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THE IMPACT OF HELLENISM ON BACTRIAN CIVILIZATION
Mohammad Nabi Salahi
Prof.
Lead Researcher and Director of the Institute of Ancient Languages
Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan
Summary:
This study explores the emergence, origin, glory, growth, and
evolution of Hellenism in Bactria. Hellenism is studied throughout history, and
logical connections are made to historical events that are deeply connected to the
name Hellenistic.
The reasons for the emergence of Hellenistic art in various regions of Bactria,
Gandahara, and present-day Afghanistan have been revealed, and they are that; Greek
culture was an advanced civilization on a global scale during this era, and it is natural
that a prominent culture would gradually spread its influence over other less
developed and backward cultures.
Research Objectives
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Hellenistic civilization
on Bactria. In this article, it will be shown, in a documented and illustrative manner,
that the arrival of Hellenism in Bactria was due to the influence of Greek ideas on
Greco-Buddhist art and civilization, and that this appearance of Hellenism in Bactria
occurred simultaneously with the conquests of Alexander the Great on the Asian
continent.
Significance of the study
The value of this article lies in the fact that it will shed light on the influence of
Hellenistic art in Afghanistan, which was significantly influenced by Greek art during
the Greco-Bactrian period in this country, especially during the Bactrian period,
which emerged during the Greco-Bactrian era, and during this time, industry and
artisans grew and developed rapidly, and a special school called Greco-Bactrian art
was also created.
When Greek beliefs, mythology, and civilization were combined with Buddhist
beliefs, their influence was visible and spread throughout all regions of the Bactrian
land.
Methodology
Two methods, historical and analytical-descriptive, have been employed in
writing this article.
Research Questions
•
What does Hellenic mean?
•
How did Hellenism spread internationally outside of Greece?
International scientific journal
“Interpretation and researches”
Volume 1 issue 4 (50) | ISSN: 2181-4163 | Impact Factor: 8.2
65
•
How can we assess the influence of Greek language and culture on Bactria and
Gandahara?
The impact of Hellenism on Bactrian civilization
To understand the rise of Hellenism in Bactria, we must begin from the Greek
perspective and then describe the impact of Greek civilization on our country.
"Greece is located in southern Europe, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea. Although it is a small country in terms of development and territorial integrity, it
has made a great contribution to the development and evolution of art and culture.
The Greeks created a very brilliant and powerful civilization in human society
between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, and this period is now called the Classical
(primary) era."
The period in which art, architecture, sculpture, painting, and Greek philosophy
reached their peak and influenced other later arts. The flourishing culture of ancient
Greece did not emerge suddenly, but rather developed over centuries, and its
antiquity dates back to the Bronze Age (Mesopotamia). (1)
There have been heated and scholarly debates about Hellenistic art and
Hellenistic civilization, and these studies may prove to be very helpful in unraveling
the complexities of the architectural fine arts of the Kushan Empire in ancient
Bactria....
“Archaeologists and historians in their studies of the Central Asian civilization
have commonly identified the term Hellenistic or Hellenism as a Greek term. While
these two terms have two distinct and distinct historical and cultural aspects. In the
sense that Hellas is the name of ancient Greece and Hellenic is used in a Greek
sense.” (2)
In my opinion, a relative relationship like that of a noun and an adjective is seen
here, namely, that Hellas is a Greek name and Hellenic, which is the expression of a
Greek concept, is a relative adjective of Greek origin, and this point also explains the
difference between these two terms.
“In this direction (Istiqamat) the Helleni were the ceremonial palaces that were
the beginning of urban life in northern Mesopotamia and Syria.” (3)
The author of (History of Civilization) Henry Lucas writes about the rise of
Hellenism: “With the end of the period of the originality of Greek creations, the
Hellenistic (Greek-Impossible) era ended with another period in the history of
civilization.” (4)
Professor Ahmad Ali Kohzad shows in a documented and reasoned way that:
"Hellenism is the other side of the Greco-Buddhist industry (Hellenism) or the
influence of the principles, ideas and thoughts of Greek civilization, which found its
way to the Asian lands with the conquests of Alexander. In all these military
campaigns, Alexander built and built more than all the other places he captured, five
International scientific journal
“Interpretation and researches”
Volume 1 issue 4 (50) | ISSN: 2181-4163 | Impact Factor: 8.2
66
or six cities named Alexandria in the territory of Ariana. With the establishment of
the independent Greco-Bactrian kingdom and its two hundred (200) year existence,
Aryana was considered the most advanced center of Greek thought and art in Asia for
four centuries, including the two centuries of the Kushan period. Just as Gandhara
was called the "Second Magadha" in terms of Buddhism and religion, it was also
called the "Second Hellas" in terms of industry and art.
