The history of Hellenistic Bactria (northern Afghanistan, and areas of
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) is particularly obscure and its
reconstruction contentious. Unlike other Hellenistic kingdoms very
little evidence survives from literary sources and inscriptions; the
best primary source is the large quantity of coinage issued under the
Graeco-Bactrian kings who ruled the area from the third century to the
mid second century BC. With limited details of the find spots of the
coins and only a few published hoards, their use has often been limited
to a superficial analysis of their iconography.