The Greeks of Bactria: An Alternate History of Greco-Bactria

[Alpha_North]

Civil War: Part 3. The Traitor Done With!

"Let burn the rage of all torment and anger, as two men fight for crowns and fields, while sacrificing blood of blood." - Artabanos I, King of Persia

The 1st Battle of Kalasi
​

After Antimachus took the city of Euthyd, Demetrius II grew anxious, as the civil war began to tilt in the favor of his uncle, and after the failure trying to retake much of Persia, Demetrius made sure he wasn't going to be toppled over so easily. He rallied his forces at Bactra, and was about to retake Euthyd, but reports came that Agathocles was about to secure the right flank of the city by taking control over a small town called Kalasi, modern-day Bagram, Afganistan. The place was completely insignificant to the Bactrian Empire, but soon became a key spot in the Civil War, and because of this, Demetrius had to take care of Agathocles before he could take care of Antimachus, as he knew he could be away while Antimachus plotted, while Agathocles could siege the city as soon as he took Kalasi.

The young claimant would soon march to this small town to show his worth to not only the nobles, but his entire cause. When he approached to the town, Agathocles's forces had already occupied it. As the interactions with the town continued among the locals and troops, it became apparent to Demetrius that the town was not occupied, it welcomed the troops. They lost their belief in Demetrius's cause after the failed retaking of Persia, and although there were cases telling of Antimachus's cruelty, they saw him as the likely winner and didn't want to be pillaged for being on the wrong side. Demetrius, angry at the townspeople for the betrayal, would order a charge of his cavalry. However, the men were caught off-guard from the sudden order and were not in formation. In a mere hour, the cavalry retreated, and the 1st Battle of Kalasi was a setback for Demetrius, but Demetrius wasn't done yet.

"The Siege of Futility"
​

When the 1st Battle of Kalasi caught wind at Euthyd, Antimachus assumed that the main force of the enemy army was destroyed, and would march a hastily-gathered force to Bactra and demand a surrender. When he got there, he demanded that the city allow their true king inside, but they would refuse, leading to a siege. His forces were one of his most elite, but their numbers would soon become a weakness. The haste that Antimachus went through to gather them meant that their numbers were quite small compared to standard armies. This didn't stop Antimachus though, and he would find success when he breached a part of the outer wall. In moments, he told his men to swarm in, but the defending army held steadfast to not allow another soldier to gain an inch. The men of Antimachus soon were funneled, as archers fired arrows from above and the defenders were way more numerous then their enemy. Antimachus would soon disengage his forces, trying for another time, but proving futile to break in with his numbers, leading to the assault being called the Siege of Futility.

As Antimachus marched back to Euthyd, Demetrius would finish his planning and ready an organized assault. He sent infantry units to be the first wave, as the two sides fought on the field. Agathocles would attempt a cavalry flank, but Demetrius was waiting, sending out his own cavalry and made contact with Agathocles, even said to have fought for a short period of time. Agathocles soon figured this was a losing battle, and not wanting to abandon his townspeople allies, he would have taken a few women and children from the battlefield to save them from the horror of war, even adopting a young boy as his own after his parents died during the battles. This young boy's name was Menander. The 2nd Battle of Kalasi would prove a major victory for Demetrius, and he would soon return back to Bactra to be ready to deal with Antimachus. However, not before severely punishing the town, allowing his men to do as they wish, and the titled Rape of Kalasi showed how this gave a negative effect for the image of Demetrius.

In a month's time, Demetrius II is ready to march to Euthyd and hopefully win the war. He marches west, with him his army. Antimachus was preparing for a siege, but things took a turn for the worst. His nomad allies would abandon him, believing the war was lost and wished to gather the loot they could and go back home after months away. This lack of trust for Antimachus, being so cruel and arrogant, that he would be captured by his own men and be given to Demetrius II when he arrived. Surprised how easily he won, but happy either way, he returned home, wishing to show his victory before the city. The army of Antimachus was largely forgiven, and soon was reintegrated within the army.

Soon came the public execution of Antimachus. He was paraded around the town like a beast to behold. The only thing that was on Demetrius's mind was pride. It was said that he rode next to Antimachus, as he was chained, mocking him and spitting at him. However, unlike the other parades around the city, this one was not so much vengeful, rather silent. City peasants who rallied under Demetrius's call to rage soon learned of the atrocity made by Demetrius's army at his command and Bactrian nobility, which was largely below Greek nobility, used this to rant on the evil that was Demetrius's rule, and when Demetrius punished these nobles, it only further leaned public opinion against him, where there were even tales that Demetrius had Antimachus's son assassinated after the Battle of Diodotia and that Apollodotus was actually executed by Demetrius's command after he was ransomed to Euthyd while it was under Demetrius's rule. These tales were completely not true, but it painted the sudden shift that people had on their opinion of Demetrius II, and the open mocking of Antimachus by Demetrius did not help.

