Yet even this experienced scholar was unprepared for the dazzling array of riches he unearthed, which came to be known as the Bactrian gold. Excavations begin at Tillya Tepe, led by Viktor Sarianidi.

Following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Bactria in 323 BC, Greek was the administrative language of his Hellenistic successors, the Seleucid and Greco-Bactrian kingdoms, for about two centuries.

For example, the Bactrian ewer has a hexagonal handle whilst Sasanian handles were usually square in shape. Sasanian wares usually had a single register (the number of sections or panels into which ...

Sanskrit and Prakrit are both literary languages that pre-date the Kushan Empire, whilst Bactrian developed to become a ‘literary’ language in this era. Sogdian is also important, spoken by the ...

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) announced 6 new MERS-CoV cases over the past 3 days, including 3 in Riyadh and 3 fatalities, and in a new research development, experimental infection tests on ...