Bactria

American  

[bak-tree-uh] / ˈbæk tri ə /

noun

1. an ancient country in W Asia, between the Oxus River and the Hindu Kush Mountains. Bactra.

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Bactria British  

/ ˈbæktrɪə /

noun

1. an ancient country of SW Asia, between the Hindu Kush mountains and the Oxus River: forms the present Balkh region in N Afghanistan

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Other Word Forms

• Bactrian adjective

Example Sentences

Most of the sites identified are in northern Afghanistan's Balkh region, which more than two millennia ago was the heartland of Bactria.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2024

The Greek colonists who settled in Bactria and India introduced their art into the region, which influenced Indian sculpture, painting, and architecture.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Another hypothesis is that they descend from farmers who migrated from desert oases of Bactria, or what is now modern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, based on similarities of agricultural and irrigation systems.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 27, 2021

Led by the marvelously named Kujula Kadphises, they conquered Greek Bactria in the first century A.D.

From New York Times • May 11, 2020

In the later campaigns in Bactria and India, he was entrusted with the task of founding cities and colonies, and built the fleet intended to sail down the Indus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various