Ancient Globalisation? Life and Death at Ai Khanum

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2021

⏱️ 33 minutes

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Summary

For decades the discovery of Ai Khanum, ‘the City of Lady Moon’, in Eastern Afghanistan has fascinated archaeologists and historians alike: from its ‘Greek’ theatre and gymnasium to the literary fragments preserved in the palatial complex to the everyday houses of the site. But there is also much more to this Greco-Bactrian metropolis, which reached its height in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

In this second part of Tristan’s chat with Dr Milinda Hoo, Milinda talks us through the religious and burial structures that have been uncovered at Ai Khanum. We also look at the diverse construction methods used in the building of Ai Khanum and why we should not label this settlement a Greek city in Afghanistan. Milinda is an assistant professor at the University of Freiburg and an associate member of the BaSaR work group.

Part 1: https://play.acast.com/s/the-ancients/ai-khanoum-agreekcityinafghanistan--acast035f0852

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Listen closely and hear my tale of a grand celebration that's set to unveil at Edinburgh Castle,
0:06.6	a site to behold, returning this August with stories so bold, 800 performers from
0:12.3	Bár and Wáid, the past and the future, side by side.
0:16.2	Mark your calendars and get ready to see a feast for the senses to set your heart beat.
0:22.3	Stories from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, tales to transport you.
0:26.7	Tickets available at edentatoo.co.uk
0:35.4	It's the ancients on History Hit.
0:38.2	I'm Tristan Hughes, your host.
0:40.4	And in today's podcast, where we are continuing our chat with Dr. Melinda Hu
0:45.2	about the stunning ancient city of Ihanum in eastern Afghanistan,
0:50.9	this city which at its height was this royal centre of the Greco-Bacterian Kingdom
0:56.6	in the third and second centuries BC.
1:00.2	Now in this part of our chat, Melinda, who is an assistant professor at the University of
1:05.4	Fryberg, she teaches ancient history at that university, we talk about religion at the city.
1:12.1	We talk about burial, we talk about the tombs, and we also talk about globalisation in the ancient world,
1:19.9	and how we can approach the city of Ihanum with a globalisation lens,
1:25.4	particularly to answer the question as to whether we can label Ihanum a Greek city in Afghanistan.
1:33.8	So without further ado, here's Melinda.
1:36.7	Melinda, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast today.
1:49.9	Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
1:51.6	You are very welcome indeed.
1:53.1	I'm super, super, super excited.
	...

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