There’s a place beyond the sandy deserts, partially enclosed by mountains, where sits the crossroads of cultures that stretches back thousands of years. A place known for its stunning beauty, rich pottery, and vibrant textiles. A place most westerners have never heard of. This crossroad of civilizations is increasingly opening its doors to the outside world. Located north of the Hindu Kush mountains, corresponding to modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan are two regions we turn our attention to.
Long before these former Soviet states were formed, two Eastern Iranians ethnic groups developed a culture as significant as any other in antiquity. Bactria, a region encompassing modern northern Afghanistan and southern Uzbekistan and Sogdiana, a region centered around Samarkand and Bukhara, developed into fragmented, yet prosperous areas. It is to Bactria that we shift our attention to first.
Known from ancient texts as the “land of a thousand cities,” Bactria benefited from the fertile valleys created by the Oxus (Amu Darya) River and its tributaries. The prosperity fostered a trade network with not just local tribes, but to India and Mesopotamia as well. Even after the region’s conquest by Persia’s Cyrus the Great, the region kept much of its cultural and ethnic identity.
Like the Persians, they too practiced Zoroastrianism and fire temples were almost certainly present. The region became a strategic satrapy on Persia’s northeastern border. They were known for their elite cavalry, Central Asia being a well known hub of elite horsemanship.
It was this backdrop that would set the stage for future conquest and blending of cultures that would give rise to the Silk Road. As the area becomes more accessible to the outside world, now is the time to incorporate the region’s rich cultural legacy to not just better understand the past, but to teach students how to forge new relationships in the future.
Happy teaching,
Ryan Wagoner
The Lyceum of History
“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” ~Alexander the Great
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