bactria alexander the great

This painting by Reubens captures the coronation of Roxana by Alexander in . It focuses on the impact of the military campaigns on the local inhabitants in four interconnected fields of human activity (military, political, urban, and administrative) and addresses their responses to the invading army. These reliefs depict the tributes brought to the Achaemenid ruler by the subjects of his vast empire. On the eastern stairway of the Apadana, the greatest palace in the city, are the so-called Tribute Processions.. In the sixth century BCE, Cyrus the Great conquered Bactria and added it to the Persian or Achaemenid Empire. When the fortress was captured, the sixteen year old woman, was among the prisoners of war. Lady Agathokles of Bactria. This resulted in a civil war, which weakened the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom. From age 13 to 16 he was taught by Aristotle, who inspired him with an interest in philosophy, medicine, and scientific investigation, but he was later to advance beyond his teachers narrow precept that non-Greeks should be treated as slaves. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. [Online] Available at: https://www.livius.org/articles/person/alexander-the-great/alexander-the-great-5/, Lendering, J., 2020. But the cities remained de facto under Alexander, and his appointment of Calas as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia reflected his claim to succeed the Great King of Persia. Whilst the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom kept its Greek roots, it was, for the most part, not involved in the politics of the Hellenistic world. Who would you pick for the best military leaders of all time? Salah satunya dikenal sebagai Alaxander IV yang merupakan putranya dengan istrinya Roxana. by US Military Academy. The following spring at Babylon he received complimentary embassies from the Libyans and from the Bruttians, Etruscans, and Lucanians of Italy; but the story that embassies also came from more distant peoples, such as Carthaginians, Celts, Iberians, and even Romans, is a later invention. Consequently, the Graeco-Bactrians were unable to stop the advance of the Yuezhi, a nomadic tribe that arrived from the north. Why did people think Alexander the Great was a god? Web. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia (336-323 BCE), who overthrew the Persian empire, carried Macedonian arms to India, and laid the foundations for the Hellenistic world of territorial kingdoms. Eucratides is said to have been a descendant of Diodotus, and his coup, therefore, may be regarded as the restoration of the Diodotid dynasty. The cities perforce complied, but often ironically: the Spartan decree read, Since Alexander wishes to be a god, let him be a god.. Warning: See the definitions of Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms Ai Khanum (also spelled Ai-Khanoum or Ay-Khanum, lit. By Marc G. De Santis In the autumn of 331 bc, Alexander the Great won a decisive victory over the Great King Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela. Turning, Alexander found Darius drawn up along the Pinarus River. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. In 238 BC, the Parni, a collection of eastern Iranian tribes under their leader Arsaces I, invaded Parthia, overthrew Andragoras, and established the Parthian Empire. On the site of modern Leninabad (Khojent) on the Jaxartes, he founded a city, Alexandria Eschate, the farthest. Meanwhile, Spitamenes had raised all Sogdiana in revolt behind him, bringing in the Massagetai, a people of the Shaka confederacy. Hugely ambitious, Alexander drew inspiration from the gods Achilles, Heracles, and Dionysus. Alexander conquered it with great difficulty between 329-327 BCE, largely with the help of local auxiliary forces. The peace agreement was sealed by the marriage of one of Antiochus daughters to Euthydemus son, Demetrius. His post of chiliarch (grand vizier) was left unfilled. In his mind, he saw Darius captured and coming before him still dressed in the robes of the Great King. But just when everything seems to be going well, Bactria and Sogdiana (modern-day Afghanistan and Tajikistan) revolt and that marks the beginning of a long and bloody guerilla war unlike anything Alexander, or the world, has seen . Chaos in Central Asia After the Death of Alexander the Great For a long time his mind had dwelt on ideas of godhead. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. He was met in battle by the forces of Eucratides, defeated, and killed on the battlefield. Recrossing the Hindu Kush, probably by Bamiyan and the Ghorband Valley, Alexander divided his forces. Alexander 2.12 - Livius When Alexander the Great and his army arrived in Bactria, many Greeks were already there. This represents the continuation of Hellenism in the east. Later the incident was to contribute to the story that he was the son of Zeus and, thus, to his deification. In spring 331 he returned to Tyre, appointed a Macedonian satrap for Syria, and prepared to advance into Mesopotamia. Is the Danube Valley Civilization script the oldest writing in the world? There was much speculation about the cause of death, and the most popular theories claim that he either contracted malaria or typhoid fever or that he was poisoned. Author of. A Visual Tour (Video), Behind the Scenes of Ancient Greece: Exploring the Daily Life of its People (Video), Trove of Ancient Artifacts Discovered in Paestum Include Dolphin Statuette of Eros, TheiaGreek Goddess of Light, the Sun, the Moon, and Wisdom, Greeces East Attica In Antiquity: Playground Of Gods, Heroes And Heroines, The Secrets Of Hever Castle: Home Of Anne Boleyn (Video), Triumphs and Turmoil: Unraveling the Legacy of the Severan Dynasty, High Status Skeletal Find of Ivory Man in Valencia Turns out To Be Ivory Lady, Fact or Fiction? After more than a century of power, the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom collapsed at the end of the 2nd century BC, overrun by nomadic invasions. In other words, watch out for Bactria - it has never been a quiet region! Another name for the Kushan-controlled Bactria was "Tokharistan," because the Indo-European Yuezhi were also called the Tocharians. In Aria he reduced Satibarzanes, who had offered submission only to revolt, and he founded Alexandria of the Arians (modern Hert). 14 Jul 2023. But he was anxious to press on farther, and he had advanced to the Hyphasis when his army mutinied, refusing to go farther in the tropical rain; they were weary in body and spirit, and Coenus, one of Alexanders four chief marshals, acted as their spokesman. Thus, the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom was established. [2], Alexander asked for volunteers, whom he would reward if they could climb the cliffs under the fortress. [2][1], When Alexander asked the defenders to surrender, they refused, telling him that he would need "men with wings" to capture it. The defenders were so surprised and demoralised by this that they surrendered, even though they outnumbered the mountaineers by a hundred to one and Alexander's main force still had no way to reach the summit. World History Encyclopedia. Bactria was a province of the Persian empire located in modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The Phoenician cities Marathus and Aradus came over quietly, and Parmenio was sent ahead to secure Damascus and its rich booty, including Dariuss war chest. Roxana was born in c. 340 BC as the daughter of a Bactrian nobleman named Oxyartes who served Bessus, the satrap of Bactria and Sogdia. The Greeks were already present in Bactria during the Achaemenid period, long before the arrival of Alexander the Great. Alexanders second in command was Parmenio, who had secured a foothold in Asia Minor during Philips lifetime; many of his family and supporters were entrenched in positions of responsibility. Intelligence on both sides was faulty, and Alexander was already encamped by Myriandrus (near modern skenderun, Turkey) when he learned that Darius was astride his line of communications at Issus, north of Alexanders position (autumn 333). The Seleucid Empire encompassed Bactria in the east (Arab Hafez / Public Domain ). Alexander fought an epic battle against Porus, a ruler of a region in the Punjab in the Battle of Hydaspes in (326 BC). (2020, August 25). Source: Ksenia Tassel / Adobe Stock. Bactria - World History Encyclopedia Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. His troops were extremely loyal, believing in him throughout all hardships. He was handed over to Ptolemy, one of Alexanders generals. Both in Egypt and elsewhere in the Greek cities he received divine honours. The Achaemenids succeeded in holding on to Bactria for about 200 years, until their defeat by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diodotus-II, The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2016. One such state, in the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, was the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom. Remove Ads. Apart from that, the Parthian presence undermined Bactrian control of overland trade along the Silk Route , resulting in a reduced rate of trade between Bactria and the Hellenistic world. Alexander had on several occasions encouraged favourable comparison of his own accomplishments with those of Dionysus or Heracles. Definition. Alexanders march through Gedrosia proved disastrous; waterless desert and shortage of food and fuel caused great suffering, and many, especially women and children, perished in a sudden monsoon flood while encamped in a wadi. After Alexander's death, Bactria was part of the Seleucid Empire. Egypt, Babylonia, Persis, Media , Bactria, the Punjab, and the valley of the Indus. Spitamenes later waited for Alexander to pass through Sogdiana to Ferghana to rebel again, but . Alexanders military campaigns changed the face of the world, and after his death he left a legacy of