The faith of this community has not been researched as much. According to the interpretation of Chinese sources by Marquarts and de Groots in 1915, the king of Ts'ao is said to have worn a crown with a golden fish head and was related to the Sogdians. The Temple of the Zun was recognizable by a large fish skeleton on display; this would indicate a related merchantry deity.[10] In addition to that Marquarts states the Zunbils to have worshipped a solar deity which might have been connected to Aditya (Surya). However, according to Shōshin Kuwayama there was a clear dichotomy between worshipers of the Hindu god Surya and followers of Zhun. This is exemplified by the conflict between Surya and Zhun followers, which lead to the followers of Zhun migrating southwards towards Zabulistan from Kapisa.[11][1] According to André Wink the god Zhun was primarily Hindu, though parallels have also been noted with pre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices in Tibet and had Zoroastrian influence in its ritual.[12][13] Other scholars such as H. Schaeder and N. Sims-William have connected it with the Zoroastrian deity of time.[14]
Their territory included between what is now the city of
Middle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, 'Zun the Justice-giver'. The geographical name Zamindawar would also reflect this, from Middle Persian 'Zamin-i dātbar' (Land of the Justice-giver).[16]
During more than two centuries of their rule, the Tokhara Yabghus, followed by the Turk Shahis and the Zunbils were consistently an obstacle to the eastward expansion of Muslims forces.
Early Arab incursions in Zabulistan
Rashiduns
About 643-644 AD, the Arabs raided Sistan for the first time, and then started to attack the Turkic territory from the southwest.[17]
In 653-4 AD, an army of around 6,000 Arabs was led by general
marzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness."[18] Samura explained to the marzbān: "my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good."[19]
Umayyad Caliphate
Circa 665 AD, the Arabs under
Sijistan, captured Kabul for the first time, critically weakening the Nezak Huns.[1][20][17] But the Turkic ruler Barha Tegin was soon able to mount a counter-offensive and repulse the Arabs, taking back the areas of Kabul and Zabulistan (around Ghazni), as well as the region of Arachosia as far as Kandahar, and founding the new dynasty of the Turk Shahis circa 665 AD.[17][21]
Rutbil is first mentioned to have existed during his time, as his earliest mention in Arab sources dates to 666 CE.[22] Rutbil may have been the brother or nephew of Barha Tegin, and may have been appointed as the governor in Zabulistan by Barha Tegin after he conquered the region from Ghar-ilchi.[7][23][4]
Rutbil and the king of Kabul campaigned together against the Arabs after
Zabul, in which the governor of Sistan acknowledged control of these territories by Rutbil and the King of Kabul.[7]
Establishment of the Zunbils (680 CE)
Around the time the first ruler of the Turk Shahis
In 680-683 AD, Rutbil split from his brother the Shahi of Kabul, and established the Zunbil dynasty, paying temporary allegiance to Salm ibn Ziyad, the Arab governor of Sistan.[24][25] At the time when Salm ibn Ziyad was governor of Sistan (680-683 AD), Rutbil split from his brother, the Shah of Kabul, and established the Zunbil dynasty, paying temporary allegiance to Salm ibn Ziyad.[24] The area of Zabulistan came to be ruled by Rutbil, also spelled Zibil or Jibul (from Turkic: Iltäbär "Commander").[4][26]
The relationship between the two relatives was at times antagonistic, but they fought together against Arab incursions.
Khosrau II (). Anahita in flames on the reverse.[3]
Obverse: yypwlh. wtyp’ / GDH / ’pzwt PWN ŠMY yzt’ yypwl bgyh. wtyp’ wh. m’n’n mlt’n MLK’
King Jibul, [his] glory increased!
In the name of god, Jibul, the Majestic Lord [is] King of brave men
Reverse: Śrī Vākhudevaḥ / pncdh. z’wlst’n / ’pl plm’n yzd’n
His Highness the Majestic Lord / [minted in his] 15th [regnal year in] Zavulistan, by the order of the gods.
