Ancient history of Afghanistan: Difference between revisions

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Archaeological exploration of the pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan began in Afghanistan in earnest after World War II and proceeded until the late 1970s when the nation was invaded by the Soviet Union. Archaeologists and historians suggest that humans were living in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world.^[1] Urbanized culture has existed in the land from between 3000 and 2000 BC.^[1]^[2]^[3] Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found inside Afghanistan.^[3]

After the

Kaffirstan

region, in the Hindu Kush, was not converted until the 19th century.

Prehistoric era

indigenous people

were small farmers and herdsmen, as they are today, very probably grouped into tribes, with small local kingdoms rising and falling through the ages.

Afghanistan seems in prehistory, as well as in ancient and modern times, to have been connected by culture and trade with the neighbouring regions. Urban civilization, which includes modern-day Afghanistan, North India, and Pakistan, may have begun as early as 3000 to 2000 BC.^[3] Archaeological finds indicate the possible beginnings of the Bronze Age, which would ultimately spread throughout the ancient world from Afghanistan. It is also believed that the region had early trade contacts with Mesopotamia.^[5]

Indus Valley Civilization

The

Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan.^[6] Apart from Shortughai is Mundigak

, another notable site. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan.

Aryan expansion into Mesopotamia and the Medean rule (1500 BC–551 BC)

Median Empire

Between 2000–1200 BC, a branch of

Indus Valley Civilization

) that probably played a key role in early Aryanic civilization in Afghanistan.

The Medes, a Western Iranian people, arrived from what is today

Persians

, assassinated and ultimately replaced his Median emperor father-in-law from rule.

Achaemenid invasion and Zoroastrianism (550 BC–331 BC)

Pakhtuns

or Pashtuns.

The city of

Darius I, marking the region or of the easternmost provinces of the empire, located partly in nowadays Afghanistan. According to Pliny's evidence, Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) had destroyed Kapisa in Capiscene^[9]

which was a Kamboja city. The former region of Gandhara and Kamboja (upper Indus) had constituted seventh satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire and annually contributed 170 talents of gold dust as a tribute to the Achaemenids.

Bactria had a special position in old Afghanistan, being the capital of a vice-kingdom. By the 4th century BC, Persian control of outlying areas and the internal cohesion of the empire had become somewhat tenuous. Although distant provinces like Bactriana had often been restless under Achaemenid rule, Bactrian troops nevertheless fought in the decisive Battle of Gaugamela in 330 BC against the advancing armies of Alexander the Great. The Achaemenids were decisively defeated by Alexander and retreated from his advancing army of Greco-Macedonians and their allies. Darius III, the last Achaemenid ruler, tried to flee to Bactria but was assassinated by a subordinate lord, the Bactrian-born Bessus, who proclaimed himself the new ruler of Persia as Artaxerxes (V). Bessus was unable to mount a successful resistance to the growing military might of Alexander's army so he fled to his native Bactria, where he attempted to rally local tribes to his side but was instead turned over to Alexander who proceeded to have him tortured and executed for having committed regicide.

Alexander the Great to Greco-Bactrian rule (330 BC–ca. 150 BC)

Moving thousands of kilometers eastward from recently subdued Persia, the Macedonian leader

Aria, Drangiana, Arachosia

(South and Eastern Afghanistan, North-West Pakistan) and Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan).

Upon Alexander's death in 323 BC, his empire, which had never been politically consolidated, broke apart as his companions began to divide it amongst themselves. Alexander's cavalry commander,

Yavanas

to many local groups) to Bactria in the 3rd century BC.

Maurya Empire

Afghan National Museum

. (Click image for translation.)