When Antimachus stood before the public, moments away from execution, the public soon did something miraculous. A man from the crowd tried to save Antimachus, but was killed. This led to a frenzy where the public called for the freedom of Antimachus. When troops tried to keep the situation calm, Demetrius II ordered his executioner to quickly take care of Antimachus before anything got too out of hand to do anything.

"Then the executioner turned to the young victor, King of Bactria. Without hesitation, he struck his weapon at Demetrius II's neck, and the young king fell to the ground, weeping for his father to save him." - Strabo
​

With the surprising death of Demetrius, it was said that Antimachus stood and yelled out, "The execution had done, and the traitor done with!" The crowd would cheer in awe, as he took the dying body of Demetrius II and threw it to the ground. Guards tried to assault Antimachus, but many would be of the ranks of Antimachus, stopping them. Antimachus's plan was both calculation and luck. He knew that a siege would only lead to failure after the losing at the 2nd Battle of Kalasi, so he wished to bring himself in, knowing that his executionw as going to be public. Although he didn't control Bactra, he still had connections, and he was able to have one of his troops be given the role of his executioner. The crowd being on his side was entirely not of his doing, as later accounts confirm, but it showed how this man took the throne while in chains at the end of 179BC.

***

1. Bactrian Empire (+Parni, Indian, & Persian tribes)
2. Ptolmaic Empire (+Pergamon)
3. Kingdom of Armenia
4. Shunga Empire
5. Kingdom of Persia​

 

[Wolttaire]

Were coming for u Persia

 

[TheImperialTheorist]

 

[Alpha_North]

VII. Not All Sunshine In The Desert

"And all eyes would look upon the Kings, waiting for their fruitful conquests to be the poison of their kingdoms." - Judah Maccabee, Son of Mattathias ben Johanan

Coinage of Perseus I, King of Macedon
​

After the last remnants of the Seleucid Empire died in the Heliod Civil War, the area didn't just fix itself. During the regency of Alexander II, he struggled to keep his recently conquered lands under control, resorting to appointing military governors in the area, with much autonomy, practically ruling their own kingdoms under the Ptolmaic Empire, with the dominant one being Tlepolemus. He was a war hero to the Egyptian people, with his successful campaigns in the Seleucid Empire and during the Heliod Civil War, and because of that, he ruled most of the fertile crescent. With a decentralized nation and a puppet king, it was not Alexander who ruled, but his generals, advisers, and most of all, his mother, who had the tightest grip over her son. This elephant tilting on a wire would soon meet the all-assumed gust of wind to push it off it's balance.

Perseus I of Macedon had recently become King of Macedon on 179 BC, and he was eyeing the lands of the Ptolmaic Empire. He was a young king, an ambitious one at that. Since the Roman-Macedonian War (1st Macedonian War), Macedon lived in relative peace, even during the fall of the Seleucids, Perseus's father, Philip V, did not wish to dare the ambitions of the Egyptians after he had lost to the Romans, who both had a key ally with Pergamon. The previous king was content, practically ruling all of Greece. However, Perseus would not seek to fulfill his ambitions alone. Philippus, half-brother to Perseus, would go on a diplomatic mission to Armenia, successfully allying them with Macedon on 178 BC. After that, all was done, and Macedon launched an invasion of Cyprus, hoping to leave Pergamon be so Roman intervention wasn't instant.

Mattathias ben Johanan
​

Fear erupted in Egypt when news came that Macedon had invaded, and when troops returned from the island, saying that the Macedonians took Cyprus, chaos followed. In the middle of the night, an attempt on Alexander II's life was made, and when the assassin was tortured for days, he said one word that gave it all, Tlepolemus. Troops were sent to apprehend the supposedly traitorous general-governor, but those same troops soon joined the ranks of their target, and Tlepolemus declared himself King of the Tlepolemid Kingdom. Egypt roared with rage, seeing their beloved general tried to be captured, and this outrage became violent, with large supporters of Tlepolemus rioting, even attempting to kill the Pharaoh. It got to the point where Alexander II ordered the exile of hundreds of dissenters, and when these exiled tried to come under the care of Tlepolemus, their idol, he turned them away, assuming there were spies in their ranks. With nobody to turn to, they turned to somewhere unexpected.

