The Greeks in Bactria and India c9.s1.15

c9.s1.15

The basis of the Seleucid settlement was the military colony and not the Greek city, the *polis*.¹ The first two kings did not, as one used to be told, fill Asia with Greek cities directly; it was largely done indirectly. This was what enabled it to be done at all, for only the king could found a *polis*, and there is a limit to the work one man can do, especially under a system where delegation of power is imperfectly understood. Greek tradition remembered that Seleucus was a hard worker;² but even the foundation of a single *polis* meant for the king hard work.³ He had to find land for the city, build the wall, supply food, seed-corn, cattle and tools to give the people a start, remit taxation until the city had found its feet, and decide personally innumerable housing, economic and social questions; give a constitution and get political life started; and settle the city law. As to the last, he probably ordered the adoption of some well-known Greek city code, with any modifications required to suit local circumstances; but doubtless a city colonised for the king by some old Greek city, as it kept the gods of its mother-city,⁴ kept its code also. For while the king also had to find settlers, we should undoubtedly see, if we had the complete story, that in this he was greatly helped by the old Greek cities of Ionia. What is known is that Magnesia on the Maeander colonised Antioch towards Pisidia⁵ and Antioch in Persis⁶ for the Seleucids, that Miletus when under the rule of Ptolemy II colonised for him Ampelone in Arabia,⁷ and that the Greek populations of Susa and Uruk-Orchoi must have come from Ephesus, for the city-goddess of Susa, Artemis-Nanaia (p. 29), annexed the bee of Artemis of Ephesus for her own symbol, as did Artemis-Ishtar at Uruk.⁸