Achaemenid empire: Ai Khanoum palace compared with those of, 76–82; continuity in administration following replacement of, 39, 60; control in Bactria of, 31, 39–43; did not attempt to impose religion or language on provinces, 32; Greek historical lens of, 31–32; lack of archaeological excavation in, 34–35; obscured in Bactria because of continuity with Hellenistic period, 39; Scythians and, 149, 150
Afghanistan; destruction of cultural heritage of, 12, 26, 180; initially seen as “missing link,” 18; renewed interest in archaeology of, 12; Russian archaeology in, 14–16
Ai Khanoum: Achaemenid analogies for, 65; Achaemenid occupation at, 45, 60, 90; Aramaic ostrakon from, 44–45; brief, late reoccupation of, 60, 91, 172; canals at, 94, 95; coin hoard at, 126n100, 127; compared with Babylon, 180; continuity in administration of, 60, 91; discovery of, 19; evidence of military activity at, 90, 91, 172; excavation of, 19–21, 62; fall of, 60–61, 171, 172–73; as “Greek City in Afghanistan,” 6, 22, 23; Greek identity asserted in, 88, 183, 184; Greek texts from, 1, 46–52, 92, 93; Hellenistic renovation of, 62; initial ways of presenting city to the public, 22–25; intensification of irrigation in Hellenic period at, 38; lapis lazuli at, 29, 51, 59; may be useful to treat as hybrid, 186–87; meaning of name of, 2; mixture of Graeco-Bactrian and tripod vessels in late graves at, 170, 171; Mortimer Wheeler on, 24; names of treasury employees of, 48–52; newspaper coverage of work at, 19–21; as possible governor’s seat, 82; possible identification as Eukratideia of, 61; recent plundering of, 180; religious life at, 85, 97–98; site history of, 45–46, 59–60; social or ethnic segregation in, 63–64; strategic economic placement of, 57–59; two-stage attack on, 172
Ai Khanoum (architecture): acropolis of, 25, 59, 65, 67, 84, 85, 87–88, 89, 171; arsenal at, 89; baths at, 72, 93, 95–96; cemetery at, 75; central complex of, 67–79, 82; citadel of, 59–60, 89, 90; construction materials used in, 68, 94; defenses at, 89–90, 94; differences of palace from those in Achaemenid period, 76–77; domestic, 72, 82–85; drainage of, 68, 94, 95, 96; “empty” area in lower city at, 64–65; extramural temple at, 87, 183; fountains at, 92, 94, 96; gymnasium at, 1, 63, 66, 67, 92–93, 96–97, 100; isolating corridors at, 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, 76, 81, 84, 99; iwans at, 69, 70, 72, 77, 81, 100; layout of, 58, 63–67; library at, 92; as local koinē, 98–101; main temple Ai Khanoum (architecture) (continued) at, 65, 85–86, 89; mausolea at, 73–75, 82, 169; painted sculpture decorations at, 70–71; palace complex at, 66, 67–81, 82, 83; pebble mosaic floors at, 95; podium at, 87–88; pool enclosure at, 78, 92, 96–97; reception-office complex at, 70–71; restricted access in, 65–66, 70; sanctuary of Kineas at, 1, 63, 73–74, 98, 138, 189; Temple with Indented Niches at, 85–87, 88–89, 183, 187; theater at, 63, 92, 95, 180; traces of earlier layout of, 63; treasury at, 29, 46–51, 59, 66, 72–73, 92
Akhvamazda, 33, 41, 42–43, 149
Alexander the Great, 2, 8, 137; Ai Khanoum as legacy of, 19, 24; as civilizer of Asia according to Plutarch, 84, 137; as last of the Achaemenids, 30, 43; resistance of local governors to, 32–33; resistance to disruption of status quo by, 34; use of powerful local figures by, 33
Amanullah Khan, 17
Anthony, David, 157
Antialkidas I, 2, 121, 122, 127, 139n160, 140, 173
