B. A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guand-Da, R. Shabani Samghabadi - History of Civilizations of Central Asia - The Crossroads of Civilization - A.D. 250 To 750-Unesco (1996) PDF

History of
civilizations
of Central
Asia
Volume III
The crossroads of civilizations:
A.D. 250 to 750
Editor: B. A. Litvinsky
Co-editors:
Zhang Guang-da
and R. Shabani Samghabadi
M u l t i p l e H i s t o r y S e r i e s
U N E S C O P u b l i s h i n g
3
CentAsiaIII-Prélim 3 3/12/96, 11:14

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation
of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions
expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO
and do not commit the Organization.
The designations employed and the presentation of material

throughout this publication do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or
of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation
of its frontiers or boundaries.
Published in 1996 by the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization
7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP
Compiled by I. Iskender-Mochiri
Text revision by Dr D. W. MacDowall
English text edited by Jana Gough
Composed by Éditions du Mouflon, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (France)

Printed by Imprimerie Darantiere, 21800 Quétigny (France)
ISBN 92-3-103211-9
© UNESCO 1996

P R E FA C E
Federico Mayor
Director-General of UNESCO
O
NE of the purposes of UNESCO, as proclaimed in its Constitution,
is ‘to develop and to increase the means of communication be-
tween . . . peoples and to employ these means for the purposes of
mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s
lives’. The History of the Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind,
published in 1968, was a major early response on the part of UNESCO to the
task of enabling the peoples of the world to have a keener sense of their collec-
tive destiny by highlighting their individual contributions to the history of
humanity. This universal history – itself now undergoing a fundamental revi-
sion – has been followed by a number of regional projects, including the Gen-
eral History of Africa and the planned volumes on Latin America, the Carib-
bean and on aspects of Islamic culture. The History of Civilizations of Central
Asia is an integral part of this wider enterprise.
It is appropriate that the second of UNESCO’s regional histories should
be concerned with Central Asia. For, like Africa, Central Asia is a region whose
cultural heritage has tended to be excluded from the main focus of historical
attention. Yet from time immemorial the area has served as the generator of
population movements within the Eurasian land-mass. The history of the an-
cient and medieval worlds, in particular, was shaped to an important extent by
the succession of peoples that arose out of the steppe, desert, oases and moun-
tain ranges of this vast area extending from the Caspian Sea to the high pla-
teaux of Mongolia. From the Cimmerians mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, the
Scythians described by Herodotus, the Hsiung-nu whose incursions led the
emperors of China to build the Great Wall, the sixth-century Türks who ex-
tended their empire to the boundaries of Byzantium, the Khitans who gave
their name to ancient Cathay, through to the Mongols who erupted into world
history in the thirteenth century under Genghis Khan, the nomadic horsemen
of Central Asia helped to define the limits and test the mettle of the great civi-
lizations of Europe and Asia.

Preface
Nor is it sufficient to identify the peoples of Central Asia simply with

nomadic cultures. This is to ignore the complex symbiosis within Central Asia
itself between nomadism and settlement, between pastoralists and agricultur-
alists. It is to overlook above all the burgeoning of the great cities of Central
Asia such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, which established themselves in
the late Middle Ages as outstanding centres of intellectual inquiry and artistic
creation. The seminal writings of the philosopher-scientist Avicenna (a native
of Bukhara) and the timeless masterpieces of Timurid architecture epitomize
the flowering of medieval culture in the steppes and deserts of Central Asia.
The civilizations of Central Asia did not, of course, develop in a vacuum.
The impact of Islam was pervasive and fundamental. The great civilizations on
the periphery of the Eurasian continent likewise exerted an important influ-
ence on these lands. For some 1,500 years this arid inland sea – far removed
from the earth’s true oceans – was crucial as the route along which merchan-
dise (notably silk) and ideas flowed between China, India, Iran and Europe.
The influence of Iran – although the core of its civilization lies in South-West
Asia – was particularly strong, to the extent that it is sometimes difficult to
establish a clear boundary between the civilization of the Iranian motherland
and that of the outlying lands of Central Asia.
To the rich variety of peoples of Central Asia was thus added a multiplic-
ity of external influences. For century after century, the region experienced the
influx of foreign art and ideas, colliding and merging with the indigenous pat-
terns of Central Asia. Migrations and the recurrent shock of military invasion,
mingling and displacing peoples and cultures, combined to maintain the vast
region in flux.
The systole and diastole of population movements down the ages add to
the difficulty of delimiting a region whose topology alone does not prescribe
clear boundaries. Thus, when, at the nineteenth session of its General Confer-
ence, UNESCO decided to embark on a History of Civilizations of Central
Asia the first problem to be resolved was to define the scope of the region
concerned. Subsequently, at a UNESCO meeting held in 1978, it was agreed
that the study on Central Asia should deal with the civilizations of Afghani-
stan, north-eastern Iran, Pakistan, northern India, western China, Mongolia
and the former Soviet Central Asian republics. The appellation ‘Central Asia’,
as employed in this History, refers to this area, which corresponds to a clearly
discernible cultural and historical reality.
UNESCO’s call to specialists, and particularly to scholars native to the
region, to participate in the undertaking met with a wide and generous response.
The project was deemed by academics to be an excellent opportunity to draw
back the curtain that had veiled Central Asia for so long. However, none were
in any doubt as to the huge dimensions of the task.
An ad hoc International Scientific Committee was formed in 1980 to plan
and prepare the work, which it was agreed should cover, in six volumes, the

Preface
history of Central Asia from earliest times to the present day. The Commit-
tee’s initial task was to decide where pre-eminence should be given in the very
wide canvas before it. In due course, a proper balance was struck and teams of
editors and authors were selected.
The preparation of the History of Civilizations of Central Asia is now
well advanced. The best resources of research and archaeology have been used
to make the work as thorough as possible, and countless annals consulted in
major centres throughout the region. It is my sincere wish that this, the third
volume, and those that follow will bring instruction and pleasure to readers all
over the world.
It remains for me to thank the President, Rapporteur and members of
the International Scientific Committee, and the editors, authors and teams of
specialists who have collaborated to shed new light on Central Asia with this
detailed account of its vital and stirring past. I am sure it will prove a notable
contribution to the study and mutual appreciation of the cultures that are the
common heritage of mankind.

CONTENTS
Description of the project

M. S. Asimov, President, International Scientific Committee . 11
Members of the International Scientific Committee . . . . . . 15
List of contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1 Historical introduction
B. A. Litvinsky and Zhang Guang-da . . . . . . 19
2 Sasanian Iran – economy, society, arts and crafts
N. N. Chegini and A. V. Nikitin . . . . . . . 35
3 Sasanian Iran – intellectual life
A. Tafazzoli and A. L. Khromov . . . . . . . 79
4 The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom
A. H. Dani and B. A. Litvinsky . . . . . . . 103
5 The Kidarite kingdom in Central Asia
E. V. Zeimal . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6 The Hephthalite Empire
B. A. Litvinsky . . . . . . . . . . 135
7 Eastern Kushans, Kidarites in Gandhara and Kashmir,
and Later Hephthalites
A. H. Dani, B. A. Litvinsky and M. H. Zamir Safi . . . . 163
8 The Gupta kingdom
K. Chakrabarti . . . . . . . . . . 185
9 Khwarizm
E. E. Nerazik and P. G. Bulgakov . . . . . . . 207
10 Sogdiana
B. I. Marshak and N. N. Negmatov . . . . . . 233

11 The city-states of the Tarim basin
Zhang Guang-da . . . . . . . . . . 281
12 Kocho (Kao-ch’ang)
Zhang Guang-da . . . . . . . . . . 303
13 Northern nomads
L. R. Kyzlasov . . . . . . . . . . 315
14 The Türk Empire
D. Sinor and S. G. Klyashtorny . . . . . . . 327
15 The Western Regions (Hsi-yü) under the T’ang Empire
and the kingdom of Tibet
Mu Shun-ying and Wang Yao . . . . . . . 349
16 Tokharistan and Gandhara under Western Türk rule (650–750)
J. Harmatta and B. A. Litvinsky . . . . . . . 367
17 Religions and religious movements – I
Ph. Gignoux and B. A. Litvinsky . . . . . . . 403
18 Religions and religious movements – II
B. A. Litvinsky and M. I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya . . . 421
19 The Arab conquest
B. A. Litvinsky, A. H. Jalilov and A. I. Kolesnikov . . . . 449
20 Central Asia, the crossroads of civilizations
B. A. Litvinsky and Zhang Guang-da . . . . . . 473
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Bibliography and References . . . . . . . . . . 507
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
10

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
M. S. Asimov
HE General Conference of UNESCO, at its nineteenth session (Nairobi,

October, November 1976),adopted the resolution which authorized the
Director-General to undertake, among other activities aimed at promot-
ing appreciation and respect for cultural identity, a new project on the preparation
of a History of Civilizations of Central Asia. This project was a natural conse-
quence of a pilot project on the study of Central Asia which was approved during
the fourteenth session of the UNESCO General Conference in November 1966.
The purpose of this pilot project, as it was formulated in the UNESCO
programme, was to make better known the civilizations of the peoples living
in the regions of Central Asia through studies of their archaeology, history,
languages and literature. At its initial stage, the participating Member States
included Afghanistan, India, Iran, Pakistan and the former Soviet Union. Later,
Mongolia and China joined the UNESCO Central Asian project, thus enlarg-
ing the area to cover the cultures of Mongolia and the western regions of China.
In this work, Central Asia should be understood as a cultural entity de-
veloped in the course of the long history of civilizations of peoples of the re-
gion and the above delimitation should not be taken as rigid boundaries either
now or in the future.
In the absence of any existing survey of such large scope which could
have served as a model, UNESCO has had to proceed by stages in this difficult
task of presenting an integrated narrative of complex historical events from
earliest times to the present day.
The first stage was designed to obtain better knowledge of the civiliza-
tions of Central Asia by encouraging archaeological and historical research and
the study of literature and the history of science. A new project was therefore
launched to promote studies in five major domains: the archaeology and the
history of the Kushan Empire, the history of the arts of Central Asia, the con-
tribution of the peoples of Central Asia to the development of science, the
history of ideas and philosophy, and the literatures of Central Asia.
11

Mohammad S. Asimov
An International Association for the Study of Cultures of Central Asia

(IASCCA), a non-governmental scholarly organization, was founded on the
initiative of the Tajik scholar B. Gafurov in 1973, assembling scholars of the
area for the co-ordination of interdisciplinary studies of their own cultures
and the promotion of regional and international co-operation.
Created under the auspices of UNESCO, the new Association became,
from the very beginning of its activity, the principal consultative body of
UNESCO in the implementation of its programme on the study of Central
Asian cultures and the preparation of a History of Civilizations of Central Asia.
The second stage concentrated on the modern aspects of Central Asian
civilizations and the eastward extension of the geographical boundaries of re-
search in the new programme. A series of international scholarly conferences
and symposia were organized in the countries of the area to promote studies
on Central Asian cultures.
Two meetings of experts, held in 1978 and 1979 at UNESCO Headquar-
ters, concluded that the project launched in 1967 for the study of cultures of
Central Asia had led to considerable progress in research and contributed to
strengthening existing institutions in the countries of the region. The experts
consequently advised the Secretariat on the methodology and the preparation
of the History. On the basis of its recommendations it was decided that this
publication should consist of six volumes covering chronologically the whole
history of Central Asian civilizations ranging from their very inception up to
the present. Furthermore, the experts recommended that the experience ac-
quired by UNESCO during the preparation of the History of Scientific and
Cultural Development of Mankind and of the General History of Africa should
also be taken into account by those responsible for the drafting of the History.
As to its presentation, they supported the opinion expressed by the UNESCO
Secretariat that the publication, while being a scholarly work, should be acces-
sible to a general readership.
Since history constitutes an uninterrupted sequence of events, it was de-
cided not to give undue emphasis to any specific date. Events preceding or
subsequent to those indicated here are dealt with in each volume whenever
their inclusion is justified by the requirements of scholarship.
The third and final stage consisted of setting up in August 1980 an Inter-
national Scientific Committee of nineteen members, who sit in a personal ca-
pacity, to take reponsibility for the preparation of the History. The Committee
thus created included two scholars from each of the seven Central Asian coun-
tries – Afghanistan, China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Mongolia
and the former USSR – and five experts from other countries - Hungary, Japan,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Committee’s first session was held at UNESCO Headquarters in
December 1980. Real work on the preparation of the publication of the His-
tory of Civilizations of Central Asia started, in fact, in 1981. It was decided that
12

Description of the project
scholars selected by virtue of their qualifications and achievements relating to

Central Asian history and culture should ensure the objective presentation,
and also the high scientific and intellectual standard, of this History.
Members of the International Scientific Committee decided that the new
project should correspond to the noble aims and principles of UNESCO and
thereby should contribute to the promotion of mutual understanding and peace
between nations. The Committee followed the recommendation of the experts
delineating for the purpose of this work the geographical area of Central Asia
to reflect the common historical and cultural experience.
The first session of the International Committee decided most of the
principal matters concerning the implementation of this complex project, be-
ginning with the drafting of plans and defining the objectives and methods of
work of the Committee itself.
The Bureau of the International Scientific Committee consists of a presi-
dent, four vice-presidents and a rapporteur. The Bureau’s task is to supervise
the execution of the project between the sessions of the International Scientific
Committee. The reading committee, consisting of four members, was created
in 1986 to revise and finalize the manuscripts after editing Volumes I and II.
Another reading committee was constituted in 1989 for Volumes III and IV.
The authors and editors are scholars from the present twelve countries of
Central Asia and experts from other regions. Thus, this work is the result of
the regional and of the international collaboration of scholars within the frame-
work of the programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The International Scientific Committee and myself express particular
gratitude to Mrs Irene Iskender-Mochiri for her arduous and selfless work in
preparing the first three volumes for the press.
It is our sincere hope that the publication of the third volume of the
History of Civilizations of Central Asia will be a further step towards the pro-
motion of the cultural identity of the peoples of Central Asia, strengthening
their common cultural heritage and, consequently, will foster a better under-
standing among the peoples of the world.
13

M E M B E R S O F T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
(in alphabetical order)
Dr F. R. ALLCHIN (United Kingdom) Professor LIU CUNKUAN

(People’s Republic of China)
Professor M. S. ASIMOV (Tajikistan)
President Dr L. I. MIROSHNIKOV (Russian
Editor of Volume IV (Parts I and II) Federation)
Professor S. NATSAGDORJ (Mongolia)
Dr N. A. BALOCH (Pakistan)
Professor B. N. PURI (India)
Professor M. BASTANI PARIZI (Islamic Co-editor of Volume II
Republic of Iran)
Professor M. H. Z. SAFI (Afghanistan)
Professor S. BIRA (Mongolia) Professor A. SAYILI (Turkey)
Professor A. H. DANI (Pakistan) Dr R. SHABANI SAMGHABADI
Editor of Volume I (Islamic Republic of Iran)
Co-editor of Volume III
† Professor K. ENOKI (Japan)
Professor D. SINOR (United States
Professor G. F. ETEMADI of America)
(Afghanistan) † Professor B. K. THAPAR (India)
Co-editor of Volume II
Professor ZHANG GUANG-DA
Professor J. HARMATTA (Hungary) (People’s Republic of China)
Editor of Volume II Co-editor of Volume III
15

M E M B E R S O F T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
(since 1993)
Professor C. ADLE Professor H.-P. FRANCFORT

(Islamic Republic of Iran) (France)
Editor of Volume V
Professor I. HABIB
Professor D. ALIMOVA (India)
(Uzbekistan) Editor of Volume V
Professor M. ANNANEPESOV Dr L. MIROSHNIKOV
(Turkmenistan) (Russian Federation)
Professor M. S. ASIMOV
(Tajikistan) Professor D. SINOR
President and Editor of Volume IV (United States of America)
(Parts I and II) Dr A. TABYSHALIEVA
Professor K. BAIPAKOV (Kyrgyz Republic)
(Kazakstan)
Professor I. TOGAN
Co-editor of Volume V
(Turkey)
Professor S. BIRA
(Mongolia) Professor H. UMEMURA
(Japan)
Professor A. H. DANI
(Pakistan) Professor WU YUNGUI
Editor of Volume I (People’s Republic of China)
MEMBERS OF THE READING COMMITTEE
Professor A. D. H. BIVAR Professor J. HARMATTA

(United Kingdom) (Hungary)
Professor R. N. FRYE Professor D. SINOR
(United States of America) (United States of America)
16

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
† P. G. BULGAKOV † A. L. KHROMOV
K. CHAKRABARTI S. G. KLYASHTORNY
Centre for Historical Studies
Institute of Oriental Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Sector of Turco-Mongol Studies
New Delhi 110067, India
Dvortsovaya Nab., 18
N. N. CHEGINI St Petersburg, Russian Federation
Iran Bastan Museum
Khiaban-e Imam Khomeini A. I. KOLESNIKOV
Tehran 11364/9364 Institute of Oriental Studies
Islamic Republic of Iran Dvortsovaya Nab., 18
St Petersburg, Russian Federation
A. H. DANI
Director L. R. KYZLASOV
Centre for the Study of Civilizations of Faculty of History
Central Asia Moscow State University
Quaid-i-Azam University Moscow, Russian Federation
Islamabad, Pakistan
B. A. LITVINSKY
PH. GIGNOUX
Director
École Pratique des Hautes Études
Section des Sciences religieuses
Rojdesvenko Street 12
Sorbonne
Moscow 103753, Russian Federation
45, rue des Écoles
75005 Paris, France
B. I. MARSHAK
J. HARMATTA State Hermitage Museum
Hattyu-u 2.V.1 St Petersburg, Russian Federation
Budapest 1015, Hungary
MU SHUN-YING
A. H. JALILOV Archaeological Institute of Xinjiang
Tajik State University Academy of Social Sciences
Dushanbe, Tajikistan Urumqi, People’s Republic of China
17

N. N. NEGMATOV ZHANG GUANG-DA
Institute of History Department of History
Tajik Academy of Sciences Beijing University
Dushanbe, Tajikistan Beijing 100871
People’s Republic of China
E. E. NERAZIK
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology
Leninskiy prospekt, 32A
Moscow 117334, Russian Federation
A. V. NIKITIN Other collaborating specialists

The State Hermitage Museum
St Peterburg, Russian Federation M. E. BASTANI PARIZI
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences
D. SINOR University of Tehran
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Uralic and Altaic Studies
Indiana University G. S. HUMAYUN
Goodbody Hall 157 Faculty of Literature
Bloomington, Indiana 47405–2401 Kabul University
United States of America Kabul, Afghanistan
A. TAFAZZOLI M. HUSSAIN SHAH
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Kabul University
M. I. VOROBYOVA-DESYATOVSKAYA Kabul, Afghanistan
M. A. JOYENDA
Dvortsovaya Nab., 18
Afghan Institute of Archaeology
St Petersburg, Russian Federation
International Centre for Kushan Studies
WANG YAO Kabul, Afghanistan
Central Institute for National Minorities
Department of Tibetan Studies A. KHODADADIAN
Beijing, People’s Republic of China Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
M. H. ZAMIR SAFI
Department of History B. N. PURI
Faculty of Social Sciences B-58, Sector A
Kabul University Mahanagar
Kabul, Afghanistan Lucknow 226006, India
E. V. ZEIMAL A. RAHMAN
Oriental Department Department of Archaeology
State Hermitage Museum University of Peshawar
St Petersburg, Russian Federation Peshawar, Pakistan
18

1
Historical introduction
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION*
B. A. Litvinsky and Zhang Guang-da
T
he end of the period covered by Volume II of the History of Civiliza-
tions of Central Asia saw the weakening and collapse of the powerful
Parthian, Han and Kushan empires. The present volume deals with the
period c. A.D. 250–750, which witnessed the rise of mighty new empires
(Sasanian, Gupta, Sui and T’ang; and the Arab caliphate) on the fringes of Cen-
tral Asia. It also saw the successive movements of nomadic peoples (the Huns,
Alan tribes, Chionites, Kidarites and Hephthalites, Türks, Türgesh, Karluks,
Uighurs and other Turkic tribal confederations) that played a major and at times
decisive role in the later ethnic and political history of the region.
The Sasanians
In Iran the entire period is covered by the Sasanian Empire (A.D. 224–651), the
successor to the Parthian Empire (c. 250 B.C. – A.D. 224). The end of the first
century and the beginning of the second were characterized by chronic inter-
nal disturbances in the Parthian state, which was also weakened by the con-
stant wars with Rome. The Parthians were particularly unsuccessful in their
struggle against the Roman emperor Trajan in the years 113–117. Although
they later managed to regain their lost lands and achieve a certain degree of
stability, the wars with Rome proved highly exhausting.1 Entire provinces, in-
cluding Hyrcania, were lost and Margiana became independent.
The beginning of the third century was marked by rivalry between the
Parthian king Vologases V (207/8–221/2) and his brother Ardavan V (c. 213–
224), who ruled independently, as well as by further battles against the Ro-
mans. It was at that time that a new dynasty emerged: the Sasanians. Accord-
ing to Lukonin:
* See Map 1.
1. Lepper, 1948.
19
CentAsiaIII-Chap01 19 3/12/96, 11:16

The emergence of the Sasanians and the organization of a new state in Iran in the first
quarter of the third century A.D. meant not only a change of dynasty. These develop-
ments were due to deep-seated economic and political factors. The growth of com-
modity production brought about mainly by the exploitation of the peasantry and
slaves, the growth in demand for crafts and agricultural produce linked to the revival
of trade routes running through Iran to China and India, and the general crisis in the
system of slave-ownership which affected the Mediterranean in the third century and
reached Iran were all expressions of a new stage in the history of that country which
created an urgent need for new organizational and political forms. Ardashir [226–
241], the son of Papak and scion of a local national dynasty, supported by a broad
section of the increasingly feudal nobility both priestly and military, rapidly managed
to unite scattered princedoms and domains around Persia (modern Fars province), an
area associated from earliest times with the national unity of the entire country.2
As early as the third century the Sasanians destroyed the large Kushan Empire
and annexed a part of its domains, including Bactria (Tokharistan). This region
subsequently became part of the small Kushano-Sasanian kingdom and then,
at times, part of the vast and mighty Sasanian Empire itself, which stretched
from the southern regions of western Central Asia and Afghanistan to the
Transcaucasus, Mesopotamia and part of Arabia. To the west, the Sasanians
shared a border with the Roman Empire and subsequently with Byzantium,
and this was the theatre of almost constant wars. Similar wars were waged on
its eastern border with the Later Kushans, the Chionites, the Hephthalites and
the Türks. Some of these tribes invaded the territory of Iran and their notables
played a part in domestic Iranian political struggles.
The Sasanians had a developed bureaucratic and military system as well
as a complex administrative, social and Zoroastrian priestly hierarchy. The re-
forms of Khusrau I Anushirvan (531–579) marked not only the establishment
of a well-balanced, comprehensive and fairly centralized system of administra-
tion but also the completion of one stage in the feudalization of society.
A vigorous culture flourished in the Sasanian Empire. Many works of
religious, artistic and scientific literature were produced and there was a large
body of secular literature such as historical epics and poems, legal, geographic
and other works, including some in poetic form. There were many translations
from other languages, including Greek, Syriac and Indian languages. Majestic
works of architecture have been preserved, which testify to the engineering
and architectural genius of their creators. Among the arts represented were
sculpture, bas-relief, painting, toreutics, glyptic and representations on medals
and coins. It was a new and highly progressive stage in the development of the
art of the East.
Art, crafts and architecture bear traces of previous Iranian, as well as
Roman, Byzantine, Transcaucasian and Central Asian artistic creation. Sasanian
spiritual and material life and culture also exerted a considerable influence on
2. Lukonin, 1961, p. 5.
20

those of many neighbouring and more distant peoples. Sasanian works of art
and crafts were to be found from France to China and Japan and many exam-
ples have been discovered in the Urals and Siberia. The traditions, motifs and
rites created under the Sasanians continued into the Islamic period.3
The Sasanian shahanshah (king of kings) of Iran was the bearer of kingly
khwarnah (Avestan, khvarenah; Old Persian, farnah; New Persian, farr), in
other words, he embodied the happiness and destiny of the royal dynasty and
the entire state.4 The Sasanian monarch was considered the earthly representa-
tive and counterpart both of the Zoroastrian religion and of its supreme crea-
tor deity, Ohrmazd (Avestan, Ahura Mazda). Consequently, the king in Zoro-
astrian belief, as sovereign of Iran and the entire corporeal world, was the
divinely designated protector, religious and secular authority, and guide of the
material creation. He served, in the corporeal, the same roles as does Ohrmazd
as universal sovereign of both the material and spiritual worlds.5 Identical or
similar conceptions connected with sacral kingship were found in India and
China, although both countries enjoyed a degree of religious tolerance that did
not exist in Iran.
Zoroastrianism was the prevailing faith (and also the state religion) in
Iran, with Christianity and Judaism existing alongside it. A syncretic
Manichaean religion arose in the Mesopotamian part of the empire. From Iran,
Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Judaism and Manichaeism spread east to west-
ern Central Asia, Afghanistan, East Turkestan, Mongolia and China.
Like the Parthian Empire, the Kushan Empire began to decline in the
third century and severe blows were dealt to it by the Sasanians. The Indian
part of the Kushan Empire also declined, losing its influence first in the Gan-
ges valley. The Yaudheya Republic (Yaudheyagana on coin inscriptions) – situ-
ated on the plain between the Sutlej and the Jamuna and in northern Rajasthan
– played a major part in the struggle against the Kushans. In the second cen-
tury, western India was controlled by the dynasty of the Western Satraps, who
extended their territories, but were eventually incorporated in the Gupta Em-
pire by Chandragupta II at the end of the fourth century.
The Guptas
The region of Magadha rose to prominence during the third century largely
because of its situation on the lower reaches of the Ganges close to the shores
of the Bay of Bengal. At the beginning of the fourth century it became the
political centre of the Gupta Empire, which rapidly united most of northern
3. The Cambridge History of Iran, 1983, Vol. 3, Parts 1 and 2; Christensen, 1944.
4. Bailey, 1971.
5. Choksy, 1988; see also Widengren, 1959; Frye, 1984.
21

India. Chandragupta I (c. 319–335 or 350) played a major role in this, and after
his death he was given the splendid title of ‘Great King of Kings’. His son,
Samudragupta (c. 350–c. 375), was a skilful politician, a bold and successful mili-
tary commander and a patron of the arts and sciences. It was during his rule
that the Gupta Empire took shape in the valley of the Ganges. Its nucleus was
surrounded by a belt of territories dependent to a greater or lesser extent on
the Guptas and Samudragupta even led a campaign deep into southern India.
The territory of the Guptas reached its greatest extent under Chandra-
gupta II (c. 375–c. 415) after he defeated the Western Satraps – a period known
as the ‘Gupta Golden Age’. There are even references to a campaign against
Bactria. But the Gupta Empire weakened and eventually broke up under the
attacks of new invaders, among whom the Hephthalites – the Hunas of Indian
sources – played an important role. Many regions of northern India fell under
the control of Turkic invaders, until Harsha of Kanauj (606–647), a powerful
conqueror, rebuilt a strong empire in the north.
The Guptas played a major role in the history and culture of India and of
the neighbouring countries. Although the empire had no standard administra-
tive divisions or unified administrative system, there was a marked increase in
the level of centralization. Record-keeping was highly developed and there was
a complex system for the registration of land, donations, income and expendi-
ture. Agriculture was developed, as were crafts, building, and foreign and do-
mestic trade.6 According to Rowland:
Seldom in the history of peoples do we find a period in which the national genius is
so fully and typically expressed in all the arts as in Gupta India. Here was florescence
and fulfilment after a long period of gradual development, a like sophistication and
complete assurance in expression in music, literature, the drama, the plastic arts and
architecture. The Gupta period may well be described as ‘classic’ in the sense of the
word describing a norm or degree of perfection never achieved before or since, and
in the perfect balance and harmony of all elements, stylistic and iconographic ele-
ments inseparable in importance.
Sanskrit became the official language of the Gupta court. The great Indian epic,
the Mahabharata, underwent a final recension as a document of a unified India under
a godly Imperial race; the Ramayana enjoyed a renewed popularity . . . It was in this
period that the Indian theatre, which, just like western drama, traced its origins to the
performance of church spectacles or miracle plays, reached the extraordinary perfec-
tion of dramatic structure and richness of metaphor that characterize the ‘Toy cart’
and the famed Kalidasa’s rich and sensuous poetic drama ‘Wakuntala’.7
Buddhism (Mahayana and Hinayana) flourished in Gupta India but external

and internal factors gradually contributed to its decline. Hinduism was regen-
6. The Age of Imperial Unity, 1951; The Classical Age, 1954; Altekar and Majumdar (eds), 1946;
Banerji, 1933; Dandekar, 1941; Mookerji, 1952; Bongard-Levin and Il’in, 1969a.
7. Rowland, 1970, pp. 215–16.
22

erated and absorbed many Buddhist beliefs. Gupta India contained many uni-
versally known centres of erudition, including the monastery at Nalanda. From
Gupta India, ideas, teaching, scientific discoveries and also miscellaneous goods,
works of art and literature, scientific and religious writings, preachers, mer-
chants and craftsmen spread throughout Central Asia to the lands of the south-
ern seas, the Mediterranean and East Asia.
The Sui dynasty

In China the end of the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220) was a dark period.
Rebellions and internecine strife devastated the flourishing central regions of
the Han Empire; towns lay in ruins, the fields were empty and trade routes
ceased to operate. In 220 a new dynasty, the Wei, took power. During its rule
the processes of disintegration continued apace and a mere 45 years later an-
other dynasty, the Chin, was established. A short period of unity was followed
by fresh rebellions, internecine wars and the movement of northern and north-
western nomads, proto-Turkic, Tungusic and tribes of Tibetan-Chiang stock,
who had been fighting among themselves for years. Separate states were formed
in the north and south of China.
In 581 the Sui dynasty was founded: four centuries of rebellion and divi-
sion gave way to a period of unity and centralization. Strong measures were
taken to set up a bureaucratic type of government and major building works
were initiated. The Sui emperors started wars on the borders of the empire but
obtained few successes. In comparison with the advanced consolidation of the
Han period, the state’s territory during all the following periods (including
that of the Sui) was significantly smaller. China’s influence in Central Asia
declined gradually, leaving few traces; trade routes also declined and cultural
ties were weakened.
The T’ang dynasty

In 618 the T’ang dynasty came to power in China. Its real founder was the
emperor T’ai-tsung (627–649), during whose 23-year reign many laws were
codified and all aspects of life were carefully regulated. T’ang capitals and other
cities flourished, as did trade. Although the empire reached its zenith under
Hsüan-tsung (713–756), his reign also marked the start of the dynasty’s decline.
China’s consolidation and development during the Early T’ang period
led to an expansion of its territory, especially to the west, where practically all
East Turkestan was incorporated into the empire. T’ang troops advanced to
the borders of western Central Asia, but were unable to consolidate their hold.
In the last quarter of the seventh century, the T’ang Empire started to clash in
23

East Turkestan with the Tibetans, who had become very powerful. Tibetan
expansion reached its zenith in the middle and the third quarter of the eighth
century, when they held a large area of East Turkestan.
The T’ang maintained large military forces in the north to fight the Türks,
who had united under the First (552–630) and the Second (682–744) Türk
Kaghanates. The year 744 saw the establishment of the Uighur Kaghanate, which
rapidly became very powerful. After an interlude, the Uighurs began to play a
role in internal Chinese affairs at the invitation of the T’ang government.
The process of urbanization continued, accompanied by an expansion in
crafts, and in domestic and foreign trade. In the area of spiritual life, Buddhism
gained in importance. Outstanding works of literature, architecture and art were
created. According to Schafer:
How the Western Regions contributed to China and then T’ang China contributed
her arts and manners to her neighbours of the medieval Far East, especially to Japan,
Korea, Turkestan, Tibet and Annam, is a rather well-known story. To mention the
arts of xylography, city planning, costume design, and versification is only to hint at
the magnitude of the cultural debt which these peripheral countries owed to T’ang.
We are also familiar with the material goods sought by foreigners in China or taken
abroad by the Chinese themselves: luxuries like silk textiles, wine, ceramics, metal-
work, and medicines, as well as such minor dainties as peaches, honey and pine nuts,
and, of course, the instruments of civilization, great books and fine paintings.8
In summary, it is clear that the lands bordering on Central Asia (especially Iran
and China) acted as mighty generators of military and political power. On their
territories, great centralized states were established, mighty empires which
played a crucial role in the fate of the various peoples of Central Asia and in
diplomatic and economic history. The Indian, Iranian and Chinese civiliza-
tions also played an outstanding part in the development of the civilization of
Central Asia as a whole, contributing to material culture, armaments and the
design and construction of cities as well as to science, philosophy, literature
and religion.
Oasis states
In the middle of Central Asia lay oasis states with settled agricultural (and also,
to some extent, nomadic) populations and a developed urban life. They in-
cluded Tokharistan (Bactria), Margiana, Sogdiana, Khwarizm, and many small
kingdoms in the Tarim basin such as Kucha and Khotan, all of which enjoyed
several common features – we shall mention just a few of them. The character
of these states was monarchic in principle, but a theocratic monarchy (or some-
8. Schafer, 1963, p. 2; see also Wright, 1959; Kryukov et al., 1979; 1984.
24

thing resembling it in the case of Khotan, for example) had been established in
some of them. There was a secular, hierarchical system in which vassalage was
developing, and it is possible to speak of the growth of feudalism. In all these
states, the period was characterized by the expansion of productive forces and
by a complex system of trade. The Sogdians were especially renowned as trad-
ers from Byzantium to China – they not only travelled back and forth in cara-
vans but founded entire cities9 and acted as the transmitters of cultural values.
The oasis states generated a very high level of urban culture, as testified by the
creation of outstanding works of art which became part of the Eastern heritage.
Ecology, geography and climate

The ecological conditions prevailing in Central Asia are as follows. Although
its territory lies on the same latitude as Spain and the southern half of France,
the natural conditions are quite different. It is a land of boundless sandy deserts.
There are mountains rising above the clouds, covered in eternal snows, and
large mountain glaciers over alpine meadows. Swollen rivers flow from these
glaciers and snowfields, rushing down into the plains with their cultivated lands,
villages and towns. From the foot of the mountains, the deserts of western
Central Asia – the Kyzyl Kum, the Kara Kum and the Ustyurt – stretch for
more than 1,000 km to the Caspian Sea. Middle Asia (a region of the former
Soviet Central Asia) lies in the internally drained part of Eurasia, that is in the
Aral–Caspian (Turanian) plain, where the above-mentioned deserts and the T’ien
Shan and Pamir-Alai (the highest mountain systems of this region) are located.
Further east, regions with similar landscapes stretch all the way to Mongolia.
The main climatic features throughout most of western Central Asia are
an abundance of heat and light, aridity and a continental pattern. The varia-
tions in daily and monthly temperatures can be as great as 40° C. On the plains,
the frost-free period may last for up to 250 days. The summer is long, oppres-
sive and dry. In the far south the temperature reaches 50° C in the shade. The
lowlands are among the driest regions of Eurasia; thus the precipitation in the
Taklamakan desert is insignificant – 10–15 mm per annum. In Dzungaria, the
precipitation varies between 200 mm in the northern foothills and 400 mm in
the northern plains. In the Alai and T’ien Shan mountains the climate is much
more humid, and precipitation rises to 500–700 mm per annum. However, its
volume does not automatically correspond to the relief and it is very low on
some high mountain plateaux: for example, 60–80 mm per annum in the east-
ern Pamirs.
Types of vegetation associated with very arid conditions are typical of
the deserts of Central Asia: ephemeral or fast-ripening, their rapid develop-
9. Chugevskiy, 1971; Pulleyblank, 1952.
25

ment mainly occurs during the humid spring. The nature of the desert vegeta-
tion depends on the ecological environment, such as the nature of the soil, its
chemical composition, and humidity. There are several types of desert vegeta-
tion; thus a given region may be used only at a particular time of the year. Yet
most desert pastureland can be used all the year round. Its productivity is low,
and one sheep requires 5–10 ha of pasture.
The vegetation in the mountains and on the plains is much richer. Here
there are separate spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures. On the plains,
vegetation begins to grow in early spring and is already withering by the end
of May. Livestock graze here in the spring. These pastures are also used later
on, but mainly for the exploitation of dried grass. From 450 m to 1,500 m above
sea level, mixed grasses and short-lived plants grow from April to the middle
of June, after which they wither. These are good spring and early summer pas-
tures. Higher up the humidity increases. The most productive summer pas-
tures are to be found at that level, and also large areas of deciduous forest,
including fruit-bearing trees. Higher still are sub-alpine and alpine meadows
where climatic conditions permit livestock to graze for only three to three and
a half summer months. These meadows are nevertheless held in particular es-
teem by herdsmen because of the high nutritive value of the vegetation.
Ecology requires pastures to be used in rotation, since there are both
flatlands and mountains. The cattle ‘follow the spring’, grazing first in the val-
ley and then being moved higher, until they eventually reach the alpine mead-
ows. In the autumn the cattle gradually move down, lingering at spots where
fodder is available. Since winter fodder contains only half the nutrition of spring
fodder, winter is a critical period in the annual cycle.
Nomadic livestock-rearing also depends on the water supply, which dif-
fers from one area to another. In the mountains, humidity tends to be higher
and there is sufficient water for animals. A completely different situation ap-
plies in desert areas and, to some extent, on the plains where there has always
been a severe shortage of water. In both types of terrain, groundwater is widely
used as well as water from rivers. In desert regions, water is obtained from
wells 10–100 m deep.
Needless to say, the foregoing is an extremely general description. Every
part of the vast region of Central Asia has its own particular, and often funda-
mentally different, features.
Nomadic societies
The nomads who occupied the vast deserts, steppes and mountains were a very
important factor in the history of Central Asia. The Han shu, the official his-
tory of the Former Han dynasty, describes the Wu-sun people who lived in
Central Asia in ancient times: ‘The land is covered in vegetation and is flat . . .
26

[The people] do not work at cultivating the fields or planting trees, but in com-
pany with their stock animals they go in the same way as that of the Hsiung-
nu.’10 Independent reports from the most distant areas of the populated world
all agree that these were nomadic peoples.11
The Han shu’s brief description conveys the essence of nomadism in
Eurasia: its main ingredients were the migratory way of life and the operation
of an economy in conditions which necessarily included vast expanses of
pastureland. Nomadism implies the existence of a social entity developed for
the operation of a specific economy, and a corresponding ecological niche where
this entity can establish itself. It was only the combination of these two factors,
ecological and social, that enabled nomadism to emerge and develop in various
parts of Central Asia and of Eurasia as a whole.
There were several patterns of nomadism in Central Asia during the pe-
riod from the third to the eighth century (as in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries). The most prevalent form was longitudinal, meaning migration from
north to south and vice versa. Latitudinal migration involves movement to east
or west, conditioned by climatic variations, whereas vertical migration exploits
the differences in altitude. Radial movements are those distributed around a
central area according to the availability of pasture. Depending on the terrain,
the length of migratory routes varied between 5–10 and 1,000 km. Weakened
by lack of fodder during the winter, livestock moved slowly. Possessions were
loaded on camels, while horses and unburdened camels followed at a distance,
with sheep and other livestock moving close to the migrating group. Such groups
travelled 15–25 km in the course of a day.12 In mountainous regions there was
an intricate and well-developed system of horizontal and vertical movement.
The historical and archaeological evidence on nomads and their societies
is supplemented by ethnographic material.13 Pure nomadism was not encoun-
tered often, even in Antiquity; neither was livestock-breeding the sole form of
economic activity. Alongside the nomadic way of life, several types of semi-
nomadic existence were widespread in areas with various forms of (partial)
10. Hulsewé and Loewe, 1979, p. 144. Compare this with Strabo’s description of European no-
mads in the Scythian orbit: ‘As for the nomads, their tents, made of felt, are fastened on the
wagons in which they spend their lives; and round about the tents are the herds which afford
the milk, cheese, and meat on which they live; and they follow the grazing herds, from time
to time moving to other places that have grass, living only in the march-meadows about Lake
Macotis in winter, but also in the plains in summer’ (Strabo, 7.3.17).
11. Chinese sources on the Hsiung-nu (Taskin, 1968; 1973); on the Türks (Chavannes, 1903; Liu,
1958).
12. Rudenko, 1961; Shakhmatov, 1963; Zhdanko, 1968; Tolybekov, 1971; Markov, 1976;
Khozyaystvo kazakhov, 1980.
13. In addition to the sources listed, see also Vladimirtsov, 1948; Radloff, 1893; Barrou et al.,
1973; Pastoral Production and Society, 1979; Khazanov, 1984; Rol’ kochevykh narodov v
tsivilizatsii Tsentral’noy Azii, 1974; Bongard-Levin and Il’in, 1969b.
27

settlement and a fairly developed, settled economy based on agriculture and

crafts. Nomads started to adopt a settled and sometimes even an urban way of
life.
Nomads were an important and integral part of the society of Eurasia.
They established a characteristic economy, with highly developed techniques
of livestock-rearing, the grazing of herds, nomadic movements and various
forms of crafts and warfare. They also had a unique and highly developed so-
cial structure (based on the dual system of individual ownership of herds and
communal ownership of pastureland), shamanistic religions and fine folk po-
etry, especially epics. Nomadic society is mobile in two senses: first, the inter-
nal mobility of the society itself; and, second, its external mobility, the capacity
to execute rapid, far-reaching movements, both peaceful and military.
Nomads usually lived close to oases, with their settled, urban, agricul-
tural way of life, and various types of relationship existed between the two
civilizations. According to Lattimore:
In the pre-industrial age, the advanced urban-agricultural civilizations produced a

great many things which the nomads wanted, but the nomads produced not nearly so
much of what the settled people wanted. When, therefore, the nomads were not rich
enough to buy all that they wanted, but felt militarily strong, it was a great tempta-
tion to threaten, raid and even make deep invasions of the settled lands. (The ‘imbal-
ance’ between the economies of China and the territories beyond the Great Wall was
always very striking, but I believe that in the Indo-Iranian, Afghan and Arab lands,
and the land of the Turkish-speaking peoples of Central Asia, both oasis dwellers and
nomads . . . [there] may have been a much greater degree of integration.)14
The nomads often lived near settled oases or even within them, leading to a
wide range of ethno-cultural and socio-economic contacts. Economic ties then
became so close that at times it is possible to speak of the emergence of a com-
mon economic system with two intimately linked sectors, the settled and the
nomadic.
The entire period between 250 and 750 was characterized by major move-
ments of nomadic tribes and peoples. What was the cause of these movements?
At present we are unable to supply anything like a satisfactory answer. Tempt-
ing preliminary explanations such as changes in the climate cannot explain why
Mongolia and the adjacent regions released wave after wave of nomads from
the end of the first century B.C. up to the time of Chinggis Khan. These waves
spread south to China, south-west to western Central Asia and East Turkestan
and west to the Volga, the Black Sea and beyond that to Italy and France.
14. Lattimore, 1974, pp. 172–3.
28

The Hsiung-nu and the Huns

The Hsiung-nu not only developed their society in Mongolia and the neigh-
bouring regions of southern Siberia over the centuries but carried out raids
and military expeditions in various directions. One of these directions was west:
here they intervened in the struggle for East Turkestan and at the beginning of
the second century B.C. the agricultural population of that region fell under
their sway. The Hsiung-nu first engaged in a lengthy and critical struggle against
other nomadic tribes, particularly the Wu-sun and the Yüeh-chih, and also with
China and local settled agricultural princedoms.
In the year 22 B.C. a catastrophic drought occurred. Many nomads then
moved south, recognizing the authority of the Han, while others, the North-
ern Hsiung-nu (or Huns), moved north-west. Nomads began to take a more
active part in the affairs of East Turkestan and penetrated the north-eastern
corner of western Central Asia. The Hsiung-nu became even more active in
the first century A.D. Their westward movement towards the Volga and the
Don appears to have started in the first or second century A.D., when they had
to pass through territory densely populated by Sarmatians and other tribes.
On the lower reaches of the Don they clashed with Alan tribes in the years
370–380. Referring to them as Huns, the Roman historian Ammianus
Marcellinus (XXXI, 3.1) describes how ‘the Huns killed and plundered [these
tribes] and joined the survivors to themselves in a treaty of alliance’.
It is clear that the Huns – as these tribes were called in the west – mixed
with the Alans, and before that with the Sarmatians and later with the Goths of
Ermenrichus. Then they invaded Pannonia and moved on into western Europe.
There followed the age of Attila (434–453) and the battle of the Catalaunian
Plains.
The Huns were nomadic horsemen who played an important part in the
‘great migration of peoples’.15 According to Kryukov et al:
A direct shock producing a kind of ‘chain reaction’: such was the westward migra-
tion of the branch of the Asiatic Hsiung-nu who left their original homeland in the
second century and two and a half centuries later entered European history under the
name of the Huns. But the ‘great migration of peoples’ embraced not only Europe in
the third to the sixth century. In East Asia a process began in the third century which
was extremely similar to the one observed at the same time on the borders of the
Roman Empire. A branch of the Hsiung-nu, the Hsien-pi, the Ti, the Tibetan Chiang
and other close neighbours of the ancient Chinese gradually began to move into the
central Chinese plain. In the year 308, 100 years before Alaric took Rome and before
the first Barbarian Empire (the Kingdom of Toulouse) was established on the terri-
tory of the Roman Empire, the Hsiung-nu general Liu Yüan proclaimed himself
emperor and three years later his successor, Liu Tsing, captured the capital of the
15. Maenchen-Helfen, 1973; Tikhvinskiy and Litvinsky, 1988.
29

Chin Empire and took prisoner the Son of Heaven. What is referred to here is the
emergence of a dynasty of Hsiung-nu origin: the Former Chao (304–325). The Hsiung-
nu also founded the dynasties of the Northern Liang (397–439) and the Hsia (407–
431). Historians have called Liu Tsing the ‘Chinese Attila’.16
In the words of the ancient Chinese author, Chin-shu: ‘The people is experi-
encing deprivation and is sad as a result; all have the same concern, all are wait-
ing for peace and rest like dew and rain in a drought.’17
The history of western Central Asia is also marked by a series of large-
scale nomadic movements from north and north-east to south. Of particular
note is the movement of the Yüeh-chih in the second half of the second cen-
tury B.C. which ultimately led to the formation of the powerful Kushan Em-
pire, whose last days are described in this volume. The invasion of new ethnic
groups led to the formation of the Chionite state, the Kidarites and subsequently
the Empire of the Hephthalites, who moved into East Turkestan, Afghanistan
and north-western India. Then came the invasion of the Türks, whose domin-
ion was even more extensive than that of the Hephthalites.
These successive waves of nomadic invasions are usually considered in
ethno-political terms – this is understandable since such movements did in-
deed play a major, and at times decisive, role in the ethnic and political history
of Central Asia. Large nomadic populations appeared in the vicinity of the
oases and then within them. This had fundamental consequences: the nomadic
sector of the economy grew in importance, as did the interdependence – or
even the intermeshing – of the economic contributions made by the nomadic
and settled populations. Newly settled or former nomads appeared in settled
rural and urban communities. Intensive inter-ethnic and linguistic processes
developed alongside those of cultural synthesis and the mutual enrichment of
cultures (see below). Members of nomadic clans were in overall charge of the
state and of many domains; inter-ethnic marriages became common among the
aristocracy.
The Silk Route

All these complex political and ethno-cultural processes developed with vary-
ing degrees of intensity, embracing part or all of the territory of Central Asia.
Contacts between peoples grew with the development of commercial ties. In
this connection, the Silk Route was of great importance. It is sometimes pre-
sented as something akin to a modern motorway linking different countries;
but it was really a system of roads (and the principal direction in which they
16. Kryukov et al., 1979.

17. Materialy po istorii kochevykh narodov v Kitae, 1989, p. 158.
30

ran) rather than one specific road. There were also supplementary roads run-
ning close to the main road within each oasis and state. There were both land
routes and sea routes. The entire network – running from China to the Medi-
terranean, over a vast expanse from the Yellow Sea to the central Mediterra-
nean, from the southern Urals to the Indian Ocean – made up the Silk Route.
In the second and first centuries B.C., the Silk Route had two branches
through East Turkestan, running into western Central Asia and thereafter south
to India and west through Iran and Mesopotamia to Antioch. For political rea-
sons and also because of climatic changes, the network of towns altered, and
the direction of the routes shifted as a result. From the fifth to the seventh
century A.D., three roads ran through East Turkestan. The northern road led to
Lake Issyk-kül and then westward along the northern shores of the Caspian
Sea, the Caucasus and the Black Sea to Asia Minor and Byzantium. The middle
road crossed the Turfan depression and the northern rim of the Tarim basin in
the direction of the Ferghana valley, Samarkand, Bukhara and Merv and then
ran through Iran to the eastern Mediterranean. The southern road ran from the
area of Lop Nor through Khotan and Wakhan to Tokharistan, Bamiyan, north-
western India and thence by the sea route across the Indian Ocean to the Medi-
terranean. As one ancient Chinese author noted, ‘There are also roads running
from each country which intersect in turn in the south and in the north. By
following [these roads] it is possible to reach any point.’18
The path of many specific main and auxiliary roads has been established.
At times they left unexpected traces: for example, stopping points for travel-
lers have been discovered in the high mountains in Gilgit (Pakistan). There
were also sanctuaries where they prayed. Here, too, the custom developed of
carving a drawing or an inscription, a kind of Gästebuch, in one of the cliffs.
More than 10,000 rock drawings (petroglyphs) have been discovered on the
Karakorum road, as well as some 1,500 inscriptions in 17 languages and 24
scripts, the largest number of inscriptions being in the Middle Iranian languages,
mainly Sogdian. There are also Chinese, Indian, Hebrew and other inscrip-
tions dating from the second, third and ninth centuries.19
As mentioned above, the Sogdians played the most important role in trade
in Central Asia. By the fourth to the third century B.C., they had already begun
to penetrate the eastern part of Central Asia. There were many populous Sogdian
colonies at various points in East Turkestan, in Dunhuang, in China and in
Mongolia, and large numbers of Sogdian merchants lived in Ch’ang-an, the
capital of T’ang China. According to the texts discovered in East Turkestan
and known as the ‘Ancient Sogdian Letters’, the Sogdians of the diaspora did
not lose their links with Samarkand.20
18. Herrmann, 1938; Raschke, 1978; Tikhvinskiy and Litvinsky, 1988.

19. Dani, 1983a; 1983b; Jettmar (ed.), 1989; Litvinsky, 1989.
20. Henning, 1977; Pulleyblank, 1952; Harmatta, 1979; Grenet and Sims-Williams, 1987.
31

Trade on the Silk Route was often closely interwoven with politics. One
episode involving Türks, Sogdians, Iranians and Byzantines is typical. From
the time of their arrival in western Central Asia, the Türks had shown an inter-
est in the development of international trade and particularly in the colossal
profits of the silk trade. This trade was conducted by the Sogdians through
Iran but it was precisely in the Iranian sector of the route that the Central
Asian (Sogdian) traders encountered the greatest difficulties. With the agree-
ment of the Türks, the Sogdians themselves sent an embassy to Iran headed by
the Sogdian, Maniakh (Menander fragment 18). The embassy proposed either
that a through trade in silk to the Byzantine Empire should be permitted, or
that the Persians themselves should purchase the silk from the Sogdians. These
proposals were rejected.
A second embassy was then dispatched with the same mission, this time
by the Türk kaghan (king). Only a few members returned; the others perished
in Iran, an indication that the shahanshah was preparing to initiate military
action rather than engage in trade. In order to reach an agreement with Byzan-
tium directed against Iran, the Türks dispatched yet another embassy (again
led by Maniakh), which travelled along the northern shore of the Caspian and
through the Caucasus to Byzantium to pursue the question of the direct sale of
silk to Byzantium. This embassy brought large quantities of silk and managed
to conclude a Byzantine-Türk agreement directed against Iran. In 568 the del-
egation returned home, accompanied by a corresponding Byzantine embassy
headed by Zemarkhos. Other embassies were then dispatched and the volume
of trade increased considerably.21
The expression ‘Silk Route’ is perhaps a misnomer since much more than
silk was traded along it. Lacquered ware, Chinese bronzes including (espe-
cially) mirrors, paper and much else from eastern Asia was sent to the West. It
was in no sense a one-way road, as is often believed: a steady stream of goods
was carried from the Mediterranean and Central Asia to the East and to China.
The merchandise included cloth, silverware and coins, gold and gold artefacts,
precious and semi-precious stones, glassware and livestock. There was also a
considerable exchange of people.22 An uninterrupted flow of Buddhist pilgrims
from China and other regions travelled to and from India; in turn, Buddhist
missionaries travelled from India to the most remote regions of Central Asia.
A document found in Merv contains extracts from various Buddhist works
compiled by a Buddhist missionary from Gilgit for his own use. Chinese mer-
chants also transported their goods and a variety of books far to the west –
traces of such activities have been found in the northern Caucasus. The Silk
Route thus served for the movement not only of goods but also of ideas.23
21. Pigulevskaya, 1951; Moravcsik, 1958.