It should be said that; the conquest and occupation of India by Alexander was
nothing more than a coming and going, and the real and genuine occupation of India
in the Greek sense began when the Greek-Bactrian and Kushan kings, after
conquering that country, began to administer it and spread civilization and
civilization, and the inclusion of the northwestern parts of India in the administration
of these two families led to this. The manifestations and ideas of Greek civilization
have long been in close contact with Indian spirituality and philosophy.
Like the Greek historians and geographers whose works have survived, a
number of masters of art and craft, such as physicians, engravers, sculptors (temple
carvers), and architects, also came to this land and contributed to the construction of
Alexandria and its military fortresses (about 1,000 fortresses have been discussed in
Bactria alone). And they had a great hand and great involvement in the manufacture
of metal vessels and jewelry and in the minting of coins, engraving, and the
excavation of Crimean stones. With this class of artists, the spirit of Greek elegance
spread in the decorative arts and crafts of Ariana. (5)
Professor Kohzad adds: “Bactria and its importance in terms of the development
and spread of Greco-Buddhist industry in the regions of Xinjiang and Central Asia
were taken up by this scholar (Al-Farad Fouche) and he says on page 5 of the first
volume of his book Greco-Buddhist Industry of Gandhara:
According to the many Buddhist discoveries made by a number of scholars in
Turfan, Khotan, and other places in Russian and Chinese Turkestan, it is clear that the
manifestations of Greco-Buddhist art came to the homeland in the form of imported
goods and were spread in these places by the passage and arrival and destination of
caravans, and that their original place of origin and branches of training must be
sought in other lands. (6)
The author of the work "The Greek-Kushan Style of Architecture and Fine Arts"
writes about Hellenism in Bactria: "One of the most important structures that
generally appeared in the Kushan period in terms of architecture and fine arts is the
principles and rules of building monuments, which, in accordance with the calculated
proportions of Hellenistic art, continued from the first century AD until the period of
Vasco Sena." The main reason for this expansion and the persistence of Greek laws is
believed to be based on the proportion and composition of the mixed Greek races
living in Bactria and Gandhara and their influence in these regions.
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According to Dr. Schlumberger:
The architecture of the Red Wall shows many Hellenistic influences and often
shows the same influence and changes in this art. This scholar sees this influence
clearly in the fact that the material artifacts discovered in the Red Wall are in
Hellenistic architectural structures. For example: The various beauties of the lower
parts of the pillars and the columns attached to the walls, although they do not have a
complete resemblance to Greek structures, but more than (70%) of the artistic rules
and similarities have been taken into account in them. (7)
Therefore, we can see many influences of Greek art in the Amu-Alexandria, i.e.
in the area of Ai Khanum. Before the discovery of Ai Khanum, information about
Hellenistic art in the East and Afghanistan was limited to a few discovered coins of
the Greco-Bactrian kings and a few historical written sources, but with the discovery
of Ai Khanum, a complete information was obtained.
"In this way, the French were able to capture all aspects of the ancient
civilization of Bactria, including architecture, fine arts, architectural styles, Greek
materials, and building plans, and by taking advantage of the traditional and popular
artistic rules in Bactria, they were able to present the history and civilization of this
ancient country during the various periods of the Greco-Bactrian rulers." And thus,
the combined Greco-Bactrian culture gained more information about Greek and
Bactrian influences and elements, and the golden pages of history were filled with the
artistic achievements of a great empire, and in this way, French researchers were able
to take a major step in this field.
Considering the civilization and achievements of this period, headed by the
Kushan civilization, great signs of the glory and greatness of the Kushan and Bactrian
peoples have emerged, and extensive and comprehensive information has been
obtained from those material objects, including stone inscriptions and writings.... The
Greeks obtained a wealth of information based on the material structures of Ai
Khanum and the Kushans on Bactria, and the discovery of the Red Cross, the
Acropolis of the glorious Kushan empire, confirmed these studies, and a great deal of
work was done to dispel the complexities of this important period.
