Bactria, Land of a Thousand Cities

Leriche, Pierre

doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197263846.003.0006

Cited by 19 publications

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“…The strongest evidence of these influences is found in Ancient Bactria, the historical region comprising both sides of the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) in the present‐day territories of southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan (Figure ). The Seleucids, successors of Alexander, took control of the region, founding many settlements at strategic points along the routes linking Bactria with India and onwards to the Caspian Sea (Leriche, ). In the mid‐3rd century B.C., the satrap of Bactria, Diodotus, declared himself king and founded the Greco‐Bactrian kingdom.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Hellenistic to nomadic cultural patterns through pottery in ancient Termez, Uzbekistan

et al. 2018

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We present the archaeological contextualization and the archaeometric characterization of slipped and nonslipped tableware and common wares from Termez in south Uzbekistan. The aims are, first, to evaluate the manufacture of pottery in the city and region (ancient Bactria) after the conquest of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century B.C. so as to detect Hellenistic Mediterranean influences, and, second, to investigate the evolution in pottery manufacturing following the arrival of the Yuezhi nomadic tribes in the mid‐2nd century B.C. X‐ray fluorescence, X‐ray diffraction, and thin‐section analyses were performed on vessels and on various local raw materials to examine the provenance and the technological processes involved in production (raw materials procurement and processing, shaping, and firing). Surface treatments were analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometer. The study reveals that all the analyzed wares are local/regional wheel‐thrown products, suggesting a high degree of technological standardization in the procurement and processing of raw materials in the period considered. The main difference between the two pottery traditions concerns the shape of the vessels, pointing to new consumption patterns after the nomadic invasion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Hellenistic to nomadic cultural patterns through pottery in ancient Termez, Uzbekistan

et al. 2018

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“…(a)). Historically, Termez was one of the great centres of ancient Bactria and one of the main capitals of the Kushan Empire (from the mid‐first century bc to the mid‐third century ad ), located at an intersection of many intercontinental routes leading to the Silk Road (Leriche , , , ; Leriche and Piaev , ) and became an important religious city during the second half of the first century ad , when Buddhist worship spread into southern Central Asia. The existence of several monastic complexes, such as Kara Tepe, Fayaz Tepe and Tchingiz Tepe, located on the right bank of the Amu Darya river (the ancient Oxus ) and spaced in a 1 km ratio distance, along with other cultic structures, such as the big stupa of Zurmala, the architectural elements found at Dunye Tepe and the cave cells recovered at the north‐eastern area of the ancient Citadel, clearly confirms the existence of Buddhist cultic spaces inside and outside the city walls (Abdullaev ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pottery Production in the Buddhist Communities in Central Asia: The Kushan-Sassanian Pottery Workshop of Kara Tepe (Termez, Uzbekistan)

et al. 2015

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We present the first full archaeometrical study of Kushan‐Sassanian pottery from the Buddhist monastic complexes at Kara Tepe (Termez, Uzbekistan), recovered both in the pottery workshop and in the monastery, using a combination of analytical methods (XRF, XRD, SEM–EDS and OM). The study allowed the identification of the reference group, the correspondent fabric, the raw materials used for its productions, some of the technological processes involved in manufacture and several weathering processes. All the results confirm that the kiln was supplying the religious community of the monastery with pottery, made using local raw materials, and highlight the possibility that the kiln could have supplied the nearby monastic complexes, where no kilns have been found. Further archaeological evidence indicates the existence of specialized potters working itinerantly at the broader Bactrian area.

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“…At mid‐second century bc , the city endured the territory's occupation by the nomadic Yuezhi tribes (called Tocharians by the Greek sources), which brought an end to the Greco‐Bactrian kingdom. However, Kampyr Tepe remained inhabited and underwent major expansion during the Early Kushan period (from the latter half of the first century bc ), to which most of the current visible structures correspond, and was finally abandonned at the end of Kanishka's kingdom at mid‐second century ad (Leriche ; Rtveladze ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tableware in the Hellenistic Tradition from the City of Kampyr Tepe in Ancient Bactria (Uzbekistan)

et al. 2015

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Slipped and unslipped wares from Kampyr Tepe dated to the Hellenistic–Seleucid and Greco‐Bactrian periods stylistically resemble tableware from the Greek tradition. Since two pottery workshops have been recovered at the site, the aim is to shed light on the provenance and the production and consumption patterns of the tableware, as well as on the degree of technological influence from Hellenistic–Mediterranean traditions. The archaeometric characterization, consisting of thin‐section petrography, XRF, XRD and SEM–EDS analysis, was performed on 44 wares and three unfired locally made pondera, which were used as reference local elemental patterns. The study demonstrated the local origin of most of the wares, which were produced using a similar clay paste, following standardized techniques in modelling and firing, while surface treatments appear to be more diversified.

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Bactria, Land of a Thousand Cities

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Assessing Hellenistic to nomadic cultural patterns through pottery in ancient Termez, Uzbekistan

Assessing Hellenistic to nomadic cultural patterns through pottery in ancient Termez, Uzbekistan

Pottery Production in the Buddhist Communities in Central Asia: The Kushan-Sassanian Pottery Workshop of Kara Tepe (Termez, Uzbekistan)

Tableware in the Hellenistic Tradition from the City of Kampyr Tepe in Ancient Bactria (Uzbekistan)

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