SOGDIAN ROCK

[JIMHATZ28]

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT COUNTRY THIS IS IN? HOW ABOUT IT'S DIMENSIONS?

[nick]

I think the rock has never been properly located. So, everything is guesswork. It is probably in the modern Central Asian republic of Tadzjikistan (or even in Kirgizstan). (The only thing you can do is matching a good map in an Alexander study with a modern atlas of the world.)
(P.S. I visited the Indian rock, Aornus, in 1999 and I seriously doubt whether its location matches with what is written in the histories. So there is always a dispute over locations.)
Nick

[marcus]

Nick,True, but wasn't it the case that if Auriel Stein said it was Aornos, it was Aornos?That's the problem with old explorers - everyone gushed and took their word for things All the bestMarcus

[susan]

Aurel Stein's identification seemed rather tentative - along the lines of 'this must be it because it's the most likely one around, and we can't find anything better'. I've read part of his book, On Alexander's track to the Indus, and he makes the point that at the time it was almost impossible for westerners to enter the area - he only had a window of a few months before the political situation changed again, and so he couldn't really make a thorough search.A previous identification with Mt Mahaban was proposed in 1854, without any actual visit, just by telescope used from a great distance. Aurel Stein visited it in 1904 and says that he disproved this theory. I think that we're not talking about a completely exhaustive study of the subject.Susan

[marcus]

Absolutely, Susan. Not exhaustive at all. All we really need is a smidgeon of World Peace, to give us the time to visit all these places and survey them properly.Chance will be, as they say, a fine thing!All the bestMarcus