318 Major Tod's Account of Greek, Parthian, and Hindu Medals. 



but to the east its frontier cannot be fixed, for we are left in doubt wliether 

 PiTHON declared himself independent, or whether the provinces he held 

 gradually merged into Bactria : the latter is probable ; while there are cir- 

 cumstances which render the other opinion plausible ; so that we should not 

 allot to Bactria all the medals of Greek princes we may discover in the 

 highlands of Central Asia. Six kings are quite enough for the 122 years 

 that dynasty endured ; but, on these points, the dates contained in the 

 monograms must be consulted. 



It is probable that the Greeks took the word Bactra, which was the 

 name of the capital of the country, from Balk'k ; they also called this town 

 Zariaspa,* probably signifying, in the original language, a settlement of the 

 Asii, a Scythic tribe.t of an extensi\'e Scythic race. For Aspi, Aspasice, 

 the Aswa, or Ilaya, of the ancient Hindus, have perhaps the same deriva- 

 tion. Aswa is a very common termination of the names of the early Hindu 

 princes, especially those of the lunar line, one of whom, prior to the 

 Mahabhdrata, is stated, in the genealogy of the Purans, to have erected a 

 sovereignty near the Indus, built its ancient capital Camjnlnagara, and to 

 have left a numerous progeny. His name was Bdjuswa ; and of his issue 

 was.the celebrated Draupadi, who became the wife, in common, of the five 

 Panda brothers. This savours strongly of tlic Scytiiic, and is entirely 

 repugnant to existing Hindu manners. Doubtless, at that period the simi- 

 larity was great, or it might be more just to surmise, that the difference of 

 many of the races between the east and west of the Indus, was originally 

 sliglit. 



Balk'fi, or Bactria, is of very remote antiquity ; it is mentioned as the 

 birth-place of Zerdtisht, or Zoroaster, and was tlie residence of Cyrus the 

 Great. As the oldest city in the world, it was distinguished by the title 

 oi Am-ul Belad, " the mother of towns." This ancient metropolis is now 

 reduced to insignificance. Its ruins still cover a great extent, and are 

 surrounded with a wall : but only one corner is inhabited. 



* Perhaps from Seher, a city, and the lace Aspa, or Aswa. 



t Asi, is a sword ; Aswa, Aspa, a horse, in Sanscrit and Persian ; what more proper name for 

 Scythic warlike tribes, almost all horsemen ? Most probably from one or the other of these words 

 originated the terra Asia, not from the wife of Prometheus, as Diodorus asserts, though Isa, a 

 goddess, might afford a claim. The Scythic tribe, which invaded Scandinavia, was known to 

 the prior inhabitants under the name Asi. 