Mattathias ben Johanan was a priest in the city of Jerusalem that sparked a Jewish revolt in the city, fueled by the wish to be rid of Hellenistic and Egyptian influences. However, some sources say that it was specifically sparked when a son of Mattathias was executed, said to have conspired with the Macedonians to liberate Jerusalem. The execution did the exact opposite, as the Jewish people had enough, being successful in taking the city from the Ptolmaic garrison and organizing the Jews of Jericho to revolt as well. The Jerusalem Revolt was so far going well, and when they encountered the exiled, seeking refuge, Mattathias would seek to be rid of them, but his sons convinced him that if cooperation was made, they could have a sizable army that could rival a Ptolmaic force.

For a time, the two groups despised one another, seeing the other as weak. Mattathias and his sons would seek compromise, but neither side wished to do so. Then, Alexander II personally led a force to take care of the Jerusalem Revolt near the end of 179 BC, where the Bactrian Civil War was finishing up. The Jews and exiles had to work together if they were to just survive their contact. The Siege of Jerusalem would commence in early 177 BC.

Battle of Antioch​

However, while all of this was happening, the Levant and Mesopotamia were in constant conflict. Few generals declared independence in their single-ruled cities. These cities included: Tyre, Antioch, and Damascus. Didas, a senior general that was under Philip V, was sent to capture the city of Antioch. He landed with his troops, and as his forces approached the destination, they were met with the forces of the self-proclaimed "King of Antioch", Gorgias, a Seleucid turncoat that joined the Ptolmaic Empire, and with his recent claim, it seemed loyalty was not Gorgias's virtue. The Battle of Antioch would occur mid-178 BC.

The battle was fairly quick, as Didas was able to force Gorgias's forces to outstretch themselves, allowing the Macedonian forces to have a breakthrough point, eventually capturing the claimed "King of Antioch" and winning the battle, with a surrender of the city as they reached their walls. Perseus also had Philippus take the port city of Laodicea (in Syria), with the half-brother able to drive out Antioch forces formally under Gorgias.

In Mesopotamia, a series of battle commenced between the Armenian and Tlepolemid forces. The first would be the Siege of Arbela, where Artaxias I would beat Tlepolemid forces in a storming during the night. From there, forces led by Tlepolemus followed Artaxias, who was heading towards Harran, a city west of Arbela. The two sides would clash in the Battle of Harran, where elite troops under Tlepolemus were able to bend the line of Artaxias's men, eventually sending peltasts to flank and force the Armenians to retreat. Artaxias would retreat to Arbela, but Tlepolemus would be unable to continue his victory, as the Arab city of Gerrha were raiding the villages along the Tigris, as the year 177 BC began.

The Bactrian Empire had just gotten out of their civil war, and Antimachus had a burning desire to reconquer Persia. He sent an expedition to assert bordering tribes into returning under Bactrian rulership, but Artabanos soon caught word of this, leading a force to interfere with this Bactrian aggression. They began using guerrilla tactics to wear down the Bactrian army, but Agathocles, who was leading this army, would draw Artabanos's forces out in the open when he retreated his troops to the Bactrian city of Rhagae. Although wishing to keep his realm within the people of Persia, his allies urged him to attack, and so he approached the city during mid-178 BC. Agathocles would spring his trap, as when the Persians set up for a siege, the majority of the Bactrian army sallied out during the night and broke the organization of the Persian forces. Agathocles was about to pursue the remaining Persian forces, but trouble soon arrived when word came out that the Shunga Empire was occupying Persian tribes under Bactrian rule, and soon, Agthocles was forced to pull away from the invasion to deal with the issue east, having the death during his campaign, all for nothing.

***

1. Bactrian Empire (+Parni, Indian, Persian tribes)
2. Ptolmaic Empire (+Pergamon)
3. Kingdom of Armenia (+Pontus)
4. Shunga Empire
5. Kingdom of Persia
6. Tlpolemid Kingdom
7. Kingdom of Macedon​

 

[Alpha_North]

Had a little hiatus due to personal reasons, but expect a new chapter this week!

