The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia

by Rachel Mairs

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s conquests in the late fourth century B.C., Greek garrisons and settlements were established across Central Asia, through Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan) and into India. Over the next three hundred years, these settlements evolved into multiethnic, multilingual communities as much Greek as they were indigenous. To explore the lives and identities of the inhabitants of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, Rachel Mairs marshals a variety of evidence, from archaeology, to coins, to documentary and historical texts. Looking particularly at the great city of Ai Khanoum, the only extensively excavated Hellenistic period urban site in Central Asia, Mairs explores how these ancient people lived, communicated, and understood themselves. Significant and original, The Hellenistic Far East will highlight Bactrian studies as an important part of our understanding of the ancient world.

Genres: History, Greece, Archaeology, Nonfiction, India

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise and informative treatise on Hellenistic Bactria and areas beyond, with the question of ethnic identity looming at the center of all discussions. This is the one book that really got me hooked on ancient Bactria, the dreamy "land of a thousand cities" sitting at the crossroads of Eurasia. While I was duly aware that the old, Hellenocentric interpretation of the Greco-Bactrians was obsolete, I did not really possess a clear understanding on how ethnic identities worked in the diverse world of Hellenistic Far East until I came to this work. For someone with an adequate amount of background knowledge and decent exposure to classical ethnography, this book serves as a good introductory guide to Hellenistic Bactria.

[tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mairs presents a complex and extensive survey of a much neglected subject (at least in the Anglophone world). I was surprised by how much information she was able to stuff into this slim little volume, but she does a wonderful job of treating a variety of sources, both literary and material culture alike.

Read on the recommendation of a professor.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very indepth review of hellenistic far eats using Ai Khanoum as a reference. The author focused on what remains the same (irrigation, governing structure) and what changes (greek architecture) in the hellenic far east, and also gave us an idea of what kind of cultural identity might prevail in that interesting place and time.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mairs' work is a wonderful examination of the scholarship of the Hellenistic East, embracing theories like cultural hybridity. This is a must read for those interested in the history and archaeology of both the “classical" world and Central Asia.