According to Anthony McNicoll, "the Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD".[27] Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-day Helmand Province of Afghanistan. The shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south of Musa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that the Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this exact house of worship.[28]
Umayyad Caliphate offensives (698-700 CE)
In 698
Sijistan and a military commander of the Umayyad Caliphate, led an 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils. He was defeated and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade the territory of the Zunbils again.[29]
About 700, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of Zabulistan.[30] During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbils, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion.[30]
The Arabs regularly claimed nominal overlordship over the Zunbils, and in 711
Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni.[31]
Khuras and his son Alkhis, lords of Ghazni (714-715 CE)
Sahi Tigin). Circa late 7th-early 8th century CE.[32][33]
The Bactrian inscription of Tang-i Safedak, dated to around 714/15 CE, mentions the dedication of a stupa by
Tapa Sardar, characterized in this period by the creation of hybrid Sinicized-Indian Buddhist art.[34][35]
Tang-i Safedak inscription
"(It was) the year 492, the month Sbol, when I, Alkhis son of Khuras, lord of Gazan, established this stupa (as) a (pious) foundation(?) in Ragzamagan(?). (At that time) when there was a Turkish ruler and an Arab ruler, the deyadharma (meritorious gifts) made by me were kept . . . , and afterwards I made this Zinaiaka-deyadharma in the willing belief which I had towards the huddha-sastra and in great faith (Sraddha) and in ... Whatever merit (punya ) may arise hereby, now and (in) the future, may I, Alkhis, and my parents and wife and brothers (and) sons and (other) relatives too-may each (and) every one (of us) attain (his) own desire. Homage to the buddhas."
The city of Ghazni was the capital of the Zunbils.
According to Chinese sources, in particular the chronicles of the
Zabul.[38] Finally, Puluo reaffirmed the loyalty of Yabghu Pantu Nili towards the Tang dynasty.[37]
Part of the Chinese entry for this account by Puluo is:
On the Dingwei day of the eleventh month in the sixth year of the Kaiyuan era, Ashi Tegin Puluo writes to the emperor: Tokhara Yabghu, his elder brother, is controlling as his subordinates two hundred and twelve persons, such as the local kings of various states, dudu (Governors-General), and cishi (heads of regional governments). The king of Zabul rules two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, the king of Kabul two hundred thousand, each king of
Bamiyan, Lieyuedejian, and Badakhshan fifty thousand."
A few Zunbil rulers are named in Chinese sources, especially Shiquer or Zigil (Chinese:誓屈爾 Shìqū'ér), ruler of Zabulistan from 720 CE and for a few years until 738.
Iltäbär", hence Shiquer was "Iltäbär of the Khalaj":[44]
The people from Tujue (Turks), Jibin (
Iltäbär") Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk Hyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国 Xiėyùguó) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism. According to him, the King of Kabul was the uncle of the king of Zabul.[46]
From
Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. There is a great Turkish chief called Sha-tuo-kan, who once a year lays out his gold and silver, which is much more than the king possesses. The dress, customs, and products of this land are similar to those of Kapisa, but the languages are different.
Chinese artistic influences, on top of nomical political influence, are discernable in the artistic creations under the Zunbils around that time, as seen in the Buddhist monastery of Tepe Sardar. During the period from 680 to 720 CE, essentially Indian post-Gupta start to blend with Chinese stylistic influences, "a Chinese touch" discernable in Buddhist works of art.[49]
A full-blown "Chinese phase" is attributed to the period from 720 to 750 CE, corresponding to the last major phase of construction and decorations of Buddhist monuments before the Arab conquests.
Wu Zhao (624-705 CE), and that, together the several missions of Chinese pilgrims to Afghanistan and India, Chinese monks settled in Ghazni from around 700 CE.[50] This activity mirrored the active development of monasteries in Xinjiang during the 7th-8th centuries, and highlight a broad territorial unity of Buddhist kingdoms in Western Central Asia at that time, based on intense exchanges and a westward influence of Chinese Buddhism and artistic styles.[50]
The influence of Chinese artistic styles vanishes after 751 CE when Tang China withdrew from Central Asia following the Battle of Talas.[50]
Caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785), but these appear to have been nominal acts,[52] and the people of the region continued to resist Muslim rule.[53] The Muslim historian Ya'qubi (died 897/8) in his Ta'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of various Central Asian rulers, including that of the Zunbils.[54]
The original account by Ya'qubi reads:
Al-Mahdī sent messengers to the kings, calling on them to submit, and most of them submitted to him. Among them were the king of Kābul Shāh, whose name was
Sind, al-Rāy; the king of China, Baghbür; the king of India and Atrāḥ, Wahūfūr; and the king of the Tughuz-ghuz, Khāqān.
