075: Greco-Bactria - Alexandria Eschate to Ai Khanoum

The Hellenistic Age Podcast

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4.7 • 558 Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2022

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

The conquests of Alexander the Great resulted in tens of thousands of Greek colonists settling in Central Asia. While excavations of places like the city ruins of Ai Khanoum hint at a flourishing Hellenic culture, local Bactrian and Sogdian traditions continued to hold a powerful influence. In this episode, we take a deeper look at Greco-Bactria by analyzing the archaeological and epigraphical record, looking at key examples relating to questions of identity and organization, and ultimately conclude with the collapse of Greek power in the face of nomadic invasions and civil war during the middle of the second century B.C. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2022/07/01/075-greco-bactria-alexandria-eschate-to-ai-khanoum/) Episode 075 Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/075-greco-bactria-alexandria-eschate-to-ai-khanoum.pdf) The Hellenistic Far East Map 2 - The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/map-2-the-greco-bactrian-kingdom.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi there, you're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast.
0:12.8	Episode 75, Gregobacteria, Alexandria Eshcate to Icon Noon.
0:33.6	The concept of a flourishing Greek civilization in Central Asia has served as a source of wonder for many, compounded by a lack of literary and archaeological evidence. Since the 1960s, a wealth of information
0:40.6	has come forward that, while still quite small and situated in an unstable political environment,
0:46.3	has nevertheless revealed a great deal about the organization and landscape of Hellenistic Bactria.
0:52.2	But as much as these discoveries support a strong Hellenic presence, they also demonstrate
0:57.0	that the Greco-Bactrine and successor Indo-Greek kingdoms are no less complex than the other Hellenistic states.
1:03.0	With our narrative adjourned at the death of Eucratides, let us look towards the social, economic, political, and cultural organization of Greco-Bactria
1:12.8	to better understand what life was like for both Greeks and Bactrians during the Hellenistic period.
1:20.0	One of the most captivating monocers used by ancient authors to describe Bactria is land of a thousand cities.
1:29.5	Paradoxically, the amount of archaeological evidence for urban settlements dating to the Hellenistic period is remarkably
1:34.2	thin. Our sources indicate that building and colonization projects began shortly after Alexander's
1:40.9	arrival. Strabo suggests that he founded eight cities in Bactri and
1:45.3	Sagdiana, whereas Plutarch claims upwards of 70 throughout all of Asia. Later kings like
1:51.7	Seleucus I, Antiochus the first, and Eucratides the first, are said to have established
1:57.0	new settlements in the region. Regardless of the number of cities that were actually founded,
2:02.3	we can determine that the extent of colonization and settlement was extraordinary. More colonists
2:07.8	were placed in Bactri and Sogdiana by Alexander than all the other Asian satrapies combined.
2:14.3	He had faced an incredible amount of resistance from the local communities during his conquest,
2:19.1	so it is only natural to assume that the populating of cities and military outposts with
2:23.5	Greeks and Macedonians was to act as a bulwark against a native uprising.
2:28.0	However, most of the colonists were soldiers unable to serve due to infirmity or old age, so it was also a way to relieve
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