Ai-Khanoum in the context of "Greco-Bactrian"

The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (Greek: Βασιλεία τῆς Βακτριανῆς, romanized: Basileía tês Baktrianês, lit. 'Kingdom of Bactria') was a Greek kingdom during the Hellenistic period located in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The kingdom was founded by the Seleucid satrap Diodotus I Soter in about 256 BC, and continued to dominate Central Asia until its fall around 120 BC. At its peak the kingdom consisted of present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and for a short time, small parts of Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India and Iran. An extension further east, with military campaigns and settlements, may have reached the borders of the Qin State in China by about 230 BC.

A Greek population was already present in Bactria by the 5th century BC. Alexander the Great had conquered the region by 327 BC, founding many cities, most of them named Alexandria, and further settling Macedonians and other Greeks. After the death of Alexander, control of Bactria passed on to his general Seleucus I Nicator. The fertility and the prosperity of the region led to the creation of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom under Diodotus by the early 3rd century BC, as a successor state of the Seleucid Empire. The Bactrian Greeks grew increasingly more powerful and invaded north-western India between 190 and 180 BC under king Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus. This invasion led to the creation of the Indo-Greek kingdom, which in turn was a successor to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, and was subsequently ruled by the kings Pantaleon and Apollodotus I. Historical records indicate that many rich and prosperous cities were present in the kingdom, but only a few of them have been excavated, such as Ai-Khanoum and Bactra. The city of Ai-Khanoum, in north-eastern Afghanistan, had all the hallmarks of a true Hellenistic city with a Greek theater, gymnasium and some houses with colonnaded courtyards.

A heroön or heroon (plural heroa) (/hɪˈroʊ.ɒn/; Ancient Greek: ἡρῷον, romanized: hērôion, pl. ἡρῷα, hērôia), also Latinized as heroum, is a shrine dedicated to an ancient Greek or Roman hero and used for the commemoration or cult worship of the hero. They were often erected over their supposed tomb or cenotaph. They were erected from the time of archaic Greece to the Augustan Roman period, and as far afield as Ai-Khanoum in Afghanistan.

Tapa Shotor, also Tape Shotor or Tapa-e-shotor ("Camel Hill"), was a large Sarvastivadin monastery near Hadda, Afghanistan, and is now an archaeological site. According to archaeologist Raymond Allchin, the site of Tapa Shotor suggests that the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara descended directly from the art of Hellenistic Bactria, as seen in Ai-Khanoum.

In 1992, the Taliban looted and then set Tapa Shotor on fire.

Jules Barthoux or Jules Couyat-Barthoux (1881-1965) was a French geologist and archaeologist born in Etroussat in 1881. He excavated the sites of Bagram, Hadda and Ai-Khanoum in Afghanistan, as part of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA), between 1925 and 1928. He died in 1965 in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, in Paris, France.

He and Pierre Montet worked in Cairo together in 1911.

Paul Bernard (13 June 1929 – 1 December 2015) was a French archaeologist, best known for excavating the Hellenistic site of Ai-Khanoum in present-day Afghanistan between 1964 and 1978. In his role as director of excavations, Bernard wrote several treatises on the excavations on the site. He also produced the accounts of Ai-Khanoum that had the most influence on the scholarship on the city: foremost among these was a 1982 article in Scientific American titled 'An Ancient Greek City in Centra Asia', which presented the city as a Hellenistic colony in Central Asia. His emphasis on the Greek traditions of Ai-Khanoum have influenced all subsequent accounts of the Hellenistic Far East.

The Vrishni heroes (IAST: Vṛṣṇi vīras), also referred to as Pancha-viras (IAST: Pañca vīras; 'the five heroes'), are a group of five legendary, potentially semi-historical deified heroes who are found in the literature and archaeological sites of ancient India. Their earliest worship is attestable in the clan of the Vrishnis near Mathura by 4th-century BCE. Legends are associated with these deified heroes, some of which may be based on real, historical heroes of the Vrishni clan. Their early worship has been variously described as cross-sectarian, much like the cult of the Yakshas, related to the early Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism, and with possible links to Jainism as well. They and their legends – particularly of Krishna and Balarama – have been an important part of the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.

The Vrishnis were already known in the late Vedic literature. They are also mentioned by Pāṇini in Astadhyayi verse 6.2.34, while Krishna is referred to as Krishna Varshneya ("the Vrishni") in verse 3.187.51 of the Mahabharata. Beyond texts, their importance in ancient India is attested by the ancient inscriptions found near Mathura and coins discovered in the ruins of Ai-Khanoum (Afghanistan), bearing images of the two main Vrishni heroes, with Greek and Brahmi legends.