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Arachosia

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For the spider genus, seeArachosia (spider).
Arachosia
𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁(Harauvatiš)
Ἀραχωσία(Arachōsíā)
Satrapy
Map of the easternmost Persian satrapies, including Arachosia
Map of the easternmost Persian satrapies, including Arachosia
EmpireAchaemenid Persia
Depiction of Arachosianmagicarrying various gifts and animals for ritual sacrifice atPersepolis

Arachosia(/ærəˈkoʊsiə/;Greek:ἈραχωσίαArachōsíā), orHarauvatis(Old Persian:𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁Harauvatiš), was asatrapyof theAchaemenid Empire.[1][2]Mainly centred around theArghandab River,[3]a tributary of theHelmand River,it extended as far east as theIndus River.[4][5]The satrapy's Persian-language name is the etymological equivalent ofSárasvatīinVedic Sanskrit.[1]In Greek, the satrapy's name was derived fromArachōtós,the Greek-language name for the Arghandab River.[1]Around 330 BCE,Alexander the Greatcommissioned the building ofAlexandria Arachosiaas Arachosia's new capital city under theMacedonian Empire.It was built on top of an earlier Persian military fortress afterAlexander's conquest of Persia,and is the site of today'sKandaharinAfghanistan.[1]

Etymology

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Map showing the Arachosian satrapy and thePactyan people(500 BCE)

"Arachosia" is theLatinized form of GreekἈραχωσία(Arachōsíā). "The same region appears in theAvestanVidēvdāt(1.12) under the indigenous dialect form 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬓𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬍‎Haraxvaitī- (whose-axva-is typical non-Avestan). "[6]InOld Persianinscriptions, the region is referred to as𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁,writtenh(a)-r(a)-u-v(a)-t-i.[6]This form is the "etymological equivalent" ofVedic SanskritSarasvatī-,the name of a river literally meaning "rich in waters/lakes" and derived fromsáras-"lake, pond."[6](cf.Aredvi Sura Anahita).

"Arachosia" was named after the name of a river that runs through it, known inancient Greekas theArachōtósand today as theArghandab River,a left-bank tributary of theHelmand River.[6]

Geography

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Arachosia bordered onDrangianato the west, on theParopamisadaeto the north,Hindushto the east, andGedrosiato the south.[7]Isidore andPtolemy(6.20.4-5) each provide a list of cities in Arachosia, among them (yet another)Alexandria,which lay on the river Arachotus. This city is frequently misidentified with present-dayKandaharin Afghanistan, the name of which was thought to be derived (via "Iskanderiya" ) from "Alexandria",[8]reflecting a connection toAlexander the Great's visit to the city on hiscampaign towards India.But a recent discovery of an inscription on a clay tablet has provided proof that 'Kandahar' was already a city that traded actively with Persia well before Alexander's time. Isidore,Strabo(11.8.9) andPliny(6.61) also refer to the city as "metropolis of Arachosia."[citation needed]

In his list, Ptolemy also refers to a city named Arachotus (English:Arachote/ˈærəkoʊt/;Greek:Ἀραχωτός) or Arachoti (acc. toStrabo), which was the earlier capital of the land.Pliny the ElderandStephen of Byzantiummention that its original name was Cophen (Κωφήν).Hsuan Tsangrefers to the name asKaofu.[9]This city is identified today withArghandabwhich lies northwest of present-day Kandahar.

History

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Further information:History of Croatia
According to Roman historianArrian,Greek explorerMegastheneslived inAlexandropolis(nowKandahar, Afghanistan), from where he travelled toPataliputra(nowPatna, India) in theMauryan Empire,to be received at the court ofChandragupta Maurya.

The region is first referred to in theAchaemenid-eraElamitePersepolis fortification tablets. It appears again in theOld Persian,AkkadianandAramaicinscriptions ofDarius IandXerxes Iamong lists of subject peoples and countries. It is subsequently also identified as the source of the ivory used in Darius' palace at Susa. In theBehistun inscription(DB 3.54-76), the King recounts that aPersianwas thrice defeated by the Achaemenid governor of Arachosia, Vivana, who so ensured that the province remained under Darius' control. It has been suggested that this "strategically unintelligible engagement" was ventured by the rebel because "there were close relations betweenPersiaand Arachosia concerning the Zoroastrian faith. "[6]

Alexander the Greatwith Greek troops in Arachosia (329 BCE)

The chronologically next reference to Arachosia comes from the Greeks and Romans, who record that underDarius IIIthe Arachosians and Drangians were under the command of a governor who, together with the army of the Bactrian governor, contrived a plot of the Arachosians againstAlexander(Curtius Rufus8.13.3). Following Alexander's conquest of the Achaemenids, the Macedonian appointed his generals as governors (Arrian 3.28.1, 5.6.2; Curtius Rufus 7.3.5; Plutarch, Eumenes 19.3; Polyaenus 4.6.15; Diodorus 18.3.3; Orosius 3.23.1 3; Justin 13.4.22). In 316 BCEAntigonus I Monophthalmussent most of the eliteArgyraspides,a veteran Macedonian corps with over forty years experience, to Arachosia to protect the Eastern frontier with India. However they were sent with the order toSibyrtius,the Macedonian satrap of Arachosia, to dispatch them by small groups of two or three to dangerous missions so that their numbers would rapidly dwindle and remove them as a military threat to his power.