While the

Mauryan Empire was developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The founder of the empire, Chandragupta Maurya, confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia (centered around ancient Kandahar) and areas south of Bagram (corresponding to the extreme south-east of modern Afghanistan) to the Mauryans. During the 120 years of the Mauryans in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and local pagan beliefs. The ancient Grand Trunk Road was built linking what is now Kabul to various cities in the Punjab and the Gangetic Plain. Commerce, art, and architecture (seen especially in the construction of stupas

) developed during this period. It reached its high point under Emperor Ashoka whose edicts, roads, and rest stops were found throughout the subcontinent. Although the vast majority of them throughout the subcontinent were written in Prakrit, Afghanistan is notable for the inclusion of 2 Greek and Aramaic ones alongside the court language of the Mauryans.

Inscriptions made by the Mauryan Emperor

Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit

:

"Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of) Piety (εὐσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on every occasion, they will live better and more happily." (Trans. by G.P. Carratelli^[10])

The last ruler in the region was probably

Ashvaka

(q.v.) background.

Greco-Bactrians

In the middle of the 3rd century BC, an independent, Hellenistic state was declared in

Sakas

.

Kushan Empire (150 BC–300 AD)

Greco-Bactrian style, with horseman crowned by the Greek goddess of victory Nike.
Greek legend: ΤVΡΑΝΝΟVΟΤΟΣ ΗΛΟV - ΣΛΝΛΒ - ΚΟÞÞΑΝΟΥ "Of the Tyrant

Heraios, Sanav, the Kushan" (the meaning of "Sanav" is unknown).

In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the Parthians, a nomadic Iranian peoples, arrived in Western Asia. While they made large inroads into the modern-day territory of Afghanistan, about 100 years later another Indo-European group from the north—the Kushans (a subgroup of the tribe called the Yuezhi by the Chinese)—entered the region of Afghanistan and established an empire lasting almost four centuries, which would dominate most of the Afghanistan region.

The

Ashoka

(c. 260 BC–232 BC), reached its zenith in Central Asia. Though the Kushanas supported local Buddhists and Hindus as well as the worship of various local deities.

Sasanian & Hephthalite invasions (300–650)

In the 3rd century, Kushan control fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms that became easy targets for conquest by the rising Iranian dynasty, the

Kushanshahs

. Sasanian control was tenuous at times as numerous challenges from Central Asian tribes led to instability and constant warfare in the region.

The disunited Kushan and Sasanian kingdoms were in a poor position to meet the threat several waves of

Hephthalites (or Ebodalo; Bactrian script ηβοδαλο) swept out of Central Asia during the 5th century into Bactria

and Iran, overwhelming the last of the Kushan kingdoms. Historians believe that Hephthalite control continued for a century and was marked by constant warfare with the Sassanians to the west who exerted nominal control over the region. By the middle of the 6th century the Hephthalites were defeated in the territories north of the Amu Darya (the Oxus River of antiquity) by another group of Central Asian nomads, the Göktürks, and by the resurgent Sassanians in the lands south of the Amu Darya. It was the ruler of western Göktürks, Sijin (a.k.a. Sinjibu, Silzibul and Yandu Muchu Khan) who led the forces against the Hepthalites who were defeated at the Battle of Chach (Tashkent) and at the Battle of Bukhara.

Kabul Shahi

Kushano-Hephthalite kingdoms

around 600 AD

The

Islamic conquest of Afghanistan

.

When

Mohyal

Shahi dynasty of Brahmins who began the first phase of the Hindu Shahi dynasty.

These

Anandapala and Tirlochanpala fought the Muslim Ghaznavids of Ghazna

and were gradually defeated. Their remaining army were eventually exiled into northern India.

Archaeological remnants

Islamic conquest of Afghanistan

.

Most of the Zoroastrian, Greek, Hellenistic, Buddhist, Hindu and other indigenous cultures were replaced by the coming of Islam and little influence remains in Afghanistan today. Along ancient trade routes, however, stone monuments of the once flourishing Buddhist culture did exist as reminders of the past. The two massive sandstone

archaeologists have located frescoes, stucco decorations, statuary, and rare objects from as far away as China, Phoenicia, and Rome

, which were crafted as early as the 2nd century and bear witness to the influence of these ancient civilizations upon Afghanistan.

