Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/greco-bactrian-kingdom

1. What is the geopolitical context?
2. What is the key dynastic figures?
3. What was the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and where was it located?
4. How did the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom become independent from the Seleucid Empire?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the geopolitical context?A Hellenistic successor state to the Seleucid Empire, located in Central-South Asia
2. What is the key dynastic figures?Notable rulers include Diodotus I, Demetrius I, Eucratides the Great, and Heliocles
3. What was the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and where was it located?The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was a Greek state that grew in Central Asia, far east of Greece. It was mainly in the region of Bactria, which is today part of Afghanistan and surrounding areas.
4. How did the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom become independent from the Seleucid Empire?Around 256 BC, a Greek governor named Diodotus I Soter decided Bactria should rule itself. He declared independence, forming a new Greek kingdom that lasted more than a hundred years.

Hellenistic Period: The historical era following the conquests of Alexander the Great, characterized by the widespread diffusion of Greek culture, language, and political influence across the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia.
Seleucid Empire: A Hellenistic state that was founded by Seleucus I Nicator following the division of Alexander the Great's empire, and which controlled much of Western Asia.
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom: An independent Hellenistic kingdom established in Bactria (modern northern Afghanistan) by Greek settlers and rulers, existing from the 3rd to the 2nd century BC.
Hellenization: The adoption of Greek language, culture, and customs by non-Greek peoples, often following periods of Greek conquest or influence.