Central Asia during the Achaemenid period in archaeological perspective
Résumé
The contribution examines some recent archaeological discoveries in order to bring some elements towards the identification of the Achaemenid occupation period in the Central Asian provinces of the empire. It comes back on the chronology of the Middle and Late Iron Age, aiming to clarify the sometimes improper use of the label “Achaemenid” in Central Asia. To do so, we present the results of some recent work on the Yaz II-III pottery assemblage, in correlation with stratigraphic excavations, leading to the identification of some typo-morphological criteria allowing identifying the Late Iron Age/”Achaemenid” levels. A reassessment of the recent excavations shows a territorial reorganization before the arrival of the Achaemenids, since the Middle Iron Age. While the religious architecture shows evidence of a continuous evolution since the beginning of the Iron Age, the buildings properly attributed to the Achaemenid occupation period are limited to some fortified constructions (Cheshme-Shafa, Kyzyl Tepa, Bactrian circular sites). Altogether, these data reflect the appearance of some socio-political entities since the Middle Iron Age, which evolve by their
own under the Persian Achaemenid control, whose traces are visible through the military control over the territory.