One of the

Medicine Buddha Sūtra, and the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra.^[12]

In 2010, reports stated that about 42 Buddhist relics have been discovered in the Logar Province of Afghanistan, which is south of Kabul. Some of these items date back to the 2nd century according to Archaeologists. The items included two Buddhist temples (Stupas), Buddha statues, frescos, silver and gold coins and precious beads.^[13]^[14]

"There is a temple, stupas, beautiful rooms, big and small statues, two with the length of seven and nine meters, colorful frescos ornamented with gold and some coins... Some of the relics date back to the fifth century (AD)... We have come across signs that there are items maybe going back to the era before Christ or prehistory... We need foreign assistance to preserve these and their expertise to help us with further excavations."^[15]
— Mohammad Nader Rasouli, Afghan Archaeological Department

Chronological chart for the historical periods of Afghanistan

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Afsharids

Durrani Empire

Qajar dynasty

Barakzai dynasty

Modern Afghanistan

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Afghanistan: VII. History (Archived)". John Ford Shroder. University of Nebraska. 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
^ "The Pre-Islamic Period". Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan. 1997. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977). An Historical Guide To Afghanistan. Vol. 2. Edition. Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization. p. 492. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
^ ^a ^b The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society. pp.1
^ Warwick Ball, 2008, 'The Monuments of Afghanistan: History, Archaeology and Architecture': 261, London.
^ Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1998). Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. pp.96
^ Autochthonous Aryans-corr.doc
^ Rashidvash, Vahid (2012). "The Iranian and Azari languages" (PDF). Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
^ Naturalis Historia, VI, 25, 92
^ History of Afghanistan Archived December 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Shahi Family. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 October 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Schøyen Collection: Buddhism". Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^ "42 Buddhist relics discovered in Logar". Maqsood Azizi. Pajhwok Afghan News. Aug 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
^ "Afghan archaeologists find Buddhist site as war rages". Sayed Salahuddin. News Daily. Aug 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
^ "Buddhist remains found in Afghanistan". Press TV. Aug 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-16.

Other sources

Ahmed, Akbar S. 1980. Pukhtun economy and society. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Bryant, Edwin. 'The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
Dupree, Louis. 'Afghanistan' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Ewans, Martin. Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics, Harper Perennial; 1st Perennial ed edition (September 1, 2002)
Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[1]
Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 AD. Draft annotated English translation. [2]
Holt, Frank L. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria, University of California Press (March, 1999)
Kriwaczek, Paul. In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet, Vintage (March 9, 2004)
Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996. History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
Olmstead, A.T. History of the Persian Empire, University Of Chicago Press (February 15, 1959)
Reat, Ross. 'Buddhism: A History', (Jain Publishing Company, 1996).
Rowland, Benjamin, Jr. Ancient Art from Afghanistan: Treasures of the Kabul Museum, Ayer Co Pub (October, 1981)
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
New York.
Shayegan, Rahim. The Avesta and the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex
Witzel, Michael. Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts
"The Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush" By Sir George Scott Robertson (1896)

External links

[JFS-1] "Afghanistan: VII. History (Archived)". John Ford Shroder. University of Nebraska. 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-31.

[LoC-2] "The Pre-Islamic Period". Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan. 1997. Retrieved 2010-08-16.

[Dupree-3] Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977). An Historical Guide To Afghanistan. Vol. 2. Edition. Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization. p. 492. Retrieved 2010-08-23.

[The_Ancient_Indus_pp.1-4] The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society. pp.1

[5] Warwick Ball, 2008, 'The Monuments of Afghanistan: History, Archaeology and Architecture': 261, London.

[6] Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1998). Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. pp.96

[7] Autochthonous Aryans-corr.doc

[8] Rashidvash, Vahid (2012). "The Iranian and Azari languages" (PDF). Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2021.

[9] Naturalis Historia, VI, 25, 92

[10] History of Afghanistan Archived December 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[EB-11] Shahi Family. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 October 2006.

[Schøyen_Collection:_Buddhism-12] "Schøyen Collection: Buddhism". Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.

