The Lost Greek Cities of Central Asia
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2024
- For centuries, Bactria - a region shared by modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan - was part of the Hellenistic world. Conquered by Alexander the Great, Bactria became the heart of a powerful Greek kingdom. And even after the Greco-Bactrian kingdom was overrun by nomads, its cities continued to thrive. This video explores their fates.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:05 Alexander in Central Asia
1:58 Bactria and its cities
3:07 The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
3:50 Ai-Khanoum
4:53 Greek culture at Ai-Khanoum
5:34 An ethnically mixed city
6:28 The menace of the steppes
7:11 Barbarians at the gates
8:03 The Kushan Empire
8:33 Greek influence on Kushan art
9:42 The Bimaran Casket
10:14 The Tillya Tepe Tombs
10:42 Greek language on Kushan coins
11:14 The decline of Greek influence
11:35 Disappearance of the Greeks
12:13 Alexandria in Arachosia
12:36 Antioch in Margiana
13:03 Alexandria in the Caucasus
13:34 Destruction of the ruins
13:58 Conclusion
Thanks for watching!
I'm an Afghan Turkmen. My dad used to own coins minted in the Helenic kingdoms. He used to say "these coins are over a thousand years old. they come from the great Iskandar".
I alwasy thought the coins and sotreis were fake. It's qite mind blowing to find out that he was right
I'm turkmen from kunduz province which part vof Afghanistan are you from
Likewise, we were always told we were 'Gujjar' and we come from a place called Gujjarstan (Georgia) with Sikandar the Great then settled where we are which is now north of Pakistan.
They might be worth allot of money if he still has them
@@jabronis33 they are priceless. There's no way to even quantify the historical and humanist value in those coins.
But yes there are people who would pay a great deal of money for coins like that. If it were me, I'd regret selling them long before I could spend the money I'd make.
@@jabronis33 They are worth an abundant amount of money. Hopefully, you still have them.
Iam from the city Kunduz in Afghanistan i took an DNA test it showed i had 26% southern greek affiliation.
Stay safe!
Still a quarter Greek after 2000 years of intermarriages...
Hahahaha but greeks are new nation, this empire was Macedonian also the dynasties.
@@collin-theonlyandone2299 Hey you u stranger go and found out who are you, which is ur history, we well know who are we and we are proud to be Macedonians.
@@user-ud7ei6zv7i Uhhh. You had some facts of it until you said Latin is based off Albanian. Latin is rooted from Etruscan who today people know is an Indo-European language, but has no discernable root and is distinct. The Etruscan alphabet was borrowed from Greek, but before you lay claim to that, that is an adaptation of the Pheonician (or more likely, older Caanite) written language. Both being adapted from the Akkadian script. Seeing as how Akkadia dominated south of where the Hittities dominated (who did speak an Indo-European language) and predated that and aegean greeces heavy urbanization by a thousand years, you're way ahead of yourself.
How can a country that was created in 1912 be the influence for a language that predates it by over 2000 years? Or modern greece which predates it by 91 years. < This is the logic so many of you are running with. Screaming "GrEeCe FoUnDeD 1821". Who cares? They are a distinct people. Now, even more distinct from Albanians than they were when Albanians were Illyrians. You have claims to nothing.
Now you'll talk about genetics. Yes. We know the aegean greeks were a mix of many Anatolian and Illyrian/Dacian peoples (The majority being Doric, who are south Albanians). It's weird to co-opt an ancient culture when it outshines your ancient one entirely. More accurately you belong to them. They are your cousins, yes. But developed a distinct language, culture, and identity. Saying it's yours is like the chinese laying claim to japanese culture. Or the british laying claim to the american one. Stop.
Oh, you have a bunch of wierd claims on the entire world. Ok, you're just delusional. Shit, things are weird in the old world.
Greco Bactria is one of the most fascinating anomalies from the Hellenistic period. Such a shame it's ruins are being pillaged like that.
What about the Hellenistic Indian kingdoms? I'd like to know more about those too...
What do you expect considering the anti-science and anti-culture barbarians who inhabit much of the area?
Absolutly. Its a passing thought for me; the image of a hellenic style statue of buddah.
@@MiaogisTeas They have de evolved sadly
@@MiaogisTeas Note this place is where the muslim scientists emerge from. Mongols defeated the khwarezim empire and destroyed the city
An amazing example of the influence still somewhat exerted by the Greco-Bactrian kingdom is that the modern seal of the central bank of Afghanistan bears the inscription in Greek "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" which means "Of the great king Eucratides".
Wow, was so surprising had to look it up. fact check - TRUE.
Find me the word "GREEK" in any so called ancient "GREEK" texts.
@@sumeru5763 You can find ΓΡΑΙΚΟΣ(GREEK) in ancient texts for example the Parian chronicle, Aristotle, Apollodorus etc. It is simply an older name. It was the Romans that were using that word later in history. The Greeks called themselves Hellens(ΕΛΛΗΝ), at least after the bronze age collapse, and still do to this day.
@@pgchris87 Bravo Chris!
In his book about foreign occupation of Afghanistan, journalist David Loyn mentions remote communities who claim to be descendants of Alexander's army and whose language contains ancient Greek words
Great video - thanks.
