Ancient City of Ai-Khanoum: History and Excavation

• The city was founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire.

• The city served as a military and economic centre for the rulers of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom until its destruction c. 145 BC.

• The ruins of the city were excavated by a French team of archaeologists until the onset of conflict in Afghanistan in the late 1970s.

• Hellenistic culture in the region would persist longer only in the Indo-Greek kingdoms.

• The onset of the Soviet-Afghan War in the late 1970s halted scholarly progress, and during the following conflicts in Afghanistan, the site was extensively looted.

• After the Seleucid–Mauryan war, Seleucus ceded the Indus Valley to Chandragupta Maurya, in return for a pact of friendship and 500 war elephants; he thus sought the sustained economic and military development of Bactria, which was now the headquarters of the Seleucids in the East.

• Under his successor Antiochus II, who came to the throne in 261 BC, the mint continued to strike valuable coins, and the ramparts were bolstered with a buttress and brick linings.

• The city's development was greatly slowed when Diodotus I, governor of the eastern provinces, seceded from the Seleucids and founded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

• Although Ai-Khanoum's temple and sanctuary were reconstructed under Diodotus, possibly to enhance religious legitimacy, most Seleucid construction programmes were not continued.

• Bertille Lyonnet theorizes that during this time Ai-Khanoum was merely "a military stronghold with administrative functions".

• Ai-Khanoum was an ancient city in what is now Afghanistan

• The city was abandoned by its inhabitants in the 2nd century AD

• In 1961, the city was rediscovered by the King of Afghanistan and the French Archaeological Delegation

• The excavation was led by Daniel Schlumberger and then by Paul Bernard

• The excavation revealed that the city was abandoned in the 2nd century AD and that its inhabitants were probably Saka tribes

• The excavation also revealed that the city was once a major center of Hellenistic culture

• The abandonment of the city was probably due to invasions by Saka tribes and a fire

• The city of Ai-Khanoum was founded on the southwest corner of a triangular plain in the region of Bactria.

• The plain was naturally suitable for agriculture and the city was built near the banks of the Oxus and Kokcha rivers.

• The city was strategically important and its founders built it to a high defensive standard.

• There were mines on the upper Kokcha in Badakshan which were the only sources of lapis lazuli in the world.

• The city was protected by a natural acropolis, a small citadel, and cliffs on two sides.

• Eastward approaches to the city were protected by a natural acropolis.

Explore the history and excavation of the ancient city of Ai-Khanoum, which was a significant center of Hellenistic culture. Learn about its foundation, strategic importance, and the findings from the archaeological excavations.