About 35 kilometers southeast of modern-day Baghdad, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, was the ancient city of Ctesiphon. For more than eight centuries, Ctesiphon was the imperial capital of the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties. From 226 to 637 AD, Ctesiphon served as the capital of the Sasanian Empire until up to middle of 7th century. As it grew, Ctesiphon became a thriving commercial center that merged with the cities on either side of the river, including the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. For this reason, Ctesiphon and the surrounding area were occasionally referred to as -- The Cities. According to some accounts, it was the largest metropolis in the world in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. Ctesiphon fell three times to the Romans during the Roman–Parthian Wars and twice more during Sasanian authority. Additionally, the Battle of Ctesiphon took place there in AD 363. The city began to deteriorate later in the 7th century, and by the end of the 8th century, it had lost its population. Occasionally referred to as the Archway of Ctesiphon, the Taq Kasra is the most notable building that still stands today. The population of Ctesiphon was highly diverse throughout the Sasanian era, comprising Arameans, Persians, Greeks, and Assyrians. The city was also home to a number of religious communities, including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity. The Manicheans, a dualist church that Ctesiphon continued to acknowledge, were also among the inhabitants. The Manicheans who survived in the ninth century uprooted their patriarchate at Samarkand and fled up the Silk Road [Information and Image Credit : Ctesiphon ; Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctesiphon ] [Image : Remains of Taq Kasra in 2022; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Safa . daneshvar ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:001125-TaqKasra-Iraq-IMG_7914-2.jpg ] #History
Near modern-day Shahhat, Libya, is the ancient Greek and later Roman city of Cyrene. The pentapolis, a group of five Greek cities in the area, was its most significant member. Eastern Libya was given the ancient name Cyrenaica, which it has kept up to this day. On a ridge in the Jebel Akhdar uplands, Cyrene is located. The spring, Cyra, which the Greeks dedicated to Apollo, was the source of the name of the city. The numerous colossal temples, stoas, theaters, bathhouses, churches, and sumptuous villas that make up the archaeological remains span several hectares. The Necropolis of Cyrene encircles the city. A dynasty of monarchs known as the Battiads initially ruled the city, which was founded by Greek colonists in the late seventh century BC. They became wealthy and powerful as a result of successive waves of immigration and the export of horses and silphium, a medicinal plant. They had increased their control over the other Cyrenaica cities by the fifth century BC. In the fourth century BC, Aristippus, a student of Socrates, established the Cyrenaics, a school of thought, and it eventually became their headquarters. The city alternated in the Hellenistic Age between serving as the seat of an autonomous monarchy and Ptolemaic Egypt. It transferred to the Roman Republic in 96 BC and was included in the province of Crete and Cyrenaica. During the Kitos War, Jewish fighters destroyed the city in 115 AD. Over the course of the next century, it was gradually restored. The city was damaged by earthquakes in 262 and 365 AD, but some inhabitants persisted into the early Byzantine era [Information Credit : Cyrene,_Libya, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrene,_Libya ] [Image Credit : Archaeological_site, Wikipedia] [Image : Sanctuary of Apollo at Cyrene; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Maher27777] [The copyright holder of the work (Image), release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide; In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: The copyright holder granted anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.] [(Please Relate to Original Image URL for More Usage Property) ] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cyrene8.jpg ] #History#Architecture