Wow! I would love to learn more about this.
@@themoneyman8011 The book is 'Butcher and Bolt - Two hundred years of foreign engagement in Afghanistan'. Loyn (no s and o and y the other way around - my mistake) mentions those communities as part of a discussion about how Afghanistan is easy to invade and impossible to hold, but without giving much detail. The book is nevertheless worth reading if interested in Afghanistan and how we got to where we are, and includes some 'funny' bits such as how Clinton's cruise missile attack on al Queda camps only killed a few donkeys but probably, with not all missiles actually exploding, had something to do with China later developing a strangely similar cruise missile of their own.
@@paulnyssen6448 Thanks for the info! I will follow up.
Still many Greek tribes up there,like kalash they still believe in pantheon ,I read some years back, todays Taliban's is a pastun tribe, till the middle of 1800s believe in the pantheon too,and they force to Muslim.
Michael Palin for the BBC met the Kalash people , giving a respectful and fascinating insight into their way of life. Although dna research has demonstrated its very unlikely they are the descendants of Alexandrian warriors. More likely they are a people isolated for so long that they have retained a more archaic lineage and language which is a language isolate.
There are ruins of Greek cities in Afghanistan 40 miles from the Chinese border.
Crazy how a tiny peninsula off of another peninsula in Europe spread its culture across the entire known world
@@Spoon80085 War is a hellva drug
@@rodrikofharlaw6848 Yeah... War. Not a vast and complex philosophy, protoscience, language and writing systems that allowed thoughts and history to be preserved, superior cultural practices of bathing regularly, a culture which stressed both individual agency and duty to the city as a citizen, beautiful art and material culture. Just war. Only one thing is the answer. 😉
Macedonian* you are living in lie. Ancient Macedonians were no greeks, greeks are new nation created by Germans/Bavarians 1832, go and check it.
@@MiaogisTeas No, war alone brought that system from small greece to far away india. And despite all the things you listed none of them aided in the greco states lasting much behind Christ.
The Bactrian Kingdom fascinates me. Always enjoy learning more about it.
its cus you imagine there been greeks, you actually seek some western history out of it thats why you are calling your self facinated by bakhtrian history. you never been facinated in actual bakhtrian history and style.
@@topgears7775 I am pretty sure that Gregory means the Greco-Bacterian Kingdom. And personally, it is more the idea of a vastly different culture in diaspora far away which fascinates me, and probably most other people.
@@topgears7775 no one asked you to assume anything
Same here, that whole region is reach in history but not studied enough. Wish there was a (great) movie set there
@@ramses6163 gee I wonder why?
Fact that Greeks managed to spread their culture and influence to Afghanistan and India is absolutely fvcking incredible
They did that as Macedonian Greeks. As Roman Greeks they expanded to the opposite side of the World, spreading their civilization as far as Morocco, Spain, Scotland and Germany.
India had an existing and thriving culture prior to the Greeks, instead the greeks were indianised and Alexander couldn't go beyond porus and even while retreating was constantly slapped by the regional rulers before succumbing to disease. Vedas and Upanishads are thousands of years old.
@@user-xs2fl1uf9j it is undeniable that the Greeks had an impact on Indian culture
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 he's Indian. They are still fuming over Alexander 2300 years later.
@@user-xs2fl1uf9j India super power by 2022
That Bactrian gold coin looks highly impressive when you compare it to the coinage portaits of the later Roman empire and Byzantine coins.
THE CHAD BACTRIAN GOLD VS THE VIRGIN ROMAN COPPER
When comparing various numistatic examples in my history books, I always thought coinage from the Augustan era was the "neatest" of the examples, but I continue to see examples of Greek coinage from the Hellenistic period that come very close
@@mathtonight1084 - Sicilian coins of the 4th/3rd centuries BC will give everyone a run for their money.
@@thessop9439 Lol!
@@sirrathersplendid4825 fam you realize sicily was just an island for others to take tho right ? They have no indigenous history
Alexander wasn't the first to found Greek settlements in Bactria. When the Persians expanded their empire and conquered Greek cities they sometimes relocated the population to the far corner of their empire, Bactria. So when Alexander first arrived, Greek culture and numerous Greek settlements had already been there for hundreds of years.
False.
@@The13point1 Not false, but hundreds of years is probably wrong, maybe 100 years ish. The Greeks in Anatolia were relocated by the Persian king, this is true. He wanted to build up the eatern part of the empire as it was sort of a backwater.
Very true. History has been somewhat changed inappropriately. Greeks used to work for the Persian empire kings and received salaries in gold coins. Alexander was actually fathered by Persian king and his mother told him you can go and get the Persia because is really yours. He was a drunken idiot who came to Persia without much resistance burned the Persepolis or Pasargod when he was sobered he regretted his stupidity.he decided to go to North where Parts were and East to Afghanistan of today. He was miserably defeated not killed since Persians did not believe in killing wounded. He was taken through Afghanistan of today to the sea of Oman and by the time he got to Egypt of today he died and buried there. Greeks worshiped multiple gods and not a very advanced society. Most of the Greek learning came from Persians associations. Persians were already believing in one God not multiple ones. Greek so called philosophers kept people in darkness saying the earth if flat it was already proven by kharazmy great Persian mathematician the earth is round and measured the circumference of it by math and stars relations. In 18th century finally Galileo proved it in 16th century. These facts are written by German and British historians not Greeks
@@ar15araghi6073 - I don't even know where to begin, so I won't even try to correct the staggering number of falsities in your statement. I will however give you a hint about the only things I found to be true and relevant in your post: drunkenness and monotheism. Read a book or something, or barring that, there's plenty of history channels on UA-cam that can give you a factual grounding as a place to start.
