Aramaic Documents (353-324 BC)

The 48 Aramaic documents from Ancient Bactria occupy a special place among the treasures of the Khalili Collections. The group are for the most part letters and accounts connected with the court of the satrap of Bactria, Akhvamazda, and with his governor, Bagavant. This is the first time that parts of the internal correspondence of the administration of Bactria and Sogdiana have come to light. The documents are written in Official Aramaic, a term that describes both the language and the script. They may be placed in or near Balkh, the capital city of Bactria in antiquity, and span a period of less than thirty years, from 353 to 324 bc. This was, however, a period of great turmoil with far-reaching consequences for the history of the East, particularly of Central Asia. During this period, which begins with the reign of Artaxerxes III, the Achaemenian Empire came to an end when the kingdom was captured by Alexander the Great. One document is dated to year 7 of his reign. In this extraordinary document, corresponding to 8th of June 324 BCE, his name appears clearly as `Iksndrs’ on the top right. All known documents previously had always referred to him as `Iksndr’, which makes this document the first time Alexander the Great became ‘Alexandros’ for which he was known throughout history.