22. Schafer, 1963.
23. Litvinsky, 1986.
32

Cross-cultural influences
The discovery of written sources in East Turkestan provides clear evidence of
the intensity of ethnic and cultural interaction. There are thousands of manu-
scripts in the Indian languages, Sanskrit and Prakrit, with the most varied con-
tent, both religious and secular; and there have been rich finds of literary texts
in Chinese and Tibetan. Many manuscripts have been found in Iranian lan-
guages such as Middle Persian and Parthian, Sogdian, Khotanese Saka, Bactrian
(Hephthalite) and also New Persian. Of great significance were documents in
a previously unknown Indo-European language which has received the desig-
nation Tokharian. Mention should also be made of the literary texts in Turkic,
Syriac and other languages.24 The area was an ethnic melting-pot, sometimes
simmering quietly and at other times erupting: the reciprocal influence and
intermingling of cultures was equally intense.
A dominant role was played by the region’s various religions, which did
not spread in isolation but brought with them a religious and cultural structure
or sets of structures. Thus the spread of Buddhism, together with the ideas and
principles of Buddhist architecture and iconography, led to the diffusion of
Indian languages, scripts, philosophy, artistic works, astronomy, medicine and
other sciences in addition to related moral and ethical principles. (To this should
be added the influence of Hinduism.) The same remarks apply to Zoroastrian-
ism, Christianity and Manichaeism. The latter incorporated many principles
from other religions, particularly Buddhism. Taoism also spread from China.
The nomadic peoples brought much from the world of their societies, includ-
ing elements of religion and culture in a broader sense. Certain Hellenistic tra-
ditions were maintained. All these elements intertwined with the equally var-
ied local cultures and religions, producing clashes and interpenetration. Social
structures also interacted in a parallel way.
This multi-stage and multi-tiered cultural synthesis, the multiplicity of
forms of political and social life, together with the emergence and development
of feudal structures, characterize the contradictory and dynamic history of an
age which produced remarkable values and an imposing civilization.
E D I T O R S’ N O T E
Middle Asia is the territory belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent
States (former Soviet Central Asian republics).
24. For further details, see Litvinsky, 1984.
33

2
Sasanian Iran – economy, society, arts and crafts
SASANIAN IRAN – ECONOMY, SOCIETY,

A RT S A N D C R A F T S *
N. N. Chegini and A. V. Nikitin
Part One
POLITICAL H I S T O RY , E C O N O M Y A N D S O C I E T Y
(N. N. Chegini)
It is probable that Vologases IV died some time in A.D. 208/209, after which
the throne of the Parthians was disputed between his sons, Ardavan V
(Artabanus) and Vologases V.1 Ardavan ruled in central Iran and Vologases in
Mesopotamia, striking coins at Seleukia.2 The conflict between the two broth-
ers lasted until the end of Parthian rule. In Rome, Caracalla succeeded his fa-
ther Septimius Severus in 211 and the weakness of the Parthians resulted in a
Roman incursion into Parthia, during which a great part of Media was pillaged
and the Parthian tombs at Arbela were stripped. Although Ardavan succeeded
in defeating the heir to Caracalla, Macrinus, the war against Rome and internal
struggles strained the Parthian Empire to its limits.3 What is now known, fol-
lowing Simonetta’s work, is that Ardavan did not issue tetradrachms because
he did not control Seleukia.4
After the invasions of Alexander the Great in the early fourth century
B.C., the region of Fars, the homeland of the Persians, had become one of the
vassal kingdoms of first the Seleucids and then the Parthians, ruled by several
local princes. The kingdom of Persia issued coins almost continuously between
280 B.C. and A.D. 200, using the title prtrk’ (Frataraka, i.e. governor) and later
MLK’ (king). By the beginning of the third century, conflict within the Parthian
royal family and war with the Romans had weakened central authority.5
One prominent king of Persia during the last years of the weakened
Parthia was Gochihr of the Bazrangi family, although his name does not ap-
pear on coins.6 Sasan, after whom the dynasty is named, may have been the
* See Map 2.
1. Simonetta, 1956, pp. 77–82.
2. Ibid., p. 77.
3. Ibid., pp. 77–8.
4. Ibid., pp. 78–9.
5. Frye, 1975, pp. 239–41; Sellwood, 1983, pp. 299–306; Frye, 1984, pp. 271–85.
6. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, p. 815; Herzfeld, 1924, pp. 35–6.
35

chief priest of the Adur Anahid temple in Istakhr. Papak, his son or a descend-
ant (as Sasan, although mentioned, does not appear in the family line of the
Sasanians listed in Shapur’s great inscription of the Kacbe of Zoroaster at Naqsh-
i Rustam, near Persepolis), succeeded him and the family gained more author-
ity by defeating the local governors and deposing Gochihr. Papak’s name ap-
pears on coins using the title MLK’.7 According to the Arab historian al-Tabari,
Ardavan V asked Papak to submit to his authority and to send his son Ardashir
to the court, but he refused. When Papak died he was succeeded by his eldest
son Shapur to whom Ardashir, the younger brother, did not give allegiance.
When Shapur died in an accident in Persepolis, however, Ardashir became the
head of the local dynasty.8
According to the Bishapur inscription of Shapur I, Ardashir proclaimed
himself king in 205. The series of coins showing him with a Parthian tiara prob-
ably commemorates this event.9 Ardashir then campaigned in western Iran and
conquered Susiana and Elymais in c. 222.10 Characene (Meshan), the vassal
kingdom of the Parthians, was captured and a new governor appointed. At the
famous battle of Hormizdagan (whose site is not known),11 which probably
took place not later than 224,12 Ardavan V was defeated and killed.
After their crushing defeat, the remaining forces of the Arsacids
(i.e. Parthians) fled to the mountains and resisted for a while. On the basis of
evidence in the Mujmal al-tawarikh, Widengren suggests a second battle near
Nihavend when Ardashir was marching towards the capital, Ctesiphon
(Tespon).13 According to al-Tabari, Ardashir advanced to Ecbatana (Hamadan)
and then conquered Armenia and Adiabene (Mosul). In 226 he entered the
capital and styled himself shahanshah (king of kings) and his official reign
started. A commemorative bas-relief was ordered to be cut on the rock at
Naqsh-i Rustam (Fig. 1) and coins showing him with a new crown were is-
sued (Plate I, 3).14
It is now accepted that Ardashir I defeated Ardavan V several times, over-
threw some of the minor local rulers who lived under the Parthians and re-
placed them with newly appointed governors from his own family.15 If, how-
ever, al-Tabari’s account16 is correct, an eastern campaign must have taken place
during the rule of Ardashir I, and Seistan (modern Sistan), Abarshahr
7. Frye, 1984, p. 271; 1975, p. 239.

8. Ghirshman, 1954, p. 290.
9. Frye, 1983, p. 117.
10. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, p. 818; Hansman, 1978, p. 155.
11. Rawlinson, 1876, p. 37.
12. Bivar, 1969a, p. 50.
13. Rawlinson, 1876, p. 37; Widengren, 1971, p. 743; Frye, 1975, p. 242.
14. Henning, 1954, p. 44.
15. Bivar, 1969a, p. 50.
16. Ibid.
36

FIG. 1. Investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-i Rustam.

(Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
(Nishapur), Merv, Balkh and Khwarizm were occupied. The overthrow of the
Great Kushans, at least in the western part of their realm, is now considered
the result of the rising power of the new dynasty in Iran.17 According to al-
Tabari,18 the king of the Kushans (perhaps Vasudeva I) sent a mission of sur-
render. Whatever the circumstances, the kingdom of the Kushans was divided
and the heartland of their empire in Bactria and the Kabul valley came under
the control of the Sasanians.19 The Sasanian rulers of the captured territory are
known today as the Kushano-Sasanian governors, although the date when they
began to issue coins is not known.20 It seems that during this period the Sasanian
kings regularly appointed governors of the principal provinces.21
The extent of Shapur I’s empire in the east is known from the content of his
inscription on the face of the Kacbe of Zoroaster. This inscription is written in
three languages, Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek, and lists the provinces of
the Sasanian Empire in c. 260. It shows that Shapur was already victorious against
the Romans and in Transcaucasia, and under him Sasanian control in the east
17. Frye, 1975, p. 242.

18. Bivar, 1969a, p. 50.
19. Ibid.
20. Bivar, 1979, pp. 317–32.
21. Ibid., pp. 320, 323–4.
37

was also expanded.22 The second part of the inscription, which is a description of
the empire, gives Shapur’s possessions as Merv, Herat and all Abarshahr, Kerman,
Seistan, Turan, Makran, Paradan, Hind (Sind) and Kushanshahr as far aspshkbwr
(Peshawar) and up to the borders of Kash, Sughd and Chach (Kashgar, Sogdiana
and Tashkent). This passage also lists all the provinces situated in the east of the
empire.23 In mentioning the Kushans, Shapur indicates the extent of his control
to the east and north-east. It should be pointed out that the land of Khwarizm,
although not appearing in the list of provinces, had already been captured by the
Sasanians during the rule of Ardashir I. Al-Tabari mentions a campaign in which
Ardashir conquered Khwarizm as well as Gurgan, Merv and so on. According
to the Chronicle of Arbela (whose authenticity is open to doubt), the final as-
sault on Khwarizm took place in 239/240 during Ardashir’s rule.
The appearance of Kushanshah (king of the Kushans) as a Sasanian title
shows that the Great Kushan kings had been defeated. Shapur I’s success evi-
dently ended the rule of the Great Kushans and split their kingdom into two
parts, the northern and the southern. Branches of the Kushans ruled in the
southern part, east of the River Indus, where they are known as Murundas.24
The northern part, or core, of the Kushan territory became a province of the
Sasanian Empire.
Struggles against the northern nomads

Shapur II (309–379) was forced to wage war for ten years against invaders whom
Ammianus Marcellinus (XVII, 5) refers to as the Chionites. Shapur was clearly
successful in his operation and managed to impose his authority on the invaders
and stabilize his eastern frontiers.25 The victorious return of Shapur must have
taken place some time before 360; it was apparently at this time that the city of
Abarshahr was founded and used as his headquarters.26 His success in contain-
ing the Chionites resulted in the conclusion of an alliance under the terms of
which the Chionites would help Shapur in his war against the Romans. In 360,
when he laid siege to the fortress of Amida (the modern Diyarbekir in eastern
Turkey), the Chionites with their king Grumbates supported him, according to
the eyewitness account of Ammianus Marcellinus (XVIII, 7. 1-2).27
A few decades later, it appears that Kushanshahr was no longer under the
control of the Sasanians and was subject to new invaders.28 This new power,
22. Henning, 1937–39; 1954, pp. 40–54.

23. Herzfeld, 1947, p. 182; Henning, 1947–48, p. 54.
24. Bivar, 1969a, p. 51.
25. Ibid., pp. 53–4.
26. Ibid., p. 53.
27. Ibid., p. 54; 1979, p. 327.
28. Bivar, 1969a, p. 54.
38

known to us as the Kidarites (after their leader Kidara, probably himself a

Chionite chief), had appeared on the eastern frontiers by the end of the fourth
century. Coins of Kidara, together with those of Shapur II, Ardashir II and
Shapur III, have been found in the treasure of Tepe Maranjan near Kabul29 and
in the archaeological site of Butkara, Swat (in Pakistan). The Kidarites (who
dominated Tokharistan and Gandhara) adopted the Sasanian title of Kushanshah,
which indicates that they were the chief heirs of the Sasanian Kushanshahs and
their administration.30 We know that the new wave of invaders from Iran came
at the time of Bahram V shortly before 440. It is reasonable to suppose that this
new disturbance was caused by the arrival of the Hephthalites and that early in
the fifth century they drove the Kidarites south from Bactria to Panjab, where
the name Kidara appears on many gold coins.31
It is clear that from early in the fifth century, the Hephthalites had be-
come the main power in the east: it was to them that the Sasanian prince Peroz
appealed for assistance in defeating his brother Hormizd III in 457. Although
Peroz (459–484) succeeded in recovering his throne, he was later defeated and
captured by his former allies. According to al-Tabari, the name of the
Hephthalite king was Akhshunvar (a Sogdian title, khsundar meaning ‘king’);
or Khushnavaz according to the poet Firdausi. Peroz was freed in return for
leaving his son Kavad as hostage; and when Kavad was ransomed, Peroz re-
turned and attacked the Hephthalites. This resulted in his defeat and death,
and the loss of his army.32 After this defeat the Sasanians had to pay an annual
tribute to the Hephthalites and some parts of the eastern region fell into the
hands of the enemy. Kavad even asked the Romans to lend him money to pay
the tribute.33 In 498 or 499, however, it was through Hephthalite support that
Kavad I regained his throne.34
During the rule of Khusrau I Anushirvan (531–579) the Türks arrived on
the Jaxartes steppes from Mongolia. In order to crush the Hephthalites, Khusrau
allied himself with the Türk kaghan known in Arabic and Byzantine sources
as Sinjibu or Silzibul. A fierce battle took place, the result of which was the
defeat and dispersal of the Hephthalites and the division of their land. The
southern part was taken by the Sasanians and the north by the Türks.35 At the
same time Khusrau I rebuilt the lines of fortification on the Gurgan plain of
eastern Mazandaran. One such fortification was Sadd-i Iskandar (‘Alexander’s
barrier’), or Sadd-i Anushirvan; a second was the wall of Tammisha, running
29. Bivar, 1979, p. 331; Curiel, 1953, pp. 107–9.

30. Göbl, 1976, p. 340; Bivar, 1979, p. 331.
31. Bivar, 1969a, p. 55.
32. Ibid.
33. Christensen, 1944, pp. 316–17.
34. Bivar, 1969a, p. 56.
35. Ibid.; 1975; 1983, p. 215.
39

from the mountains to the seashore and closing the eastern approach to
Mazandaran. Khusrau is also supposed to have rebuilt the wall and defences of
Darband in the Caucasus.36
The Sasanian administration

At the head of the Sasanian state stood the king. In official inscriptions the
Sasanian kings called themselves ‘Mazda – worshipping majesty, of the race of
the gods’. According to Ammianus Marcellinus (XXIII, 6.5), the Sasanian king
considered himself ‘brother of the sun and moon’. On reliefs, ‘in the language
of transparent symbols, the King of Kings is shown as the earthly incarnation
of the supreme deity’.37
During the Early Sasanian period the administration of the provinces and
districts did not differ greatly from that under the Parthians. It was during this
period that the royal cities, almost equivalent to semi-independent kingdoms,
were built (see below).38 In the early inscriptions we find mentions of shahrs
(vassal kingdoms) such as Merv, Kerman, Sakastan, Adiabene, Iberia, Makran,
Mesene, Kushanshahr and Armenia, which had submitted to Sasanian rule. In
many cases the rulers of these kingdoms were the sons of the monarch himself.
In the Early Sasanian period, Shapur I was the ruler of the kingdoms
listed, all of which had to pay tribute and submit in varying degrees.39 It was in
the later part of the Sasanian period that a greater centralization took place: in
theory the empire was divided into four parts, each governed by an official
appointed by the king, with both military and civil powers. The title of the
commander was spahbad.40
Royal cities
The Sasanian royal cities (under the administration of a shahrab) were the head-
quarters of the military garrison, centres of newly formed administrative dis-
tricts and residences of the state officials.41 Ardashir I himself founded many
cities, one of which was Ardashir-Khvarreh (‘Glory – or fortune – of Ardashir’).
From a military outpost, it grew to become an administrative district with Gur
36. Frye, 1977, pp. 7–15; Bivar and Fehrevari, 1966, pp. 40–1, Pl. 11 (a–b) and Fig. 1 (map of the
region); Kiani, 1982a, pp. 73–9; 1982b; Bivar, 1983, p. 215.
37. Frye, 1983, p. 160.
38. Lukonin, 1983, p. 735.
39. Ibid., pp. 731–2.
40. Ibid., pp. 723–5.
41. Ibid., pp. 120–1, 162, 751, 1056.
40

FIG. 2. Taq-i Kasra at Ctesiphon. (Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
as its centre. It was laid out on a circular urban plan. In the words of al-Tabari,
‘Shapur I, like his father, founded or renamed cities and we can see an example
of both in his inscription – Gundeshapur and Peroz-Shapur – while other towns
mentioned by Arabic or Persian authors may be attributed to either Shapur I
or II.’42 According to Christensen, ‘Other cities were Shad-Shapur, “Joyful is
Shapur”, or cUbulla in southern Iraq, Shapur-Khvast near Khurramabad,
Vuzurg-Shapur or cUkbara in Iraq, as well as others, but none in the eastern
part of the empire. These cities, like Darabgird and Gur in Fars, were surrounded
by walls and were presumably well fortified, a feature of Sasanian city plan-
ning.’43 The most famous city founded by Shapur I was Bishapur, with a Greek
plan. It was probably built in A.D. 262, six years after his triumph over the
Roman emperor Valerian.
The administrative capital of the Sasanians was Ctesiphon. It consisted
of a group of towns known as the mada’in (meaning ‘the cities’ in Arabic), two
of which were Veh-Ardashir and Veh-Antiokh-Khusrau; the district in which
they were situated was called (at least during the sixth century) Shad-Kavad.
Taq-i Kasra (Fig. 2), a building dating probably from the Early Sasanian epoch
42. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 961–2.

43. Christensen, 1944, p. 361.
41

and extended or embellished during the rule of Khusrau I, was situated in the
city. Ctesiphon was not only the seat of most Sasanian kings but also the most
important of the Sasanian capitals in economic and strategic terms. Besides
cities such as Ardashir-Khvarreh, Bishapur, Gundeshapur, Susa, Dastagird (held
as a capital during the reign of Khusrau II and located east of Ctesiphon) and
Ecbatana (a summer capital), the city of Istakhr in Fars also served as an
administrative, religious and economic centre. It was the ideological heart of
the empire, since the temple of the dynasty’s fire – the coronation place of many
Sasanian rulers – was situated there.
The reforms of Khusrau I

Khusrau’s success in overcoming the religious movement of the Mazdakites
(see Chapter 17) and managing to put the country’s life in order gave him a
great opportunity to start his reforms. One of these was the new policy on
land taxation and the poll tax. According to al-Tabari, the change in the land
tax had already begun during the reign of Kavad I.44 The Arab historian re-
ports that the farmers had had no right to harvest crops or gather fruit from
their garden before the arrival of the tax collector; the long wait meant that
their produce was frequently wasted. To avoid this, Khusrau introduced a new
fiscal system. First, he ordered the lands to be measured. Next he fixed the
amount of tax to be levied for each griv (Arabic jarib, one-tenth of a hectare)
according to what was cultivated there; for example, 1 griv of wheat or
barley = 1 drachm, and 1 griv of vineyard = 8 drachms. Under the new regula-
tions, all persons between the ages of 20 and 50, except nobles, soldiers and
priests, were compelled to pay the poll tax, whose amount ranged from
12 drachms (Arabic dirhams) to 4 drachms, according to wealth.
The taxes were collected according to the administrative sub-divisions of
the country from village up to province, with the officer in charge of a province
being responsible for overall supervision and the tax in each city being paid to
the judge of that city. Al-Tabari reports that Khusrau ordered the list of the new
tax rates to be kept in the royal treasury. With the implementation of these new
measures and the appearance of organized tax collectors, Khusrau was able to
maintain a regular income for the government. Supervision of the payment of
taxes into the royal treasury was undertaken by thehamarkar (accountant), who
was also responsible for issuing documents on the right of ownership and pos-
session.45 The great tax reform of Khusrau I marked a turning point in the
Sasanian state administration. For the first time, the power of the landed nobility
was restricted and all the taxes were in the hands of the king.46
44. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 961–2.

45. Lukonin, 1983, p. 726; Dennet, 1950, p. 15.
46. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, p. 963; Christensen, 1944, p. 362; Lukonin, 1983, p. 746.
42

The economy
Since the vast majority of the population were peasants, the country’s economy
was based on land and agriculture. The archaeological survey of Khuzistan
and the area north of Baghdad shows the great Sasanian interest in irrigation
and cultivation. One of the great irrigation systems was the Nahravan canal,
which supplied the water for a vast area of cultivation. The remains of Sasanian
canals and dams can still be seen in various parts of Iran. These activities in-
creased during the rule of Khusrau I, under whom large areas of land were
brought under cultivation.47
Thus the national economy continued to be based on agriculture rather
than trade. In commerce, Sasanian coinage of silver and copper, more rarely of
gold, circulated over a wide area and the bill of exchange appeared.48 More
money was in circulation in the towns, as shown by the great number of silver
drachms found in Iran and neighbouring countries. In the rural districts, how-
ever, the wages of the peasants, soldiers and officials, and even some of the
taxes, were paid in kind. The levying of dues and taxes in kind enabled the
government to build up large stocks of essential goods that could be called
upon in time of famine.49
It is probable that silk was already being imported into Iran from China
in Achaemenid times.50 In the Sasanian era, two routes were used, one over-
land (still called the Silk Route) and the other the sea route around the coasts
of South-East Asia, although this was less popular than the overland route.51
Silk was woven mainly in Syro-Phoenician and Chinese workshops; besides
the woven silk from China, large quantities of raw silk yarn were also imported
for weaving to purely Sasanian designs, creating a rival industry. The work-
shops of Susa, Gundeshapur and Shushtar were later famous for their
products.52
Luxury ceramics, glassware, textiles, amber and papyrus were imported
and there was a transit trade in spices from China and Arabia.53 However,
Iran’s position was as a middleman that benefited from the value of the traded
items. The excavated finds from Begram, which can be ascribed to the Early
Sasanian period, indicate commodities in transit such as decorated glassware
and glass beads, ivories and manufactured metal. Although the Sasanian coin
finds from China show the use of Iranian silver, this is not enough to prove
47. Frye, 1983, pp. 160–1; on Khuzistan, see Adams, 1961; on Iraq, see Adams, 1965.
48. Ghirshman, 1978, pp. 341–2.
49. Ibid.
50. Bivar, 1970, p. 1.
51. Ibid.
52. Ghirshman, 1954, p. 342; Bivar, 1970, p. 2.
53. Ghirshman, 1954, p. 342.
43

that Sasanian imports from China were substantially financed by a mass of

silver coins.54
Sasanian coins
All the Sasanian rulers struck coins, and these are an invaluable source of his-
torical, cultural and economic information. A constant denomination and weight
standard were adopted, and the coins bore the ruler’s effigy on the obverse and
a fire-altar on the reverse. On the obverse the king’s portrait faces right, in
contrast to the practice under the Arsacids – except on commemorative issues,
frontal portraiture is rare (Plate V, 29). The name of the king and his titles are
inscribed close to the edge. Each ruler has his own personal crown, which is a
reliable guide to the whole range of Sasanian art and its chronology. Only one
queen’s portrait, that of Boran, appears on the coins (Plate VI, 35).
On the reverse the fire-altar with flames always appears, with three prin-
cipal variations: by itself (Plate I, 1, 2, 3), with two flanking figures, or with a
bust in the flames (Plate III, 14, 15). The significance of the two attendant fig-
ures in the second type has not yet been clarified. At the beginning of the is-
sues the figures carry long rods, and later barsom-bundles in their hands, fac-
ing towards or away from the altar. In the time of Khusrau I they appear
frontally (Plate IV, 23), and from the time of Bahram II (275–293) onwards at
least one of the attendant figures, judging from the crown, represents the ruler
(Plate II, 7, 8). Special reverse designs allude to investitures (Mithra or Anahita);
special issues under Khusrau II (590–628) show a bust in a nimbus of flames
(Plate V, 29), or the king standing.
The Sasanians adopted the traditional silver drachm of Attic weight, the
most common currency of the Parthian period. The weight (almost 4 g) and
the fineness of the metal used were, with few exceptions, well maintained.
Besides drachms there were half-drachms, obols and half-obols, and tetra-
drachms of a poor silver alloy (billon). The striking of gold was also revived,
but only for prestige and display issues. Some rulers did not strike gold coins
and after Khusrau II their issue ceases.55 The formulation of Sasanian coin
inscriptions was determined by the political and religious motives of the dynasty.
They are written in Sasanian Pahlavi with the use of ideograms. On the obverse
the royal name and titles appear, and on the reverse the name of the royal fire,
with later the place of minting and regnal year.56
One of the chief characteristics of the Late Sasanian coinage is represented
by the mint monograms that appear on the right side of the reverse and give
54. Bivar, 1970, pp. 2–4.

55. Göbl, 1983, pp. 322–8.
56. Ibid.
44

FIGS. 1, 2, 3. Ardashir I.
FIG. 4. Shapur I. FIG. 5. Hormizd I. FIG. 6. Bahram I.
PLATE I. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
45

FIGS. 7, 8. Bahram II. FIG. 9. Narseh.
FIG. 10. Narseh. FIG. 11. Hormizd II. FIG. 12. Shapur II
(gold dinar).
PLATE II. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
46

FIG. 13. Ardashir II. FIG. 14. Shapur III. FIG. 15. Bahram IV.
FIG. 16. Yazdgird I. FIG. 17. Bahram V. FIG. 18. Yazdgird II.
PLATE III. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
47

FIG. 19. Peroz. FIG. 20. Valash. FIG. 21. Kavad I.
FIG. 22. Jamasp. FIG. 23. Khusrau I. FIG. 24. Hormizd IV.
PLATE IV. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
48

FIG. 25. Bahram VI. FIG. 26. Vistahm. FIG. 27. Hormizd V.
FIGS. 28, 29, 30. Khusrau II.
PLATE V. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
49

FIG. 31. Kavad II. FIGS. 32, 33. Ardashir III.
FIG. 34. Khusrau III. FIG. 35. Queen Boran. FIG. 36. Queen Azarmigdukht.
PLATE VI. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
50

FIG. 37. Hormizd VI. FIG. 38. Khusrau IV.
FIGS. 39, 40, 41. Yazdgird III.
PLATE VII. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
51

the names of mint cities in abbreviated forms. These forms stand for the full
Sasanian names of those cities authorized to possess mints. About 200 of these
mint signs are known to us,57 such as:
’W for Hormizd Ardashir (present-day Ahvaz)
’PR for Abarshahr (Nishapur)
’RT for Ardashir-Khvarreh (Firuzabad)
’HM for Hamadan
’YL’N for Eran-Khvarreh-Shapur (Susa)
BYS for Bishapur in Fars.
The army, warfare and armaments

Khusrau I’s second most important reform was the reorganization of the army
which, together with the implementation of the new taxation system, gave him
a secure foundation from which to safeguard the empire. Previously, all nobles,
great and small, had been obliged to equip themselves and their followers and
serve in the army without pay, but Khusrau issued equipment to the poorer
nobles and paid a salary for their services. Consequently, the power of the great
nobles – who frequently had their own private armies – was reduced.58 A per-
manent army of cavalry known as aswaran (Arabic, asawira), designating a
heavily armed and disciplined force, existed.59 According to Ammianus
Marcellinus (XXIII, 6.83): ‘They rely especially on the valour of their cavalry,
in which all the nobles and men of rank undergo hard service.’
The weaker part of the army was the infantry, consisting of peasants sub-
ject to military service. Ammianus Marcellinus reports (XXIII, 6.83; XXIV,
6.8), ‘The infantry are armed like the murmillones [gladiators], and they obey
orders like so many horse-boys.’ According to Procopius, the Persian infantry
were used to destroy town walls after a victory. There were also auxiliary troops
from the various nations allied to the central government such as the Armeni-
ans, the Hephthalites and the Dailamites.60 Al-Tabari tells how a group of
Dailamites under the command of Vahriz were sent to capture the land of
Yemen.61 The command structure of the army was also changed under
Khusrau I. Previously the entire army had been under the command of an of-
ficer known as the spahbad. Now, four commanders were appointed, each in
charge of the troops of one-quarter of the country.62 Each of these newly created
57. Bivar, 1963, pp. 169 et seq.; Tyler-Smith, 1983, pp. 240–7 (review of Mochiri, 1977).
58. Frye, 1983, p. 155.
59. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, p. 2562; Vol. 2, p. 1604.
60. Inostrantsev, 1926, pp. 23–4.
61. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 948–88.
62. Ibid., p. 894; Christensen, 1944, p. 365.
52

commanders had a deputy called a marzban. The soldiers were inspected every
year in order to prevent them from escaping their duty, and to maintain their
equipment. Conditions of service were arduous and all soldiers had to study
and be familiar with a range of military instructions, information on which can
be found in the Pahlavi book, the Denkard.63
A fragment of a military treatise found in the cUyun al-akhbar (Ibn
Qutaiba Dinawari) confirms the existence of a military book during the reign
of Khusrau I, who himself may have written such a treatise. Al-Tabari64 records
the equipment that members of cavalry units were required to carry at muster
parades of Khusrau I: mail, breastplate, helmet, leg guards, arm guards, horse
armour, lance, buckler, sword, mace, battle axe, quiver of thirty arrows, bow
case with two bows, and two spare bow strings. According to Frye:
The reform of the army . . . was changed from the previous practice of the great feu-
dal lords providing their own equipment and bringing their followers and retainers
into the field to another system with a new force of dihqans or ‘knights’ paid and
equipped by the central government . . . Also, it should be remarked that the army
reorganization under Chosroes [Khusrau I] was concentrated on organization and
on training, rather than any new weapons or technical advances, and as previously
the heavily armed cavalry remained the dominant force with archers less important.
The masses, as usual, were still camp followers and little more than a rabble looking
for booty, but a new nobility of service was created which became more influential
than the landed nobility. Since payment in specie or even in kind did not suffice to
recompense the ‘knights’, villages were granted to them in fief, and a large class of
small landowners came into existence . . . Walls and forts also were built on the
frontiers.65
The Sasanians expended great effort in fighting Rome, Byzantium and the east-
ern nomads who invaded the Iranian frontiers. They clearly had a strong and
efficient military force.66 There were changes in the conduct of warfare over
time, however, one of which was the development of the bow as a primary
weapon with the arrival of the Huns during the mid-fourth century.67
The relief frieze of Ardashir I at Firuzabad is a representation of cavalry
warfare. It is known that the king personally took part in the battle.68 Although
the Ardashir relief does not depict the mace and battle axe, there is evidence of
their use during the Late Parthian and Early Sasanian periods. The cavalry do
not appear to have used shields in the Early Sasanian period.69
63. West, 1982, pp. 86–90.

64. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, p. 964; Balcami, 1874, p. 1048; Christensen, 1944, pp. 362–3; Bivar,
1972, pp. 276–91.
65. Frye, 1984, p. 326; on the military reforms, see Bivar, 1972, pp. 273–91.
66. Bivar, 1972, pp. 273–91.
67. Ibid., p. 281.
68. Ibid., p. 275.
69. Ibid., p. 276.
53

P a r t Tw o
CUSTOMS, A RT S A N D C R A F T S
(A. V. Nikitin)
One of the best descriptions of Iranian customs and lifestyle in the Sasanian
period is that given by Ammianus Marcellinus (XXIII, 6.75–80):
Among these many men of differing tongues there are varieties of persons, as well as
of places. But, to describe their bodily characteristics and their customs in general,
they are almost all slender, somewhat dark, or of a leaden pallor, with eyes grim as
goats’, eyebrows joined and curved in the form of a half-circle, not uncomely beards,
and long, shaggy hair. All of them without exception, even at banquets and on festal
days, appear girt with swords; an old Greek custom which, according to the trust-
worthy testimony of Thucydides, the Athenians were the first to abandon. Most of
them are extravagantly given to venery, and are hardly contented with a multitude of
concubines; they are free from immoral relations with boys. Each man according to
his means contracts many or few marriages, whence their affection, divided as it is
among various objects, grows cold. They avoid as they would the plague splendid
and luxurious banquets, and especially, excessive drinking. Except for the kings’ tables,
they have no fixed hours for meal-times, but every man’s belly is, as it were, his sun-
dial; when this gives the call, they eat whatever is at hand, and no one, after he is
satisfied, loads himself with superfluous food. They are immensely moderate and
cautious, so much so that they sometimes march through an enemy’s gardens and
vineyards without coveting or touching anything, through fear of poison or magic
arts. Besides this, one seldom sees a Persian stop to pass water or step aside in re-
sponse to a call of nature; so scrupulously do they avoid these and other unseemly
actions. On the other hand, they are so free and easy, and stroll about with such a
loose and unsteady gait, that one might think them effeminate; but, in fact, they are
most gallant warriors, although rather crafty than courageous, and to be feared only
at a long range. They are given to empty words, and talk madly and extravagantly.
They are boastful, harsh and offensive, threatening in adversity and prosperity alike,
crafty, haughty, cruel, claiming the power of life and death over slaves and commons.
They flay men alive, either bit by bit or all at once, and no servant who waits upon
them, or stands at table, is allowed to open his mouth, either to speak or to spit; to
such a degree, after the skins are spread, are the mouths of all fettered.
This picture is supplemented by the surviving Sasanian works of art, most of

which depict scenes from the lives of kings or noblemen. Life at the royal court
was governed by a strict code of protocol: the Byzantine system of court eti-
quette borrowed much from the court of the Iranian shahanshah (king of
kings).70 Sasanian inscriptions enumerating the members of the royal family
70. Lukonin, 1983, p. 710.
54

FIG. 3. Sasanian silver dish showing a royal hunt. (Photo: © British Museum.)
and courtiers, and the positioning of the king and nobles on reliefs, are in a
standard order. Arab and Byzantine sources provide descriptions of the cer-
emony for the reception of ambassadors to the court of the shahanshahs. One
of the traditional pastimes of the king and nobles was the hunt, for which spe-
cial preserves or game parks were built. Ammianus Marcellinus (XXIV, 5.2)
describes one such park that Roman soldiers saw during the emperor Julian’s
campaign in Mesopotamia in the year 363. Scenes of the royal hunt were the
most common theme used to ornament Sasanian silverware (Fig. 3).
55

Sasanian cities and fortifications

So far, there has been adequate archaeological investigation of only a small
number of the cities of Sasanian Iran: consequently, there are few examples
from which to assess the system of urban design. The layout of many of the
ancient Parthian cities appears to have survived unchanged into Sasanian times.
Late tradition ascribes the founding of a large number of cities to Ardashir I
(226–241). The new capital of Ardashir-Khvarreh (modern Firuzabad) built by
Ardashir in Fars was of archaic layout. Circular in ground plan, it was sur-
rounded by a wall with four gateways placed at the points of the compass. The
various districts were delineated by main streets radiating from the centre and
dividing the city into 20 sectors.71
FIG. 4. Tureng-tepe. Sasanian fort.

(Photo: © Mission Archéologique Française en Iran.)
Bishapur, built by Shapur I (241–271) in the seventh decade of the third

century, had a regular ground plan in keeping with the rules for city design
elaborated by Hippodamus of Miletus. Two main streets intersecting at right
angles divided the city into four main districts, which were also of a regular
layout. The architecture of Bishapur reveals clear Roman and Iranian influ-
ences and the Greek and Syrian masters and artists whom Shapur invited also
had a hand in its construction.72 By contrast, the port city of Siraf on the coast
71. Huff, 1973, p. 193.

72. Ghirshman, 1956, p. 194.
56

FIG. 5. Takht-i Sulaiman. General view.

(Photo: © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Teheran.)
of the Persian Gulf grew up without a master plan. Its districts, which occu-
pied an area of around 1 sq. km, lay against the fortress that protected the port
and were surrounded by a wall.73 The irregular layout of some contemporary
Iranian cities would appear to date back to Sasanian times.
Most Sasanian cities were fortified. A system of fortresses and forts pro-
tected the borders of Iran, the approaches to the cities and the caravan roads.
Their walls were built of stone blocks, cemented cobbles or sunbaked brick.
At the corners, and at regular intervals along the walls, there were round tow-
ers with narrow, vertical arrow-slots. The tower of the Sasanian fort at Tureng-
tepe in northern Iran had eight arrow-slots on the lower tier, widening from
their mouths (Fig. 4).74 Studies have been undertaken of the fort in Siraf, prob-
ably built under Shapur II (309–379) to protect the port against Arab attacks:
its stone walls with round towers form a square, each side measuring 50 m; and
the entrance in the middle of the south wall is defended by a barbican.75
Some idea of fifth- and sixth-century fortifications is given by the walls
and towers of Takht-i Sulaiman (formerly Shiz) in Iranian Azerbaijan (Fig. 5).
73. Whitehouse and Williamson, 1973, p. 35.

74. Deshayes, 1973, p. 144.
75. Whitehouse and Williamson, 1973.
57

Built of dressed stone embedded in cement, and crowned with battlements, the
walls were about 4 m thick and reached a height of 12 or 15 m.76 The remains
of fortifications built in the Parthian period and rebuilt in the fifth and sixth
centuries still stand near Gurgan: they once defended Iran’s northern border
against nomadic raids. A system of fortresses set every 3–6 km, and linked by
an unbroken wall, stretched from the Caspian shore more than 180 km east-
wards.77
The acme of Sasanian military construction is represented by the fortifi-
cations of Darband, which stood across the road along the west coast of the
Caspian; their construction began under Yazdgird II (438–457). The defences
include the city’s northern and southern walls, the citadel and a wall strength-
ened by stone forts that stretched 40 km to the Caucasus mountains. The for-
tifications were originally built of sunbaked brick and later of raw stone, but in
the mid-sixth century, under Khusrau I (531–579), new walls were built of large
stone slabs on the old foundations. To this day, the walls of Darband stand
20 m high in places.78
According to tradition, Shapur I used Roman prisoners of war to build
dams and bridges in Mesopotamia and Khuzistan. It appears to have been dur-
ing his reign that the irrigation works were constructed on the banks of the
Karun river near Shushtar; the most famous is the Valerian dam and bridge.
Faced with stone slabs, this enabled the water level in one of the Karun’s tribu-
taries to be raised by 2 or 3 m. The length of the stone bridge, which is reminis-
cent of similar Roman structures, was over 500 m. Another bridge more than
400 m long has been preserved in Dezful, not far from Susa. There were several
bridges across ravines and rivers on the ancient road that linked Ecbatana (mod-
ern Hamadan) and Susa.
Sasanian court architecture

Sasanian court architecture differed considerably from that of the Hellenistic
and Parthian periods. From the outset it made use of a number of new princi-
ples that were then retained in later times. Some of them probably originate in
the architectural tradition of Fars, which is as yet little known. In a number of
cases a conscious imitation of Achaemenid models and Roman or Parthian
influence are to be seen. The earliest monument of Sasanian court architecture
is the palace of Ardashir I near Firuzabad.79 Its design observes the principle of
combining the apadana (official palace) and the harem (private residence).
76. Naumann, 1977, p. 34.

77. Kiani, 1982b, p. 12.
78. Kudryavtsev, 1982, p. 65.
79. Reuter, 1938, p. 534.
58

FIG. 6. Palace of Sarvestan. General view.

Measuring 55 × 104 m, the palace is laid out along the north-south axis. The
northern part contains the throne room and the large rooms alongside it, roofed
with low cupolas on squinches. The anteroom to the throne room is of the
open aiwan (hall) type. The southern part contains the inner courtyard onto
which the private rooms look out. The plaster decoration of the niches imitates
the stone ornamentation on the portals of Achaemenid palaces. The walls, which
are up to 4 m thick, are made of stone cemented with lime mortar.
Shapur I’s palace at Bishapur reflects Graeco-Roman architectural influ-
ence. A cruciform throne room is contained within a square of outer walls
50 × 50 m, with a narrow gallery around the perimeter. The plaster decor – the
meander and the plant designs – imitates the typical motifs of the art of Impe-
rial Rome. The mosaics adorning the floor of the Grand Aiwan are in the Syro-
Roman style – the dancing girls, musicians and theatrical masks depicted scenes
from the Dionysiac cycle.80
The combination of aiwan and domed premises was also used in later
palaces. The same design was used for the palace at Sarvestan near Firuzabad
(Figs. 6 and 7), which tradition ascribes to Bahram V (420–438). It has a more
sophisticated roofing structure, however: the vaults of the two symmetrically
located side rooms rest not on walls, but on a system of arches standing on
square columns (Fig. 8).81 The next development in this traditional design is
80. Ghirshman, 1956, p. 193.

81. Shepherd, 1983, p. 1065.
59

FIG. 7. Palace of Sarvestan. General view.

FIG. 8. Roofing structure at the palace of Sarvestan.

60

represented by the palace of Aiwan-i Karkha near Susa, built under Kavad I
(488–531). Its central hall, roofed with a cupola, is an open pavilion, the walls
being replaced by open arches.82 Palace interiors were embellished with paint-
ings (only small fragments of which have survived) and with plaster panels
decorated with animal images or ornamentation. Palaces invariably had gar-
dens and parks, for which special irrigation canals were dug.
The monumental architecture of the rule of Khusrau II (590–628) differs
considerably from everything built earlier. The palace of Imarat-i Khusrau near
Qasr-i Shirin, although laid out according to the traditional design, was built
on an artificial terrace 8 m high.83 The palace in Bisutun was built on a stone
platform reminiscent of Persepolis. Colonnades came into use and elements of
Achaemenid architectural decoration were copied. The Ctesiphon palace (which
is of burnt brick) differs from the traditional Sasanian design; built probably in
the Early Sasanian period on the site of an old palace of the Parthian kings, it
largely followed its predecessor’s layout, which resembles that of the Parthian
palace discovered in Ashur. The façade is composed of six rows of blind arches
and half-columns. The throne room is roofed with a parabolic vault spanning
26.5 m. The interior includes five large rectangular rooms, a corridor and a
number of small rooms.84
Sasanian religious architecture

Zoroastrian religious structures of the Sasanian period are of two basic types:
isolated square structures with circumambulatory corridors; and open-sided
domed pavilions whose cupola stood on squinches resting on pillars at the
corners that were linked by arches. Such shrines might serve as the centre-
piece of a complex architectural ensemble. An Early Sasanian temple of the
first type has been discovered at Bishapur. In ground plan it resembles the
Parthian-period temple in Hatra. The square central building, each side of which
was 14 m long, had four entrances. Another structure had a roof supported by
Achaemenid-style imposts in the shape of the front part of bulls’ protomes.
The walls were built of rough-dressed blocks of sandstone without mortar.85
Chahar-taqs (simple domes set on four pillar-like walls) were common through-
out Iran and images of them may be found on Sasanian vessels.86 The ensemble
of shrines near Firuzabad included both a chahar-taq and an Achaemenid-type
fire-temple.87
82. Shepherd, 1983, p. 1067.

83. Porada, 1965, p. 196.
84. Reuter, 1930; Shepherd, 1983, p. 1063.
85. Ghirshman, 1962a, p. 148.
86. Naumann, 1977, p. 43.
87. Vanden Berghe, 1961, p. 175.
61

At the site of Takht-i Sulaiman, a fire-temple has been discovered based

on the same square plan with a domed roof, next to which were buildings for
the priests, reception rooms and storehouses. A stone altar has been excavated
similar to those shown on fifth- and sixth-century Sasanian coins. To the front
of the temple complex, in the southern part of the site, there was a large lake.
Together with the sacred fire, Anahita (the goddess of the heavenly waters)
may well have been worshipped there. The ensemble dates from the fifth and
sixth centuries.88 There is an unusual temple, perhaps dedicated to Anahita, in
Kangavar. It was probably raised on the site of an earlier temple to Artemis-
Anahita that is mentioned by Isidore of Charax. The temple, which has not yet
been fully excavated, stands on a stone platform 8 m high with a colonnade
around the perimeter. Two gentle stone stairways lead to the platform. The
structure has much in common with the architecture of the Achaemenid
period but was probably built under Khusrau II.89
Sasanian art and crafts

Early Sasanian art is of the proclamatory type. Designed to assert the divine
nature of kingship and to reinforce the state religion, Zoroastrianism, it has
much that is reminiscent of official Achaemenid art. The origins of the Sasanian
pictorial canon appear to lie in the culture of pre-Sasanian Fars. Much, too, was
drawn from Parthian culture: both Parthian investiture reliefs and inscriptions
and the relief of the Sasanian shahanshahs stress the concept of legitimacy.
Graeco-Roman cultural influence is discernible in several genres of Iranian art
at various times. In the third century the ‘western style’ became widespread
due to Shapur I’s victories over the Roman emperors, the seizure of cities in
Rome’s eastern provinces and the migration of Greek, Syrian and Roman arti-
sans and artists to Iran. At the turn of the fifth and sixth centuries there was a
second wave of western influence; themes relating to the cult of Dionysus be-
came common on precious metalware and glyptic, while Dionysiac scenes ap-
pear to have been included in the Zoroastrian festivity cycles.90
The proclamatory nature of Early Sasanian art is best seen on cliff carv-
ings. The choice of topics here is severely restricted: investitures, triumph and
duel scenes or portraits of the shahanshah and his courtiers. The rules for the
representation of the king and courtiers that emerged in the first years of
Ardashir I’s rule are much the same as those for the last kings of the local Per-
sian dynasty that preceded the Sasanians, as illustrated on their coins.91 The
88. Naumann, 1977, p. 48.

89. Lukonin, 1977b, p. 105.
90. Lukonin, 1977a, p. 160.
91. Lukonin, 1969, p. 23.
62

earliest known relief of Ardashir was carved in the ravine of Naqsh-i Rajab.
Ardashir is shown standing before the god Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda), who is
crowning him king. Zoroastrianism personified its chief divinities at a rela-
tively late period, and so Ohrmazd, the chief divinity, is portrayed in royal
garb and crown. It was then, too, that the images of Anahita and Mithra were
defined, as represented on coins of Hormizd I (271–272) and on reliefs of Narseh
(293–303) and Ardashir II (379–383). A radiant crown was added to Mithra’s
kingly regalia while Anahita was shown dressed as the queen of queens.
FIG. 9. Bahram II’s relief at Naqsh-i Rustam.

In another investiture relief both monarch and divinity are depicted

mounted, with the vanquished Parthian emperor Ardavan V lying beneath the
hooves of Ardashir I’s horse and the god of darkness, Ahriman, beneath those
of Ohrmazd’s steed (see Fig. 1). This graphic symbolism equates Ardashir’s
triumph with that of good over evil.92 In the Firuzabad relief Ardashir I’s vic-
tory over Ardavan V is shown in a series of mounted duels, with Ardashir
unhorsing the Parthian emperor and his heir Shapur, a Parthian grandee.93 The
poses of the steeds of both the defeated and their adversaries are reminiscent of
images on Parthian reliefs such as those at Bisutun or Tang-i Sarvak in Elymais
92. Porada, 1965, p. 203.

93. Ghirshman, 1962a, p. 125.
63

province.94 The victories of Ardashir I and Shapur I over the Romans were
reflected in reliefs showing scenes of triumph.95 They were modelled on por-
trayals of the Roman emperors’ triumphs: for all the differences in composi-
tion, many details are identical.
Under Shapur I and Bahram II (275–293) (Fig. 9), reliefs were carved that
depicted the royal court, with the figures of the king, the crown prince, the
queen of queens and the courtiers being positioned in a strictly defined order.
The Zoroastrian mobad (high priest) Kartir (Kirder) figures prominently in
the reliefs of Bahram II. Four of Kartir’s inscriptions are extant, containing
his Creed and relating his activities. Alongside them, at Naqsh-i Rajab, there
is a portrait of Kartir himself that is unique in Sasanian art (Fig. 10).96 Also
unusual is a relief showing Bahram II in single combat with lions at Sar
Mashhad.97
FIG. 10. Portrait of Kartir at Naqsh-i Rajab. (Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
94. Lukonin, 1977a, p. 146.

95. Ghirshman, 1962a, p. 158.
96. Lukonin, 1977a, p. 208.
97. Ghirshman, 1962a, p. 173.
64

FIG. 11. Investiture relief of Narseh at Naqsh-i Rustam. (Courtesy of M. I. Mochiri.)
The shahanshahs who ruled after Bahram II have left only occasional
reliefs, most of them investiture scenes. On the relief of Narseh at Naqsh-i
Rustam he is crowned not by Ohrmazd but by Anahita, the patron of the
Sasanian dynasty (Fig. 11). Apparently Narseh wished to stress the legitimacy
of his claim to the throne he had seized and the end of Kartir’s influence on the
affairs of state. Ardashir II and Shapur III (383–388) each left one relief. The
figures in fourth-century reliefs are more stylized and static; great attention
was paid to decorative finish and to the representation of details of regal garb.
Particularly interesting is Ardashir II’s relief at Taq-i Bustan near Kermanshah
(Fig. 12),98 where the crown is given to the king by Ohrmazd who stands be-
fore him, while the god Mithra is shown standing on a lotus blossom behind
Ardashir’s back. Ohrmazd and Ardashir are trampling the figure of a fallen
enemy (Fig. 13).99
98. Ghirshman, 1962a, p. 190.

99. Lukonin, 1969, p. 147.
65

FIG. 12. Investiture relief of Ardashir II at Taq-i Bustan.

(Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
FIG. 13. Detail of Ardashir II’s relief at Taq-i Bustan.

66

FIG. 14. The ‘great grotto’ at Taq-i Bustan. (Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
We know of no fifth- or sixth-century reliefs: the revival of the genre

dates from the time of Khusrau II (590–628). The reliefs carved in the ‘great
grotto’ at Taq-i Bustan during his reign differ from the earlier examples in both
technique and content (Fig. 14). The central scene depicts an investiture – the
king is shown in the centre, larger than the figures of the divinities. Below is
probably the image of the shahanshah, mounted and in military array, executed
67

FIG. 15. Detail of a royal hunting scene at Taq-i Bustan. (Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
68

FIG. 16. Detail of a royal hunting scene at Taq-i Bustan.

69

almost as a sculpture in the round.100 To the left and right, on the side walls of
the niche, the king is shown hunting boar in a reedy marsh or gazelle and ona-
ger in a game park (Figs. 15 and 16). The scenes are executed in bas-relief with
careful attention to detail. The image of the shahanshah is repeated several times.
Taken together, the separate episodes make up a complete account that, in con-
junction with the spatial aspect of the composition, is reminiscent of Assyrian
reliefs. The arch-shaped façade of the niche is faced with stone blocks. In the
centre are a crescent and ribbons towards which two winged Nikes are flying;
FIG. 17. Detail of ornamentation of the arch at

Taq-i Bustan. (Photo: © Barbara Grunewald.)
100. Porada, 1965, p. 207.
70

the figures of the goddesses and the ornamentation at the edge of the arch re-
veal a strong Byzantine influence (Fig. 17).101
The work of Iranian metalsmiths is represented by dozens of examples
in the major museum collections, testifying to the wide spread of these arte-
facts in antiquity. They include gold and silver cups, vessels, pitchers and rhytons
executed in various techniques. Casting, engraving, embossing and crusta tech-
nique might be combined in one and the same object. The earliest Sasanian
metalwork was decorated chiefly with portraits of the shahanshah, members
of his family, princes or grandees. This tradition may date back to the Parthian
period, when a famous medallion bearing the portrait of a Parthian emperor
was set into the centre of a vessel. Early metal artefacts include a cylix from
Sargveshi (Georgia) bearing the portrait of Bahram II, Queen Shapurdukhtak
and the Sakanshah (king of the Sakas) Bahram, and a cup bearing the portrait
and inscription of the bitakhsh (prince) Papak.102
The subject that is most characteristic of Sasanian vessels, the shahanshah
hunting on horseback, was only beginning to develop; it became widespread
on fourth- and fifth-century artefacts. The king or crown prince is represented
hunting lion, boar, ram or antelope. There are generally an even number of
animals – two or four. The hunter attacks them with a bow or, more rarely,
with a sword (Fig. 18). There are also images of kings hunting on foot; one
example is a vessel bearing the portrait of Peroz (457–484) shooting caprid. The
border around the edge of the vessel is a barricade of nets behind which the
heads of beaters and dogs may be seen.103 Other subjects relating to the image
of the king include Yazdgird II feasting with the queen, or Bahram Gur
(Bahram V) and Azada.
On sixth-century vessels, hunting scenes fade into the background – a
vessel showing Khusrau I surrounded by his courtiers bears a royal hunting
scene below the main composition.104 Subjects from the Dionysiac cycle now
became common – Sileni, maenads, theatrical masks and plant ornamentation
– while scenes of the triumph of Dionysus that are typical of Roman and Byz-
antine metalwork were copied. Such vessels were probably used during Zoro-
astrian festivals.105 A characteristic group is composed of rhytons in the shape
of animal heads, a form common in Achaemenid times and known to the
Parthians. Rhytons were used for ritual purposes while vessels bearing the king’s
portrait were traditional gifts from the shahanshah to his friends; many bore
inscriptions showing the name of the owner and the weight.106
101. Lukonin, 1977a, p. 187; Fukai and Horiuchi, 1972, Pl. XXI et seq.
102. Lukonin, 1979, p. 35.
103. Trever, 1937, p. 6.
104. Porada, 1965, p. 217.
105. Lukonin, 1977a, p. 160.
106. Livshits and Lukonin, 1964, p. 155.
71

FIG. 18. Silver dish showing the king on a lion hunt.

(Photo: © British Museum.)
Little Sasanian jewellery is known. One of the most famous pieces is the
so-called cup of Khusrau from the Abbey of Saint-Denis in France, which is
decorated with coloured glass set in gold (Fig. 19). In its base is an inset disc of
rock crystal carved in the image of an enthroned king.107 In one hoard of coins
in Iran an earring was found resembling those worn by Sasanian rulers as por-
trayed on coins. From Late Sasanian burials in Dailam come sword sheaths
with gold and silver mountings decorated with filigree and granulation.
Sasanian gems are almost as common as coins and thousands have been
described from various collections.108 The bulk of the gems used were semi-
107. Shepherd, 1983, p. 1102.

108. Borisov and Lukonin, 1963; Bivar, 1969b; Gignoux, 1978.
72

FIG. 19. Cup of Khusrau.

(Photo: © Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.)
FIG. 20. Amethyst ring. Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

(Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
precious stones: chalcedony, amethyst, cornelian and lapis lazuli. These were
either carved into ellipsoids and worn on laces or set into rings (Fig. 20). They
were also used as seals. The most varied representations can be found on them
– portraits of kings, grandees and private individuals, horsemen, scenes of sac-
rifice or feasting, fabulous creatures, animals, birds and symbols or devices.
The image was frequently accompanied by an inscription giving the owner’s
73

name and title or an auspicious Zoroastrian phrase. The subjects reveal the
influence both of ancient Iranian traditions and of Graeco-Roman culture. One
group is of seals of officials which bear only inscriptions. Another group is of
items that belonged to Iranian Christians, on which the symbol of the cross is
sometimes combined with a subject from the Zoroastrian cycle. Each period
had its own range of subjects and stylistic features. The images were executed
either by careful working of the detail or in line technique. The chronological
classification of Sasanian carved gems is still far from complete. The best-known
early gems are the British Museum’s stone bearing the portrait of Bahram, king
of Kerman; the Hermitage Museum’s amethyst showing the portrait of ‘Queen
of Queens’ Denak (Fig. 21); and the Bibliothèque Nationale’s gem represent-
ing a horseman. Stones of the later period are chiefly cut in line technique.
FIG. 21. Amethyst showing the portrait of ‘Queen of Queens’ Denak.

Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
.
Sasanian ceramic vessels vary greatly in form and size. Each region had
its own characteristic pottery linked with the previous period. The most com-
mon forms were various kinds of pitchers made on a quickly turning wheel.
We know of vessels on which the potter’s name was inscribed on the raw clay
before firing.109 The ornamentation was usually restricted to rows of straight
or wavy horizontal lines, stamps or appliqué work. Throughout the Sasanian
period, pottery was produced (rhytons and small, pear-shaped pitchers) that
imitated metal artefacts.110 Somewhat different are the Late Parthian and Early
Sasanian vessels finished in green glaze that were common in Mesopotamia
109. Huff, 1978, p. 145.

110. Ettinghausen, 1938, pp. 664 et seq.
74

FIG. 22. Thick-walled spherical cups. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
and Khuzistan.111 Glassware is known from excavations in Kish, Ctesiphon

and Susa and from Early Sasanian burials in northern Mesopotamia. The chief
glass-making regions were Mesopotamia and north-western Iran. Sasanian glass-
ware developed in isolation, although some forms are reminiscent of Syrian
and Roman artefacts. Glass vessels were engraved; some extant examples are
decorated with patterns cut from gold leaf and encased between two layers of
glass. The most common forms were thick-walled spherical cups, with cut or-
namentation made of slightly concave discs or oval facets (Fig. 22). Glass rhytons
and amphorae were also produced.112
Weaving was a highly developed craft. Samples of Iranian silk cloth were
kept in the church treasuries of Western Europe, and fragments have been found
in Egyptian and Central Asian burials. Cloth was woven in the compound twill
technique and was brightly coloured. The most common pattern was one of
rhombic or round medallions with pictures of the senmurws, winged horses,
animals or birds, placed either in vertical rows or at random. An idea of the
ornamentation and colouring of cloth and the cut of the clothing may be gained
from Central Asian paintings or the Taq-i Bustan reliefs, which show the
111. Riccardi, 1967, p. 93.

