CleanupBot at 05:40, 24 November 2023

2023-11-24T05:40:51Z

New page

{{Short description|Satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire}}
{{For|the spider genus|Arachosia (spider)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Arachosia
| official_name =
| native_name = {{lang-peo|[[wikt:𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁|𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁]]|label=none}} ({{Transliteration|peo|Harauvatiš}}) {{lang-grc|Ἀραχωσία|label=none}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Arachōsíā}})
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[Satrap]]y
| image_skyline = Eastern Satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire.jpg
| image_caption = Map of the easternmost Persian satrapies, including Arachosia
| nickname =
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_relief = y
| pushpin_label =
| pushpin_label_position =
| coordinates =
| subdivision_type = Empire
| subdivision_name = {{nowrap|[[File:Standard of Cyrus the Great.svg|17px|link=]] [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persia]]}}
| imagesize = 250px
| native_name_lang = 
}}
[[File:Priests procession at Persepolis.jpg|thumb|Depiction of Arachosian ''[[magi]]'' carrying various gifts and animals for ritual sacrifice at [[Persepolis]]]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=January 2022}}

'''Arachosia''' ({{IPAc-en|ær|ə|ˈ|k|oʊ|s|i|ə}}; {{lang-grc|Ἀραχωσία|label=[[Ancient Greek|Greek]]}} {{Transliteration|grc|Arachōsíā}}), or '''Harauvatis''' ({{lang-peo|[[wikt:𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁|𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁]]|label=[[Old Persian]]}} {{Transliteration|peo|Harauvatiš}}), was a [[satrap]]y of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref name="Iranica">{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |date=14 May 2022 |title=Arachosia |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia |access-date= |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Inc |first=IBP |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sm-bBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Afghanistan Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments |date=2013-08-01 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-4387-7372-8 |pages=62 |language=en}}</ref> Primarily centred around the [[Arghandab River]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Michael C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QPWXrCCzBIC&pg=PA41 |title=Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel |date=2014-01-10 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9033-2 |pages=41 |language=en |quote=... Arachosia (modern Arghandab district in Afghanistan and neighboring areas of southeastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan).}}</ref> a tributary of the [[Helmand River]], it extended as far east as the [[Indus River]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Becking |first=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VYkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |title=Identity in Persian Egypt: The Fate of the Yehudite Community of Elephantine |date=2020-08-04 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-1-64602-074-4 |pages=13 |language=en |quote=Arachosia is a mountainous area in which is now the border territory between Afghanistan and Pakistan...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Samad |first=Rafi U. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJtMBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys |date=2011 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-0-87586-858-5 |pages=46 |language=en |quote=Arachosia, covering an area from Kandahar and Quetta to the western bank of the Indus, shared its northern boundary with Gandhara.}}</ref> The satrapy's Persian-language name is the etymological equivalent of {{Transliteration|sa|[[Sarasvati River|Sárasvatī]]}} in [[Vedic Sanskrit]].<ref name="Iranica" /> In Greek, the satrapy's name was derived from {{Transliteration|grc|Arachōtós}}, the Greek-language name for the Arghandab River.<ref name="Iranica" /> Around 330 BCE, [[Alexander the Great]] commissioned the building of [[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandropolis]] as Arachosia's new capital city under the [[Macedonian Empire]]. It was built on top of an earlier Persian military fortress after [[Wars of Alexander the Great#Persia|Alexander's conquest of Persia]], and is the site of today's [[Kandahar]] in [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="Iranica" />

== Etymology ==
[[File:Afghanistan region during 500 BC.jpg|thumb|Map showing the Arachosian satrapy and the [[Pashtuns|Pactyan people]] (500 BCE)]]
"Arachosia" is the [[Romanization of Greek|Latinized form of Greek]] {{Lang-grc|Ἀραχωσία|label=none}} (''Arachōsíā''). "The same region appears in the [[Avestan]] ''[[Vendidad|Vidēvdāt]]'' (1.12) under the indigenous dialect form 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬓𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬍{{lrm}} {{lang|ae|Haraxvaitī}}- (whose ''-axva-'' is typical non-Avestan)."<ref name="Iranicaarticle">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Arachosia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |location=United States |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |date=August 10, 2011}}</ref> In [[Old Persian]] inscriptions, the region is referred to as [[wikt:𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁|𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁]], written ''h(a)-r(a)-u-v(a)-t-i''.<ref name=Iranicaarticle /> This form is the "etymological equivalent" of [[Vedic Sanskrit]] [[Sarasvati River|{{IAST|Sarasvatī}}-]], the name of a river literally meaning "rich in waters/lakes" and derived from ''sáras-'' "lake, pond."<ref name=Iranicaarticle /> (''cf.'' [[Anahita|Aredvi Sura Anahita]]).