Following theWars of the Diadochi,the region became part of theSeleucid Empire,which traded it to theMauryan Empirein 305 BCE as part of an alliance. TheShunga dynastyoverthrew the Mauryans in 185 BC, but shortly afterwards lost Arachosia to theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom.It then became part of the break-awayIndo-Greek Kingdomin the mid 2nd century BCE.Indo-Scythiansexpelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BCE, but lost the region to theArsacidsandIndo-Parthians.At what time (and in what form) Parthian rule over Arachosia was reestablished cannot be determined with any authenticity. From Isidore 19 it is certain that a part (perhaps only a little) of the region was under Arsacid rule in the 1st century CE, and that the Parthians called itIndikē Leukē,"White India."[10]

TheKushanscaptured Arachosia from the Indo-Parthians and ruled the region until around 230 CE, when they were defeated by theSassanids,the second Persian Empire, after which the Kushans were replaced by Sassanid vassals known as theKushanshasorIndo-Sassanids.In 420 CE the Kushanshas were driven out of present Afghanistan by theChionites,who established theKidarite Kingdom.TheKidariteswere replaced in the 460s CE by theHephthalites,who were defeated in 565 CE by a coalition of Persian and Turkish armies. Arachosia became part of the survivingKushano-HephthaliteKingdoms ofKapisa,thenKabul,before coming under attack from the Moslem Arabs. These kingdoms were at first vassals of Sassanids. Around 870 CE the Kushano-Hephthalites (aka Turkshahi Dynasty) was replaced by theSaffarids,then theSamanid Empireand Muslim TurkishGhaznavidsin the early 11th century CE.

Arab geographers referred to the region (or parts of it) as 'Arokhaj', 'Rokhaj', 'Rohkaj' or simply 'Roh'.

Inhabitants

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Further information:Pashtun people
15th-century reconstruction by German cartographerNicolaus Germanusof a 2nd-century map by Roman geographerPtolemy,depicting Arachosia and surrounding satrapies
Relief atNaqsh-e Rostam,on the tomb ofXerxes I,depicting an Arachosian soldier of theAchaemenid army(c. 470 BCE)

The inhabitants of Arachosia wereIranian peoples,and were referred to asArachosiansorArachoti.[6]They were calledPactyansin reference to their individual ethnicity, and that name may have been in reference to the modern-day ethnic group known as thePashtuns.[11]

Isidore of Charax,in his 1st-century CE "Parthian stations" itinerary, described an "Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia", which he said was stillGreekeven at such a late time:

"Beyond is Arachosia. And theParthianscall thisWhite India;there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus. As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians. "

— Isidore of Charax, Parthians stations, 1st century CE. Original text in paragraph 19 ofParthian stations