In 769 CE, the Arabs were again able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils after nearly half a century, when
Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni.[31]
Arab destructions are documented around 795 CE, as the Muslim writer
Kitāb al-buldān records the destruction of a Šāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), thought to be Tepe Sardar, at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked the Šāh Bahār, "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them".[57]
End of the Turk Shahis (822 CE)
In 815 CE, the
Hindu Shahi dynasty, took over in Gandhara and Kabul in 822 CE.[58] The Zunbils were unaffected by Al-Ma'mun's raids and continued to rule for about two more decades, before getting embroiled in the conflict to eventual extinction.[58]
Saffarids conquest (870 CE)
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD), conqueror of the Zunbils (Dezful
, Iran)
The Zunbils were finally defeated in 870 AD by the Muslim conqueror
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD, founder of the Saffarid dynasty), who conquered the entire Zunbil territory from his base in Sistan.[3]
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar started his eastern conquests in 870/871 CE, when he marched against the Kharijites of
Bamyan and Kabul, pushing the Hindu Shahis to the East, conquering these territories in the name of Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of the Hindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under Saffarid control. The Panjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint silver coins.[61]
According to C.E. Bosworth, the Saffarids achieved, for the first time, Muslim expansion in eastern Afghanistan, after more than two centuries of plundering raids by the Muslim governors of Sistan and fierce resistance from the rulers of the region.[62]
The Hindu Shahis, setting up defenses in Gandhara, continued the resistance to the eastern expansion of Islam until circa 1026 CE.
Religion
In his travel diaries, the Chinese monk Xuanzang reported in the early 700s that the temple of the Hindu god Zun/Sun(Surya) was in the region. He also reported there were numerous Buddhist stupas in the area of Zabul. There were dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of Buddhist monasteries.[3] In addition , drawing many pilgrims.[3] According to Wink, it was clear that Zunbils ruled over a predominately Indian realm.[63]
Buddhism
Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[64]
Tapa Sardar
, Afghanistan (3rd to 5th century AD).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk
Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[64]
Zhun
The Zunbils worshiped a deity called Zhūn (or Zūn), from whom they derived their name.[65] He is represented with flames radiating from his head on coins. Statues were adorned with gold and used rubies for eyes. Huen Tsang calls him "sunagir".[28]
The origin and nature of Zhun is disputed. M. Shenkar in his study comes to the conclusion that Zhun was possibly connected to the deity of the river Oxus, the modern river Amudarya. Furthermore, he holds it most likely that Zhun was the greatest deity worshiped in Zabulistan.
Zoroastrian influence on its ritual. Whatever his origins, he was certainly superimposed on a mountain and on a pre-existing mountain god while merging with Shaiva doctrines of worship.[12]
Zurvan hypothesis
Other scholars however have connected Zun with the Sassanid Zoroastrian deity Zurvān, the deity of time.
"Regarding origin of Žuna, Xuanzang had only mentioned that it was initially brought to Kapisa, later Begram from "far" and later moved to Zabul. There is no consensus as to who brought it and when. By identifying Žun with Sassanian Zurvān, the cult of Žun or *Zruvān can be viewed in a much wider context of Iranian history and religious developments. Žun, Like Zurvān, most likely represented the "god of time", a heresy in Zoroastrianism, which originated in response to the religious reforms introduced during second half of Achaemenid Empire. The cosmopolitan nature of the god is consistent with the variety of religions practiced in the region prior to the
According to Gulman S, its Afghan followers were, most probably, initially Zoroastrians. Mention of Žun and its devotees disappeared with the end of Žunbil dynasty of Zabulistan in 870. Its followers, according to Ibn Athir, accepted Islam.[66]
^Andre Wink, Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol.1, (Brill, 1996), 115;""The Zunbils of the early Islamic period and the Kabulshahs were almost certainly epigoni of the southern-Hephthalite rulers of Zabul."
^History of Civilizations of central Asia, B A Litivinsky Zhang Guang-Da, R Shabani Samghabadi, p.376
^Rehman, Abdur (1979). The Last Two Dynasties of the Śahis: An Analysis of Their History, Archaeology, Coinage and Palaeography. Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University. pp. 58–67.
^Raphael Israeli, Anthony Hearle Johns (1984). Islam in Asia: South Asia. Magnes Press. p. 15.
1.^"Xuanzang's story is simple , but suggests a historical background:there happened a conflict between the two religious groups, the Surya group and the Zhuna group".
