Collection: B.M.A.C.

The term “BMAC” stands for the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Bactria was the name given by the Greeks to the area around the Amu Darya up to northern Afghanistan, and Margiana (= the old Margush) was a province of the Persian Empire around the Murgab river (‘Oxus’ for the Greek) in what is now mainly Turkmenistan.

Chronologically, the BMAC flourished from the mid 3^rd to the early 2^nd millennium BC, or the late Bronze Age.

BMAC objects are not only found in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan) but also in a much larger area that stretches from the Euphrates in the west to the Indus Rivers in the east, and from the Oxus in the north to the island of Tarut in the Persian Gulf. Especially for the carved chlorite objects, the term of ‘Intercultural Style’ is used.

Further reading:

.Wiktor Sarianidi, Margush, Ancient Oriental Kingdom in the Old Delta of Murghab river, Ashgabat 2002

.Massimo Vidale, Treasures from the Oxus, The Art and Civilization of Central Asia, London/New York 2017