Kaveh Farrokh (Ph.D.) —
Following Alexander’s conquests and subsequent death in 323 BCE, the Seleucid dynasty founded by Seleucis I Nicator (r. 305-281 BCE) and his son and successor Antiochus I Soter (r. 281-261 BCE) built several Greek towns in Bactria (to the north/northeast of Afghanistan in Central Asia). Antiochus I’s mother was an Iranian noblewoman named Apama, the daughter of Spitames, who had fiercely resisted Alexander’s invasion but was subsequently killed. Interestingly the Seleucids were to claim that Apama had been a daughter of Darius III in order to claim legitimacy as double-heirs of both the Achaemenids and the person of Alexander. This combined Greco-Macedonian and Achaemenid heritage was then used as official propaganda by the Seleucids in order to claim themselves as the legitimate rulers of Western Asia, the Iranian Plateau, and Afghanistan-Central Asia. Greek culture, philosophy and language became very pronounced in these regions, however as noted previously this was also partly due to past deportations of Greeks into these territories by the former Achaemenids. The eastern marches had certainly flourished as these continued their development from the Achaemenid into the early Seleucid eras. An example of this are the recent excavations of the fortress of Uzundar in modern-day Uzbekistan within which were discovered a number of sculptures, a variety of numismatics (coinage from the early Seleucids to the later Greco-Bactrian era) as well as a plethora of ceramics works. Uzundar was in fact part of a larger system of fortresses that Alexander had established along the Central Asian marches to prevent rebellions in the region as well as Afghanistan. This was most likely a major factor in Alexander’s decision to establish fortifications manned by Greco-Macedonian troops in Margiana. An additional duty of all of these garrisons was to guard against the unremitting threat of attacks from Iranian Central Asian Saka or Scythian warriors, notably the Parni of the Dahae confederation. The Dahae were themselves already settled in western Afghanistan (with Herat at its center), northeast Iran and modern-day Turkmenistan in Central Asia.The fortifications of Margiana certainly proved equal to the task of keeping the nomadic Parni warriors of the Dahae at bay, having contributed to the Parni’s failure to capture that region. Warrior nomads of the Parni however would soon return, notably in the person of Arsaces I (r. c.250-246 BCE or c.250-211 BCE) of the Parni who would establish the new Iranian Arsacid Parthian dynasty (c.247/248 BCE-224 CE).
The Seleucids very soon found their rulership to be challenged in eastern Iran as well as Afghanistan-Central Asia. Prior to Arsaces I’s invasion of Parthava (Parthia), Andragoras and Diodotus I (c. 255-239 BCE), the Seleucid appointed governors of Parthia and Greco-Bactria respectively, had already defected from the Seleucids by sometime in c.245 BCE. This was mainly because Seleucid king Seleucis II Calinicus Pogon (r.246-225 BCE) had been forced to divert Seleucid military attentions against the Hellenic Ptolemids of Egypt, far the West, in what was to be known as the Third Syrian War. While the governors had opportunistically seceded by taking advantage of Seleucid preoccupations with the Syrian wars, another primary factor in the secession was the lack of Seleucid support in the face of nomadic invasions into Central Asia-Afghanistan and eastern Iran. The satrapies had concluded that they could not militarily rely upon the Seleucids in the face of Arsaces I’s growing threat. While exact timelines are challenging to establish, it is possible that Diodotus I had founded an independent Greco-Bactrian kingdom a few years earlier (during the latter years of Antiochus II’s (r.261-246 BCE) reign), followed shortly after with the defection of Parthia’s Andragoras from Seleucid authority. Soon after his breakaway from the Seleucids, Diodotus I successfully confronted the second Parni invasion of Margiana led by Arsaces I, sometime in c. 245 or 244 BCE. Diodotus who defeated Arasces I’s invasion, was now possibly in rulership of not just Bactria per se, but also Margiana, Soghdia and Aria. By c.238 BCE Diodotus I began minting his own coins (sans Seleucid regal motifs). Meanwhile, Arsaces I who had been defeated by Diodotus I, simply veered his Parni invasion forces into Parthava (Parthia). Diodotus I and Andragoras however were not engaged in any type of mutual military alliance or support against the Parni invaders. Arsaces led the Parni in the conquest of Parthia and killed its Seleucid-designated governor.
