Alexandria Ariana

The foundation of Alexandria Ariana, like that of many other settlements founded by Alexander the Great, was not mentioned by his biographers Arrian, Diodorus Siculus and Quintus Curtius Rufus, who merely note that Alexander advanced through Ariana from Hyrcania towards Bactria, and then returned to subdue Satibarzanes, the former satrap of the Achaemenid Empire, who was fomenting rebellion in the region.

[4] Artacoana (sometimes spelt Artakoana or Artacabene) was the primary citadel of the Achaemenid satrapy of Aria, and may have been a battle-site during the revolt of Satibarzanes.

As ancient sources such as Strabo, Isidore of Charax, Pliny, and Ptolemy distinctly differentiate between Artacoana and Alexandria, the scholarly consensus is that there were two separate cities.

[10][11] The strategic and economic importance of the area was already evident by the time of Alexander: Satibarzanes was one of the three highest-ranking officials in the eastern Achaemenid Empire under Darius III, alongside Barsaentes of Arachosia and Bessus of Bactria.

[6] The old town of Herat, with access to the river to the south, protected by the northern mountains, and centered on the present citadel structure, is generally seen as the most likely site of Alexandria Ariana.