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Graveyard of Empires...Or Cauldron of Civilizations?

It's a little late for the "fact-check" on this one, but it's always been slightly irritating that when the perils of Western military involvement in Afghanistan are being discussed, Alexander the Great is usually cited as the earliest example for the ungovernability and instability of the region...the earliest instance of Afghanistan as the "graveyard of empires"...True, Alexander's empire did not long survive the conqueror's death, but then again, that does not really say anything about Bactria's resistance to foreign occupation.  One might as well take the same time period as a lesson about the resistance of Greeks to foreign conquest, or the resistance of glory-seeking military commanders to being governed by other glory-seeking military commanders...

A recent article in Victoria's Times-Colonist [thanks to rogueclassicism] provides a somewhat more detailed account of the efforts of colonization that continued past Alexander's death:

...Alexander established or re-established cities bearing his name across the lands through which he marched. One of those Alexandrias we know today as Kandahar.

...

Some of his Greek warriors settled there, and established theatres and wine-houses. Greek-style democracy, with its freedoms, took hold in some cities where peace could be assured and the honour of defeated enemies could be trusted....

(Along with some bizarre statements that betray a lack of understanding of history, especially considering that the focus is supposed to be Afghanistan here:  "Alexander's order, of course, didn't survive long after his death. His empire was broken up; Greek-style democracy where it existed was stamped out eventually by Roman conquerors"--and some material that could provide grist for a discussion of "glory" vs. "honor" in ancient and modern times:  "It wasn't honour that forced George W. Bush as commander-in-chief to send American troops to Afghanistan, and it's not honour that has forced Barack Obama to reinforce them. Terror started this enterprise; fear keeps it going.")

But the real "sticks-in-the-craw" misunderstanding is that no one ever seems to know about the Greco-Bactrian kingdom that existed long after Alexander himself...even though material about it is freely available on the internet:

When the dust of revolt settled in 312 BCE, Bactria was part of the Hellenistic empire belonging to one of Alexander's generals by the name of Seleucus. Though part of the Seleucid Empire, Bactria experienced some degree of sovereignty with its own governor and it had a strong economy of its own, even minting local coins.

...

As more cities were founded, the Greek population of Bactria grew. Waves of immigration from the Mediterranean filled the new urban centres, which closely resembled those of Greece proper. Though a frontier, Afghanistan was not wilderness.

...

The strong local economy of Bactria eventually allowed a local governor, Diodotus, to take the power of rule. He proclaimed himself king of Bactria circa 250 BCE, though it is uncertain if he did so by buying himself an army of revolutionaries or by simply controlling enough wealth that the descendents of Seleucus did not wish to anger him by protesting.

Out of unstable conditions and the ambitions of powerful men emerged thus the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. And in that state of flux the kingdom remained for its entire century of existence.

Thus, certainly a region that enjoyed and prized local autonomy, but not one that was simply a place where Greek / Macedonian imperialistic efforts were doomed to failure.  For more, see F. L. Holt, Thundering Zeus:  the Making of Hellenistic Bactria (1999)--from which a few sentences are particularly apt:

Yet this state came to rival in size and significance all others of its day, including Antigonid Macedonia, Ptolemaic Egypt, and Attalid Pergamon...The thought of great Greek cities in those sandy wastes boggles the modern mind, but in antiquity this diverse land yielded through irrigation a myriad of grains, grapes, pistachios, and other products...Through bitter winters and blazing summers, generations of adventurous Greeks won their living from this land...Bactria therefore exemplifies fully the character and achievement of the Hellenistic Age, that remarkable but risky legacy of Alexander's last breath at Babylon.

But that's less of a cautionary tale, I guess...

January 10, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

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