Just do yourself a favor, don't make anymore comments on history channels until you've unlearned all the gobbledygook you've been taught in your Iranian (?) schools.
@@ar15araghi6073 Pulling things out of your ass doesn't make them true.
I served in Afghanistan in 12-13. Due to my role and the resources that came with it, I got the opportunity to go to a lot of the old Graeco-Bactrian places, or at least fly over them (the place is dotted with ruins from many periods). Many of the Afghans I talked to were very aware, and proud of, the Greek heritage they inherited (and also claimed as their own). I had an opportunity after a raid to see (seized from the baddies) a beautiful head of Athena about to be trafficked out of the country (and of course this is still probably what happened to it).
They actually have no greek genes
As a Greek from Greece, I accept all those in Afghanistan who embrace their heritage as cultural siblings. Who am I to stop people from claiming their identity. We are all human after all. I am so fascinated by all these stories and I want to visit this area and see it myself so badly.
@@historyandgenes9991 can you flag me to something that discusses this?
@@kristiangustafson4130 Kalash people have 0% Greek dna too
@@historyandgenes9991 okay. Again, show me please where we know this from? Genuinely curious.
How refreshing these video are! No annoying soundtrack that makes other "documentaries" feel like Spielberg spectacles. No superfluous, sensationalist speculation. Awaiting your book to be available in Australia (or rather not be delayed until some time in the 25th century, due to global shipping shortages)
PS: right on cue, got a notification: shipment should arrive by October 21.
Spot on! I couldn't put my finger on it exactly but you have and did so very eloquently and so rightly!
@@Stelios.Posantzis Thanks! I was going for Alexandrinian verse with perfect hexameter/pentameter, but I am no Ovid! 😁Alliteration is all I could offer.
@@michaelhoffmann2891 lol
"maybe it was space aliens"
One of the most obscure, yet fascinating aspects of Hellenistic history.
Thank you for sharing.
Surely obscure. Even a great deal of the Greeks never heard of it.
@@srfrg9707 sure, is obscure. The Greeks affected the world so much its hard to be aware of all aspects, but the influence on on some Central Asian, Afghan, Indian art alone is undeniable.
Ghandara sculpture is an early, and still one of the high points of art.
True beauty was captured here, and without the direct Greek influence, and legacy, it would not have been possible
Good name
I am Greek and I want to visit Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan so badly and see this for myself - that is, if there is any of it left anymore... I am always fascinated to read old Greek on columns and memorials. Like Rosetta stone, for example, it gave me goose bumps, because, well, I could understand a big chunk of it, make out words and sentences, and it was written more than 2,100 years ago. Imagine managing to read something like this in Uzbekistan. Damn. I'm just wondering why I did not become an archaeologist, I'm so fascinated by all of that. What am I doing with my life.
Well ISTAN Bull is ISTANI like UzbekISTAN,AfgHANISTAN…meaning AlekSanDer MacDon could be a Greek for this names have ZERO meaning in Greek language who had no Horse or Cavalry meaning AlekSanDer MacDon was a Sian-Scythian who counteract the AchæMENid army who has gathered a army of 1.000.000 to attack Sian-Scythian tribal coalition through CaucaSIAN or it’s a fictional adoption like many others things in Greeko copy cat culture for Zulu warfare didn’t work out in Sian land which something that later Romans have learned very well.
@@hondacbrification No. Uneducated, low level opinion.
@@hondacbrification what
@@shycracker CONSTANTA in current Romania was built by Saka-Scythians and CONSTANTLY was inhabited by the long before CONSTANThyne was born or CONSTANTHynople was built.From them came SakSon and it was them who established ISTANI culture in Hindu Kush area and it’s Hungarian version Gothic word people of Gad,God,Gott,Goth.Yakutsk is still called Saka meaning this Greeko-Jewish Orthodox fictions went so far that they are trying to find Greeks amongst people that where never Greeks far beyond Mediterranean where SeaPeople didn’t live.
Galonian or Helonian are just another of many examples where Scythians where branded somewhat Greek because they spoke more then one language which is a absurdity since unlike Mediterranean cultures people on the steppe did speak many languages rather then a singular language and assumed that of someone would have learned Greek language it meant that it was Greek is as branding every English speaker as English even do even English doesn’t identify themselves as Gelish.