"Arachosia" was named after the name of a river that runs through it, known in [[ancient Greek]] as the ''Arachōtós'' and today as the [[Arghandab River]], a left-bank tributary of the [[Helmand River]].<ref name=Iranicaarticle />

==Geography==
Arachosia bordered on [[Drangiana]] to the west, on the [[Paropamisadae]] to the north, [[Hindush]] to the east, and [[Gedrosia (satrapy)|Gedrosia]] to the south.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Arachosia |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US |quote=According to Ptolemy 6.20.1 (cf. Strabo 15.2.9), Arachosia bordered on Drangiana in the west, on the Paropamisadae (i.e., the satrapy of Gandāra) in the north, on a part of India in the east, and on Gedrosia (or, according to Pliny, Natural History 6.92, on the Dexendrusi) in the south; Ptolemy also mentions (6.20.3) several tribes of Arachosia by name—the Parsyetae, and, to the south, the Sydri, Rhoplutae, and Eoritae.}}</ref> Isidore and [[Ptolemy]] (6.20.4-5) each provide a list of cities in Arachosia, among them (yet another) [[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandria]], which lay on the river Arachotus. This city is frequently misidentified with present-day [[Kandahar]] in Afghanistan, the name of which was thought to be derived (via "Iskanderiya") from "Alexandria",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lendering|first=Jona|title=Alexandria in Arachosia|publisher=livius.org|location=Amsterdam|url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|access-date=26 March 2020|archive-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615230642/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|url-status=dead}}.</ref> reflecting a connection to [[Alexander the Great]]'s visit to the city on his [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|campaign towards India]]. But a recent discovery of an inscription on a clay tablet has provided proof that 'Kandahar' was already a city that traded actively with Persia well before Alexander's time. Isidore, [[Strabo]] (11.8.9) and [[Pliny the elder|Pliny]] (6.61) also refer to the city as "metropolis of Arachosia."{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In his list, Ptolemy also refers to a city named Arachotus ({{lang-en|Arachote}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ær|ə|k|oʊ|t}}; {{lang-el|{{lang|grc|Ἀραχωτός}}}}) or Arachoti (acc. to [[Strabo]]), which was the earlier capital of the land. [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Stephen of Byzantium]] mention that its original name was Cophen (Κωφήν). [[Xuanzang|Hsuan Tsang]] refers to the name as ''Kaofu''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chandragupta Maurya and his times|last1=Mookerji|first1=Radhakumud |edition=4|year=1966|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn=978-81-208-0405-0|page=173|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA173 |access-date=2010-09-18}}</ref> This city is identified today with [[Arghandab, Afghanistan|Arghandab]] which lies northwest of present-day Kandahar.

==History==
{{Further|History of Afghanistan}}
[[File:Embassy of Megasthenes.jpg|thumb|According to Roman historian [[Arrian]], Greek explorer [[Megasthenes]] lived in [[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandropolis]] (now [[Kandahar|Kandahar, Afghanistan]]), from where he travelled to [[Pataliputra]] (now [[Patna|Patna, India]]) in the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan Empire]], to be received at the court of [[Chandragupta Maurya]].]]
The region is first referred to in the [[Achaemenid]]-era [[Elamite]] Persepolis fortification tablets. It appears again in the [[Old Persian]], [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] and [[Aramaic]] inscriptions of [[Darius I]] and [[Xerxes I]] among lists of subject peoples and countries. It is subsequently also identified as the source of the ivory used in Darius' palace at Susa. In the [[Behistun inscription]] (DB 3.54-76), the King recounts that a [[Fars Province|Persian]] was thrice defeated by the Achaemenid governor of Arachosia, Vivana, who so ensured that the province remained under Darius' control. It has been suggested that this "strategically unintelligible engagement" was ventured by the rebel because "there were close relations between [[Fars Province|Persia]] and Arachosia concerning the Zoroastrian faith."<ref name=Iranicaarticle />

[[File:Alexander in Arachosia 329 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|[[Alexander the Great]] with Greek troops in Arachosia (329 BCE)]]
The chronologically next reference to Arachosia comes from the Greeks and Romans, who record that under [[Darius III]] the Arachosians and Drangians were under the command of a governor who, together with the army of the Bactrian governor, contrived a plot of the Arachosians against [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] ([[Curtius Rufus]] 8.13.3). Following Alexander's conquest of the Achaemenids, the Macedonian appointed his generals as governors (Arrian 3.28.1, 5.6.2; Curtius Rufus 7.3.5; Plutarch, Eumenes 19.3; Polyaenus 4.6.15; Diodorus 18.3.3; Orosius 3.23.1 3; Justin 13.4.22).
In 316 BCE [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]] sent most of the elite [[Argyraspides]], a veteran Macedonian corps with over forty years experience, to Arachosia to protect the Eastern frontier with India. However they were sent with the order to [[Sibyrtius]], the Macedonian satrap of Arachosia, to dispatch them by small groups of two or three to dangerous missions so that their numbers would rapidly dwindle and remove them as a military threat to his power.