Antiochos III, 2, 28, 148, 173
Apollo, 106, 115, 116, 135, 136, 190, 193
architecture. See Ai Khanoum (architecture)
Arachosia: epigamia (marriage clause) in sale of, 111–12, 117, 132; language of, 112; multilingual administration of, 10, 40, 112; sale to Chandragupta of, 28, 111; as source of manpower and elephants for Persians, 28. See also Sōphytos; Kandahar
Aramaic, 10, 40, 112; as administrative register of Achaemenid empire, 40; creative use in Achaemenid period of, 112; ostrakon from Ai Khanoum in, 44–45; used in early Hellenistic Bactria, 43, 44–45, 60; used with Elamite in Bactria and Arachosia, 40n46; used with Greek in Arachosia, 10, 112; used with Prākrit at Kandahar, 116, 125n95
Archedemos of Tarsus, 180
Arthaśāstra, 131
Aruktau, 170
Asangorna, 53–54
Bactra: archaeological work needed at, 161n40; excavation of, 18; Greek texts from, 53–55; lack of long-term archaeological information on, 161n40; nomad rule of, 155; siege of, 148, 167; as probable source of Achaemenid documents, 40–41
Bactria, Achaemenid, 31, 32, 39–43, 55
Bactria, Hellenistic: administrative continuity after end of, 91; application of concept of “middle ground” to, 187; archaeological evidence of nomads in, 169; archaeological survey in eastern, 25–37, 38; architectural and cultural koinē of, 98–101, 179, 187; Chinese account of fall of, 154–55; conquest of, 91; continuity in administration from Achaemenid empire of, 30, 43, 55–56, 149, 178; decline and fall of, 146–47; early lack of Greek inscriptions from, 5; fortifications at northern edges of, 163–66; Greek texts in identical to those from Egypt, 38, 40; hybridity of, 98–99; importance of resources of, 28–29; map of, xv; “mirage” of Greek culture in, 35n31; nomad threat to, 149–51; organization of revenue in, 53–54; origin of large-scale irrigation in, 37; as personal power base, 33; scholarly rehabilitation of, 28; Scythians as mercenaries for, 150; twenty-first century studies of, 25–26; war with Parthia of, 91, 147, 173, 176; written documents about, 29–30
Badakshan mines, 29
Bayer, T.S., 5
Bayly, S., 131
Bernard, Paul: emphasized Hellenic cultural identity of Ai Khanoum, 23; on Greek population of Kandahar, 113; on isolating corridors, 99; popular publications on Ai Khanoum by, 24, 25; on Sōphytos inscription, 109; on Sōphytos’ name, 114; on term “barbarous,” 129n113
Besnagar (Vidiśā), 123–25
Bhabha, Homi, 185
Boperachchi, Osmund, 114
Briant, Pierre, 39n43, 39–40n45
Buddha, 129
Buddhaghosa, 130
Cavafy, Constantine P., 1, 5, 8, 27, 28, 57, 102, 146, 177, 187
Chandragupta, 28, 111, 112, 132
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 13
Clarysse, Willy, 150
coins: of Agathokles, 126n100, 127; Attic standard for, 50n82; as foundation of chronological framework of the Hellenistic Far East, 6; from India at Ai Khanoum, 49, 50, 171; with Greek and Prākrit, 112; with Greek kings rendered in Indian script, 5; Indo-Greek, 121–22, 125n94, 127; of King Heliokles imitated by nomads, 174, 175; mentioned in records of Ai Khanoum treasury, 47, 48, 50; pessimistic view of evidence from, 121n72; of Sōphytos, 114, 141
Cunningham, Alexander, 118, 123
Curtius Rufus, Quintus, 162
Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA), 16–19, 25
Delphi, maxims from, 24, 73–74, 138, 189
Demetrios, 27, 61, 78, 112, 120, 173
Demetrius, 152
Derbent, Iron Gates of, 165, 166, 167
Di Cosmo, Nicola, 160
