Кочевой мир, греко-бактрийское царство и Китай: этнокультурная ситуация на юге Центральной Азии в III–II вв. до н.э.

Abstract

After the dissolution of the Empire of Alexander of Macedon the layer of Hellenized aristocracy began to appear in Asia under the influence of mixed marriages and cultural syncretism. The announcement of the establishment of the independent state of Bactria made by Diodotus I triggered the appearance of a special culture, characterized by the mixture of Iranian, North Indian and Greek cultural elements. Ultimately, its subsequent spread to the East lead to influence on the China-dominated world. Based on all the mentioned above, the given article aspires to collect and analyze the data, primarily from narratives as sources and foreign literature, for the purpose of researching the processes that connected two ancient and very influential civilizations – Greece and China. The main stages of explicit and implicit relations between China and Hellenistic Bactria is defined. The role of nomad cultures in establishment of connections between West and East is determined and exemplified by the events of the 3rd century B.C. and the early 1st century B.C. Conditional character of the names, referred to nomad entities by ancient writers, is analyzed. We show the controversy of interpretation the given names with the ethnic groups in modern meaning as well as the range of sources on the relations between Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and China and their characteristics. Finally, we construe the equal role of nomads, Chinese and Hellenes in the described contacts of ancient societies.