Greek-Jewish Orthodox stories false apart completely since the stories of they are not even remotely related to them for both claims to have tens of thousands of chariots and cavalry while in reality they had none since this evolved in Scythian land and without Cavalry AlekSanDer MacDon story falls apart as well for Zulu type of warfare didn’t work in A Sian-Scythian land and like in case of AlekSanDer or H ÉLén and A Lán the stories where CaucaSIAN in origins where AchæMENid have attacked Sian-Scythian tribal alliance with its army of 1.000.000 and AL Bani (Not Shqiptars living in BaLKHan) have defended the CaucaSIAN passage called by us as Gate of Heaven or Gate of HeLL by southerns who are the same as The Banise meaning group that later became S Parthian (SPartan) where the defence was led by ALán meaning The Lion hence the name in the story of LeoniDas or Das Lion in later Greek sources that could identify the source even or story before adopting a narrative.AchæMENid after claiming a victory in they records they retreated via CaucaSIAN and they empire collapsed and where conquered by band of Sian-Scythian and was renamed Per Sian land just as A Sia meaning The Scythia and arguably this is the event from which AlekSanDer MacDon stories originate from since if he wouldn’t have been Greek by any stretch or form who according to Greek narrative fought against Per Sian not AchæMENid then he should have attacked Sian-Scythian centre in the North just as AchæMENid tried where compared to Greeko-Jewish Orthodoxy who are of a Mediterranean Merchant origins Le Van T holds no cultural significance but to us it does hence Iraq would have been kept as a centre of the culture in small Asia or Middle East compared to Orthodoxy who would have shift it towards Mediterranean they cultural centre.
One doesn’t need that much of intelligence just bit of honesty to realise that Kalash people are Sian-Scythian who are more closer related to Kalashnikov invented then any Greeks who might have been in touch with Scythians like Jews but where not Sian or Me Sianic group where hair style is a typical for MonGolia part was used in Western ManGaL aka Scythian groups.Kalash people are at least honest that Greeks are trying to bribe them to jump on a train where they pronounce themselves as Greeks since they ego can’t allow a group that could be somehow linked with MacDon and not being Greek.
Greek ruins are preserved in Afghanistan, since it no longer contains something like statue, only Greek-style bulding and archs
This is an interesting component of Greek history that I don't often think about (and I assume most others don't as well). The Ancient Greeks were a marvelous civilization, and their ambitions for conquest were remarkable. Taking them thousands of miles into central Asia where, as this video illustrates, they had a major cultural and social influence on that people and societies there.
As a Greek i very agree,but the only bad thing with our history is that its so long and rich that many "foreigners" want to steal a part and claim it,like so called slavs " Macedonians "...
Not only to Central Asia, but right to the northwest of India.
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
@@onid.9991 It was said his father's mother was Illyrian too
@@onid.9991 Epirotes were not albanians whatsoever. The Epirotes were Greek.
In Italy there still areas in the south were people speaks old greek"grecanico and griko" , and it's a thing that a lot of people in Italy didn't know.
The great singer, Tony Bennet is a Griko.
@@NewarkBay357 I wanna be arouund to pick up the piecees
yes, I am a Greek Australian with Venetian heritage, Venice controlled south of Greece (where sparta is located) for hundreds of years and one of my ancestors was a merchant for the Venetian Republic.
we are all mixed with incredible history.
There was a significiant amount of greek orthodox population in sicily until the 14th century.
My mom was born in Khujand. There is an archeological site, Sarazm, about an hour or so outside the city that dates back to the 4th millennium BC, thousands of years before the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander. It is the oldest site with evidence of advanced human cohabitation in Central Asia, not unlike Gobekli Tepe in Turkey.
We've only scratched the surface...
I did my art history paper on Greco-Bactrian Buddhist art. Amazing stories
So, what is considered to be quintessential, intrinsically Chinese, Japanese, Korean sculpture (of the Buddha), actually have their origins in Europe (classical Greece). The same could be said of Confederate statues as well.
@@toady7741 I mean, Greco-Buddhist art is a mix between Greek and Indian/Iranian, of course. Look at the almond-shaped eyes for the Oriental influence; these (and possibly also the way the hairs are carved) quite resemble the Persian reliefs from Persepolis, or the Archaising statues from Cyprus. To say that the style originates from Greece only would be false.
@@toady7741 definitely since neo classical art and architecture was popular all over the us up until the 1920s
You're dope bro
I remember seeing that video of those soldiers pulling statues down and breaking ancient artifacts. Between that, and the looters, it breaks my heart. Regardless of what part of the world it comes from, the history of humanity belongs to all of us, and it makes me so frustrated when people don't - or can't - care about protecting and preserving it.
Some people lack a soul or fail to recognize it. the only things that matter to them are materialistic, which of course, mean nothing.
@@carolmiller5713 Means an awful lot when you have nothing though.
@carolmiller5713 I dont think a materialistic lack of soul is the driving factor in Islamic environments
@@carolmiller5713 you could say materialistic when there's no God than Allah so it's make sense to destroy it kafir
That’s what happens when ignorant people have been heavily indoctrinated with religion from early childhood. If you dive a little deeper into biblical history you’ll see that the jews have also worked hard to eliminate all traces of their polytheistic past from their religion. The bible even proudly admits to them destroying the Ashera poles that were in the jewish temples. Ashera was predominantly worshiped by women, but when the misogynistic new temple was established, those sad men felt they needen to wipe out the old culture.
These places were such highlights in the 60s hippie trail to India. Lucky people that drove in VW vans safely through these landscapes and experiencing such cultural treasures. I always hoped I could do it too but current affairs make that unlikely.
