The siege of Bactra was a siege of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

that lasted from 208 to 206 BC. It was a siege of the city of Bactra by the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

after they defeated the Greco-Bactrians at the Battle of the Arius. The

Seleucids The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, ...

besieged the capital of

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...

until concerning news from the west of his dominions and lack of progress against the city led the Seleucid ruler

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

to negotiate a peace treaty with the Bactrian king Euthydemus and lift the siege. It was agreed that Antiochus would recognize Euthydemus as an ally, and he gave one of his daughters as a wife to

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

, Euthydemus' heir.

Siege and peace

The Greco-Bactrians had recently been defeated at the Battle of the Arius by

. After this defeat, Euthydemus retreated to Zariaspa, a district of Bactra. The Greco-Bactrians were able to hold out long enough against Antiochus until his fortunes in the west deteriorated. After two years' laying siege to Bactra, Antiochus' fortunes to the west of his empire had deteriorated to the point where he decided to withdraw from the siege. Euthydemus then sent his son,

, as his representative to negotiate a peace treaty. Impressed at Demetrius' behaviour and bearing which was seen as worthy of that of a member of the royalty, Antiochus offered him one of his daughters and agreed to a peace treaty. As a part of the peace treaty, Euthydemus gave Antiochus elephants which Antiochus, along with his own, may have used at the

Battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the Roman consul, consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied ...

References

208 BC 207 BC 206 BC Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Bactra Military history of Afghanistan 200s BC conflicts Bactra Balkh {{siege-stub