Indo-Parthian Kingdom in the context of "Baluchistan"

In the Greco-Roman world, Ariana was a geographical term referring to a general area of land between Central Asia and the Indus River. Situated far to the east in the Achaemenid Empire, it covered a number of satrapies spanning what is today the entirety of Afghanistan, the easternmost parts of Iran, and the westernmost parts of Pakistan. "Ariana" is Latinized from Greek: Ἀρ(ε)ιανή Ar(e)ianē [region]; Ἀρ(ε)ιανοί Ar(e)ianoi [demonym]. The Greek word, in turn, is derived from the term Airyanem (lit. 'Land of the Aryans') in Avestan.

During several periods of history, Ariana was governed by the Persians, such as the Achaemenids, the Kushano-Sasanians, and the Sasanians. Other significant rulers were, namely, the Greeks and the Indians, such as the Macedonians, the Seleucids, the Mauryas, the Greco-Bactrians, the Indo-Greeks, the Indo-Scythians, and the Parthians (incl. the Kushans and the Indo-Parthians). A historic presence was also established in parts of Ariana by various Huna peoples and other Central Asian nomads, such as the Xionites (incl. the Kidarites and the Hephthalites).

The History of Punjab is the history of the Punjab region which is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in the northwest of South Asia, comprising the Punjab province in Pakistan and the Punjab state in India. It is believed that the earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to the Soan valley of the Pothohar, between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the second Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.

The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliest cradle of civilizations, the Bronze Age Harrapan civilization that flourished from about 3000 B.C. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B.C. The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age Vedic civilization, which lasted till 500 BC. During this era, the Rigveda was composed in Punjab, laying the foundation of Hinduism. In the 6th century BC, Pushkarasarin, the monarch of Gandhara, assumed a role in halting the expansionary ambitions of the Achaemenid Empire until during the reign of Darius wherein tribute rendered by Gandhara to him is first documented. A century later, the Janapadas of Punjab encountered the expansive undertakings of Alexander. The Janapadas exhibited resistance to his advances, notably the Aśvaka of Gandhara, the Mallians of South Punjab, and Porus of Central Punjab. Following the demise of Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya, who had received his education in the city of Taxila, garnered support from republics such as Trigarta and Gandhara. He subsequently conquered the Nanda Empire, with Taxila being designated as the provincial capital of the Northwestern territories. After its decline, the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Sakas and Indo-Parthians successively established reigns in Punjab however other states maintained autonomy and other janapadas such as that of the Yaudheya and the Audumbaras in Eastern Punjab resisted their expansions. In the late 1st century AD the Kushan Empire annexed Punjab, Gandharas cultural zenith occurred during this period in which artwork from the region flourished.

The history of Sindh refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as neighboring regions that periodically came under its sway.

Sindh was a Cradle of civilization, the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BC and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BC. The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age vedic civilization, which lasted until 500 BC. During this era, the Vedas were composed. In 518 BC, the Achaemenid empire conquered Indus valley and established Hindush satrapy in Sindh. Following Alexander the Great's invasion, Sindh became part of the Mauryan Empire. After its decline, Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians ruled in Sindh.

Azes II (Greek: Ἄζης Azēs, epigraphically ΑΖΟΥ Azou; Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨩 A-ya, Aya), may have been the last Indo-Scythian king, speculated to have reigned circa 35–12 BCE, in what is now Pakistan. His existence has been questioned; if he did not exist, artefacts attributed to his reign, such as coins, are likely to be those of Azes I.

After the death of Azes II, the rule of the Indo-Scythians in northwestern India and Pakistan finally crumbled with the conquest of the Kushans, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who had lived in Bactria for more than a century, and who were then expanding into India to create a Kushan Empire. Soon after, the Parthians invaded from the west. Their leader Gondophares temporarily displaced the Kushans and founded the Indo-Parthian Kingdom that was to last until the middle of the 1st century CE. The Kushans ultimately regained northwestern India circa 75 CE, where they were to prosper for several centuries.