Thus, in this ancient era of history, useful information was obtained about the
historical and cultural dimensions and aspects of Greco-Bactrianism in the field of
cultural identification, type of civilization, architectural style and style, and
stratigraphy of the Kushans. One of them is the great temple of the Kushans, namely
Kanishka Nicator, which most researchers call the Great Temple of the Kushan Gods
and Goddesses or the Red Wall Kushan Temple. (8)
In fact, Hellenistic art or Hellenistic civilization was not recognized in its
entirety until the middle of the 18th century AD and only appeared in a vague and
mixed form within the nature of (Greco-Roman) art, and from then on there was a
International scientific journal
“Interpretation and researches”
Volume 1 issue 4 (50) | ISSN: 2181-4163 | Impact Factor: 8.2
68
very relative recognition in this area, but when the German researcher and
archaeologist Winckelmann began researching Hellenistic civilization, And the
discovery of a collection of authentic Greek marbles by Lord Elgan, the British
ambassador to Palestine, in the early nineteenth century, and later sold to the British
Museum in London, opened the way to the discovery of genuine Hellenistic art, and
this work became a source of astonishment and wonder to archaeologists and
scholars.” (9)
Thus, Greek art was recognized as an industrial art, and its main goal was to
access natural beauty and, in a sense of wonder, to observe its artistic calculation,
balance, proportion, equilibrium, order, principles, and rules. In the field of
understanding Greek and Bactrian art in the Hellenistic way, it is necessary to
understand two things first of all, One is mythology, that is, a collection of religious
and legendary beliefs, and the second is the epic poems of the Iliad and Homer,
which are full of the dimensions of Greek epics and myths and also reveal the
relationships between gods and goddesses. (10)
After the completion and perfection of Greek art, it spread beyond the borders of
Greece and, in what is called its heyday and peak, its influence spread from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Far East. It would not be right to deny that the emergence of
empires in the East also led to the emergence of Hellenistic civilization. From then
on, it was known not as Greek art, but as Hellenistic art (Hellenistic civilization).
"In the east, during the course of the Greek Alexander's invasions and historical
events, in early 1329 BC, Alexander the Great crossed the Hindu Kush mountains
and reached Balkh (Bactria) and, according to his planned map and plan, placed
many invaders from the Mediterranean region in his conquered territories. These
nomads and nomads were mostly residents of Greek soil or invaders trained in
Hellenistic centers.
The Greek Alexander's conquest of the East, and especially of Bactria and the
Hindu Kush, is of great importance, for he soon made Balkh his capital. As a result,
the Hellenistic style of art, which had its origins in Asia Minor, spread to other
regions, from the Sea of Marmara to the areas of Ceyhon and Souk al-Jashi.
Gradually, Alexander's empire expanded, and with it Hellenistic art spread
throughout his empire, which stretched from the Indus River to Sogdia and the
Adriatic Sea, and from Egypt to the Caucasus, thus embracing the entire territory of
Ariana.
The Greek king Seleucus, who was very familiar with Alexander's ideas, came
to Bactria and from there, in 350 BC, reached the Indus River and joined the
government of Chandragupta, the Mauryan king of India, who was trying to spread
Buddhism in the Gandhara region (Kabulistan and Bamiyan) and from there
throughout Bactria, Tokharistan, and East Asia. (11)
International scientific journal
“Interpretation and researches”
Volume 1 issue 4 (50) | ISSN: 2181-4163 | Impact Factor: 8.2
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Thus, Hellenistic art and values became part of Bactrian culture, and Hellenistic
style and style were reflected in various forms of beauty and fine craftsmanship.
Especially during the Kushan era, when they were also the rulers of the Silk Road,
“some scholars consider the Kushan rule to be of particular importance in the
development and spread of Hellenistic art, and they are of the opinion that Hellenistic
art was well developed and expanded in Bactria during this period.” (12)
Discussion:
No specific work has been written on this subject in the ancient studies of
historical Afghanistan, nor has any systematic and organized research been conducted
on it. Only sporadic and scattered mentions and studies on this subject are seen in a
number of contemporary studies. This article refers to those works that implicitly
contain some information on this subject, such as:
The famous work of the first archaeologist of Afghanistan, Professor Ahmad Ali
Kohzad (The Ancient History of Afghanistan), (Volume 2) contains valuable
information about Hellenism. This study emphasizes that Hellenism made its way to
Asian lands with the conquests of the Greek Alexander the Great, and this civilization
is considered an aspect of the Greco-Buddhist twin civilizations.