In Roman and Hellenistic religion, Diana is a goddess who is principally revered as the protector of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. Despite having an independent Italian origin, she is often compared to the Greek goddess Artemis and adopted much of the mythology of Artemis early in Roman history. She was born on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona and had a twin brother named Apollo. Diana is revered as a virgin goddess and a maternity protector. Diana once shared a trio of roles with the water nymph Egeria, who served as her attendant and assisting midwife, and the woodland god Virbius. Many contemporary neopagan cults, such as Roman neopaganism and Stregheria, honor Diana. Diana has been seen as a triple divinity throughout history, merging with a goddess of the moon, such as Luna or Selene, and the underworld, which is typically associated with Hecate. Persona of Diana is intricate and includes a number of antiquated elements. Diana was once thought of as a goddess of the wild and of the hunt, which was an important sport in both Roman and Greek culture. Diana was principally honored as a huntress and protector of hunters in early Roman inscriptions. Later, throughout the Hellenistic era, Diana came to be equally or even more venerated as a goddess of the tame countryside, or Villa Rustica, as opposed to the wild woods, which was often idealized in Greek thinking and poetry. The Greek goddess Artemis was the first to assume this dual role as the goddess of both civilization and the wild, and consequently of the civilized countryside. By the third century CE, when Greek culture had a significant impact on Roman religion, Diana had nearly completely merged with Artemis and had adopted many of her characteristics, both in terms of her spiritual realms and how she was described physically
[Information and Image Credit : Diana_(mythology), Wikipedia]
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[Image : Diana Hunting, Guillaume Seignac]
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#Mythology
In ancient Dura Europos, a city on the Euphrates in modern-day Syria, the Temple of Bel, also known as the Temple of the Palmyrene gods, was situated. The temple, which dates back to the first century BCE, is famous for its wall murals. Despite the current names of the building, it is unclear which deities were worshipped there. The temple was erected in honor of Alexander Severus when Rome was in power. The temple was then situated inside the military barracks of the XXth Palmyrene cohort. Since there is no indication of Palmyrene devotion during the Parthian era when the Temple was founded, Zeus was probably the focus of worship at the time the building was constructed. The holy of holies was situated in the west, the original construction phase comprised of a wide room, to which a vestibule was added in the second building phase, and in front of the holy of holies was a courtyard, surrounded by various rooms, whose function is not yet clear. The temple is situated in the northwest of the city, abutting the city wall. The northern and western walls of the temple are formed by the city wall. At least three construction phases can be distinguished. It is well known that the god Iarhibol was worshiped in the Temple of Bēl at Dura, which served as a hub of religious activity. The impact of the Bel-Marduk religion in Palmyra around 213 BC is where the term Bel, which refers to the god, originates. In pre-Hellenistic days, Bel was revered frequently alongside Iarhibol and Aglibol as a main deity. The Aramean deity Iarhibol was revered in prehistoric Palmyra. Iarhibol has appeared in a number of reliefs, where he is seen standing next to Aglibol to his right and is identified as the sun god, a member of the triad of Bel. Without these deities, Iarhibol is never depicted in busts or reliefs, forming the trinity of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. The paintings from the temple were found in 1920 by M. C. Murphy. James Henry Breasted, who examined the paintings and the temple and published a monograph about them in 1924, was given photos of the paintings. Westerners had never heard of the location before to discovery of Murphy. It was not until much later that it was linked to the ancient settlement of Dura Europos. The discovery of wall murals at the temple aroused curiosity, and The New York Times even covered the discovery
[Information and Image Credit : Temple_of_Bel,_Dura-Europos, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Bel,_Dura-Europos ]
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#History
The archaeological center of Khalchayan, also known as Khaltchaïan, is situated close to the contemporary town of Denov in the Surxondaryo Region of southern Uzbekistan. It is believed to be a tiny palace or a receiving hall. It is situated in the Surkhan Darya Valley, which is a northern tributary of the Oxus, or the contemporary Amu Darya. The earlier Kushans or their Yuezhi or Tocharian forebears are typically credited with building the site. Galina Pugachenkova dug it up between 1959 and 1963. The clay sculptures and paintings that adorn the inside walls are dated to the middle of the first century BCE, but they are believed to depict events from as early as the second century BCE. Battles, feasts, and monarch portraits are shown in a variety of panels. It is thought that the Kushans and a Saka tribe are fighting in some of the Khalchayan sculptures. The Sakas are frequently depicted with side-wiskers in more or less hideous poses, in contrast to the