a rich Hellenistic culture, was in a unique position to influence Indian culture as well. It is considered that Ai-Khanoum may have been one of the primary actors in transmitting Western artistic influence to India, for example in the creation of the
Pillars of Ashoka or the manufacture of the quasi-Ionic
Pataliputra capital, all of which were posterior to the establishment of Ai-Khanoum. The scope of adoption goes from designs such as the
bead and reel pattern, the central
flame palmette design and a variety of other
moldings, to the lifelike rendering of animal sculpture and the design and function of the Ionic
anta capital in the palace of
Pataliputra.
First visual representations of Indian deities showing Indian deities. Obverse with Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ,
Basileōs Agathokleous, "(of) King Agathocles". Reverse with
Brahmi legend: 𑀭𑀚𑀦𑁂 𑀅𑀕𑀣𑀼𑀼𑀓𑁆𑀮𑁂𑀬𑁂𑀲,
Rajane Agathuklayesa, "King Agathocles". One of the last Greco-Bactrian kings,
Agathocles of Bactria (ruled 190–180 BC), issued remarkable Indian-standard square coins bearing the first known representations of Indian deities, which have been variously interpreted as
Vishnu,
Shiva,
Vasudeva,
Buddha or
Balarama. Altogether, six such Indian-standard silver
drachmas in the name of Agathocles were discovered at Ai-Khanoum in 1970. These coins seem to be the first known representations of
Vedic deities on coins, and they display early
Avatars of
Vishnu:
Balarama-
Sankarshana with attributes consisting of the
Gada mace and the
plow, and
Vasudeva-
Krishna with the
Vishnu attributes of the
Shankha (a pear-shaped case or conch) and the
Sudarshana Chakra wheel. The
Bactrian language used in the region of modern-day Afghanistan continued to be written in the Greek script until the 9th century AD (nearly 1,000 years after the fall of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom). These tribes also heavily incorporated the
Greek gods into their own religion and art. The
Indo-Scythians,
Indo-Parthians and the
Yuezhi (who later became the
Kushans), extensively copied the coin designs of the Greco-Bactrians (and the Indo-Greeks), but eventually this gave way to more diverse coin designs by the 1st century AD. To the south, in the region of
Arachosia, which was later controlled by the Indo-Greek kings, there is also evidence of persistence of Greek cities and language. For example, in his 1st-century AD
Parthian stations itinerary,
Isidore of Charax describes an "
Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia", which he said was still Greek even at such a late time. The
Kandahar Sophytos inscription from the same city, shows a real refinement of Greek language and culture so far east, and was likely written by a native man who had mastered the Greek language. The Greco-Bactrians and especially the Indo-Greeks were highly influential in the creation of syncretic artistic movements in India. The most important example being the
Greco-Buddhist art of
Gandhara found in the region of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, which includes designs such as the ornate
Indo-Corinthian capitals, and the drapery of Buddhist clothing, with some elements later spreading as far as Pataliputra in India. ==List of Greco-Bactrian kings==