Editing Diodotus I (section)

==Secession from the Seleucid realm==
[[File:Diodotus I tetradrachm obverse and reverse NMAT N473-1 v2.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Tetradrachm of Diodotus I of Bactria, 250–240 BC. Obverse: diademed bust right. Reverse: nude [[Zeus]] standing left, holding [[aegis]] over his outstretched left arm and hurling thunderbolt with his right hand, eagle in the field, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ('of King Antiochus'). From Shahr-i-Nau, [[Hisor District]], [[Tajikistan]]. [[National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan]].]]
At some point, Diodotus seceded from the Seleucid empire, establishing his realm as an independent kingdom, known in modern scholarship as the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. The event is mentioned briefly by the Roman historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]]:

{{quotation|Diodotus,<ref>Justin's text actually reads 'Theodotus'</ref> the governor of the thousand cities of [[Bactria]], defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians [i.e. the Seleucids].|[[Junianus Justinus|Justin]] ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030828143459/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte41.html 41.4]}}}}

The date of this event is unclear. The literary evidence is as follows:
* Justin says that the rebellion occurred 'around the same time' as the [[Parni conquest of Parthia]] from the Seleucid realm, but his dating of this event is confused—he places it in 256 BC, but during the reign of [[Seleucus II]] (246-225 BC).<ref name=J414>Justin, ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus'' 41.4</ref>
* Strabo further claims that [[Arsaces I of Parthia|Arsaces]], the leader of the Parni, had been based in Bactria before the conquest. He says that Diodotus drove Arsaces out of Bactria and maintained hostilities against the Parni.<ref>Strabo 11.9.3</ref>
* [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] places the Parthian rebellion in the reign of a Seleucus (II?).<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus 23.6.2-3</ref>
* [[Arrian]]'s lost ''Parthian History'' seems to have claimed that the Seleucid satrap who was overthrown by the Parthians was appointed to that position by Antiochus II.<ref>Arrian ''[[FGrH]]'' F30a</ref>
* [[Appian]] states that the Parthian rebellion took place in 246 BC, during the [[Third Syrian War]], in the wake of [[Ptolemy III]]'s conquest of Seleucid Syria and Babylon.<ref>Appian ''Syriaca'' 65</ref> The [[Adulis inscription]] set up by Ptolemy III to celebrate this event claims that Bactria was among Ptolemy's conquests, which is hyperbole but might indicate that Bactria had been part of the Seleucid empire up to this point.<ref name=H5860>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=58–60}}</ref>

Different scholars have argued for a 'High Chronology' which places Diodotus' independence around 255 BC in the reign of Antiochus II, or a 'Low Chronology' which dates the secession around 245 BC at the beginning of the reign of Seleucus II.<ref>{{harvnb|Musti|1986}}</ref> Several scholars have expressed pessimism about the possibility of resolving this debate with the available evidence. Frank Holt argues that the secession should be seen as a gradual process in which Diodotus and other eastern Seleucid satraps aggregated ever more autonomy, rather than a single event. In his opinion, the process probably began in the 250s BC and was completed in the reign of Seleucus II.<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=63–64}}</ref> By contrast, Jens Jakobssen argues that Diodotus assumed independence suddenly in 246 or 245 BC, in the confusion of the [[Third Syrian War]], during which it briefly appeared that [[Ptolemy III]] had conquered the Seleucid core territories of [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Jakobsson|2021}} 

The limited archaeological evidence reveals no signs of discontinuity or destruction in this period. The transition from Seleucid rule to independence thus seems to have been accomplished peacefully.<ref name=H5860/> Coins of Antiochus I were over sixty times more common than those of Antiochus II in the excavations at [[Ai Khanoum]], which might indicate that Bactria shifted out of the Seleucid orbit early in Antiochus II's reign, or that Antiochus I's coinage continued to be minted posthumously.{{sfn|Kritt|2001|pp=23-26}}{{sfn|Jakobsson|2021|pp=502-503}}

{{Infobox archaeological culture
|name        =Possible Bactrian satrapal capitals
|map=
{{Location map+ |Bactria#Afghanistan|width=300|float=center|relief=1|caption=
|places=
{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=36.705556|long=65.789167|label=[[Yemshi Tepe]]|position=left}}
{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=38.101111|long=67.860556|label=[[Dalverzin Tepe]]|position=left}}
{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=38.022341|long=68.328634|label=Kobadian|position=right}}
{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=37.169444|long=69.391667|label=[[Ai-Khanoum]]|position=}}
{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=36.766667|long=66.9|label=[[Bactra]]|position=}}
}}
|period=| mapcaption   =
}}

Whether gradual or quick, the culmination of the process was apparently Diodotus' proclamation of himself as king. He divided the territories under his control into a number of satrapies, each with its own satrap. Two of these satrapies, [[Aspionus]] and Turiva (perhaps [[Tapuria]]) were established on the border with Parthia.<ref>Strabo 11.11.2</ref> Archaeologists have identified a number of other settlements which might be other satrapal capitals, including [[Yemshi Tepe]] in [[Sar-e Pol Province|Sar-e Pol]], [[Dalverzin Tepe]] in the [[Surxondaryo River|Surxondaryo river valley]], and [[Kobadian]] in the [[Kofarnihon River|Kofarnihon river valley]]. It is unclear whether Diodotus based himself and his main mint at Ai-Khanoum or [[Bactra]].<ref>Bactra: {{harvnb|Bopearachchi|2005}}</ref>

The literary sources stress the prosperity of the new kingdom. Justin calls it "the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria.",<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030828143459/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte41.html Justin, 41.1 ]}}</ref> while the geographer [[Strabo]] says:
{{quote|The Greeks who caused [[Bactria]] to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of [[Ariana]], but also of [[India]], as [[Apollodorus of Artemita]] says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were [[Balkh|Bactra]] (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others.|source=Strabo ''Geography'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.11.1 11.11.1]}}

Diodotus continued to be hostile to the Parthians for the rest of his reign. Justin emphasises Arsaces' precarious position, opposed by the Seleucids to his west and Diodotus to the east—he is unclear about whether this opposition was co-ordinated.<ref name=J414/> Before archaeological evidence became available, it was generally assumed that the Parni conquest of Parthia had decisively cut Bactria off from contact with Seleucid authority and Greek culture.{{Citation needed span|text=However, archaeological evidence makes clear that goods and people continued to move between Bactria and the Seleucid realm.|date=March 2020|reason=}}

Diodotus died during the reign of Seleucus II, sometime around 235 BC, probably of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son [[Diodotus II]].<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|p=62}}</ref> The new king concluded a peace with the Parthians and supported Arsaces when Seleucus II attacked him around 228 BC.<ref name=J414/> Diodotus II was subsequently killed by an usurper, [[Euthydemus I|Euthydemus]], who founded the [[Euthydemid dynasty]].<ref>[[Polybius]] 11.34.2</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|p=64}}</ref>