Bactria

Bactria was a State in the Ancient World that occupied the modern regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Capital was Bactra, modern Balkh, Afghanistan.

Bactria lay to the south of the River Oxus, which at that time was navigable into the Caspian Sea. North of the Oxus lay Sogdiana and Ferghana.
In 245 BCE, Bactria became the ‘Greco-Bactrian Kingdom’ under Diodotus I, who separated from the Greek Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE) which controlled Persia, Arabia and part of India.
By 127 BCE, the Chinese Tribe of Yuezhi had occupied Bactria from nearby Sogdiana.
By c. 250 CE, Bactria had been conquered by a branch of the Persian Sassanid Empire called the Kushano-Sasasanian Kingdom.

Bactria was located along the Silk Road to China and was either part of the Persian Empire, The Greek Empire or the Chinese Empire.
Bactria was at a crossroads of an ancient Trade Route between China, India and Europe that had existed for millennia.
The Silk Road ran from China through the Wakhan Corridor and along the River Oxus into the Greek speaking East, and into India through the Khyber Pass.

In the Northeast of Afghanistan lies the Wakhan Corridor connecting into China.
The Corridor is 220 miles (354km) long and between 8-40 miles (13-64km) wide, along which the Panj and Pamir rivers merge to form the Amu Darya or River Oxus.

Flowing from Afghanistan, the River Oxus was navigable as far as the Caspian Sea until recently.
It was considered the northern frontier of Ancient Greater Iran and of the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great.

In the east of Afghanistan lies the Khyber Pass which connects into India. It is 33 miles (53km) long and between 10-460 feet (3-140m) wide.

Bactria (capital Bactra, Baikh, Afghanistan)