Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient AfghanistanDrawing on ancient historical writings, the vast array of information gleaned in recent years from the study of Hellenistic coins, and startling archaeological evidence newly unearthed in Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt sets out to rediscover the ancient civilization of Bactria. In a gripping narrative informed by the author’s deep knowledge of his subject, this book covers two centuries of Bactria’s history, from its colonization by remnants of Alexander the Great’s army to the kingdom’s collapse at the time of a devastating series of nomadic invasions. Beginning with the few tantalizing traces left behind when the ‘empire of a thousand cities’ vanished, Holt takes up that trail and follows the remarkable and sometimes perilous journey of rediscovery. Lost World of the Ancient King describes how a single bit of evidence—a Greek coin—launched a search that drew explorers to the region occupied by the tumultuous warring tribes of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Afghanistan. Coin by coin, king by king, the history of Bactria was reconstructed using the emerging methodologies of numismatics. In the twentieth century, extraordinary ancient texts added to the evidence. Finally, one of the ‘thousand cities’ was discovered and excavated, revealing an opulent palace, treasury, temple, and other buildings. Though these great discoveries soon fell victim to the Afghan political crisis that continues today, this book provides a thrilling chronicle of the search for one of the world’s most enigmatic empires. |
Contents
1 | |
The Adventure Begins Checklist Numismatics | 7 |
A Dangerous Game Framework Numismatics | 27 |
The Gold Colossus Novelty Numismatics | 50 |
Telling Tales Narrative Numismatics | 67 |
WantedOne Greek City Archaeology | 89 |
Letters Here and There Epigraphy | 113 |
A Perfect Storm Rescue and Revisionist Numismatics | 135 |
A New Beginning Cognitive Numismatics | 160 |
Coins and the Collapse of Civilization Cognitive Numismatics | 184 |
The Lost World of the Golden King | 211 |
Notes | 221 |
297 | |
Illustration Credits | 329 |
331 | |
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Common terms and phrases
A.K. Narain Afghan Afghanistan Agathocles Ai Khanoum Alexander ancient Antimachus Antiochus Apollodotus archaeological archéologiques Bactria Bactria and India Bactrian coins Bactrian studies Balkh Bayer Bibliothèque British Museum bronze Bukhara Cambridge Canali de Rossi Central Asia coinage Comptes-Rendus de l’Académie Cunningham dafa Demetrius Diodotus Dioscuri drachms engraved Eucra Eucratides Eucratides II Eucratidion Euthydemus Euthydemus II evidence example excavated Feuardent Fouilles d’Ai Khanoum gold Graeco-Bactrian grecques Greek Greeks in Bactria Guillaume Heliocles Hellenism Hellenistic Hellenistic Bactria Holt Ibid Indo-Greek Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Iscrizioni Kabul Kandahar Khanoum Afghanistan king’s l’Académie des Inscriptions Laodice Masson Menander minted Monnaies gréco-bactriennes monogram nomadic numismatist obverse ofBactria ofEucratides ofhis ofIndia ofthis Osmund Bopearachchi Oxford Oxus Paris Parthian Paul Bernard Pellerin portrait Prinsep Qunduz Rapin reign reverse Revue Numismatique royal scholars Seleucid silver Sogdia specimens stater Strabo Tarn Tarn’s Taxila Tepe tetradrachm tion treasure University Press Vaillant Zeus