#oxustreasure

Oxus

The Oxus is a river, today called Amu Darya in its western part and Wakhsh in its eastern parts, which flows for a length of 2400 km across modern Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan into Lake Aral. In Ancient times it crossed the regions Fergana, Bactria, Oxeiana, Sogdiana and Khiva. The Oxus and the Iaxartes are called twin rivers, because of their same destination, almost similar trajectories and because they both are thankless rivers, naturally irrigating only very few areas through which they flow. However, like the Iaxartes, the Oxus allowed large-scale irrigation systems which was the main reason of its area's rich history. The Oxus was the nucleus of the successive Bactrian civilizations and kingdoms. The river was the borderline between the Persian satrapy of Sogdiana northward and Bactria southward, whereas the western part belongs to nomads. Several cities were founded here, mostly known under their Greek names, like Alexandreia Oxeiana (actual Termez). Alexander the Great came across the river three times between 329 and 327 BC. Later, the Eastern part of the Oxus was the nucleus of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, whereas the western part, especially the Khiva Oasis, was the land of the Parni, who later became the Parthians invading the Seleucid empire.

Silver in Antiquity

Silver had great value and aesthetic appeal in many ancient cultures where it was used to make jewellery, tableware, figurines, ritual objects and rough-cut pieces known as hacksilver which could be used in trade or to store wealth. The metal of choice to mint coinage for long periods, acquisition of silver mines in such places as Greece, Spain, Italy, and Anatolia was an important factor in many an ancient conflict. The metal was also found, amongst other places, in mines in ancient China, Korea, Japan, and South America where it was transformed into beautifully-crafted objects for elite use and to give as tribute and prestige gifts between states. Easily mined, worked, reusable, and brilliantly shiny, silver was one of the few truly international commodities which both connected and divided the ancient world.

Gold Bowl from the Oxus Treasure

This gold bowl was decorated with pushed-out lobes and lions standing on their hind-legs with their front paws raised. The shape and decoration of the bowl was made by hammering. Part of the Oxus treasure, from Takht-i Kuwad, Tajikistan. Achaemenid Period, 5th to 4th centuries BCE. (The British Museum, London)