112. Fukai, 1977.
75

costumes of the king and courtiers. A royal hunting costume designed for
wearing on horseback, and consisting of trousers and a short tunic, is depicted
on Sasanian vessels. Iranian clothing is described by Ammianus Marcellinus
(XXIII, 6.84): ‘Most of them are so covered with clothes gleaming with many
shimmering colours, that although they leave their robes open in front and on
the sides, and let them flutter in the wind, yet from their head to their shoes no
part of the body is seen uncovered.’ The products of Iranian weavers were in
demand in many countries, where they were considered luxury items. The
patterns on Sasanian textiles were long copied virtually unchanged in Byzan-
tium and were imitated in Central Asia and China.113 The artistic influence of
Sasanian Iran may be detected in the cultures of many countries, from Western
Europe to Eastern Asia. It made a major contribution to the subsequent devel-
opment of the visual culture of the Muslim East.
113. Shepherd, 1983, p. 1107.
76

Table 1. The Sasanian Empire1 (courtesy of M. I. Mochiri)
Papak (208–222)
(1) Ardashir I (226–241)
(2) Shapur I (241–271)
(3) Hormizd I (271–272) (7) Narseh (293-303) (4) Bahram I (272–275)
(8) Hormizd II (303–309) (5) Bahram II (275–293)
(10) Ardashir II (379–383) (9) Shapur II (309–379) (6) Bahram III (293)
(11) Shapur III (383–388) (12) Bahram IV (388-399)
(13) Yazdgird I (399-420)
(14) Bahram V (420–438)
(15) Yazdgird II (438–457)
(16) Hormizd III (457–459) (17) Peroz (459–484) (18) Valash (484–488)
(19) Kavad I (488–497) (20) Jamasp (497–499)

and (499–531)
(21) Khusrau I (531–579) Usurpers

(23) Bahram VI (590–591)
(22) Hormizd IV (579-590) (24) Vistahm (591–597)
(25) Hormizd V (?590)2
Kavad (26) Khusrau II (590–628)
(27) Kavad II (628)
(29) Khusrau III (28) Ardashir III (628–629) Shariyar

(629)3
(30) Boran (629–630) (31) Azarmigdukht (34) Yazdgird III
(631)4 (632–651)
Usurpers
(32) Hormizd VI (631–632)5
(33) Khusrau IV (632)6
1. For some alternative dates, see Frye, 1984, p. 361. (Note, however, that some authors in this
volume have their own datings.)
2. Mochiri, 1977, pp. 209–15.
3. Mochiri, 1972, pp. 17–18; 1977, p. 203; 1983, pp. 221–3.
4. Mochiri, 1972, pp. 11–16; 1977, pp. 203–5.
5. Mochiri, 1972, pp. 13–16; 1977, pp. 205–8.
6. Mochiri, 1977, pp. 174–202.
77

3
Sasanian Iran: intellectual life
SASANIAN IRAN:
INTELLECTUAL LIFE*
A. Tafazzoli and A. L. Khromov
Part One
WRITTEN WORKS
(A. Tafazzoli)
Literary works extant from the Sasanian period may be divided into two groups,
religious and secular. As the secular literature was written within the frame-
work of Zoroastrian religious beliefs, however, it also manifests religious over-
tones. Translations of, and commentaries upon, the Avesta (the sacred book of
the Zoroastrians) in Middle Persian (also known as Pahlavi), as well as books
written on the basis of oral traditions of Avestan material, constitute the most
important of the religious works. Literature of the Sasanian era bears the char-
acteristics of oral literatures.
Secular literature
The interest in oral literature in pre-Islamic Iran1 meant that, apart from state
or commercial records and documents and, on rare occasions, religious works,
nothing was written down until the Sasanian period. Secular literature was
preserved orally by gosan (poet-minstrels) or khunyagar2 (story-tellers). When
Middle Persian had become obsolete and the religion, rituals and customs of
the Iranians had undergone changes, the originals of many literary works of
this type were lost. Thus our information, especially on the secular literature
of this period, is based on secondary sources.
EPIC P O E T RY
The core of Iranian epic stories belonged to the Avestan people of eastern Iran.
We find references in the Avesta to its heroes, especially the Kayanian princes
who were the ancestors of Gushtasp (an Iranian king and the patron of
* See Map 2.
1. On the oral tradition, see Bailey, 1943, pp. 149 et seq; Boyce, 1968b, pp. 32 et seq.
2. Boyce, 1957, pp. 10–45; Tafazzoli, 1968, pp. 410–11.
79

Zoroaster). These stories, which recounted the deeds of military commanders

and heroes of old, were gradually transformed in the minds of the people into
marvellous feats, accumulated a wealth of detail, and were handed down orally
– frequently in versified form – to later generations. There are three cycles of
traditions concerning heroic tales in the Iranian national epic: the Kayanian,
the Saka and the Parthian cycles.
Epic stories, frequently in verse, remained an oral form until the Sasanian
period and some were used in the compilation of the Khwaday-namag [Book
of Lords] (see page 84) in Pahlavi. The only extant work of this type is the
versified Ayadgar-i Zareran [Memoirs of Zarer’s Family]. This work was origi-
nally in the Parthian language and found its final redaction in a summarized,
written form, probably towards the end of the Sasanian era. It concerns the
wars between the Iranians and the Turanians after the conversion to Zoroastri-
anism of Gushtasp, the Iranian king. Zarer, the king’s brother, was slain during
these wars. The Parthian words appearing in the text betray its Parthian origin.
Its poetic language is clear. A more detailed version of the story of Zarer ap-
pears in the tenth-century Shah-name [Book of Kings] of Firdausi, who quotes
it from Daqiqi.3
Titles of other epic stories, which probably existed independently of the
Khwaday-namag and were later translated into Arabic, are mentioned in Is-
lamic sources. Examples are: The Story of Rustam and Isfandiyar;4 the Sagesaran
[Leaders of the Sakas];5 and the book of Paykar on the battles of Isfandiyar.6
Short pieces of lyrical, panegyric or other types of poetry are also found in
Persian and Arabic books from the early Islamic era.7
TALES AND LEGENDS
Towards the end of the Sasanian period, especially during the reign of Khusrau I
(531–579) and later, increasing attention was paid to the task of collecting leg-
ends. The original versions in Pahlavi have been lost, but on the basis of their
Arabic and Persian translations, as well as references made to them in Islamic
sources, the books of stories of the Sasanians appear to fall into two groups:
Iranian tales; and tales adapted or translated from other languages into Middle
Persian.
The most important collection of Iranian tales was the Hazar afsan [The
Thousand Tales], mentioned by both Ibn al-Nadim8 and al-Mascudi.9 This work
3. Benveniste, 1932; Utas, 1975.

4. Ibn al-Nadim, 1973, p. 364.
5. Al-Mascudi, 1965, Vol. 1, p. 267; Christensen, 1932, pp. 142 et seq.
6. Al-Mascudi, 1965, Vol. 1, p. 229; Hamza, p. 94; Christensen, 1932, pp. 143 et seq.
7. Tafazzoli, 1974, pp. 338, 347–9.
8. Ibn al-Nadim, 1973, p. 363.
9. Al-Mascudi, 1965, Vol. 2, p. 406.
80

was translated into Arabic, enjoyed widespread fame among Muslims, and was
used as the basis for the compilation of The Thousand and One Nights. The
present Arabic version, dating back to the fourteenth century, contains, in ad-
dition to Persian stories, others which were prevalent in Baghdad and Egypt at
various periods. In addition to the Hazar afsan, Ibn al-Nadim mentions a book
entitled the Hazar dastan10 [The Thousand Stories].
The most famous collection of tales translated into Pahlavi was the Kalilag
u Dimnag [Kalila and Dimna], the original source for which was the Indian
Panchatantra, probably its Prakrit version.11 This work, which is now lost,
was translated into Pahlavi in the middle of the sixth century by the physician
Burzoe for Khusrau I (see also page 94). Ibn al-Muqaffac and cAbdallah Ahwazi
then translated it into Arabic. A Syriac translation of the Pahlavi text, dating
from 570, is also extant. The Kalilag u Dimnag was also translated into Latin
and Greek, and from Arabic into Persian on several occasions. The earliest of
these Persian translations, dating back to the first half of the tenth century, has
been lost; the most famous is the twelfth-century version by Abu al-Macali
Nasrallah Munshi.
Another work of Indian origin which was compiled in Iran is the Sindbad-
namag [Book of Sindbad], which probably dates back to the time of Khusrau I.
Like the Kalilag u Dimnag, this work was also translated into Arabic, prob-
ably by the ninth-century translator Musa b. cIsa al-Kisrawi. According to Ibn
al-Nadim,12 two prose versions existed in Arabic. The Sindbad-namag was then
translated into Persian in the tenth century and was later versified. Neither
version has survived; the only available translation in Persian dates from the
twelfth to the thirteenth century. It owes its fame in Europe to the Greek and
Latin translations.
The Bilauhar u Budasaf is another story of Indian origin which was trans-
lated into Pahlavi during the Sasanian period, and thence into Arabic in the
Islamic era. This work, which is basically an account of the Buddha’s life, is not
a translation of a specific Indian text but, rather, a collection of the legends
surrounding the life of the Buddha. Its earliest translation into Arabic dates
back to the eighth century; a tenth-century translation is also extant. Parts of
the Bilauhar u Budasaf in classical Persian verse, written in Manichaean script,
have been found amongst the Turfan fragments belonging to the followers of
Mani.13 The work was translated in the eleventh century into Georgian, Greek
and Latin and, later, into other European languages. Many traces of theBilauhar
u Budasaf are found in Persian and Arabic books of manners and ethics.14 The
10. Ibn al-Nadim, 1973, p. 364.

11. Mojtabayi, 1984.
12. Ibn al-Nadim, 1973, pp. 186, 364. On the Sindbad-namag, see Minovi, 1968, pp. 169 et seq.
13. Henning, 1962, pp. 91 et seq.
14. Gimaret, 1971; Sundermann, 1982, pp. 101 et seq.
81

Tuti-namag, a translation of and adaptation from the Indian (ukasaptati

[Seventy Tales of the Parrot], several Persian versions of which exist, was prob-
ably translated into Pahlavi in the Sasanian period.
Among the romantic tales in Pahlavi, the most important is the Vis u
Ramin, which is of Parthian origin and was translated into Pahlavi towards the
end of the Sasanian period and into Persian in the Islamic era. (Both the Parthian
original and the Pahlavi translation are lost.) Fakhr al-Din Ascad Gurgani turned
it into Persian poetry early in the eleventh century. The work contains impor-
tant information on the life, manners and customs of the Parthians.15
The Vamiq u cAdhra is a romantic story of Greek origin which is said to
have been translated into Pahlavi at the time of Khusrau I.16 It was later trans-
lated from Pahlavi into Arabic (both these versions are lost). A Persian trans-
lation was made (probably from the Arabic) which was then turned by cUnsuri
(eleventh century) into poetry – some verses are extant. Part of it is also quoted
in the Darab-name,17 a Persian tale by the twelfth-century writer Tarsusi.
The Alexander Romance by pseudo-Callisthenes may have been trans-
lated into Pahlavi towards the end of the Sasanian period, probably from the
Greek. It appears that a Syriac translation was later made by Christians living
in Iran and using oral as well as written sources. Arabic translations were made
from the Pahlavi and Syriac versions of the Iskandar-name. Versions of this
romance also exist in Persian, the earliest belonging to some time between the
twelfth and the fourteenth century18 – in addition to the Arabic text, the au-
thors used oral traditions.
The Karnamag-i Ardasir-i Pabagan [Book of the Deeds of Ardashir
Papakan], in Pahlavi, belongs to the epic genre (see also page 96). Its present
version dates back to the Late Sasanian period and contains certain reworkings
from Islamic times. The biography of Ardashir I (226–241) is narrated in this
work through a mixture of legend and historical fact.
HANDBOOKS ON ETIQUETTE
There were several handbooks in Pahlavi dealing with institutions, court man-
ners and ceremonies, the duties of the various social classes, the rules of battle,
the arts of warfare (horsemanship and shooting), and games and entertainments
(such as polo, chess and backgammon). The originals of these Ayen Ewen-namag
are lost, but some were translated into Arabic, parts of which, or references to
them, are available in Islamic sources.19
15. Minorsky, 1964.

16. On the Vamiq u cAdhra, see Shafic’s edition, 1967, Introduction.
17. Safa, 1965, Vol. 1, p. 209.
18. Afshar, 1964, Introduction, pp. 9–37.
19. Christensen, 1944, pp. 61–2; Tafazzoli, 1976, p. 266; 1985, p. 692.
82

L AW , E D U C AT I O N A N D G E O G R A P H Y
The Madigan-i hazar dadestan [Book of a Thousand Judicial Decisions] (see

also pages 101–2), compiled by Farrukhmard, the son of Bahram, is the most
important collection of legal texts of the Sasanian period. This work, which
contains a number of legal cases concerning marriage, inheritance, ownership,
endowments, and so on, was probably compiled at the time of Khusrau II, but
its final redaction belongs to the ninth century.20 Zoroastrian religious laws are
also collected in other works.21 In the field of education, a short extant treatise
entitled the Khweskarih-i Redagan [The Duties of Children] contains instruc-
tions concerning children’s obligations towards their parents and teachers.22
The sole surviving Pahlavi work on geography is the Sahriha-i Eran, a
treatise containing a list of the major cities and fire-temples of Iran. Although
it was written in the ninth century, its contents are mostly mythical and relate
to ancient times.23
Royal Res Gestae

Important events of the reign of each of the Sasanian kings were written down
and preserved in the imperial archives, a practice that probably dates from the
very beginning of Sasanian rule. Shapur I (241–271) left a description of his
deeds in a trilingual inscription on the wall of the Kacbe of Zoroaster. Narseh
(293–303) left an account of his accession to the throne in a bilingual inscrip-
tion at Paikuli (situated in the Zagros mountains in present-day Iraq). Copies
of such works were probably preserved in the imperial archives. Through his
learned Syrian friend Sergius, the sixth-century Greek historian Agathias gained
access to the official written documents of the time of Khusrau I which were
kept in the imperial archives. References in the Shah-name of Firdausi suggest
that when Hormizd IV (579–590) was imprisoned by his general Bahram
Chobin and the nobility in c. 590, he expressed the desire for someone to come
with a book and read the stories of the past kings to him.24 Islamic sources
mention the existence in the Sasanian period of official registers in which the
events of each king’s reign were registered along with his portrait.25
20. Perikhanyan, 1973; Macuch, 1981.

21. Tavadia, 1930; 1956; Kotwal, 1969; Safa-Isfehani, 1980; Anklesaria, 1960; Jamaspasa and
Humbach, 1971.
22. Junker, 1912a; Freiman, 1918.
23. Markwart, 1931.
24. Nöldeke, 1920, §12.
25. Christensen, 1932, pp. 66–7.
83

T H E K H WA D A Y - NA M A G
The idea of compiling a written national history for the Iranians appeared to-
wards the end of the Sasanian period, especially at the time of Khusrau I, dur-
ing whose reign books were either written in Pahlavi or translated from other
languages, such as Syriac, the Indian languages and Greek. The Khwaday-namag
was probably completed during the reign of Yazdgird III, the last of the Sasanian
kings, who assumed power towards the end of 631 or the early part of 632.26
The work detailed events from the creation of the world up to the end of the
reign of Khusrau II (590–628) and conformed to the viewpoint of the Zoroas-
trian clergy.
The Pahlavi original of this history was lost, but Arabic translations were
made in Islamic times. The translators did not limit themselves to a literal trans-
lation of the original. The oldest translation is that of Ibn al-Muqaffac (c. 720–
756).27 Although none of these Arabic translations has survived intact, they
served as the basis for the history of the pre-Islamic period in the works of the
Muslim historiographers. The Khwaday-namag was turned into Persian prose
and verse in the tenth century. Among the prose versions, the most famous is
the Shah-name of Abu Mansur, completed in 957. Both the Arabic translations
and the Pahlavi sources were used in the compilation of this Shah-name, which,
in turn, was used along with other oral and written sources by Firdausi in the
creation of his epic.
Religious traditions as they existed in the Avesta of the Sasanian period,
as well as its translations and the zand (commentaries upon it), naturally formed
the basis of the Khwaday-namag. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, the dura-
tion of the material world (gumekhtagih, or ‘mixture’) is 6,000 years, divided
into 6 periods each lasting 1,000 years. All the events and reigns of the kings
were placed within this framework. As may be seen in the case of the Karnamag-
i Ardasir-i Pabagan, the history of the fifth dynasty (i.e. the Sasanians), though
partly based on court archives, was nevertheless influenced by legend.
POLITICAL TRACTS
Several works discussed government policies and ways and means of govern-
ing the kingdom. Among them is the Name-i Tansar [Letter of Tansar], writ-
ten by Tansar (or, in the correct form, Tosar), the Zoroastrian mobad (high
priest) at the time of Ardashir I, in response to Gushnasp, king of Tabaristan.
Although the original probably belonged to the time of Ardashir, changes were
made to it in later periods, particularly during the reign of Khusrau I. The Arabic
26. Nöldeke, 1920, §13.

27. On the Arabic translations of the Khwaday-namag, see Christensen, 1925, pp. 23 et seq.;
1934, pp. 81 et seq.; Osmanov, 1975, pp. 287 et seq.
84

translation by Ibn al-Muqaffac is also lost and what survives is an early thir-
teenth-century re-translation into Persian from Ibn al-Muqaffac’s version. This
version is by Ibn Isfandiyar, who includes it in his History of Tabaristan.28
The cAhd Ardasir is another tract that bears a striking resemblance to the
Name-i Tansar. The original in Pahlavi is lost and it survives in an Arabic trans-
lation.29 The Karnamag-i Anosirvan [Book of the Deeds of Anushirvan, i.e.
Khusrau I] (see also pages 96–7), an account of the work undertaken during
Khusrau’s reign together with methods of administering the affairs of state, is
also extant only in an Arabic translation.30
Religious literature
A V E S TA N T R A N S L AT I O N S A N D C O M M E N TA R I E S
The Avesta was preserved orally until towards the end of the Sasanian period,
probably during the reign of Khusrau I, when it was compiled in 21 sections.
To transcribe it, a script was invented from the Pahlavi script consisting of about
46 characters. An attempt was made to record the Avestan words exactly as
they were pronounced at the time.31 Although the Avesta was now written
down, because of the importance attached to the oral tradition, manuscripts of
the work were rare and the recorded text was consulted infrequently. The old-
est extant manuscript of the Avesta dates back to 1258 or 1278. In the Sasanian
period, Avestan was considered a dead language. So that the contents of the
Avesta could be understood, it was translated into Pahlavi and the zand (com-
mentaries) were written upon it. Oral traditions, as well as the sciences of the
time – known to Iranians through the Greeks, Romans, Syrians and Indians –
were also used in writing these commentaries. Today, translations of early works
such as the Gathas, Yasnas, Vendidad, Nerangestan, Niyayish, Afrinagan,
Herbadestan and some parts of the Yasts are extant, but the translation of, and
commentary upon, the complete Avesta certainly existed during the Sasanian
period.
Based on the Avesta and its translations, many books and treatises were
written on various subjects some of which, like the Denkard, constitute a reli-
gious encyclopaedia. The contents of this book, which is essentially a compila-
tion, belong to different periods. The final redaction took place in the ninth
century and we know the names of two of its compilers: Adurfarnbag, son of
Farrukhzad, and Adurbad, son of Emed. Adurfarnbag was the mobad of the
28. Minovi, 1975; Boyce, 1968c.

c
29. Ahd Ardasir, 1967; Grignaschi, 1967.
30. Grignaschi, 1967, pp. 16–45.
31. Bailey, 1943, pp. 149–94.
85

Zoroastrians of Fars in this period. The Denkard was originally in nine books
of which the first, second and part of the third were lost. The third book is
nevertheless the largest; it deals with Zoroastrian religious principles, at times
in a philosophical language, and at others in one mixed with mythical elements.
The seventh book is a legendary biography of Zoroaster, based on a section of
the Avesta called the Spand nask. The contents of the Sasanian Avesta in a con-
densed form constitute the eighth book. Since both the original and the Pahlavi
translation of most of these parts are lost, these summaries are of great impor-
tance. The ninth book contains a commentary on three parts of the Sasanian
Avesta which is particularly significant for its mythical contents.32
The Bundahisn [The Original Creation], an important work in Pahlavi,
is also known as the Zand-agahih. Its subject-matter ranges from cosmology,
astronomy and eschatology to lists of rivers, mountains and plants. Although
the final redaction belongs to the ninth century, it was probably compiled in
the Late Sasanian period. Two forms are available: the more detailed is called
the Great Bundahisn; and the shorter, the Indian Bundahisn.33
The Vizidagiha-i Zadsparam [The Selections of Zadsparam] is another
important work that is similar to the Bundahisn in content and whose author
has apparently used the same sources. Its compiler, Zadsparam, was a priest
who lived in the ninth century. The book consists of four parts and deals with
creation, cosmology and resurrection. It contains a section on the life of
Zoroaster which is similar to the seventh book of the Denkard and uses the
same sources.34
A book and three letters written by Manuchihr, leader of the Zoroastri-
ans of Fars and Kerman, are extant. The book, entitled the Dadestan-i denig
[Religious Judgments], contains 92 questions posed in written form by a Zoro-
astrian; it deals with a variety of topics such as the principles of Zoroastrian
belief, cosmology, mythology and religious laws.35
The Pahlavi Rivayat is a collection of miscellaneous material probably
compiled by a tenth-century author. The work is particularly significant as it
contains certain myths which are not mentioned elsewhere or are mentioned
in passing, as well as providing information on religious rituals and ceremonies
and popular beliefs. The practice of collecting rivayat (traditions) continued
among the Zoroastrians for many centuries, a collection also being extant in
Persian.36
32. See Menasce, de, 1958; 1973, Introduction.

33. Anklesaria, 1908; West, 1880, Introduction.
34. Anklesaria, 1964, Introduction; Gignoux and Tafazzoli, 1993, Introduction.
35. West, 1882, Introduction; Dhabhar, 1912, Introduction.
36. Dhabhar, 1913, Introduction; Williams, 1990, Introduction.
86

Philosophy and theology

Iranians were familiar with Greek philosophy from the Achaemenid period.
This acquaintance was deepened in Sasanian times, leading to the influence of
Greek philosophy on Zoroastrian religious works. Although no philosophical
works in Pahlavi are available from the Sasanian period, those written in the
ninth and tenth centuries on philosophy and theology show that they are based
on an older tradition. The third and fourth books of the Denkard, mentioned
above, are among the principal philosophical and theological works. Another
important example is the Skand gumanik wizar [The Doubt-crushing Expla-
nation], written by Mardan Farrokh, son of Ohrmazd-dad, towards the end of
the ninth or early tenth century.37 The Pus-i danisn-kamag38 is a short treatise
containing arguments similar to those found in the Skand gumanik wizar.
Another dialectical treatise is the Gujastag Abalis [The Cursed Abalish]. It
concerns a debate conducted in the presence of the cAbbasid caliph al-Ma’mun
(813–833) between Abalish, a Zoroastrian converted to Islam, and Adurfarnbag,
one of the compilers of the Denkard. The treatise appears in question-and-
answer form.39
Visionary and apocalyptic texts

Visionary and apocalyptic literature goes back to the Avesta, but the oldest
extant Pahlavi text in this genre is the Kartir (Kirder) inscription at Sar Mashhad,
in part of which Kartir describes his ascension to the other world. Unfortu-
nately, this text is fragmentary and damaged. Several Pahlavi texts are extant in
this field, the most important being the Ardaviraz-namag [Book of Ardawiraz].
It concerns the ascension of Viraz (Viraza in Avestan) who, according to some
scholars, is identified in the work with Vehshapur, a famous priest of the time
of Khusrau I. Having taken an intoxicating substance, he travels to the other
world, sees paradise, hell, purgatory, the rewards accorded to the pious and the
punishments meted out to evil-doers, all of which he describes upon his re-
turn. Though the essential core of the book’s contents is very old, the extant
version dates from the tenth century or even a little later.40 Similar works in
which the events of the world are foretold are the Zand-i Vahman yast41 and
the Jamasp-namag, or Ayadgar-i Jamaspig.42
37. Menasce, de, 1945.

38. Junker, 1959.
39. Tafazzoli, 1985, p. 58.
40. Gignoux, 1984; Vahman, 1986.
41. Anklesaria, 1957.
42. Modi, 1903; Messina, 1939.
87

Andarz (wisdom literature)

An important section of Pahlavi literature consists of the andarz (wisdom)
collections, which are of two types: religious advice and pragmatic wisdom.
The subject-matter of most of the andarz pieces of the second type may be
found in the literature of other nations too, and translations of this group later
found their way into the books of adab (literature) and ethics in Persian and
Arabic. For those items which belong to the realm of oral literature, it is im-
possible to establish an author or a date. In Pahlavi, most such pieces are at-
tributed to great and learned men in general – the Andarz-i danagan u
Mazdaesnan is one example. However, some items are attributed to specific
kings, dignitaries or religious personalities. In the third book of the Denkard,
the mythical Jamshid, the Peshdadian king, is credited with the authorship of
a number of these. A collection is also recorded in the name of Khusrau I.
Andarz collections may also contain pieces of poetry; some items are in metri-
cal prose while others are merely endowed with a poetic quality. The most
extensive of the andarz collections is the sixth book of the Denkard.43
Languages and scripts

The most widespread languages during the Sasanian era were Middle Persian
(or Pahlavi), Parthian, Sogdian, Khwarizmian, Khotanese Saka and Bactrian;
various texts in these languages are extant.
M I D D L E P E R S I A N (P A H L AV I )
This is the development of Old Persian, or of one of its dialects, which used to
be the language of the region of Fars. The evolution of Old Persian into Mid-
dle Persian probably began during the fourth century B.C., but the oldest ex-
tant documents in the latter language belong to the third century A.D. Middle
Persian lacks gender and the dual form. With rare exceptions, the declensional
forms of nouns and pronouns have disappeared. Among the items extant in
Middle Persian are coins of the local kings of Persia (from about the middle of
the third century B.C.), inscriptions by the Sasanian kings and dignitaries (mostly
from the third and fourth centuries A.D.), Sasanian coins and seals, Zoroastrian
Pahlavi texts, an excerpt from the Psalms and Manichaean writings. Except for
the last-mentioned, they are all written in different variants of Pahlavi script.
Since the Pahlavi script was difficult, lists of words were prepared to be
memorized by the scribes. The Frahang-i Pahlawig is one such work in which
words with different spellings, as well as heterograms (incorrect spellings), were
43. Shaked, 1987, pp. 11–16.
88

arranged systematically to make them easier to learn.44 In this treatise, words

are grouped under subject headings. An alphabetical version of the Frahang-i
Pahlawig is extant in an eighteenth-century copy.45 A sheet from a Pahlavi glos-
sary of the ninth or tenth century, containing seven Pahlavi verbs in the form
of heterograms, was found amongst the Manichaean fragments discovered in
Turfan.46 An Avestan-Pahlavi glossary, entitled the Frahang-i Oim Ewak, is
extant; it is of special importance as it contains Avestan words used in the
Sasanian period but subsequently lost.47
The Pahlavi script is divided into two main forms, the lapidary and the
cursive, both of which derive from the Aramaic. In these scripts, written from
right to left like the Aramaic prototype, the vowels are not usually represented.
The lapidary script is generally used in inscriptions, coins and seals – though a
variant of the cursive called kastaj or kashtaj (from the Pahlavi gastag) by writ-
ers of the Islamic era48 is also sometimes used for these purposes. Unlike the
cursive, the lapidary script includes 19 characters which cannot be joined. Middle
Persian royal and private inscriptions of the Sasanian epoch are written in the
lapidary script, the oldest being the short inscription of Ardashir I at Naqsh-i
Rustam. Other important inscriptions are that of Shapur I on the wall of the
Kacbe of Zoroaster (in Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek) and that of Narseh
(dating from 293–294) at Paikuli.49 Of the private inscriptions the most impor-
tant are four by Kartir, all of which are located in Fars.50 The latest inscription
of this type is that of Mihrnarseh at Firuzabad in Fars, which belongs to the
first half of the fifth century.51
The Pahlavi cursive or book script contains 13 characters and was mostly
used in writing Zoroastrian works in Pahlavi. In this script, one character of-
ten represents several sounds; moreover, a ligature may be read in different
ways, so that the script could be ambiguous. The oldest extant text in Pahlavi
cursive was copied in 1323.52 Cursive script was also used for writing on parch-
ment, papyri, ostraca, stones and gems and it is found on tomb and funerary
inscriptions like the Istanbul inscription.53 Others of this type, and belonging
to the Late Sasanian period, have been discovered in Fars.54 The most recent
funerary inscription, written vertically, is a ninth-century inscription found in
44. Junker, 1912b; Nyberg, 1988.

45. Nyberg, 1970, pp. 343 et seq.
46. Barr, 1936.
47. Kligenschmitt, 1968.
48. Ibn al-Nadim, 1973, p. 15; Hamza, 1967, p. 65.
49. Humbach and Skjaervø, 1978–83, p. 83.
50. For the inscriptions of Kartir, see Gignoux, 1973; 1991.
51. For the bibliography of the Pahlavi inscriptions, see Gignoux, 1972, Introduction, pp. 9–14.
52. Henning, 1958, pp. 46–7; Boyce, 1968b, p. 65.
53. Menasce, de, 1967; Harmatta, 1969, pp. 255–76.
54. Gignoux, 1972; Gropp, 1969; 1970; Harmatta, 1973, pp. 68–79; Tafazzoli, 1991.
89

China.55 Commemorative inscriptions include those at Darband (in the Cau-

casus) from the sixth century,56 the inscriptions on Shapur I’s horse at Naqsh-i
Rustam and Bishapur, as well as the two discovered at Maqsudabad and Tang-i
Khushk and which include a statement explaining the ownership of the estate
and its improvements. Finally, in cursive script, there are the tomb inscriptions
of the rulers of Mazandaran (ninth–eleventh centuries).57 A fragment of the
translation of the Pahlavi Psalter, found in Central Asia, is in a variant of the
cursive script. Its compilation dates back to the sixth century or earlier, but it
was written down between the seventh and the eighth centuries or even later.58
THE MANICHAEAN SCRIPT
Manichaean works are written in a script which is a variant of the Syriac script
and is peculiar to the Manichaeans (see also pages 99–101). Twenty-two letters
were adopted from the Semitic alphabet and a newly evolved letter – j – was
added to it. This script underwent little evolution from the third century until
it was abandoned, probably in the thirteenth century.59 Manichaean works in
Iranian languages – Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian and, later, Persian – were
generally written in this script. In contrast to other systems, each character in
the Manichaean script represents a single sound, and there are almost no his-
torical or pseudo-historical spellings, nor are there heterograms.
P A RT H I A N (P A H L AVA N I* G )
The Parthian language was spoken in the south-western areas of Central Asia
and in Khurasan during the Arsacid period (third century B.C. – third century
A.D.). It was a living language until some time in the Sasanian period. The main
differences between Middle Persian and Parthian lie in their phonology and
vocabulary, their verbal systems demonstrating remarkable similarity.
The principal remnants of the Parthian language include the ostraca (from
between 100 and 29 B.C.) found at Nisa and other sites on the southern borders
of Turkmenistan;60 the first-century B.C. ostraca from Qumis in eastern Iran;61
the first-century A.D. parchment from Awroman in Kurdistan; inscriptions on
the coins of the Arsacid kings of the first half of the first century A.D.; the
bilingual inscription of Seleukia (150–151);62 the inscription of Ardavan V found
55. Harmatta, 1971, pp. 113–14; Humbach and Wang, 1988.

56. Gropp, 1975; Kasumova, 1987; Gignoux, 1992.
57. Henning, 1958, p. 50.
58. Ibid., p. 47.
59. Ibid., pp. 73 et seq.
60. Diakonoff and Livshits, 1976–79.
61. Bivar, 1970; 1972; 1981.
62. Morano, 1990.
90

in Susa (215); some third-century documents discovered in Dura-Europos; the

inscriptions at Kal-i Jangal, near Birjand in eastern Khurasan (first half of the
third century);63 inscriptions of the Early Sasanian kings in Parthian; and the
writings of the Manichaeans. The Parthian script and language began to be
abandoned from the fourth century. With the exception of Manichaean litera-
ture, which appears in its own particular script (see above), all the above-men-
tioned items are in the Parthian script, which is an adaptation from the Ara-
maic with several variants. Harmatta has provided a table showing all of these.64
P a r t Tw o
L I T E R AT U R E , SCIENCE AND RELIGION
(A. L. Khromov)
Borrowings and influences

The fact of Persia’s extensive literary borrowings from India in the Sasanian
period has been established for some time. A substantial part of those borrow-
ings subsequently passed from Pahlavi to Arabic literature and thence to the
West.65 Iranian interest in Indian philosophy and science during the Sasanian
period is demonstrated by translations into Middle Persian of Indian works on
mathematics, astronomy and medicine, and of belles-lettres and didactic texts
(see above).
During the Sasanian period much effort was devoted to the translation of
Indian works on astrology that predicted the future and described natural phe-
nomena, such as the flight of birds and the cries of animals, in terms of good or
bad omens. Some Arab sources report that the Sasanian court was visited by
sages from India who advised on future events according to the position of the
planets, the signs of the zodiac and the configuration of the stars. Their predic-
tions were written down, conveyed to the king and subsequently preserved in
a secret depository. Tradition has it that over 100 doctors, including several
from India, were employed at the court of Khusrau I (531–579). It may thus be
assumed that Indian medical works were translated in Sasanian Iran.66
The bulk of scientific literature in the Sasanian period, however, was trans-
lated from Syriac and Greek. To understand why this was so it is necessary to
63. Henning, 1958, p. 40.

64. Harmatta, 1958, p. 175.
65. Ol’denburg, 1907, pp. 49–50.
66. Inostrantsev, 1907, pp. 73–7.
91

explain the position of Christianity in the Sasanian Empire. In the western part
of the empire (in Mesopotamia), Zoroastrianism coexisted with Christianity
and Judaism and with the worship of ancient Babylonian, Greek and Syrian
gods, but Christianity gradually became the main rival of the Zoroastrian clergy
and the Iranian administration which it controlled. The new religion spread
throughout the vast territory of Sasanian Iran, and by the seventh century
Christian communities were to be found in nearly every province of both
western and eastern Iran.
At the beginning of the third century there were still ethnic and linguistic
differences between Zoroastrians and Christians in Iran: most Zoroastrians were
Iranians while the majority of Christians belonged to other ethnic groups (Syr-
ian, Greek, Armenian). Between the fifth and the seventh centuries, however,
the Christian communities in central and eastern Iran underwent a process of
‘Iranization’ and the Iranian ethnic component became dominant. Relations
between Zoroastrians and Christians can be summed up as follows. The Sasanian
secular administration showed an extremely pragmatic attitude towards the
Christians, harsh repression coexisting with the presence of Christians at court
and even their acceptance as marriage partners. The Zoroastrian clergy, on the
other hand, were fiercely intolerant of Christians at all periods, and were
restrained only by the political and economic interests of the Sasanian rulers
and their circle. Zoroastrians did not accept the alien Christian teachings,
although they did not express open hostility towards the adherents of other
faiths.67 Each or all of these factors operated at some period during the Sasanian
Empire and determined the extent to which literature in translation was able to
circulate in Iranian society.
The Syriac-Nestorian literature of the pre-Islamic period developed to a
considerable extent alongside the literature of the official Sasanian religion from
roughly the fifth century onwards. Its authors were mainly Iranians.68 The
principal Nestorian schools in Sasanian Iran were in Nisibis (Mesopotamia),
Ctesiphon, the Sasanian capital, and Gundeshapur (the Syriac Bet Lapat) in
Khuzistan. The school in Nisibis was established following the closure in 489
of the Nestorian ‘Persian school’ in Edessa (founded in the fourth century by
the Syrian, Ephraim), after which all the teachers and pupils moved to the ter-
ritory of the Sasanian Empire. The Nisibis school, which was a theological
academy enjoying special privileges, produced a number of Nestorian scholars
who made an important contribution to the history of ideas in the East.69 Its
rector, Rabban, was also professor of biblical exegesis. His deputy, whose re-
sponsibilities included instruction in Bible reading and the liturgy, also taught
67. Kolesnikov, 1988, pp. 23–5.

68. Baumstark, 1968, p. 100.
69. Pigulevskaya, 1979, p. 67.
92

philosophy. The school had a tutor and a secretary. When Nisibis was taken by
the Arabs in the seventh century, the school had some 800 students.70
The school of Gundeshapur was known less as a theological college than
for its hospital (bimaristan) and the medical academy attached to it. The hospi-
tal was founded in the reign of Shapur I (241–271) but reached its maximum
expansion in the sixth century under the patronage of Khusrau I. When the
emperor Justinian closed the Academy in Athens in 529, the staff emigrated to
Gundeshapur. The Nestorians who had been banished from Byzantium be-
came energetic propagators of Greek education: it was to them that the school
in Gundeshapur owed its world reputation. Students not only acquired a theo-
retical training based on the works of Galen but also participated in the medi-
cal work of the hospital.71 The hospital survived until the beginning of the
c
Abbasid period in the eighth century. Many famous doctors from the school
of Gundeshapur subsequently worked in Baghdad.72
Science and philosophy

Under the Sasanians, medicine was based on the spirit of the Zoroastrian reli-
gion but it was also influenced by Greek medicine. Great importance was at-
tached to healing by the power of words, using magic formulae taken from
sacred books. According to the Denkard, a doctor was required to have a good
knowledge of anatomy, organic functions and the properties of medicine and
also to be attentive to his patients. Since he was expected to visit the sick as
many times a day as necessary, he had to be well fed, and provided with a good
horse and a comfortable place to stay in the centre of the town. He should not
be grasping: a good doctor was considered to be one who practised for reli-
gious reasons. There were, however, rules governing payment for medical care.
The payment depended on the property and social position of the patient and
on whether the whole body or only specific organs were treated. The doctor
was required to provide the sick with regular and painstaking treatment; his
refusal to examine a sick person was considered a crime. Doctors possessed a
type of licence authorizing them to engage in medical practice. When an Ira-
nian doctor was available, it was considered wrong to consult one of foreign
origin; despite this, Sasanian kings often preferred to use Greek doctors or Syrian
Christians.
The medical community had its own hierarchy. The first distinction was
drawn between doctors who ministered to the spirit and doctors who minis-
tered to the body. The former belonged to the same caste as the priests. Above
70. Fück, 1981, p. 276.

71. Ibid.
72. Siassi, 1963, p. 370; Endress, 1987, pp. 407–8.
93

the drustbadh (the state’s chief doctor) stood the mobadan mobad (the state’s
leading religious dignitary). The autobiography of Burzoe (a famous physician
during the reign of Khusrau I) was included by Ibn al-Muqaffac in his preface
to the Arabic translation of the Kalilag u Dimnag. Burzoe gives a description
of the medical literature of his day which testifies to the influence exerted by
Indian medicine on that of the Sasanian period. The third book of the Denkard
contains a medical treatise compiled from sources going back to the Sasanian
era.73 The tolerant attitude of the Sasanian court towards religions under
Khusrau I, and the benevolent attitude of this ruler towards Christian schol-
ars, did much to encourage the translation of works written in other languages.
The Middle Persian translation of the Old Testament Psalms, fragments of which
have been found in East Turkestan, was produced during this period. The basis
for the translation was the Syriac text.74
It was Khusrau I, above all, who encouraged the development of the sci-
ences in Iran and the use of Greek and Indian sources. Khusrau was extremely
interested in philosophy and, in particular, the ideas of Aristotle and Plato.
This interest was partly responsible for the appearance of a work by Paul of
Persia, the Prolegomena to Philosophy and Logic, and the Commentaries on
Aristotle’s De interpretatione and Analytica priore which the same author dedi-
cated to Khusrau I Anushirvan, ‘Shahanshah, Benefactor of the People’.75 At
the court of Khusrau II (590–628), Ava of Kashgar was renowned for his knowl-
edge of the Greek, Persian, Syriac and Hebrew languages and as a specialist in
medicine and astronomy.76
Greek sources on astrology were reworked on the basis of Indian theo-
ries; parameters and astronomical calculations were taken over from Indian
works. Works on astronomy and astrology by Greek authors were translated
into Middle Persian as early as the reign of Shapur I. The Persian historian
Macna, the Catholicos of Seleukia under Yazdgird I (399–420), translated Greek
works into Syriac and then from Syriac into Persian. Catholicos Akakios (484–
496), also from Seleukia, translated the Syriac work Discourse on Faith77 for
Kavad I (488–531), who adopted a tolerant attitude towards Christians.
Our knowledge of Middle Persian scientific literature is predominantly
based on Arabic translations and on information and quotations culled from
Arab sources. The surviving Arabic versions of Middle Persian texts are based
on late adaptations and exhibit the combination of Greek and Indian compo-
nents that are typical of astrology in the Sasanian period. One example is the
collection of tables for use in mathematical astronomy compiled during the
73. Christensen, 1944, pp. 414–20.

74. Ibid., p. 422.
75. Christensen, 1944, pp. 422–3; Pigulevskaya, 1979, p. 147; Endress, 1987, p. 408.
76. Endress, 1987, p. 408.
77. Krymskiy, 1905, p. 59.
94

reign of Khusrau I and re-edited under Yazdgird III (632–651). The later ver-
sion was used by the Arab scientists Mashacllah and Abu Macshar, who com-
piled a work entitled the Zig as-Sahriyar [Astrological Tables of Shahriyar], in
which the combination of Greek and Indian astronomical theories can be clearly
traced. In Arabic, the word zig became a term denoting a textbook on astronomy
or astrology.78
A work entitled the Varz-namag, which contained an account of basic
agricultural practice, was also translated into Middle Persian from Greek.79 It
is assumed that the Middle Persian text of the Ain-namag, which has come
down to us in the Arabic translation and contains information on the military
theory of the Sasanians, was composed under the influence of an anonymous
Greek treatise and the Strategikon of Maurikios of Byzantium (c. 600).80 The
Syriac language was thus the link that enabled the Near and Middle East to
assimilate the achievements of Greek science, which enjoyed a new period of
creativity on Arab and Persian soil.81 Literature translated into Middle Persian
during the Sasanian period played an important part in this process.
Court chronicles and epic histories

The Sasanian period saw the revival of the ancient Iranian tradition of court
chronicles, the essence of which was to interpret historical events in the light
of the king’s wishes. The content of historical chronicles was restricted to events
which the king considered important for himself, his family and the state. They
were composed under the king’s supervision and were intended for his own
personal use and that of his heirs.82 The historical works of the Sasanian period
focus less on contemporary events than on the past and on predictions of the
future. Their purpose was to describe and extol the religious and national ideals
propagated by the Sasanian élite.
There was no clear dividing line in historical works between fact on the
one hand, and myth and legend on the other. Such works were not impartial
accounts of events but included fantasy and emotional declarations. Hyper-
bole and metaphor were essential elements of their style. In the works of the
Sasanian period, historical figures were endowed with the characteristics of
contemporaries. For example, all the pre-Sasanian kings acquire Sasanian fea-
tures and deliver speeches from the throne, as was done in the Sasanian period.
References are made to sites of the Sasanian period and the historical circum-
78. Endress, 1987, pp. 413–14.

79. Ibid., p. 414.
80. Inostrantsev, 1909, p. 65; Pigulevskaya, 1946, p. 33.
82. Klima, 1977, pp. 41–3.
95

stances described are also contemporary.83 At the same time, these chronicles
were sources of ethical guidance for all Iranians. They contained sage reflec-
tions and exhortations as well as examples of wise decisions by monarchs and
their courtiers.
The Karnamag-i Ardasir-i Pabagan [Book of the Deeds of Ardashir
Papakan] belongs to the epic cycle on the Sasanian kings. Although the text
was initially drafted in the sixth century, the version which has survived dates
from a later period. The main character in the Karnamag is Ardashir I (226–
241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire. The work describes the childhood
and youth of Ardashir, his struggle for power and his ascension to the throne;
it also tells of his son Shapur I and grandson Hormizd I (271–272) and of
Ardashir’s conflict with the Parthian king Ardavan V (c. 213–224). Although
the account of Ardashir’s life given in this work is largely based on legend, it
reflects some historical events and facts: information is provided about
Ardashir’s campaigns against nomadic tribes, the history and geography of Iran
and the social structure and religious conceptions of Sasanian society.
Various versions of the history of Ardashir I are to be found in works by
Arab authors of the eighth to the tenth century and in Firdausi’s Shah-name.
These variants, which differ from the text of the Karnamag, go back to the
Late Sasanian collection of histories of the Iranian kings, the Khwaday-namag,
in which genuine historical facts are closely interwoven with legend. The royal
chronicles were drawn on for descriptions of the events of the Late Sasanian
period.84
The Khwaday-namag and other historical works were translated into Ara-
bic by Ibn al-Muqaffac (757). The Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim contains a lengthy list
of Arabic translations of works of the Sasanian period. It is thanks to such
translations and adaptations by authors of the Islamic period, and to references
to them in the works of medieval Arabic- and Persian-speaking writers, that we
have some idea of their content and nature. One of these works was the Gah-
namag which, according to the Tanbih of al-Mascudi, contained a description of
the boundaries of the Sasanian Empire. Another work, entitled the Ain-namag
[Book of Rules], describes the customs, morals and behaviour prescribed for
kings, aristocrats and other high echelons of society. According to the informa-
tion given in the Arabic and Persian sources, these works were of a rhetorical
nature and were composed in the Iranian tradition. There were also a number of
works on the administrative system and on individual kings and national heroes.
The Karnamag-i Anosirvan [Book of the Deeds of Anushirvan], a series
of fragments presenting the thoughts and utterances of Khusrau I, is repro-
duced in full in the Arabic work the Tajarib al-umam by Maskawaih. It de-
scribes the hostile intentions of political and religious sectarians towards the
83. Yarshater, 1983b, pp. 402–3.

84. Chukanova, 1987, pp. 9, 11.
96

king and his efforts to preserve the traditional distinctions in society which
divided warriors from peasants. The text contains information about the king’s
relations with other peoples, especially the Turkic Khazars to whom he ex-
tended his protection and dispatched Mazdakite missionaries. It also describes
advances in legislation and cultural borrowings from Greece and India in spite
of the religious differences.
The Testament of Ardashir Papakan, which has been preserved in the
Istanbul manuscript,85 belongs to the Late Sasanian period. It explains many
aspects of royal power and touches on various questions involving the rela-
tionship between royal power and religion.86
The literature of the Sasanian period, particularly the historical chroni-
cles and the andarz (wisdom) literature, devotes much space to the image of
the ideal king, which was first conceived under the Achaemenids. The basis for
the idealization of royal power is the notion that the Persian kings are called
on to embody the ‘national Iranian idea’, the essence of which is that all world
history is to be seen as a struggle between two primary principles: good and
evil, light and darkness. In this struggle, it is the king’s role to be the supreme
commander of the army of Ohrmazd (i.e. the good principle) in the war against
the forces of Ahriman (i.e. the evil principle).87 This also determines the king’s
position in society and his personal qualities: he is the focus of absolute power
and controls history; he surpasses all other men in physical strength, looks,
intelligence and eloquence; he is the lawgiver and creator of order. All kings
are not only great military leaders but also talented politicians and thinkers.
They are heroes in battle, the fount of prosperity, builders of cities, creators of
all that is useful in the administrative structure of the state and, most impor-
tant, energetic defenders of the Zoroastrian faith.
According to the mobad Kartir, the ‘ideal king’ should be religious above
all: he must be completely subservient to his religious mentor and act and think
in accordance with the dogmas of the Zoroastrian religion.88 The king’s main
occupations were the administration of justice, in consultation with the
mobadan mobad, courtiers of high rank and wise counsellors; the resolution
of problems relating to peace and war, and the appointment of military com-
manders; the enactment of measures to ensure the country’s prosperity; and
the settlement of questions relating to hunting, banquets and weddings.89 As
the people’s spiritual leader, the king was responsible not only for the coun-
try’s administration but also for the regulation of its ethical and social life. He
was answerable for his own conduct and for that of the government.
85. Grignaschi, 1967, pp. 1–2.

86. Menasce, de, 1983, p. 1,183.
87. Knauth and Nadjmabadi, 1975, p. 202.
88. Lukonin, 1969, p. 110.
89. Yarshater, 1983b, pp. 406–7.
97

The above qualities were reflected in the king’s messages, testaments and
pronouncements as well as in the messages of his ministers.90 His first respon-
sibility was to deliver a speech from the throne to his courtiers. Rendering
thanks to God, he set out his plans, assuring the people of his desire to rule
justly and asking for their support. The assembled courtiers approved the king’s
speech and his intentions and assured him of the people’s obedience. The cer-
emony was conducted with great pomp. The king sent messages to regional
governors, informing them of his ascension to the throne.
Among the Sasanians, Ardashir I, Shapur II (309–379) and Khusrau I were
endowed with the traits of the ideal king. There are many written accounts in
medieval Arab and Persian sources describing Khusrau I as a just and generous
king. A typical story (based, in Christensen’s view,91 on a reliable source) is
included in the work by Nizam al-Mulk entitled the Siyasat-name.92 In the
story, Anushirvan the Just (i.e. Khusrau I) delivers one of his speeches from
the throne in which, addressing his courtiers, he instructs them to deal gener-
ously with ‘the people of God’, to lighten the burden of the people, not to
offend the weak, to respect the wise and to be attentive to good people. The
king threatens to punish those who disregard these commandments.93
Religious life
ZOROASTRIANISM
In Sasanian Iran, religion played a central role in the life of society, regulating
the entire spectrum of social and political life and official standards of behav-
iour. The Zoroastrian church was unified under the Sasanians and acquired
considerable political power. Its privileged position greatly assisted the
Sasanians’ rise to power. The Sasanians and the Zoroastrian church were united
by the idea of centralization – the power of the shahanshah and of the mobadan
mobad were two expressions of the same view. The inscriptions of Kartir tes-
tify to his power and influence.94 In spite of a degree of rivalry and occasion-
ally strained relations, church and state shared the same world view and the
same aims. The state usually supported the church and often helped to eradi-
cate heresy. The church in turn supported the structure of the state, the privi-
leges of the élite, the divine right of the shahanshah and the belief in complete
obedience to him. Young people were nurtured in the ideals of the monarchy,
90. Yarshater, 1983b, p. 399.

92. Siyasat-name, 1949, pp. 34–42.
93. Ibid., pp. 35–6.
94. Yarshater, 1983a, p. xxxiv.
98

which was underpinned by and oriented towards the church.95 Ardashir I issued
the following admonition to his son Shapur I when the latter was preparing to
ascend the throne:
O my son, Religion and the State are sisters. They cannot survive without each other.
Religion is the buttress of the State and the State is its protector. And whatever is
deprived of support crashes down and whatever is not defended is lost.96
Zoroastrian temples in which the sacred flame was tended were to be found
throughout the empire. One of the principal temples was located in Atropatene
(in Azerbaijan), and in it was preserved the flame of the king and warriors.
Another principal temple was situated in Fars (the flame of the priests) and a
third in Khurasan (the flame of the farmers). A major role in the establishment
of a unified state and church was played by the mobad Kartir, whose career
began under Shapur I and reached its zenith under Shapur’s successors in the
years 273–293 when he was mobadan mobad and spiritual director of the king.97
MANICHAEISM
In the course of the third century a new religion, Manichaeism, appeared in the
Sasanian Empire (see Chapter 17). Its founder was Mani (216–276), who was
descended from a notable of Iranian stock on his mother’s side. Manichaeism,
which expanded ancient Iranian conceptions of the eternal struggle between
the kingdoms of light and darkness, also incorporated elements of Christian-
ity, Gnosticism and Buddhism. According to the teaching of the Manichaeans,
the world was a chaotic mixture of dark and light elements. In order to free
themselves from the power of the devil, human beings had to cleanse them-
selves of evil and had therefore to escape from the power of the material prin-
ciple.98 Manichaeism, which spread widely throughout Mesopotamia, Iran, the
Roman Empire and Central Asia, gradually came to resemble a kind of ‘Prot-
estantism’, and to be an ideological weapon against evil in the world.99 The
Manichaeans (Zandiks) formed the principal heretical group in the Sasanian
period and were frequently persecuted by the official church. Mani died a
martyr’s death on 20 March 276.100
Mani chose Middle Persian as the vehicle for the dissemination of his
religion in the Sasanian Empire. Appearing at the court of Shapur I, he pre-
sented the king with a book entitled the Shabuhragan [Book of Shapur], which
95. Yarshater, 1983a, p. xviii.

96. Klima, 1957, pp. 40–1.
97. Istoriya Irana, 1977, p. 110.
98. Ibid.
99. Lukonin, 1969, p. 71.
100. Klima, 1957, p. 41.
99

contains a concise exposition of Manichaean doctrine. The work was origi-

nally written by Mani in Aramaic (his native tongue) and then translated into
Middle Persian. Although all of Mani’s canonical works were subsequently
translated into Middle Persian, most of these translations have been lost.
One of Mani’s most important works is the Evangelion [Gospel], which
in the Middle Persian version has this Greek title. It comprises 22 chapters,
each of which begins with a different letter of the Aramaic alphabet. A frag-
ment of the introduction to this work has been preserved in which Mani refers
to himself as Yishoc Aryaman (an apostle). The use of such an Iranian term
indicates that the Manichaeans were concerned to make their teaching more
accessible to Zoroastrians.101
The Middle Persian versions of Mani’s other canonical works – the Niyan-
i zindagan [Treasure of Life], the Pragmateia and the Razan [Mysteries] – have
been lost. Fragments of the Book of the Giants exist in three languages: Middle
Persian, Parthian and Sogdian. A collection entitled the Epistles has been pre-
served: it consists of letters written by Mani to various preachers of his com-
munity. In order to propagate their faith, the Manichaeans borrowed several
stories and fables from India and China which subsequently reached the West.
They thus played an active role as intermediaries in the transmission to Europe
of Eastern fables.102
Most Iranian-language versions of Manichaean works have been preserved
in Sogdian and only a small proportion in Middle Persian and Parthian. There
are collections of prayers and two long psalms composed by Mani. The Parthian
text of one of these psalms, entitled the Vuzurgan Afriwan [The Blessing of the
Great], has survived in good condition. A few Sogdian and Middle Persian
fragments of this psalm have also been preserved. The second psalm, which is
called the Qsudagan Afriwan [The Blessing of the Consecration] in Parthian,
is similar to the first in structure and content.103 Several Manichaean manu-
scripts possess good illustrations and it is believed that there was a text entitled
the Ardhang which contained commentaries on pictures. Iranian-language frag-
ments of a text composed in the style of canonical tradition have also been
preserved: it is known by the Greek title Kephalaia. The Middle Persian ver-
sion of one text is a translation of a Christian apocryphal text entitled The
Shepherd of Hermes, which was borrowed by the Manichaeans and used as an
allegory of the life of man. There are also texts recounting Mani’s last meeting
with Bahram I (272–275)104 and Mani’s death105 – both by eyewitnesses and
dating from 274–276 or thereabouts. Middle Persian, Parthian and Sogdian frag-
101. Boyce, 1983b, p. 1198.

