community
Bactria (Balkh)
Balkh, Afghanistan · Silk Road / overland route
36.768, 66.901
Approximate location. The map shows a region, not a pin.
Disputed. Christian presence in Bactria is attested in general terms. No bishopric is securely located at Balkh itself, and the Bardaisanite remark is a single phrase.
Around 200, the Book of the Laws of Countries from Bardaisan's circle mentions Christian 'sisters' among the Bactrians. In the mid-6th century Patriarch Aba I consecrated a bishop for the Hephthalites, who then ruled Bactria. This bishopric was probably at Badghis, near Herat, rather than at Balkh.
Source stance: insider. Syriac Christian sources.
People and groups named here
- Bardaisan of Edessa (circle)
- Patriarch Aba I
Related places
Sources
- Pleiades place 961886: Bactra/Zariaspa
Pleiades Gazetteer (ISAW, NYU). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- CHRISTIANITY iii. In Central Asia and Chinese Turkestan
Nicholas Sims-Williams, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Christianity in Central Asia (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.