Ancient City of Ai-Khanoum in Afghanistan

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Questions and Answers

Seleucus I Nicator or his son Antiochus I Soter ordered the founding of Ai-Khanoum in ______.

the late 4th century BC

The city of Ai-Khanoum was strategically important due to its location at the confluence of ______ rivers.

two

The city was protected by steep cliffs on ______ sides and a small moat on the third.

three

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Study Notes

  • Ai-Khanoum was a Hellenistic city in Afghanistan that was founded by an official acting on the orders of Seleucus I Nicator or his son Antiochus I Soter.

  • The city lost some importance through the secession of the Greco-Bactrians under Diodotus I.

  • Seleucid construction programmes were halted, and the city probably became primarily military in function; it may have been a conflict zone during the invasion of Antiochus III.

  • Ai-Khanoum began to grow once more under Euthydemus I and his successor Demetrius I, who began to assert control over the northwest Indian subcontinent.

  • Many of the present ruins date from the time of Eucratides I.

  • Soon after his death c. 145 BC, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom collapsed—Ai-Khanoum was captured by Saka invaders and was generally abandoned, although parts of the city were sporadically occupied until the 2nd century AD.

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

  • Ai-Khanoum was founded by the Achaemenids in the late 4th century BC.

  • It became a major city under the Seleucids, with a mint and a temple.

  • The city's development was slowed when the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was founded.

  • The Seleucid emperor Antiochus III invaded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in 209 BC, but was unsuccessful.

  • Ai-Khanoum was not attacked by the invaders.

  • The Seleucid emperor Antiochus III invaded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in 261 BC, but was unsuccessful.

  • Diodotus I, governor of the eastern provinces, seceded from the Seleucids and founded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

  • Under Diodotus, the temple and sanctuary were reconstructed, but 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 the capital of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

  • The city prospered during the rule of Eucratides I.

  • The city was reoccupied by nomadic tribes in the 2nd century AD.

  • The final inhabitants of Ai-Khanoum abandoned the city around 2nd century AD.

  • John Wood was the first European to rediscover the site in 1838.

  • The French Archaeological Delegation led the excavation of the site in 1961.

  • The site was excavated easily because it had never been resettled.

  • The excavation revealed that the city was once prosperous.

  • The city of Ai-Khanoum was founded on a triangular plain in the region of Bactria, at the confluence of the Oxus and Kokcha rivers.

  • The city was strategically important due to its location at the confluence of two major rivers and its strong defensive capabilities.

  • The founders of the city built Ai-Khanoum to a high defensive standard, with strong walls and a natural acropolis.

  • Ai-Khanoum was located 10 kilometers downstream from the confluence of the Oxus and Qizilsu, a tributary whose valley provided access to the mineral-rich Western Pamirs and Chinese Turkestan.

  • The city was protected by steep cliffs on three sides and a small moat on the third.

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