@Bronski Turboski you know there have always been people who just DID it .. despite so-called adverse or hostile conditions!
and if you look around on youtube and elsewhere you will find quite a few young people who do the same right now! rather with a landrover than vw, though ... .
@@felice9907 Some people are braver than others. I personally would have the urge to spend a great amount of time verifying I’m not getting into trouble I can’t get out of alive, which would not make it a very enjoyable trip to me. Enjoyment is the point of going for me. But everyone experiences things differently and has different goals and ideas of course. I would not be inclined to aimlessly drive around seeing where the road would take me. I’d be terrified in Afghanistan right now.
@@felice9907 exactly, the conditions for travel are better on average worldwide than they've ever been, the fear mongering is just stronger than ever. If you're friendly you can travel just about anywhere and always could.
@@felice9907 I want to do this on a small classic bike (Scrambler).
@@zachmiller9175 @zach miller bs . In the older days all western nations people learned a modicus of good manners, respect. The western mediatrash class has destroyed that. Now even educated young people are clueless about where the cynicism. cold mockery and spite they have been brainwashed with from birth becomes offensive, hegemonic and insulting to simple and noble culture not exposed to american trashmedia. That's ok as long as they go to Europe and offend people there (who are catching up getting brainwashed by the same trashmedia). But should they go to a culturally sensitive country and their behavior is disrespectful without them even understanding why. Look at the young american student who stole Kim J Un portrait in a N.Korean hotel, ended up ending his life a vegetable after torture. Most americans have this imperialistic hegemonic attitude that was bred in them by the trashmedia parasites. This is not fearmongering, it's degeneration of western societies.
I have long been interested to hear about these "alien" greek places and cultures.
great video
This channel is completely underrated. Absolutely amazing content, I truly wish more people would get to see your videos.
Only those who search can find the truth.
@@kokobedima There is no truth in this video. There was no "Greek Empire". History has been highjacked by this content. Alexander the III of Macedonia was a Macedonian king, not Greek. How can one pretend that there were even "Greeks at that period? Hellenes were descendance from Egypt and Ethiopia. Macedonians from Indochina. Does that make them one and the same people?. Athenians, Spartans and Thebans were not a nation, but City States. Isocrates said "We cannot submit to a Monarchy, and they cannot submit to Democracy". 50,000 Hellen's fought against Alexander on the side of Darius the Persian king. Tell history, not politics. Macedonians have kept their Ancient name throughout history. Greece exists since 1829 as a nation patched up by the Big Powers of the day.They tried to imitate Democracy and failed in 1831.This is the reason they brought a Prince Otto the Bavarian Prince to be the King of the newly formed "Nation".
Nomadic nations: They invaded, destroyed, stole, enslaved, killed etc..
Greek nations: They tried hellenize local populations in ''various degrees and for varying reasons'' without any enslavement or suppression, in fact their wars were actually kissing contests...
PS: I understand why some people are so biased towards Greek civilization but seriously considering Bactria as ''Greek land'' and claiming it got ''invaded'' by NATIVE Nomads was one of the most moronic things i've heard on youtube.
This channel also feeding wrong history. The Bactrian Persian are the original Persian they are not Greek, they're the Hazara living in Afghanistan, they lost 96% of the region once they ruled for thousands of years with their first Buddhism religion and thousands cities
@@Peter-xg5fq all ancient historians, the romans included, confirm that macedonians were pure greeks! less than a hundred years ago some politicians took the part of the south slavic people in southern yougoslavia and tried to convince them (for political reasons) that they are neither serbs nor bulgarian nor slavic at all, but, instead they are a distinct ethnicity descendants of the ancient "macedonski"!! after three generations of intense goverment propaganda they succeeded to convince them! now they are trying to convince the rest of the world!!!
Videos like this are a prime reason why the study of history (even as cursory a one as mine) has been an insistent and enduring pleasure since I first read a book called "A Child's History of the World" when I was about eight. Thank you for this!
I have been to Termez, Uzbekstan with my wonderful guide, Sergei, scrambling around the ancient mud-brick towns, seeing ancient Buddhist stupas, and seeing the beautiful museum there. It was my part of Uzbekistan. If go to Uzbekistan you must go to that part of the country.
Ahhh Buddhists of South East Asian(Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia) will loves that place. 😃😃
Fascinating , any insights into the Greek cities of Georgia and Armenia would also be interesting. Thank you
It's a small and fairly insignificant historical footnote, but if you have the time/interest look up the War of the Heavenly Horses. Basically, it was a war between the Greco-Bactrians and Han Dynasty China that arose from a trade dispute when the Han emperor attempted to purchase horses from the Greeks. The Han launched two expeditions against the Greco-Bactrians and ultimately laid siege to Alexandria Eschate and won.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has a nice collection of Greco-Buddhist art from Gandhara and the greater region.
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
the Musee Guimet in Paris also has a whole fascinating section dedicated to Bactria and to Greco-Buddhist art
Another steal ....Americans 😅
I've travelled the silk road and always love seeing it's history covered. The entire region is fascinating for it's culture and history.