The Seleucids were to ultimately lose their repeated bids to re-assert themselves over the Arsacids in Parthia (and then the rest of Iran). The Greco-Bactrians also maintained their independence against subsequent Seleucid attempts to re-incorporate them into their empire, notably against the military efforts of Antiochus III (r.223-187 BCE) who failed to subdue Euthydemus I of Bactria (r. c.230-195 BCE) in 208 BCE. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom was to incorporate not just Soghdia but also modern day Afghanistan, northeast Iran, Ferghana (to the northwest of China) and also Arachosia. Euthydemus’ son and successor Demetrius (c.195 or 200-167 BCE) then pushed Greco-Bactrian territories deeper into the Indian subcontinent in the years 180-175 BCE, possibly as far as modern-day Patna. Out of Demetrius’ conquests also arose what is known as the Indo-Greek kingdom with territories inside modern Afghanistan, with its capital established in Alexandria in the Caucasus, which is now modern-day Bagram (in modern-day Parwan province in Afghanistan). The Indo-Greek empire was to last until sometime in 10 CE, with Bagram to serve as the seat of the later Kushan empire. The major impact of these conquests was the expansion of Greek language and script as well as culture. This cultural process resulted in the introduction of Greek loan words into the Iranian languages of local populations in Bactria as well as modern-day Afghanistan. The Hellenic legacy resonates to the present among the Pashto speakers of Afghanistan whose Iranian language continues to retain a number of Greek loan-words as well as Old Persian (from the Achaemenid era).
Strong cultural ties were established between the Greeks of Central Asia and Afghanistan with the Mauriyan dynasty in India which dedicated a specific department for Persian-speaking residents as well as the Yavana (Greeks). The Kandahar rock inscription of Mauriyan King Ashoka was written in both Aramaic (official language or lingua franca of the former Achaemenid empire) and Greek. Many Greeks were to also convert to Buddhism, notably Indo-Greek king Menander I (r. c.165-130 BCE) who following his conversion, himself became a chief promoter of Buddhism. Ancient Afghanistan was to become a major centre for the promotion of Buddhism, notably under the later Kushans. Ancient Afghanistan was also to become a historical intersection nexus in archaeology and the arts where a profound synthesis of Greek, Persian/Iranian and Indian elements was to take place. These developments were to radiate into Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. One example of this symbiosis includes the early Indian Mauriyan era palace capital from Patalputra (early 3rd century BCE). Another example is the “gateways of Bharhut” (in central India) which were most likely constructed by masons from ancient Kandahar.
The Greco-Bactrian kingdom however was to steadily weaken as a result of both domestic rivalries as well as conflicts with the Seleucids. A powerful blow was to come from the new Parthian Arsacid dynasty which territorially absorbed much of what was ancient Afghanistan during the reign of Arsacid monarch Mithradates (Mehrdad) I (r. 167 or 165–132 BCE; also known as Mithradates the Great) who transformed Parthia from a modest kingdom into a major military power. Mithradates I defeated Greco-Bactrian king Eucradites (r.171-145 BCE) seizing Arius (Hari Rud or Herat River in Afghanistan), Tapuria (modern Mazandaran region in northern Persia) and Traxiane (region encompassing parts of northeast Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan). Mithridates also captured the cities of Herat in Afghanistan and Merv in Central Asia. Mithradates I’s son and successor Phraates (Farhad) II (r. c.132-127 BCE) was to also score a great victory by finally ejecting the Hellenic Seleucid dynasty from Iran following the battle of Ecbatana (129 BCE). This meant that the Greeks in the east were no longer able to able to form alliances with their kinsmen who formally ruled Iran and Mesopotamia. The Greco-Bactrians in turn were now fatally weakened, making them militarily vulnerable to another powerful group of Iranian nomadic invaders, the Saka (Scythians from Central Asia), who attacked both ancient Afghanistan and the Parthian Empire.
