The Greeks in Bactria and India c11.2

c11.2

Professor Toynbee in his great work has dealt once for all with the characteristics of the march state at large¹ and has given many instances of how such a state, under the stimulus of external pressure, might be expected to develop such strength that it would not only master the pressure but would have plenty of energy over for other purposes. It might perhaps be said that in the Greek world Macedonia had been such a state: exposed to barbarian pressure from the North and to the pressure of Olynthus and Athens from the side of the sea, the little country developed such amazing vitality that it not only mastered both pressures and for two centuries shielded Greece from the barbarism of the Balkans but was able also to conquer the great empire of Persia. But however that may be, Bactria under the Euthydemids was a perfect illustration of the history of a march state.