| The task of this dissertation is to prove that there is sufficient evidence to include the ancient country of Sogdiana within the sphere of the Hellenistic world. It is proposed that the center of this country was Samarkand or Bukhara. In order to establish Sogdiana's place within the composition of the Greek world, it is necessary to show a direct correlation between the political demise of Seleucid dynastic claims over the eastern Iranian plateau and the emergence of the independent kingdoms of Parthia and Bactria. This involves a re-examination of the traditional literary and numismatic data which have been used to characterize the early history of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom up to the reign of Euthydemus. We shall also consider the impact of the Seleucid and Parthian kingdoms on the Greek kingdom of Bactria.;Our discussion takes into consideration additional numismatic evidence from Transoxiana which has generally been overlooked, but which is by no means insignificant. This involves two series of early Sogdian issues: silver coins with a bridled "horned" horse reverse type and their counterparts in bronze, and a recently discovered bronze coin with standard Euthydemid types but which does not contain Euthydemus' name in its Aramaic legend. We propose that these coins, particularly the former, were minted under Euthydemus when he governed Sogdiana.;These considerations have allowed us to conclude that Euthydemus reigned from c. 221 B.C.E. to c. 196-191 (?) B.C.E. Moreover, it appears that Euthydemus, prior to his usurpation of the Graeco-Bactrian throne from Diodotus II (after c. 236/before 229/8-c. 221 B.C.E.), ruled Sogdiana. It is proposed that Euthydemus chose the Seleucid "horned" horse reverse type, because it was intended to curry the favor of the Sogdians by associating himself with Antiochus I for reasons of propaganda.;Thus, one aspect of the early history of the Greeks in the Further East is clarified. However, the extent to which Sogdiana was directly hellenized by Euthydemus and his successors must await further evidence from Samarkand and Bukhara, as well as from other sites yet to be determined. Nevertheless, it is clear that we may now include a Graeco-Sogdian kingdom within the Hellenistic world proper. |