102. Henning, 1945.
103. Boyce, 1983b, p. 1200.
104. Henning, 1942.
105. Boyce, 1983b, p. 1201.
100

ments of texts have also been preserved which present the story of the
Manichaean church and Mani’s life, listing his works and recounting the early
missions of his followers.106
Some Manichaean prose works contain the rules of the Manichaean faith,
fragments of homilies and exhortations in the form of questions and answers
(a type of oral didactic literature encountered in Zoroastrian works). Certain
works (mostly in Middle Persian) have a cosmogonic content. The fragment of
a creed, works on astronomy and calendars are also extant.107 A large number
of Manichaean texts are hymns, poetic works performed to music. Two long
cycles of Manichaean hymns in Middle Persian entitled the Gowisn ig Griw
Zindag and the Gowisn ig Griw Rosn are dedicated to the embodiment of the
Manichaean deity: this is referred to as ‘the living being itself’ and, according
to Manichaean beliefs, embodied all elements of light scattered throughout the
world.
Middle Persian Manichaean literature is notable for the eclecticism of its
content, structure and style. Manichaean hymns, which were influenced by the
ancient Iranian tradition (especially the Parthian texts), may be considered as
something akin to poetry.108 Art, poetry and language developed in all the areas
to which Manichaeism spread, particularly where it became the state religion,
if only for a limited period of time. But Manichaeism was a blatant heresy from
the Zoroastrian viewpoint. It was also perceived as such by the other religions
which, although alien to each other, united in the struggle against the
Manichaeans.109
Religion and the law

The history of religious struggles under the Sasanians throws light on the under-
lying causes of many events involving politics and ideology. The persecution
of reformers and heretics – at times, intense; at others, less harsh – is an indi-
cation of the state religion’s desire to maintain its supremacy. For Iranian
Zoroastrians there was an intimate connection between law and religion. Evi-
dence of this is provided by the Madigan-i hazar dadestan [Book of a Thou-
sand Judicial Decisions], which was written in Middle Persian in c. 620 and has
survived in a single manuscript. Its author, Farrukhmard, from the town of
Gur in the province of Ardashir-Khvarreh, was a contemporary of Khusrau II.
As codified law did not exist in Sasanian Iran, the book cannot be considered
a legal code. It is one of the collections that were compiled as manuals for the
106. Boyce, 1983b, pp. 1201–2; Sundermann, 1971a; 1971b; 1974.

107. Henning, 1947; Boyce, 1983b, p. 1202.
108. Boyce, 1983b, pp. 1203–4.
109. Bausani, 1965, pp. 50–1.
101

administration of justice. In addition to general information about the rights

of specific state departments and officials, such manuals contained passages
from official edicts and decrees. In the specialist literature, the Madigan has
become known as the ‘Sasanian Legal Code’. It has been established that some
of the sources of this and similar codes of laws of the Sasanian period reflect
statutes recorded in the legal nasks (precepts) of the Avesta and in the com-
mentaries on those nasks, the so-called chastaqs. The Code contains references
to certain edicts of Kavad I (488–531) and Khusrau I; it also contains a remark-
able instruction concerning the appropriation by the royal treasury of the prop-
erty of the Manichaeans and their followers. In compiling the Code,
Farrukhmard made use of legal records from the town of Gur as well as private
legal documents.
It is possible to reconstitute practically the entire system of Iranian law
on the basis of the mass of information contained in the Code. Its content also
contributes to an understanding of other Pahlavi texts including the Denkard,
the Dadestan-i denig, the andarz and rivayat and a number of Middle Persian
and Parthian epigraphic texts. The text of the Code is also important for the
study of the Ishobokht [Code of Laws], which has survived in a Syriac transla-
tion and contains legal norms of the Christian communities in Sasanian Iran;
and for the study of the Babylonian Talmud, which describes the law of the
Jewish communities of the Sasanian Empire.110
There were sizeable Jewish communities in the towns of Mesopotamia
and Iran: that in Iran was self-governing and was generally not persecuted by
the Sasanians.111 The sage Samuel was a trusted adviser of Shapur I, and the
mother of Shapur II lent her support to the Jewish rabbis. The only outbreak
of persecution directed against the Jews occurred during the reign of Yazdgird II
(438–457), particularly in Isfahan which was the centre of the Jewish commu-
nity, but it was of short duration. Nevertheless some Jews subsequently emi-
grated to Arabia and India.112
110. Perikhanyan, 1973, pp. xiii–xxiv.

111. Istoriya Irana, 1977, p. 111.
112. Klima, 1957, p. 44.
102

4
T H E K U S H A N O -S A S A N I A N KINGDOM*
A. H. Dani and B. A. Litvinsky
I
n the early centuries of the Christian era the names of two great empires
stand out boldly in the history of Central Asia. The first was Kushanshahr,
named after the Great Kushan emperors, who held sway from the Amu
Darya (Oxus) valley to the Indus and at times as far as the Ganges. Here flour-
ished the traditions of the Kushans, who had brought together the political,
economic, social and religious currents of the time from the countries with
which they had dealings (see Chapter 7). The second great empire (which rose
to challenge Kushan power) was Eranshahr, which expanded both westward
and eastward under the new Sasanian dynasty. Its eastern advance shook Kushan
power to its foundation.
State organization and administration

According to Cassius Dio (LXXX, 4) and Herodian (VI, 2.2), Ardashir I (226–
241), who waged many wars, intended to reconquer those lands which had origi-
nally belonged to the Persians. He defeated the Parthian kings and conquered
Mesopotamia – an event which led to his wars with the Romans. It is more
difficult to judge his conquests in the east. According to the inscription of Shapur I
(241–271) at Naqsh-i Rustam, ‘under the rule of shahanshah [king of kings]
Ardashir’ were Satarop, king of Abrenak (i.e. Abarshahr, or Nishapur, in
Khurasan), as well as the kings of Merv, of the Sakas and of Kerman, all of whom
were called ‘Ardashir’.1 But al-Tabari’s information is different. He describes the
* See Map 2.
1. The inscription text (Frye, 1984, p. 272). Earlier editions: Honigmann and Maricq, 1953;
Sprengling, 1953. The first author pointed out the difference in the titles of Ardashir I and
Shapur I in 1979. Nöldeke has expressed his opinion that information from other sources
concerning Ardashir’s conquests in the east (al-Tabari in particular) is much exaggerated
(Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, S.17–18).
103
CentAsiaIII-Chap04/05 103 3/12/96, 11:30

conquest of Seistan (modern Sistan), Abarshahr, Merv, Balkh and Khwarizm ‘up
to the farthermost borders of countries of Khurasan’. Then he writes that en-
voys of the Kushans, of Turan and of Makran came to Ardashir and offered their
submission.2 Shapur’s dominions in the east undoubtedly reached Merv and
Seistan. To study the problem, Harmatta has used Greek, Latin and Armenian
sources for the conquests of Ardashir I in the east against the background of all
the wars that he waged; he has also taken into consideration the chronology of
the Roman-Sasanian wars. His conclusions support al-Tabari’s information.
Ardashir’s military activity in the west lasted from 224 to 232.3
Harmatta4 has rightly argued that after the conquest by Ardashir I, the
western part of the former Kushan Empire became a vassal kingdom under the
Sasanians, and subsequently a province governed by the Sasanian prince-
governors. These prince-governors issued coins as Kushanshahs (kings of the
Kushans). At a later stage, the king of Kabul formed a marriage alliance with
Hormizd II (303–309).
During the rule of Shapur I, Ardashir’s son and heir, the power of the
Sasanians in the east increased. This is demonstrated by the titles of Shapur I
and the inscription on the Kacbe of Zoroaster, according to which:
the state of Shapur I, ‘shahanshah of Iran and non-Iran’, included Varkan [modern
Gurgan], Merv, Harev [Herat], the whole of Abarshahr, Kerman, Segistan [Sistan],
Turan [near Kalat in Baluchistan], Makuran [Makran], Paradan [near Quetta],
Hindustan [Sind], Kusansahr up to Puskabur [Peshawar] and up to the boundaries of
Kas [Kashghar or Kesh], Sughd and Sas [Tashkent]’ (SKZ, 2).5
Under Shapur I, the south-eastern provinces were united administratively and

the country was called ‘Sind, Segistan and Turistan as far as the sea shore’. Narseh
(293–303), the son of Shapur I, was appointed ruler and he received the title of
sk’n MLK’ (the king of the Sakas). The main dynastic line of the Great Kushans
from Kanishka I had come to an end, but another line of Eastern Kushans con-
2. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, S.17–18; Frye, 1984, p. 295. However, Nöldeke and Frye suppose that
most of the events took place during the rule of Ardashir’s successor, Shapur I.
3. According to Harmatta, ‘the main target of Ardashir’s eastern campaign was apparently the
Kuqana Empire’. The king made his campaign to the east in 233–235 and the Sasanian invasion
of Bactria occurred in 233 (Harmatta, 1965, pp. 186–94). But Maricq believes that the eastern
campaign took place at the beginning of Ardashir’s I reign (Honigmann and Maricq, 1953,
p. 106). We cannot establish the matter with certainty, but Harmatta’s interpretation seems the
most convincing.
4. Harmatta, 1969, pp. 386–8.
5. Some scholars (Lukonin, 1969a, pp. 29–30; Zeimal, 1968, pp. 92–100) doubt the reliability of
the inscription concerning the description of the territory controlled by the Sasanians. In their
opinion the enumeration of provinces was only a pretence, and these lands were not really
included in the state of Shapur. However, other scholars (Harmatta, 1969, pp. 420–9; Livshits,
1969, p. 56) consider that the inscription on the Kacbe of Zoroaster is a reliable historical source
and all these lands, including Kushanshahr, were included in the Sasanian Empire.
104

The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom
tinued to rule (see Chapter 7) in Gandhara and the Indus valley. On this inter-
pretation, only the northern part of the Kushan Empire came under the direct
rule of the Sasanian prince-governors.
A great number of Kushano-Sasanian coins6 connected with the Sasanian
domains in the east have been found in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
They may be divided into three groups.7 The first group was minted according
to the model of the Kushan coins of Vasudeva. They are represented by both
bronze and gold coins. On the obverse there is a figure of a standing king, each
with a distinctive crown on his head and a legend consisting of the name and
the title Kahano Kaho (shahanshah) (Fig. 1) of the ruler. On the reverse there is
a representation of Shiva and his vehicle, Nandi (the bull), with the legend,
borzaoando iazado (the exalted deity) (Fig. 2). These coins were minted at Balkh
and perhaps also at other centres (the mint name Bahlo for Balkh occurs on the
obverse of some issues).
The second group, also struck in bronze and gold, follow the Sasanian
pattern. On the obverse they have a portrait of the ruler with his own indi-
vidual crown (there are at least eight types of crown). On the reverse a fire altar
is represented. These coins were minted in Merv and Herat; the language of the
inscription is Middle Persian, written in Pahlavi script.
The third group consists of bronze coins that are much thicker and often
of irregular shape. Their portraits are similar to those of the second group. The
language of the inscription is Middle Persian, in Pahlavi script on some issues,
in the Bactrian alphabet on others. Many of these coins have been found in
Pakistan and it has been suggested that they were issued and circulated there.
However, they have also been found to the north of the Hindu Kush and in
Tajikistan.
On the basis of the coinage, the following list of the Kushano-Sasanian
kings can be established:8
Ardashir I Kushanshah
Ardashir II Kushanshah
Peroz I Kushanshah
Hormizd I Kushanshah
Peroz II Kushanshah
Hormizd II Kushanshah (continued on page 108)
6. Cunningham, 1893; Bivar, 1956; 1979; Herzfeld, 1930; Lukonin, 1967; 1969a, pp. 39–40; Cribb,
1981; Zeimal, 1983, pp. 257–61; Göbl, 1984, pp. 70–86; Trever and Lukonin, 1987, pp. 64–9;
Harmatta, 1969, pp. 385–7, 430; and others have contributed to their study.
7. Lukonin has suggested that the first group should be called ‘Sasanian-Kushan’, the second
‘Kushano-Sasanian’ and the third ‘the Group of Kavadh’ (Lukonin, 1967).
8. Some scholars have pointed out that the name of Hormizd on the coins corresponds to that of
Hormizd II (302–309), shahanshah of Iran. This provides a number of synchronisms while
typological analysis has made it possible to identify the context of other coins. The concept
was developed in detail by Herzfeld, 1930, and Bivar, 1979.
105

FIG. 1. Kushano-Sasanian coins (obverse).

106

FIG. 2. Kushano-Sasanian coins (reverse).

107

Varahran I Kushanshah
Varahran II Kushanshah.
However, Lukonin and his followers have advanced a number of serious argu-
ments against this sequence and its chronology. His outline agrees with that of
Göbl.9
Economy, society and trade

Several excavations undertaken in Kushanshahr provide ample material to re-
construct different aspects of contemporary life. The economic base may be
inferred from the currency. Although gold and silver coins are known for sev-
eral Kushano-Sasanian prince-governors, it is the copper coinage that was widely
current to meet the local demands of the population. Herzfeld has shown that
gold continued to circulate in international markets, as it did in the time of the
Great Kushans.10 This must be due to the continuity of trade that followed the
Silk Route as in the earlier period. The only change was that whereas the
Kushans had earlier controlled this trade, it was now the Sasanians who, in
spite of their wars with the Romans, were in charge of the principal flow of
goods. Movements of the nomads in the east may have hampered the move-
ment of caravans but the excavated materials suggest that goods were still freely
exchanged from one country to another.
The best evidence for such international trade contacts comes from
Begram, Taxila and Dalverzin-tepe, where imported goods from several coun-
tries have been found together. As Ghirshman rightly remarks:
There was a transit trade in spices from China and Arabia, and nard and pepper were
exported from India. International trade encouraged the growth of colonies of mer-
chants, particularly Jews and Syrians, who established themselves as far afield as In-
dia, Turkestan, Brittany and the Black Sea. The exporting houses became more spe-
cialized, and confined their dealings to cor, cattle, and manufactured goods.11
Another indication of the extent of international contacts is provided by the

free movement of missionaries, Christians, Manichaeans and Buddhists, who
travelled long distances from the eastern Sasanian provinces across Transcaucasia
to Xinjiang along the frequented routes and promulgated their faiths.
9. According to Lukonin, the conquest of the Kushan lands falls in the last decade of Shapur II
(309–379) and the investiture relief of Ardashir II (379–383) at Taq-i Bustan represents the
victory of the Sasanian shahanshah over the last Kushan king. Göbl comes to very similar
conclusions but dates the beginning of the coinage to an earlier period – 356 – in his major
work (1984). Other hypotheses refer the Kushano-Sasanian coinage to the fourth century. It is
not possible to resolve the problem at present. However, the present author (Dani) supports
Bivar’s system and chronology.
10. Herzfeld, 1930.
11. Ghirshman, 1954, pp. 342–3.
108

The social picture of Kushanshahr is extremely complicated because of

the movements of several nomadic tribes into the territories ruled by the
Kushano-Sasanian governors. The picture will not be complete unless we start
a little earlier and follow the process of migration until the coming of the
Hephthalites.
Religious life
As the evidence of the coins clearly shows, the Zoroastrian faith, the tradi-
tional religion preserved in the province of Fars, enjoyed great popularity among
the Kushano-Sasanians. Cults of Anahita and Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda) con-
tinued to occupy a prominent place in Fars after the Sasanians came to power.
In both south-western Iran and the north-east there were great sanctuaries
served by priests. The influence of Zoroastrianism can be inferred from the
representation of fire altars on the coins. The most important sanctuary of fire
worship is that excavated at Surkh Kotal, which although originally built by
the Kushan emperor Kanishka, was still in good repair during this period. The
influence of Zoroastrianism can also be seen in Gandhara sculpture where fire
worship is depicted; and fire temples have been excavated at Kara-tepe. The
Zoroastrian religion in Bactria must have been reinforced by the expansion of
the Sasanian Empire.
It was in this period that the cult of Mithra flourished. On the Kushano-
Sasanian coins, we find the Bactrian legend, borzaoando iazado (Middle Per-
sian: bwld’wndy yzty). Initially, this title was given to the Indian god Shiva but
he soon received the nimbus with rays around his head like Mithra. Mithra
was apparently regarded as a divine protector of the Kushano-Sasanian rulers
and gave them their power.12
Ghirshman13 mentions ‘an imperial religion’, the need for which he sees
in the rise of Shapur I. The Sasanian emperor ‘needed to mobilize all his na-
tional forces for the struggle with Rome’; hence ‘the sympathetic interest shown
by Shapur to the teachings of Mani’ (for Manichaeism, see Chapters 3 and 17).
But the real patron of Mani was the young Peroz, by whom he was probably
introduced to Shapur. Mani was of noble birth and like other prophets he
claimed to have been sent by God to fulfil the mission of earlier religions. ‘He
preached a universal religion’ and ‘derived his doctrines from the cults of
Babylonia and Iran and also from Buddhism and Christianity.’14
According to Ghirshman, ‘In the East, Buddhism [had been] at the height
of [its] expansion’ since the time of the Kushans. ‘In the West, centres of
12. Lukonin, 1987, p. 138.

13. Ghirshman, 1954, pp. 309–10.
14. Lukonin, 1987, pp. 69–70.
109

Christianity had sprung up in northern Mesopotamia and Judaism was active

in Babylonia.’ Thus Zoroastrianism was squeezed by all these surrounding re-
ligions within its home province of Fars; and when Manichaeism challenged its
position even here, there was a violent reaction. ‘Mani was tried, condemned
and put to death. His followers were persecuted and fled abroad, some to the
East, where their teachings flourished in Central Asia.’15
How far was Zoroastrianism preserved in the Kushano-Sasanian king-
dom? There is ample evidence to show the widespread popularity of the fire
cult and some scholars even maintain that the followers of Zoroastrianism per-
secuted Buddhists. Ohrmazd was still worshipped, however, and the dogmas,
with their emphasis on a single divinity, were upheld. The mobads (high priests)
accepted the traditions of south-western Iran, and along with them continued
the worship of Anahita and Mithra, although they were given a secondary place.
The old sacred traditions were put in writing in the form of the Avesta in the
fourth century. Strengthened by its religious organization, ‘Zoroastrianism was
able to drive out Manichaeism and hold Christianity in check on the line of the
Euphrates and Buddhism on the Helmand.’16
Buddhist missionaries, on the other hand, continued to exert their influ-
ence throughout the whole of Afghanistan and Central Asia. Their famous
centres at Ghazni, Kabul, Bamiyan, Balkh and Termez maintained continuous
contact with the centres in Gandhara, and central and East Turkestan. It seems
very likely that Buddhism itself was undergoing a great change in its practices,
ideological concepts and rituals. With the acceptance of the image of the Bud-
dha and the expansion of Buddhism and Buddhist monasteries, the educational
character of the saNgha (Buddhist community) had taken on a new shape. The
place of the Bodhisattvas and several other local deities had greatly increased.
But Buddhism was not alone in this new expansion. The evidence of coins sug-
gests that the popularity of Shiva and Nandi had caught the popular imagina-
tion. At the same time, the seated goddess Ardokhsho had begun to be identi-
fied either with Lakshmi or with Hariti, the queen of the yakshis. Other Hindu
deities such as Karttikeya, Baladeva and Vasudeva were also prominent and the
worship of the sun god remained important.
Funerary practices such as corpse position and the burial of bones stripped
of flesh and soft tissue (which clearly refer to Bactrian Zoroastrian rites) pro-
vide important evidence for the religious beliefs of the local population. Buri-
als took place in special structures (known as naus) as well as in ruins of old
buildings. There were also burials in graves in the shape of pits. These are all a
direct continuation of funerary rites of the Kushan period.17
15. Ghirshman, 1954, pp. 314–18.

16. Ibid., p. 318.
17. Litvinsky and Sedov, 1984, pp. 75–137.
110

Cities, architecture, art and crafts

Begram, Dalverzin-tepe, Kara-tepe and Surkh Kotal were among the principal
foundations of the time of the Great Kushans. While Begram was the summer
capital, Kara-tepe presents a group of caves, stupas and monasteries and Surkh
Kotal preserved its character of a fire temple (probably built by Kanishka). As
the excavations showed, Begram was sacked by Shapur I in c. 244 but the city
continued to exist afterwards and to play a role. The Buddhist complex of Kara-
tepe was also deserted at some moment when the Kushano-Sasanians occupied
it, but the discovery of Kushano-Sasanian coins and later construction pro-
vides evidence of its subsequent continuity as a religious centre. Similarly, Surkh
Kotal preserved its character.
Kara-tepe18 presents a typical model of cultural material that is syncretistic
in nature. In original concept, the Buddhist caves and monasteries copy the type
that is so well known in Gandhara. Staviskiy sums up: ‘The Kara-Tepe excava-
tions brought to light wall paintings, stone and stucco (ganch in local terminol-
ogy), sculpture, terracottas, and pottery, metal ware and coins, inscriptions on
pottery and graffiti on the walls of the caves and their entrance niches.’ The
structures constitute a complex of caves, a courtyard and some grand buildings.
The ensemble is divided into four groups, A, B, C and D. Groups A and B
originally formed a single complex with three courtyards, placed next to one
another on a terrace along the eastern slope. In the northern courtyard, the
remains of a stupa have come to light, while the central and southern courtyards
were bordered with porticoes. South of the southern courtyard was a Buddhist
temple, consisting of a cella surrounded by three corridors. The cave temples
consisted of a cella and a vaulted corridor that encircled it. The walls in most
surface and cave premises of groups A and B were painted over the plaster.
A fire altar stood in an attached niche with a shell-shaped back wall: the
existence of a fire altar in a Buddhist structure is most striking. It resembles
those of the Kushan period found in Gyaur-kala in Khwarizm and Samarkand.
Staviskiy remarks that ‘altars of this kind were used by fire worshippers, and
in temples of the local Mazdean cults, and also in early Buddhist structures’.
They survived up to the period of the Arab conquest. Staviskiy notes:
After the complex B was destroyed or had fallen into abandonment, a fire altar was
built in the niche which had previously held a Buddhist statue. It was made hastily,
out of materials that were at hand and symbolized the victory of some other cults
(most likely Zoroastrianism) over Buddhism.19
Part of the wall-painting shows a figure of the Buddha seated under a tree with
three standing monks, close in execution to the Indian style. Here the Buddha
18. Staviskiy, 1984, pp. 95–135.

19. Ibid., p. 114.
111

has a halo around the body, probably of local Bactrian origin. Numerous stone
and stucco fragments have been found which originally formed part of the
decoration. Staviskiy concludes:
Stupas and cave premises (A and B complexes) were derived from India, along with
Buddhism, whereas the planning of the cave temples is alien to the ancient Indian
tradition and is rather to be traced to the religious architecture of the Middle East,
where similar fire temples could be found consisting of a cella and the corridors en-
circling it. As to the temple courtyards of Kara-tepe, they go back to the Rhodian
type east Hellenistic courtyards that had become common in Bactria and the neigh-
bouring Parthia already in third–second centuries B.C.20
It may be noted that Buddhist temples of the type seen in Kara-tepe, particu-
larly the planning and the representation of the Buddha with the nimbus and
halo around the whole body, became common in East Turkestan and also in
Eastern Asia during the post-Kushan period.
Many other cities and settlements are known where life developed in the
Kushano-Sasanian period on the territory of Bactria (Tokharistan). At the Yavan
site in southern Tajikistan, for example, a section of a small street was unearthed
on the citadel. On each side there was a solid area of large house blocks with
many rooms. These houses consisted of individual, interconnected premises.
Walls were erected from pakhsa blocks (pakhsa is a local term for blocks of
rammed clay mixed with finely chopped straw) and clay bricks. The structures
probably had two storeys.21 The structures at the site of Halkajar, on the hills
of southern Tajikistan, are similar to those at Yavan. A good collection of
terracottas was made from here.22
Dalverzin-tepe, in the Surkhan Darya region (southern Uzbekistan), was
a large city under the Kushans; but towards the end of the period, the main
parts of the city and its fortifications were neglected. However, buildings DT-
6 and DT-7 and the temple in the northern part of the city continued to func-
tion, as did the potter’s quarter with its kilns. The naus of Dalverzin continued
to fill with funerary deposits, although burials were also found outside the naus.
Kushano-Sasanian copper coins have been discovered at the site. Thus it is clear
that the city continued to be inhabited in the traditional manner, although ac-
tivity was not as intense as before.23
Zar-tepe, another large city in the Surkhan Darya region, is of consider-
able interest. Its heyday was in the Kushan period, but subsequently its forti-
fications fell into disrepair. In the centre of the city stood a palace-type com-
plex with two halls: one was four-columned (13 × 9.3 m); the other was
20. Staviskiy, 1984, p. 133.

21. Zeimal, 1975, pp. 267–9; Litvinsky, 1973, pp. 14–17.
22. Sedov, 1987, pp. 80–4.
23. Pugachenkova et al., 1978.
112

twelve-columned (17.6 × 9.2 m), with an aiwan (hall) in front. During the last
period, brick pedestal-supports for a fire altar were constructed between the
columns. The halls adjoined other rooms where fragments of painted clay sculp-
tures have been found. Zar-tepe had a Buddhist shrine, a large structure deco-
rated with clay sculptures of which one head is preserved. Buddhism was not
the only religion of the urban population, however.
A number of residential districts have been excavated. Blocks of adjoin-
ing houses were discovered on both sides of the street, each block consisting of
8–11 interconnected buildings. Every block was separated from its neighbour
by a narrow street at right angles to the main road. In one of the house blocks
a shrine was also found with, in its centre, a fire altar standing on a square
platform. Similar shrines have been found at other sites. Here again, Kushano-
Sasanian coins were discovered in the upper level.24
Kay Kobad Shah, the ancient capital of the Kobadian district, continued
to exist under the Kushano-Sasanians, its fifth and last period of existence be-
ing separated from the previous occupation by a sterile layer.25 Alongside the
large cities a great number of villages and other settlements existed. In addi-
tion, cult buildings, burial monuments and other constructions have also been
excavated. Even in the small Kobadian oasis many Kushano-Sasanian archaeo-
logical complexes have been recorded, in particular at the sites of Kay Kobad
Shah, Ak-tepe II, Darakhsha-tepe, Klych-duval, Shodmon-kala and Munchak-
tepe, where sanctuaries, burials, remains of irrigation works and other struc-
tures have been found.26
Among cult buildings, mention should be made of the monastery of
Ushtur-Mulla, near the Amu Darya river. The monastery consisted of 26 build-
ings which surrounded a square courtyard. In the middle of the north side
was a shrine with a Π-shaped circumbulatory corridor. There were small resi-
dential cells for individual monks and a large hall for saNgha (congregational)
meetings. The shrine was decorated with paintings and alabaster sculptures.
Outside the complex was a stupa, the base of which was faced with stone
reliefs.27
Another site of this period is Chaqalaq-tepe, in northern Afghanistan,
which had an oval plan and was surrounded by two circles of city walls made
of pakhsa. Its two lowest layers were dated by coins to the Kushan period. The
307 coins in the upper levels included 72 imitations of coins of Vasudeva and a
coin of the Sasanian Kushanshah, Varahran II.28 Village sites have also been
excavated, such as Durman-tepe, where two small hoards of Kushano-Sasanian
24. Masson, 1976; Zavyalov, 1979.

25. Dyakonov, 1953, pp. 276, 289.
26. Sedov, 1987, pp. 11–48.
27. Zeimal, 1987.
28. Mizuno (ed.), 1970.
113

coins were discovered.29 So, during the Kushano-Sasanian period life contin-
ued in the cities and villages to the north (that is to say, in ‘right-bank’ Bactria)
and south of the Amu Darya.
The number of sites in both northern and southern Bactria with settle-
ments of the Kushano-Sasanian period is extremely large;30 there were also some
in central Afghanistan, particularly in the Kabul region. Two Buddhist monas-
teries have been discovered at Tepe Maranjan (Kabul), in one of which a hoard
of 326 silver Sasanian coins and 12 gold Kushano-Sasanian coins was found.31
Some of the architectural features of the period have been mentioned
above. There were established categories of architectural structure: palaces,
common residential quarters and various types of cult buildings, including
Buddhist monasteries both in caves and on the ground. There were also build-
ings serving technical functions such as water-reservoirs and workshops. Monu-
mental structures and ordinary everyday buildings existed side by side. They
differed greatly in the quality of their construction. Pakhsa, especially for wall
foundations, and square mud-bricks were the most common materials; baked
bricks and stone were used more rarely, mainly for paving and for the pedes-
tals of column-bases. Roofs were usually flat, and in small buildings the beams
rested across the tops of the walls. In large buildings, however, columns were
also used. Vaults and domes were known. For the transition from the square
ground plan to the circular dome, squinches were adopted. All kinds of pas-
sages and niches had arches. The wall surface was covered with one or more
layers of plaster. The interiors both of monumental secular buildings and of
cult buildings were decorated with wall-paintings and sculpture.
There were two trends in the art of the time: Buddhist art developed from
traditions going back to the art of Gandhara with local features, whereas non-
Buddhist art displayed a complex fusion of local and Sasanian traditions. This
latter feature is well seen in the sculptures and wall-paintings from Dilberjin.32
Especially interesting are the wall-paintings from structure 12 of the north-
east cult complex. The largest fragment represents a figure on a yellow throne,
sitting frontally with knees apart. This pose is typical of representations of
Sasanian kings and gods enthroned. The arms also are kept apart and there is
an object, possibly a mirror, in one hand. The left hand is resting upon a shield.
The figure is dressed in a loose shirt and there is a belt around the waist. A
cloak is thrown over the shoulders and there is a golden helmet on the head.
Black plaits hang beneath the helmet and the head is surrounded by a yellow
nimbus. (The presence of the nimbus indicates that the figure represents a de-
ity.) Two yellow horn-shaped objects project from behind the shoulders. On
29. Mizuno (ed.), 1968.

30. Sedov, 1987, pp. 11–48, 78–95; Ball and Gardin, 1982, especially p. 483, Map 67.
31. Curiel, 1953; Hackin, 1953; Fussman and Le Berre, 1976, pp. 95–9.
32. Kruglikova, 1976, pp. 96–100, Figs. 56–8.
114

each side there are two standing personages turning towards the deity and a
number of smaller figures. The outermost personage of the right-hand group
is only half as large as the other standing figures. The contours are traced with
a thin black line. The painter understood the application of light and shade,
and although frontal representation is a dominant feature of this style, profile
figures are slightly inclined to the front.
This painting is a fusion of several traditions. The form of the helmet
reflects that of Antiquity. There are strong connections with the subsequent
paintings in Tokharistan at Balalyk-tepe and Kala-i Kafirnigan. This provides
clear evidence that a local Bactrian art existed and was developed in Bactria
during Kushano-Sasanian times, although it absorbed other traditions and was
powerfully influenced by official Sasanian art.
Fine specimens of metal-working of the Kushano-Sasanian period are
known. In Sasanian toreutics, Lukonin has singled out an ‘East Iranian School’
which he ascribes to masters at the court of the Kushanshahs. Among works of
this school he lists five silver dishes, upon each of which an equestrian hunt is
represented. The dish in the Hermitage Museum is remarkable (Fig. 3). It de-
picts a rider, hunting wild boar. One beast has already been struck by the rid-
er’s sword, the other is emerging from the undergrowth. On the rider’s head
there is a crown with spiral horns. The crown resembles in general terms that
of Varahran II Kushanshah. The surface of the images is gilded and there is a
Sogdian inscription of the fifth–sixth centuries on the dish, providing an upper
limit for the date. Lukonin concludes that Kushano-Sasanian metal-work fol-
lows the general trends of Sasanian art, particularly in the choice of subjects
such as heroic hunting scenes, but the composition differs in exercising more
freedom.33 The orientation of Kushano-Sasanian metal-work towards Sasanian
art can be explained by its court character.
The minor arts are mostly represented by terracotta figurines. Only oc-
casional examples follow the traditions of Sasanian art, especially those of
Sasanian portraiture. Bactrian features emerge in the foreground in this rather
popular art. Craft industry, especially pottery, was highly developed. There are
examples of table-services, storage jars and kitchen ware. Some types were
developed from those used in Kushan times, but new types continued to emerge.
The ornament of vessels changed, and became more concentrated towards the
top of the vessel.
Everyday utensils, ritual objects, mirrors of several types, buckles and
ornaments were made of bronze. Tools and weapons were made of iron. Pins,
combs and similar items were made of bone and there were beads, and vessels
made of glass. A large quantity of jewellery was inlaid with a variety of pre-
cious stones. Armourers produced composite bows, arrowheads, daggers,
swords, lances and plates of armour. The shape of certain types of weapon
33. Trever and Lukonin, 1987, pp. 61–73, 108, Pl. 14 (7), 15 (7).
115

changed, especially the triangular arrowheads, which developed a groove be-

hind the point.34
Languages and scripts

It is only possible to judge the language of the Bactrians in ancient times by
personal names. The situation changes, however, in the first centuries A.D. The
discovery of the inscriptions at Surkh Kotal, and then other inscriptions, espe-
cially in Central Asia, has allowed scholars35 to determine the peculiarities of
the Bactrian language. It belongs to the group of East Iranian languages, more
precisely to the north-eastern group. There is a marked similarity with the
modern Munji language, which is probably a continuation of one of the Bactrian
dialects. Bactrian represents the Middle Iranian stage.
Written Bactrian used an adaptation of the Greek alphabet, with an addi-
tional 25th letter, san, which reproduced the sound s. The Greek writing re-
produced the Bactrian phonetics only approximately, although certain meth-
ods of Greek orthography were transferred into Bactrian and Greek scribes
apparently took part in creating the Bactrian writing-system. Initially its let-
ters were of lapidary or ‘monumental’ style, but later a cursive form was devel-
oped. In spite of the Sasanian conquest, Bactrian scribes continued to work in
Balkh and other centres. By the third century the transition from a lapidary to
a cursive style was completed. Round-shaped letters and the presence of liga-
tures are characteristics of the cursive style. Kushano-Sasanian coin legends, as
well as the inscriptions on wall-paintings from Dilberjin, are of this type. Some
of them can be referred to the third–fourth centuries. The inscriptions include
explanations of the content of the paintings.36
In the state of the Kushanshahs, apart from high officials and military
personnel, there were inevitably natives of Iran, including both scribes and
marginally literate persons. It is quite natural that they wrote their Middle
Persian in Pahlavi script37 (see Chapter 3), so that some issues of the Kushano-
Sasanian coinage (see above) have Middle Persian inscriptions in Pahlavi script.
At the Buddhist complex of Kara-tepe (Termez), Middle Persian inscriptions
in Pahlavi script (written in the monumental style without ligatures) were found
on the cave-walls. Specific palaeographic features suggest that these inscrip-
tions go back to the fourth–fifth centuries rather than to the third. One
34. For details, see Sedov, 1987.

35. Maricq, 1958; 1960; Henning, 1958; 1960; Gershevitch, 1967; Humbach, 1966–67; Harmatta,
1964; 1965; 1969; Livshits, 1969; 1975; 1976; Fussman, 1974; Steblin-Kamenskiy, 1981; Lazard
et al., 1984.
36. Livshits, 1976.
37. Saleman, 1900; Nyberg, 1964; 1974; Rastorgueva, 1966; MacKenzie, 1971; Gignoux, 1972;
Rastorgueva and Molchanova, 1981.
116

FIG. 3. Silver dish. (Photo: © Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.)
inscription originally had a date, but it is now destroyed. Another bore the
one-line record, zyk dpyr (Zik, the scribe).38 There are also inscriptions in
Gandhari Prakrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.
Most inscriptions of the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian periods come
from Termez, in particular from the Buddhist monasteries of Kara-tepe and
Fayaz-tepe. They are written in the Kharoqthi and Brahmi scripts, mostly on
38. Lukonin, 1969b.
117

potsherds. In Kara-tepe alone over 100 potsherds with inscriptions were dis-
covered, besides 7 wall graffiti.39 The use of both scripts was current at the
same time.
The Brahmi alphabet has indications for the vowels. The consonants with
the inherent a are divided into twenty-five mutes, falling into five classes, four
semi-vowels, three sibilants, one aspirate, one pure nasal and three voiceless
spirants. The combination of vowels and consonants is represented by liga-
tures. According to Dani: ‘This alphabetic system is maintained in India with
minor additions or omissions down to the present day, though it is not pho-
netically suited to the various provincial languages in India.’ The evolution of
Brahmi continued for many centuries. Considerable changes took place dur-
ing the first–fourth centuries, among which the introduction of new forms of
signs should be mentioned. Brahmi is read from left to right, the same direc-
tion as that of European alphabets.40
As Dani explains: ‘The whole system of Kharoqthi follows the pattern of
Aramaic. The resemblance is not so much in the identity of forms, though a
few letters are the same, but in the way in which these forms are produced.’41
The palaeography of Central Asian inscriptions in Kharoqthi has its own pecu-
liarities. There are two types of inscription, one following the tradition of stone
inscriptions, with typical straight lines, the other resembling the manuscripts
of Central Asia.42
As Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya observes:
It is also important to point out the differences between the wording of the Kharoqthi
and Brahmi inscriptions of Kara-tepe. Most of the Kharoqthi inscriptions are based
on a traditional formula indicating the donor, the gift, the recipient, almost resem-
bling an incantation formula. However, the Brahmi inscriptions, even though a dedi-
cation, mention a saNgha, vihara [monastery] or school. They are focused on the
donor and his attributes. Others again serve as indications of the individual use of a
vessel.43
The inscriptions from Fayaz-tepe are similar:44
The comparison of Indian inscriptions on the territory of Central Asia with those
from India and Afghanistan shows that as a rule they were worded according to a
general pattern. The palaeography of the Kara-tepe and Fayaz-tepe inscriptions con-
firms the presence of a standard scribal tradition for the entire Kushan territory.45
39. Vertogradova, 1983, p. 3.

40. Dani, 1963, pp. 75–104.
41. Ibid., pp. 265–7.
42. Vertogradova, 1982, pp. 150–1.
43. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, 1983, p. 24.
44. Vertogradova, 1984, p. 167.
45. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, 1983, pp. 51–2.
118

5
THE KIDARITE KINGDOM

IN CENTRAL ASIA*
E. V. Zeimal
Origin and rise of the Kidarites

The fourth century witnessed the appearance in Central Asia of a new wave of
nomadic tribes known by a variety of names and recorded in numerous sources.
By the Latin authors they were called Chionites, and by the Greek authors
Kidarite Huns or ‘Huns who are Kidarites’; in Indian chronicles they were
known as Huna, in Armenian literature as both Honk‘ and Kushans, and in the
Chinese annals as the Ta Yüeh-chih, or Lesser Yüeh-chih (i.e. the same name
that denoted their forerunners in those lands, who founded the Kushan Empire).
Their ruler was called Kidara or Chi-to-lo (Ancient Chinese, kjie-tâ-lâ). The
use of different names sometimes makes it difficult to evaluate the information
provided by the written sources1 and to reconstruct a general historical picture.
An important prerequisite is to make a clear distinction between the Kidarites
and another tribal group known as the Hephthalites (Hua, I-ta, Hep’tal, Tetal,
Hephtal, Abdel and Hayatila in the sources; see also Chapter 6).2
The terms Huns and Chionites seem to reflect the general ethnic appel-
lation of this people,3 whereas Kidarites should be understood as a dynastic
designation derived from the name of their king, Kidara. Kushan (widely used
in the Armenian sources to designate the tribes and state of the Huns) and Ta
* See Map 3.
1. Of the existing works, the most significant on Kidarite numismatics are Martin, 1937; Curiel,
1953; Göbl, 1967; and Enoki, 1969; 1970. See also Ter-Mkrtichyan, 1979.
2. Trever, 1954.
3. Neither here nor elsewhere does this term have any ethnolinguistic significance, since we know
practically nothing definite about the language(s) of these peoples. Just as in the twelfth–
thirteenth century the term ‘Mongol’ referred not only to those who spoke the Mongol lan-
guage proper but also many other ethno-linguistic groups forming part of that society, so too
could Huns and Chionites have apparently ‘incorporated’ ethnic groups speaking a variety of
languages.
119

E. V. Zeimal
Yüeh-chih (used in the Chinese sources) refer to the country where they es-
tablished their kingdom, and may reflect their claims to be successors to the
Kushan kings. The primary basis for identifying the Huns or Chionites with
the Kidarites is the fact that they are called Kidarite Huns (or ‘Huns who are
Kidarites’) by the fifth-century Byzantine author and historian Priscus.4 None
of the other information we possess (including numismatic data) contradicts
this identification.
The earliest report on these peoples dates from c. 350 when, according to
Ammianus Marcellinus (XVI, 9.4), the Chionites (i.e. the Kidarites) fought in
Syria as allies of the Sasanian king, Shapur II (309–379), at the siege of Amida
(the modern Diyarbekir). They were led by Grumbates, ‘the new king of the
Chionites, a middle-aged man, his face already deeply lined, possessing an
outstanding intellect and famous for the multitude of his victories. With him
was his son, a fine young man, who fell in the battle’ (Ammianus Marcellinus,
XVIII, 6.20; XIX, 1.7–11). The Chionites (i.e. the Kidarites) assisted the
Sasanians because of an alliance they had concluded with Shapur II (Ammianus
Marcellinus, XVII, 5.1), who at that time was driven to war against the enemy
on the eastern borders of his kingdom.
Early history of the Kidarites

Nothing is known about the history of the Kidarites before the second half of
the fourth century. It has been suggested that they conquered K’ang-chü and
Sogdiana in c. 300, but the literary sources have not yet been corroborated by
the archaeological evidence. Attempts have been made5 to link the appearance
of the Kidarites in Central Asia with the Karshi steppe in southern Sogdiana
and to date this event to c. 420, but this has not been supported by further
archaeological investigations in the region.6
The only corroboration of the presence of the Kidarites in Sogdiana is
provided by early Sogdian coins (see also pages 128 et seq.) with the image of
an archer on the reverse and the word kydr (Kidara) in the obverse legend.7
These coins were minted in Samarkand from the first to the fifth century. But
out of some 2,000 such coins, only 7 bear the name of Kidara, indicating that
Kidarite rule was short-lived. The chronology of early Sogdian coinage of the
archer type helps to date the coins with the name of Kidara, which cannot be
earlier than the middle of the fourth century – thus the conquest of Sogdiana
by the Kidarites cannot have occurred prior to this time.
4. The accounts of the Kidarites in this source have been subjected to repeated scrutiny. They
were examined and compared with the data from Chinese sources by Enoki, 1969.
5. Kabanov, 1953; 1977.
6. Isamiddinov and Suleimanov, 1984.
7. Zeimal, 1978, p. 208; 1983b, p. 251.
120

The Kidarite kingdom in Central Asia
Foundation of the Kidarite state

The alliance between the Kidarites and Shapur II did not apparently last long.
The nature of the relations between the Kidarites and Sasanian Iran is indi-
cated by the Kidarite issues of silver drachms, copying coins of the Sasanian
kings.8 Martin9 takes the Kidarite coins of the Sasanian type as evidence of the
existence of a Kidarite state as early as the last quarter of the fourth century
and dates these coins as close as possible to the time when their Sasanian pro-
totypes were issued. He suggests that the Sasanians recognized the Kidarite
state, while the Kidarites themselves accepted Sasanian suzerainty, and puts
other events – the Kidarite invasion of the Kushano-Sasanian kingdom, the
Sasanian invasion under Shapur II and the ousting of the Kushano-Sasanian
princes – in the same historical context, c. 350. He suggests that the Sasanians
recognized the Kidarite state, while the Kidarites themselves accepted Sasanian
suzerainty.
Enoki10 has shown that the establishment of the kingdom of Kidara took
place somewhat later, and Göbl11 has dated the prototypes of the Kidarite
drachms to the period of Shapur II and Shapur III (383–388).
Kidara’s conquest of Gandhara and Kashmir

The most detailed account of Kidara’s reign is provided by the Chinese chroni-
cle, the Pei-shih [Annals of the Wei Dynasty], written in 643 and covering
events between 386 and 581.12 The original nucleus of the Kidarite state was
the territory of Tokharistan (now northern Afghanistan and southern
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), which was previously part of the Kushan Empire
and subsequently of the Kushano-Sasanians. The capital of the Kidarites, the
city of Ying-chien-shih,13 was probably located at the ancient capital of
8. Cunningham, 1895, was the first to make this observation.

9. Martin, 1937.
10. Enoki 1969; 1970.
11. Göbl, 1967.
12. Information about Kidara in another Chinese dynastic history, the mid-sixth century Wei-
shu [History of the Wei], was borrowed entirely (with a few divergences in the transcription
of place names) from the Pei-shih and has no significance of its own.
13. In the Wei-shu, the Kidarites are said to have transferred their capital to another city called
Liu-chien-shih. However, Enoki has clearly shown that both cities are in fact one and the
same, because the accounts regarding the Kidarites’ transfer of their capital were misunder-
stood by the author of the Wei-shu, who tried to explain why the capital of the Ta Yüeh-chih
was called by a different name at the time of the Han and the Northern Wei (Enoki, 1969,
pp. 8–10).
121

E. V. Zeimal
Bactria,14 near Balkh. The lands of the Kidarites were known in Armenian
sources as ‘Kushan lands’.
The Pei-shih relates that Kidara, having mustered his troops, crossed the
mountains and subjected Gandhara to his rule, as well as four other territories
to the north of it.15 Thus, during Kidara’s reign, the Kidarite kingdom occu-
pied vast territories to the north and south of the Hindu Kush. According to
another passage from the Pei-shih, referring to the Lesser Yüeh-chih, the prin-
cipal city of the Kidarites south of the Hindu Kush was situated near present-
day Peshawar and called (in its Chinese transcription) Fu-lou-sha (Ancient
Chinese, pyéu-léu-sa, which probably represents Purushapura). Its ruler was
Kidara’s son, whose name is not mentioned.
Historians have found it difficult to determine the exact period of Kidara’s
reign, one reason being that, from the second half of the third century to the
fifth century, news reaching China about events in the Western Regions was
generally sporadic and patchy. Li Yen-nien, the author of the Pei-shih, writes
that ‘from the time of the Yan-wei (386–550/557) and Chin (265–480), the
dynasties of the “Western Territories” swallowed each other up and it is not
possible to obtain a clear idea of events that took place there at that time’. A
painstaking textual analysis enabled Enoki (and Matsuda before him) to es-
tablish that information about Kidara in the Pei-shih was based on the report
of Tung Wan sent to the West in 437.16 From this we can infer that, although
the Chinese sources do not provide any dates in connection with Kidara, the
Pei-shih describes the situation as it existed in c. 437. On the other hand,
Kidara’s rise to power, the founding of his state and the annexation of the
territories to the south of the Hindu Kush (including Gandhara) should be
dated to an earlier period, that is to say, some time between 390 and 430, but
probably before 410.
The Kidarites’ advance to the south-east apparently continued even in
the middle of the fifth century. This is indirectly proved by Indian inscriptions
depicting the events which befell the Gupta king, Kumaragupta I (413–455),
when a considerable portion of central and western Panjab was under Kidarite
rule. Thus, it was in the first half of the fifth century that the greatest territorial
expansion of the Kidarite state occurred.
14. The ‘city of Balaam’, referred to as the capital of the ‘Kidarite Huns’ by Priscus of Panium,
evidently corresponds to Bactria-Balkh. For geographical details of events relating to the
struggle between the Sasanians and the Kidarites and then the Hephthalites in the fifth cen-
tury, see Marshak, 1971.
15. Zürcher, 1968, p. 373; Enoki, 1969, p. 8.
16. Enoki, 1969, pp. 8–9.
122

The decline of the Kidarites

Indian sources, which refer to all nomadic conquerors (Kidarites and Heph-
thalites alike) as Hunas, cast little light on the final stage of the Kidarite state,
during which it came into conflict with the Guptas. Having captured Gandhara,
the Kidarites apparently tried to build on their success and extend their terri-
tories eastwards into India. The only evidence of the war between the Kidarites
and the Guptas is the mention of Huna invaders in Indian inscriptions refer-
ring to the reign of Skandagupta (455–467).
The first encounter between the two rival powers apparently took place
in the reign of Skandagupta’s father and predecessor, Kumaragupta I. On the
evidence of the Bhitari pillar inscription, towards the end of that king’s reign
the Gupta state was on the verge of extinction. In this critical situation,
Kumaragupta I put his son and heir in command of the army with the task of
restoring the country’s power.17 Before Skandagupta and his army had ‘estab-
lished his lineage that had been made to totter’ (line 14), he suffered many hard-
ships. According to the inscription, there were times when he had to ‘spend a
night sleeping on the bare earth’ (line 10).
It seems that the enemies who threatened the very existence of the Gupta
state included not only their feudatories, the Pushyamitras, but also the
Kidarites. In the Junagadh inscription,18 which dates from c. 457 and also refers
to the reign of Skandagupta, it is obviously the Kidarites (or the Hephthalites;
see pages 141–2) who are referred to under the name of the Mlecchas. Skanda-
gupta’s victories over them were described as the conquest ‘of the whole world’.
It is hard to establish what this claim implies in terms of geographical fact, but
it appears that Skandagupta’s armies repulsed the Kidarite invasion somewhere
on the River Sutlej (or perhaps further east). Thus, even after Skandagupta’s
victories, central and western Panjab probably remained in the hands of the
invaders,19 although he had managed to stop their advance eastwards.
Yet another inscription – the Kahaum inscription (460–461)20 – already
describes Skandagupta’s reign as ‘peaceful’ and calls him the ‘commander of a
hundred kings’. On some silver coins, Skandagupta is given the honorific title
of Vikramaditya earlier bestowed on his famous grandfather, Chandragupta II
(c. 375–413). Numismatic evidence shows, however, that war with the Kidarites
and other enemies had exhausted the strength of the Guptas: considerably fewer
gold coins were minted under Skandagupta than under his predecessors, and
the quality of the metal was poorer. Despite the victories over the Hunas, the
inscriptions show that the Gupta state had already lost a considerable area of
17. Fleet, 1888, No. 13, lines 10–14.

18. Ibid., No. 14.
19. Altekar, 1954, p. xxxiv.
20. Fleet, 1888, No. 15.
123

E. V. Zeimal
its Western Territories by the beginning of Skandagupta’s reign. The most strik-
ing proof of this is the total absence of Gupta coins in the western regions of
India and in Pakistan.21
The war between the Guptas and the Hunas is reflected in a semi-
legendary form in other Indian sources, in particular in Book XVIII of
Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (a collection of folk tales in Sanskrit literature in
the eleventh century), where these events are described from roughly the same
viewpoint as in the inscriptions of Skandagupta’s reign. Despite the triumphant
tone of the inscriptions, the might of the Guptas declined after these encoun-
ters, while the Kidarite state continued to exist in western Panjab.
It was probably not Skandagupta’s victories but a new wave of nomadic
invaders from the north – this time Hephthalites – that put an end to the Kidarite
state in Gandhara and Panjab. The surviving sources give no clues as to how
power passed from the Kidarites to the Hephthalites22 – whether as the result
of a clash between opposing armies or of the overthrow of one dynasty by
another (in a ‘palace revolution’). It is known, however, that the name Kidara
was kept, although now as an honorific title (meaning ‘honoured’, ‘hero’, ‘val-
iant’), long after the Kidarite state had ceased to exist,23 just as the original
Kidara used to style himself on coins Kuqana Wahi (king of Kushan) many years
after the fall of the Empire of the Kushans.
The new conquest of Bactria by the Sasanians (467)

During the second quarter of the fifth century the Kidarite state was again in-
volved in serious fighting to the west with the Sasanian kings, who could not
accept the loss of the territories they had conquered earlier from the Kushan
Empire. Yazdgird II (438–457) took active measures to restore them to Sasanian
rule and several eastern campaigns were undertaken during his reign. The strug-
gle continued under Hormizd III (457–459) and also under Peroz (459–484).
Western sources – Armenian,24 Greek, Syriac and others – provide much
information about the deeds of Yazdgird II and subsequent Sasanian kings in
the east but, as mentioned above, give different names for Iran’s enemies. Often
the ‘land of the Kushans’ or ‘Kushan regions’ are mentioned, which suggests
21. Allan, 1914, p. xlix.