Doura-Europos, 78–79
Egypt: ethnic discrimination in, 181n16; importance of Homer in education in, 136, 184; use of double names in, 141, 182
Elamite, 40n46
elephants, 28
ethnic identity: acquisition of, 115; adopted by individuals or communities, 184–85; ambiguity of, 144–45; complexity in written record of, 104–5; is constructed, 103, 183; difficult to identify in material culture, 144, 183; in Egypt, 181; of Heliodoros, 120, 143, 183; of Paccius Maximus, 106, 136, 141; as process of selection, 139; public expression of, 88, 89; role of education in, 117, 139; situational model of, 9; of Sōphytos, 114–15, 117, 141, 183
Eukratideia, 61
Eukratides, 47, 61, 146, 152, 162, 173
Euthydemos, 28, 112; altar dedicated to, 78, 120n67; on barbarian menace to Bactria, 148–49, 150, 167; overthrew Diodotids, 2, 173
Foucher, Alfred, 5, 17–18, 35n31, 140n164
Francfort, Henri-Paul, 129n113, 164–65
Frye, Richard, 22–23
gardens: as “empty” areas of city plans, 65; as places for demonstration of political loyalty, 78
Gardin, Jean-Claude, 31, 38, 39, 159n32
Graeco-Bactrian state. See Bactria, Hellenistic
Greek language: continued to be used after Graeco-Bactrian rule, 178; as dominant written language in the Hellenistic Far East, 10
Greeks: in Babylon, 180; in Hellenistic Far East mostly of mixed descent, 140; status in India of, 129–33
Harappan civilization, 36
Harmatta, J., 139n161
Heliodoros, 103, 104; as ambassador, 122–23; authorship of inscription of, 142; date of inscription of, 119; ethnic identity of, 120, 143, 183; first recording of inscription of, 118; historical context of inscription of, 123–24, 125–26; inscription of, 119; marks himself as an outsider, 139; possible familiarity with Mahābhārata of, 137; reason for choosing name, 182; religious context of inscription of, 125–28
Hellenistic Far East, 2–3; adoption of Greek names in, 182; ethnic and cultural diversity of, 8; exotic record of, 4; history of archaeology in, 14–16; was multilingual, 10–11; as part of a wider Hellenistic world, 177–78; postcolonial theory and, 185–87; sources about, 5–7; stylistic disunity of, 6–7. See also Bactria, Hellenistic; Indo-Greeks
Hellenistic world: map of, xiv; as multilingual place, 10; naming practices in, 182; palaces in, 78
Herodikos of Babylon, 180
Homer, 105, 116, 136–37, 138, 184
hyparchs, 33
India: caste system of, 112, 129–30; status of Greeks in, 128–33; title “savior” used for Indo-Greek kings of, 124–25. See also Heliodoros
Indo-Greeks, coins of, 5, 121, 125n94, 127
inscriptions, 3; acrostic, 105–6, 110, 115, 133–34, 135, 190–93; add a degree of formality to wording of, 143; allusions to intellectual and literary culture in Greek, 136–39; on altar dedicated to Euthydemos and Demetrios, 78, 120n67; Greek names in Indian, 120n63; to Hermes and Herakles at Ai Khanoum, 1, 93; to Oxus, 97. See also Heliodoros; Klearchos; Paccius Maximus; Sōphytos
irrigation: Bronze Age, 38; canals at Ai Khanoum, 94, 95; Iron Age, 38; large, in eastern Bactria, 36, 38; not mentioned in written sources, 40; organizational implications of, 37
Jandavlattepa, 163
Jason, 184
Kandahar: Aramaic inscriptions from, 40n46; Elamite tablet from, 40n46; excavations in Old, 110–11; Greek inscription from, 107; Greeks in, 112–13. See also Sōphytos
Kanishka the Great, 176
Karttunen, Klaus, 120
Khare, M. D., 123
Khisht Tepe, 174
Kineas, sanctuary of. See under Ai Khanoum (architecture)
