Artacoana: Difference between revisions
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'''Artacoana'''<ref>[[Arrian]], [[Anabasis]] 3.25</ref> ({{lang-el| {{Polytonic|Ἀρτακόανα}}}}) or '''Artacana'''<ref>[[Curtius]] 6. 6.33</ref> or '''Articaudna'''<ref>[[Ptolemy]], [[Ptolemy's Geography]]</ref> ({{lang-el| {{Polytonic|Ἀρτικαύδνα}}}}) or '''Chortacana'''<ref>[[Diodorus]] 17.78.1</ref> or '''Artacaena'''<ref>[[Pliny]], [[Pliny's Natural History|Natural History]] 6.61.93; [[Strabo]] 11.10.1</ref>, name of the capital of [[Aria (satrapy)|Aria]], an eastern [[satrapy]] of the [[Persian empire]]. |
'''Artacoana'''<ref>[[Arrian]], [[Anabasis]] 3.25</ref> ({{lang-el| {{Polytonic|Ἀρτακόανα}}}}) or '''Artacana'''<ref>[[Curtius]] 6. 6.33</ref> or '''Articaudna'''<ref>[[Ptolemy]], [[Ptolemy's Geography]]</ref> ({{lang-el| {{Polytonic|Ἀρτικαύδνα}}}}) or '''Chortacana'''<ref>[[Diodorus]] 17.78.1</ref> or '''Artacaena'''<ref>[[Pliny]], [[Pliny's Natural History|Natural History]] 6.61.93; [[Strabo]] 11.10.1</ref>, name of the capital of [[Aria (satrapy)|Aria]], an eastern [[satrapy]] of the [[Persian empire]]. |
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In late 330 B.C. [[Alexander the Great]], according to his biographers, captured Artacoana, the Areian capital. Later, a new capital was built, either by |
In late 330 B.C. [[Alexander the Great]], according to his biographers, captured Artacoana, the Areian capital. Later, a new capital was built, either by Alexander himself or by his successors, Alexandria Ariana ({{Polytonic|Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ ἐν Ἀρίοις}}), modern [[Herat]] in northwest [[Afghanistan]].<ref>Arrian, Anabasis 3.25</ref> Ptolemy lists several other cities, an indication of the province's wealth and fertility. The most important, according to Ptolemy and Arrian, were Aria, Susia, Candace, Bitaxa, Sotera, Nisibis and Sarmatina. |
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The etymology of this name remains unknown, and whether this place should be identified with the modern city of [[Herat]] is also uncertain, although the strategic position of modern Herat would suggest its great antiquity; and thus the possibility remains that they are one and the same place. In the early nineteenth century a Persian [[Achaemenid]] cuneiform cylinder seal was found in or near Herat.<ref>Torrens, 1842</ref> |
The etymology of this name remains unknown, and whether this place should be identified with the modern city of [[Herat]] is also uncertain, although the strategic position of modern Herat would suggest its great antiquity; and thus the possibility remains that they are one and the same place. In the early nineteenth century a Persian [[Achaemenid]] cuneiform cylinder seal was found in or near Herat.<ref>Torrens, 1842</ref> |
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Revision as of 15:38, 15 July 2009
Artacoana[1] (Greek: Ἀρτακόανα) or Artacana[2] or Articaudna[3] (Greek: Ἀρτικαύδνα) or Chortacana[4] or Artacaena[5], name of the capital of Aria, an eastern satrapy of the Persian empire.
In late 330 B.C. Alexander the Great, according to his biographers, captured Artacoana, the Areian capital. Later, a new capital was built, either by Alexander himself or by his successors, Alexandria Ariana (Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ ἐν Ἀρίοις), modern Herat in northwest Afghanistan.[6] Ptolemy lists several other cities, an indication of the province's wealth and fertility. The most important, according to Ptolemy and Arrian, were Aria, Susia, Candace, Bitaxa, Sotera, Nisibis and Sarmatina.
The etymology of this name remains unknown, and whether this place should be identified with the modern city of Herat is also uncertain, although the strategic position of modern Herat would suggest its great antiquity; and thus the possibility remains that they are one and the same place. In the early nineteenth century a Persian Achaemenid cuneiform cylinder seal was found in or near Herat.[7]