Gotta say, unlike the Italian history this channel usually covers -where Roman ruins are preserved and turned into massive tourist traps - it's striking that all through Central Asia, you can just drive up to something and find out that it's thousands of years old, sitting in a field with no one around. But yeah, like you said, much of it is neglected or stripped by people for one reason or another and more than a few historic sights I went looking for were little more than mounds of dirt or a pile of rocks.
I'm so jealous - I've wanted to travel the silk road - only done parts of it. I just started world travel in the past 4 - 5 years and cut short of course, with covid.
This is an excellent and very well documented video. Respect from Greece. Thank you.
Mind blowing how they had Greek Gods along with a Buda and all the other religious artifacts found there?
That foot of Zeus foot was huge.
Thank you again for these wonderful videos.
I never new any of this existed in Afghanistan.
The monk Buddhagosa converted the King Milinder of Bactria in a philosophical debate
You know, there are a city in Hungary called Budapest maybe its sounded like related to Buddha eh? 🙂🙂
@@khaiophirgrad7717 That's a stretch. However, in czech or Russian (I believe), budit means "awaken" (to wake up). This parallels the indian term Buddha which means "enlightenment". This is likely due to distance PIE connection.
However, Buddha's name is not Buddha but rather Siddhartha Gautama. Just wanted to clear up that for anyone.
Plus, hungarian isn't an IE language, so the connection you make is a stretch
@@khaiophirgrad7717 Unless you can give me the meaning of Budapest, which I am not entirely sure. If it means something the along the lines "awaken", then maybe
Thank you for covering this subject I love the intro .Greetings from Greece.!
@@num1sooner 🤣🤣😂😂🤣.You just prejudiced my people what's the problem barbarian?.
@@antigonus1161 Μην ασχολείσαι απλά ζηλεύει …
@@num1sooner Τώρα που έπαιξες την κασέτα, άντε τράβα στην τρύπα σου πάλι. Δεν θα λείψεις σε κανέναν!
Greece is so fantastic. Best regards from Israel.
@@letXeqX Thank you eli good stranger!.Have a good day!.
I was deployed to Afghanistan (Farah and Kunduz) as a MEDEVAC air crewman and remember seeing a couple of these 'castles' about. Always wondered about them. Thanks for this video.
So a tribe, being hunted by a superior opponent, stumbles into Bactria, finding Greek settlements present. The two parties involved can’t come up with a better idea than to decimate each others forces and to await the inevitable arrival of said foe short handed. That is some seriously impressive strategic thinking. My compliments.
Are the tens of thousands of artifacts found in the tombs safe, or are they still in Afghanistan ( and likely going to auctioned off to the highest bidder, whoever that may be)
Great video. Lots of information presented here I’ve never been exposed to. I’m going to have to do more research and watch this a couple more times. Thanks for the excellent work, always a treat. Your book is on its way, can’t wait.
Fascinating that as a Greek i can easily understand the name of the cities and read at the coins. Amazing, after all these centuries.
Yes i recently learned russian and cyrillic proved helpful in reading those inscriptions
Why is Helios written without e on the coin? Is the letter H pronounced as He syllable in greek?
@@dave_sic1365 No E at Helios. In greek is written as you see at the coin at 11.00 minute of the video.
ΗΛΙΟΣ in greek
HELIOS in english.
@@ioanniskoletis8300 thanks alot
Tell that to Skopjans and Albanians claiming your history. They wouldn't be able to understand shit lmao.
Thank you for covering such an amazing part of the Hellenistic world! Your channel is way underrated.
Another truly excellent video. I will be assigning this to my history 101 students. Thanks for your work!
First video Ive caught on the day uploaded.. Only been subbed for a little while. Love your detailed intricate explanations helping expand our love of ancient histories
Quickly becoming one of my favorite channels. Please do more of these ancient kingdoms lost to time. Very fascinating.
Υπέροχη παρουσίαση.
Fun fact : Greco-indian kingdoms were the last greek ruled states on Earth after the conquest of Greece, the middle east and Egypt by the Romans.
That is until ~600 when the eastern roman empire dropped the latin language and kept only tthe greek one.
The Bosphoran Kingdom lasted until the Huns conquered them in the fourth century, so no.
Greek was the Linga di Franca during the Roman Empires.
They were part Greek part Indian
Thank you for an excellent presentation! It’s so sad that none of the cities in this area can be excavated because of war, local government disinterest and the ongoing march of time.
Excellent video, thank you! Greco-Bactrian kingdom and culture are really fascinating. I would just like to point out, since you mention it in the video, that it is still accurate to say that Alexander founded so many cities, despite the fact that some of them had been populated even centuries before. We have to take into account the difference between the Greek "polis" and the typical city/town/settlement of the pre-Hellenistic non-Greek East. The latter was mostly clusters of low-level houses scattered around a palace/local administrative building or sometimes a temple. The Greek "polis" is defined by a particular set of features that the civilizations in the East lacked at the time, namely an agora, a gymnasium, a theater, an odeum, an acropolis (citadel) with a temple, and a bouleuterion/ekklesiasterion (buildings for the local council). All these elements of a Greek "polis" that serve particular aspects of our lives (socializing, commerce, sports, arts, self-governance) were brought to Asia with Alexander's conquest.
yes and he mentioned it in the video.still alexander and the greco-indian/ greco.bactrianm kingdom made new citys
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
@@onid.9991 mate do you by any chance know what is the meaning of the following names? Alexandros, Olympia, Epirus, Macedonia. Like their actual etymology? Can you figure it out? I doubt it since they are not in your mother tongue. So, instead of fantasizing about imaginary and constructed modern identities why don't you deep into History with an intellectually honest approach? Try to figure out who all these people that you mention above really were. What language did they speak, how did they identify themselves etc. It's not that hard, there are plenty of original sources from their time.