22. This is probably not the event narrated in the 97th chapter of the Pei-shih, in the section
dealing with the territory of the Lesser Yüeh-chih, whose capital was the city of Fu-lou-sha
or Peshawar: ‘Their king was originally a son of the Great Yüeh-chih king Chi-to-lo. When
Chi-to-lo had moved westward under pressure of the Hsiung-nu, he ordered his son to hold
this city’ (Zürcher, 1968, p. 373).
23. Harmatta, 1984, pp. 188–9.
24. For a collection of references to the Sasanian wars in the east in Armenian sources, see Ter-
Mkrtichyan, 1979, but bearing in mind their evaluation by Lukonin; 1969a; 1969b.
124

that the term ‘Kushan’ may be understood not so much in an ethnic sense as to
mean the inhabitants of the ‘land of the Kushans’, that is the former territory
of the Kushan Empire (or, more narrowly, the Kushano-Sasanians). The
Hephthalites, who are mentioned from the second half of the fifth century,
appear on the historical scene here, as in India, much later than the Kidarites
and as a tribal group distinct from and apparently sometimes hostile to them.
Western, and especially Armenian, authors had a somewhat vague con-
ception of the geography of the areas where the campaigns of Yazdgird II and
Peroz took place, and this has led to conflicting readings and a confusion that
is reflected in the conclusions of modern researchers.25 The theory that these
battles took place not only in the territory of northern Afghanistan but also
near the Caspian Sea26 has proved implausible.27 There are no grounds for iden-
tifying two arenas of military action: all the fighting occurred mainly in, or in
the immediate vicinity of, Tokharistan (one of Yazdgird II’s battles was at Merv-
i Rud), and the Sasanians’ main stronghold in the east was Merv.
Yazdgird II’s first eastern campaign was in 442. By 449 the advantage was
on his side, and the Kushanshah (king of the Kushans) had been rendered power-
less. The Sasanian army laid waste territories subject to the Kidarites and took
fortresses. During the campaign of 450, Taliqan was captured. Nevertheless,
the struggle continued, and sometimes the balance was in favour of the Kidarites.
Their refusal to pay tribute to Yazdgird, mentioned by Priscus, prompted re-
newed military action by the Sasanians in 456. As a result, the Kidarites came
close to losing all their territories in Tokharistan. This was prevented only by
the outbreak of civil war (457–459) between Yazdgird II’s sons – Hormizd III,
who had succeeded his father on the throne of Iran in 457, and Peroz, who at
that time ruled as governor in the ‘Kushan regions’. The war between the broth-
ers continued for two years and ended in victory for Peroz, who owed it to the
help of the Hephthalites and handed Taliqan over to them.
When war with Iran broke out again in the 460s, Balkh (Po-ho or b’âk-
lâ in the Ancient Chinese sources) was in the possession of the Kidarites, if we
accept that the town of Balaam mentioned by Priscus is in fact Balkh.28 At that
time, the ruler of the Kidarites was Kunkhas, whose father (the source does
not name him) had earlier refused to continue to pay tribute to the Sasanians.
Peroz, however, no longer had the strength to continue the eastern campaign;
in 464, according to Priscus, the envoys of Peroz turned to Byzantium for fi-
nancial support to ward off invasion by the Kidarites but it was refused.
25. For example, there were two Chols (one in the region of Gurgan and one in that of Darband),
two Taliqans (one in Khurasan and one in Tokharistan), etc. Some names have been found to
be distorted. For further details, see Marshak, 1971.
26. Marquart, 1901, pp. 55, 211–12; Mandel’shtam, 1958, p. 72.
27. Marshak, 1971.
28. It has been suggested that the cities of Balaam and Bolo refer to the site of Er-kurgan in the
Karshi steppe of southern Sogdiana (Kabanov, 1953; 1977).
125

E. V. Zeimal
In an attempt to put an end to the war, Peroz made peace overtures to

King Kunkhas, offering him his sister’s hand in marriage, but sent him a woman
of lowly birth instead. The deception was soon discovered and Kunkhas de-
cided to seek revenge. He asked Peroz to send him experienced Iranian officers
to lead his troops. Peroz sent 300 of these ‘military instructors’, but when they
arrived Kunkhas ordered a number of them to be killed and sent the others
back mutilated to Iran, with the message that this was his revenge for Peroz’s
deception. The ensuing war against Kunkhas and the Kidarites ended in 467
with the capture of their capital city of ‘Balaam’. It appears that the Hephthalites
were again Peroz’s allies, as they had been in his struggle with Hormizd for the
throne of Iran. This put a final end to Kidarite rule in Tokharistan. After their
defeat the Kidarites were probably forced to retreat to Gandhara, where, as
previously mentioned, the Hephthalites again caught up with them at the end
of the fifth century.
Economy, society and polity

The written sources give no details of the Kidarite conquest of Tokharistan,
Gandhara and the other regions that came under their rule. However, archaeo-
logical data are available for the study of the Kidarite state, although only for
certain areas and tentatively. In certain regions of the right bank of the Amu
Darya (northern Tokharistan) many towns were largely destroyed and whole
oases laid waste during the last quarter of the fourth century and the beginning
of the fifth. It is probable that this was caused by military and political strife
rather than by social and economic upheavals resulting from the natural devel-
opment of society. The huge town of Shahr-i Nau (40 km west of the modern
Dushanbe), which came into being in Kushan times under Vima Kadphises or
Kanishka I and was surrounded by a strong defensive wall that was 7 km long
and more than 8 m high, with towers every 25 m, was abandoned at the turn of
the fifth century like many other settlements in the Hissar valley. Since the
valley was beyond the reach of the Sasanian armies, the destruction and laying
waste of the area is likely to have been connected with the Kidarite invasion. In
Kobadian, on the other hand, the abandonment of the Bishkent valley and the
Shah oasis29 and the destruction of Kay Kobad Shah and a number of other
towns and settlements can be attributed both to the Kidarite invasion and to
the Sasanian occupation.
The picture is similar in the region of the Surkhan Darya, where the site
of Dalverzin-tepe and other settlements were laid waste at this same time (in
particular, in oases such as Band-i Khan on the right-bank tributaries of the
Surkhan Darya). Here also, it can only be assumed that the destruction of
29. Litvinsky and Sedov, 1983.
126

economic life was connected with the Kidarites, but so far no positive traces of
their presence have been found either in the Surkhan Darya valley or in south-
ern Tajikistan.
The Buddhist religious centre in Old Termez, destroyed probably in the
360s–370s by the Sasanians, already lay in ruins; yet the mass burials of the
victims of an epidemic, or some sort of catastrophe, in the abandoned build-
ings and caves of these monasteries date from the time of the Kidarites. More
such examples can be given – the late fourth to the fifth century was obviously
a violent time in northern Tokharistan. If such devastation and massacres were
indeed the result of the arrival of the Kidarites (which is as yet only a hypoth-
esis), then having passed through these regions ‘with fire and the sword’, they
must very soon have moved south,30 beyond the Amu Darya, where they were
victorious over the Sasanian Kushanshahs.
The picture is rather different in the Karshi steppe, where archaeological
evidence reveals a considerable change in the composition of the population in
the fourth century. In particular, this can be seen from a sharp increase in mod-
elled ceramics with characteristics typical of the Kaunchi-Dzhety-Asar archaeo-
logical sites (on the middle reaches of the Syr Darya, or Jaxartes). Further in-
vestigations should clarify whether this is connected with the arrival of large
groups of nomads from the north (who might well have been Kidarites) in the
Karshi oasis. It is clear, however, that the oasis did not suffer destruction and
subsequent abandonment on the same scale as that noted in the regions of south-
ern Tajikistan and the Surkhan Darya.31 Archaeological investigations in other
parts of the old Kidarite state will doubtless bring to light other patterns of
interrelationships between the invaders and the local population.
Our knowledge of the organization of the Kidarite state and the way the
conquered territories were governed is just as fragmentary. It is tempting to
draw an analogy with the vast state of the Kushans. This is not only because
the Kidarites claimed to be the successors to the glorious Empire of the Kushans;
a no less important factor is that the former nomadic invaders came into pos-
session of vast territories inhabited by settled agricultural peoples with a cul-
ture and traditions dating back many centuries, just as had been the case with
the Tokharians (or Yüeh-chih), who created the Kushan Empire. It seems likely
that the administrative and government structure created by the Kushans was
left largely intact under the Kidarites.
30. On the right bank of the Amu Darya a large number of tombs (including tumuli) have now
been investigated, but the vast majority of them belong to the Tokharo-Yüeh-chih and Kushan
periods (Litvinsky and Sedov, 1984). So far, the right bank of the Amu Darya has yielded
hardly any tumuli that can even tentatively be linked to the Kidarites.
31. Isamiddinov and Suleimanov, 1984.
127

E. V. Zeimal
FIG. 1. Kidarite coins with the inscription .
Monetary system and trade

The Pei-shih (Chapter 7, 13) mentions that the Kidarites, whom it refers to as
the Ta Yüeh-chih (Lesser Yüeh-chih), ‘have money made of gold and silver’.32
This information is confirmed by the evidence of their coins. The first com-
prehensive attempt to categorize and interpret Kidarite coins was undertaken
by Cunningham.33 Martin, Ghirshman and Curiel34 subsequently made impor-
tant contributions in the field, but the most detailed study of the Kidarite
32. Zürcher, 1968, p. 373.

33. Cunningham, 1895, pp. 55–73.
34. Martin, 1937; Ghirshman, 1948; Curiel, 1953.
128

FIG. 2. Kidarite coins.
coinage is that of Göbl35 Gold, silver and copper Kidarite coins are now known
(Figs 1–3). There are no grounds for maintaining that the Kidarites had a sepa-
rate monetary system as in the case of Kujula Kadphises’ early issues; their
coinage was characterized by an adaptation to the local issues in each area
they conquered. In Sogdiana small silver coins were issued (drachms reduced
to 0.4–0.3 g). They followed the design of early Sogdian coins, with the ruler’s
head facing right on the obverse and a standing archer on the reverse, adding
the word kydr (Kidara) written in Sogdian on the obverse.36
In Tokharistan gold dinars were issued in the name of Kidara, following
the gold coins of the Kushano-Sasanians both iconographically and technically
35. Göbl, 1967; 1984.

36. Zeimal, 1978, p. 208, Pl. III, 11; 1983b, p. 251, Pl. 21, 10.
129

E. V. Zeimal
(on the obverse, a king, facing left, standing before an altar; on the reverse,
Shiva with his bull, Nandi), which in their turn can be traced back to the last
coins of the Kushan king, Vasudeva I.37 The Tokharian issues of Kidarite coins
bear an inscription in Bactrian (Bago Kidara Vazurka Kosano Sao), with the
title ‘the great king of the Kushans’.
The silver coins of Sasanian type can be attributed to Gandhara and the
area around. They have the ruler’s bust facing right38 or en face on the obverse;39
and on the reverse, the traditional iconographic type for Sasanian coins – a fire
altar between two standing figures and copper coins of the same type.40
In their Indian territories the Kidarites also issued gold coins41 based on
the model of the Late Kushan dinars with the name of Kanishka (III or, if one
follows Göbl, II).42 The Kidarite coins of this group bear the name of Kidara
written in Brahmi script, together with the names of dependent rulers or suc-
cessors of Kidara, on the obverse. The earliest coins are the early Sogdian is-
sues with the name of Kidara (not earlier than the mid-fourth century). As
Göbl has convincingly shown, the Kidarite coins of Sasanian type follow the
drachms of Shapur II and Shapur III, minted on former Kushan territory,43
and should therefore be dated to the closing decades of the fourth century and
the very beginning of the fifth.44 The gold Kidarite coins issued in Tokharistan
and in India can be dated more fully. Their issue probably began only in the
fifth century (perhaps in its early years) and came to an end during the second
half of that century.
As well as gold and silver coins, copper anepigraphic coins, minted on
the model of the latest copper coins of the Kushan kings, Huvishka, Vasudeva I
and Kanishka III (or II), were widespread throughout the entire territory of
the Kidarite state. They were obviously used as small change, as can be seen
from the quantities in which they were minted.45 These copper coins show the
same characteristics as the gold and silver Kidarite coins mentioned above – a
37. Göbl, 1967, Vol. III, Table 4 – XIII A, XIII B, XIV; 1984, Tables 67-9, Nos. 735–41.
38. Göbl, 1967, issues 14, 19–24.
39. Ibid., issues 11–13, 15–18.
40. Ibid., issues 25–8.
41. Göbl, 1984, Tables 46, 47, Nos. 612–15.
42. Ibid., Table 33, Nos. 538–53.
43. Göbl, 1967, issues 1–10.
44. There are no grounds for dating these Kidarite coins of Sasanian model to the time of Shapur II
and Shapur III and concluding that the Kidarites were originally allies of the Sasanian shahs
in their war against the kingdom of Kushan. Enoki (1970, pp. 34–5) put forward serious ar-
guments against such a supposition: Kidara himself had nothing in common with Shapur II,
although he used his coins as a model for his own.
45. For the many discoveries of ‘copies’ of coins of Vasudeva I and Kanishka III (or II) on the
right bank of the Amu Darya, see Zeimal, 1983a, pp. 231–4, 241–56. Vast numbers of them
have also been found on the territories of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the north-west of India
(Wilson, 1841; Cunningham, 1895; Göbl, 1976; Cribb, 1981).
130

FIG. 3. Kidarite coins.
deliberate adaptation to the existing currency in the conquered territories, re-

producing (with varying degrees of divergence from the model) the coinage
that was customary in a particular market. As was the case during the reign of
Kujula Kadphises, the Kidarites were clearly not yet aware of the political sig-
nificance of coining money. This probably explains, first, why they followed
alien iconographic models and, second, why certain gold and silver issues –
and almost all the copper coins – had no name on them (with the exception of
the copper coins of the Sasanian model mentioned above and issued in the name
of Kidarite satraps).
Thus, the Kidarite monetary system did not disturb the economic life of
the regions that came under their rule but, on the contrary, created favourable
conditions for maintaining the established traditions in local trade. The nu-
merous discoveries of imported articles in strata of the Kidarite period are proof
131

E. V. Zeimal
of the existence of a flourishing international trade network and wide trading

links between the various regions of the Kidarite state.
Life-style, culture and ideology

In the words of the Pei-shih, the Kidarites ‘move around following their herds
of cattle; they also [in this respect] resemble the Hsiung-nu’.46 On the other
hand, it is known that there were Kidarite capitals both in Gandhara and in
Tokharistan, and thus that they lived in towns. This is only an apparent contra-
diction, as there have been many cases in history when nomads (or recently
settled nomads), after establishing their rule over large groups of states, have,
while wholly or partially preserving their traditional life-style, successfully
adapted to the culture and life-style of the subordinate peoples.
It would therefore be more accurate to think of the Kidarite state not as
a unified society but as one with a clear distinction between the conquerors –
the ruling group – and their subject peoples, the latter preserving their own
traditions. It appears that the most important elements in the overall organiza-
tion and development of the state were the clan and tribal organizations tradi-
tional to all nomadic peoples; these were inevitably reflected in the administra-
tive structure of the state and in the organization of its army – the main support
of the ruling dynasty. It should be stressed, however, that in such conglomer-
ate states, the rulers quickly assimilated the main achievements of the conquered
peoples’ cultures. The Kidarites were no exception, although the written sources
mention only the unsuccessful attempt of the Kidarite ruler Kunkhas to marry
into the Sasanian dynasty (see above).
The coins make it possible to follow this process of adaptation by the
Kidarites in much greater detail. We do not know what language the Kidarites
spoke, but the coinages they issued show inscriptions in Sogdian,47 Bactrian,48
Middle Persian49 and Brahmi.50 Kidarite coins display a wide range of icono-
graphic borrowings, reflecting the world of Sogdian artistic culture, and the
official art of the Sasanians and the art of post-Kushan India. Yet it is hard to
judge to what degree all these foreign elements penetrated the culture of the
Kidarites themselves, and how deeply they were assimilated. It should be re-
membered that the elements of alien cultures reflected by the coins were the
direct result of the Kidarites’ adaptation to the conditions of the regions con-
quered by them, and of their intention that the coinage they issued should be
46. Zürcher, 1968, pp. 373–4.

47. Zeimal, 1978, p. 208, Pl. III, II; Zeimal, 1983b, p. 251, Pl. 21, 10.
48. Göbl, 1984, Tables 67–9, Nos. 735–41.
49. Göbl, 1967, issue 15.
50. Ibid., issues 11–28; 1984, Tables 46, 47, Nos. 612–15.
132

familiar to the local market. Moreover, just as there is no basis for assuming
(on the evidence of the coins) that the Kidarites had a mastery of all the lan-
guages and scripts used in inscriptions on their coins, the iconography of
Kidarite coins cannot be regarded as a reflection of their artistic tastes. We have
hardly any knowledge of a specifically Kidarite art that is directly linked to the
rulers of the state; it is possible to speak only of works of art of the Kidarite
period, created by craftsmen and artists in the countries conquered by them
but following standards and traditions that had no direct connection with the
conquerors.
It appears that the Kidarites’ beliefs had not yet developed into a rigid
religious system, which must have encouraged (or at least not hindered) their
receptiveness to the religious ideology they encountered in the lands they sub-
dued – a local variety of Zoroastrianism (Mazdaism) in Tokharistan, various
expressions of Buddhism and Hinduism in the territory of Gandhara and also,
probably, the official Sasanian doctrine. There are no grounds for assuming
that the Kidarites were Buddhists simply because the Chinese sources report
the existence of famed Buddhist shrines in the Kidarite capital in Gandhara. At
the same time, there is nothing to indicate active resistance to any of these re-
ligions on the part of the Kidarites. During the Kidarite period the Buddhist
religious centre in Old Termez lay in ruins, like many other Buddhist sites in
Tokharistan, but its destruction (as already mentioned) seems to be linked to
the religious intolerance of the Sasanians. There are no traces of restoration
work during the Kidarite period; the partial restoration of the monastery took
place later, apparently during the second half of the sixth century.
The key to understanding the ideology of the Kidarite rulers probably
lies in their tendency to consider themselves the heirs of the Kushan kings (many
expressions of which have been mentioned above). Indeed, this is how they
were seen by the neighbouring peoples. It is for future investigations (espe-
cially in the field of archaeology) to show how profoundly and consistently
the Kushan heritage was assimilated by the Kidarites.
133

6
THE HEPHTHALITE EMPIRE*

B. A. Litvinsky
Origins
From the mid-fifth to the mid-sixth century Central Asia was ruled by the
Hephthalite tribes. There are many gaps in our knowledge of the origin of the
Hephthalites and the formation of their state, the first difficulty being that they
are given different names in the various sources. In Chinese sources the name
of the dynasty is I-ta (a variant of I-tien, ancient *iep-t’ien) and their king bears
the name Yen-tai-i-li-t’o (ancient *Yeptalitha).1 In Syriac sources they are called
eptalit, æβdel; in Greek-language sources, Αβδελαι, Εϕθαλιται; in Armenian
sources, hep‘t’al; in Middle Persian sources, heftal, and also hyon; in Arabic
sources, haital; and in New Persian sources, hetal.2 Another name for them is
Chinese Hua. According to Balcami, the etymology of the word ‘Hephthalites’
is as follows: ‘in the language of Bukhara’, it means ‘strong man’.3 In Khotanese
Saka a similar word exists, meaning ‘brave, valiant’.
The legends on Hephthalite coins are in the Bactrian script. They feature
a Bactrian title, XOA∆HO, for the ruler together with another Bactrian title,
sao. One coin bears the title bogo, meaning ‘lord’ or ‘ruler’. The names of
Hephthalite rulers given in Firdausi’s Shah-name are Iranian. Gem inscriptions
and other evidence4 show that the official language of the ruling upper class of
the Hephthalites in their Tokharistan territories was an East Iranian language.
Chinese sources do not agree on the origin of the Hephthalites. Some
hold that they originated in Ch’e-shih, that is, from Turfan; others consider
them to be ‘descendants of K’ang-chü’ in southern Kazakstan; still others
* See Map 3.
1. Enoki, 1959, p. 7.
2. Altheim, 1959, Vol. 1, pp. 41–3.
3. Balcami, 1869, p. 128.
4. Maenchen-Helfen, 1959, pp. 227–31; Livshits, 1969, pp. 64–75.
135

B. A. Litvinsky
postulate that they were descended from the Great Yüeh-chih. The Chinese
writer Wei Chieh, who personally conversed with some Hephthalites, deject-
edly observed:
However, the information has come from remote countries, and foreign languages
are subject to corruption and misunderstanding. Moreover, it concerns matter of very
ancient time. So we do not know what is certain. [In this way] it is impossible to
decide [the origin of the Hephtalites].5
Information about the physical appearance and language of the Hephthalites

also lacks precision. For example, Procopius of Caesarea (I, 3) writes:
Although the Hephthalites are a Hunnish people and are so called, they do not mix
and associate with those Huns whom we know, for they do not share any frontier
region with them and do not live close to them . . . They are not nomadic like the
other Hunnish peoples, but have long since settled on fertile land . . . They alone of
the Huns are white-skinned and are not ugly. They do not have the same way of life
and do not live such bestial lives as the other Huns, but are ruled by one king and
possess a legal state structure, observing justice among themselves and with their
neighbours in no lesser measure than the Byzantines and Persians.
With regard to language (see also pages 148–9), the Chinese chronicle the Pei-
shih reports that ‘Their language differs from that of the Juan-juan, Kao-ch’e
and various Hu’ and the account in the Wei shu is similar. The reference to the
Hu language testifies to the fact that the language of the Hephthalites was dis-
tinct from that of those Iranian-speaking people of Central Asia who were
called Hu by the Chinese.
In the seventh century, after the destruction of the Hephthalite state,
Tokharistan was visited by a Chinese pilgrim, Hsüan-tsang, who wrote of the
Hephthalite population:
[Their] language and letters differ somewhat from those of other countries. The
number of radical letters is twenty-five; by combining these they express all objects
around them. Their writing is across the page, and they read left to right. Their liter-
ary records have increased gradually, and exceed those of [the people of] Su-le or
Sogdiana.6
This is a clear reference to a Greek-based script of Bactrian origin used in south-

ern Central Asia and Afghanistan up to the eighth century.
In Middle Persian, Byzantine and Indian sources we find the designation
‘Red’ and ‘White’ Huns. This may reflect a division among the Hephthalites or
a distinction between Hephthalites and Türks.7 This is also reflected in the
mural art: for example, some of the envoys in the scene of the Hephthalite
embassy in the Afrasiab palace are ruddy-faced, while others are pale (Fig. 1).
5. Enoki, 1959, p. 7.
6. Ibid., p. 39.
7. Chavannes, 1903, pp. 229–33; Bailey, 1931, pp. 585–6; 1954, pp. 13–20.
136

The Hephthalite Empire
FIG. 1. Afrasiab. Wall-painting. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
137

B. A. Litvinsky
These were possibly ethnolinguistic (less probably socio-economic) popula-

tion groups. The total size of the Hephthalite population is unknown, but in
Tokharistan alone there were 5–6,000 Hephthalite warriors – with their fami-
lies, this suggests some 50,000 individuals, but there must have been consider-
able fluctuations during the period.
Political and military history

The political history of the Hephthalites can be deduced from Armenian, Ara-
bic, Persian, Byzantine, Chinese and other sources. Under Yazdgird II (438–
457) the north-eastern borders of the Sasanian Empire were under threat from
Central Asian tribes. The fifth-century Armenian historian, Elishe Vardapet,
who was a contemporary, reports that the emperor was obliged to do battle
with the tribes of the Hephthalites from 442. The situation was so serious that
Yazdgird even had to transfer his residence to the northern border. It has been
suggested that this was also the time when the Hephthalites made their appear-
ance.8 As early as 456, an embassy from the Hephthalites arrived in China.9
According to the Arab historian al-Tabari, Peroz, while still a prince, fled
to the ‘country of the Haitals, or Hephthalites’ and asked the king to provide
him with troops to ‘take possession of the kingdom of his father [Yazdgird II]’.
Another source states that Peroz ‘was supported by the inhabitants of
Tokharistan and the neighbouring regions’ and refers to ‘the people which
conquered Tokharistan called Haital [that is Hephthalites]’.10 In the mid-fifth
century the Hephthalites increased greatly in strength and Tokharistan, with
the surrounding regions, came under their rule. According to Harmatta, ‘it is
likely that the Hephthalites attacked the Transox[an]ian territory of the Kidarites
in 466’ and at the same time they ‘took possession of the eastern part of
Kusansahr, and then very soon they occupied also Balx [Balkh] from the Per-
sians’.11
In gratitude for their assistance, Peroz extended the power of the
Hephthalites still further. In particular, he ceded to them the district of Taliqan.12
But there were disagreements between the Central Asian tribes and the
Sasanians, leading to conflict and wars. First, Peroz clashed with the
Hephthalites, who are considered by some scholars to have taken advantage of
the civil war in Mesopotamia to seize Balkh (Priscus of Panion, 35).13 There is,
8. Trever, 1954, pp. 136–7; Gafurov, 1972, p. 198.

9. Enoki, 1955, p. 234, Table.
10. Shmidt, 1958, pp. 447–8; Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, pp. 117–19.
11. Harmatta, 1969, p. 394.
12. Balcami, 1869, pp. 127–8.
13. Marshak, 1971, pp. 63-4.
138

however, some doubt about this. What is known is that in the 460s or the 470s
Peroz waged three wars against the Hephthalites. The first war ended in his
being taken prisoner and later released for a ransom partly paid by the Byzan-
tine emperor. The second war ended as ingloriously as the first: Peroz was
defeated and was once more taken prisoner. He was forced to give assurances
never again to oppose the Hephthalites and to send instructions that a huge
ransom should be paid for him. Since the treasury was unable to send the ran-
som, Peroz left his son as hostage.
The Hephthalites had strong forces. Sources describe them as skilful
warriors and their army as powerful. They were armed with clubs and the
Chinese considered that they were excellent archers. According to other sources,
their main weapon was the sword. Judging by their military operations, they
probably possessed a strong cavalry force led by an asbarobido (cavalry com-
mander).14
In Iran, according to Lazar of P’arp:
Even in time of peace the mere sight or mention of a Hephthalite terrified everybody,
and there was no question of going to war openly against one, for everybody remem-
bered all too clearly the calamities and defeats inflicted by the Hephthalites on the
king of the Aryans and on the Persians.
Not only the common soldiers but also the dignitaries and military chiefs feared
the Hephthalites. When Peroz set off on campaign, ‘his troops went forward
more like men condemned to death than warriors marching to war’. When
news of the third campaign reached the king of the Hephthalites, he sent his
representative to Peroz with this message: ‘You concluded peace with me in
writing, under seal, and you promised not to make war against me. We defined
common frontiers not to be crossed with hostile intent by either party.’15 An
important point to emerge from this text is that the Hephthalites appear not
merely as a group of nomadic tribes but as a state formation, on an equal foot-
ing with Sasanian Iran and fully versed in statesmanship.
Al-Tabari’s text is very similar in this respect, although he incorrectly
calls these tribes Türks (instead of Hephthalites). According to his account
(which, however, also contains some elements of legend), Peroz reached the
tower which had been built by Bahram Gur (Bahram V, 420–438) on the bor-
der between the regions of Khurasan and the Hephthalites to prevent them
crossing into Khurasan; this was in accordance with the pact concluded be-
tween the Hephthalites and the Persians (i.e. Sasanians) that neither party should
violate the border. Peroz, for his part, had promised Akhshunvar, the king of
the Hephthalites, that he would not go beyond their borders. Peroz had 50
elephants and 300 men harnessed to Bahram Gur’s tower. They drew the tower
14. Altheim, 1960, Vol. 2, p. 269.

15. Ter-Mkrtichyan, 1979, pp. 55–6.
139

B. A. Litvinsky
along in front of him while he marched behind, declaring that in that way he
was not breaking his pact with Akhshunvar.
The Hephthalite troops retreated, but then Akhshunvar ordered deep
pits to be dug, lightly timbered over and topped with soil. These booby traps,
laid in the path of the pursuing Sasanian army, played a decisive part, breaking
its battle formation and ensnaring many soldiers. Peroz was killed and many
of his retinue, including his daughter, were taken prisoner by the Hephthalites,
who seized his treasure. One of Peroz’ followers, called Sukhra, subsequently
managed to retaliate and forced the Hephthalites to withdraw.16 A similar ac-
count is given by al-Dinawari.17
Following internecine conflict over the Sasanian throne, one of Peroz’
sons, Kavad, fled to the Hephthalites. Having lived with great honour among
them for four years, he married the daughter or sister of the Hephthalite king,
who provided him with troops. Kavad seized the throne with these troops in
488, becoming king of Sasanian Iran.18 As a result of political and kinship ties,
the Hephthalites subsequently took part in Kavad I’s military campaigns and
Hephthalite troops armed with cudgels were present at the siege of Edessa.19
As a result of internal events in Iran – the Mazdakite movement (see
Chapter 17, Part One) and the revolt of the nobility against the king – Kavad
once more fled to the Hephthalites. The Hephthalite king agreed to provide
him with 30,000 troops; in return, Kavad was obliged to make territorial con-
cessions and in 498 he handed over Chaganiyan to his allies.20 Iran had to pay
tribute to the Hephthalites for many decades, from 484 until the middle of the
sixth century. Part of the Sasanian coinage was countermarked with a
Hephthalite sign, and these were the coins used for payment of the tribute.21
This situation continued into the early years of the reign of Khusrau I (531–
579).
In the second half of the fifth century and the first half of the sixth, silver
coins of Peroz (and imitations with various overstrikes) circulated in northern
Tokharistan. The genuine Peroz drachms belong mainly to the time when some
of those regions, particularly Chaganiyan (Shi-han-na in the Chinese sources),
were still under the Sasanians. Peroz drachms were subsequently minted in
Chaganiyan with Bactrian and Sogdian overstrikes, together with imitations of
Peroz coinage with Bactrian legends. Many coins were issued under Khusrau I,
particularly from the 540s onward. Coins were subsequently minted which
were imitations with overstruck names and portraits of local Hephthalite leaders.
16. Shmidt, 1958, p. 449; Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, pp. 122–34.

17. See Altheim, 1960, Vol. 2, pp. 51–2.
18. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, pp. 135–7.
20. Shmidt, 1958, pp. 476–7.
21. Göbl, 1967, pp. 193–4; 1971, p. 70.
140

This series is completed with the issue of a coin of the type of Khusrau I, but
with the name of a local ruler.22
The Hephthalites thus entered the historical arena in the mid-fifth cen-
tury, apparently in eastern Tokharistan. By the end of the century they had
taken possession of the whole of Tokharistan, including the Pamirs, and a con-
siderable part of Afghanistan. At the same time, they seized much of East
Turkestan. In 479 they subjugated the region of Turfan, and between 497 and
509 the region of Karashahr and what is today Urumchi. In 522 P’o-lo-men,
the leader of the Juan-juan in an area to the north of Dunhuang, fled to the
Hephthalites to seek their protection. Earlier, probably in the late fifth cen-
tury, Kashgar and Khotan had come under the power of the Hephthalites, who
subjugated practically the whole of East Turkestan. As Enoki has correctly
pointed out, the Hephthalites reached the zenith of their power with their sei-
zure in 509 of Sughd (the capital of Sogdiana), which then ceased sending
embassies to China.
Conquests in Gandhara and northern India

The late fifth and early sixth centuries saw the start of Hephthalite raids on
Gandhara and subsequently on the whole of northern India. In 477 the Kidarites
in Gandhara had sent an embassy to China,23 but the Chinese pilgrim Sung
Yün, who visited Gandhara in 520, noted that the Hephthalites had conquered
the country and set up their own ruler. ‘Two generations then passed.’24 On
this basis, Marshall assumes that the invasion took place earlier (reckoning one
generation to be 30 years: 520 – 60 = 460).25
In the early second half of the fifth century the Hephthalites came into
conflict with the Guptas, who had by then passed the zenith of their power
and prosperity. According to the Junagadh rock inscription of c. 457, King
Skandagupta won a victory over hostile kings and over tribes which seem to
have been Hephthalites (or Kidarites; see pages 123–4). Another inscription
proclaims that he bore the title, ‘lord of a hundred kings’.26 The initial attacks
of the Hephthalites were thus repulsed, but at the price of stretching all the
forces of the Gupta Empire.27
Skandagupta was the last great ruler of that dynasty, reigning from c. 454
to c. 467.28 The central power of the Gupta state subsequently declined,
22. Rtveladze, 1983, pp. 74–5.

23. Enoki, 1955, pp. 234–5; 1959, pp. 25–7.
24. Yang Hsüan-chih, 1984, p. 235.
25. Marshall, 1951, p. 75.
26. Fleet, 1888, pp. 14–15.
27. Altekar and Majumdar, 1954, pp. 163–4; Majumdar, 1954, pp. 26–7. Concerning the Huns in
Gupta inscriptions, see Sharma, 1978, pp. 133–4; Biswas, 1973.
28. Gupta, 1974, pp. 329–38; cf. Singh and Bannerji, 1954, p. 89.
141

B. A. Litvinsky
particularly in the last quarter of the fifth century under King Budhagupta,29
the time at which the penetration of the Hephthalites into the subcontinent
began. In the late fifth and early sixth centuries the Hephthalites in India came
under the leadership of Toramana (see also Chapter 7, Part One), described in
one Indian inscription as the ‘renowned Toramana, the boundlessly famed ruler
of the earth’. Launching an offensive from Panjab, he conquered the whole of
western India and even Eran (in modern Madhya Pradesh). Numismatic evi-
dence indicates that he ruled in Uttar Pradesh, Rajputana, Panjab and Kash-
mir.30 His conquests brought with them the destruction of towns, villages and
Buddhist monasteries, and the monasteries never recovered. Many local rulers
acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Toramana.31
In the time of Toramana, the Hephthalites in India began to operate in-
dependently of the Central Asian branch, though the link between them does
not seem to have been broken.32 According to the Gwalior inscription,
Toramana’s son was called Mihirakula (in Jain sources, Caturmukha-Kalkin or
Kalkiraja). He intensified his father’s efforts to conquer the whole of northern
India, and in this he was highly successful.33 Over a century later, the Chinese
pilgrim Hsüan-tsang paid particular attention to this ruler’s life and activities
in the account of his travels. He writes of Mihirakula: ‘He was of quick talent
and naturally brave. He subdued all the neighbouring provinces without
exception.’34
The account of Cosmas Indicopleustes (writing in the early sixth cen-
tury) confirms that the Hephthalites in India reached the zenith of their power
under Mihirakula, with their capital at Sakala (modern Sialkot). Hsüan-tsang
recounts the fate of Mihirakula: he was ultimately opposed by the Gupta ruler
Baladitya, who had previously been paying him tribute (this is assumed to have
been Narasimhagupta I).35 Baladitya’s opposition stemmed from the atrocities
perpetrated by the Hephthalite leader and the destruction of Buddhist build-
ings, which is also reported in the Kashmir chronicle the RajataraNgini and in
Jain sources.
According to Hsüan-tsang, Mihirakula was taken prisoner by Baladitya,
but was subsequently released. Power over the Hephthalite tribes had mean-
while been seized by Mihirakula’s brother and Mihirakula himself set off for
Kashmir, where the king received him with honour. A few years later, Mihirakula
incited the townspeople of Kashmir to revolt against their king and seized power
there. He then went westwards and occupied Gandhara, where he killed many
29. Bongard-Levin and Il’in, 1969, p. 513.

30. Majumdar, 1954, p. 35.
31. Fleet, 1888, pp. 88, 159.
32. Harmatta, 1969, pp. 400–1.
33. Pathak, 1917, pp. 215–16; Gupta, 1974, pp. 372–7.
34. Beal, 1969, p. 167.
35. See Gupta, 1974, pp. 364–6.
142

of the inhabitants and destroyed the Buddhist shrines, only to die shortly after-
wards.36 While the details of this account by Hsüan-tsang may be unhistorical,
the broad outline is worthy of note.
In assembling the events of Mihirakula’s life, the RajataraNgini asserts
that he was a powerful king who ruled Kashmir and Gandhara and even (this
is clearly an exaggeration) conquered southern India and Ceylon. Cosmas
Indicopleustes calls him ‘king of India’, though he mentions that the posses-
sions of the Huns in India (i.e. Hunas) were divided from the other Indian
kingdoms by the mighty River Phison (Indus).
Persecution of the local population, combined with religious intolerance,
set the local Indian population against the Hephthalites and deprived them of
support. At the same time, the difficulties facing the Hephthalites of Central
Asia in their struggle against the Türks, who utterly defeated them, deprived
the Hephthalites in India of their Central Asian base, of the ‘flow of fresh forces
and support, and this led to their decline’.37 Although small communities and
even principalities of Hephthalites survived in India after the middle of the
sixth century, they did not wield any significant political influence.
The Hephthalites of Central Asia

By the middle of the sixth century, the Hephthalites of Central Asia found
themselves squeezed between Sasanian Iran, whose power had increased tre-
mendously under Khusrau I, and the Türks, who had conquered much of the
north-east of Central Asia. The opponents of the Hephthalites entered into
diplomatic negotiations with one another, but when the kaghan of the Türks
dispatched ambassadors to Iran, they were killed in Hephthalite territory at
the command of the Hephthalite king. The kaghan moved his forces and seized
Chach (modern Tashkent) and continued to the Syr Darya (Jaxartes). The forces
of the Hephthalites gathered in the region of Bukhara, towards which
Hephthalite detachments marched from Termez, southern Tajikistan and even
the Pamirs. An eight-day battle was fought in the Bukhara area, in the course
of which the Hephthalites were routed. Their troops fled south and there elected
a new king, Faganish (or Afganish), but the south of Central Asia had been
occupied by Sasanian troops and the new Hephthalite ruler acknowledged the
supremacy of Khusrau I (see also Chapter 7). This marked the end of the
Hephthalite state in Central Asia. (These events took place in the period 560–
563.)38
36. Beal, 1969, pp. 169–72.

37. Gafurov, 1972, p. 201; see also Majumdar, 1954, p. 39.
38. Mohl, 1868, pp. 306–16; Shmidt, 1958, p. 453; Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, pp. 158–9; Moravcsik,
1958, pp. 275–6; Grignaschi, 1980.
143

B. A. Litvinsky
Central Asia was devastated as a result of this struggle, whereupon rela-

tions between the allies (Türks and Sasanians) became strained. This worked
to the advantage of the Hephthalites: individual semi-independent Hephthalite
principalities continued to exist in the Zerafshan valley, paying tribute to the
Türks (Menander, fragment 18). The situation was similar in the south, except
that here the Hephthalites paid tribute to the Sasanians. Khusrau I found a
pretext to cross the Amu Darya (Oxus). Power over the littoral of the Amu
Darya later passed to the Türks, who then occupied all the territory of Af-
ghanistan. Small Hephthalite principalities continued to exist in southern
Tajikistan and Afghanistan for a long time; some of them (in particular Kabul)
remained independent.39
According to Gafurov:
The Hephthalites thus established a huge state structure even greater in geographic
extent than that of the Kushans, but at the same time it was more loosely-knit and
more unstable. They succeeded both in halting the armies of Sasanian Iran in the east
and in inflicting a shattering defeat on the Sasanian kings. Hephthalite rulers even
settled succession claims to the title of shahanshah of Iran, while regular payment of
tribute to them was a major concern for many Iranian governments. In conclusion,
the Hephthalites played an important part in the ethnogenesis of the peoples of In-
dia, Afghanistan and, in particular, Central Asia.40
Social structure and administration

Although some evidence remains of the society of the Hephthalites, their cus-
toms and ways of living, the information is extremely contradictory. Accord-
ing to Procopius, the Hephthalites had ‘since time immemorial’ lived a settled
life, ‘were ruled by one king’ and ‘had a state system based on law’. A Türk
mission reported to Byzantium that the Hephthalites were ‘a tribe which dwelt
in towns’ (see also pages 149–50); indeed, after their victory over the
Hephthalites, the Türks became ‘the masters of their towns’ (Menander, frag-
ment 18). Theophanes Homologétés (fragment 3) states that after their victory
over the Iranians, the Hephthalites became the masters of the towns and ports
previously held by their enemy.41 Chinese chronicles and travellers, however,
provide a different picture. For example, according to the Sui shu [Dynastic
Annals of the Sui], the Pei-shih and other sources, in the land of the Hephthalites
there were ‘neither cities and towns nor fixed residence of their king’.42 Sung
Yün reported in 518 that, in the land of the Hephthalites:
39. Harmatta, 1969, p. 402.

40. Gafurov, 1972, p. 202.
41. For a detailed analysis of Byzantine sources, see Moravcsik, 1958.
42. Enoki, 1959, p. 10.
144

there were no walled cities for residences; [the area] was kept in good order by a
patrolling army. The people lived in felt [tents], moving from one place to another in
pursuit of water and pasture lands: they moved to cooler areas in summer and warm
regions in winter. The natives were simple rustic folk, unversed in writing the rites or
moral precepts.43
Even the Chinese sources do not agree, however. Thus, according to the Chou
shu [History of the Chou Dynasty] (15a), ‘it [the land of the Hephthalites] has
its capital in the walled city of Pa-ti-yen’, a name meaning something like ‘the
walled city in which the king resides’.44 Hsüan-tsang’s report on the country
of Hsi-mo-ta-lo (a Sanskritized form of the ethnonym, Heptal) helps to re-
solve these conflicting accounts. According to the Chinese pilgrim, after their
ancestors had established a strong state and subjugated their neighbours, the
Hephthalites ‘migrated and scattered in foreign countries where they rule scores
of strongly walled cities and towns with so many chiefs. They [also] live in
tents of felt and remove from one place to another.’45
The following explanation may be advanced for all the differing accounts.
The core of the Hephthalite population was originally nomadic or semi-nomadic
but later, after seizing control of vast regions with towns and fortresses, the
Hephthalite élite, like other conquering nomads (for example, the Karakhanids
and the Seljuks), began to settle in towns and were followed by other groups
from the newly arrived non-urban population. The sources simply mention
isolated episodes in this complex story – hence the discrepancies.
One of the most difficult questions concerns the Hephthalites’ social struc-
ture. From the description of their funeral rites in the Chinese chronicles (see
pages 147–8), we learn that there were both rich and poor Hephthalites and
that their rites were completely different.46 Consequently, it was a class society
with marked social and property differentiation. In his description of the luxu-
rious dwelling of the Hephthalite king with his golden throne, and the mag-
nificent clothes of the king and queen inlaid with gold and precious stones,
Sung Yün notes that ‘there were differences, it was observed, between the no-
bleman and commoners’. He continues: ‘For the people’s clothing and orna-
ments, there was nothing but felt.’47
At the apex of Hephthalite society was the king, whose residence was a
fortified town.48 According to Byzantine sources, the Hephthalites ‘were ruled
by one king’. The legends on coins sometimes contain the terms X∆HO and
XOA∆HO (sovereign) and the expression ‘great sovereign’ is occasionally
43. The traveller, of course, meant Chinese writing, rites and moral precepts. See Yang Hsüan-
chih, 1984, p. 225.
44. Miller, 1959, p. 12.
45. Enoki, 1959, p. 35.
46. Ibid., p. 49.
47. Yang Hsüan-chih, 1984, pp. 224–6.
48. Miller, 1959, p. 12.
145

B. A. Litvinsky
encountered.49 Names of individual monarchs are known (some from histori-

cal accounts). Thus, according to Firdausi, the Hephthalites were led by a king
called Gatfar during their struggle against the Türks, which ended in their de-
feat at the battle near Bukhara (see page 143 above). It is possible that the kings
were chosen in peacetime as well as in exceptional circumstances but it is not
known who chose them, perhaps the élite. One Chinese account states that the
throne of the Hephthalites ‘was not transmitted by inheritance but awarded to
the most capable kinsman’.50
The Hephthalite state covered a huge territory and the regions forming it
were dependent upon the central authority to varying degrees. According to
Sung Yün, ‘the state received tribute from a number of countries . . . altogether
delegates from more than forty countries came to pay tribute and offer con-
gratulations on appropriate occasions’.51 According to another source, coun-
tries ‘large and small, altogether more than twenty, are all subject to it [the
Hephthalite state]’.52
There was an administrative machinery at both central and regional lev-
els. During the 550s the Hephthalite king had an adviser (minister?) by the
name of Katulf (Menander, fragment 10). Such titles as oazorko, fromalaro,
hazaroxto and asbarobido (commander of the cavalry) are known from inscrip-
tions on gemstones.53 The state system was a complex amalgam of institutions
originating in Hephthalite society and frequently going back to ancestral tribal
arrangements, as well as institutions which were native to the conquered re-
gions. Money was minted and we know of many series of coins. Excellent
classificatory and typological works have been published,54 but insufficient use
has been made of these coins as a historical source.
Central control in the Hephthalite state was weak and local dynasties
continued to rule in a number of regions. Such was the case in Chaganiyan, on
the upper and middle reaches of the Surkhan Darya. One of the rulers of this
dynasty was Faganish (see page 143 above), whose name is known from writ-
ten sources; the names of other rulers appear on Chaganiyan-Hephthalite coins.
The name of another Chaganiyan ruler, Turantash, appears on a long inscrip-
tion at Afrasiab. In the first quarter of the eighth century, Chaganiyan was
ruled by Tish, the ‘One-Eyed’ (in the Sogdian language, Tish is the name of the
star Sirius). The Manichaean religion was widespread in Chaganiyan together
with Buddhism.55
Another powerful domain, Khuttal (Kou-tou or Kou-tou-lo in the
49. Livshits, 1969, pp. 69–71.

50. Bichurin, 1950, p. 269.
51. Yang Hsüan-chih, 1984, p. 225.
52. Miller, 1959, p. 21.
53. Livshits, 1969, pp. 66–7.
54. Göbl, 1967.
55. Rtveladze, 1973; Bosworth, 1981.
146

Chinese sources), was also associated with the Hephthalites. It was located in
the basin of the River Kyzyl-su, but at times also included the basin of the
River Vakhsh. Khuttal also had a local dynasty with an established order of
succession to the throne, according to Arabic sources. The rulers took the Ira-
nian title of Khuttal-shah or sher-i Khuttal. The Arabs referred to them as muluk
(pl. of malik, king).56 In the southern part of Central Asia and northern Af-
ghanistan, in the region known as Bactria under the Achaemenids and later as
Tokharistan (T’ou-ho-lo or Tou-ho-lo in Chinese sources from 383), there were
some 30 dominions in the sixth to the seventh century with their own rulers,
some of whom were of Hephthalite extraction.
Religious life and polyandry

Information about the religion of the Hephthalites is provided by the Chinese
sources. Sung Yün reports that in Tokharistan ‘the majority of them do not
believe in Buddhism. Most of them worship wai-shên or “foreign gods”.’ He
makes almost identical remarks about the Hephthalites of Gandhara, saying
that they honour kui-shên (demons). The manuscripts of the Liang shu (Book
54) contain important evidence: ‘[the Hephthalites] worship T’ien-shên or [the]
heaven god and Huo-shên or [the] fire god. Every morning they first go out-
side [of their tents] and pray to [the] gods and then take breakfast.’ For the
Chinese observer, the heaven god and the fire god were evidently foreign gods.
We have no evidence of the specific content of these religious beliefs but it is
quite possible that they belonged to the Iranian (or Indo-Iranian) group.57
Although Sung Yün states that the Hephthalites did not believe in Bud-
dhism, Buddhist religious establishments flourished in Tokharistan and other
areas. In India, however, the Hephthalites showed intolerance towards Bud-
dhist religious establishments. It may be supposed that the beliefs of the local
subject populations – including Buddhism – gradually began to gain ground
among the Hephthalites. Various forms of Zoroastrian beliefs were widespread
in Central Asia and northern and western Afghanistan in competition with
Buddhism. There were also many adherents of Hindu beliefs in Afghanistan
and in Tokharistan. Lastly, Manichaeism had taken firm root and Christianity
was spreading.
Chinese sources provide the following account of the funeral rites men-
tioned above: ‘if a man dies, a wealthy family will pile up stones to form a
house [to keep the corpse]; a poor family will dig the ground for burial. The
articles of everyday use are buried with the dead.’ Another source describes a
third type of burial: ‘In burying the dead, the coffin is laid in a wooden case.
56. Marquart, 1901, p. 30; Belenitskiy, 1950, p. 115.

57. Enoki, 1959, pp. 45–9.
147

B. A. Litvinsky
When a parent dies, the child will cut off one of his ears.’58 It is known, how-
ever, that various types of burial structure, including small, surface-level stone
houses, pit graves and wooden coffins, were employed at the same period in
Ferghana; hence the hypothesis that these Chinese accounts are actually de-
scriptions of life in Ferghana.59
Polyandry was the Hephthalites’ most noteworthy social custom. Broth-
ers had one wife in common and the children were considered as belonging to
the oldest brother. The number of ‘horns’ on a married woman’s headdress
corresponded to the number of her husbands. This custom was practised in
ancient times among the Central Asian Saka people, the Massagetae
(Herodotus, I, 216); in medieval Afghanistan (according to al-Biruni); and
among present-day Tibetans.60
Language and scripts

Two accounts of the Hephthalite language have been quoted above, but they
are not very informative. Some scholars believe that the Hephthalites spoke a
Turkic language while others affirm that their language belonged to the East
Iranian group. Although the reading of Hephthalite coins and gemstones is
still the subject of much controversy, an interpretation of the names and titles
appearing on them, and of the names of Hephthalite rulers in Firdausi’s Shah-
name, is possible from East Iranian languages. This does not, however, consti-
tute a conclusive argument. At present it can only be asserted that Bactrian
enjoyed the status of an official language in the Hephthalite domains in
Tokharistan.61
Late Bactrian script is a development of Bactrian script, which was itself
an adapted form of the Greek alphabet. Hephthalite script is typically semi-
cursive or cursive and much of it is difficult (or impossible) to read. Examples
of the Hephthalite written language have been discovered in East Turkestan,
Central Asia, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. However, these are only in-
significant vestiges of the large quantity of written material which, if we are to
believe Hsüan-tsang, was to be found in the regions occupied by the
Hephthalites and particularly in Tokharistan.62
In the vast region controlled by the Hephthalites, people spoke various
languages, including Iranian (Middle Iranian, especially Bactrian, but also
Sogdian and Middle Persian, or Pahlavi), Indian tongues and others of which
58. Enoki, 1959, pp. 49–50.

59. Litvinsky, 1976, p. 56.
60. For details, see Enoki, 1959, pp. 51–6.
61. Livshits, 1969, p. 67.
62. Steblin-Kamenskiy, 1981.
148

we have no written records. Various scripts were also in use, particularly

Bactrian, Pahlavi, Kharoqthi and Brahmi.
Towns
The Hephthalite economy was composed of three sectors: urban, settled agri-
cultural and nomadic. Urban settlements did not outnumber rural settlements,
yet the economic, political, religious and cultural role of the towns was far
more important than that of the villages. Although very little is known about
the towns during the fifth and sixth centuries, it has been established that one
of the largest towns was Balkh, where exploratory excavations have been under-
taken. Hsüan-tsang (writing in 629) describes Po-ho (Balkh) as the Hephthalite
capital, with a circumference of approximately 20 li. He continues: ‘This city,
though well [strongly] fortified, is thinly populated.’ Balkh had about 100 Bud-
dhist viharas (monasteries) and some 3,000 monks. Outside the town was a
large Buddhist monastery, later known as Naubahar.63 Some idea of what Balkh
looked like in the fifth and sixth centuries may be obtained from the descrip-
tions of Arab authors,64 but their accounts all date from a later period. Unfor-
tunately, little archaeological work has been carried out on Balkh.65
Of the same size as Balkh was the early medieval town of Termez which,
according to Hsüan-tsang, lay on an east-west axis and had a circumference of
about 20 li. Termez had some 10 saNgharamas (monasteries) and perhaps
1,000 monks.66 Excavations have been conducted there but little evidence has
been found of the town between the fifth and the seventh century. It consisted
of a rectangular shahristan, or town (roughly 10 ha in area), and a large suburb
enclosed by a wall. The total area was approximately 70 ha and the entire town
was probably surrounded by a wall about 6 km long. It is likely that there was
also a citadel.67
According to Hsüan-tsang, the capital of Chaganiyan was half the size of
Termez and Balkh in terms of its circumference (10 li) and had five Buddhist
monasteries.68 It has been identified with the site of Budrach, which even in
Kushan times had an area of 20 ha and at the period under consideration occu-
pied a much greater area than the Kushan town. The expanded town had a
rectangular citadel, a fortified shahristan with an area of over 50 ha and, be-
yond that, a large suburban area with farms, forts and religious edifices.69
63. Beal, 1969, pp. 43–6; cf. Hui-li, 1959, pp. 50–2.
64. Schwarz, 1933, pp. 434–43.
65. See Le Berre and Schlumberger, 1964; Young, 1955.
66. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, pp. 38–9.
67. Shishkin, 1940, pp. 150–1; Belenitskiy et al., 1973, pp. 177–8.
68. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, p. 39.
69. Rtveladze, 1983.
149

B. A. Litvinsky
The capitals of other regional domains were roughly similar to or larger

than the capital of Chaganiyan. The capital of the province of Hu-sha (or
Vakhsh) had a circumference of 16–17 li70 and is the site of Kafyr-kala in the
Vakhsh valley. It has a walled citadel (measuring 360 × 360 m) in one corner of
the rectangular town, which is, like the citadel, surrounded by a wall with tow-
ers. The citadel contained the palace of the ruler (see below). The town was
divided in half by a central thoroughfare on which stood dwellings, and reli-
gious and commercial buildings. Outside the town fortifications lay extensive
suburbs.71 There were also medium- and small-sized towns such as Kala-i
Kafirnigan.72
Architecture
An idea of the architecture of Tokharistan at the time of the Hephthalites is
provided by the palace (KF-II period) in the citadel of Kafyr-kala (see Chap-
ter 7). It had a square plan (70 × 70 m) and was encircled by two walls, a main
inner wall and a secondary outer one (proteikhos). Strong rectangular towers
were located at the corners, and in the centre of the wall stood semi-circular
projecting towers. Between the corner towers and the projecting towers were
recessed bays with arches containing false arrow slits. The passageways run-
ning along the protective walls had a defensive function.
In the courtyard of the citadel stood the palace buildings. The palace was
laid out around a central rectangular hall with an area of 200 sq. m and was
surrounded by smaller halls and domestic buildings. In the north-west corner
stood a circular hall (8 m in diameter) with a corbelled cupola. This hall was
entered from the east side. In the south-east corner was a Buddhist vihara, a
square sanctuary whose walls were decorated with polychrome murals depict-
ing the Buddha and other Buddhist motifs. Buildings serving various purposes
were located on the square of the shahristan. One complex has been excavated
consisting of a central rectangular hall with a bay flanked by columns in the
rear wall, and by subsidiary rooms.73 Whereas the palace had only one storey,
there were also two-storey buildings such as Kuëv-kurgan near Termez which,
on the second floor, had a frieze of painted statues.
Some of the Buddhist buildings were extremely large, such as the ‘New
SaNgharama’ near Balkh, which contained a magnificent statue of the Buddha
in a spacious room. Both the statue and the room were decorated with rare and
precious substances. There was also a renowned statue of the deity Vaishravana
70. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, p. 40.

71. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985.
73. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985, pp. 8–95.
150

Deva. ‘To the north of the convent is a stupa, in height about 200 feet [61 m],
which is covered with a plaster hard as the diamond, and ornamented with a
variety of precious substances.’74 The tenth-century Arab geographer Ibn al-
Faqih calls the main building al-asbat: the diameter and height of the stupa
were said to be 100 cubits (about 35 m). It was surrounded by porticoes and
contained 360 separate rooms.
The principal building materials were large, rectangular, unbaked bricks
and large pakhsa blocks (made of clay mixed with finely chopped straw). The
walls were often composite, consisting of pakhsa blocks with intervening lay-
ers of brick, or else the lower part was made of pakhsa and the upper part of
brick. Little use was made of baked brick but wood (for columns, and so on)
was often employed. The roofs were either flat (often supported by columns)
or arched and domed. The arches were faced with sloping segments while the
domes were either corbelled (and formed of a horizontal brick overhang) or
supported by squinches.75 In areas south of the Hindu Kush mountains such
as Kapisa and Gandhara, the main building material was stone.
Art and crafts

Several murals at Dilberjin near Balkh date from the fifth to the seventh cen-
tury. In the centre of one of these murals is a large female figure sitting on a
throne with her knees wide apart. In her left hand she holds a shield, and on
her head is an intricate headdress reminiscent of a helmet. Hornlike projec-
tions rise above her shoulders and behind her head is a halo. She has ornaments
on her neck and hands; a cloak is thrown over one shoulder and she is wearing
a belt round her clothing. Two smaller figures, one very small, are moving from
the sides towards the central figure. Other murals feature a procession of men
standing en face, some armed with daggers. They are dressed in narrow kaftans
with turned-down flaps on the right-hand side. A distinctive feature of these
figures is their position ‘on tiptoes’. Another scene shows a feast with sitting
or semi-reclining figures holding goblets in their hands. There are also elabo-
rate compositions whose significance is not yet clear.76 A comparison between
some of the Dilberjin paintings and those at Kyzyl (see illustrations in Chap-
ter 11), particularly ‘the cave of the 16 swordsmen’ and ‘the cave with the pic-
ture of Maya’, demonstrates the link between them and enables us to date these
Dilberjin paintings to the fifth or early sixth century.77
The remarkable cycle of paintings at Balalyk-tepe depicting a feast dates
74. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, pp. 44–8.

75. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985, pp. 49–85; Pugachenkova, 1976, pp. 157–62.
76. Kruglikova, 1976; 1979; see also Buriy, 1979.
77. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985, p. 139.
151

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 2. Bamiyan. Panoramic view of the complex.

(Photo: © Andrea Bruno.)
to the end of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. Great lords are
seated with beautiful ladies, drinking wine from golden goblets while servants
hold large umbrellas over them. The garments and ornaments of the figures at
Balalyk-tepe are similar to those of the figures at Dilberjin.78
An enormous quantity of artistic and architectural remains have been
preserved in central and south-eastern Afghanistan, amongst which are the
objects found at the world-famous complex in Bamiyan (Figs. 2 and 3). There,
in a mountain valley, lived a population whose customs, literature and coinage,
according to Beal, ‘are the same as those of the Tokharistan country. Their
78. Al’baum, 1960; on the dating, see Antonini, 1972, pp. 71–7; Belenitskiy and Marshak, 1979,
p. 35.
152

FIG. 3. Bamiyan. View of the stone cliff.

language is a little different, but in point of personal appearance they closely

resemble each other.’79
It was at Bamiyan that Hsüan-tsang saw gigantic standing figures of the
Buddha and 10 Buddhist establishments with 1,000 monks. They belonged to
the Hinayana and the Lokottaravadin schools. The Chinese traveller was also
struck by the size of the figure of the Buddha reclining in Nirvana. Two huge
standing figures of the Buddha carved in the stone cliff have been preserved,
one 38 m in height (Fig. 4), the other 53 m (Figs. 5–7). At a distance of some
1,800 m, the cliff is pierced at different levels by Buddhist cave edifices (of which
some 750 remain) in which splendid paintings (Figs. 8–11), mainly with Buddhist
79. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, p. 50.
153

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 4. Bamiyan. Figure of the 38-m-high Buddha and cave edifices.
FIG. 5. Bamiyan. Figure of the 53-m-high Buddha.

(Photos: © Andrea Bruno.)
154

FIG. 6. Bamiyan. Close-up view of the highest Buddha.

(Photo: © UNESCO/A. Lézine.)
155

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 7. Bamiyan. Close-up view of the drapery on the highest Buddha.

FIG. 8. Bamiyan. Detail

of the painted decoration
in the cave of the highest
Buddha.
(Photo:
© Andrea Bruno.)
156

FIG. 9. Bamiyan. Detail of the painted decoration in the cave of the highest Buddha.
FIG. 10. Bamiyan. Detail of a wall-painting. Musée Guimet, Paris.

(Photo: © R.M.N. Paris.)
157

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 11. Bamiyan. Wall-painting. Woman musician.

motifs, remarkable high reliefs, and so on (Figs. 12–14), have been preserved.
The entire complex dates from between the third and the seventh century. The
large figure of the Buddha is probably linked to the Hephthalite period.
Also dating from that period is an entire series of works of art, particu-
larly from Balalyk-tepe and Kyzyl, in which Indian, Sasanian and Central Asian
influences can be traced. Also worthy of mention are the complexes at nearby
Kakrak (Figs. 15 and 16) and, much further off, at Dukhtar-i Nushirvan, and
their paintings.80 Huge sculptures of the seated Buddha and Buddha in Nir-
vana have been excavated at the vast Buddhist monastery of Tepe Sardar in
Ghazni, where the central stupa and many surrounding votive stupas and places
of worship have been unearthed.81
80. Godard and Hackin, 1928; Hackin and Carl, 1933; Rowland, 1946; Tarzi, 1977; Higuchi,
1983–4, Vols. 1–3; Kuwayama, 1987; Klimburg, 1987.
81. Taddei, 1968; 1974.
158

FIG. 12. Bamiyan. Detail of a relief laternendeke from cave 5. Musée Guimet, Paris.
FIG. 13. Bamiyan. Interior laternendeke decoration from a cave.

159

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 14. Bamiyan. Interior laternendeke decoration from a cave.

Alongside monumental art, ‘chamber arts’ such as toreutics and the mod-
elling of figurines were highly developed during the Hephthalite period. In
India and Tokharistan, toreutic artists produced fine work, including silver
(sometimes silver gilt) bowls depicting nude and semi-nude women: for exam-
ple, dancers with scarves over their heads hanging down to their thighs at a
royal feast, where the central element in the composition is the bust-length
image of a king that resembles the portraits of kings on Hephthalite coins (see
the Chilek bowl: Figs. 17 and 18). Episodes from the hunt are depicted on a
bowl from Swat. The entire scene is executed with panache: horses race in a
frenzied gallop; hunters and their prey are not only shown in movement but
with complex foreshortening; and some episodes express the authentic drama
of a real hunt.82
The modelling of figurines also achieved a high level. At the beginning of
the Middle Ages, this art form was represented by appliqué work in the shape
of human busts under the handles of vessels and, in later examples, under the
spouts (Ak-tepe II, Tutkaul, and so on). It sometimes took the form of entire
scenes pressed out of a mould and applied to the walls of large vessels or, at
other times, separate ceramic tiles with impressed images.83
82. Dalton, 1964, pp. 53–5, 58–9, Pl. XXIX–XXXIII; Marshak, 1986, pp. 29–31, Figs. 11–13;
Yakubov, 1985; Pugachenkova, 1987.
83. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985; Sedov, 1987, pp. 103–5.
160

FIG. 15. Kakrak. Wall-painting from the ceiling of a cave. Musée Guimet, Paris.
FIG. 16. Kakrak. Statue of a Buddha.

161

B. A. Litvinsky
FIG. 17. Chilek. Decorated silver bowl. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 18. Chilek. Decorated silver bowl. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
162

7
EASTERN KUSHANS, KIDARITES

IN GANDHARA AND KASHMIR,
A N D L AT E R H E P H T H A L I T E S *
A. H. Dani, B. A. Litvinsky and M. H. Zamir Safi
Part One
EASTERN KUSHANS AND KIDARITES
IN GANDHARA AND KASHMIR
(A. H. Dani)
Eastern Kushans
The extensive empire of the Great Kushans lasted until the close of the reign of
Vasudeva I in the early part of the third century,1 but even during his rule there
is little evidence of his continued control over the eastern parts of the Gangetic
valley in northern India.2 The campaigns of the Sasanian rulers Ardashir I and
Shapur I (see Chapter 2) put an end to the prosperity of the Great Kushans.3
On the evidence of the Begram excavations, this collapse was dated to 244; but
the eminent Austrian and Russian numismatists, Göbl and Zeimal, put it much
later. Neither date is generally accepted by Indian scholars,4 who place the end
of the Great Kushan Empire at c. 180. This date accords well with the contem-
porary rise of several tribal states in northern India.5 These states ousted the
Kushans and gradually usurped power right up to eastern Panjab, although in
Gandhara and central and western Panjab the Later Kushans maintained their
hold. Though weakened and hemmed in by the rise of new powers, the Kushans
continued to exercise authority from Bactria to Panjab.
The names of only two Kushan kings of this period are known from coins.
Many historians take them to be Kanishka III and Vasudeva II and distinguish
them on numismatic grounds from earlier Kushan rulers bearing the same
names. Numerous coins of Kanishka III have been found in Panjab, Seistan
(modern Sistan) and Afghanistan, and also in southern Uzbekistan and southern
* See Maps 3 and 4.

1. The exact date depends upon fixing the beginning of the Kanishka era (for discussion, see
Volume II).
2. Sastri, 1957, pp. 247–8.
3. Ghirshman, 1954, p. 291; but see Chattopadhyay, 1979, p. 92, where he maintains that the
successors of Vasudeva I ruled in Bactria and Afghanistan.
4. Altekar and Majumdar, 1946, p. 12.
5. Ibid., Ch. 2.
163

Tajikistan. His coins bear other abbreviated names in Brahmi which are taken
to be those of his satraps, or governors.6
Altekar cites evidence from the Puranas (popular Hindu texts in epic
form, containing some historical material; see Chapter 8),7 which speak of 8
Yavana, 14 Tushara and 13 Murunda chiefs who probably ruled in Panjab in
about the third and fourth centuries. These chiefs have been identified with
names obtained from a series of coins found in Gandhara and Panjab. As all
these coins follow the Ardokhsho type of Kanishka III, the names on them are
thought to be the successors representing the Eastern Kushans, although not
all of them may be ethnically related to the Kushans. In the excavation at Andan
Dheri8 four hoards of copper coins were found, all belonging to this period.
On the obverse, they bear the name Saka in Brahmi. Together with the tribal
name, shortened names of the chiefs occur, such as Sayatha, Sita, Sena, Pra, Mi,
Shri and Bha. These are understood to be the names of seven Saka rulers who
had authority over Gandhara9 after Vasudeva II or III, and probably ruled for
nearly 100 years.
The Russian numismatist Zeimal, however, disagrees with the theory that
there were several kings with the name of Vasudeva. He believes that there was
only one king with this name who issued gold and bronze coins. Gold and
bronze coins with the name of a later ‘Kanishka’ look like those of Vasudeva
(though they are not identical). According to Zeimal, the comparison of gold
coins of Kanishka in the Later Kushan series with those of Vasudeva, the last
Great Kushan king, allows us to determine their relative chronology. The typo-
logical similarity of the earliest coins of the later Kanishka representing the
king in armour allows us to classify them as gold coins of Vasudeva which
formed the second stage in his minting. The similarity is so obvious that it
allows us to regard them as issued at the same mint and probably by the same
master, who then stopped making dies for the coins of Vasudeva. Thus the
coins of the later Kanishka ‘detach themselves’ from the typological series of
the gold coins of Vasudeva, and begin their own series. Rosenfield notes simi-
lar features in the gold coins of Vasudeva and those of the later Kanishka.10
Zeimal supposes that they reigned at the same period but in different
territories, i.e. somewhere in the first half of Vasudeva’s reign the kingdom of
the Great Kushans was divided into two parts. A number of suppositions was
made concerning the manner of the separation into western and eastern parts
or north and south. As a rule, the starting point of the above discussions is a
further development of the types of the enthroned Ardokhsho (= the
6. Banerji, 1908, p. 86; Altekar and Majumdar, 1946, p. 14.

7. Pargiter, 1913, p. 45.
8. Dani, 1968–69, pp. 42–6.
9. Altekar and Majumdar, 1946, pp. 28–9; Chattopadhyay, 1979, pp. 102–3.
10. Zeimal, 1983, p. 223.
164

Eastern Kushans, Kidarites in Gandhara and Kashmir, and Later Hephthalites
later Kanishka) and Shiva in front of the bull (= Vasudeva). The Ardokhsho
type was further developed in the Gupta and Kidarite coinage, while the Shiva
type was used as a prototype for the Kushano-Sasanian coins. The circulation
areas of coins of these kings were different, but their distribution is poorly
investigated. That is why Zeimal considers that the boundaries of the territo-
ries they each controlled should be left open so far.11
The Kushan coin type of the standing king on the obverse and the seated
Ardokhsho on the reverse is also seen in a series that has been given the tribal
name of Shiladas. These coins, which are found in central Panjab, have, on the
obverse, the names of Bhodva, Pasan and Baeharna, who appear to be rulers of
the Shilada tribe holding sway over this area.
In the next series of coins we find the tribal name of Gadahara, who prob-
ably succeeded the Shilada rulers in central Panjab. These coins also show the
names of Peraya, Kirada and Samudra. It is the name Kirada that has also been
read in the coins of Kidara12 (see below). Much controversy has been gener-
ated by the occurrence of the name Samudra: it is generally assumed that it
refers to the great Gupta ruler Samudra (320–375) who, in his Allahabad pillar
inscription,13 claims to have allowed the daivaputra-shahi-shahanushahi (ob-
viously referring to the Kushan king) to rule in his kingdom and issue coinage
in subordinate relation to him.14 It attests to the autonomy of the Kushan king’s
rule over the territory. This statement may be judged against the background
of the military successes of Samudragupta, who by this time had uprooted (see
Chapter 8) the tribal states of the Yaudheyas and Madras, whose territories
extended over eastern and central Panjab. Thus, although Samudragupta had
gone to the very border of Gadahara territory, he did not uproot that tribe, but
merely brought them under his suzerainty. It is equally possible that, being
pressed by the Sasanians in the west, the Gadaharas established diplomatic ties
with the Guptas and thus secured themselves a temporary reprieve.
Before discussing the consequences of this diplomacy, it is necessary to
identify the Gadaharas. Cunningham15 long ago suggested that they may be
the same people who are today known as Gakkharas in western Panjab. Al-
though there is a phonetic similarity in the names, the Gakkharas themselves
trace their ancestry to the Kayanians in Iran and believe that they arrived in
the area at the time of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (988–1030). On the other
hand, the Allahabad inscription gives all the Kushan titles. They are taken to
apply to the Gadaharas, who at this time were issuing Kushan types of coins
in central Panjab. From this evidence the Gadaharas are taken to be the last of
11. Zeimal, 1983, p. 225.

13. Sircar, 1939, p. 258.
14. Chhabra and Gai, 1981, p. 218.
15. Cunningham, 1893–94.
165

the Eastern Kushans ruling independently in Panjab. On the basis of the

Allahabad inscription, they continued to rule well into the first half of the
fourth century.
The economy of the kingdom can be judged from a variety of sources.
First, the contraction of the empire considerably reduced the economic resources
of the state. The international trade routes that had earlier supplied gold and
other luxury items passed out of the hands of the Eastern Kushans, a loss that
is clearly reflected in the currency of the time. The complete cessation of silver
currency by the Eastern Kushans, and the debasement of the gold currency,
show the adverse affect on the balance of trade. However, the abundance of
copper currency proves the continuation of local demand. The Buddhist mon-
asteries and Gandharan art flourished, there was no diminution in the produc-
tion of works of art and urban life continued to be prosperous. The construc-
tion of the new city of Sirsukh at Taxila and the ruins of Rajar at Charsadda in
Gandhara, together with the large number of urban settlements, speak of the
prosperity of the people. This development must have been related to improved
agricultural technology. Three types of irrigation project have been noted in
Gandhara and Panjab. The local governors derived their power from control
over this irrigation system. While it led to the strengthening of the local au-
thority, it nevertheless increased the crops. There is evidence to show that iron
mining was undertaken in the Kala Chitta range right up to Kalabagh on the
Indus, whereas gold was extracted from the ‘gold ant-hills’ in Baltistan and
Ladakh. Trade in precious stones continued with China.
In the land of the Eastern Kushans (i.e. Gandhara and Panjab), no con-
temporary royal inscriptions have been found but many private donations to
Buddhist monasteries have been recorded in Gandhari Prakrit in Kharoqthi
script. However, the use of Indian Brahmi began to spread from this time. Si-
multaneously, as recorded in the later accounts of the Chinese pilgrims, the
Buddhist monks in the famous Kanishka vihara (monastery) at Peshawar used
Sanskrit as their means of expression. The widespread popularity of Shiva and
Nandi, and other deities such as Karttikeya and Durga, may point to the im-
portance of the Hindu religion. On the other hand, Buddhism, which was wide-
spread in this land, developed new monastic orders with lavish facilities. The
role of the Mahayana, implying the cult of the Bodhisattvas, became increas-
ingly prominent among the people. These developments in Buddhism may also
show the impact of new ethnic elements upon the population of the area, al-
though it is impossible to establish the resultant changes in the social system.
The smrtis (books of sacred law) present a picture of a society that is more
applicable to mid-India, which was outside the territory of the Eastern Kushans,
where Buddhist society continued to maintain its hold on the people. The so-
cial system is described by the law texts as that of vratya (land holding), in
other words, a system that fell outside the recognized rules of the orthodox
Hindu system.
166

Kidarites in Gandhara and Kashmir

The earlier history of the Kidarites has been given above (see Chapter 5). The
gold coins present the Kidarite king standing beside an altar on the obverse
and an enthroned goddess on the reverse. Under the king’s arm the legend
Kidara is written perpendicularly on the obverse while the reverse gives the
names (ri Shahi Kidara, Kritavirya, Sarvayawa, Bhavan, Wiladitya, Prakawa and
Kuwala. As the name Kidara is attached to the term Kushana on the coins of
Kidara, it is clear that Kidara must have conquered some parts of the Kushan
territory and hence used the title Kidara Kushana Shahi. Other names that
appear on the coins of Kidara may have been those of his governors posted in
the different parts of his territory or even of those rulers who succeeded him.
If this historical sequence is correct, Kidara must have established himself in
Gandhara some time in the late fourth century. Altekar16 assumes that Kidara
extended his power eastward after the death of Samudragupta. Kidara was suc-
ceeded by his son, and then by Pira at a later date.
On the basis of his analysis of the evidence from Kalhana’s RajataraNgini,
Harmatta concludes that Kimnara ‘represents the Kidarite Hun king Kidara
whose reign in Kashmir must have been presumed already on the basis of his-
torical considerations and numismatic evidence but who could not be identi-
fied in the text of the RajataraNgini hitherto’. He gives the approximate date
of 400–410 for the beginning of Kidara’s reign in Kashmir (see pages 123–4
above).17
It should be noted that the volume of gold coins circulated by the Kidarite
rulers was considerably less than that of the Great Kushans, probably owing
to the decline of commerce and the Kidarites’ loss of control over the interna-
tional trade routes.
With the coming of the Kidarites, Sasanian cultural penetration intensi-
fied, and we can note the influence of the Zoroastrian religion. This has been
well documented by the presence of a fire altar on the coins and also by fire
worship on the bases of many sculptures found in Gandhara. Persepolitan art
motifs, such as the Persepolitan bell capital and winged animals, continued to
be used in Gandhara art. Nevertheless, Buddhism was not eclipsed. It was during
the rule of the Kidarites that the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hsien (c. 400) visited these
lands and his account suggests the continuing influence of Buddhism.
Fa-hsien18 reached the country of To-li (probably the Darel valley in Gilgit
region), where he speaks of a society of priests all belonging to the Little Vehi-
cle (the Hinayana school). He also describes a wooden image of Maitreya Bud-
dha, 80 feet (24 m) high, to whom ‘the kings of the countries round vie with

17. Harmatta, 1984, pp. 185–9.
18. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, Introduction, pp. xxix–xxxvii.
167

each other in their religious offerings’. He then proceeded towards Wu-Chang

(Swat) via the Indus valley road and writes:
The country of Wu-Chang commences North India. The language of mid-India is
used by all. Mid-India is what they call the middle country. The dress of the people,
their food and drink are also the same as in the middle country. The religion of Bud-
dha is very flourishing. The places where the priests stop and lodge they call
saNgharamas. In all there are 500 saNgharamas; they belong to the Little Vehicle with-
out exception.
Fa-hsien also went to Gandhara, where he describes a great stupa, adorned

with silver and gold. According to him, the people here also mostly followed
the Little Vehicle. Then he came to Chu-Ch’a-Shi-lo (the modern Taxila), where
great stupas had been built. He remarks: ‘The kings, ministers and people of
the neighbouring countries vie with one another in their offerings, scattering
flowers and lighting lamps without intermission.’
The most important description that he provides, however, is of Fu-lou-
sha (identified with Peshawar), where he speaks of Kanishka’s vihara and the
great stupa. The last he calls ‘Buddha tower’, saying that it is 40 chang and
more in height and adorned with all the precious substances. Of all the stupas
and temples he has seen, none can compare with this for beauty of form and
strength. This was the highest tower in Jambudvipa. Fa-hsien also refers to the
alms-bowl of the Buddha (which was still in Peshawar at that time) and notes
how a king of the Yuëh-chih wished to carry it away but, failing to do so, built
a stupa and a saNgharama on the spot. There were 700 priests to look after the
bowl and a daily ceremony was held in connection with it. At the approach of
noon it was brought out by the priests and the upasakas (laity) made all kinds
of offerings to it before having their midday meal.
Next Fa-hsien went alone to the city of Hi-lo (modern Hadda near
Jalalabad in Afghanistan), which contained the vihara of the skull-bone of the
Buddha. The ceremony is graphically described:
The door being opened, using scented water they wash their hands and bring out the
skull-bone of the Buddha. They place it outside the vihara on a high throne; taking
a circular stand of the seven precious substances, the stand is placed below it and a
glass bell as a cover over it. All these are adorned with pearls and gems. . . . The offer-
ings finished, each one in order puts it on his head (worships it) and departs. Entering
by the east door and leaving by the west, the king every morning thus offers and
worships, after which he attends to state affairs. Householders and elder-men also
first offer worship and then attend to family affairs.19
Fa-hsien then travelled south into the Rohi country before crossing over to
Bannu and then to Bhira in Panjab. On the way, he ‘passed very many temples
one after another, with some myriads of priests in them’. At last he arrived at
19. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, Introduction, p. xxxiv.
168

the city of Mo-tu-li (present-day Mathura), beyond which lay the middle coun-
try (Madhyadesha). Without naming the ruler or ruling dynasty of this region,
Fa-hsien speaks of the social conditions, the laws of punishment, the habits of
the people and the position of the chandalas (outcasts of Indian society), who
are dubbed ‘evil men’ and hence ‘dwell apart from others’. He provides a very
detailed account of Buddhism in this area and relates a number of traditional
stories about many cities in this country. From here he went on to Sri Lanka
and finally back to China by sea.
Later Hephthalites
Since the early history of the Hephthalites has been given already (see Chap-
ter 6), we shall concentrate here on the later history, with particular reference
to Indian sources. In Indian works, the Hephthalites are known as Wveta Huna;
they are designated by these names in the Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira and in
the Mahabharata.20 On the evidence of the Avesta, Bailey has identified Wveta
Huna with Spet Hyon (meaning White Huns), and Hara Huna with Karmir
Hyon (meaning Red Huns).21 Thus the Huns were split into two groups – Red
Huns and White Huns – in the Indian literature. The struggle of the White
Huns against the Gupta emperors, and their establishment of an independent
empire south of the Hindu Kush, has been discussed earlier (see Chapter 6).
Harmatta’s view that there was a Khingil dynasty ruling over Kabul must
now be modified in the light of a fresh interpretation of the source material
from Kalhana’s RajataraNgini, coins and inscriptions.22 The opinion given be-
low follows the reconstruction made by Biswas,23 who has listed a number of
Huna kings from the Puranas and from the RajataraNgini. The most likely
person to have succeeded Mihirakula in Kashmir and Gandhara is
Pravarasena II, who is believed to be the son of Toramana. However, there was
an interregnum between these two rulers. Pravarasena came to the throne soon
after 530 and ruled for about 60 years. He founded a city with his own name,
Pravarasenapura (identified with modern Srinagar), and adorned it with mar-
kets. Here he also built the great temple of Pravaresha. Within the city he con-
structed a causeway or bridge. His coins bear, on the obverse, the figure of a
standing king and two figures seated below right and left, with his name
Pravarasena; and on the reverse, a goddess seated on a lion with the legend
Kidara. The significance of this legend is not known. This king was followed
by Gokarna, some of whose coins have been discovered. He established the
20. Biswas, 1973, pp. 26–8, where quotations from the original are given.
21. Bailey, 1954, pp. 12–16; 1932, p. 945.
22. Harmatta, 1969, p. 404.
23. Biswas, 1973, Chs. 5 and 6.
169

shrine of Shiva, called Gokarnewvara. His son Narendraditya, who bore the
second name of KhiNkhila, also consecrated shrines to Shiva, called Bhutewvara.
His son was Yudhishthira, nicknamed Andha-Yudhishthira on account of his
small eyes.24
Narendraditya KhiNkhila is identified with a king whose name appears
at the base of the stone image of Vinayaka (Ganesha), found in Kabul, but
probably from Gardez. The king’s name is recorded as Parama-bhattaraka
Maharajadhiraja Shri Shahi KhiNgala Odya (tya) na-Shahi. He also issued coins
with the name either Deva Shahi Khingila or Shri Narendra. Some coins have
the legend Kidara under the king’s arm. All these kings are identified as one
and the same by Biswas, who maintains that KhiNkhila ruled a domain stretch-
ing from Kashmir to Kabul. According to Kalhana, he ruled for some 30–
36 years, that is roughly between 597 and 633. According to Biswas, the Chi-
nese Buddhist pilgrim Hsüan-tsang came to Kashmir when KhiNkhila was ruling
here. Regarding the extent of his empire, Biswas concludes:
The empire of Kashmir included the Kabul valley, the Swat valley and the mountain
regions of Kashmir proper and in the south-east extended as far as Wakala on the
Chenab river. If the king of Kashmir had a hold over Swat, the Kabul valley and
Bannu, it is possible that his empire extended even to Gardez. The Gardez inscrip-
tion of Khingala was probably thus of the Kashmir king KhiNkhila, who was also the
overlord of Udyana.25
KhiNkhila was succeeded by his son Yudhishthira who, according to the

RajataraNgini, ruled for 40 years (until c. 670), when he was dethroned by
Pratapaditya, son of Durlabhavardhana, the ruler of the Karkota dynasty. Ac-
cording to another version Yudhishthira ruled for only 24 years, or until c. 657.
Although Yudishthira was the last great independent Huna (White Hun) ruler,
Kalhana gives a further line of his successors who continued to rule in subor-
dinate positions in Kashmir and other areas.
The end of the rule of Yudhishthira brought further changes in the Huna
kingdom. One major consequence was the foundation of the so-called Türk
Shahi dynasty in Kabul and Gandhara, whose history and origins have been
reconstructed in great detail by Rahman:26
The history of this Turkish family can be traced back to at least A.D. 666, when a
Rutbil is for the first time mentioned in the Arabic chronicles. The date of Barhatigin
who, according to Albiruni [al-Biruni], was the founder of the Turk Shahi dynasty,
must therefore fall about A.D. 666. It would seem that Barhatigin and the first Rutbil
were brothers. The dynastic change mentioned by Huei Ch’ao [Huei-ch’ao] appears
to have taken place long before his visit, but he came to know of it only when he was
24. Stein, 1900–1, Book 1, verses 346–50.

25. Biswas, 1973, p. 137.
26. Rahman, 1979, pp. 37–47 and Ch. 4.
170

in Gandhara in A.D. 726 and at that time he mentioned it in the account of his jour-
ney. Thus the date of the beginning of the rule of the Turk Shahis may be placed
around A.D. 666 or slightly earlier27 [i.e. immediately after the overthrow of
Yudhishthira by the Karkota dynasty in Kashmir].
The Türk Shahis remained in power for nearly 177 years. The end of their rule
in Kabul is dated to 843 on the basis of epigraphic evidence. But the western
branch of the Türk Shahis (the Rutbils of Arabic sources, and generally known
as rulers of Rukhkhaj) continued to rule a little longer until the rise of Yacqub
b. Laith, the amir of Seistan (modern Sistan), who captured Kabul in 870. The
last of the Rutbils, a fugitive in Kabul or Zabulistan, was captured in 870 – a
date which finally brought to a close the long history of the Turkic-speaking
Hephthalites.
Rahman rightly points out that the political history of the Türk Shahis is
inextricably linked with the history of the Muslim governors of Seistan. How
Barhatakin came to power is wrapped in mystery, although it is probable that
his base was in Gandhara. Sheltered behind the rugged hills of the Khyber Pass,
he built up his strength slowly and waited for his chance when the kingdom of
Kabul and Zabulistan were subject to repeated attacks by the Arab governors
of Seistan. In the wake of two attacks by Ibn Samura, Barhatakin gathered his
forces and attacked Kabul. We learn from Chinese sources that the ruler of
Kapisa (probably KhiNkhila) was killed and Barhatakin proclaimed himself king
of Kabul. He extended his rule to Zabulistan and appointed his brother as Hindu
governor with the title of Rutbil, i.e. ‘war thruster’. This is sometimes cor-
rected to hitivira,28 but Harmatta takes it for Zubil and connects it with
yabghu.29
From these sources30 Harmatta builds up the following chronology of
the Türk Shahi rulers:
Wu-san T’ê-chin Shai, 720–738 (Shri Tagino Shaho on the coins)
Fu-lin-chi-so, 738–745 (Phromo Kesaro on the coins)
Po-fu-chun, 745 onwards
Ju-lo-li in Gandhara, 759–764.
From a Tibetan source, Harmatta31 quotes the name Phrom Ge-sar and iden-
tifies him with Fu-lin-chi-so, mentioned above. Further, on the basis of his
interpretation of the Tochi valley inscriptions, Harmatta32 concludes that the
Sanskrit inscription there mentions the name of (Mihira) Bhoja of the Gurjara
Pratihara dynasty who, in 860, extended his rule westward and helped Lalliya,
the founder of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, to wrest Gandhara and Kabul from
27. Rahman, 1979, p. 47.

28. Ibid., p. 180.
29. Harmatta, 1969, p. 406.
30. Ibid., p. 409.
31. Ibid., pp. 409–11.
32. Ibid., p. 367.
171

the Türk Shahis and kept him there in opposition to Yacqub b. Laith. This
inference of Harmatta brings the Gurjara dominion right beyond the Indus,
for which we have no other evidence. However, the power of the Gurjaras
certainly increased in eastern and central Panjab and the Karkota dynasty ruled
supreme in Kashmir. As a result of their aggrandizement, Huna power col-
lapsed in the third quarter of the ninth century; those Huna principalities that
survived became assimilated to the local order and thereafter played an insig-
nificant role.
Economic and cultural progress

The archaeological evidence from Taxila led Marshall33 to speak of the great
destruction caused by the Huns and the consequent disruption of the economic
and cultural progress of the countries where they ruled. This conclusion has
been contradicted by Dani,34 who believes that urban life continued in Taxila
and the monasteries were maintained, as attested by Hsüan-tsang during his
visit in the seventh century. New evidence from along the Karakorum high-
way reveals a brisk trade and commercial relations between Gandhara, China
and the trans-Pamir region. Although the Silk Route was disrupted because of
new imperial alignments, trade was deflected southward.
One major change in this period relates to agricultural production and
the administration of revenues. Up to the time of the Kidarites, there is evi-
dence for the survival of the satrapal system of administration in the Kabul
valley, Gandhara and Panjab; but during their rule this administrative system
appears to have died out. In its place we note a large number of tribal chiefs
who assumed the title of raja. For the first time Bana (court poet from 606 to
647) in his Harwa-Caritam uses the title of rajaputra, from which is derived the
modern term Rajput. The growth of the rajas and Rajputs (see Chapter 8,
page 189) in the socio-economic life of the hilly regions and plains of Panjab is
a new phenomenon that dates from the time of the Huns. The changing pat-
tern of land tenure led to a new form of economic system, which has been
loosely described as a feudal relation, although feudalism of the European pat-
tern did not develop in this part of the world (see also Chapter 8, page 193).
The Rajput system perpetuated the claim of the tribal heads to land which they
possessed by right of their joint aggrandizement. Thus they became the real
owners of the land, and also of the settlers upon it.
This new property system led to the development of a social order that
has survived to the present time. Whether it also led to greater agricultural
production is difficult to say. It undoubtedly led to new agricultural manage-
33. Marshall, 1951.

34. Dani, 1986, pp. 75–8.
172

ment by the officers of the state through the tribal heads who had a direct stake
in the land. There are at least three pieces of archaeological evidence: from the
Idak-Spinwam region in north Waziristan, from Gilgit proper and from Skardu.
In all these places new irrigation channels were opened up. In other areas, natural
springs were channelled to irrigate terraced fields. Consequently, there does
not appear to have been any loss in agricultural production although the land-
less labourers undoubtedly suffered and slavery must have been rampant as a
consequence. For example, the Türk Shahi ruler of Kabul had to pay an annual
tribute of 2,000 slaves to the Arab governor of Khurasan.
On the other hand, the system led to relations of production in which
the agricultural magnates enjoyed all the economic, social and even religious
privileges whereas ordinary people struggled to survive and were at the mercy
of the landlords. As amply demonstrated by the history of the rulers of Gilgit,
there were continuous wars of succession between the sons of these chiefs, and
a consequent wastage of property and manpower. The feudal Rajput system
nevertheless established itself in the existing social milieu. Rather than destroying
the caste system, it found its place within it, absorbing the caste groups within
its own economic sphere and giving them a new function.
The Huns were fervent worshippers of the sun god and of Shiva and a
number of Shiva temples were built in Kashmir. In the Gilgit region, Bud-
dhism flourished and developed a new form. The most important piece of
evidence comes from the Buddhist creations at Bamiyan, where tall Buddha
figures, cave paintings and monasteries attest the progress of art in this region
(see Chapter 6).
Hsüan-tsang has left a detailed description of the Buddhist centres and
monastic life in the period of the Huns,35 waxing lyrical when he visits Bamiyan.
From a cultural point of view, his most valuable observation is the following:
These people are remarkable, among all their neighbours, for a love of religion (a
heart of pure faith); from the highest form of worship to the three jewels, down to
the worship of the hundred (i.e. different) spirits, there is not the least absence
(decrease) of earnestness and the utmost devotion of heart. The merchants, in arrang-
ing their prices as they come and go, fall in with the signs afforded by the spirits. If
good, they act accordingly; if evil, they seek to propitiate the powers. There are
ten convents and about 1000 priests. They belong to the Little Vehicle, and the school
of the Lokottaravadins.36
The description of Kapisa is no less instructive in its picture of the economy

and culture:
It produces cereals of all sorts, and many kinds of fruit-trees. The shen horses are
bred here, and there is also the scent (scented root) called Yu-kin. Here also are found
35. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, p. 50.

36. Ibid.
173

objects of merchandise from all parts . . . In commerce they use gold and silver coins,
and also little copper coins . . . The king is a Kshattriya by caste. He is of a shrewd
character (nature), and being brave and determined, he has brought into subjection
the neighbouring countries, some ten of which he rules.37
Hsüan-tsang’s descriptions of the capital cities of Kapisa, Gandhara and Taxila

leave no doubt that these centres continued to maintain their urban nature in
this period, although some were no longer royal seats of government. On the
other hand, the foundation of new cities in Kashmir by the later Huna kings,
as noted by Kalhana, speaks highly of the patronage they exercised. Under
their rule Shaivism and the worship of the sun god were encouraged (many
images of the sun god have been found in Gandhara). But as far as the old cities
such as Taxila and Purushapura are concerned, fresh archaeological evidence
has not produced any new data. Only in the case of Taxila do new studies of
the earlier finds suggest that the fortifications at the site of Giri belonged to the
Huna period. On the other hand, Huei-ch’ao’s visit to Purushapura in 726 and
his description of the Kanishka vihara there provide ample proof of the con-
tinued existence of the Buddhist centre.
Sanskrit references
The references in Sanskrit sources to the dynasty of Mihirakula are of great
importance as they throw light on the character of the rulers. The largest number
of references is found in Kalhana’s RajataraNgini.38 In the Puranas the Hunas
are equated with the Mlecchas and are said to rule over the vratya countries
(see above). The Prakrit work, the Kuvalayamala, mentions the land of Uttara-
patha through which flows the River Chandrabhaga (Chenab). On its bank lay
the city of Pavvaiya, where lived Shri Toramana (the father of Mihirakula),
enjoying the sovereignty of the world. In the Kura inscription,39 which records
the construction of a Buddhist monastery, the ruling king is thus recorded:
Rajadhiraja Maharaja Toramana Shahi Jaula. The Gwalior inscription40 paints
a memorable picture:
[There was] a ruler of [the earth] of great merit, who was renowned by the name ofWri
Toramana, by whom, through his heroism [that was especially characterized by] truth-
fulness, the earth was governed with justice. Of him, the fame of whose family has risen
high, the son [is] of unequalled power, the lord of the earth, who is renowned under the
name of Mihirakula [and] who [himself] unbroken [?] worships Pawupati.
37. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, pp. 54–5.

38. On the basis of this, Biswas has reconstructed the political history of the Hunas in India; see
Biswas, 1973.
39. Sircar, 1939, p. 56.
40. Ibid., p. 400.
174

These quotations show the nature of the Huna rulers who conquered this part
of the world. Mihirakula was a devotee of Shiva. That he wielded great power
is confirmed by the Mandasor inscription of Yashodharman, which says of
Mihirakula: ‘Through the embraces of whose arm Himalaya carries no longer
the pride of the title of being [an inaccessible] fortress.’ The Bhitari pillar in-
scription of Skandagupta describes the eventful scene of the Gupta king’s ter-
rible conflict with the Hunas in the following words: ‘By whose two arms the
earth was shaken, when he, the creator of a terrible whirlpool, joined in con-
flict with the Hunas.’
Bana, court poet of King Harsha, speaking of Harsha’s father in the early
seventh century, uses the phrase Huna-Harina-Kesari (lion to the Huna deer).
In other words, from the great power that the Hunas wielded in their early
career and so graphically described in Sanskrit literature, they lost their pres-
tige after their defeat in c. 528 by Yashodharman (king of Malwa) and Baladitya
(the Gupta king of Magadha), and were remembered as weak as deer before
the lion king of Kanauj.
Coinage of the Hunas

The earliest Huna coins imitate those of Shapur II, except that the Pahlavi script
is replaced by Bactrian. These coins also bear the Hephthalite symbol on the
obverse. They do not bear mint marks, although a few coins show simple Brahmi
letters, such as Thai, Sa, or Se, Je, Bra, Tu or Dhe. These Huna coins are di-
vided into three groups: (a) Early Huna coins; (b) Huna coins of Tunjina I,
Toramana and Mihirakula; and (c) Later Huna coins of kings who ruled in
Kashmir, Gandhara and parts of Panjab.
The Brahmi legends of the second group of Huna coins establish their
identity and also show more varieties. One coin of the earlier design has yielded
the name Thujana (*Thumjina) and is attributed to the first ruler, Tunjina. Then
we find coins inscribed Shahi Javukha or Shahi Javuvla. The attribution of
these coins to Toramana is doubtful. His coins are only in silver and copper: no
gold coins of his time have so far been found. Toramana’s silver coins are of
three varieties: those showing the Sasanian bust and fire altar; those showing a
horseman on the obverse; and those copying the Gupta coins from Gujarat.
The reverse of the last series depicts a dancing peacock. The coins bear the
Brahmi legend meaning ‘Shri Toramana Deva, the invincible, conquers’. His
copper coins are of two categories: the first shows the Kushan type of standing
king on the obverse with the king’s name and a seated goddess on the reverse;
the second variety has a Sasanian bust on the obverse, and a solar wheel on the
reverse with Tora in bold letters.
Mihirakula struck coins in many styles. They are also of silver and cop-
per. The silver coins show a bull on the obverse with the legend Jayatu
175

Mihirakula or Jayatu Vrqadhvaja. In examples where the bull is seated, the

king has his face turned to the right; on the reverse is the fire altar. Mihirakula’s
copper coins are more common: they keep the bust type of the silver coins but
omit the bull standard. On the reverse, however, the bull is shown in the upper
register. Sometimes there is a trident before the bull with the legend Jayatu
Vrqa. The second variety copies the Kushan example of standing king on the
obverse with the legend Shahi Mihirakula. On the reverse again we find the
bull.
The Later Huna coins of Pravarasena II (which are gold) continue the
Kushan style of the standing king on the obverse and the seated goddess on the
reverse, with the legend Shri Pravarasena on the obverse and Kidara on the
reverse. The coins of Narendraditya KhiNkhila are struck with his name, Deva
Shahi KhiNgila. These coins have the beardless king’s head to the right. An-
other type shows the standing king on the obverse with the legend Kidara, and
the seated goddess with the legend Shri Narendra on the reverse. We also find
the coins of Lahkhana Udayaditya showing the bust of the king. Thus the coins
of the Hunas, which begin by copying the Sasanian type, later show the Kushan
type and then gradually become more localized with Brahmi legends and sym-
bols.41
P a r t Tw o
T H E L AT E R H E P H T H A L I T E S IN CENTRAL ASIA
(B. A. Litvinsky and M. H. Zamir Safi)
Between 560 and 563, the Türks inflicted a crushing blow on the Hephthalites.
The fact that Sughd resumed its external political relations in 564, after a long
interval, enables us to pinpoint this date more precisely: Sughd could no longer
have been controlled by the Hephthalites, and the decisive battle against the
Türks at Bukhara probably took place in 563. According to Firdausi’s Shah-
name, troops from Balkh, Shughnan, Amol, Zamm, Khuttal, Termez and
Washgird fought on the side of the Hephthalites in this battle and weapons and
essential equipment were also obtained from those places,42 that is chiefly from
the right-bank regions of Tokharistan (ancient Bactria).
After the battle, the remnants of the Hephthalite levies fled to the south,
where Faganish, the ruler of Chaganiyan, was chosen as king. Upon learning
of these events, the shahanshah of Iran, Khusrau I (531–579), moved his troops,
41. For another classification, chronological consequences and an analysis of coins, inscriptions,
symbols, etc. of Huna coins, see the very important work of Göbl, 1967, Vols. 1–4.
42. Mohl, 1868, pp. 308–16.
176

obliging Faganish to accept vassal status. The areas to the north of the Amu
Darya (Oxus) were subsequently recognized as possessions of the Türk kaghans
while the areas to the south were acknowledged as belonging to Sasanian Iran.
It is reported that the Türks exacted tribute from the Hephthalites (evidently,
the Hephthalites of northern Tokharistan). It is also recorded that Khotan, Persia
and the Hephthalites (i.e. the same Hephthalites of Tokharistan) rebelled against
the Türks in 581.43
Al-Biruni writes in his al-Qanun al-Mascudi that Tokharistan ‘in the days
of old was the country of the al-Hayatila [Hephthalites]’.44 According to mod-
ern researchers, the Islamic geographic term Haital (Hephthalite) ‘was for long
synonymous with the regions of Tuxaristan and Badaxsan to the south of the
upper Oxus and those of Chaganian, Qubadiyan, Xuttal and Waxs to the north
of it’.45
Thus Hephthalite buffer principalities with vassal status were formed in
the south of Central Asia. One of them, Chaganiyan, lies in the upper and
central valley of the Surkhan Darya river. It is certain that a Hephthalite dynasty
– which may have been descended from the Faganish mentioned above – ruled
in Chaganiyan. The coinage in circulation was mainly that of Khusrau I
Anushirvan: at first, this was the genuine currency of the shahanshah, but imi-
tations later appeared with the name of the local rulers, ‘σαρρο χδηο, ξαρινο
χδηο’. Finally, coins appeared stamped like those of Khusrau I but with the
name of the local ruler, ‘ποινοιο χδηο’, on the reverse, on either side of an
altar; while the obverse bears no inscription.46 The local ruling dynasty, whose
representatives bore the title of Chaghan khudat, continued to exist in the pre-
Arab period.47 Several of the rulers are known to us by name: an Afrasiab in-
scription states that emissaries arrived in Samarkand from the Chaganiyan ruler,
Turantash. Later, in the first quarter of the eighth century, the ruler of
Chaganiyan was Tish48 the ‘One-Eyed’, who also ruled the whole of Tokharistan
with the title of yabghu. There was also a developed system of administration.
The above-mentioned emissaries from Chaganiyan were led by the dapirpat,
the chief scribe or head of chancellery.
Another major Hephthalite possession was Khuttal, which lay within
the territory of the present-day Kulyab region, that is, the basin of the River
Kyzyl-su, and at times also included the Vakhsh valley. The local dynasty here
also followed an established order of succession.49 The local rulers bore the
Iranian title of khuttal-shah or sher-i khuttal while the Arabs referred to them
43. For further details, see Mandel’shtam, 1964, pp. 42–3.

44. See al-Biruni, 1973, p. 467.
45. Bosworth and Clauson, 1965, p. 5.
46. Rtveladze, 1983, p. 75.
47. Bosworth, 1981, pp. 1–2.
48. ‘Tish’ was the Bactrian name for the star Sirius.
49. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, Vol. 2, p. 1618.
177

as muluk (pl. of malik, king).50 There is as yet no evidence that specifically

Khuttal coinage was minted, but the practice existed in several neighbouring
territories. In particular, the territories of Termez and Kobadian minted their
own copper coinage from the end of the fifth to the beginning of the seventh
century. Pierced copper coins bearing cursive Hephthalite inscriptions circu-
lated in Kobadian and Vakhsh from the second quarter of the seventh cen-
tury.51
A further important Hephthalite possession was Balkh, the premier town
in Tokharistan, which, at that time, had extensive territory. Written reports
provide detailed descriptions of Balkh and its buildings, including the renowned
Naubahar (Buddhist temple near Balkh) of the late sixth century. Its name
derives from the Sanskrit nova vihara (new monastery). The Buddhist com-
munity was headed by the barmak, a title derived from the Sanskrit, parmak
(superior or chief). At Balkh, too, coins were minted.
Important information about all these territories is given in the descrip-
tion of the journey made by the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, Hsüan-tsang; al-
though he travelled after Tokharistan had been conquered by the Türks, much
remained unchanged at the time of his journey in 630. Tokharistan (Tou-ho-lo)
comprised 27 territories ‘divided by natural boundaries’. Of the local popula-
tion he says: ‘Their language differs somewhat from that of other countries.’
His description of the written language corresponds to Bactrian Hephthalite
writing, which was based on the Greek alphabet. Hsüan-tsang also mentions
the wealth of literary works and remarks that ‘most of the people use fine cot-
ton for their dress; some use wool’. He refers to their coinage, which differs
from that of other countries.
The territory of Termez (Ta-mi) lay on an east-west axis, as did its capi-
tal, which contained some 10 Buddhist saNgharamas (monasteries) with ap-
proximately 1,000 monks, and stupas and images of the Buddha. The territory
of Chaganiyan (Shih-han-na) was somewhat smaller than Termez, its capital
was only half the size and there were only some 500 saNgharamas. Similarly,
the territory and capital of Kobadian (Kio-ho-yen-na) were half the size of
those of Termez and the country contained 10 monasteries with hundreds of
monks. Although the territory of Vakhsh was slightly smaller than that of
Termez, their capitals were almost the same size. The capital of the territory of
Khuttal (Kho-to-lo) was the same size as Termez.
The territory of Balkh (Po-ho) was larger than that of Termez and bor-
dered on the River Amu Darya to the north. The capital was the same size as
Termez, well fortified but with a small population. Agricultural produce was
varied. There were roughly 100 saNgharamas with 3,000 Hinayana monks.
Outside the town was the ‘new saNgharama’, ‘which was built by a former
50. Marquart, 1901, p. 30; Belenitskiy, 1950, p. 115.

51. Davidovich and Zeimal, 1980, pp. 72–4.
178

king of this country’. There follows a description of this saNgharama and the
buildings in the religious complex, including a giant stupa.52
The Hephthalites settled over a much wider area within the limits of
modern Afghanistan than the area of Balkh, penetrating westwards as far as
Herat and Badhghis. In the struggle against the Arabs, the tribes of the Herat
Hephthalites helped to resist the troops of cAbdallah b. Amir in Kuhistan (see
Chapter 19, Part One).53 The Hephthalites are mentioned in connection with
the events of 704,54 along with ‘Tibetans’ and ‘Türks’. The leader of the
Hephthalites of Herat and Badhghis, Tarkhan Nizak (Figs. 1 and 2), played a
major role in the struggle against the Arabs. Arab sources provide detailed in-
formation about this ruler and his role in the events connected with the fall of
the last Sasanian king, Yazdgird III (632–651). According to the early thirteenth-
century geographer Yakut (V, 461), Badhghis was the ‘headquarters of the
Hayatila [Hephthalites]’. Other sources describe Tarkhan Nizak as ‘king of
the Hephthalites’. He also played an active part in the struggle against the Ar-
abs in Tokharistan and twice attempted to capture Balkh. Taken together, this
evidence indicates that a powerful confederation of Hephthalite tribes existed
in north-western Afghanistan.55
The Khalaj, the successors of the Hephthalites

The Hephthalites were succeeded by the Khalaj, a people or tribes originally
living in western Turkestan and then in Afghanistan during the ninth (eighth?)
to the twelfth centuries. Arab geographers of the ninth and tenth centuries place
them among the Türk tribes and frequently confuse the Khalaj with the
Khallukh (i.e. Karluk) as only diacritical marks distinguish these two ethnonyms
in Arabic script. Hence, information relating to the Khallukh is often included
in descriptions of the Khalaj. For example, the Arab geographer Ibn
Khurradadhbih includes the Khalaj among the Türk tribes and locates their
winter quarters in the region of the River Talas adjoining the land of the
Khallukh, but also states that they live ‘on this side’ of the Amu Darya, i.e. to
its south and west. According to the tenth-century geographers al-Istakhri and
Ibn Hauqal, the Khalaj lived in Zamin-Dawar. They are said to have moved in
ancient times to that province situated between Hind and Seistan (modern
Sistan) but to have retained ‘Turkic appearance, dress and language’. The Per-
sian geography, the Hudud al-calam [Regions of the World], provides the fol-
lowing information:
52. Beal, 1969, Vol. 1, pp. 37–46.

53. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, Vol. 1, p. 2886.
54. Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 1,153.
55. Marquart, 1901, pp. 76–8; Markwart, 1938, pp. 39–41; Bivar, 1971, p. 304.
179

FIG. 1. Coin of Tarkhan Nizak (obverse). FIG. 2. Coin of Tarkhan Nizak (reverse).
(Photos: © Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.)
In Ghazni and in the limits of the boroughs which we have enumerated, live the
Khalaj Turks who possess many sheep. They wander along climates, grazing grounds
and pasture-lands. These Khalaj Turks [are] also numerous in the provinces of Balkh,
Tukharistan, Bust and Guzganan.56
A later author (beginning of the thirteenth century), Muhammad b. Najib

Bakran, writes in his Jahan-name that:
the Khalaj are a tribe of Turks who from the Khallukh limits emigrated to Zabulistan.
Among the districts of Ghazni there is a steppe where they reside. Then on account
of the heat of [the] air their complexion has changed and tended towards blackness;
the language, too, has undergone alterations and become a different dialect. A tribe
of this group went to the limits of Bavard and founded some settlements.57
The author notes acutely that the appearance and language of the Khalaj differ
significantly from those of the Türks. Another source, the Tarikh-e Sistan [The
History of Sistan], distinguishes the Khalaj from the Türks when describing
the peoples conquered by Yacqub b. Laith.58 They are also said to differ in
Firdausi’s Shah-name.59 The account by al-Khwarazmi in his Mafatih al-culum
(composed shortly after 977) is conclusive with regard to the origin of the Khalaj.
He writes that the Hayatila (Hephthalites) ‘are a tribal group who were for-
56. Hudud al-calam, 1970, p. 111.

57. Ibid., p. 348.
58. Tarikh-e Sistan, 1976, p. 170.
59. Mohl, 1868, p. 682.
180

merly powerful and ruled over Tukharistan; the Khaladj and Kandjina. Turks
are remnants of them.’60 According to Minorsky, ‘the early history of the Khalaj
tribe is obscure’.61
Marquart62 considers that the Khalaj belonged to the Hephthalite people
or Hephthalite confederation and that they were a Turkic people.63 He arrives
at the conclusion that they belonged to the Hephthalites on the basis of al-
Khwarazmi’s Mafatih al-culum and by analysing ‘two names found in pre-
Islamic sources’. The first name, Xwls (or Khwls) (Marquart suggests the read-
ing: *Kholas), occurs in a Syriac history known as the Zaharias Rhetor (554–5),
which lists the names of the Northern Barbarians. The second name, Kholiatai
or Choliatai, occurs three times in the account by Zemarkhos, the Byzantine
envoy to the Turkic court in 568. For Minorsky, it is clear that the Kholiatai:
‘(1) lived to the east of the Jaxartes, (2) probably to the west of Talas, (3) that
they had towns, and (4) that their ruler was an important vassal of Dizabul
[king of the Türks]’.64
In his list of the ‘lands of the Turks’, Ibn Khurradadhbih mentions the
Karluk and the Khalaj together ‘and these [latter] are on this side of the River
[Oxus]’, that is, to the south and west of the Amu Darya. In another passage,
he reports that the winter quarters of the Karluk were near Kasra-bash to the
south of the Talas, ‘and near them are the winter quarters of the Khalaj’. But
the distance between the Amu Darya and the Talas is such that it would have
been impossible for the tribes living beyond the Amu Darya to use the Talas
pastures as winter quarters. The logical conclusion is: ‘Either the text is muti-
lated or there were still (?) some Khalaj living near the Khallukh.’65 Minorsky
adds, ‘The tempting point in Marquart’s theory is that both Zemarkhos and
Ibn Khurradadhbih have in view the region near Talas. However, the identity
of the names Xwls χολιαται and Khalaj is still to be proved.’66
In spite of this and other objections, Marquart’s view has become the
prevailing one in the field. It may be taken as established that the Khalaj were
the descendants of the Hephthalites who moved to the south of Afghanistan,
although some of them remained in the north. Subsequently, they are frequently
referred to in historical accounts as participating in various wars. Some of them
moved to western Iran (Khalajistan) and even to Anatolia; they now speak a
very archaic Turkic language. After a number of ethnic transformations, the
60. Bosworth and Clauson, 1965, p. 6.