stately demeanour of the Yuezhis. The bust of a Parthian monarch was found among the sculptures at Khalchayan, and based on the historical period and similarity to coins, it is possible that Vardanes I is depicted as he seeks sanctuary and potentially an alliance at the Yuezhi court in Bactria. After failing at the siege of Seleucia in the year 35 CE, Vardanes reportedly sought refuge among the Bactrians. Due to these occurrences, the Khalchayan picture of the Parthian monarch may have been painted between 45 and 47 CE, during which time Kujula Kadphises was possibly the Kushan ruler in power at the time. The art of Kalchayan, which dates to the latter half of the 2nd century BCE, is thought to have been influenced by Hellenistic art in the end, as well as perhaps by that of the cities of Eucratideia and Nysa. However, it also shares characteristics with the later Art of Gandhara and could have even been the inspiration for its creation. The startling likeness between the portrait of the Kushan king Heraios and the Gandhara Bodhisattva is also noted
[Information Credit : Khalchayan, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalchayan ]
[Image : Prince of Yuezhi of Khalchayan. The prized Saka cataphract armour with neck guard is lying at his feet. First millennium BCE. Uzbekistan Museum of Arts, nb 40. ]
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A historic wool wall hanging known as the Sampul tapestry was discovered in the Tarim Basin nearby the ancient kingdom of Khotan. The item is linked to the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom by its numerous Hellenistic period characteristics, which include a Greek centaur and diadem. It might be a Yuezhi soldier from the first century CE, dressed in a crimson jacket and pants. As another possibility, the soldier or monarch, may be a Greco-Bactrian, a Saka who had undergone Hellenization, or a Greco-Saka military nobleman. The complete tapestry is 230 cm long and 48 cm broad. The face portion of the warrior measures 48 by 52 cm and the centaur portion measures 45 by 55 cm. The fabric that was found merely makes up the left ornamental border of a much larger wall hanging. It is made of 24 threads of various colours and is made of wool. A guy with Caucasoid traits, including blue eyes, is shown on the tapestry with a centaur. The soldier would be around six times as tall as the centaur if all missing fabric were taken into account. A spear in his hand and a dagger placed on his belt help to identify the individual as a warrior. He is dressed in a tunic with rosette patterns. His headdress might be a diadem, which was depicted on Macedonian and other ancient Greek currency and served as a sign of kingship in the Hellenistic era. The centaur is performing a horn and is covered in a cloak and cape. He is surrounded with a floral adornment in the form of a diamond. The antiquity of the material is questionable because there has been a lot of theft at the site. Dates ranging from the third century BC to the fourth century AD have been given to it. Even though the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in Central Asia has been mentioned as a potential location, the exact location of the tapestry is unknown. Western embroidery techniques were utilised to create the tapestry, which has more than 24 strands in various colours. The cloak and hood of the centaur are a central Asian adaptation of the Greek design. Another thing that sets him apart from the Greek archetypes is that he performs the horn. The lapel features of the warrior a central Asian flower and diamond pattern. A few elements, especially the animal head on the weapon of the soldier, point to the northern Iranian kingdom of Parthia as the place of origin of the tapestry. Rome has additionally been suggested as a potential source. Another theory is that it is locally produced because the Tang annal New Book of Tang reported that Khotanese locals were skilled in weaving textiles and making tapestries when Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned from 141 to 87 BC, introduced the Silk Road to Khotan in the first century BC. The tapestry might have been created about a century before Wudi led the Han Chinese to conquer the Tarim Basin. Loulan has also produced Hellenistic tapestries, suggesting a shared cultural heritage with Khotan. The presence of the tapestry likely to imply that interactions between the Hellenistic kingdoms of Central Asia and the Tarim Basin, at the frontier of the Chinese realm, began somewhere around the third century BC. [Information and Image Credit : Sampul_tapestry, Wikipedia] [Image : Probable Yuezhi soldier in red jacket and trousers, in the Sampul tapestry. Embroidered in Hellenistic style, with motif of a centaur, 1st century AD, Sampul, Ürümqi Xinjiang Region Museum ] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer] [The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UrumqiWarrior.jpg ]
