36 AN HISTORICAL DISQUISITION

E c T. of Alexander’s empire, still maintained an inter-I. course with India, and even made some consider-able acquisition of territory there. This was thekingdom of Bactria, originally subject to Seleucus,but wrested from his son or grandson, and ren-dered an independent state, about sixty-nine yearsafter the death of Alexander. Concerning the'transactions of this kingdom, we must rest satisfiedwith gleaning a few imperfect hints in ancientauthors. From them we learn that its commercewith India was great ; that the conquests of theBactrian kings in that country were more exten-sive than those of Alexander himself, and particu-larly that they recovered possession of the districtnear the mouth of the Indus, which he had sub-dued”. Each of the six princes who reigned inBactria , carried on military operations in Indiawith such success, that they penetrated far intothe interior part of the country, and proud of theconquests which they had made, as well as of theextensive dominions over which they reigned,some of them assumed the lofty title of Great Iiing ,which distinguished the Persian monarchs in thedays of their highest splendor. But we should nothave known how long this kingdom of Bactriasubsisted, or in what manner ^it terminated, ifM. de Guignes had not called in the historiansof China to supply the defects of the Greek andRoman writers. By them we are informed, that

" Strabo, lib. xi. D. lib. xv. 1006. B. Justin,lib. xli. c. 4. Bayer, Isist. Regni Græcor. Bactriani, passim;