Following the [[Wars of the Diadochi]], the region became part of the [[Seleucid Empire]], which traded it to the [[Mauryan Empire]] in 305 BCE as part of an alliance. The [[Shunga dynasty]] overthrew the Mauryans in 185 BC, but shortly afterwards lost Arachosia to the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]. It then became part of the break-away [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] in the mid 2nd century BCE. [[Indo-Scythians]] expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BCE, but lost the region to the [[Arsacid Empire|Arsacid]]s and [[Indo-Parthians]]. At what time (and in what form) Parthian rule over Arachosia was reestablished cannot be determined with any authenticity. From Isidore 19 it is certain that a part (perhaps only a little) of the region was under Arsacid rule in the 1st century CE, and that the Parthians called it ''Indikē Leukē'', "White India."<ref name="William Woodthorpe Tarn">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=sakastan+white&pg=PA53|title=The Greeks in Bactria and India|publisher =Cambridge University Press|access-date = 2007-12-31|isbn = 978-1-108-00941-6|date = 2010-06-24}}</ref>

The [[Kushan Empire|Kushans]] captured Arachosia from the Indo-Parthians and ruled the region until around 230 CE, when they were defeated by the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanids]], the second Persian Empire, after which the Kushans were replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the [[Kushanshas]] or [[Indo-Sassanids]]. In 420 CE the Kushanshas were driven out of present Afghanistan by the [[Chionites]], who established the [[Kidarite Kingdom]]. The [[Kidarites]] were replaced in the 460s CE by the [[Hephthalites]], who were defeated in 565 CE by a coalition of Persian and Turkish armies. Arachosia became part of the surviving [[Kushano-Hephthalite]] Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Kapisa|Kapisa]], then [[Kabul]], before coming under attack from the Moslem Arabs. These kingdoms were at first vassals of Sassanids. Around 870 CE the Kushano-Hephthalites (aka Turkshahi Dynasty) was replaced by the [[Saffarids]], then the [[Samanid Empire]] and Muslim Turkish [[Ghaznavids]] in the early 11th century CE.

Arab geographers referred to the region (or parts of it) as 'Arokhaj', 'Rokhaj', 'Rohkaj' or simply 'Roh'.

==Inhabitants==
{{Further|Pashtun people}}
[[File:PtolemyCentralAsia.jpg|thumb|right|15th-century reconstruction by German cartographer [[Nicolaus Germanus]] of a 2nd-century map by Roman geographer [[Ptolemy]], depicting Arachosia and surrounding satrapies]]
[[File:Xerxes I tomb Arachosian soldier circa 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|right|Relief at [[Naqsh-e Rostam]], on the tomb of [[Xerxes I]], depicting an Arachosian soldier of the [[Military history of Iran|Achaemenid army]] ({{circa|470 BCE}})]]
The inhabitants of Arachosia were [[Iranian peoples]], and were referred to as ''Arachosians'' or ''Arachoti''.<ref name=Iranicaarticle/> They were called ''Pactyans'' in reference to their individual ethnicity, and that name may have been in reference to the modern-day ethnic group known as the [[Pashtuns]].<ref name="Houtsma-150">{{Cite book|title=E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936|last1=Houtsma|first1=Martijn Theodoor|volume=2|year=1987|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-08265-4|page=150|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEl6N2tQeawC&pg=PA150|access-date=2010-09-24}}</ref>

[[Isidore of Charax]], in his 1st-century CE "Parthian stations" itinerary, described an "Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia", which he said was still [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] even at such a late time:
{{Blockquote|"Beyond is Arachosia. And the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] call this [[Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations|White India]]; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus. As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians."|Isidore of Charax|source=1st century CE. Original text in paragraph 19 of [http://www.parthia.com/doc/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS Parthian stations]|title=Parthians stations}}