It is known that around 115 BC, King Antialkidas (Indo-Greek) sent Heliodorus to the court of Sunga King Bhagabhadra in Vidisha, India. Around the same time or around 115 BC, artisans from the northwest built decorative reliefs for the first time at Sanchi, which is six miles from Vidisha. Instead of using the regional Brahmi alphabet, these artisans left their markings as masons in Kharoshthi, which was mostly used in the region around Gandhara. This suggests that some of the earliest designs and figures that can be seen on the railings of the Stupa were created by these foreign labourers. The more elaborate pillar carvings at Sanchi are dated to 80 BC, while the earlier reliefs (which are at Sanchi Stupa No 2) there are dated to 115 BC. According to general-acceptance, these reliefs are the oldest elaborate stupa adornment in existence. They are regarded as the creators of the Indian Jataka drawings. [Images : 1. Lakshmi with lotus and two child attendants, probably derived from similar images of Venus 2. Foreigner on a horse. The medallions are dated circa 115 BC 3. Griffin 4. Female riding a Centaur 5. Lotus within Hellenistic beads and reels motif 6. Floral motif. ] [Information and Image Credit : Indo-Greek_Kingdom, Wikipedia] Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic and Public Domain Work of Art (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image URLs :: 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lakshmi_Sanchi_Stupa_2.jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sanchi_Stupa_2_man_on_horse.jpg 3. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanchi_Stupa_Nr._2_Chim%C3%A4re_(1999).JPG 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Female_riding_a_Centaur_Sanchi_Stupa_2.jpg 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lotus_within_beads_and_reels_motif_Stupa_No2_Sanchi.jpg 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flower_motif_Stupa_No2_Sanchi.jpg ]
When the Indo-Greek rulers governed both Bactria and northwest India between the reigns of Demetrius and Eucratides , the historical Eucratideia (historical Alexandria on the Oxus River, later renamed Arukratiya or Eucratidia) was one of the key cities and a mystery of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. The city is thought to have been founded by Alexander the Great around 327 BC. The city is situated in northern Takhar Province of . The Khyber Pass, which provides access to South Asia by road, is on the lower of two important sets of pathways (lowland and highland) that connect Western Asia to that sub-continent. One of the main centres of Hellenism in the East was Eucratideia, which mixed Greek and Persian architectural elements. The spectacular Royal Palace was constructed in the Achaemenid style, but there are also several Hellenic temples and a sizable amphitheatre that show a strong Greek influence. Eucratideia served as the capital of the Bactrian kingdom for about two centuries before it was destroyed by nomadic invaders around 145 BC, at the time of the death of Eukratides the Great. The following remarkable findings were uncovered during archaeological digs of the city :: -- 1. The surrounding ramparts of the city, which were two kilometres long. 2. A classical theatre with a seating capacity of 4,000–6,000 people, 84 metres in diameter, 35 rows of seats, and three loges for the rulers of the city. 3. A sizable palace with Greco-Bactrian construction that strangely evokes the formal imperial architecture of Persia. 4. One of the biggest gymnasiums from antiquity, measuring 100 by 100 metres. On one of the pillars, there was a Greek dedication to Hermes and Herakles. Two guys with Greek names made the dedication (Triballos & Strato, son of Strato). 5. The numerous temples within the city. Zeus appeared to be sitting in a massive statue within the main temple of the city, but it was actually a Zoroastrian replica (rather than open columnar structure of the Greek temple, it was firmly closed.) [Information and Image Credit : Ai-Khanoum , Wikipedia] [Image 1: Plaque from the sanctuary showing a votive offering to the Greek goddess Cybele and a Bactrian Sun God. 2. A center of Hellenistic Bactria, Eucratideia (Ai-Khanoum) was located on a triangular peninsula at the confluence of two rivers.] [Image Availed Under Public Domain Work (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Source-Image-Source-URLs : 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AiKhanoumPlateSharp.jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BactriaMap.jpg ]