 

[Alpha_North]

VIII. The Republic Sails East

"Bloody Romans." - Alexander II, Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Empire

Bactrian cataphracts and Shunga elephants charging at one another
​

With the Bactrian Empire recovering from the civil war and conflicts with the newly-born Kingdom of Persia, they thought at least the Shunga Empire was too afraid to face them. Well when that was discovered not to be true, the Bactrians were caught completely off-guard. Shunga troops would fight conflicts with subjugated Persian subjects and when a small Bactrian army was sent to deal with the problem, they would be utterly crushed under the foot of Indian elephants. Finding difficulty putting the Shunga Empire in their place, Antimachus sent Agathocles to deal with the Indians. He would beat them in battle, and not just that, his success in pushing the Shunga Empire, led to Antimachus beginning a campaign. In the beginning of 177 BC, the Bactrians were pushing east hard, ignoring Shunga pleas of truce. Bactria would siege the city of Pataliputra, the capital of the Shunga Empire, which dragged on.

Even when news came that Persia had liberated remaining Persian subjects, Antimachus focused on taking Pataliputra. The people in the city soon began to starve, and when the Shunga Empire unsuccessfully tried to end the siege, the people got angry, and a group of the royal guard dragged Pushyamitra Shunga out of the palace, to Antimachus in the night. Morning, the gates were opened by the fed-up guards and the Bactrians stormed the city. The Shunga Empire practically crumbled when the capital was lost, as multiple Indian successor kingdoms were born. Antimachus saw his job done, and returned to Bactria at the end of 177 BC.

Judas Maccabeus​

The Siege of Jerusalem was a mitigated failure for the Ptolemaic Empire. When Alexander approached the holy city, he thought little of what the rebels could do, so he sent around the same number of troops to take the city, although against his advisers' wishes. He planned to storm the city with siege ladders, and only siege ladders. When he began this plan, it was surprising for him to find that his troops were struggling to take the city walls. Judas Maccabeus, a son of Mattathias, would ensure his men, both exile and Jewish, made sure that any ground the enemy made was not worth the lives. Soon, Alexander II pulled back to better scope the situation, leaving Jerusalem to go back to Egypt. This was a major victory for the rebels, who soon found new brotherhood in their fight against the Ptolemaic Empire.

The fighting with Armenia and the Tlepolemid Kingdom got more complicated. With the Bactrians busy in India, Persia broke through the Bactrian western border and began raiding the Tlepolemid and Armenian kingdoms. It got more flared up, as after the Armenians beat the Tlepolemids, accounts of Persian hordes near Zariad (Seleucia), were confirmed as Artabanos was found leading an army towards the capital city. However, the Tlepolemids were able to push back the Persians at the Battle of the Tigris mid-177 BC, as the Tlepolemid crushed the Persians at two flanks. The crushing defeat forced Artabanos back to Persia, as the Armenians marched to that very same city.

Artaxias I would march to the city of Zariad, but terror would strike. When the Armenians were encamped, a few days away from their target, one Tlepolemid raid would lead to Artaxias I's death. The sudden death of their king, the Armenians were not ready to fight, and marched back to their homeland to find their new king, the only son of Artaxias, the young Artavasdes, now Artavasdas I. This new Armenian king was not ready to leave, just like that though, as he returned to the Tlepolemid Kingdom, and defeated Tlepolemus personally in battle at the end of 177 BC, later to march on Zariad, like his father wished to do.

Artavasdes I, King of Armenia​

For Perseus of Macedon, his fight with the Egyptians were being held back, because of the Pergamians and their ships. Pergamon could've broken away from the Ptolemaic Empire, and before the war, Perseus even tried to coerce the Pergamian king, Eumenes II, to do so. However, Eumenes II was under much influence from across the Mediterranean, as Egyptian courtiers and advisers littered his court. However, with this Ptolemaic influence, it quickly isolated relations with Rome, and when the fighting began, Pergamon decided to cut off relations with Rome, fearing they would conspire with the Macedonians. To be fair, they weren't wrong. The Romans and Macedonians began talks about the war in the east, and when Perseus promised to Greek cities he ruled, more autonomy, Rome suddenly found their embassies to those Greek cities, telling them to cooperate with the Macedonians. While the Battle of Antioch was being done with, Rome and Macedon plotted to overthrow the King of Pergamon, and replace him with his brother, Attalus. However, the brother soon ratted the Romans and Macedonians out, being loyal to his king and brother. No wonder he got the epithet Philadelphus, "brother loving".

