Bactrian (Bactrian: Αριαο, ariao, [arjaː], meaning "Iranian") is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (present day Afghanistan) and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires.Bactrian, which was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the Greek script, was known natively as αριαο [arjaː] ("Arya"; an endonym common amongst Indo-Iranian peoples). It has also been known by names such as Greco-Bactrian, Kushan or Kushano-Bactrian.