61. Minorsky, 1940, p. 426.
62. Marquart, 1901, pp. 251–4.
63. Elsewhere he is inclined to believe that their language was Mongolic: see Marquart, 1914,
p. 73; Markwart, 1938, p. 93.
64. Minorsky, 1940, p. 427.
65. Ibid., p. 428.
66. Ibid.
181

Afghan Khalaj became ‘the Pashto-speaking Ghalzay or Ghilzay tribe of Af-

ghans’.67 This Pashto-speaking tribe is first referred to in connection with
Babur’s campaign against Ghalji near Ghazni, which means that this process
was completed by the beginning of the sixteenth century.68
Urban life and art in Tokharistan

The sixth century was characterized by a degree of progress in urban life in
Tokharistan. Old towns and settlements, including such major ones as Balkh,
Dilberjin and Termez, continued to exist. There are over 100 early medieval
monuments on the territory of the Surkhan Darya region of Uzbekistan alone,
of which roughly 60 per cent date from the fifth to the eighth century. The
network of urban settlements was reorganized, perhaps fundamentally, with
the development of new social and economic conditions and the beginnings of
feudal relationships. Many new settlements sprang up, including some which
were medium-sized or large. As far as we can judge from the incomplete data,
the internal structure of urban settlements underwent modification. Despite
the far-reaching changes in all areas of urban life, material culture and art, how-
ever, links may be observed with the previous period.
Among the urban centres which finally took shape in the sixth century
was Kafyr-kala, capital of the Vakhsh valley. The town and citadel formed a
regular square with sides of 360 m. They were surrounded on all sides by a
large ditch (50–60 m wide and 5 m deep) and by defensive walls reinforced
with strong towers. The citadel (of 70 × 70 m) in the north-east corner of the
town had exceptionally strong fortifications. It was surrounded by two walls.
The inner, main wall had strong angle towers and projecting semi-circular
towers. Between the towers were stepped arched niches containing false arrow-
shaped loopholes. The fortifications were exceptionally strong. Passages run-
ning along the fortified walls were used for defensive purposes. The palace
complex in the citadel was built around a rectangular hall with an area of 200 sq.
m, surrounded by smaller halls and domestic offices. The southern part of the
palace contained the Buddhist vihara and a courtyard. The vihara had a cen-
tral sanctuary and ambulatory. The walls of the sanctuary were decorated with
polychrome murals depicting the Buddha and other Buddhist figures.
There were also castles, one example being Kuëv-kurgan. This was a two-
storey structure (18 × 20 m) erected on a 3-m platform of pakhsa (sun-baked
brick). The rooms on the lower floor were built around a small, almost square
hall. There were also several rectangular and passage-like rooms, some of which
were very elongated. The layout of the upper floor is uncertain, although a
67. Minorsky, 1940; Bosworth and Doerfer, 1978; Rahman, 1979.

68. Frye, 1965, p. 1001.
182

richly decorated ceremonial room was apparently located on the upper floor
above the hall. This room contained a frieze of some ten or twelve painted
statues and the walls were covered by murals.69
Balalyk-tepe with its remarkable cycle of paintings, the later areas of
Dilberjin with the corresponding paintings, Bamiyan and a number of other
monuments in Afghanistan apparently belong to the sixth century, when ar-
chitecture, painting and decorative metalwork achieved a high level of devel-
opment. A detailed description of the surviving examples of the art of the pe-
riod is provided in Chapter 6.
69. Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985.
183

8
T H E G U P TA KINGDOM*
K. Chakrabarti
Origin and political history of the Guptas

The political disintegration which followed the dissolution of the Kushan
Empire continued up to the beginning of the fourth century. The Kushans still
ruled over western Panjab, but they had ceased to exercise any authority fur-
ther east. The Sakas ruled over Gujarat and a part of Malwa, but their power
was also on the decline. The rest of northern India was divided into a number
of small kingdoms and autonomous states.
The origin of the Guptas is somewhat obscure. Many authorities on Gupta
history believe that they came from Magadha or northern Bengal, which was
the original nucleus of their empire. On the basis of the provenance of early
Gupta coin hoards and the distribution of the important Gupta inscriptions,
historians have now come to accept the lower Doab region as the original home
of the Guptas.
From the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta we learn that while
the first two kings of the Gupta dynasty were merely maharajas, Chandra-
gupta I (c. 319/320–c. 335 or c. 350), the son and successor of the second king,
Ghatotkaca (c. 280–c. 319), assumed the title of maharajadhiraja. This has led
some historians to believe that the ancestors of Chandragupta I were petty land-
holders under the Later Kushans, the Bharashivas or the Murundas.
The Gupta era dates from the accession of Chandragupta I in c. 319/320,
although the era itself was not introduced by him. Chandragupta I married a
Licchavi princess early in his career. The Licchavis were an old-established clan
who ruled over the Magadhan region during the first quarter of the fourth
century. The Guptas were very proud of this alliance: they publicized it by
issuing a class of gold coins known as the Chandragupta I–Kumaradevi type
* See Map 4.
185

K. Chakrabarti
and by describing Samudragupta, the son and successor of Chandragupta I, as

‘Licchavi-dauhitra’ (son of the daughter of the Licchavis) in their inscriptions.
At the time of the death of Chandragupta I in c. 350, the Guptas, in alliance
with the Licchavis, had become the greatest power of northern India. This al-
liance brought with it certain problems, however, since the nature and tradi-
tions of the two states were fundamentally different. The Guptas were monar-
chical and patrons of Brahmanism, whereas the Licchavis had strong Buddhist
leanings. The Allahabad pillar inscription tells us that Chandragupta nomi-
nated Samudragupta as his successor. This choice was obviously resented by
some members of the family, since Kacha, who is known to us from his
Chakradhvaja and Garudadhvaja variety of coins, revolted against his brother
Samudragupta. Kacha’s reign was shortlived, however; he was easily overcome
and Samudragupta ascended the throne in c. 350.
A lengthy eulogy to Samudragupta (who ruled until c. 375) was inscribed
on an Awokan pillar at Allahabad that provides detailed information about his
military achievements and lists the names of the states and people conquered
by him. Unsupported by other evidence, and coming from a eulogy, this infor-
mation must be treated with caution. Nevertheless the list is impressive. In real
terms, however, Samudragupta’s direct political control was confined to the
Ganges valley, since the kings of the south and the Deccan were not under his
suzerainty, but merely paid him tribute. The position was similar with the tribes
of Rajasthan and Panjab, although Samudragupta’s campaigns broke the power
of the already weakened tribal republics. In the west, the Sakas remained un-
conquered. The validity of Samudragupta’s wider claims is questionable.
Daivaputra shahi shahanushahi is clearly a Kushan title, but the precise nature
of the relationship with them remains uncertain (see Chapters 5 and 6). Never-
theless Samudragupta achieved the difficult task of bringing about the political
unification of the Ganges valley.
Samudragupta was succeeded by his son, Chandragupta II, who ruled
for 40 years (c. 375 – c. 415). There appears to have been trouble over his suc-
cession, just as in the case of his father. A play entitled the Devi Chandraguptam,
written by Vishakhadatta some two centuries later and supposedly dealing with
events on the death of Samudragupta, suggests that Ramagupta succeeded
Samudragupta. The discovery of copper coins of Ramagupta in Vidisha-Airikina
(in the eastern Malwa region), of the lion, garuda (a bird that was the vehicle of
Vishnu and the badge of the Guptas), garudadhvaja (a garuda standard) and
border legend types, lends credence to the possibility that Ramagupta was a
governor of Malwa who assumed independence at the death of Samudragupta,
but was eventually defeated by Chandragupta II.
The Devi Chandraguptam, however, points to the fact that Chandra-
gupta II’s major campaign was fought against the Sakas. The Udaygiri cave
inscription of Virasena, Chandragupta II’s minister of war and peace, records
that Chandragupta came with him to that region to ‘conquer the whole world’,
186

The Gupta kingdom
referring to the Saka wars. The last known date of the kqatrapa coins is c. 388
and the earliest silver coins of Chandragupta II, struck in imitation of them,
were of 409. Thus the annexation of western India to the Gupta kingdom must
have taken place between these dates. This completed the Gupta conquest of
northern India and gave them access to the western Indian ports.
It is generally believed that Chandragupta II gave his daughter
Prabhavatigupta in marriage to the Vakataka crown prince Rudrasena II to
secure an ally for his Saka campaigns. But the Vakatakas, who had risen to the
position of major power in the Vidarbha and adjacent regions in the latter half
of the third century, were then passing through a crisis and were thus unable to
act as a safeguard for the Guptas against their Saka adversaries. The Guptas
nevertheless put this marriage alliance to good use. Rudrasena II died five years
after coming to the throne and as his sons were minors, his widow, the daugh-
ter of Chandragupta II, acted as regent from 390 to 410. This allowed the Guptas
to secure virtual control of the Vidarbha region.
Gupta power reached its apogee under Chandragupta II. In the east the
frontiers were preserved and in the west they were stretched beyond the Jamuna.
The republican states to the west of Mathura were finally integrated with the
kingdom; western India was added; and the Deccan was brought under its or-
bit of direct influence. Chandragupta II assumed the title of Vikramaditya. He
developed fully the concept of kingship, in consonance with the religious ideal
of the time, as attested by the discovery of his Chakravikrama type of coins.
The reverse of the coin contains a chakra (wheel), inside which is a standing
male handing three balls to a haloed royal figure. The entire symbol has been
interpreted as the chakrapuruqa of Vishnu, who is bestowing on the chakrabarti
(sovereign) the three kingly virtues of authority, energy and counsel.
The reign of Kumaragupta I (c. 415 – c. 454), the son and successor of
Chandragupta II, was one of peace and relative inactivity. Thirteen inscriptions
of his reign that have come to light show that, like his father, he succeeded in
keeping the kingdom intact. The discovery of his coins from as far as
Ahmedabad, Valabhi, Junagadh and Morvi suggests that he kept the newly
acquired western provinces in a firm grip. There was possibly no fresh con-
quest to his credit. Towards the end of his reign, peace was disturbed by the
invasion of an enemy whose identity has not been definitely established. Ac-
cording to the Bhitari pillar inscription of Skandagupta (c. 454 – c. 467), the
son and successor of Kumaragupta I, the hostile forces belonged to a tribe called
Pushyamitra. Far more serious, however, was the threat of a Huna (Hephthalite)
invasion and Skandagupta had to concentrate on defending the kingdom against
external invasions throughout his reign. Although the Bhitari inscription leaves
no doubt as to the severity of the struggle, the Hunas were finally repulsed.
After Skandagupta’s death, the Guptas were unable to resist the repeated
waves of Huna invasions (see Chapter 6) and central authority declined rap-
idly. The succession of the kings that followed is uncertain. A number of ad-
187

K. Chakrabarti
ministrative seals have been discovered with the names of the same kings, but
in a varied order of succession, which points to a confused close of the dynasty.
A major blow came at the end of the fifth century, when the Hunas success-
fully broke through into northern India.
The Hunas who attacked northern India, and eventually ruled parts of
it, were not entirely independent but functioned under a Huna overlord whose
dominions extended from Persia to Khotan. The Huna king Toramana con-
solidated Huna power in Panjab, from where he invaded the Gupta kingdom.
Toramana was succeeded by Mihirakula, who ruled at the same time as the
Gupta king, Narasimhagupta II, c. 495. In his struggle against Mihirakula,
Narasimhagupta II received support from some powerful feudatories, particu-
larly the Maukhari chief Ishvaravarman and Yashodharman of Malwa, whose
Mandasor inscription states that Mihirakula paid tribute to him. The political
impact of the Hunas in India subsequently subsided. Acting as a catalyst in
the political process of northern India, however, the Hunas saw the slow ero-
sion and final dissolution of the Gupta kingdom by the middle of the sixth
century.
With the disintegration of the Gupta kingdom, the notion of a pan-Indian
Empire came to an end until the advent of the Türks, although it was briefly
revived during the reign of Harshavardhana in the seventh century. The post-
Gupta period in northern India saw the emergence of regional kingdoms, mostly
derived from the feudatories of the Guptas. The more important among them
were the Later Guptas, the Maukharis, the Pushyabhutis and the Maitrakas.
The Later Guptas had no connection with the Gupta main line. The
Aphsad inscription gives a detailed history of the dynasty which shows that
the Later Guptas were rulers of Magadha with suzerainty over Malwa. They
were eventually ousted from Magadha by the Maukharis of Kanauj, who origi-
nally held the region of western Uttar Pradesh. The Pushyabhutis ruled in
Thaneswar (modern Harvana). They had made a marriage alliance with the
Maukharis and on the death of the last Maukhari king, the Maukhari nobles
requested Harsha, the reigning king of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, to unite his
kingdom with them and rule from Kanauj. The Maitrakas ruled in Gujarat,
with Valabhi as their capital.
Of all these states which arose out of the ruins of the Gupta kingdom,
that of Valabhi proved to be the most durable. The unusually large number of
records of this family that have come to light help to reconstruct their political
history with some degree of certainty. There were able rulers among them,
such as Shiladitya, under whose leadership Valabhi became the most powerful
kingdom of western India towards the close of the sixth century. The Maitrakas
continued to rule until the middle of the eighth century, when they succumbed
to outside attacks – probably from the Arabs, as mentioned by al-Biruni.
Of all the successor states to the Guptas, that which rose to greatest
eminence, however, was ruled by the Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar. The
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The Gupta kingdom
Pushyabhuti family came to the fore with the accession of Prabhakaravardhana,

but it was during the reign of his son Harshavardhana (606–647) that they suc-
ceeded in establishing political authority over most parts of northern India.
The early history of Harsha’s reign is reconstructed from his biography, the
Harwa Caritam, written by his court poet Bana. This is supplemented by the
account of the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang, who visited India during Harsha’s
reign. Harsha made Kanauj the seat of his power and it rose to political promi-
nence from the late sixth century as a place of strategic importance. From there
he extended his authority in all directions. Rajasthan, Panjab, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar and Orissa were all under his direct control and he exercised influence
over a much wider area. The peripheral states acknowledged his suzerainty
and thus Harsha, like the Guptas, ruled a large kingdom in northern India that
was loosely connected by feudal ties.
The most important political development in western India from the sev-
enth century was the rise of the Rajputs. Their origin is somewhat obscure, but
it has been suggested that they came from Central Asia with the Hunas, dis-
placed the original tribal inhabitants of Rajasthan and laid the foundation of
the later Rajput families. The theory of indigenous origin has also been pro-
posed. The most notable among the Rajput dynasties were the Gurjaras
Pratiharas, the Guhilas and the Cahamanas, but they were to play their part in
wider Indian politics only at a later date.
Social and economic conditions

For a reconstruction of social conditions under the Guptas, we depend heavily
on the contemporary legal texts, or smrtis. A number of such texts, most of
which took the Dharmawastra of Manu as their basis, were written during this
period, the best-known being the Yajpavalkya, the Narada, the Brhaspati and
the Katyayana. These smrtis provide an ideal representation of society from
the brahmanical point of view. Contemporary Sanskrit plays and prose litera-
ture, however, do not always corroborate this ideal and it may be safely as-
sumed that the injunctions of the smrtis were not necessarily strictly enforced.
This conclusion is supported by the inscriptions of the period and by the ac-
counts of the Chinese pilgrims Fa-hsien and Hsüan-tsang.
In the Gupta period, brahmanical reaction against Buddhism and Jainism
became stronger. As a result, varna- (i.e. caste-)based social stratification and
the supremacy of the brahmans (the highest caste) received much greater em-
phasis. It is difficult to ascertain the caste of the Guptas, but they were, in all
probability, brahmans themselves and strongly supported the brahmanical so-
cial order. The brahmans were given land on a large scale and they claimed
many privileges which are listed in the Narada. For example, under no cir-
cumstances was capital punishment to be inflicted on them or their property
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K. Chakrabarti
confiscated. The kqatriyas (the second, or warrior, caste) continued to enjoy

great prestige due to their political influence, and there was a tacit understand-
ing between these two upper castes in sharing social and political power.
The degeneration of the vaiwyas (the third, or trader, caste), which had
begun earlier, intensified during this period. Because of advanced agricultural
techniques and developments in handicrafts, the condition of the wudras (the
fourth, or menial, caste) improved and there was no great difference between a
poor vaiwya and a prosperous wudra. The vaiwyas, however, retained their
supremacy in industry and commerce and held important positions on the
municipal boards. There are repeated references to the wudra peasantry in the
contemporary sources as opposed to their status as agricultural labourers in
earlier times. The smrtis of the Gupta period make a clear distinction between
the wudras and the slaves. This period saw the emergence of the untouchables,
who were beyond the pale of the caste structure and lived outside the city
boundaries.
From this cumulative evidence it appears that the significance of the tra-
ditional varna structure, based on colour and race, was being seriously under-
mined and the jati structure, based on occupational status, was becoming in-
creasingly important. Like the varnas, the jati system was hereditary and the
number of jatis gradually proliferated. As a social institution the jatis were
independent of the varnas, although Hsüan-tsang describes occupations de-
marcated for each of the four varnas. In this period the jati system was not
particularly strict and it was still possible for a person to move from one occu-
pational status to another. That social mobility was not altogether restricted is
demonstrated by examples of brahmans taking up the professions of merchant,
architect or government official. Hsüan-tsang gives a comparative account of
the political rights of the four varnas. He had seen five brahman, five kqatriya,
two vaiwya and two wudra kings. However, people increasingly came to be iden-
tified with the small occupational groups and the wider varna consciousness
was replaced by a commitment to the jatis.
The brahmans had tried to explain the creation of the jatis in terms of the
mixed castes, born out of intermarriage between the varnas, which was pro-
hibited but practised. The father of Bana married a wudra woman. The
Yajpavalkya prescribed that the son of a wudra mother and a brahman father
should inherit his father’s property, although this right was not recognized in
the Brhaspati, a text composed towards the end of the Gupta period. The con-
temporary smrtis mention a number of mixed castes.
Although women were idealized in literature and art, in practice they
had a distinctly subordinate social position. Education of a limited kind was
permitted to upper-class women but they were not allowed to participate in
public life. Early marriage was advocated and strict celibacy was recommended
for widows. The attitude of the contemporary smrtis towards women was one
of contempt. Women were described as almost a consumer commodity,
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The Gupta kingdom
exclusively owned by their husbands. But there were exceptions to this norm
in real life. For example, as mentioned earlier, Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of
Chandragupta II, managed the affairs of state for some 20 years. On the whole,
however, the only women to enjoy a measure of freedom were those who de-
liberately chose to opt out of the prevailing system of regulations by becoming
a Buddhist nun or a courtesan.
The social supremacy of the brahmans is also reflected in the economy of
the period, as attested by the frequency of tax-free land-grants made to them.
This was a period of partial decline in trade and consequently a greater concen-
tration on land. There were four categories of land – fallow and waste land,
state-owned land and privately owned land. Agriculture expanded with the
reclamation of new land for cultivation. Contemporary texts reveal a more lib-
eral and practical attitude towards waste land, with the state encouraging the
peasantry to bring uncultivated and forest land under the plough. Those who
reclaimed land on their own initiative and made arrangements for its irrigation
were exempted from paying taxes until they started earning an income of twice
their original investment. Inscriptions of the Gupta period repeatedly mention
the sale and purchase of waste land, which indicates that such transactions were
financially profitable. The state actively patronized agricultural activity. This is
suggested by the Junagadh inscription of Skandagupta, which records work on
Lake Sudarsana at Girnar under state supervision, presumably for irrigational
purposes. Kalidasa describes agriculture and animal husbandry as the mainstay
of the royal exchequer, since the major portion of revenue came from the land,
at one-sixth of the net produce.
Agricultural implements remained much the same, although iron was more
widely used for their manufacture. Varhamihira, in his astrological work, the
Brhat-samhita, refers to an instrument for measuring rainfall. Crops were grown
twice a year. According to Hsüan-tsang, sugar cane and wheat were grown in
the north-west and rice in Magadha and further east. Southern India was known
for black pepper and spices. The Amarakoqa, the Sanskrit lexicon belonging to
this period, also refers to a large variety of fruit and vegetables. Despite overall
growth, however, brahmanical and Buddhist religious injunctions were not
conducive to the expansion of agriculture. The Brhaspati was unwilling to
respect the income derived from agriculture and cultivation was prohibited for
the Buddhist monks.
The manufacture of textiles of various kinds was one of the more impor-
tant industries at this time. There was a vast domestic market, since textiles
were a prime item of trade between northern and southern India. There was
also a considerable demand in foreign markets. Silk, muslin, calico, linen, wool
and cotton were produced in great quantity. The production of silk decreased
towards the end of the Gupta period since many members of an important
guild of silver-weavers in western India abandoned their traditional occupa-
tion and took to other professions. This might have been due to the increasing
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K. Chakrabarti
use of the Silk Route and the Sea Route to China, which brought a large amount
of Chinese silk to India or, more generally, to the decline in trade with the
West. Metalwork, particularly in copper, iron and lead, continued as one of the
essential industries. The use of bronze increased and gold and silver ornaments
were in constant demand. We have little clue as to the sources of the abundant
supply of metals in the Gupta period and it seems that copper, lead and tin had
to be imported from abroad. Gold may have been obtained from the Byzan-
tine Empire in exchange for Indian products, although Hsüan-tsang mentions
that it was also produced indigenously in huge quantities. The working of pre-
cious stones continued to maintain its high standard. Pottery remained a basic
part of industrial production, although the elegant black polished ware of ear-
lier times was now replaced by an ordinary red ware with a brownish slip.
The guild was the major institution in the manufacture of goods and in
commercial enterprise. Some historians believe that the importance of the guilds
declined in the Gupta period. India no longer participated in the long-distance
trade in luxury goods. Instead a new kind of commercial network emerged on
regional lines, based on the exchange of articles in daily use. In these changed
circumstances, the powerful guilds of the earlier times disintegrated. Contem-
porary sources, particularly the seals found at Vaisali and Bhita, suggest never-
theless that both the activities and the significance of the guild remained during
this period. Guilds sometimes acted as bankers and loaned money on interest,
as did some of the Buddhist saNghas (communities). The rate of interest var-
ied according to the purpose for which money was required. The lowering of
the interest rate implies an increased confidence in overseas trade as well as a
greater availability of goods and the consequent decrease in profit margins.
Trade between northern India and South-East Asia was conducted
through the ports of the east coast. The west coast ports served as the link in
India’s trade contacts with the Mediterranean region and Western Asia. Several
inland routes connected India with China through Central Asia and Tokharistan
and across the Karakorum range and Kashmir. The most important event in
the economic history of East and South-East Asia during this period was the
development of an inter-oceanic trade, reaching from China through Indone-
sia and the east coast of India up to Simhala and extending from there along the
west Indian coast to Persia, Arabia and Ethiopia. Despite commercial compe-
tition between China and India, the two countries maintained close links. Coins
of the T’ang emperors of China have been discovered in southern India and
Indian merchants resided in Canton. Still more far-reaching in their conse-
quences were India’s trade contacts with South-East Asia, leading to Indian
settlements there and an Indian influence that permeated the local pattern of
life, particularly in Thailand, Cambodia and Java.
The export of spices, pepper, sandalwood, pearls, precious stones, per-
fumes, indigo and herbs continued as before. Pepper was exported from the
ports of the Malabar coast and sesame, copper and cotton garments from
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The Gupta kingdom
Kalyana. The Pandya area had an important role to play in the pearl trade. The
commodities that were now being imported to India, however, differed from
those in earlier times. Chinese silk came in greater quantity, as did ivory from
Ethiopia. Imports of horses from Arabia, Iran and Tokharistan also increased.
Copper came from the western Mediterranean region and sapphire from
Simhala. The Gupta king issued special charters to merchants’ organizations
which relieved them of government interference. Since this was the time when
the law-makers declared it a great sin for a brahman to travel by sea, this may
have resulted in reduced Indian participation in maritime trade.
Some historians have characterized the socio-economic developments of
the Gupta period in terms of feudalism. They argue that although there had
been a long tradition of donating land to the brahmans, the number of such
donations greatly increased in the Gupta period. Villages along with their in-
habitants, revenue due to the king, administrative and judicial rights, exemp-
tion from the interference of government officials, and even the right to enjoy
fines levied on cultivators, were all transferred to the religious beneficiaries.
What began as grants to the priestly class were later extended to administrative
officials. With the emergence of a local, self-sufficient economy, religious do-
nations as well as land-grants to secular officials (either in lieu of salary or as a
reward for services) became popular. The principal characteristics of this self-
sufficient economy were the decline of trade and urban centres and a scarcity
of coinage. Thus from the economic point of view, the central feature of Indian
feudalism was the emergence of landed intermediaries. As a result, the freedom
of the peasantry was curtailed, their mobility was restricted and they were forced
to serve as unpaid labour.
Those historians who do not subscribe to this view have challenged the
premises of Indian feudalism. They argue that during the Gupta period, trade
did not decline and the scarcity of coins was at best marginal. Quantitative
analyses of the coinage of this period have still to be made and the relative
scarcity of coins is still merely an assumption. Some of the old-established towns
did lose their importance, but new urban centres emerged to replace them.
Finally, the two indispensable institutions of European feudalism, namely manor
and serfdom, never developed in India. Historians who subscribe to this sec-
ond view are therefore inclined to describe the practice of land-grants as noth-
ing but India’s traditional landlordism. The debate is still to be settled.
The literary records of this period suggest an overall economic prosper-
ity at least among the upper classes. Fa-hsien describes the people of
Madhyadesha (the ‘middle country’) as prosperous and happy towards the
beginning of the fifth century. Evidence of material conditions obtained from
excavations also points to a high standard of living. The prosperous urban-
dwellers lived in luxury; and comfort, in the urban centres at least, was not
confined to the upper classes. Yet it was a culture with wide variations. The
untouchables lived on the outskirts of the opulent cities and the peasantry were
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K. Chakrabarti
being gradually impoverished. The maintenance of an imperial façade was a

purposeless expense which must have been a drain on the economy. Indeed,
the debased Later Gupta coinage indicates an economic crisis.
Administration
In many respects, the Gupta administration constitutes the watershed between
India’s past and future traditions of polity and government. The most notice-
able feature of the post-Mauryan administrative development was the gradual
erosion of the government’s centralized power. First, the Satavahanas and the
Kushans entered into feudatory relations with the smaller kingdoms. Second,
land-grants, which began from this time, created administrative pockets in the
countryside managed by the religious beneficiaries. A third factor which con-
tributed to the process of decentralization was the existence of autonomous
governments in several cities of northern India. Guilds of traders from these
cities even issued coins, which was normally the prerogative of the sovereign
power. At several points, however, the old centralized system of administra-
tion was continued and even strengthened by the accession of new elements.
The Guptas discarded the modest title of raja and adopted the high-sound-
ing ones brought into vogue by the Kushans. The most typical example is
maharajadhiraja which, along with its several variants, appears in Gupta in-
scriptions. The Gupta kings also claimed superhuman qualities for themselves.
They continued the traditional machinery of bureaucratic administration with
nomenclature that was mostly borrowed or adopted from earlier times. Thus
the mantri (prime minister) stood at the head of the civil administration. Among
other high officers were the mahabaladhikrta (commander-in-chief),
mahadandanayaka (general) and mahapratihara (chief of the palace guards).
A high-ranking officer, encountered for the first time in the Gupta records but
destined to have a long career, was the sandhivigrahika (foreign minister). The
bhuktis (provinces) were usually governed by princes of royal blood and some-
times by a class of officers called uparikas. The link between the central and
provincial administration was furnished by kumaramatyas and ayuktas who
ruled over viqayas (districts). The district officers were nominated by the pro-
vincial governors.
For the first time, the inscriptions give us an idea of systematic local ad-
ministration in the Gupta period, which assumed many new dimensions. The
series of northern Bengal epigraphs mentions the adhiqthanadhikarana (mu-
nicipal board), viqayadhikarana (district office) and aqtakuladhikarana (possi-
bly, rural board). The full adhiqthanadhikarana is said to consist of four mem-
bers, the nagarawreqthi (guild president), the sarthavaha (chief merchant), the
prathamakulika (chief artisan) and the prathamakayastha (chief scribe). The
precise significance of the aqtakuladhikarana is unknown, but in one example
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The Gupta kingdom
it is said to be headed by the mahattaras (village elders) and also includes the
gramika (village headman) and the kutumbins (householders).
Under the Guptas, the scope and functions of royal authority underwent
a significant change. The Guptas left a number of conquered states in a posi-
tion of subordinate independence. With the exception of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and parts of Bengal, the kingdom was held by feudatories such as the Parivrajaka
princes, who issued their own land-grants. The presence of these feudatories
must have severely restricted the Guptas’ royal authority. We do not have much
information about military affairs, but can reasonably surmise that the troops
supplied by the feudatories must have accounted for a good proportion of the
Gupta army. The state no longer enjoyed a monopoly over the possession of
horses and elephants. The significant aspect of Gupta bureaucracy was that,
since it was less organized and elaborate than the Mauryan administration of
the third century B.C. (seen in Kautilya’s Arthaqastra), it allowed several offices
to be combined in the hands of the same person and posts tended to become
hereditary. In the absence of close supervision by the state, village affairs were
now managed by leading local elements who conducted land transactions with-
out consulting the government.
Similarly in urban administration, organized professional bodies enjoyed
considerable autonomy. The law-codes of the Gupta period, which provide
detailed information about the functioning of the guilds, even entrusted these
corporate bodies with an important share in the administration of justice. With
the innumerable jatis (which were systematized and legalized during this pe-
riod) governing a large part of the activities of their members, very little was
left for central government. Finally, the Gupta kings had to take account of the
brahman donees, who enjoyed absolute administrative privileges over the in-
habitants of the donated villages. Thus in spite of the strength of the Gupta
kings, institutional factors working for decentralization were far stronger dur-
ing this period. This Gupta administration provided the model for the basic
administrative structure, both in theory and in practice, throughout the early
medieval period.
Religious life
The rise of the Guptas was analogous to the emergence of Puranic Hinduism.
The vehicle for the propagation of this resurgent Hinduism was a set of texts
called the Puranas, the earliest of which were composed in this period. The
Puranas, which began as the historical tradition recording the creation of the
universe and detailed the genealogies of each dynasty, were originally com-
posed by bards. During this period, however, they were rewritten by the
brahmans in classical Sanskrit to include information on Hindu sects, rites and
customs. Before the coming of the Guptas, the ideal brahmanical social order
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K. Chakrabarti
had been disrupted to such an extent by rulers who patronized the heretical
cults that we see an obsessive fear of the Kali, or Dark Age, in all the early
Puranas.
All the major aspects of brahmanical religion, by which Puranic Hindu-
ism came to be identified in later centuries, crystallized in this period. The image
of the deity emerged as the centre of worship and worship superceded sacri-
fice, although a sacrificial offering to the image remained central to the ritual.
This in turn encouraged bhakti (devotionalism), which consisted of an intense
personal attachment to the object of worship. As a result, worship of a god
became an individual concern and the priest ceased to be so dominant a figure
as in the sacrifice.
Hindus became divided into two main sects, Vaishnava and Shaiva, claim-
ing Vishnu and Shiva respectively as the supreme deity, just as each Purana
extolled the superiority of one or the other. The worshippers of Vishnu were
more prevalent in northern India, where they received active patronage from
the Guptas; Chandragupta II called himself a paramabhagavata (devotee of
Vishnu). Shaivism took firm root in the south, although it was not confined to
that region. The Huna king Mihirakula, Shashanka the ruler of Bengal, some
kings of the Pushyabhutis of Kanauj and the Maitrakas of Valabhi were all
followers of Shiva. Despite such sectarian preferences, at times expressed in
acute rivalry, there was an underlying strain of monotheism in Puranic Hindu-
ism which saw the various deities as manifestations of a unified whole. The
social existence of a Hindu came to be defined in terms of a correct dharma
(law), artha (economic well-being), kama (sensual pleasure) and mokqa (salva-
tion of the soul).
A notable feature of intellectual life in this period was provided by the
lively philosophical disputations between the Buddhists and the brahmans,
centring around six different schools of thought which came to be called the
six systems of Hindu philosophy. Although their origin can be traced to the
thinking of a much earlier period, some of their cardinal principles were enun-
ciated at this time. Vedanta is the most influential of the six systems. The doc-
trines of Vedanta were based on the Upaniqadas (books of the teaching of sages)
and gave logical and organized form to their many mystical speculations. It
postulated the existence of the ‘Absolute Soul’ and maintained that the final
purpose of existence was the union of the individual and this ‘Absolute Soul’
after physical death. Together these six systems constitute the core of Hindu
philosophy and all subsequent developments are its ramifications.
Although Buddhism was theoretically still a formidable rival of Hindu-
ism, by the end of this period its influence was waning (see Chapter 18, Part
Two).
Jainism was saved from a similar fate by its essentially conservative char-
acter. Unlike the other religious systems, it underwent little change in ideas or
doctrines. The fact that it failed to adapt to new environments accounts for its
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The Gupta kingdom
restricted popularity but much longer life compared with Buddhism. Jainism
continued to be supported by the merchant community of western India. In
certain areas of the Deccan and the south it received patronage from local roy-
alty, though much of this patronage ceased after the seventh century. The or-
ganizational split between the two principal Jaina sects, the Wvetambaras and
the Digambaras, reached its culmination during this period. In the early sixth
century, the second Jaina Council was held at Valabhi to recover and systema-
tize the Jaina canonical instructions which were facing extinction. At this coun-
cil, the Jaina canon was defined substantially as it exists today. The Jainas had
by now evolved a series of icons: the images of the tirthankaras (Jaina teachers)
in the Khandagiri cave at Bhubaneshwar are some of the best examples.
Literature
Sanskrit literature was given lavish encouragement during this period, mostly
through royal patronage. It was a literature of the élite and those associated
with the court circle. Classical Sanskrit poetry flourished with Kalidasa’s works
probably in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Kalidasa reflects the court
culture of the time. Though deeply imbued with tradition, all his works reveal
his distinct personality. He wrote two long poems, the Kumarasambhava and
the RaghuvaMwa, and also the Meghaduta, a work of a little over 100 verses,
which is one of the most popular Sanskrit poems; it has unity, balance and a
sense of wholeness that is rare in early Indian literature. Kalidasa’s long poem
the Kumarasambhava has a religious theme, but is essentially secular in char-
acter and contains passages of great beauty.
Many poets after Kalidasa wrote courtly epics, but none so ably as he.
The two best examples of such poems are Bharavi’s Kiratarjuniya (mid-sixth
century) and Magha’s Wiwupalavadha (late seventh century). Magha had set the
trend for the poetic style of the later period, which became progressively or-
nate and artificial. The finest poet in this genre was Bhartrhari, possibly of the
seventh century, who left only 300 separate stanzas on the subjects of wordly
wisdom, love and renunciation respectively, which are considered masterpieces
of concise expression. Another important exponent of this style was Amaru,
also of the seventh century.
As in poetry, the greatest exponent of Sanskrit drama in this period was
Kalidasa, who was able to achieve the effects he wanted and to capture the
conflicting emotions of his characters. The real value of his work, however, lies
in his imagery, language and dialogue, which are fresh and vigorous. Shudraka,
probably Kalidasa’s contemporary, has left only one play, the Mrcchaktika,
which is the most realistic of Indian dramas. Vishakhadatta, who probably
belonged to the sixth century, has only one complete surviving play, the
Mudrarakqasa; the plot is exceedingly complicated, but is worked out with
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K. Chakrabarti
great skill and leads to a breathtaking climax. One interesting convention of

the Sanskrit theatre of this period is that it allows no tragedy. Tragic and pa-
thetic scenes are common enough but the endings are almost invariably happy
and melodramatic, often necessitating an unnatural forcing of plots. Another
notable feature is that the characters of high social status speak Sanskrit while
women and the ‘lower orders’ speak Prakrit: this defines the standing of San-
skrit and Prakrit in a social context. The best examples of Sanskrit prose litera-
ture of this period are provided by Dandin, Subandhu and Bana, all of whom
lived in the late sixth and early seventh centuries.
The Wvetambara Jaina canon and its exegetic literature in Ardha-Magadhi
Prakrit, the few religious texts of the Digambara Jainas in Shauraseni Prakrit
and the commentaries of Buddhist texts written in Pali constitute the most
important specimens of Prakrit and Pali literature of this period. The attempts
of the Jaina monks to redefine their canon, following the second Jaina Council,
resulted in the production of a vast literature, which is didactic in style, arid in
content and deficient in literary value. Mention may also be made of independ-
ent religious narratives such as the Vasudevahindi by Dharmadasa and
Sanghadasa and a religious romance called the TaraNgavartikatha attributed to
Padalipta. Among the Prakrit long narrative poems, the most noteworthy are
the Setubandha by Pravarasena and the Gauda-vaho by Vakpatiraja.
The Gupta period is referred to as the ‘classical age’ of ancient India,
mainly because of its cultural achievements. The description seems to be true
for the upper classes, amongst whom material and intellectual culture reached
a level never before attained. It has been suggested that every great literary
form implies the unfolding of a new social grouping, headed by some new class.
Those who hold this view argue that this great period of classical Sanskrit lit-
erature – which witnessed an unprecedented growth and development – was
intimately connected with the rise of feudalism. Motivated by an entirely dif-
ferent set of reasons, the nationalist historians of the early twentieth century
sought instead to locate the utopian ‘golden age’ in this period, again primarily
because of its literary and artistic excellence. These divergent conclusions, how-
ever, agree on the common point of the cultural flowering during this period.
Science
There was a corresponding development in the field of science, though it was
not comparable in scale or quality with the growth in literature, and the knowl-
edge of metals had improved tremendously. The treatises of AqtaNga-saMgraha
and AqtaNga-hrdaya-saMhita were mostly compilations from earlier texts. Books
on the diseases of animals, particularly horses and elephants, now appeared for
the first time.
It was an intensely active period in mathematics which encouraged the
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The Gupta kingdom
development of astronomy as a precise science. Aryabhata, who composed his

famous work the Aryabhatiya in 499, was an accomplished mathematician who
knew the use of the decimal place-value system and dealt with area, volume,
progressions, algebraic identities and indeterminate equations of the first de-
gree. He was the first writer to hold that the earth was a sphere rotating on its
axis and that eclipses were caused by the earth’s shadow falling on the moon.
With remarkable accuracy, Aryabhata calculated the length of the solar year to
be 365.3586805 days. Varhamihira, who is more known for his astrological work
the Brhat-saMhita, flourished in the sixth century.
Despite an accurate knowledge of the duration of the solar year, the basic
unit in recording dates was the lunar day, approximately 30 of which formed
the lunar month. Twelve lunar months make only 354 days and hence every
30 months an extra month was added to the year. The Hindu calendar, though
quite accurate, was thus rather cumbrous. The solar calendar, imported with
Western astronomy, was also known from the Gupta period, but it did not
replace the lunar calendar. Hindu thinkers had evolved a cyclical theory of time.
Art and architecture

The Gupta period also represents a watershed in the history of Indian art. In
one respect, it marks the culmination and ultimate exhaustion of earlier ten-
dencies in architectural types and forms. In another, it marks the beginning of
a new age, connected with the phenomenal growth and development of the
temple. The material prosperity of the period is reflected in its town planning.
Most cities were laid out in squares; wooden buildings were replaced by build-
ings of brick; houses were oriented to the cardinal points; and drains and wells
were carefully planned.
Rock-cut cave architecture persisted in this period – mostly Buddhist
but with a few brahmanical and Jaina examples. The rock-cut architecture of
the Buddhists consisted of two conventional types, the chaitya (shrine con-
taining a stupa) and the vihara (monastery). The most notable groups are found
at Ajanta, Ellora, Aurangabad and Bagh. Of the 23 caves at Ajanta which were
excavated during this period, only caves XIX and XXVI were chaitya halls and
the rest were viharas. The most significant innovation here is the wealth of
sculptures of the human figure.
The vihara was planned in the form of rows of cells around a central
court. Of the viharas at Ajanta, the most important are caves XVI, XVII, I and
II, remarkable for the beauty of their pillars. Of the stupas, which were built in
large numbers, two deserve special mention – that at Mirpur Khas and the
Dhamekh stupa at Sarnath. The rich, elegant patterns of the ornamental scheme
constitute the chief beauty of the Sarnath monument and its cylindrical shape
indicates a date of c. the sixth century.
199

K. Chakrabarti
FIG. 1. Deogarh. Dashavatara temple. General view.

(Photo: © Archaeological Survey of India, Janpatch, New Delhi.)
Unfortunately not much has survived of Gupta temple architecture, al-

though the sources indicate that many temples were constructed. It has been
suggested that such temples were on the whole unimpressive shrines which
were either absorbed in domestic architecture or else built over in later centu-
ries. Extant examples consist of three major groups – the flat-roofed square
temple with a shallow porch in front or a squat tower above; the rectangular
temple with an apsidal back and barrel-vaulted roof; and the circular temple
with shallow projections at the four cardinal points. The Dashavatara temple
(fifth century) at Deogarh (Figs. 1 and 2) is one of the best examples of an age
of experiments in types and forms which was later elaborated and finally crys-
tallized in the eighth-century Hindu temple in northern India.
The pivot of Gupta sculptural art was the human figure. By now all animal
and vegetal patterns had been eliminated from the narrative and simply under-
lined the importance of the human form. The body was given perceptual form
with the help of a full modelling that, in its naturalism, is almost unparalleled
200

The Gupta kingdom
FIG. 2. Deogarh. Dashavatara temple. Side view.

in Indian art. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the fifth and sixth centuries
represent the final achievement of the highly subtle, mystical and fluid thought
of the Mahayana school. The most important centres of sculpture were Mathura
and Sarnath. One of the best examples is the seated Buddha in dharma-chakra-
pravarttana (Fig. 3) attitude from Sarnath, where the body sheds its toughness
and attains complete ease and serenity. All this is achieved with the help of
delicate modelling, a smoothly flowing, melting line and an utmost economy
of technique.
The Hindus, however, treated the image as a symbol. Although the god
took a human form, he might well have several arms or the head of an animal.
The Hindu gods, as represented in the sculpture of this period, were mainly
incarnations of Vishnu, the most popular among them being those of nrsiMha
(half man/half lion) and varaha (boar). The cult of Shiva was mostly confined
to phallic worship, which did not offer much sculptural scope. The more sig-
nificant brahmanical sculptures of the time were influenced by the Puranic vision
201

K. Chakrabarti
FIG. 3. Sarnath. Buddha in dharma-chakra-pravarttana.

202

The Gupta kingdom
of the evolution of the universe from its material cause and its re-creation from
the constituent elements into which it is merged. This explains the origin and
meaning of the latent dynamic strength and power in the magnificent reliefs of
the Udaygiri caves of eastern Malwa or of Badami, Ellora, Aurangabad and
Elephanta. For example, the Great Boar (an incarnation of Vishnu who res-
cued the earth from the cosmic ocean) carved in relief near the entrance of a
cave at Udaygiri conveys the impression of a great primordial power working
for good against the forces of chaos and destruction, and bears a message of
hope, strength and assurance.
While the quest for form in stone concerned itself with themes and
expressions of a deeper and more fundamental significance, painting had a
secular character and was presumably in more general demand. The Viqnu-
dharmottara, a text of the Gupta period, devotes an entire chapter to the art
of painting, laying down many of its theoretical canons. The best examples of
painting can be found in the murals of caves I, II, XVI, XVII and XIX of
Ajanta (Figs. 4–7), caves IV and III of Bagh and caves III and II of Badami.
The Ajanta paintings do not show a progressively developing style, as in con-
temporary sculpture. The murals chiefly depict scenes from the life of the
FIG. 4. Ajanta. Mural painting in cave XVI. Dying princess.

203

K. Chakrabarti
FIG. 5. Ajanta. Mural painting in cave XVII. Indra accompanied by his celestial
musicians. (Photo: © Archaeological Survey of India, Janpatch, New Delhi.)
FIG. 6. Ajanta. Mural painting in cave XVII. Vessantara jataka.

204

The Gupta kingdom
FIG. 7. Ajanta. Mural painting in cave XVII. Rahul and his mother Yashodhara.
Buddha and from the jatakas (birth stories of the Buddha). There is no per-
spective, but an illusion of depth is given by placing the background figures
somewhat above those in the foreground. Although painted for religious pur-
poses, the Ajanta murals bear a secular message. They depict the entire pano-
ply of life in ancient India: princes in their palaces, ladies in their apartments,
coolies, beggars, peasants and ascetics, together with the many Indian birds,
beasts and flowers.
Very different are the enormous number of terracotta reliefs from north-
ern India and Bengal. Produced from sketchy moulds in large quantities, they
were carefully finished and often painted. Employed for various purposes, their
primary use was in decorating the exterior walls of Buddhist establishments
and residential houses.
A remarkable example of handicraft is the ivory Triratna (trident symbol
of the three jewels of Buddhism) in high relief representing a Buddha with
205

K. Chakrabarti
attendant Bodhisattvas. The central figure is like a miniature Mathura image of

the period. The wealth of jewellery worn by women of this period is seen in
the flying apsaras (nymphs of the sky) in the Ajanta murals (Fig. 8), which also
show the variety of high-quality textiles such as embroidery, tie and dye work,
brocade and muslin. A rare example of Gupta metalwork is an object that has
been identified as an architect’s plummet, made of iron coated with bronze.
On its neck is a plaque with a representation of dancing figures framed in prongs
terminating in lotus buds which is reminiscent of the decorative forms of Gupta
stone sculpture. Among the most splendid examples of the minor arts of the
period are the gold coins of the Gupta dynasty, executed with impeccable fi-
nesse.
Some authorities have depicted the Gupta kings as the liberators of India
from foreign rule. But the invaders had become thoroughly Indianized by the
Gupta period and this made the task of assimilating them into Indian society
relatively simple by assigning them appropriate caste status. They continued
to exert an influence on aspects of Gupta culture, however, and this is nowhere
more pronounced than in Gupta art. Many characteristic architectural forms
and motifs of the Guptas were inherited from Kushan Mathura and Gandhara.
Gupta sculpture undeniably developed from an emphasis on massive power
inherited from the Kushans, but gradually it evolved its own style, with grace-
ful and more linear creations. Gupta culture, with all its inevitable borrowings
from previous traditions, was essentially indigenous in character and set the
norms for subsequent developments.
FIG. 8. Ajanta. Mural painting in cave XVI. Flying apsara.

206

9
K H WA R I Z M *
E. E. Nerazik and P. G. Bulgakov
Part One
H I S T O RY A N D C U LT U R E O F K H WA R I Z M
(E. E. Nerazik)
Uncertain early history

The period from the late third to the eighth century was a very complex one in
the history of Khwarizm (Chorasmia). It was marked initially by the decline
and fall of the huge Kushan Empire, the rule of the Hephthalites in Central
Asia and their conflict with the Sasanians, while the close of the period coin-
cides with the Arab conquest of the entire region. The area’s development over
these centuries was determined by two basic factors: the growth of feudal rela-
tions and outside invasions.
There is as yet no irrefutable evidence that Khwarizm became part of the
Kushan state. Opponents of this theory commonly cite as evidence of the coun-
try’s independence the appearance of a local overstrike on Kushan coins in
circulation in the territory of Khwarizm.1 They further maintain that the wealth
of archaeological material cannot properly be taken as reflecting close links
between Khwarizm and the Kushans, mainly because of the almost complete
lack of any tangible vestige of Buddhism, which had been propagated in the
lands conquered by the Kushans, particularly Tokharistan (Bactria). It should
be noted, however, that not all the Kushan coins found in Khwarizm are
overstruck; and investigation of the material and spiritual culture of the popu-
lation in the early centuries of the Christian era points to some Indo-Buddhist
connections.2 However, influence in the field of art is not necessarily deter-
mined by conquest; it may emerge and spread through cultural and historical
contact. Only if fresh data are amassed will it be possible to settle this vexed
question. It is noteworthy that Toprak-kala (see also pages 213–17), an out-
standing architectural group and grandiose dynastic centre, was built in the
* See Map 5.
1. Masson, 1966, pp. 82–3; Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 87–9.
2. Tolstov, 1948a, p. 201.
207

second century of the Christian era. This was undoubtedly a very significant
event, and Tolstov is perhaps correct in believing that the palace was built to
mark the liberation of Khwarizm from dependence on the Kushans and in
ascribing the appearance of a local overstrike on Kushan coins to that very
period.3
In the early fourth century, Afrig came to power in Khwarizm after found-
ing a new era, according to al-Biruni who lists 22 rulers of the dynasty founded
by Afrig.4 Numismatic evidence, third-century material from the archives of
the Toprak-kala palace and inscriptions on the ossuaries from Tok-kala (sev-
enth and eighth centuries) (Fig. 1), however, have significantly rectified this
account. First, the notion of the Afrig era must be rejected, since it has been
established beyond doubt that the Khwarizmian era, reflected in dates in the
above-mentioned documentary material, began in the first century.5 Further-
more, only certain names of rulers from al-Biruni’s list tally with those found
on coins,6 a discrepancy believed to be the result of his lack of reliable infor-
mation on the pre-Islamic Khwarizmian dynasty.7 It is thought, however, that
the discrepancy will prove to be less important as more numismatic evidence is
accumulated.
Particular uncertainty surrounds the second half of the third century and
the fourth century, a period which saw the appearance of many small copper
coins and various seals. This seems to reflect a trend towards the political iso-
lation of individual parts of Khwarizm.8 Between the last third of the third
century (which corresponds to the reign of King Vazamar, possibly a usurper
of the Khwarizmian throne)9 and the end of the seventh century there are no
satisfactorily dated coin series; indeed, there is a gap in the coinage.10 It is im-
portant to note that the period in question corresponds to the time of the
Sasanians’ eastward campaigns, Khwarizm being recorded as one of the coun-
tries they conquered. Thus, according to the Arab historian al-Tabari, Ardashir I
seized Balkh, Merv and Khwarizm as far as the extreme limits of Khurasan.11
However, the inscription of Shapur I on the Kacbe of Zoroaster at Naqsh-i
Rustam, which lists the realms conquered by him, makes no mention of
Khwarizm.12 At the same time, numismatic and archaeological evidence sug-
gests that Khwarizm was in some way dependent on the Sasanians. We may
3. Tolstov, 1984b, p. 16.

4. Biruni, 1957, p. 48.
5. Henning, 1965, p. 169; Livshits, 1968, p. 440; Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 77–80.
6. Livshits, 1968, pp. 442–4; Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 80–2.
7. Gudkova and Livshits, 1967, p. 10.
8. Tolstov, 1948a, p. 183.
9. See Tolstov, 1962, p. 225; Vaynberg, 1977, p. 97.
10. Henning, 1965, p. 170; Livshits, 1968, p. 443.
12. Sprengling, 1953, pp. 7, 14; Lukonin, 1969, pp. 62, 126.
208

Khwarizm
FIG. 1. Tok-kala. Painted ossuary. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
nevertheless question Henning’s view that the country was totally subjugated
for a considerable period.13 We cannot rule out the possibility that Khwarizm
was part of the state of the Türks in the sixth and seventh centuries, though
relations between the Khwarizmians and the Türks are as yet obscure.
The only events in Khwarizm about which the sources are comparatively
clear are those that occurred at the time of the campaigns of conquest led by
the Arab general Qutaiba b. Muslim (see pages 228 et seq.).
Social structure and administration

Between the fourth and the sixth century the cities of Khwarizm underwent a
marked decline, with a cut-back in the irrigation network. This is usually blamed
on a socio-economic depression, the scale of which is unclear, though it was
more pronounced on the periphery of the country. It may have been at least
13. Henning, 1965, pp. 169–70.
209

FIG. 2. Coin from Khwarizm (sixth century?). Bronze.
partly the result of invasions by nomadic tribes at the time of the great migra-
tion of peoples, when the outlying areas were undoubtedly overrun. Further-
more, the country’s internal situation must have been affected by the above-
mentioned events of political history. The seventh and eighth centuries, however,
saw some stability and even a measure of economic and cultural progress.
We can only guess at the political and administrative organization of
Khwarizm. There is some numismatic evidence of the existence of independ-
ent local rulers in the seventh and eighth centuries. For example, coins have
come to light from the Kerder region of the lower valley of the Amu Darya
(Oxus). That territory had been taken over by settlers from Khwarizm and by
immigrants from the Syr Darya (Jaxartes) regions and its rulers succeeded in
usurping the throne of the Khwarizmshah on several occasions. The ‘king of
Khamjird’ seems to have ruled in northern Khwarizm. There is also a theory
that Khamjird and Urgench were one and the same place.14
The monetary reform carried out in Khwarizm at some point in the fifth,
sixth or seventh century led to the minting of new types of coins (Fig. 2) with
a different value, and with the ideogram MR’Y MLK’ (lord king) instead of the
earlier MLK’ (king).15 What prompted the reform is unclear, but it may have
reflected the desire of the Khwarizmshah to consolidate his power over the
other rulers. Al-Tabari mentions them when referring, in connection with the
events of 711–712 (see pages 229 et seq.), to kings and dihqans (lords). Clearly
some hierarchical order or rule may be indicated by the coinage of the seventh
century, which bears the Khwarizmian inscription hwt’w (lord) accompany-
ing the portrait of the ruler, with the ideogram MR’Y MLK’ on the reverse.
Some authorities believe that the terms MLK’, MR’Y and γwβw in narrative
sources and on Sogdian coinage of the seventh and eighth centuries also indi-
cate three degrees in the local hierarchy.16 In the Sogdian documents from Mount
Mug, however, MR’Y (equivalent to γwβw or xwt’w) is the title assumed both
14. Vaynberg, 1977, p. 99.

15. Ibid., pp. 59–65.
16. Smirnova, 1963, p. 31.
210

Khwarizm
FIG. 3. Berkut-kala. Castle of fifth–seventh century (eastern Khwarizm). Aerial view.
FIG. 4. Early Middle Ages

complex near Ayaz-kala 2
(fifth–seventh century). 1: palace;
2: Ayaz-kala 2; 3: dwellings.
211

FIG. 5. Ayaz-kala 2. Fortified complex.
by Divashtich (the ruler of Panjikent) himself and by his underlings.17 At the

same time, the entire nobility of Iran of lower rank than the king bore the title
of ‘lord’.18 Nevertheless there can be little doubt about the general hierarchical
structure of Khwarizmian society in the seventh and eighth centuries. Of par-
ticular significance is the archaeological evidence concerning Khwarizm’s oasis
settlements which sprang up along the major canals around the urban centres.
The structure of the towns varied: the old towns founded in antiquity on
the major trading routes continued to exist, still with a rectangular grid layout
and fortified walls and towers; but new towns often sprang up by the walls of
the castles of powerful feudal lords, reflecting the prevalent trend in the devel-
opment of medieval towns. One example was the small town of Berkut-kala
(Fig. 3): it was composed of two parts, one containing buildings occupied by
craftsmen, around a market square, and the other entirely taken up with hous-
ing.19 Another example is the vast complex of buildings (Fig. 4) at the foot of
the fortress Ayaz-kala 2 (Fig. 5): here, in the fifth to the seventh century (and
17. Livshits, 1962, p. 50.

18. Harmatta, 1957, p. 303; Lukonin, 1961, pp. 16–17.
19. Nerazik, 1966, p. 109.
212

Khwarizm
probably even before), a beautiful palace of the Khwarizmshahs emerged and

a town developed near by (Fig. 6). Little is known about the appearance of the
old towns. According to Arab authors, Madinat al-Fir, the capital of Khwarizm,
was the country’s largest and most strongly fortified town, the historian al-
Baladhuri even comparing it to Samarkand.20 It consisted of three parts sur-
rounded by a moat:21 the al-Fir citadel, the old town and the new part. In the
tenth century, when the old town and the citadel had been almost destroyed by
the Amu Darya, the new part grew into a town known at the time as Kath.
Hazarasp was one of the country’s main towns, according to Balcami.22
Small-scale excavations there have revealed portions of strongly fortified walls
and a large citadel may have existed in an angle of the town. It should be noted
that Toprak-kala was a royal residence, a town specially built to serve a number
of palaces, around which it lay (Figs. 7–9). The layout of the town, which cov-
ered 17.5 ha, was marked by great regularity throughout its existence (second
to sixth century). The town of Kerder, the centre of an independent domain,
was laid out just as regularly as Toprak-kala, a fact which appears to reflect
centralized urbanization. The Kerder settlements cannot be called towns in the
full sense of the word, however. Surrounded by a primitive outer enclosure in
the form of an embankment, and sometimes lacking outer walls, they arose
FIG. 6. Ayaz-kala 2. Palace near the fortified complex.
20. Al-Baladhuri, 1924, p. 188.