"My brother stood by me in the face of betrayal, and I repaid him by sending him to his death." - Eumenes II, King of Pergamon​

Eumenes was livid, and decided to take the war out of the sea and into the field. He sent his loyal brother with some troops to retake Antioch. When Pergamon's men arrived, Didas pleaded for assistance, and that came when Philippus and his men met with Attalus's at the 2nd Battle of Antioch, mid-177 BC. The men of Attalus were by the River Orontes, covering two walls, the north and west walls. However, they would be surprised when Macedonian troops appeared from the south and slammed into the men at the west wall. All the men north of the wall could do was cross the river to help. However, that would prove their downfall, as Didas sallied out with his men to crash into the Pergamian side. It was said that Attalus was pushed into the river by a Macedonian soldier and drowned to death.

With the crushing victory made by the Macedonians at the 2nd Battle of Antioch, the Romans were without war weariness, and one Tiberius Gracchus (the Elder), a consul of the Republic, would call a Centuriate Assembly, the body with the power of declaring war, and by a fair margin, the Romans officially declared war on Pergamon, stating it was for "Roman retribution for Pergamian betrayal". This did not mean that they were at war with the Egyptians, which bugged Perseus, but he was fine with what he could get. Tiberius Gracchus would sail east, with his soldiers from Sardinia and veterans of Iberia, he sailed east to meet the Pergamians with blade and blood.

Battle of Cape Sygrio​

He landed at the River Maeander, meeting up with Philippus and Didas. All together, they would take the city of Apamea Cibotus in a siege, and Eumenes would be finished when Macedonian ships would beat Pergamian vessels at the Battle of Cape Sygrio. Soon, King Eumenes, filled with the guilt of Attalus's death, would surrender as Macedonian troops arrived by sea, after the sea battle. Macedon made Philippus regent of Pergamon. The Roman consul was ready to leave victorius, but it was soon found that the Roman vessels were burned and crashed by the River Maeander, and survivors claimed that Ptolemaic ships had attacked them while they were at the coast. Rome responded. This war had just became a Roman war as the year 177 BC finished up.

 

[Alpha_North]

I've decided to make the maps less often and not put them with the chapters. They'll be in their own threadmarks from now on.

 

[Wolttaire]

Rome coming for all of them

 

[Alpha_North]

IX. Ptolemies & Togas

"And so, as Rome pushed Carthage off the cliff, then the tribes of Iberia, they saw a Egypt leaning over the side, just begging to be toppled over the edge." - Polybius, Greek historian

The Battle of Rhodes
​

With Rome now put at the forefront of the conflict, they rushed to regather themselves. Macedonian ships were boarded by Roman troops under Tiberius and they made their way to the city of Rhodes, where they planned to rally mercenaries and maybe even the city, to help their fight against the Ptolemaic Empire. However, it seemed the Egyptians had the same idea, as they met near the port city. The two fleets crashed at one another. Gracchus had no real experience in naval combat, and that soon became apparent, when Egyptian captains ordered some of their ships to pull back, unaware of any trap, Gracchus told his men to move in that gap. However, those men soon found themselves flanked and blocked in that gap. Seeing his mistake and the losses taken because of that, Tiberius Gracchus retreated with his forces. His reputation wasn't too muddled however, as later that day, he regrouped with forces under Philippus and in the cover of dark, ambushed the Ptolemaic ships ported at Rhodes.

A second naval battle would occur near Cyprus, when a Ptolemaic fleet attempted to retake the island. The forces under Gracchus and Philippus took a detour to Cyprus to stop that from happening, and would sandwich the Egyptians in battle, crushing them. Alexander II refused to submit to defeat, and he rallied an army at Alexandria. When the Roman-Macedonian forces were found landing at Gaza, the administrative capital to the Levant, Alexander II marched east to face his opponents. Alexander's forces consisted of Egyptian levies and Carthage-based mercenaries. In mid-176 BC, the Battle of Gaza began.

The Battle of Gaza​

It was a dry morning day. Gracchus and Philippus had just stormed the city of Gaza, taking small casualties. Their men were tired, and were resting to meet Alexander, who they assumed would entrench himself at Alexandria. How wrong they were. Scouts soon spotted the Egyptian force and the Roman-Macedonian troops readied themselves for battle. Both sides lined up, with Macedonians facing the mercenaries and Romans facing the Egyptians, spears on blade. The Macedonians had marched first, and so did the Egyptian levies. The mercenaries and Romans followed soon after, behind their allies. A gap appeared in the Roman-Macedonian line, unlike the Egyptian forces, so Alexander commanded the mercenaries to take advantage. Some divisions were able to go through that line and flank the Macedonians. However, they were soon met with camels, yes camels. The Arab tribes had faced bullying by the Ptolemaic soldiers, pressuring for lighter trade deals, with these interactions even turning bloody. Philippus had convinced some tribes and recruited some Arab mercenaries to assist during the storming of Gaza and now they fight.

