Hellenism In the East: Indo-Greeks & The Thousand Cities of Bactria

In the 3rd century BC, Antiochus II, the king of the Seleucid Empire, one of the successor states to Alexander the Great, ruled over one of the largest and most powerful states in the world. From his power base at Antioch in modern day south-central Turkey, Antiochus ruled over a huge state, encompassing a vast geographical landmass. Just a century earlier, the young king of Macedonia, Alexander, had set out from his homeland at the head of a mighty battle-hardened Greek army, and conquered much of the known world, carving out the largest empire the world had ever known from the ashes of the Achaemenid Persian state. Upon his death in 323 BC, his realm remained largely Hellenised, but split into several factions divided amongst his generals, most notably Seleucius in Syria and Ptolemy in Egypt, whose descendants fairly quickly began to war amongst themselves. In around 246 BC, two of the satraps of the easternmost Seleucid provinces, Andragorus of Parthia and Diodotus of Bactria, both broke away and declared their independence. Parthia, which consisted of much of modern day Iran, and was ruled over by a native Iranian satrap, stood between the vast realm of the Seleucids in Syria and Bactria, which in turn encompassed much of modern day Afghanistan and areas of Pakistan, and was ruled by Greek monarchs who still worshipped the pantheon of Greek gods. It was a bold decision by Diodotus, whose realm was now completely cut off by the rest of the Greek world by the mostly Iranian Parthia, and in turn it must have been a crushing blow to the Seleucids, who were powerless to act, heavily embroiled in a brutal war against Ptolemaic Egypt. Diodotus undoubtedly had his reasons however. The new Greco-Bactrian kingdom was highly urbanised, and widely considered to be one of the richest kingdoms in the world. It was known by the historian Justin as the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria. Very little evidence remains of the life of Diodotus, besides that he was the satrap or governor of the Seleucid provinces of Bactria, Sogdiana, and likely the surrounding provinces as well. Like all of the ruling elite of Bactria, we know that he wrote in Greek, spoke Greek, and presented himself in official documents and coinage as a Greek. We can surmise that he was probably descended from a prestigious family, who had set themselves up in Bactria at some point after Alexander's conquest of the area, just over 100 years before. He likely ruled over a population native to the area, who were gradually becoming more and more Hellenised over time. After subduing the local populations of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan, Alexander built hundreds of cities in the fertile river valleys he found there in the east, many of which he named after himself. And in time these cities grew rich and prosperous, due to trade and the close proximity to India. By the time Diodotus came to rule over Bactria, Sogdiana and the easternmost Greek provinces, from his provincial capital of Bactra, people of Greek origin had ruled over the majority of people living between the borders of Greece and India for nearly a century. In addition to this curious state of affairs, the old homelands in Greece and Asia Minor had since reverted back to being ruled again by various warring city states, which in reality had little to do with the east. Instead, the major powers of the day were Ptolemaic Egypt to the south, and Seleucia to the east, now ruled by the descendants of Alexander's generals. Situated on the rich trade routes between east and west, Bactria was an immensely wealthy part of the Seleucid Empire by the time Diodotus came to rule. Nevertheless, he likely resented the centralised rule he was subjected to from halfway across the world, especially when Bactria was one of the most prosperous parts of the empire, and he increasingly sought to dictate his own destiny. Likewise, Andragorus of Parthia sought to proclaim his own independence, and the two probably formed an alliance to do so, seizing the best opportunity that arose in the form of a brutal war between Egypt and Seleucia. In 247 BC, Ptolemaic Egypt captured the Seleucid capital at Antioch, during the cataclysmic conflict known as the Syrian Wars. In the immediate aftermath, a number of the Seleucid provinces declared their independence. Diodotus' realm was so far away, that at first he didn't really have to do much to declare himself independent. Between his realm and the Seleucids lay vast swathes of lands to be conquered first, specifically the realm of Andragorus of Parthia. Although Parthia was still friendly for now and trade continued, although at a slightly reduced rate, overland and increasingly by sea, this decision effectively cut off Bactria from the rest of the Greek world. Nevertheless, there was always the risk of a resurgence of Seleucid power to contend with, which did in fact occur just under a decade later in 239 BC, when the new king, Seleucus II, attempted to reclaim his easternmost lands. Parthia also became a threat when the Parni people, nomadic tribesmen likely from modern day Turkmenistan, led by Arsaces, pushed southwards and overthrew Andragorus, proclaiming themselves as kings of the region and founding the state which would later go on to be one of the greatest enemies of Rome. Faced by the new unknown quantity of Parthia on its doorstep, and the known enemy of Seleucia further beyond, Diodotus utilised masterful diplomacy to align himself with Seleucius against Arsaces' newly formed state. Diodotus' successor, Diodotus II, would later in turn do the exact opposite and align himself with Arsaces against the Seleucids, in order to forestall the reconquest of both of their kingdoms. Diodotus II was in turn overthrown by one of his own subjects, a Magnesian Greek named Euthydemus in around 225 BC, who began to rule over his own dynasty in the region. Again the Seleucids attempted to reclaim Bactria in around 210, this time under Antiochus III, defeating 10,000 horsemen in open battle and besieging the capital at Bactria for three weeks, before Antiochus finally accepted Euthydemus and allied himself to him, possibly recognising his skill in defeating numerous invasions from nomadic warriors, and acting as a defence from invasion for his own lands. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom was certainly very powerful, and throughout its existence was engaged in territorial expansion to the east and to the west, most notably so from the reign of Euthydemus onwards, when the threat from Seleucia dissipated, they became masters of at least a small part of India to the east, with supposedly more tribes being subdued by them than by Alexander himself. This eastward expansion even splintered into its own independent state from around 180 BC, which we know today as the Indo-Greek kingdom. The Greco-Bactrians forged trade contacts with the Han Empire in China, fought off waves of nomadic invasions from the steppe lands to the north, and prospered for hundreds of years, until finally, after centuries of continual rule, both kingdoms were finally stamped out of existence by nomadic tribes by around 10 AD. Afghanistan today is still littered with the remnants of this unusual enclave of Greek culture, which had prospered, largely cut off from the rest of the Greek world for centuries, as the last vestige of Hellenism in the east.