Bactria Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Bactria Balkh
Province of the Achaemenid Empire, Seleucid Empire, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and Indo-Greek Kingdom
2500/2000 BC–900/1000 AD
Ancient cities of Bactria
Capital	Bactra
Historical era	Antiquity

• Established	2500/2000 BC
• Disestablished	900/1000 AD

Bactria, also known as Bactriana, was an important ancient region in Central Asia. It was located in what is now parts of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The ancient text called the Avesta described Bactria as "beautiful Bactria, crowned with flags." It was seen as one of the special lands created by the supreme deity Ahura Mazda.

History of Ancient Bactria
People of Bactria
Related pages
Images for kids
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History of Ancient Bactria

Ancient statues of goddesses from Bactria, made between 2000 and 1800 BC.

Bactria has a very long history, going back thousands of years. Many different groups of people lived there and ruled the region.

Early Civilizations in Bactria

Around 2200 to 1700 BC, a major Bronze Age culture existed in Bactria. This is known as the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). It is also called the "Oxus civilization."

This ancient culture was centered around the upper Amu Darya (Oxus River). Archaeologists discovered its sites in the 1970s.

Bactria was also the capital of the legendary Kayanian kings of Iran. It is even mentioned in the famous Behistun Inscription by Darius the Great.

Bactria and Alexander the Great

In the 4th century BC, Bactria became a center of resistance. This was against the Macedonian invaders led by Alexander the Great.

After a struggle, Bactria eventually fell to Alexander. When Alexander died, his general Seleucus I took control of the region.

Independent Kingdoms and Empires

Later, Bactria gained its independence from the Seleucid Empire. This led to the creation of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. After that, the Indo-Greek Kingdom was formed.

By the 2nd century BC, the Parthian Empire conquered Bactria. In the early 1st century, the Yuezhi people formed the powerful Kushan Empire in Bactrian lands.

The Sasanian Empire of Iran also controlled parts of Bactria in the 3rd century. They lost it in the 4th century but got it back in the 6th century.

Islam and the Iranian Renaissance

In the 7th century, the Muslims conquered Iran. This marked the beginning of Islamization in Bactria.

Bactria played a key role in an Iranian cultural rebirth in the 8th and 9th centuries. The New Persian language, as a literary language, first appeared here. The Samanid Empire, founded by a Persian from Bactria, helped spread the Persian language. This led to the decline of the local Bactrian language.

People of Bactria

The people who lived in Bactria were called Bactrians. This region was important because many trade routes passed through it. These included routes from India and China, like the famous Silk Road.

Wealth and Trade

As early as the Bronze Age, these trade routes helped the people of Bactria become very wealthy. Much of the population was nomadic, meaning they moved from place to place.

The first cities in the area appeared around 2000 BC. The control of these valuable trade routes made Bactria attractive to foreign powers.

Foreign Rule and Influence

In the 6th century BC, the Persians conquered the Bactrians. Then, in the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great took control. These conquests ended Bactrian independence.

From about 304 BC, Bactria was part of the Seleucid Empire. Around 250 BC, it became the center of a Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. This kingdom was ruled by descendants of the Greeks who had settled there after Alexander's conquest.

The Greco-Bactrians worked with the local Bactrian leaders. By the early 2nd century BC, they had built a large empire. It stretched south into northwest India.

However, around 135 BC, invading Yuezhi tribes overran this kingdom. This invasion later led to the rise of the powerful Kushan Empire.

Language and Religion

The Bactrians spoke Bactrian. This was an Eastern Iranian language. It was related to ancient Avestan and modern Yaghnobi and Ossetian.

Before the rise of Islam, the main religions in Bactria were Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.

Today, the Bactrian people are mainly the ancestors of modern-day Tajiks.

Images for kids

Ancient cities of Bactria
Bactria is located between the Hindu Kush (south), Pamirs (east), and the southern part of the Tianshan mountains (north).
A Bactrian soldier from the tomb of Xerxes I, around 470 BCE.
A coin from Bactria that looks like an Athenian coin, possibly from the time of Sophytes.
A gold coin (stater) of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom king Eucratides I.
Map showing the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom at its largest size, around 180 BCE.
Demetrius I of Bactria (205–171 BCE), who founded the Indo-Greek Kingdom. He wears an elephant scalp, showing his conquest of the Indus valley.
Treasures from the royal burial site of Tillia tepe, believed to be from 1st century BCE Sakas in Bactria.
Zhang Qian leaving Emperor Han Wudi for his journey to Central Asia (138 to 126 BCE), from a Mogao Caves mural.
A worshipper from the Kushan Empire with figures representing Zeus, Serapis, and Ohrmazd, Bactria, 3rd century CE.
A Kushan worshipper with Pharro, Bactria, 3rd century CE.
A painted clay and alabaster head of a Zoroastrian priest. He wears a special Bactrian-style headdress. Found in Takhti-Sangin, Tajikistan, from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, 3rd-2nd century BC.