Art

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/54962199

A 4th century coin pendant from Pakistan, which features a portrait that is supposedly derived from images of Constantine I !!!

This pendant hails from the central Asian region known in the ancient world as Bactria, encompassing modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The relationship between the Mediterranean and Bactria is best known to the modern world through the campaigns of Alexander ‘The Great’ of Macedon. It was here he famously married Roxana, daughter of the Satrap of Bactria, Oxyartes. This story was popular for later Byzantines, often forming a central element of the “Alexander Romances” tradition.

Clearly, as both this pendant and the continued interest in the region into the late Byzantine period show, Bactria — which later included the famous Sogdian Empire within its territory — retained strong links with the Greco-Roman world. And, of course, Bactria was in close contact with its successive Persian and Arabic neighbours & conquerors, too.

How amazing to see tangible evidence of the power of the Silk Roads & the importance of historical cross-cultural communication and exchange.