A theory of Croatian origintraces the origin of the Croatsto the area of Arachosia. This connection was at first drawn due to the similarity of Croatian (Croatia-Croatian:Hrvatska, Croats - Croatian:Hrvati/Čakavian dialect:Harvati /Kajkavian dialect:Horvati) and Arachosian name,[12][13]but other researches indicate that there are also linguistic, cultural, agrobiological and genetic ties.[14][15]Since Croatia became an independent state in 1991, the Iranian theory gained more popularity, and many scientific papers and books have been published.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abcdFoundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica (14 May 2022)."Arachosia".iranicaonline.org.
  2. ^Inc, IBP (1 August 2013).Afghanistan Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments.Lulu. p. 62.ISBN978-1-4387-7372-8.{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help)
  3. ^Howard, Michael C. (10 January 2014).Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel.McFarland. p. 41.ISBN978-0-7864-9033-2.... Arachosia (modern Arghandab district in Afghanistan and neighboring areas of southeastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan).
  4. ^Becking, Bob (4 August 2020).Identity in Persian Egypt: The Fate of the Yehudite Community of Elephantine.Penn State Press. p. 13.ISBN978-1-64602-074-4.Arachosia is a mountainous area in which is now the border territory between Afghanistan and Pakistan...
  5. ^Samad, Rafi U. (2011).The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys.Algora Publishing. p. 46.ISBN978-0-87586-858-5.Arachosia, covering an area from Kandahar and Quetta to the western bank of the Indus, shared its northern boundary with Gandhara.
  6. ^abcdefSchmitt, Rüdiger (10 August 2011)."Arachosia".Encyclopædia Iranica.United States.{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica."Arachosia".iranicaonline.org.Retrieved14 May2022.According to Ptolemy 6.20.1 (cf. Strabo 15.2.9), Arachosia bordered on Drangiana in the west, on the Paropamisadae (i.e., the satrapy of Gandāra) in the north, on a part of India in the east, and on Gedrosia (or, according to Pliny, Natural History 6.92, on the Dexendrusi) in the south; Ptolemy also mentions (6.20.3) several tribes of Arachosia by name—the Parsyetae, and, to the south, the Sydri, Rhoplutae, and Eoritae.
  8. ^Lendering, Jona."Alexandria in Arachosia".Amsterdam: livius.org. Archived fromthe originalon 15 June 2010.Retrieved26 March2020..
  9. ^Mookerji, Radhakumud (1966).Chandragupta Maurya and his times(4 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 173.ISBN978-81-208-0405-0.Retrieved18 September2010.
  10. ^The Greeks in Bactria and India.Cambridge University Press. 24 June 2010.ISBN978-1-108-00941-6.Retrieved31 December2007.
  11. ^Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor (1987).E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936.Vol. 2. BRILL. p. 150.ISBN90-04-08265-4.Retrieved24 September2010.
  12. ^"Identity of Croatians in Ancient Afghanistan".iranchamber..
  13. ^Kalyanaraman, Srinivasan."Sarasvati Civilization Volume 1".Bangalore: Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smarak Samiti. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2013.Retrieved8 September2017.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help).
  14. ^Budimir/Rac, Stipan/Mladen (1999)."Anthropogenic and agrobiological arguments of the scientific origin of Croats".Staroiransko Podrijetlo Hrvata: Zbornik Simpozija.Zagreb: Staroiransko podrijetlo Hrvata: zbornik simpozija / Lovrić, Andrija-Željko (ed). - Teheran: Iranian Cultural Center: 71..
  15. ^Abbas, Samar."Common Origin of Croats, Serbs and Jats".Bhubaneshwar: iranchamber..
  16. ^Beshevliev 1967: "Iranian elements in the Proto-Bulgarians" by V. Beshevliev (in Bulgarian)(Antichnoe Obschestvo, Trudy Konferencii po izucheniyu problem antichnosti, str. 237-247, Izdatel'stvo "Nauka", Moskva 1967, AN SSSR, Otdelenie Istorii)http://members.tripod /~Groznijat/fadlan/besh.html
  17. ^Dvornik 1956: "The Slavs. Their Early History and Civilization." by F. Dvornik, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, USA., 1956.
  18. ^Hina 2000: "Scholars assert Croats are Descendants of Iranian Tribes", Hina News Agency, Zagreb, Oct 15, 2000 (http:// hina.hr)
  19. ^Sakac 1949: "Iranisehe Herkunft des kroatischen Volksnamens", ( "Iranian origin of the Croatian Ethnonym" ) S. Sakac, Orientalia Christiana Periodica. XV (1949), 813-340.
  20. ^Sakac 1955: "The Iranian origin of the Croatians according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus", by S. Sakac, in "The Croatian nation in its struggle for freedom and independence" (Chicago, 1955); for other works by Sakac, cf. "Prof. Dr. Stjepan Krizin Sakac - In memoriam" by Milan Blazekovic,http:// studiacroatica /revistas/050/0500501.htmArchived2011-09-28 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Schmitt 1985: "Iranica Proto-Bulgarica" (in German), Academie Bulgare des Sciences, Linguistique Balkanique, XXVIII (1985), l, p.13-38;http://members.tripod /~Groznijat/bulgar/schmitt.html
  22. ^Tomicic 1998: "The old-Iranian origin of Croats", Symposium proceedings, Zagreb 24.6.1998, ed. Prof. Zlatko Tomicic & Andrija-Zeljko Lovric, Cultural center of I.R. of Iran in Croatia, Zagreb, 1999,ISBN953-6301-07-5,"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 December 2006.Retrieved13 June2011.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^Vernadsky 1952: "Der sarmatische Hintergrund der germanischen Voelkerwanderung," (Sarmatian background of the Germanic Migrations), G. Vernadsky, Saeculum, II (1952), 340-347.

References

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  • Frye, Richard N. (1963).The Heritage of Persia.World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966.
  • Hill, John E. 2004.The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.Draft annotated English translation.
  • Hill, John E. 2004.The Peoples of the West from the WeilueNgụy lượcby Yu HuanCá hoạn:A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.Draft annotated English translation.
  • Hill, John E. (2009)Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE.BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina.ISBN978-1-4392-2134-1.
  • Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961).Between Oxus and Jumna.London. Oxford University Press.
  • Vogelsang, W. (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West."Iranica antiqua,20 (1985), pp. 55–99.
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