Ai-Khanoum is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a military and economic centre for the rulers of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom until its destruction c. 145 BC. Rediscovered in 1961, the ruins of the city were excavated by a French team of archaeologists until the outbreak of conflict in Afghanistan in the late 1970s.
The primary sanctuary of Ai-Khanoum, as viewed from the acropolis in the late 1970s.
Migrations of the Yuezhi tribes in the last two centuries BC
King Mohammed Zahir Shah (right) in 1963, two years after his rediscovery of Ai-Khanoum, in the company of US President John F. Kennedy
A disc depicting a chariot being pulled by two lions through a mountainous landscape towards an altar.
Greco-Bactria was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It was founded c. 256 BC by the Seleucid satrap Diodotus I Soter and lasted until its fall c. 120 BC. It was ruled for most of its history by the Diodotid dynasty and Euthydemid dynasty.
Gold coin of Diodotus c. 245 BC. The Greek inscription reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ – "(of) King Diodotus".
Corinthian capital, found at Ai-Khanoum, 2nd century BC
Coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus 230–200 BC. The Greek inscription reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ – "(of) King Euthydemus".
Bactrian phalera with military elephant carrying a howdah fortress manned by a soldier wearing a Macedonian helmet. 2nd century BCE, Hermitage Museum.