new kingdoms and states as his empire disintegrated. Bactria. This second revolt was crushed by the Macedonians. Today, what was once called Bactria forms much of "the 'Stans," and is once more valued for its reserves of oil and natural gas, as well as for its potential as an ally of either moderate Islam or Islamic fundamentalism. Towards the end of the 3rd century BC, the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus III the Great, launched a military campaign in the east in an attempt to recover the satrapies lost by his predecessors. In June Alexander fought his last great battle on the left bank of the Hydaspes. The Greek prisoners of war from their victorious battles were sent from the western end of the Achaemenid Empire to its eastern end, exiled to Bactria. Several philosophers, such as Pyrrho, Anaxarchus and Onesicritus, are said to have been selected by Alexander to accompany him in his eastern campaigns. Although an army under the command of Peithon (one of Alexanders inner circle) was sent against the rebels, and many of the Greek settlers were killed, the revolt was never fully suppressed. Serving as the Eastern buffer for the Hellenistic World, this unique kingdom developed . Ancient Gandhara Kingdom Was A Melting Pot That Left Its Legacy in Art, Adapting Buddhism: Ancient Disciples of Siddhartha Gautama in Afghanistan and Iran. This proved an effective way of normalizing the Greek population into the Achaemenid Empire. Between 326 and 324 over a third of his satraps were superseded and six were put to death, including the Persian satraps of Persis, Susiana, Carmania, and Paraetacene; three generals in Media, including Cleander, the brother of Coenus (who had died a little earlier), were accused of extortion and summoned to Carmania, where they were arrested, tried, and executed. After Bessus was captured by the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great, Oxyartes and his family continued to resist . Archaeological evidence and early Greek accounts indicate that the area east of Persia and northwest of India has been home to organized empires since at least 2,500 BCE, and possibly much longer. Biography of Babur, Founder of the Mughal Empire, Biography of Tamerlane, 14th Century Conqueror of Asia, Biography of Darius the Great, Leader of Persia's Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great - Persian Achaemenid Dynasty Founder, Early Muslim Rule in India From 1206 to 1398 CE, J.D., University of Washington School of Law, B.A., History, Western Washington University. The Achaemenids prized Bactria so highly because of two factors. Alexander sent his body for burial with due honours in the royal tombs at Persepolis. In May 334 BC, Alexander the Great landed in Asia, marking the beginning of his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire. He also dispatched Heracleides, an officer, to explore the Hyrcanian (i.e., Caspian) Sea. Eucratides was eventually murdered by his own son around 145 BC. He now seems to have become convinced of the reality of his own divinity and to have required its acceptance by others. There he broke the opposition of the Scythian nomads by his use of catapults and, after defeating them in a battle on the north bank of the river, pursued them into the interior. As Mazaeuss appointment indicated, Alexanders views on the empire were changing. When Alexander the Great captured Bactria and Sogdia, Oxyartes and other war chiefs continued to resist the Macedonian army. [Online] Available at: http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2018/09/01/battle-arius-river/, Lendering, J., 2020. Crossing the Hindu Kush northward over the Khawak Pass (11,650 feet [3,550 metres]), Alexander brought his army, despite food shortages, to Drapsaca (sometimes identified with modern Banu [Andarab], probably farther north at Qunduz); outflanked, Bessus fled beyond the Oxus (modern Amu Darya), and Alexander, marching west to Bactra-Zariaspa (modern Balkh [Wazirabad] in Afghanistan), appointed loyal satraps in Bactria and Aria. In 309 BC, Seleucus I Nicator emerged victorious from the Babylonian War. This occurred as a result of Alexander being almost mortally wounded whilst besieging the citadel of the Mallians in northern India. Crabben, Jan van der. Before leaving Bactria, Alexander left an occupation force to ensure the region remained loyal to him. He thereupon prepared to use all methods of siegecraft to take it, but the Tyrians resisted, holding out for seven months. In his books Thundering Zeus (University of California, 1999) and Alexander the Great and Bactria (Brill, 1993), Holt pursues his fascination with Alexander's eastern campaigns. Already in his lifetime the subject of fabulous stories, he later became the hero of a full-scale legend. This was introduced by the Achaemenids (the first Persian empire), who ruled over the area in the centuries before Alexander. Alexander the Great: Chronology. Shortly afterward, however, Callisthenes was held to be