Iranian Mount Behistun is home to a Statue of Hercules (Heracles). The only remaining rock sculpture from the Seleucid era, which ruled the Iranian Plateau from from 312 BC to 140/139 BC, was found in 1958. A Seleucid governor commissioned the creation of the statue in 148 BC, dedicating it in honour of --Herakles Kallinikos (Hercules Glorious in Victory). It was sculpted in honour of a Satrap by the Seleucid governor. A bowl is in left hand of Hercules as he lies on a 2 m long platform. On his leg, his right hand is at rest. The figure is affixed to the mountain and is 1.47 metres long. The shape of the relief-design is reminiscent of other Seleucid stone carvings in the region that contained official inscriptions, most notably the stele from Laodicia-in-Media (Nahavand), where a local Seleucid official copied the royal cult inscription of Antiochus III the Great (reign 222-187 BC), which he had made for his wife Queen Laodice III, onto the stele. A carver who was not professionally trained in the Greek sculptural tradition sculpted the Bisotun Hercules. The architecture was more Iranian than Greek, according to contemporary historian Rolf Strootman. Heracles is rarely seen with a bow in Hellenistic art. However, he is holding a bow that resembles those depicted in the Behistun inscription in the stone carving. Even while the Greek religion made frequent use of the divine epithet (Kallinikos), it was equally fitting for the Iranian god Wahrām, to whom Hercules was fused. The club of Heracles is depicted in sculpture. [Info and Image Credit : Statue_of_Hercules_in_Behistun, Wikipedia] [Image: Herakles at Behistun, created in 148 BCE for a Seleucid Governor] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)][Original Source Image URL :
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Gandhara Art or Greco-Buddhist Art, which flourished in Indian-Subcontinent and expanded into Bactria and Tarim Basin in Central Asia, had its origin with brief arrival of Alexander the Great into India and later under the Mauryan Empire of India, the Indo-Greek Kingdoms and finally during the reign of the Kushan Empire. The Mauryan Empire (322-184 BC), Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250-130 BC), the Indo-Greek Kingdoms (180-10 BC) and the Kushan Empire (30 -267 CE)all played vital roles in the patronage and evolution of the form of art. An artistic realisation of both Hellenistic-Culture and Buddhism or correspondingly Greco-Buddhism, Gandhara Art created a Cultural-Syncretism between Ancient-Greek Art and Buddhism. Though later Gandhara Art was characterized by Buddhist Religious Subjects, early Gandhara Art of work (2nd – 1st BC) represented Greek mythological scenes and stone palettes (round trays found in Bactria nd Gandhara) excavated from archaeological sites suggest so. Gandhara art was embodied with powerful ideals of realism and aesthetic description of Hellenistic art. Gnadhara art is believed to reach its peak between 3rd -5th CE, when most of the current surviving figures and artworls were created. [Images (Left to Right): 1. Couple With Sea-Serpent ; 2. Goddess Nereid riding a Ketos Sea-Monster, 2nd BCE, Sirkap; 3. Apollo and Daphne; 4. Aphrodite at Her Bath; 5. Poseidon with His Attendants; 6. Mythological scene with Athena and Herakles; ] [Info and Image Credit: Greco-Buddhist_art, Wikipedia ; Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported and Public Domain Work of Art (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Source Image URLs : 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StonePaletteCoupleWithSeaSerpent.jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NereidAndKetos.JPG 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StonePaletteApolloAndDaphne.jpg 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IndoGreekAphrodite.JPG 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IndoGreekNeptune.JPG 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StonePaletteMythologicalScene.jpg ]
The Graeco-Indian Kingdom or the Indo-Greek Kingdom, also historically known in native terminology as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya) was Greek-Kingdom founded in the Hellenistic-era expanding over different parts of Afghanistan and the then northwest and northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The Empire was an eventual successor state following the invasion of Alexander and Greek Settlements in the region and flourished during the last 2 B.C. Era and had a dynasty of over Thirty Kings ruling during its span. During their rule Indo-Greek symbiosis took place in ideas as well as in languages and symbols. This period also lead the foundation of a cultural syncretism of ancient Greek Art and Buddhism and manifested into the Gandhra Art or Greco-Buddhist Art. The Kingdom was founded with the invasion of India by Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius (and later Eucratides) from Bactria in 200 BC. There was an eventual division between the Greeks in the Indian Subcontinent with the Graeco-Bactrians being centered on Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), and the Indo-Greeks in the then north-western Indian Subcontinent. Of all the Indo-Greek Kings, Menander (Milinda) was the most notable