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"I was in the market in Peshawar, when I realized that a treasure had been discovered in Sarai Saleh. They had started digging when the bulldozer hit something made of metal, namely a container with 2,500 coins, the majority of which I was able to publish. Once I arrived at the area, I immediately realized that it was a Greco-Indian city. I immediately turned to my colleagues from the University of Peshawar and suggested that they began excavating the area, which they did. Indeed, they found a Greco-Indian city that dates back to the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD", says the scientist.

The extraordinary discoveries, however, continue and the numismatic research of Dr. Bopearachchi took him to the discovery of the names of dozens of previously unknown Greek kings who ruled in Bactria and India until the end of the 1st century BC. Today these areas are located west of Afghanistan (Bactria), east of Afghanistan and to the north of Pakistan.

As the scientist explains, "Ancient authors such as Justin and Polybius, who were not very interested in this remote area, had indicated only seven kings, including Diodotus, Euthydemus and Demetrius. The examination of the coins, however, has led us to a total of 45 kings such as Luscious, Strato, Apollodotos, Hippostratos and Heliokles, as their names are inscribed on the coins."

As to the language of the inscriptions, there are two versions. Bactrian kings minted coins using the Greek letters, as the nations in the region spoke Greek. The coins in circulation south of the Indian Caucasus had bilingual signs, in Greek on the obverse and in Sanskrit on the reverse side, as the people in this region did not speak Greek.

The scientist does not fail to emphasize the overwhelming influence of the Greek civilization on the peoples in the region (today's Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc.).

"Even when the Greek power in India ended (about 20 AD), the Greek alphabet was used for another two centuries. Furthermore, Buddhism took from Greek mythology gods such as Hercules and Dionysus. The Greeks had a tremendous impact on these people which we cannot even imagine," concludes the scientist.