The empire of Bactria

Ancient Bactria emerged in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Lying between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Dar’ya River in northern Afghanistan, Bactria became an important province of the Persian Empire in the 500s to mid 300s BC. It was home to a Persian-speaking people and is thought to be the birthplace of Zoroaster, the prophet of ancient Persia.

Zoroaster was born in late 7th century BC, and he has spent at least the early part of his life here. Zoroastrianism may have been one of the prominent religious of Bactria.

Bactria capital city is Bactra, located in northern Afghanistan.

Persian king Cyrus the Great (585-529 BC) incorporated Bactria and the nomadic Bactrians into the vast Persian Empire.

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) defeated Bactria in 328 BC and installed a Greek governor, to rule the country as a satrapy in his name, In 312 BC this satrapy was over thrown by Seleucus Nicator, who ruled the country for two years, and then was forced to retire from it, leaving it independent.

In 254 BC, Greco-Bactria Kingdom was formed into a state by Diodotus, the Grecian governor, who threw off his allegiance to the Syrian king, Antiochus II. Diodotus declared independence from Seleucid rule, Greco-Bactria Kingdom came under the rule of the Bactrian Greeks.

Greco-Bactria Kingdom made extensive conquests in India, and on 181 BC their dominions extended to the banks of the Ganges and the frontiers of China. Although Greeks remained very much in minority in Bactria, they had a major influence in the culture of this region.

Greco-Bactria Kingdom however, swallowed too much territory over too wide an area for the maintenance of central control. They lost their grip north of the Hindu Kush during the 2th century. Greco-Bactria Kingdom lasted until it was conquered by the Romans in 190 BC.
The empire of Bactria