the early 2nd century BC the Greco-Bactrians had created an impressive empire that stretched southwards to include north-west India. By about 135 BC, however, this kingdom had been overrun by invading Yuezhi tribes, an invasion that later brought about the rise of the powerful Kushan Empire. Bactrians were recorded in Strabo's Geography: "Now in early times the Sogdians and Bactrians did not differ much from the nomads in their modes of life and customs, although the Bactrians were a little more civilised; however, of these, as of the others, Onesicritus does not report their best traits, saying, for instance, that those who have become helpless because of old age or sickness are thrown out alive as prey to dogs kept expressly for this purpose, which in their native tongue are called "undertakers," and that while the land outside the walls of the metropolis of the Bactrians looks clean, yet most of the land inside the walls is full of human bones; but that Alexander broke up the custom." The Bactrians spoke Bactrian, a north-eastern Iranian language. Bactrian became extinct, replaced by north-eastern Iranian languages such as Pashto, Yidgha, Munji, and Ishkashmi. The Encyclopaedia Iranica states: The principal religions of the area before the Islamic invasion were Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. Contemporary Tajiks are the descendants of ancient Eastern Iranian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular, the Sogdians and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of Western Iranian Persians and non-Iranian peoples. The Encyclopædia Britannica states: In popular culture The six-part documentary Alexander's Lost World explores the possible sites of Bactrian cities that historians believe were founded by Alexander the Great, including Alexandria on the Oxus. The series also explores the pre-existing Oxus civilization. The site was portrayed in the 2004 film Alexander where Darius III was found dying. Bactria, or The Bactrian Kingdom, is a playable nation in the game Imperator: Rome, being a satrapy of the Seleukid Empire. See also History of Afghanistan History of Uzbekistan Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex Tillya Tepe Bactrian camel Bahlikas Greater Khorasan Dalverzin Tepe Balkh Notes Sources Bernard, Paul (1994). "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250, pp. 99–129. Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. Beal, Samuel (trans.). Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. Two volumes. London. 1884.