Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

  General Description   The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was a hereditary monarchy founded in the mid-3rd century BCE, probably by the Seleucid satrap Diodotus I, ^[1] as a successor kingdom of the Seleucid Empire. It came to an end when it was conquered by nomadic peoples who were being pushed further west by the rising power of a unified Chinese empire. ^[2]
Population and political organization
Under the Graeco-Bactrian rulers, new cities based on the Greek street plan, such as Sirkap, sprang up in Central Asia. ^[3] The Bactrian Greek city of Ai Khanoum, one of the best preserved, had an impressive administrative centre, gymnasium and theatre as well as Greek statuary. ^[4] The administrative centre at Ai Khanoum was Persian in style so was likely organized into different departments and scribes. ^[5]
The regions of Bactria were ruled by officials from their administrative centres, such as Ai Khanoum, which may have had a population of between 25,000 and 50,000 people. But if these regional officials were initially directly loyal to the central monarchy at the capital Bactra, by 126 BCE the Chinese chronicler Zhang Qian could claim that Bactria had ’no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities’. ^[6]
The Greco-Bactrian army was based on the same model as that of the Macedonian-Seleucids, with innovations in tactics based on exposure to nomadic horsemen. ^[7] The Bactrian Greeks were equipped in the Macedonian style adopted by their Seleucid forebears. They wore a muscled breastplate made of metal scales and their legs were protected by strips of leather. ^[8]
The flowering of Greek culture in Central Asia in this period produced distinctly Hellenistic artwork, statuary and coinage and had a profound influence on the culture of central Asia for centuries to come. ^{[9] [10]}

[1]: (Holt 1999, 51, 63) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR

[2]: (Bernard 2012, 42-52) Bernard, Paul. 2012. “Ai Khanum: A Greek Colony in Post-Alexandrian Central Asia, or How to Be Greek in an Oriental Milieu.” In Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations along the Silk Road, edited by Joan Aruz and Elisabetta Valtz Fino, 42-53. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/K38GFI79

[3]: (Higham 2004, 344) Higham, Charles. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. New York: Facts On File. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JBEBEPPM

[4]: (Docherty 2008, 64-65) Docherty, Paddy. 2008. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion. New York: Union Square Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7

[5]: (Mori 2015, 93) Mori, Anatole. 2015. “Literature in the Hellenistic World.” In A Companion to Greek Literature, edited by Martin Hose and David Schenker, 89-111. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IBRAVRD7

[6]: (Mairs 2014, 154) Mairs, Rachel. 2014. The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3ENDA26P

[7]: (Holt 1999, 118) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR

[8]: (Docherty 2008, 64-66) Docherty, Paddy. 2008. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion. New York: Union Square Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7

[9]: (Holt 1999, 136) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR

[10]: (Bernard 1994) Bernard, P. 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, edited by János Harmatta, B. N. Puri, and G. F. Etemadi, 96-126. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HIB5JTCU