![]() ![]() ![]() Under their new kings, the Baktrians could be a vigorous military power, benefiting hugely from any breakdown in Seleucid authority and inattention from Parthia. During the rule of Diodotus, and sometime between the Second and Third Syrian Wars of the 3rd century BCE, it became an entirely independent Hellenistic kingdom. With the Seleucid Empire locked in a series of wars against the other Successor states, Baktria was a satrapy with a degree of independence. As such, Baktria’s armed forces brought a rich and varied blend of warriors to the field, with hoplites, peltasts, fierce swordsmen and – unusually for a Hellenic nation – horse archers The region was heavily colonised by Greek settlers, more so than any other part of the east, and was largely Hellenised as a result, with Greek culture and influence paramount in all things. ![]() In the confusion of wars that followed Alexander’s death, Seleucus I Nicator established his control over the eastern parts of Alexander’s empire, including Baktria. Roxana, Alexander’s wife and the mother of his nominal heir who was born after his death, was a Baktrian princess. The land was a home to Greek colonists, Persians and many more peoples, and was a part of Alexander’s vast empire. It was wealthy thanks to those trade routes and the rich agricultural lands of its fertile valleys and plains. It lay in what is modern-day Afghanistan, and Kandahar itself was founded by Alexander the Great.Īs a protectorate of the Seleucid Empire, Baktria was famed as a province of a thousand cities. Baktria was a gateway to trade between east and west, to India, and to the far-off lands of China. ![]()
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