@@onid.9991realy?? Illyrians?? Any written sign monument found that you might translate to us?? Then you might tell us what is written on philips coins.Or perhaps you might tell us what does Apirotas mean and koinon found on sites or what apollonia mymphaio epidamnos have to do with places in that area mentioned by you why they've got theaters in gymnasiums and why then why they are mentioned in the in a war around 400 BC and where did you find the word illyria. Illyrians were latinized at the end. Do you speak Latin? First you have to finish Grammar School then the learn how to count to 20 you'll need to take off your shoes history or measuring things it's not your strong point
thank you so much for this stunning compilation! including some mindblowing pictures!
This is one of the best videos I've seen about bactria great job
What an amazing story and video. The visuals are tremendous. Thank you.
Wonderful video. Thank you to the makers. The influence of the divine Iskander and his successors on the history and culture of the area cannot be overestimated. The superb relief of Cybele is to my mind a work of art
Cómo nadie habla de semejantes edificaciones en medio del Asia??! Son impactantes, y en occidente nadie nos lo enseña! Es muy importante; te revela datos importantes del curso de las potencias humanas en nuestra historia q resulta en un enfoque más amplio, rico y distinto de la realidad.
Gratias tibi! Interesting to learn about these former Greek outposts!🙏🌞
Fascinating video, Garret. I am happy to report that my copy of your book arrived yesterday. I am very much looking forward to reading it, as well as the ongoing posting of these amazing videos. Thank you!
Alexander the Great was Macedonian. It was a Macedonian empire, not Greek.
@@danielm3670 BS !
The way you present it makes it feel a lot like a Tolkien lore video, which I absolutely love
Keep it up
A refreshingly concise narrative sequence with the right amount of information for someone familiar with the material. And thanks for the location images, they help make these places real! Kudos.
Thank you for taking the time to make this.
Lots of never heard before information fo me. I always enjoy looking at the art and your back up pictures. The coins almost tell a story with their engraving.
I enjoy this channel a lot. So many interesting things revolve around one event.. the name changes show how much succeeded, and not all failed. It is like surnames sometimes...revealing they are diverse, and not knowing it. It is fun to learn.
High quality content that does not shy away from details and nuance. No bias detectable.
really enjoying the book! Keep up the great work!
What is more impressive is that there are entire villages with descendants from the soldiers of the Great Alexander's army in central Asia to this day, of course mixed with the local population. An example of those people are the Ishkadari Pamirski (Ισκανταρί Παμίρσκι) which means the The Alexandrian Pamirs (Αλεξανδρινοί του Παμίρ). Pamir is the mountain on which their village resides. This is but one example of the many scattered greek descendants that reside in Central Asia.
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
@@onid.9991 DNA dont matter, all humans are mixed to some extent with other cultures. What matters is language and heritage, even if FYROM people had 90% old macedonian DNA they still cannot claim their heritage as they dont follow the culture or the language.
@@onid.9991 Quote: Lineage and childhood
He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus). Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander.
@@onid.9991then you can translate us a few things as for instance what is written on Phillips coins
Pamir = Παροπαμισαδες meaning "terrain higher than the eagles can
fly"
I’m kyrgyz from Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I did dna test which shows that I’m 20% Greek
That's a lot. You should google the Greek minorities of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, maybe you are related to them? cause 20% is too much to be ancient DNA. Some Greeks were deported there during Soviet times by the Russians, this is why I think you might be related to them. But If It's DNA from ancient times, that's truly amazing.
Holy how. Every once in a blue moon the algorithm will serve me up a channel of quality, I've only seen one of your videos but you've earned my subscription. Fantastic job!
Wow! Packed with facts and lots of information. Thanks for posting.
My copy of your book arrives tomorrow.
Great video as always you hold a standard that only you can keep.
Fascinating travel in time, thank you.
Thanks, greetings from Macedonia, we are so proud of our ancestors! 👌🇲🇰❤️
The most underrated channel on youtube for sure. Thanks a lot for your work.
As always, such wonderful and professional content that you make!
Thanks! Great video! I first heard of Alexander from reading Mary Renault's historical-fiction. She was very informed and included lots of "romance". She mentions that on several occassions, his soldiers would want to go home and I think there were two or more mutinies. Usually their complaints were settled by letting his mercenaries retire with a generous pension. Alexander was probably the only ruler who made founding cities a hobby.
Just found your channel, very interesting and well put together. Great job!
Eye-opening! Thanks for this informative presentation
I am so glad to have found this channel! Very interesting information, thank you for your research!
Great video, enjoyed it so much. Waiting for more
Fascinating! I knew that Alexander had an influence in Asia but nothing like what you've shown in Afghanistan. It was only then that I realised that I've been kind of following his steps, so to speak. Spent time in Afghanistan, Kandahar, and passed by the site of the battle of Guagamela many times (apparently nead the town of Ba'adre in Kurdistan Iraq). Now in north Syria I might have to try to see some of his other sites one day.
