Artacoana
Artacoana (Greek: Ἀρτακόανα)[1] or Articaudna (Greek: Ἀρτικαύδνα)[2] name of the capital of Aria, an eastern satrapy of the Persian empire.
In its vicinity, a new capital was built, either by Alexander the Great himself or by his successors, Alexandria Ariana (Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ ἐν Ἀρίοις), modern Herat in northwest Afghanistan. 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 city was invaded by Alexander in late 330 B.C.[3]