Similarly, on page (70) of the historical work (History of the Kushan Empire) by
senior researcher Nazar Mohammad Azizi, relatively valuable points are made about
Hellenism and the Greco-Buddhist civilization, but this topic is not given a good and
extensive explanation, and the Renaissance figurative and architectural art is not
properly linked to Hellenistic art and Greek thought.
This article comprehensively examines the impact of Hellenism on the Bactrian
and Gandhara regions and the Kushan civilization of present-day Afghanistan, based
on scientific research principles. Such a comprehensive research work has not been
done before the writing of this article. In fact, these historical signs and patterns also
reveal the identity of a historical race, and we are also convinced that the art of the
Kushan period is Greco-Kushan, and Greek art has become the reason for the identity
of the Kushan race in the Bactrian basin. The Greek art that arrived in the southern
basin in the Parapamizd had a profound impact on Kushan art, which was reflected in
many temples in the Gandhara region.
This study shows the Hellenistic period, the peak period of the growth and
development of Greek art, and this period extends from (433-31 BC), during which
the Greek language and culture, which had its roots and foundation in the past, fully
emerged in areas far and near outside Greece.
Conclusion:
This study has shown that the term Hellenism is used to refer to the cultural and
traditional ties of ancient Greece in a racial sense.
International scientific journal
“Interpretation and researches”
Volume 1 issue 4 (50) | ISSN: 2181-4163 | Impact Factor: 8.2
70
Research on the influence of Hellenistic art in Afghanistan has shown that the
Greco-Bactrian period in this country, especially the Bactrian period, has been
significantly influenced by Greek art, which emerged during the Greco-Bactrian era.
During this time, industry and artisans grew and developed rapidly, and a special
school called Greco-Bactrian industry was also created.
When Greek beliefs, mythology, and civilization were combined with Buddhist
beliefs, their influence spread throughout the Bactrian lands. Greek philosophy,
religion, and ritual had a profound impact on the minds of the Bactrians. The
successes that are seen in this field in Bactria were created based on the influences of
Hellenistic art, and the Greco-Bactrian school can be considered its origin and
foundation, and these influences came into being together with the Greek conquests
of Alexander the Great.
This study examined the causes of the emergence of Hellenism and the process
of its development, and it was also shown that Hellenism emerged not only as Greek
art but also as the Hellenistic school of art. The followers of the Hellenistic school
had some common elements in their artistic achievements, and these common
elements were explained very clearly in this study. Young archaeologists can use this
article as a reliable and trustworthy source and reference in various areas of their
archaeological research and investigations, and can obtain reliable information.
Resources:
(1). Nardo, Dan. Yunan Bastan, translator: Truthful, Mahdi. Nasharat Sokhn:
Iran, Tehran, year 1383 Sohrish, p. 14.
(2). Cloth, fabric. Urban planning and architectural styles of Buddhist and
Shaiva Gandhara temples during the Kushan period. Afghanistan Academy of
Sciences, Kushani International Research Center, Karwan Press: Kabul, 1391 AH, p.
101.
(3). Cloth, fabric. Urban planning and architectural styles of Buddhist and
Shaiva Gandhara temples during the Kushani period, p. 101.
(4). Lucas, Henry. History of Civilization, Translated by: Azarang, Abdul
Hussein, Sokhan Press: Iran, Tehran, 1382 AH, p. 285.
(5). Kohzad, Ahmad Ali. The Ancient History of Afghanistan (Volume 2).
Afghanistan History Society, Government Press: Kabul, 1339 AH, p. 340.
(6). Kohzad, Ahmad Ali. The Ancient History of Afghanistan (Volume 2), p.
345.
(7). Azizi, Nazar Mohammad. Architectural styles and fine arts of Gandhara and
Bactria in the Kushan era. Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, Kushani International
Research Center, Press: Kabul, 1391 AH. Sh: p. 26.
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(8). Azizi, Nazar Mohammad. Architectural styles and fine arts of Gandhara and
Bactria in the Kushan era, p. 58.
(9). Cloth, fabric. Urban planning and architectural styles of Buddhist and
Shaiva Gandhara temples during the Kushani period, p. 105.
(10). Cloth, fabric. Urban planning and architectural styles of Buddhist and
Shaiva Gandhara temples during the Kushani period, p. 106.
(11). Flip Khoury, Near East. Translator: Arian, Qamar. Scientific research
publication: Iran, Tehran, year 1382 solar, p. 135.
(12). Azizi, Nazar Mohammad. Architectural styles and fine arts of Gandhara
and Bactria during the Kushan era, p. 87.