one. He ruled from his Cpaital City at Sakala in Punjab (modern-day Sialkot). In some way, the term Indo-Greek is often used in generic way with their traditional association with many regional Capital cities of Taxila (in modern day Punjab), Pushkalavati and Sagala. Geographia of Ptolemy and other names obtained related to the later Kings also suggest that a possible Theophila was also a Satrapal or Royal Seat of Power, located to the South of the Indo-Greek sphere of influence. [Images: 1) Seated Buddha in Hellenistic Style, found in Tapa Shotor, Afghanistan, 2nd C.E 2) A Buddhist Monument being Supported by the Titan Atlas, found in Tapa Shotor, Afghanistan 3) The Story of the Trojan Horse being depicted in the Gandhara Art. ] [Info and Image Credit :: Indo-Greek_Kingdom , Greco-Buddhist_art , Wikipedia ; Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 and Public Domain Work (Please Check Individual Image-URLs for All Usage Details) ] [Image URLs : 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tapa_Shotor_seated_Buddha_(Niche_V1).jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GandharanAtlas.JPG 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IndoGreeksTrojanHorse.jpg ]
Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranic civilization, being situated between Amu Darya and Syr Darya and was located in modern day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhastan and Kyrgyzstan. The Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great mentions Sogdia as one of the provinces of Achaemenid Empire. The province was first conquered by Cyrus the Great as a part of Achaemenid Empire. Sogdians also were subjects of Tang Dynasty of China between 7th to early 10th C.E and lived in Imperial China. Merchants and Politicians from Sogdiana travelled as far as Byzantine Empire. Sogdiana prehistorically was part of Bronze Age Civilization and later Indo-European migrants during Iron-Age came and formed the Andronovo-Culture. As part of Achaemenid Empire they were believed to be controlled by the nearby Satrapy or Governorship of Bactria. Up until 400 BC , till the rule of Artaxerxes II, Sogdiana believed to remain a part of Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great captured the Sogdiana Fortress namely The Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes 327 BC. Roxana, the daughter of Sogdian Nobleman Oxyartes who was kept safe in the same fortress, was married to Alexander in the same year following a magnificent feast celebration. Roxana would later become the mother of Alexander IV of Macedon. Three Cities in Asia Minor were later named after the Sogdian Wife Apama of Greek General Seleucus I Nicator. Sogdia then became a part of Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian Kingdom later got conquered first by Sakas and then the Yuezhi. Sasanian Empire of Iran later turned Sogdia as a Satrapy in 260 A.D. [Info and Image Credit : Sogdia , Wikipedia ; Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Sogdia.jpg ]
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent (most of modern Pakistan and parts of northwestern India). The rulers may have been members of the House of Suren, and the kingdom has even been called the "Suren Kingdom" by some authors. The kingdom was founded in 19 when the governor of Drangiana (Sakastan) Gondophares declared independence from the Parthian Empire. He would later make expeditions to the east, conquering territory from the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks, thus transforming his kingdom into an empire. The domains of the Indo-Parthians were greatly reduced following the invasions of the Kushans in the second half of the 1st. century. They managed to retain control of Sakastan, until its conquest by the Sasanian Empire in c. 224/5. In Baluchistan, the Paratarajas, a local Indo-Parthian dynasty, fell into the orbit of the Sasanian Empire circa 262 CE; The Indo-Parthians are noted for the construction of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Mardan, Pakistan. We do not know the religion of the House of Suren although we know they were in religious conflict with the Zoroastrian Arsacid Dynasty. However, they are thought to have retained Zoroastrianism, being of Iranian extraction themselves. This Iranian mythological system was inherited from them by the later Kushans who ruled from the Peshawar-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan; Coins of the Hindu deity Shiva have also been found issued in the reign of Gondophares I. (Credit: Indo-Parthian_Kingdom, Wiki) [Image 1. Devotees at Zoroastrian fire-altar, Indo-Parthian 2. Indo-Parthian King 3. Indo-Parthian Kingdom 50 CE. King 4. Ancient Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi constructed by the Indo-Parthians 5. The Hellenistic Fire-temple Jandial, Taxila]
