Baktria

Baktria is a gateway to trade east and west, to India and the far-off lands of China; it lies in what is modern Afghanistan, its capital founded by Alexander the Great. As a protectorate of the Seleucid Empire, Baktria was famed as a province of a thousand cities. Thanks to those trade routes, and the rich agricultural lands of its fertile valleys and plains, it is now wealthy. Formerly a part of Alexander’s vast empire, the land is home to Greek colonists, Persians and many more peoples. Roxana, Alexander’s wife and the mother of his nominal heir born after his death, was a Baktrian princess.

In the confusion of wars that followed Alexander’s death, Seleucus I Nicator established control over the eastern parts of Alexander’s empire, including Baktria. The region was heavily colonised by Greek settlers, more so than any other part of the east, and was largely Hellenised as result with Greek culture and influence paramount in all things. With the Seleucid Empire locked in a series of wars against the other Successor states, Baktria was a satrapy with a degree of independence, before becoming an entirely independent Hellenistic kingdom.

Under their new kings, the Baktrians could be a vigorous military power, benefiting hugely from any breakdown in Seleucid authority and inattention from the Parthians. Immense wealth, and tough warriors, could take their armies all the way to the shores of the Mediterranean…