privy to a conspiracy among the royal pages and was executed (or died in prison; accounts vary); resentment of this action alienated sympathy from Alexander within the Peripatetic school of philosophers, with which Callisthenes had close connections. Where Is Bactria? Two years later he commanded the left wing at the Battle of Chaeronea, in which Philip defeated the allied Greek states, and displayed personal courage in breaking the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite military corps composed of 150 pairs of lovers. Related Content The Greeks in the East: How a Greek Kingdom Arose in Afghanistan. Shortly afterward, father and son were reconciled and Alexander returned, but his position as heir was jeopardized. World History Encyclopedia. In the winter of 324 Alexander carried out a savage punitive expedition against the Cossaeans in the hills of Luristan. Roxanne - World History Encyclopedia Shortly after this, however, the Bactrians and Sogdians revolted again, this time against Alexander, as they opposed some of the measures imposed by the Macedonian ruler on them. At this point Alexander benefitted from the sudden death of Memnon, the competent Greek commander of the Persian fleet. After the defeat of Darius III of Persia, Bactria continued to offer resistance against Alexander the Great, led by Bessus, who had proclaimed himself successor to Darius. This last ruler made the subsequent Macedonian conquest difficult: Having killed Darios III, Bessos named himself king and ruled over Bactria. The event marked a step in Alexanders progress toward Eastern absolutism, and this growing attitude found its outward expression in his use of Persian royal dress. Last modified April 28, 2011. At times it has been an independent kingdom, at others part of Alexander the Great 's Empire, the Persian Empire or Mongol Empire. When Bactria rebelled, Alexander and his army quickly marched to suppress it. ARRIAN. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Bactria/. Bucephalus At age 12, Alexander showed impressive courage when he tamed the wild horse Bucephalus, an enormous stallion with a furious demeanor. Because of its key position astride the overland Silk Road, and as a central hub between the great imperial areas of China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean world, Bactria has long been prone to conquest and contestation. During the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the Achaemenids fought many wars with the Greeks. Where he won a resounding victory . From age 13 to 16 he was taught by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who inspired his interest in philosophy, medicine, and scientific investigation. Around the beginning of the 2nd century BC, the Graeco-Bactrians seized the opportunity to invade India. License. By the winter of 329/8 BC, Alexander and his army had arrived in Bactria, after crossing the wild mountains of the Hindu Kush. Bactria, known also as Bactriana or Zariaspa, lies between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (known also as the Oxus River). Bactria - Livius In July 331 Alexander was at Thapsacus on the Euphrates. She was born earlier than the year 343 BC, though the precise date remains uncertain. This allowed for Hellenistic culture to become widespread. This satrapy in turn contributed greatly to the wealth of the Seleucid Empire, and hence became known in Antiquity as the Land of a Thousand Cities. Omissions? Alexander the Great had a strong connection with Bactria. Leaving Porus, he then proceeded down the river and into the Indus, with half his forces on shipboard and half marching in three columns down the two banks. In any event, his beliefs form the basis for Zoroastrianism, which strongly influenced the later monotheistic religions of southwest Asia (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). The path of the Yuezhi migrations (World Imaging / CC BY-SA 4.0 ). This story, which was originally written in cuneiform and inscribed on clay tablets, is in the form of a poem. about Twisted Tourism: Taliban Sells Tickets to See the Buddhas They Blew Up, about The Brilliantly Blue Lapis Lazuli: Precious Gem Prized by Elites, about Bactria - The Bountiful, Sought-after Region of Ancient History. Due to strong local resistance, it took the Greek army two years to put down the Bactrian insurgency, but their power was tenuous at best. The Greeks in Bactria revolted again in the summer of 323 BC, following Alexanders untimely death. Roxana was a Bactrian princess born around 340 B.C. Yet the process was shaped as much by the political traditions of the natives as by the cultural traditions of the newcomers. Alexander the Great's Wife: Roxana. When Darius III fell to Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugamela (Arbela), in 331 BCE, Bactria was thrown into chaos. In autumn 324 Hephaestion died in Ecbatana, and Alexander indulged in extravagant mourning for his closest friend; he was given a royal funeral in