A sensational material received during the study of Bactrian border fortress of Alexander the Great’s era
The specialists of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with Uzbek Scientists-historians, studied the citadel of Bactrian border fortress Uzundara, built in the 3rd century BC of the Hellenistic period. In the IV century BC, this territory of Bactria was the Eastern part of the ancient Persian Empire. Then, in 329-327 BC, it was conquered by Alexander the Great during his campaign in India and became part of his Empire. According to historians, the fortress (refuge) built on the rock, most likely, belonged to a Bactrian baron named Oxyartes, whose daughter Roxana renowned for her beauty became the wife of Alexander the Great.
Bactria was an ancient country lying between the mountains of the Hindu Kush in the south and of the Pamirs in the east and north with the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) flowing west through the center. Bactria was a fertile country, and a profusion of mounds and abandoned water channels testifies to its ancient prosperity.
After the death of Alexander, the empire was divided up among the generals in Alexander's army, and Bactria became part of the Seleucid state. In the middle of the III century BC, the many difficulties against which the Seleucid kings had to fight and the attacks of Ptolemy II of Egypt gave Diodotus, satrap of Bactria, the opportunity to declare independence (about 255 BCE) and conquer Sogdiana, founding the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. During the 2nd century BC, nomadic tribes from the north – the Sakas and the Yuezhi, conquered the Greco-Bactrians. Under their attacks, a flourishing state ceased to exist.
Archaeologists note that, a sensational material was received as a result of the excavation. Thus, the excavations of the rock ensemble at the citadel revealed a unique feature, which was cut out in the rock formation and had no analogues among the monuments of that time. A large volume of the structure with a good hydroinsulation and a special system of water condensate collection implies that, probably, it was used as strategic storage of food reserves for the garrison in the event of a siege.
There are varieties of items of material culture found in a small fortress. According to scientists, these findings are comparable with the artifacts of Ai-Khanum – a large Hellenistic city found in the territory of modern Afghanistan.
There are Hellenistic coins, among which unique ones – “Alexander type” – of particular value. On these coins, Alexander the Great is depicted with a lion’s scalp on his head. Such sensational material found in Central Asia for the first time.
In Turkmenistan, the year of 2018 also promises to be rich in historical discoveries and findings. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov approved the special State programme for 2018-2021 implying archaeological research of historical and cultural monuments located on the country’s territory along the Great Silk Road.
In accordance with this program, specialists of the National Directorate for the Protection, Study and Restoration of Monuments of History and Culture under the Ministry of Culture and the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan have already started a new season of archaeological excavations, research and restoration of historical and cultural monuments of the country.
There are a lot to explore In Turkmenistan, because a number of states and empires flourished in the territory of the country in different epochs, including the Margian civilization, the Parthian kingdom, the Sassanid Empire, the Takhirids, the Samanids, the Seljuk state, Khorezmshahs, etc.
