Apollodorus of Artemita
Encyclopedia
Apollodorus of Artemita (c. 130-87 BCE) was a Greek writer of the 1st century BCE.
Apollodorus wrote a history of the Parthia
n Empire, the Parthika , in at least four books. He is quoted by Strabo
and Athenaeus
. Strabo stated that he was very reliable. Apollodorus seems to have used the archives of Artemita
and Seleucia on the Tigris
for his work. Some information on Greco-Bactrians are preserved in Strabo's work:
He is also quoted for his general geographical knowledge of Central Asia:
Apollodorus wrote a history of the Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n Empire, the Parthika , in at least four books. He is quoted by Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
and Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
. Strabo stated that he was very reliable. Apollodorus seems to have used the archives of Artemita
Artemita
Artemita or Artemita in Apolloniatis was a city in what is now eastern Iraq that flourished under the Parthian Empire.Though its exact location is not known, it was located on the major route to Khorasan, between Seleucia and the Zagros Mountains...
and Seleucia on the Tigris
Seleucia on the Tigris
Seleucia , also known as Seleucia on the Tigris, was one of the great cities of the world during Hellenistic and Roman times. It stood in Mesopotamia, on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the smaller town of Ctesiphon, in present day Babil Governorate, Iraq.-Seleucid empire:Seleucia,...
for his work. Some information on Greco-Bactrians are preserved in Strabo's work:
- "The Greeks who caused BactriaBactriaBactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of ArianaArianaAriana was a region of the eastern countries of ancient Iran, next to India.Ariana may also refer to:* Ariana In places:*Ariana Governorate, a governorate in Tunisia*Ariana, Tunisia*Lake Ariana, a lake in Sofia, Bulgaria...
, but also of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander--by MenanderMenander IMenander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom from either 165 or 155 BC to 130 BC ....
in particular (at least if he actually crossed the HypanisHypanisHypanis may refer to:* The Ancient Greek name of the Southern Bug river in Southern Ukraine* The Ancient Greek name of the Kuban River in Southern Russia.* Hypanis , a genus of cockles...
towards the east and advanced as far as the Imaus), for some were subdued by him personally and others by DemetriusDemetrius I of BactriaDemetrius I was a Buddhist Greco-Bactrian king . He was the son of Euthydemus and succeeded him around 200 BC, after which he conquered extensive areas in what now is eastern Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan thus creating an Indo-Greek kingdom far from Hellenistic Greece...
, the son of EuthydemusEuthydemus IEuthydemus I , Greco-Bactrian king in about 230 or 223 BCE according to Polybius., he is thought to have originally been a Satrap of Sogdiana, who overturned the dynasty of Diodotus of Bactria and became a Greco-Bactrian king. Strabo, on the other hand, correlates his accession with internal...
the king of the Bactrians; and they took possession, not only of Patalena, but also, on the rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis. In short, Apollodorus says that Bactriana is the ornament of Ariana as a whole; and, more than that, they extended their empire even as far as the SeresSeresSeres was the ancient Greek and Roman name for the inhabitants of eastern Central Asia. It meant "of silk," or people of the "land where silk comes from." The country of the Seres was Serica....
and the Phryni." (Strabo, Geographia, 11.11.1)
He is also quoted for his general geographical knowledge of Central Asia:
- "Accordingly, if the distance from Hyrcania to Artemita in BabyloniaBabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
is eight thousand stadia, as is stated by Apollodorus of Artemita, and the distance from there to the mouth of the Persian Sea another eight thousand, and again eight thousand, or a little less, to the places that lie on the same parallel as the extremities of EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, there would remain of the above-mentioned breadth of the inhabited world the distance which I have already given,14 from the recess of the Hyrcanian Sea to the mouth of that sea" (Strabo, Geographia, 11.11.1)