Babylon with a pyre costing 10,000 talents. This large empire did not last long, however, being conquered first by the Scythians (around 125 BCE) and then by the Kushans (Yuezhi). In later centuries, the Achaemenids frequently included the Bactrian Greeks in their armies, as they were formidable warriors. The Hindu Kush, which traditionally marked the border between the Graeco-Bactrians and the Mauryans, was breached around 180 BC by Demetrius, who had succeeded his father, Euthydemus. [2], From Sogdian Rock, Alexander advanced into Parsetakene which contained another supposedly impregnable craggy fortress known as the Rock of Chorienes,[3] but it was no match for Alexander and it was soon captured. Around the time of Andragoras revolt, Bactria was governed by a satrap named Diodotus. One of the consequences of this was that Bactria was left alone whilst Alexanders generals were fighting in the west. Alexander the Great | Biography, Empire, Death, & Facts He planned to lead part of his forces back by land, while the rest in perhaps 100 to 150 ships under the command of Nearchus, a Cretan with naval experience, made a voyage of exploration along the Persian Gulf. Bactria: The History of a Forgotten Empire, The Yuezhi: Origin, Migration and the Conquest of Northern Bactria. Philotas, Parmenios son, commander of the elite Companion cavalry, was implicated in an alleged plot against Alexanders life, condemned by the army, and executed; and a secret message was sent to Cleander, Parmenios second in command, who obediently assassinated him. The Yuezhi had fled westwards following their defeat by the Xiongnu in 162 BC, and it is unclear if their move into Bactrian territory was a resettlement, or an invasion proper. Hughes, T., 2018. From Phrada, Alexander pressed on during the winter of 330329 up the valley of the Helmand River, through Arachosia, and over the mountains past the site of modern Kbul into the country of the Paropamisadae, where he founded Alexandria by the Caucasus. List of Rulers of the Ancient Greek World | Lists of Rulers | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The fall in the level of the sea was interpreted as a mark of divine favour by Alexanders flatterers, including the historian Callisthenes. Circa 185-170 BC. Around 206 BC, Euthydemus met the invading Seleucids with an army in northwestern Afghanistan. Bactria | Encyclopedia.com By the winter of 329/8 BC, Alexander and his army had arrived in Bactria, after crossing the wild mountains of the Hindu Kush. [a][2][1], Oxyartes of Bactria had sent his wife and daughters, one of whom was Roxane, to take refuge in the fortress, as it was thought to be impregnable, and was provisioned for a long siege. Map of Alexander the Great's Conquests - World History Encyclopedia The ancient civilization of Greece is a historical period that has long been a subject of fascination and intrigue. Bessus was now in Bactria raising a national revolt in the eastern satrapies with the usurped title of Great King. Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias (daughter of King Neoptolemus of Epirus). Roxana, Princess of Bactria (-347 - -309) - Genealogy - Geni.com Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Whilst the representatives from other provinces are shown bringing hides, ceramic vessels, and livestock as tribute, those from Bactria were portrayed bearing golden bowls. Local opposition led Nearchus to set sail in September (325), and he was held up for three weeks until he could pick up the northeast monsoon in late October. The Sassanid Empire of Persia under Ardashir I conquered Bactria from the Kushans around 225 CE and ruled the area until 651. In accordance with Alexander's orders, they signalled their success to the troops below by waving bits of linen, and Alexander sent a herald to tell the defenders that if they looked up, they would see that he had found his winged men. Alexander's forces captured her while campaigning in . In the recent past, a gem that is thought to be more precious than even gold, the elusive lapis lazuli , has received a bad reputation for being a source of illegal mining by the Taliban in Bactria was one of the more important historic regions of the ancient and classical world. So it was that the long Hellenic tradition in the region endured. [1] The Macedonians claimed that Roxane was "the loveliest woman they had seen in Asia, with the one exception of Darius' wife". An incident that occurred at Maracanda widened the breach between Alexander and many of his Macedonians. And the unique culture that resulted combined influences from both the East and the West. Alexander the Great was one of the finest and most successful military leaders the world has ever seen. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. The defenders had thought that the Rock was impregnable, and with one bold stroke Alexander showed them how wrong they were. Silver coin depicting Euthydemus.
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