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
@@onid.9991 he was not Albanian and you are not Illyrian
Another excellent doc. Well researched, cogent, clearly expressed, packed with great visuals and facts. And no stupid music track. Thanks for treating your audience with respect for their intelligence.
Keep this up, you are beyond valuable!!
I've bought your book. Well done.
Always wanted to learn about Bactria following Alexander's death.
So thankful to have channels like these on youtube!!!!
Got my book! I am determined not to rush through it. Great so far!
So fascinating of the complete mix in culture, emerging through the art
(Eu4 player) I always wondered why the Timurid vassal in Central Asia was called Transoxiana, then I saw the Amu Darya labeled as the Oxus and my mind was quite literally blown. A Mongolic horde conquered a Persian caliphate to found a Turkic empire and “released” an Uzbek vassal named after the Greek name for a river with a Latin prefix.
Edit: my girlfriend is Uzbek so any time I learn something new about the region I get all giddy.
As someone who is uneducated with Greek, Mongolic & Turkic culture/history, how does the name Transoxiana relates to all of that?
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
@@onid.9991 Stop fabricating history, Olympias is a Greek name and Alexander's mother was never Albanian as they did not exist in antiquity. Stop stealing Greek history, the more you do it the less credible you become. Not only that, but someone should explain to you that identity theft is a crime. And noone else apart from the Albanians themselves believes that the Illyrians were Albanian. There is absolutely no evidence to that. You have flooded the internet with your paranoid claims but eventually you will be banned like you are being deported out of European countries.
@@onid.9991my Albanian brother, epirotes are not Albanian, we only descend from some epirotans but we mostly descent from eastern and southern Illyrians
Thank you very much for making this.
Thank you for this excellent video!
You make excellent videos! Very nice diction and fascinating snippets of history! Many thanks!
Very much enjoying your videos - thanks!
Fascinating, very well done!
These videos are great and entertaining! One thing I would like to see more are the change images becuase many times I found that you were talking about something different than the image and I found it a little confusing and it was hard to create an image in my head about what you were talking about. Keep up the great videos!
Thank you for your concise and intriguing summary of a little-known aspect of ancient history. In the light of what is happening in Afghanistan now, it is hard not to feel that history is indeed repeating itself .
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
Thank you so much for this fascinating video. Hellenic and Persian influences on Buddhist cultures, art and architecture, and Greek converts to Buddhism is one of the most interesting subjects of forgotten ancient history. It probably even has something to do with early Christianity.
A very touching treatment of an interesting subject :) thank you
Always great. You should have more viewers. Thanks
Brilliant video and topic
Ever since I saw Michael Wood's In the Footsteps of Alexander, I have been utterly fascinated by this area, especially this time period. Were I an archaeologist, this is the region I would want to be working in.
I think I have said this in the comments of another video from here but it is worth saying again due to the topic of this one.
That's a fantastic series.
Thank You!
Love my ancient history and this something new for me to study and learn about 😃
Well done! Liked and subscribed! Long live the memory of Bactria!
You should do a video on Greco-India next!
Never even heard of it, and would love to hear your detailed account.
How the hell do you make these so consistently and concisely.. if you ever stop making videos i might have to buy your book!
Or just possibly buy his book so he can continue making high quality videos with the funds coming from the book's sales!
As a business man this comment would make me want to stop uploading 😂
My book came in the mail. I'm pumped for a nerdy weekend.
@@dlevi67 he got 51k views in one day there are television shows that would kill for that a few more months and youtube will fund his books
@@aboutthegiggins4236 Or not. Have you ever looked at how many views you actually need to make sensible money on YT? Ad revenue may be more interesting, but with the channel's topic I'm not sure it is quite as ad-friendly as others.
Ive always been curious about the selucids and bactrians thank you so much for making this. Crazy how they settled and stayed so far from home for a long long time!!
That was a lovely video! Thank You. Your calming voice was a pleasant moment of blissful edutainment in an otherwise emotion filled, stressful day. Yes! I think I shall have another!
What an amazing video! I've been reading on the multiple Alexandrias of central Greece and the Greco-Bactrian and Greco-Indian kingdoms for the past few days and then this video gets uploaded! Amazing work as always!
Comrade🚩
There are also Alexandria(Iskandariah) in Egypt.
Alexander's armies passed through these parts and wherever they went they left people behind. Alexander himself was half Epirote (Albanian) from his mother Olimbia, who was from the royal house of Epirus. Alexander's army was made up of Macedonians, Illyrians and Epirus. Today Macedonians they were assimilated by the Slavs, but if you do the DNA origin test for today's Macedonians, you will find traces of the ancient Macedonians, Illyrians, Epirotes. Therefore, the presence of these Balkan groups in Afghanistan and their origin is not it is something to be surprised.
Hey toldinstone im just commenting because i never get to your videos this early but i hope you see this i love your videos idk why i find it so intresting most kids my age are off doing drugs or somethings but your content is some of my favorite on the platform seriously keep up the good work
Straight forward well presented and easy to follow. Good video sir
This video is amazing, good job!