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Afghanistan
Achaemenid Rule, ca. 550-331 B.C.
Afghanistan
Achaemenid Rule, ca. 550-331 B.C.
The area that is present-day Afghanistan comprised several
satrapies (provinces) of the Achaemenid Empire when it was at its
most extensive, under Darius the Great (ca. 500 B.C.). Bactriana,
with its capital at Bactria (which later became Balkh), was
reputedly the home of Zoroaster, who founded the religion that
bears his name.
By the fourth century B.C., Iranian control of outlying areas
and the internal cohesion of the empire had become tenuous.
Although outlying areas like Bactriana had always been restless
under Achaemenid rule, Bactrian troops nevertheless fought on the
Iranian side in the decisive Battle of Gaugamela (330 B.C.). They
were defeated by Alexander the Great.
Data as of 1997