The Sakas had themselves been ejected earlier from their original homeland north of the Oxus River sometime in 132 BCE by another incoming tribal confederation known as the Yueh-chi. The Yueh-Chi themselves had been pushed out of the modern-day west Mongolia region by the Xiang-Nou southwestwards into the Ili valley and river region north of Central Asia by sometime in 176 BCE. The Yueh-chi were then ejected from the IIi area in sometime 155 CE by another confederation known as the Wusun. The arriving Yueh-Chi now forced the Sakas further south, leading them to first invade Bactria and from there they spread into Aria, Arachosia, Drangiana (the Achaemenid satrapy of Dranka (or Zranka discussed earlier), Paropamisadae (Kabul and Kandahar regions as well as territories further north), and fanned out to occupy the entire Kabul gorge. The Sakas also ran amuck in the Parthian empire sacking Hecatompylos (Qomis in northeast Iran) and Merv (just north of modern Afghanistan in modern Turkmenistan) and even reaching as far west as Ecbatana in Media. Phraates II died fighting the Sakas in 132 CE followed by his successor Artabanus I (r. 127-124 BCE) who also died in combat against the Saka in 124 CE. While the tenure of the Saka was not destined to last for a prolonged period, they did leave their distinct Iranian cultural and artistic legacy upon ancient Afghanistan. These processes occurred along with the ongoing Iranian fusion with the Hellenic legacy, as exemplified by the archaeological finds at Talla Tappeh in northern Afghanistan. While it is possible that the Talla Tappeh goldwork finds may have also been influenced by the Parthians (themselves a Scythian/Saka people) these findings feature a variety of artworks in blended Iranian-Hellenic styles such as an Iranian-Hellenic style ring set with precious stones, a golden belt with representations of what appears to be the Iranian goddess Nana (or the Hellenic Dionisos) riding atop a lion and a Persian style Ram reminiscent of more ancient Achaemenid themes (yet also molded in Hellenic style).
Saka rule in Afghanistan was to be shattered by Parthian king Mithradates II (r. c.123/124-88/87 or 91 BCE) who avenged the deaths of his predecessors by defeating the Saka invaders in battle. The western regions of Bactria (which would include much of modern Afghanistan) were subsequently reconquered back into Parthian authority by Mithradates II. Analysis of Parthian numismatics would indicate that Mithradates II had extended his sway over Bactra in northeast Afghanistan as well further north in contemporary southern Uzbekistan’s Termez (ancient Alexandria on the Oxus) and the fortress of Kampyrtepa (along the Oxus River; modern Amu Darya). These strategic regions were militarily vital to block the arrival of any new potential invaders erupting into Afghanistan and northeast Iran through Soghdia. The success of the Parthian campaigns however forced the ejected Sakas to relocate to Drangiana (already a Saka stronghold from their invasions earlier), obliging Mithradates II to dispatch a powerful military force led by a general from the clan of the Suren who subdued the region sometime in 124-115 BCE The region was now be known as “Sakaistan” (Seistan in the later Islamic era) which was to encompass southern Afghanistan (notably Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz) as well as southeast Iran (modern-day Seistan-Baluchistan province). The region was to play a critical role in the military history of the ancient world, with its deadly Saka horse archers, reportedly at 9,000 to 10,000, having proven instrumental to the great victory of Parthian general Surena against the Roman legions of Marcus Lucinius Crassus in 53 BCE. Parthian coinage continued to be struck in Sakaistan well into the first half of the 1st century CE.
In appreciation for the successes of the Suren, Sakaistan was then bestowed by Mithradates II as the estates or realms of the Suren clan. Over roughly a century later the Gondopharid dynasty, also known as the Indo-Parthian kingdom was founded by Gondophares I (r.19-46 CE) himself of the noble Parthian clans (possibly the aforementioned Suren clan). Gondophares I made himself independent of the Parthian dynasty of Iran with his kingdom reaching its maximum extent during the first century CE, encompassing sections of Afghanistan and modern-day Pakistan. The main capital was the ancient city of Taxila, located in the modern-day Pakistani portion of the Punjab region. The capital however was to transfer often between Peshawar in Pakistan and Kabul in Afghanistan. The Gondopharid kingdom may also be related to the history of Christianity through the Apostle Thomas who reportedly met Gondophares I, proselytized in the kingdom and reputedly led the construction of the palace of Taxila for the king.