Curated playlist
Ancient history of Afghanistan
- Gandharan BuddhismGreek influence led Gandharan sculptors to carve the Buddha as a human figure for the first time.
- Indo-Greek KingdomAround 200 BC, the Greek king Demetrius I crossed the Hindu Kush into India.
- Greco-BuddhismSome Indo-Greek coins of King Menander I pair a Buddhist wheel with a Greek wreath.
- Indo-Scythian KingdomAround 85 BCE, Maues, first Indo-Scythian king in India, took Gandhara and the Indus Valley by force.
- Parthian EmpireThe Parthian Empire crushed a Roman army with about 1,000 camels carrying arrows.
- Sasanian EmpireThe Sasanian Empire's king Shapur I captured a Roman emperor alive. Valerian spent the rest of his life as his prisoner.
- Maurya EmpireAfter the Kalinga war in 261 BCE, Emperor Ashoka gave up conquest and embraced Buddhism.
- AshokaAshoka ruled a vast empire, then nearly vanished from memory. No one could read his carved script.
- Kushan EmpireKushan coins showed more than thirty different gods. They came from Iranian, Greek and Indian traditions.
- Silk RoadThe Silk Road was a web of Asian trade routes spanning over 6400 km, active until the mid-15th century.