[13] "42 Buddhist relics discovered in Logar". Maqsood Azizi. Pajhwok Afghan News. Aug 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-23.

[14] "Afghan archaeologists find Buddhist site as war rages". Sayed Salahuddin. News Daily. Aug 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-16.

[15] "Buddhist remains found in Afghanistan". Press TV. Aug 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-16.

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@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 Between 2000&ndash;1200 BC, a branch of [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]-speaking tribes known as the [[Aryan]]s began migrating into the region. This is part of a dispute in regards to the [[Indo-Aryan migration|Aryan invasion theory]]. They appear to have split into [[Iranic]] peoples, [[Nuristani people|Nuristani]], and [[Indo-Aryans|Indo-Aryan]] groups at an early stage, possibly between 1500 and 1000 BC in what is today Afghanistan or much earlier as eastern remnants of the [[Indo-Aryans]] drifted much further west as with the [[Mitanni]]. The Iranians dominated the modern day plateau, while the Indo-Aryans ultimately headed towards the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The [[Avesta]] is believed to have been composed possibly as early as 1800 BC and written in ancient [[Ariana]] (Aryana), the earliest name of Afghanistan which indicates an early link with today's Iranian tribes to the west, or adjacent regions in Central Asia or northeastern Iran in the 6th century BC.<ref>[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/EJVS-7-3.pdf Autochthonous Aryans-corr.doc<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Due to the similarity between early Avestan and [[Sanskrit]] (and other related early Indo-European languages such as [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek]]), it is believed that the split between the old Persians and Indo-Aryan tribes had taken place at least by 1000 BC. There are striking similarities between [[Avestan]] and [[Sanskrit]], which may support the notion that the split was contemporary with the Indo-Aryans living in Afghanistan at a very early stage. Also, the Avesta itself divides into Old and New sections and neither mention the [[Medes]] who are known to have ruled Afghanistan starting around 700 BC. This suggests an early time-frame for the Avesta that has yet to be exactly determined as most academics believe it was written over the course of centuries if not millennia. Much of the archaeological data comes from the [[Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex]] (BMAC and [[Indus Valley Civilization]]) that probably played a key role in early Aryanic civilization in Afghanistan.
-The Medes, a Western Iranian people, arrived from what is today [[Kurdistan]] sometime around the 700s BC and came to dominate most of ancient Afghanistan.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} They were an early tribe that forged the first empire on the present Iranian plateau and sister-nations with the Persians whom they initially dominated in the province of [[Fars Province|Fars]] to the south. Median control of parts of far off Afghanistan would last until Cyrus the Great, prince of the [[Persian people|Persians]], assassinated and ultimately replaced his Median emperor father-in-law from rule.
+The Medes, a Western Iranian people, arrived from what is today [[Kurdistan]] sometime around the 700s BC and came to dominate most of ancient Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rashidvash |first1=Vahid |title=The Iranian and Azari languages |journal=Research on Humanities and Social Sciences |date=2012 |volume=2 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234672961.pdf |access-date=26 January 2021}}</ref>They were an early tribe that forged the first empire on the present Iranian plateau and sister-nations with the Persians whom they initially dominated in the province of [[Fars Province|Fars]] to the south. Median control of parts of far off Afghanistan would last until Cyrus the Great, prince of the [[Persian people|Persians]], assassinated and ultimately replaced his Median emperor father-in-law from rule.
 ==Achaemenid invasion and Zoroastrianism (550 BC&ndash;331 BC)==

Revision as of 19:17, 26 January 2021

Prehistoric era

Indus Valley Civilization

Aryan expansion into Mesopotamia and the Medean rule (1500 BC–551 BC)

Achaemenid invasion and Zoroastrianism (550 BC–331 BC)

Alexander the Great to Greco-Bactrian rule (330 BC–ca. 150 BC)

Maurya Empire

Greco-Bactrians

Kushan Empire (150 BC–300 AD)

Sasanian & Hephthalite invasions (300–650)

Kabul Shahi

Archaeological remnants

See also

References

Other sources

External links