Klearchos, inscription of, 1, 73–74, 138, 138n157
Koktepe, 168
Kuliab, 78
Kurgan cemeteries, 159, 169, 170, 171
Kurganzol, 163–64
Kushan empire, 174–76
language: code switching in, 11; marking in, 11; of public inscriptions, 143. See also Aramaic; Greek language; Prākrit
Lower Nubia. See Paccius Maximus
Lyonnet, Bertille, 169–70
Lysias, 121
Medhātithi, 132
Megasthenes, 128nn63,67, 129–30, 140
Menander, 27, 120n63, 140n164, 146–47
migration. See mobility
Milinda, 140n164
Mithridates, 152
mobility, 147, 157–58, 159, 170, 172. See also nomads
Moschion, Stele of, 115
Muses, the, 106, 115, 116, 134, 136, 190, 192
names: adoption of Greek in Hellenistic Far East, 182; of Ai Khanoum treasury employees, 48–52; choice of, 182; double, 182; proportion of heroic vs. ordinary Greek, 137; replacement of Greek with Iranian, 176; theophoric, 42, 52, 98
Nielsen, Inge, 77
Nikhshapaya, 149
nomads: archaeological evidence for in Bactria, 169; Chinese historic sources on, 153–56; cranial deformation by, 169; gradually moved into Bactria, living in symbiosis with settled populations, 158–59, 179; imitation of King Heliokles’ coinage by, 174, 175; leave ephemeral remains, 158, 161; long-distance domino effect of movement of, 159, 176; as mercenaries for Graeco-Bactrian state, 150; Strabo on, 152–53; as threat to Bactria, 148–49, 151; tribal identification not possible from archaeological remains, 170; tripod vessels of, 170, 171
Oxus: Bactria almost was the, 93, 98; possible role in religious life at Ai Khanoum of, 97–98; theophoric names derived from, 42, 52, 98
Oxus Valley, 168–70
Paccius Maximus: ethnic identity of, 106, 136, 141; importance of inscription of, 133; inscription of, 104, 113, 134–35, 191–93
Pačmak-tepe, 88
Parthia, 91, 147, 151–52, 173, 176
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 146
Persepolis, 76
Persians. See Achaemenid empire
Pir-i Sabz, 111
Prākrit, 112: coins with Greek and, 122; Heliodoros’ inscription is in, 10, 104, 105, 118, 142, 183; only language on inscriptions in Besnagar, 143; used with Aramaic on Aśoka edicts, 116
Pugachenkova, G. A., 15
pyxides, 100
Raychaudhuri, H. C., 137
Rougemont, Georges, 109
Saksanokhur, 58–59, 79–82, 85, 99
Samarkand, 166–68, 171. See also Afrasiab
Saṅkarṣaṇa, 127
Scerrato, Umberto, 111
Schlumberger, Daniel, 19, 21, 23, 35n31, 64
Seleucid empire, 30
Seleukos I, 28, 111, 120, 132, 182
Sherabad-darya region, 163
Sircar, Dinesh Chandra, 125
Sophagasenos, 28
Sōphytos: authenticity of inscription of, 107–9; dating of, 109; had Greek education, 116, 184; Homeric flourishes of, 105, 116, 136, 184; importance of inscription of, 104; inscription of, 106–7, 108, 109–10, 115, 190; issues of ethnic identity of, 114–15, 117, 141, 183; name of, 113–14, 141–42, 183; possible insecurity of, 116; probably did not have Greek name, 182; provenience of inscription of, 103; what we don’t know about, 141
Strato I, 122
Stride, Sebastian, 162n43, 166
Surkhan-darya region, 88, 100–101, 162–63, 175
Swat Valley, 178
Takht-i Sangin, 52n97, 97, 100
Tarn, William Woodthorpe, 5, 13, 93, 137, 151
Taxila, 62, 120–21, 127, 179n4
Teleas, 148
Temple with Indented Niches. See under Ai Khanoum (architecture)
Termez, 15
Thapar, Romila, 129n113
Theocritus, 5
Thompson, Dorothy J., 150
Tillya Tepe, 169
Tulkhar, 170
Tup Khona, 170
Wheeler, Mortimer, 24
Yuezhi, 91, 151, 153–54, 155, 160, 170
Zeravshan Valley, 165, 166–68, 179
Zeus, 87
Zhiga-tepe, 75