Hera (/ˈhɛrə, ˈhɪərə/; Greek: Ἥρα, translit. Hḗrā; Ἥρη, Hḗrē in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of women, marriage, family and childbirth in ancient Greek religion and mythology, one of the twelve Olympians and the sister and wife of Zeus. She is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hera rules over Mount Olympus as queen of the gods. A matronly figure, Hera served as both the patroness and protectress of married women, presiding over weddings and blessing marital unions. One of Hera's defining characteristics is her jealous and vengeful nature against Zeus' numerous lovers and illegitimate offspring, as well as the mortals who cross her. Hera is commonly seen with the animals she considers sacred, including the cow, lion and the peacock. Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with the polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may hold a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. (Credit: Hera, Wikipedia) [Link: Image 1: Representative Artwork of Hera 2. Hera on an antique fresco from Pompeii 3. The Campana Hera, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic original, from the Louvre ]
The Academy of Gondishapur , also known as the Gondishapur University, was one of the three Sasanian centers of education (Ctesiphon, Resaina, Gundeshapur) and academy of learning in the city of Gundeshapur, Iran during late antiquity, the intellectual center of the Sasanian Empire. It offered education and training in medicine, philosophy, theology and science. The faculty were versed in Persian traditions. According to The Cambridge History of Iran, it was the most important medical center of the ancient world during the 6th and 7th centuries. In a.d. 489, the Nestorian Christian theological and scientific center in Edessa was ordered closed by the Byzantine emperor Zeno, and was transferred and absorbed into the School of Nisibis in Asia Minor, also known as Nisibīn, then under Persian rule. Here, Nestorian scholars, together with Hellenistic philosophers banished from Athens by Justinian in 529, carried out important research in medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. However, it was under the rule of the Sassanid emperor Khosrau I (a.d. 531-579), known to the Greeks and Romans as Chosroes, that Gondeshapur became known for medicine and learning. Khosrau I gave refuge to various Greek philosophers and Syriac-speaking Nestorian Christians fleeing religious persecution by the Byzantine empire.
Khosrau I also turned towards the east, and sent the physician Borzouye to invite Indian and Chinese scholars to Gondeshapur. These visitors translated Indian texts on astronomy, astrology, mathematics and medicine and Chinese texts on herbal medicine and religion. Borzouye is said to have himself translated the Pañcatantra from Sanskrit into Persian as Kalila u Dimana. (Credit: Academy_of_Gondishapur, Wikipedia) [Image: 1. Remains of the University in the ancient city of Gundeshapur 2. Artwork of Borzūya 3. Derafsh Kaviami (State Flag of Sassani Empire) 4. Simurgh (imperial emblem) of Sassanis ]
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent (parts of modern Pakistan and northwestern India), which existed during the last two centuries BC and was ruled by over 30 kings, Menander being the most illustrious and successful The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius (and later Eucratides) invaded India from Bactria in 200 BC. The Greeks in the Indian Subcontinent were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrians centered on Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), and the Indo-Greeks in the present-day north-western Indian Subcontinent. The most famous Indo-Greek ruler was Menander (Milinda). He had his capital at Sakala in the Punjab (present-day Sialkot). The expression "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of various dynastic polities, traditionally associated with a number of regional capitals like Taxila, (modern Punjab (Pakistan)), Pushkalavati and Sagala. Other potential centers are only hinted at; for instance, Ptolemy's Geographia and the nomenclature of later kings suggest that a certain Theophila in the south of the Indo-Greek sphere of influence may also have been a satrapal or royal seat at one time. (Credit: Indo-Greek_Kingdom, Wikipedia) (Image-Description: The Story of the Trojan Horse was depicted in the art of Gandhara )
Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BCE and the fifth century CE in Bactria (parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and the Gandhara (parts of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). Gautama Buddha in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st–2nd century CE, Gandhara (Peshawar basin, modern day Pakistan). (Credit: Wikipedia, Greco-Buddhism) (Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhara_Buddha_(tnm).jpeg ) #Buddhism#GrecoBuddhism#Hellenism#Greek#India#Greece#Gandhara
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