=== Theory of Croatian origin from the Iranian peoples ===
{{Further|Origin hypotheses of the Croats#Iranian theory}}
A theory of Croatian origin traces the origin of the [[Croats]] to the area of Arachosia. This connection was at first drawn due to the similarity of Croatian ([[Croatia]] - [[Croatian language|Croatian]]: Hrvatska, Croats - Croatian: [[Name of Croatia#Origin|Hrvati]] / [[Čakavian dialect]]: Harvati / [[Kajkavian dialect]]: Horvati) and Arachosian name,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Identity of Croatians in Ancient Afghanistan|publisher=iranchamber.com|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/identity_croatians_ancient_iran.php}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kalyanaraman|first=Srinivasan|title=Sarasvati Civilization Volume 1|publisher=Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smarak Samiti|location=Bangalore|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/2250823/Civilization|access-date=8 September 2017|archive-date=19 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719080340/http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250823/Civilization|url-status=dead}}.</ref> but other researches indicate that there are also linguistic, cultural, agrobiological and genetic ties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Budimir/Rac|first=Stipan/Mladen|title=Anthropogenic and agrobiological arguments of the scientific origin of Croats|journal=Staroiransko Podrijetlo Hrvata: Zbornik Simpozija |year=1999 |page=71 |publisher=Staroiransko podrijetlo Hrvata: zbornik simpozija / Lovrić, Andrija-Željko (ed). - Teheran: Iranian Cultural Center |location=Zagreb|url=http://crosbi.znanstvenici.hr/prikazi-rad?&lang=EN&rad=37738}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Abbas|first=Samar|title=Common Origin of Croats, Serbs and Jats|publisher=iranchamber.com|location=Bhubaneshwar|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/common_origin_croats_serbs_jats.php}}.</ref> Since Croatia became an independent state in 1991, the Iranian theory gained more popularity, and many scientific papers and books have been published.<ref>Beshevliev 1967: "Iranian elements in the Proto-Bulgarians" by V. Beshevliev (in Bulgarian)(Antichnoe Obschestvo, Trudy Konferencii po izucheniyu problem antichnosti, str. 237-247, Izdatel'stvo "Nauka", Moskva 1967, AN SSSR, Otdelenie Istorii) http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/fadlan/besh.html</ref><ref>Dvornik 1956: "The Slavs. Their Early History and Civilization." by F. Dvornik, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, USA., 1956.</ref><ref>Hina 2000: "Scholars assert Croats are Descendants of Iranian Tribes", Hina News Agency, Zagreb, Oct 15, 2000 (http://www.hina.hr)</ref><ref>Sakac 1949: "Iranisehe Herkunft des kroatischen Volksnamens", ("Iranian origin of the Croatian Ethnonym") S. Sakac, Orientalia Christiana Periodica. XV (1949), 813-340.</ref><ref>Sakac 1955: "The Iranian origin of the Croatians according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus", by S. Sakac, in "The Croatian nation in its struggle for freedom and independence" (Chicago, 1955); for other works by Sakac, cf. "Prof. Dr. Stjepan Krizin Sakac - In memoriam" by Milan Blazekovic, http://www.studiacroatica.com/revistas/050/0500501.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928183723/http://www.studiacroatica.com/revistas/050/0500501.htm |date=2011-09-28 }}</ref><ref>Schmitt 1985: "Iranica Proto-Bulgarica" (in German), Academie Bulgare des Sciences, Linguistique Balkanique, XXVIII (1985), l, p.13-38; http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/bulgar/schmitt.html</ref><ref>Tomicic 1998: "The old-Iranian origin of Croats", Symposium proceedings, Zagreb 24.6.1998, ed. Prof. Zlatko Tomicic & Andrija-Zeljko Lovric, Cultural center of I.R. of Iran in Croatia, Zagreb, 1999, {{ISBN|953-6301-07-5}}, {{cite web|url=http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/croats2.PDF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212182259/http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/croats2.PDF |archive-date=2006-12-12 }}</ref><ref>Vernadsky 1952: "Der sarmatische Hintergrund der germanischen Voelkerwanderung," (Sarmatian background of the Germanic Migrations), G. Vernadsky, Saeculum, II (1952), 340-347.</ref>

==See also==
*[[History of Afghanistan]]
*[[Kandahar province]]
*[[Old Kandahar]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966.
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.]'' Draft annotated English translation.
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html The Peoples of the West from the Weilue]'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation.
* Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}.
* Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). ''Between Oxus and Jumna''. London. Oxford University Press.
* Vogelsang, W. (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." ''Iranica antiqua'', 20 (1985), pp. 55–99.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.livius.org/ap-ark/arachosia/arachosia.html Arachosia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503130438/http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/arachosia/arachosia.html |date=3 May 2013 }}
* [https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html Alexandria in Arachosia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615230642/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html |date=15 June 2010 }}
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f3/v2f3a010.html ARACHOSIA, province (satrapy)]
* {{cite journal |last1=King |first1=Rhyne |title=Taxing Achaemenid Arachosia: Evidence from Persepolis |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |date=2019 |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=185–199 |doi=10.1086/705163|s2cid=211659841 }}

{{Achaemenid Provinces}}
{{Authority control}}

Arachosia - Revision history

CleanupBot at 05:40, 24 November 2023