The camel cavalry would have slammed into the mercenary flanking force, and with Egyptians slamming from the back, a large number of mercenary forces were slaughtered. With the mercenaries facing death, the place they resided on the line was now open and made a gap of their own. Camels soon flooded into the gap and slammed at the Ptolemaic back. In moments, Alexander II called for a retreat, and his men obliged. The Battle of Gaza was a major defeat for the Ptolemaic dynasty, and now the Roman-Macedonian forces followed behind the retreating Egyptians, although with the Arabs convinced and hired returning back. No battle would occur at Alexandria however, as Alexander soon was pressured to surrender. As mid-176 dragged into later months, the Peace of Pergamon was signed, having Egypt lose control over the Kingdom of Pergamon, Macedon gaining Cyprus and the city of Antioch, and the Romans have the right to place military forces on the city of Cyrene. The Ptolemaic-Roman War was officially over, but Rome wanted to normalize relations with Egypt. So, Rome promised to help Alexander II regain control over the Levant, excluding Antioch of course.

The rebels retreating from Jerusalem​

Seeing that the Romans were helping the Egyptians, the Jews and exiles of Jerusalem found it best to retreat the city. When the Romans approached the city, they found it abandoned by the rebels, and took it at the wishes of Egypt. Then the Romans marched on Tyre. At this point, the city was riddled with factions of soldiers. The general who had taken control over the city, had seemed to have either been exiled or killed and now the lesser officers rule the city in certain parts and even fighting in terf wars. Gracchus would use this to their advantage, bribing one of these factions, who called themselves the Bacchids, named after a martyred soldier of theirs, to open the gate so the Romans can help them take power. The Bacchids did so, unsuspecting of what was to come. In a day, the Romans took out all the factions, leaving no survivors. Tyre was liberated of the soldiers' rule.

Finally, there was Damascus. Like Tyre, the general, named Lysias, who declared independence no longer ruled. Lysias had employed Arab mercenaries to compensate for his small garrison. However, the Arabs soon turned on Lysias after not being paid duly and they took the city. Unlike Tyre, the mercenaries knew what the Romans were doing, as when the mercenaries were bribed, when they opened the gate, the Roman soldiers were surprised when the gate closed and the trapped Romans were slaughtered. Gracchus was enraged, and began to siege Damascus. When the Romans took the city, like Tyre, all enemies were killed, none spared. With their work done, Gracchus returned to Rome, who spent his last months as Consul fighting in the east.

----------
This is a more shorter chapter, as I have some school work to do, but I hope you enjoy!

 

[Alpha_North]

Not entirely sure if I should continue this timeline, what do you think of it?

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Not entirely sure if I should continue this timeline, what do you think of it?

It's wonderful. I've always wanted to do a Greco-Bactria timeline but never had the time or knowledge to do it justice so I'm glad to see this timeline. Don't feel pressured to continue it if you're too busy, but it is a very good timeline.

 

[Ancient_Soul]

I think you definitely should!! It would be nice to see some new maps too :3

 

[Epimethius]

Please continue its well done and fascinating.

 

[Albert.Nik]

I agree. Please continue. I am giving you ideas.
Have Indo-Greek settlements in Himalayan foothills and expand an empire into Northern parts India with the capital in the Himalayan foothills.
Have them negotiate with the Sogdians.
Have them defeat the Scythians and Tocharians and take them in like Rome took in Celts. In OTL,it mostly happened like the Germanic people ending Roman Empire than Rome taking in Celts.
Have them later become an Eastern wing of the Byzantine Empire which would also be Buddhist. Have a Buddhist Iranian and Greek Middle East. You have soany interesting timelines to continue.

 

[Worffan101]

Heartily seconded, it's a neat timeline! While they probably won't last as an imperial power, it'd be really interesting to see the percolation of the Greek language through the region (and probably its reduction to a bunch of loanwords in local languages), butterflies in India and central Asia from having somewhat stronger Graeco-Bactrian states in northeastern Afghanistan, stuff like that, even when the state ceases to be a major power and if/when whatever Greek-ruled remnant is left after the diadochi collapse falls. The different outcome of the Diadochi wars will also likely impact late Republican/early Imperial Roman expansion in the area (positively or negatively I'm not really sure), but if Persia remains messily balkanized and doesn't coalesce under the Arsacids that removes a major challenger for Rome in the East and could result in a long-term Roman control over Mesopotamia, which would dramatically alter late antique history.