21. Bolshakov, 1973, p. 171.
22. Balcami, 1874, p. 176.
213

FIG. 7. Toprak-kala. General view. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 8. Toprak-kala. Reconstruction of the palace by Y. A. Rapoport.
FIG. 9. Toprak-kala. Reconstruction of the interior of the palace by Y. A. Rapoport.
214

Khwarizm
spontaneously as a result of the settlement of the nomadic and semi-nomadic

population around a central fortification. The largest of them was Kuyuk-kala
(41 ha), on whose territory have been found two ruined citadels belonging to
different periods, vestiges of yurts and meagre traces of the handicrafts that
were developed in the area, mainly by Khwarizmians.
In the agricultural oases of Khwarizm, groups of farmsteads lay along
canals at whose outlets stood well-fortified castles. This reflects the hierarchical
structure of a feudal society. The rural (and seemingly the urban) population
lived in large patriarchal families spanning three generations. Well-to-do fami-
lies of the third century (whose houses were the BYT’ of the Toprak-kala docu-
ments) employed many slaves, slavery then being patriarchal in character in the
opinion of Livshits (Fig. 10). The house records use the term xrytk, meaning
‘purchased’.23 Here also, as in Sogdiana, there may have been slaves in debt
bondage.24 In inscriptions on ossuaries of the seventh and eighth centuries, where
we find the same large kinship groups, the term ‘Hunnanik’ (son of a Hun)
occurs; it is an indication of yet another significant source of slaves – prisoners of
war. These inscriptions include information on polygamy (which was common
in wealthy families),25 while the Toprak-kala documents also refer to concu-
bines.26 In the service of the wealthy there were also kedivars (dependent per-
sons or clients), who had become landless peasant members of the community.
Judging by excavations of dwelling-houses, ordinary farm labourers also
lived in the large patriarchal families that made up rural communes. Some com-
munities of this kind lived in the agricultural territory provided by an oasis,
whose population may have attained 4–5,000. Indirect evidence of the commu-
nal way of life can be deduced from such names of Khwarizmians as Xwanθacak
(‘possessed of good share’), βaγδarak (‘holding a share’) or (‘owning a gar-
den’).27 Each commune was a fairly closed world, based on a natural economy.
In the oases, cereals, vegetables, cultivated crops and fine-fibre cotton were
grown. Home trades and crafts (potting, iron founding and smithery) almost
satisfied the needs of the rural inhabitants.28 After a short burst of activity in
the third century, monetary circulation was not further developed until the
seventh and eighth centuries, but the bulk of the coins still came from the cas-
tles. Silver and copper coins were in circulation; their face value and weight
were approximately the same as other drachms of the time.
With the accumulation of written and archaeological evidence concern-
ing Khwarizm in the seventh and eighth centuries, it is becoming increasingly
23. Livshits, 1984, p. 267.

24. Livshits, 1962, pp. 35–6.
25. Gudkova and Livshits, 1967, p. 14.
26. Livshits, 1984, p. 14.
27. Ibid., pp. 269, 272.
28. Nerazik, 1966, pp. 100–8.
215

FIG. 10. Toprak-kala palace. Written document on wood giving the list
of men living in the house of ‘Harak’. (Room no. 90.)
clear that the Sogdian and Khwarizmian societies developed along similar lines.
It is important in this connection that the three Sogdian social groups (ηβ),
according to the documents from Mount Mug, included the tradespeople
(γw’ky) in addition to the nobility (’rtkr) and the workmen (k’rykr).29 The
merchant class also seems to have played an important part in the socio-
economic life of Khwarizm. Indeed, the Chinese chronicle the T’ang shu
[Annals of the T’ang Dynasty] makes special reference to Khwarizmian mer-
chants journeying afar in ox-drawn carts, which seem to have been a feature of
the country.30
Trading relations with the regions of the Aral Sea and the north-
west Caspian area, together with the Volga and Ural regions, were extremely
29. Livshits, 1962, p. 37.

30. Bichurin, 1950, pp. 315–16.
216

Khwarizm
FIG. 11. Toprak-kala palace. Drawing from a mural painting. Woman with a thread.
(Room no. 85.)
FIG. 12. Toprak-kala palace.

Drawing from the head of a statue
in painted clay. (Room no. 36.)
217

important for Khwarizm’s economy from the fourth to the eighth century. This
trend in trading relations played a definite role in establishing Khwarizmian
culture. Its influence was particularly marked in the periods of the political
predominance of Kerder (see above), and was felt, for example, in the interior
layout of dwellings and the forms and ornamentation of ceramics. Overall, the
culture of Khwarizm was the product of a complex interaction between, on
the one hand, dominant, profoundly traditional local elements and, on the other,
those brought by an immigrant population and arising from the country’s his-
torical and cultural contacts. While possessing a distinctive character and iden-
tity, Khwarizmian culture followed the course of development common to all
artistic canons and forms elsewhere in the Early Middle Ages in Central Asia.
Art, architecture, religion and language

In the second half of the third century the unique complex of Toprak-kala was
still in existence, embodying the highest achievements of the architects, paint-
ers and sculptors of Khwarizm (Figs. 11 and 12). Dynastic ceremonies were
held in its many sanctuaries, which were sumptuously adorned with numerous
paintings, coloured bas-reliefs and alabaster and clay sculpture in the round.
The artistic traditions and the construction and architectural methods of the
builders of the palace date back to antiquity. In the period from the fourth to
the eighth century, private fortifications became widespread, and the castles of
the aristocracy, with their mighty walls and towers, drawbridges, secret stair-
cases and other structures, studded the countryside. That period saw the
beginnings of the major types of popular dwellings and a number of public
buildings of the Khwarizmian Middle Ages. At the same time, in view of the
spread of polychrome subject paintings in the seventh and eighth centuries in
other regions of Central Asia, the absence of monumental pictorial art in
Khwarizm of the Early Middle Ages is striking. Although we know of nothing
so far except painted ossuaries, the situation may change as more towns are
excavated.31 The applied arts are best represented in the form of engraving,
toreutics and so on.
On the brink of the Early Middle Ages in Khwarizm, traces of religious
ideas that date back to remote antiquity, heathen agrarian cults and worship of
the natural elements are frequently found. The kinds of deities which are ap-
parent from the Khwarizmian names found in the Toprak-kala written docu-
ments – the water deity Vakhsh, the sun god Mithra, the fire deity and the god
of the wind Vayu – could only have emerged in the context of ancient beliefs.32
31. In fact, many fragments of subject paintings have been discovered during excavations of the
palace of Ayaz-kala 2, but it is only after restoration that their meaning will become clear.
32. Livshits, 1984, pp. 264–5, 272.
218

Khwarizm
The traces of the Zoroastrian calendar in this material and the pantheon of
deities that is constantly found in the art, together with the rituals of worship,
make this system of beliefs comparable to the Avestan pantheon,33 although
there are marked differences. By the end of the third century, the earlier anthro-
pomorphic representations of the deities had almost completely disappeared;
fine plastic art was dying out, and statuary ossuaries were replaced by simple
stone boxes. These changes are ascribed to the influence of orthodox Iranian
Zoroastrianism, which banned idolatry. Finds of statuettes of idols, however,
particularly in strata from the fourth to the sixth century, testify to the vitality
of heathen cults among the ordinary people of Khwarizm. The isolated
terracotta figurines are quite different in form, their features bearing a strong
resemblance to those of the stone idols of the steppe. They were introduced by
the nomads living on the periphery of Khwarizm, perhaps at the time of the
Türk campaigns.
The ancient pantheon seems to have been preserved from the fourth to
the eighth century, if sometimes in a barely perceptible symbolic form. For
example, the four-armed goddess on seals and silver dishes (Fig. 13) is seen as
the ancient goddess Anahita, the goddess of fertility and the aqueous element,
which brings felicity,34 while the statuettes of horses and riders symbolize
Mithra, whose cult was closely linked to the figure of Siyavush. This legendary
ancestor of the Khwarizmian dynasty was also represented in the form of a
horseman on the reverse of coins and on seals, and was the hero of a variety of
ceremonies which were part of the great ritual cycle of New Year (Nowruz)
celebrations.35
A complex interlacing of different religious beliefs, principally ancestor
worship, can be observed in the burial ceremonies of the people, who placed
the cleaned bones of their dead in ossuaries, which were then deposited in burial
chambers or interred. Images on the ossuaries depicted both a real scene of
mourning for the dead person and a number of ritual scenes showing the pass-
ing of the deceased, which were also part of the New Year cycle (Fig. 14).36
A major role in the system of religious beliefs was played by fire wor-
ship, which is extensively attested archaeologically. Fire sanctuaries in the form
of small, single-chambered cupola-shaped towers have been discovered in the
oases of east-bank Khwarizm (Fig. 15). One of these, dating back to the fourth
century, is the oldest domed structure in Central Asia. Toprak-kala boasted a
fire temple; and, as Rapoport rightly observes, the social stratification of the
population was reflected in religious differentiations, for the townspeople
worshipped in a temple unlike that used by the lords of the citadel and the
33. Livshits, 1984, pp. 264–5, 272; Rapoport, 1971.

34. Tolstov, 1948a, p. 201.
35. Ibid., pp. 200–3.
36. Gudkova, 1964, pp. 95–100; Yagodin and Khojaiov, 1970, pp. 138–42.
219

FIG. 13. Silver dish. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 14. Tok-kala. Drawing from a painting on an ossuary in alabaster with

a mourning scene (end seventh century).
220

Khwarizm
FIG. 15. Oasis of Yakke-Parsan (eastern Khwarizm).

Single-chambered cupola-shaped room with remains of an altar.
palace.37 The town’s fire temple consisted of a small chain of chambers con-
nected by a broad axial thoroughfare. The temple of Hvarna (xvarenah or
farn, the personification of power and material prosperity) was similar to the
fire temple; richly decorated rams’ horns symbolizing Hvarna were worshipped
in it.38
No significant traces have been found of foreign religions in Khwarizm
at that time. There is no indisputable evidence that Buddhism was commonly
practised in Khwarizm, as distinct from other regions of Central Asia. On the
other hand, the presence of Christian communities in the country can be sur-
mised.39 A burial chamber apparently belonging to such a community has been
discovered in the necropolis of Gyaur-kala.40 An independent ruler portrayed
on a coin with a Nestorian cross on the crown was evidently a Christian.41
37. Rapoport, 1984, p. 296.

38. Nerazik, 1982, pp. 52–4, 146.
39. Tolstov, 1948a, pp. 227–8.
40. Yagodin and Khojaiov, 1970, pp. 146–51.
41. See Vaynberg, 1977, Table XXIX, 4.
221

As archaeological work proceeds, increasing information is coming to

light about the language of the people of Khwarizm in the period covering
the third to the eighth century. Apart from inscriptions on coins and dishes,
we now know of over 100 inscriptions on ossuaries, dozens of documents on
skin and wood from Toprak-kala and 2 documents from Yakke-Parsan (eighth
century). It has been established that the Khwarizmian language was related
to the East Iranian group, while the writing was based on the Aramaic script.
The inscriptions record dates of the Khwarizmian era, forms of greeting, proper
names, terminology reflecting patrilineal kinship, and the names of the
12 months and of 18 days (out of 30), which may enable us to fill in some
gaps in al-Biruni’s data concerning the Khwarizmian calendar.
P a r t Tw o
AL-BIRUNI ON K H WA R I Z M
(P. G. Bulgakov)
The Khwarizmian calendar

Information on the history and culture of Khwarizm is given in the works of
Abu Raihan al-Biruni, the learned Khwarizmian encyclopaedist who lived from
973 to 1048. His main source was the oral information of authorities on an-
cient traditions who were still alive when he was in Khwarizm, but he was also
well versed in the historical literature which had been compiled by his time. In
his work the Kitab al-athar al-baqiya [Chronology of Ancient Nations], known
to modern scholars as the Chronology and written c. 1000–1003, al-Biruni gives
information about the Khwarizmian calendar which is still the most detailed
and comprehensive account we possess.42
Analysis of this information has established that the calendar was based
on the so-called New Avestan Calendar,43 but in time had taken on certain
characteristics of its own. The Khwarizmian solar calendar consisted of
12 months, each of which had its own name44 and consisted of 30 days, each
of which also had a name. Five extra days were added to the end of the last
(i.e. the 12th) month. These extra days did not have their own names, but
were called by the same names as the first 5 days of the month. In this way,
42. Biruni, 1957, pp. 62–3.

43. See Bickerman’s study of the Zoroastrian calendar (Bickerman, 1967, pp. 197–207).
44. Al-Biruni gives two variations of the names of most months, one of which was the official
name used by the Zoroastrian priesthood, and the other the name in everyday use.
222

Khwarizm
the Khwarizmian calendar consisted of 365 days. The additional 6 hours were
not taken into account, and there was no leap year to correct this. The official
names of the months and days given below are taken from Livshits’ study.45
MONTHS
I. r v r j n’ VII. ’w m r y (’m r y)
II. ’r d w s t VIII. y’n’x n (y’b’ x n)
III. h r w d’ d IX. ’r w
IV. jyry X. rymzd
V. h m d’ d XI. ’s m n (’h m n)
VI. ’x s r y w r y XII. xswm
DAYS
1. r y m z d (r y m z d) 16. fyγ
2. ’z m y n (’h m y n) 17. ’s r w f
3. ’r d w s t 18. rsn
4. ’x s r y w r y 19. rwrjn
5. ’s b n d’ r m j y 20. ’r θ γ n
6. h r w d’ d 21. r’ m
7. h m d’ d 22. w’ δ
8. δdw 23. = 8, 15
9. ’r w 24. d y n y (δ y n or δ y y)
10. y’ n’ x n (y’ b’ x n) 25. ’r j w x y
11. ’x y r 26. ’s t’ δ (’s t’ d)
12. m’ h (m’ x) 27. ’s m’ n
13. jyry 28. z’ t (= z a t ?)
14. γwst 29. mrsbnd
15. =8 30. ’w n r γ
As Livshits remarks, apart from occasional copyists’ mistakes, al-Biruni’s in-

formation is extremely accurate, and the names he gives for the months and
days of the Khwarizmian calendar are in almost complete accordance with the
inscriptions of the Tok-kala ossuaries.46
The Khwarizmian calendar came into being at the beginning of the Chris-
tian era and officially remained in use until Khwarizm was incorporated into
the caliphate in the eighth century, when a system of chronology reckoning
from the hegira was adopted at the time of the introduction of Islam. How-
ever, the people of Khwarizm continued to use the local calendar at least until
the end of the tenth century. Its disadvantage was that, because there was no
provision for the leap year, the beginning of the Khwarizmian months changed
45. Livshits, 1970, pp. 167–9. More exact forms suggested by Livshits are given in brackets.
46. Ibid., p. 167.
223

constantly from one time of the year to another. For this reason, according to
al-Biruni, in 960 the Khwarizmshah, Abu Sacid Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Iraq,
introduced a reform to make the beginning of the Khwarizmian months coin-
cide with the fixed days of the Julian calendar.47
Khwarizmian eras
In his Chronology, al-Biruni also mentions three Khwarizmian eras: the first
beginning with the settlement of the country, which supposedly took place
980 years before the time of Alexander the Great (i.e. 1290 B.C.);48 the second
starting with the arrival of Siyavush in Khwarizm and the beginning of the
reign of Kai Khusrau, 92 years after the settlement of the country; and the third
beginning with the reign of the Khwarizmshah Afrig, who is said to have built
a castle near Madinat al-Fir (Kath), the ancient capital of Khwarizm.49 While it
is generally agreed that the first two eras are legendary, certain scholars regard
Afrig and his era as historical.50 The genealogical list of the Khwarizmshahs of
the ‘Afrigid’ dynasty given by al-Biruni would seem to support the authentic-
ity of his information. For the period from 306 to the middle of the eighth
century, this list is as follows:51
Afrig. Bagra. Sahhasak. Askajamuk (I). Azkajwar (I). Sahr (I). Shaush. Hamgari or
Hangari. Buzgar. Arsamuh. Sahr (II). Sabri. Azkajwar (II). Askajamuk (II).
Sawashfan.52
So far, however, there is no confirmation of the use of a chronology based on

the era of Afrig and attempts to read his name on Khwarizmian coins have
proved unsuccessful.53 The archaeological material discovered in the last few
decades – in particular, the archive of Toprak-kala and the Tok-kala ossuary
inscriptions – in conjunction with the time scale of the Tok-kala culture have
allowed us to establish that an official chronology existed in Khwarizm, but it
was based on another age, for which we have no written sources. According to
47. Biruni, 1957, pp. 262–3.

48. It should be borne in mind that al-Biruni takes the year 310 B.C., not 312, as the beginning of
the Seleucid era (‘the era of Alexander’). Thus he dates the second year of the reign of Justinian I
as the year 838 of the era of Alexander; and he counts the year 1191 of the era of Alexander
as the year 267 from the hegira, and the year 1194 of the era of Alexander as the year 270 from
the hegira (Biruni, 1966, pp. 96, 128).
49. Biruni, 1957, pp. 47–8.
50. Tolstov, 1948b, pp. 10–11, 191–2.
51. Biruni, 1957, p. 48; Livshits, 1970, pp. 165–6, and his transliteration; Vaynberg, 1977, p. 83.
52. Continuing this list, al-Biruni names a further seven Khwarizmshahs, the last of whom, Abu
c
Abdallah Muhammad, was killed in 995.
53. Livshits, 1970, p. 167.
224

Khwarizm
Henning and Livshits, it began in the 10s or 20s A.D., and according to Vaynberg
in the 40s or early 50s.54 Thus, as was noted by Bartold,55 al-Biruni’s informa-
tion cannot be regarded as reliable in its totality.
The genealogical list of Khwarizmshahs given by al-Biruni is also unre-
liable for the period up to the beginning of the eighth century. Of the early
rulers, only the names of Azkajwar and Sawashfan are confirmed by
Khwarizmian coins. The name of Arsamuh is also confirmed, but coins struck
in his reign (no later than the end of the third century) do not coincide chrono-
logically with his reign as given by al-Biruni.56 Moreover, the names of the
13 Khwarizmshahs who reigned before Azkajwar as given on coins of
Khwarizm are completely different from those given by al-Biruni.57 The pres-
ence on most coins of the traditional tamgha (symbol or mark) for the period
between the middle of the first century and the end of the eighth, and also the
image of a horseman, give grounds for belief that there was a firmly established
dynasty in Khwarizm during that period. However, there is no justification
for calling it the ‘Afrigid’ dynasty.
Religious beliefs
The religion of ancient Khwarizm was a local version of Zoroastrianism mixed
with pagan beliefs. In his Chronology, al-Biruni mentions traditions concern-
ing the time and place of Zarathustra’s (Zoroaster’s) activities.58 Until recently
little was known of al-Biruni’s other work, the Al-Qanun al-Mascudi [Canon
of Mascudi] (written over 30 years after the Chronology), because it had not
been translated. In it al-Biruni reconsiders the date suggested in his Chronol-
ogy for the beginning of the prophetic activities of Zarathustra – he now gives
the year 276 before the Seleucid age (‘the age of Alexander’) or 1218 of the age
of Yazdgird III, which was counted from the year A.D. 632.59 Bearing in mind
that al-Biruni believed that 310 B.C. was the beginning of the Seleucid age, not
312, and considering the dating according to the era of Yazdgird, we may con-
clude that, according to al-Biruni’s latest information, Zarathustra began his
activities not in 570 but in 586 B.C. If this is so, and if Zarathustra was then
42 years old, as tradition has it, then he was born 108 years before the reign of
Darius I. Thus al-Biruni’s data are evidence against (and not for) attributing
the activities of Zarathustra to the time of Darius I and his father.
54. Henning, 1965, pp. 158–69; Livshits, 1970, pp. 163–5; Vaynberg, 1977, p. 79.
55. Bartold, 1965, p. 545.
56. The first third of the seventh century (Biruni, 1957, p. 48); Livshits, 1970, pp. 166–7; Vaynberg,
1977, p. 81.
57. Vaynberg, 1977, p. 81.
58. Biruni, 1957, pp. 24, 205–6.
59. Biruni, 1973, pp. 114, 148.
225

Al-Biruni informs us that certain Zoroastrian texts in the Khwarizmian

language were destroyed as a result of the Arab conquest.60 However, Zoroas-
trianism was not a legally established state religion in Khwarizm, as it was in
Iran, and therefore did not follow strict canons. Both from al-Biruni’s infor-
mation and from archaeological evidence, it is clear that Zoroastrianism had a
special character in Khwarizm, where it coexisted with survivals from earlier
beliefs and local cults. Some of the manifestations of these were shared by pre-
Islamic Sughd.
Animistic notions such as the belief in jinns and in good and evil spirits
survived in Khwarizm right up to al-Biruni’s time (tenth to eleventh century).
The cult of Vakhsh – the tutelary spirit of the element of water, especially of
the Amu Darya – was a survival of early animism. As al-Biruni tells us, the
Khwarizmian feast of Vakhsh was celebrated on the tenth day of the last (i.e.
the twelfth) month of the year.61 The link between the name of this spirit and
the Amu Darya still survives in the name of the River Vakhsh, a tributary of
the Panj, the upper reaches of the Amu Darya. There was a widespread belief
in spirits, which were no longer associated with the elements or with plants
and animals. Most were regarded as hostile to human beings. Smoke, steam
and the smell of food were used to ward them off, as were certain types of
ritual food prepared on set days, for example bread baked with fat on the first
day of the seventh month of each year.62
The feasts of the New Year (the first day of the first month) and Chiri-
Ruj (the thirteenth day of the seventh month), which coincided with the days
of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, were linked with the cult of nature, its
death and revival. The beginning of the year marked the awakening and de-
velopment of life-giving forces, while the autumn feast was its antithesis, and
marked the time after which these forces faded away and died.63
The cult of the dead or of ancestors was observed with great respect in
Khwarizm. According to al-Biruni, it was the Khwarizmian custom to place
food in the burial chambers on the last five days of the twelfth month and five
additional days of the New Year.64 This ritual of ‘feeding’ the ancestors was
apparently linked with the belief that the fertility of the fields could be secured
with the help of higher forces.65
In his Chronology, al-Biruni describes the rituals observed by the
Sogdians in memory of Siyavush, a legendary divine king who supposedly
died as a result of being slandered at the height of his prosperity. It can be
60. Biruni, 1957, pp. 48, 63.

61. Ibid., p. 258.
62. Ibid., p. 257.
63. Ibid., pp. 224, 234, 256, 257.
64. Ibid., p. 258.
65. Rapoport, 1971, p. 115.
226

Khwarizm
assumed that the same customs also existed in Khwarizm, as one of the legen-
dary Khwarizmian ages was dated from the arrival of Siyavush in the coun-
try.66 The commemoration of Siyavush, which was accompanied by sacrifices,
was closely linked to the cult of the dead and to hopes of obtaining prosperity
both on earth and after death.67 It is possible that all the dead were honoured
collectively in the form of Siyavush.68 In the opinion of Tolstov, Siyavush was
also venerated as the Central Asian god of dying and reviving vegetation.69
The day of the ritual commemoration of the legendary Khwarizmian Queen
Mina (who froze to death in warm weather), which was observed on the fif-
teenth day of the tenth month, was apparently also connected with the cult of
the dead.70
Khwarizmian Zoroastrianism differed substantially from the canonical
Iranian form in its burial rites. Whereas in Iran the bones of the dead were
entombed in niches carved in rock or in vaulted burial chambers,71 the
Khwarizmians used ossuaries. According to Rapoport, the sources of the
ossuary ritual should be sought not in Zoroastrian dogma, but in earlier be-
liefs.72 The earliest statuary ossuaries, which were anthropomorphic and unac-
ceptable to orthodox Zoroastrianism, were clearly a survival of ancient idola-
try. The Khwarizmians continued to use them from the second century B.C. or
slightly earlier until the third century A.D., when they were superseded by stone
boxes as a result of the growing influence of Zoroastrian dogma in Khwarizm.73
Canonical Zoroastrianism forbade the mourning of the dead. In Khwarizm,
however, as in Sogdiana, this ritual existed, as can be seen from the paintings
on the Tok-kala ossuaries (see Fig. 1).74
As for other religions, Buddhism probably never reached Khwarizm since
there is no evidence of its having left substantial traces in the region. There was
a community of Melkite Christians, whose clergy were under the jurisdiction
of the Metropolitan of Merv. Among the Melkite feast days celebrated in
Khwarizm, al-Biruni mentions the feast of roses, which were brought to church
on 4 May (Ayyar) every year.75
Al-Biruni’s Chronology is the only source of information about the ex-
istence of certain secular holidays in pre-Islamic Khwarizm. In connection with
the agricultural calendar, the first day of the third month was observed as the
66. Bartold, 1971, p. 83.

67. D’yakonov, 1951, pp. 34–43.
68. Rapoport, 1971, p. 83.
69. Tolstov, 1948a, pp. 202–4; 1948b, pp. 83–7; Gafurov, 1972, pp. 284–5.
70. Biruni, 1957, p. 257.
71. Herzfeld, 1935, p. 39; 1941, pp. 217–18.
72. Rapoport, 1971, pp. 5, 18, 32.
73. Ibid., pp. 120–1.
74. Gudkova, 1964, pp. 95–102.
75. Biruni, 1957, pp. 318, 326.
227

beginning of the sowing season for sesame and some other crops.76 The fifth
day of the fourth month was also kept as a feast; the Khwarizmians counted
seventy days from that date, and then began sowing the winter wheat.77 The
feast celebrated on the first day of the sixth month had its roots in their former
nomadic way of life: according to tradition, at that time (which in the past had
coincided with the beginning of the cold season), the kings of Khwarizm used
to leave their summer quarters and go out onto the steppe to protect their lands
from nomadic raids.78
In ancient and early medieval Khwarizm, astronomical observations were
made for both religious and practical purposes. Archaeological data give grounds
for believing that as early as the second and third centuries B.C., a great temple
stood on the site of the ruins of Koy-Krylgan-kala. It was built where an ancient
mausoleum had stood, and was used both as a burial place and as a centre of the
cult of the dead and of the stars.79 Observations were concentrated mainly on the
sun and the moon, both because they were the most highly venerated in Zoroas-
trianism and because of their role in measuring time. The ancient Khwarizmians
were familiar with eclipses of the sun and moon (the ‘houses’ of the moon), and
were therefore able to determine and correct the times of the seasons and thus
the calendar system as a whole. In his Chronology, al-Biruni gives the
Khwarizmian names for all the 12 signs of the Zodiac, the 28 ‘houses’ of the
moon (the groups of stars in which the moon ‘stands’ on each of the 28 days of
the lunar month) and also the names of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and
Mercury.80 He observes that the Khwarizmians knew more about many constel-
lations than the pre-Islamic Arabs did, and gives a number of examples.81
The Arab conquest

The Arab conquest of Khwarizm and the country’s subsequent conversion to
Islam provoked a crisis in the indigenous culture. The first attempt by the Arabs
to conquer Khwarizm came at the very end of the seventh century. Umayya b.
c
Abdallah, the Arab governor of Khurasan (693–697), after capturing the capi-
tal city of Kath (which he held for a time), forced the Khwarizmshah to sign a
treaty recognizing the power of the caliphate. Immediately after the departure
of the Arab forces, however, this treaty was abrogated.82 The attempts of Yazid
76. Biruni, 1957, p. 256.

77. Ibid., pp. 256–7.
78. Ibid., p. 257.
79. ‘Koy-Krylgan-Kala’, 1967, pp. 235–6, 253–64.
80. Biruni, 1957, pp. 187–8, 261.
81. Ibid., p. 259.
82. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 426.
228

Khwarizm
b. al-Muhallab, another governor of Khurasan (702–705), to take possession of

Khwarizm were equally unsuccessful83 and it was not until 711–712 that his
successor, Qutaiba b. Muslim, succeeded in doing so, by exploiting the civil
war that was raging in the country.
According to al-Baladhuri, Khurrazad, the younger brother of the reign-
ing Khwarizmshah, raised a revolt against his brother, became de facto ruler,
took the law into his own hands and robbed the local nobles. As the
Khwarizmshah could not withstand Khurrazad, he sent messengers secretly to
Qutaiba b. Muslim, who was in Merv. The Khwarizmshah agreed to pay trib-
ute to Qutaiba and to recognize the power of the caliphate on condition that
he remained lord of Khwarizm and that Qutaiba deliver him from Khurrazad’s
oppression. Qutaiba agreed and sent his brother, cAbd al-Rahman b. Muslim,
against Khurrazad. He was victorious in the battle and Khurrazad was killed.
c
Abd al-Rahman publicly executed the 4,000 prisoners he took.84
Al-Tabari, and later Balcami and Ibn al-Athir, tell us that in addition to
Khurrazad the Khwarizmshah had another sworn enemy, a certain King
Khamjird.85 According to the combined information provided by these histo-
rians, the sequence of events is as follows. In the year 93 A.H. (A.D. 712), a
Khwarizmshah by the name of Jigan (or Chigan)86 was faced with his younger
brother Khurrazad’s open flouting of his authority and with an even more
powerful enemy, King Khamjird. Without informing anyone, he turned for
help to Qutaiba b. Muslim, who was then in Merv. As a sign that he recognized
the power of the caliphate, the Khwarizmshah sent Qutaiba the golden keys to
the three main cities of Khwarizm. Qutaiba set out with his forces from Merv,
ostensibly on a campaign against Sogdiana. Rumours to this effect were also
spread by the Khwarizmshah to put those who favoured war with the Arabs
off their guard. When Qutaiba unexpectedly appeared with his army in
83. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 417; al-Tabari, 1881–89, pp. 1142–3.

84. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, pp. 420–1.
85. The term malik Khamjird is understood by some scholars (Tolstov, Vyazigin) as ‘King
Khamdzhird’ (Khamdzhard) and by others (Bartold, Vaynberg) as ‘the king of Khamjird’.
The title The Conquest of Khamjird in Ibn al-Athir’s Chronicle suggests that Khamjird was
a toponym. Vaynberg, basing his opinion on one of the editions of Balcami’s work in which
Gurganj appears instead of Khamjird, considers that it is the same town. The fact that Khamjird
is not mentioned in other sources can be explained, according to Vaynberg’s hypothesis, by
the fact that the town’s old name is replaced by its new one (Ibn al-Athir, 1301 A.H., p. 273;
Istorya Turkmenskoy SSR, 1957, pp. 163–4; Tolstov, 1948b, p. 225; Bartold, 1965, p. 546;
Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 98–9).
86. Only Balcami gives this name and in the manuscripts of his work kept in the Institute of
Oriental Studies of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences it is spelt in different ways. As well as the
most common form, there are others which are graphically close to them (Balcami, MS 33,
p. 359 a; MS 4226, p. 371 b; MS 6095, pp. 368 b–369 a; MS 7466, pp. 273 b– 274 b; MS 11273,
p. 459 b).
229

Hazarasp, the Khwarizmshah advised his entourage not to resist, in view of

the obvious superiority of the Arab forces. The Khwarizmshah concluded a
treaty with Qutaiba according to which he gave him 10,000 head of livestock,
money and other property, on condition that Qutaiba would advance against
King Khamjird. Qutaiba accepted these conditions. His brother, cAbd al-
Rahman b. Muslim, won a victory over the ruler of Khamjird, and the latter
was killed. cAbd al-Rahman took 4,000 prisoners, whom Qutaiba ordered to
be executed. Then Qutaiba captured Khurrazad and his henchmen and handed
them over to the Khwarizmshah, who had them executed.87
Having achieved his aims in Khwarizm, Qutaiba besieged and took
Samarkand in the same year, 93 A.H. (A.D. 712); during this campaign the peo-
ple of Khwarizm revolted and killed the Khwarizmshah, who had betrayed
their country. When Qutaiba returned from Sogdiana, he dismissed Ilyas b.
c
Abdallah b. cAmr, his commissioner in Khwarizm, for failing to take action
and sent cAbdallah b. Muslim to replace him. Although the latter maintained
his authority for a time, revolt soon broke out again and was not suppressed
until al-Mughir b. cAbdallah, another of Qutaiba’s generals, was sent there with
his forces. It was then, according to al-Biruni, that Khwarizm was sacked by
barbarians; as a result, many objects of cultural value were destroyed, includ-
ing Khwarizmian manuscripts.88
It is reasonable to assume that there are considerable gaps in the medieval
historians’ account of the violent events which took place in Khwarizm in 712.
Coins of the Khwarizmshah Azkajwar II have been found overstruck by the
types of a certain Khusrau, who only reigned for a short time.89 The most likely
explanation is that Khusrau was put in power by the Khwarizmians when they
revolted and overthrew Jigan. Then, after Qutaiba had suppressed the rising,
he put a member of the old ruling dynasty, Askajamuk II, the son of
Azkajwar II, on the throne.90
The absence of the name of Jigan (Chigan) on Khwarizmian coins and in
the genealogical list of Khwarizmshahs given by al-Biruni has given rise to two
hypotheses. According to the first, Jigan was a usurper, who unsuccessfully
tried to consolidate his power with the help of the Arab conquerors,91 but who
ruled for such a short period that he did not have time to issue his own coin-
age. According to the second hypothesis, the one most widely held by schol-
ars, Jigan is an etymologically obscure nickname of the Khwarizmshah
87. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, pp. 1236–9; Balcami, MS 4226, pp. 371 b–372 a; Ibn al-Athir, 1301 A.H.,
pp. 273–4.
88. Biruni, 1957, pp. 48, 63.
89. Henning, 1965, pp. 168, 175; Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 78–9.
90. Biruni, 1957, p. 48; Gudkova and Livshits, 1967, p. 6; Livshits, 1970, p. 164.
91. Gudkova, 1964, pp. 120–1.
230

Khwarizm
Azkajwar II, the father of Askajamuk II.92 The available data do not yet allow
the issue to be settled.
Early Arab rule in Khwarizm was unstable. In 110 A.H. (A.D. 728) a ris-
ing supported by neighbouring Türk tribes broke out in the north of the coun-
try, in the town of Kerder and the area around it, but it was suppressed in the
same year.93 From then on, the political situation was somewhat more stable.
Members of the ancient dynasty continued to reign over Khwarizm as vassals
of the caliphate with limited rights until 995, when the last of them was ex-
ecuted by the amir of Urgench, who united the entire country under his rule.
92. Gudkova and Livshits, 1967, p. 6; Vaynberg, 1977, pp. 81, 91–3. Rtveladze has given his rea-
sons for objecting to Vaynberg’s theory that there was a dynastic link between Jigan and
Chaganiyan (Rtveladze, 1980, pp. 51–8).
93. Al-Tabari, 1881–89, p. 1525.
231

10
SOGDIANA*
B. I. Marshak and N. N. Negmatov
Part One
SUGHD AND ADJACENT REGIONS
(B. I. Marshak)
During the third to the eighth century Sughd (Sogdiana) included the basins of
the rivers Zerafshan and Kashka Darya. The name ‘Sughd’ was frequently ap-
plied only to the area near Samarkand – Samarkandian Sughd – but sometimes
it was extended to the whole area where the Sogdian language was predomi-
nant, which in the seventh century included regions to its north-east (Ustru-
shana, Chach – the modern Tashkent – and western Semirechye; see Part Two).
From the third to the eighth century Sughd, which had originally lagged be-
hind its neighbours to the south and west, became one of the most advanced
countries and the leader of all Transoxania. It was neither a powerful state itself
nor firmly subjected to any of the neighbouring empires. From the second or
first century B.C. each district had developed independently, maintaining an-
cient community traditions. Private individuals such as merchants, missionar-
ies and mercenary soldiers were extremely active and penetrated into distant
lands. Thus political isolation did not entail cultural isolation.
Other peoples knew the Sogdians mainly as silk merchants, but the basis
of the Sogdian economy was agriculture on artificially irrigated land. From the
very beginning, the Silk Route was controlled by Sogdian merchants, but in
the fifth century their domestic trade and monetary relations were still at the
stage of ‘Barbarian imitations’.1 Century after century each of the main areas
of Sughd minted coins that can be traced back to the coinage of various Hel-
lenistic rulers of the third to the second century B.C. Moreover, the coins of
Samarkandian Sughd had become extremely debased by the fifth century; the
image of an archer had been reduced to a mere outline and the weight of the
coin was considerably reduced. Although Sughd was a neighbour of the Kushan
Empire and was invaded by Iranian forces during the third century, it was not
incorporated into these states with highly developed administrative systems.
* See Map 5.
1. Zeimal, 1983, pp. 69–76, 269–76.
233

In the sixth century the minting of coins with the image of an archer, which
had continued for many centuries, ceased; this marked the end of the stage of
‘Barbarian imitations’ and the beginning of a new stage in the development of
trading and monetary relations.2
In ancient times large numbers of nomadic or semi-nomadic herdsmen
lived around Sogdiana. Some of their burial places have been excavated near
the borders of oases; the ceramics found in the graves are of Sogdian work-
manship, showing the crosscultural influence. At some time between the third
and the fifth century (the exact date has not yet been established) these burial
places fell into disuse, settlements were destroyed and sometimes even deserted,
and the craft traditions, as revealed by the forms of the wheel-turned pottery,
changed. In the fifth-century strata in the Kashka Darya valley there are large
quantities of handmade ceramic articles, together with turned pottery. People
with a tradition of handmade pottery, characteristic only of settled peoples and
found to this day among the Tajik hillsmen, migrated from the backward out-
skirts to the partially abandoned fertile land. Around the fourth century what
is called the second wall, enclosing an area of 66 ha, was built inside the ancient
wall of the capital city, Samarkand – there were clearly not enough people to
defend the old wall, which was almost 6 km long.
Between the third and the seventh century there were no prolonged peri-
ods of decline. New settlements appeared in both the third and the fourth cen-
turies, and during the fifth century whole towns were built, including Panjikent,
60 km east of Samarkand (Fig. 1). The evidence of local crises in the third and
(especially) the fourth century can be explained by the migration of new groups
of nomads who appeared on the borders of Iran in the middle of the fourth
century, and in the following century began a long struggle with Iran for
Tokharistan. It was probably the arrival of the Sasanians that drove the local
semi-nomadic herdsmen away from the land on which they had settled.
Four generations before the beginning of relations between the Wei dy-
nasty and foreigners from the West, i.e. in the second half of the fourth cen-
tury, the Huns killed the ruler of Sogdiana and seized possession of his lands.3
The Sogdians called this people xwn. Were these the same Huns who overran
northern China in the fourth century or were they Chionites, whom the Indi-
ans called Hunas? There was a difference in the physical appearance of the two
peoples, although some of the Huns were probably included among the
Chionites.4 The Huns who appeared in Sogdiana were probably not the same
people as the Chionites, but even if they were, no Chionite Empire encom-
passing Sughd and Tokharistan existed in the fifth century. It is believed that
the Chionites (the sources mention Türks) attacked Iran from the direction of
2. Zeimal, 1983, p. 234.

3. Enoki, 1955.
4. Czeglédy, 1980, pp. 213–17.
234

Sogdiana
FIG. 1. Panjikent. Excavations of the palace on the citadel.

Sughd.5 This was probably not, however, a real historical event from the fifth
century but an anachronistic episode from the Romance of Bahram Gur in-
spired by the later victory of the Sasanian general Bahram Chobin over the
Türks. It is not impossible that in the fifth century Sughd was ruled by a dy-
nasty of nomadic origin, although there is no evidence of the activities of no-
mads in the country. The increased strength of the nomads in Tokharistan in
the fourth and fifth centuries may have been connected with their departure
from Sughd.
Sughd came under the rule of the Hephthalites in c. 509, from which time
Hephthalite ‘embassies’ from Samarkand (consisting essentially of trading cara-
vans) to China were known.6 The Hephthalites seem to have come to Sughd
from the south after victory over Sasanian Iran. For the first time since the
Seleucids, Sughd came under the power of an organized state with an army
rather than the Sogdian rulers’ retinues, and this army was considerably stronger
than the local militia.
In Tokharistan, where tribes of Hephthalites lived, Chinese travellers
report seeing nomads with archaic customs, but Byzantine authors describe
the Hephthalites as an urban population with a highly organized state. Menan-
der’s information about the urban Hephthalites goes back to the conversation
5. Marquart, 1901, pp. 50–1.

6. Enoki, 1959.
235

of Sogdian envoys of the Türk kaghan with the Byzantine emperor and hence
refers to the Hephthalites in Sughd. The town of Panjikent grew during the
Hephthalite period, its fortifications were strengthened and temples were re-
built, although the arrival of the Hephthalites is thought to have been accom-
panied by ravages (Fig. 2).
At the end of the Hephthalite period or the beginning of the Turkic pe-
riod (during the sixth century), a ruler by the name of Abrui held sway over
the oasis of Bukhara. This tyrant drove the nobles and the rich to emigrate to
Semirechye.7 Contrary to Tolstov’s opinion, there is no mention in the sources
of the people’s struggle against the aristocracy; on the contrary, the poor who
remained under Abrui’s rule begged the emigrants for help. Abrui was finally
defeated by Türk forces who came at the request of the people of Bukhara.
(Abrui himself was not of Türk origin: although he and the Bukharans are
described as coming ‘from Turkestan’, this refers to the earliest days of the
settlement of the oasis of Bukhara.) Legend tells of a prince’s struggle against a
community of citizens headed by nobles. Such a struggle might have been all
the more bitter because of the rapid growth of the towns in the fifth to the
seventh century, as revealed by the archaeological evidence. Paikent, the
residence of Abrui, became a free ‘merchant city’ in the seventh to the eighth
century.
Typically, in the legend of Abrui, justice is re-established due to the ar-
rival of the Türks. When the inheritance of the Hephthalites was divided up
between the Türks and the Sasanians (who had defeated the Hephthalites in
the 560s), Sughd fell to the Türks, although their forces probably left the coun-
try after the victory. They came again in the 580s, when the war with Iran be-
gan.8 After establishing the kaghanate over a vast territory stretching from the
Black Sea to the Chinese border, the nomadic Türk kaghans recruited Sogdian
civil servants to run it. The Sogdian colonization of Semirechye and the Sogdian
caravan trade were of benefit not only to the Sogdians but also to the Türks.
The Türk state aspired to make the roads safe and gave its backing to the Sogdian
diplomats’ trade negotiations. The Sogdian language, which had become the
lingua franca of the Silk Route long before the sixth century, became the offi-
cial language of the kaghans’ administration in the second half of the sixth
century.9 During the first third of the seventh century, after the division into
Eastern and Western Kaghanates, Türk influence increased, but the kaghan
and the king of Samarkand were now more like equal allies than sovereign and
subject. The kaghan’s daughter married the king of Samarkand.
In the middle of the seventh century, after the fall of the Western
Kaghanate, the Sogdian states gained de facto independence, although formally
7. Marquart, 1901, p. 309; Tolstov, 1948, pp. 248 et seq.; Gafurov, 1972, pp. 223 et seq.
8. Gafurov, 1972, pp. 217–21.
9. Klyashtorny and Livshits, 1971; 1972.
236

Sogdiana
FIG. 2. Panjikent. Plan of the city (without the citadel).

(Drawing by B. I. Marshak.)
237

recognizing the sovereignty of the T’ang dynasty. In the eighth century, this
sovereignty proved to be purely nominal, because China gave no real support
against the Arab invaders. The alliance with the Türk states was unstable, with
the Turkic nobles frequently looting or seizing Sogdian territories; as early as
the end of the seventh century the principality of Panjikent had a Türk ruler,
Chikin Chur Bilge.
In the second half of the seventh century, after conquering Iran, the Arabs
advanced on Sughd. During the first few decades of the eighth century Arab
garrisons were established in Bukhara and Samarkand and the local rulers sub-
mitted. The suppression of local uprisings in 720–730 led to mass emigration.
In 739 the Arabs concluded a treaty with the Sogdians, many of whom returned
home and, as the excavations in Panjikent show, tried to re-establish their former
way of life. Mass conversions to Islam began in the 750s, but the process of
Islamization and the gradual waning of the power of local rulers took several
more decades.
Economic, cultural and social life

The seventh century and the first half of the eighth were the economic and
cultural heyday of pre-Islamic Sughd. However, evidence from the documents
of Dunhuang reveals the existence of large colonies of Sogdian merchants in
Chinese towns10 as early as the beginning of the fourth century (if not the end
of the second) and, judging by the Karakorum rock inscriptions, Sogdian mer-
chants predominated at that time on the southern routes from Central Asia to
the Indus valley.11 The general upsurge in the domestic economy allowed the
profits from foreign trade to enrich not only the emigrant merchants but the
population of Sughd itself. Silk weaving began in the country in the late sixth
and early seventh centuries and by the following century Sogdian silks were
already playing a major role on the Silk Route.12 From the sixth to the seventh
century the ‘Fur Route’ to north-west Europe was also in the hands of Sogdian
and Khwarizmian merchants – as revealed in the Sogdian and Khwarizmian
owners’ inscriptions on Byzantine and Iranian silver vessels found in the north,
where they were imported in exchange for furs.13 In Sughd itself the compara-
tively primitive bowls of the sixth century had, by the seventh century, given
way to magnificent artistic vessels and sculptures fashioned in silver.14
The changes in life-style were reflected even in such a ‘democratic’ craft
10. Henning, 1948; Harmatta, 1971.

11. Humbach, 1980.
12. Yerusalimskaya, 1972.
13. Livshits and Lukonin, 1964.
14. Marshak, 1971.
238

Sogdiana
as ceramics. The second half of the seventh century and the beginning of the
eighth saw a complete change in the design of table crockery, whose shapes
and ornamentation began to copy those of the nobles’ silver vessels.
The new stage in the development of trading and monetary relations was
associated with the wide circulation in Sogdiana of a cast bronze coin with a
square hole in the middle (Fig. 3).15 The coins of Samarkand, Panjikent, Paikent
and certain other centres are well known. Silver drachms were minted in imi-
tation of the Iranian drachms of Bahram V (420–438). Their inscription nor-
mally included the title of the ruler of Bukhara, although in the eighth century
they were issued in other centres as well.16
FIG. 3. Bronze coins from Panjikent.

Art and architecture

There was architectural progress in towns and settlements such as Samarkand
(the site of Afrasiab) (Fig. 4), Panjikent and Varakhsha (near Bukhara) (Figs. 5
and 6). In the seventh century Samarkand again covered the whole plateau of
Afrasiab, an area of 219 ha. Other Sogdian towns were much smaller. The area
of Bukhara (without the citadel) was 34 ha, and that of Panjikent (also without
the citadel) 13.5 ha. The buildings within the city walls have been best studied
in Panjikent.17 In the fifth century the residential quarters were composed of
detached houses, but over the sixth, seventh and early eighth centuries the whole
town was built up with uninterrupted terraces in each quarter. The houses were
15. Smirnova, 1981.

16. Davidovich, 1979, pp. 105–6.
17. Belenitskiy et al., 1981.
239

FIG. 4. Afrasiab. View from the old city towards Samarkand.

240

Sogdiana
FIG. 5. Varakhsha. General view. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 6. Varakhsha.
Corridor. (Photo:
© Vladimir Terebenin.)
241

FIG. 7. Panjikent. Palace of Divashtich.

Drawing by A. Gurevich. © B. I. Marshak.
of compressed clay (loess) and mud-brick and roofed with mud-brick vaults
or wooden structures, which were then plastered with clay. In the sixth cen-
tury upper storeys began to appear, and by the eighth century some buildings
even had three storeys. The houses of the late seventh century and the first half
of the eighth were more spacious, taller and in every way superior to the earlier
dwellings.
Panjikent reached the height of its prosperity during the first quarter of
the eighth century, when its ruler Divashtich claimed power over all Sogdiana
(Fig. 7). Private houses with murals had started to be built in Panjikent as early
as the sixth century; in the early eighth century, one house in three had murals.
In their ornate architecture and decoration, the rich town houses resemble the
royal palaces discovered in Panjikent, Varakhsha18 and, perhaps, Samarkand.19
Although the palaces contain several large state apartments, they are basically
very similar to the houses of wealthy townsfolk. This is because of the particu-
lar Sogdian social structure, in which an important role was played by urban
communities with their own officials and revenues. During the seventh and
eighth centuries, the rulers (who enjoyed no absolute or despotic powers over
the city-states) were frequently elected by the notables.
The shopkeepers and craftsmen lived in two-storey houses with several
18. Shishkin, 1963.

19. Al’baum, 1975.
242

Sogdiana
rooms, but mainly did business and worked in rented shops and workshops
located in wealthier areas. Coins have often been discovered in these shops.
Fortified homes belonging to the country aristocracy had existed in Sughd
since Hellenistic times, becoming particularly numerous in the Early Middle
Ages. In the seventh and eighth centuries the chambers in castles were very
similar to those in the town houses of the wealthy, whereas the peasants’ homes
were unlike those in towns and resembled nineteenth-century Tajik peasant
houses.
Sogdian temples are known from the site of Er-kurgan in south Sogdiana
(fourth–sixth century) and from two temples discovered in Panjikent. Of simi-
lar design and built at the same time in the fifth century, the Panjikent temples
were rebuilt several times and continued in use until after 720; although they
have been subjected to more detailed study than the temple at Er-kurgan, it is
hard to know to which religion they belonged as the main images worshipped
FIG. 8. Panjikent. Ceremonial hall in a private house. Drawing by B. I. Marshak.
243

FIG. 9. Panjikent. Mural painting. Clay on plaster.

FIG. 10. Panjikent. Mural painting. Clay on plaster.

244

Sogdiana
there have not survived. The architectural plan of both temples was based on a
road leading east to west and passing through two rectangular courtyards with
colonnaded entrance porticoes; from here a narrow ramp led up to the plat-
form of the main building, which also had a portico. A four-columned hall
without an east wall opened on to it. A door in the west wall of the hall led to
a rectangular cell. A gallery ran round the hall and the cell on three sides. Dur-
ing the late fifth and early sixth centuries one of the temples had a special cham-
ber for the sacred fire, but no such chambers of earlier or later date have been
found. The temples were similar (but not identical) in plan to Kushan and even
Graeco-Bactrian examples.
The murals in Sogdian towns – not so much those in the temples but,
rather, in seventh- and eighth-century private houses – depict daily life. In the
ceremonial hall of a house, opposite the entrance, there was usually a large
image of a god (or a more elaborate composition on a sacred theme) and small
figures of Sogdians before a fire altar (Fig. 8). Every house owner had his own
divine patron (or patrons). Sometimes other gods were also depicted, but on
less important parts of the walls. To the sides of the religious scene ran smaller
friezes depicting a banquet (Figs. 9 and 10), a hunt (Fig. 11), a ceremonial rite
or – quite frequently – episodes from an epic. At the bottom of the wall ran an
FIG. 11. Panjikent. Mural painting in location VI. Clay on plaster.

245

FIG. 12. Panjikent. Mural painting

in location VI. Clay on plaster.
FIG. 13. Panjikent. Statue of a dancer.

Wood.
246

Sogdiana
FIG. 14. Panjikent. Carved wood. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 15. Varakhsha. General view of a painted panel. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
ornamental border or a frieze of small pictures: animals in motion or a series of

small rectangular panels illustrating tales, parables, anecdotes, and so on (Fig. 12).
The elaborate pictorial scheme was complemented by carved wooden statues
and reliefs (Figs. 13 and 14), with figures of gods, hunting scenes, and so on,
adorning the elaborate wooden ceiling.20
This hierarchy of subjects was typical of the main halls of Panjikent, but
was not so rigidly followed in Varakhsha (Fig. 15) and in Afrasiab (nor, indeed,
20. Azarpay, 1981.
247

FIG. 16. Afrasiab. Mural painting. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 17. Afrasiab. Mural painting. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
in some houses in Panjikent itself or its temples). Palace murals include sub-
jects from Sogdian history, the reception of ambassadors (Afrasiab) (Figs. 16
and 17), a coronation and the Arab siege of the town (Panjikent). Particularly
expressive are murals with figures picked out in ochre on an ultramarine blue
background. A similar colour scheme is found in the murals of Iran and
248

Sogdiana
FIG. 18. Sughd. Silver jug (end of seventh century).

249

FIG. 19. Sughd. Silver dish (second half of eighth century).

Tokharistan, which share certain other details, attitudes of figures and types of
composition. There are many Indian traits in the depiction of gods. There are
also pictures of Chinese people, drawn with a knowledge of Chinese iconogra-
phy. Motifs of foreign origin (Byzantine, Iranian, Türk and Chinese) can also
be traced in the metalwork (Figs. 18–20). These varied influences are explained
by Sughd’s role as intermediary. Sogdian artists were familiar with the achieve-
ments of other schools of art, but developed their own original style, distin-
guished by its narrative content, dynamism and love of contrast. Sogdian art
had a strong influence on that of many countries, in particular on the toreutics
of the steppe peoples (Türks, Khazars, nomadic Magyars) and of T’ang China.
Archaeological discoveries show that Sogdian artists had been faithful in
their depictions of architecture, weapons and costume. Fifth-century Sogdian
250

Sogdiana
FIG. 20. Sughd. Silver dish (second half of seventh century).

costume was similar to that in the Kushan Empire; during the sixth century the
influence of Hephthalite Tokharistan (and through it that of Sasanian fashions)
was noticeable. In the seventh and eighth centuries similarities with Turkic
costume appeared. Belts decorated with gold plaques were the mark of noble
rank. Military clothing and equipment (Fig. 21) and, to some degree, vessels
used in banquets also showed Turkic influence. Sogdian armour, which was
elaborate and heavy and protected the warrior’s whole body, showed advanced
craftsmanship.
The mural paintings are a valuable source of information about feast-day
customs and rituals, banquets, wrestling, dances and ritual bathing (Fig. 22). In
connection with the harvest festival, an artist in Panjikent painted grain being
conveyed from the threshing floor and a tutelary spirit of agriculture.
251

FIG. 21. Mount Mug. Shield with a warrior horseman (end of seventh century).
Painted wood.
FIG. 22. Panjikent. Mural painting showing ritual bathing. Location VI.
252

Sogdiana
Religious life
Our knowledge of religions in Sogdiana comes from works of art, funerary
monuments and writings – mainly Buddhist, Manichaean and Christian
(Nestorian) discovered in East Turkestan.21 A Christian text and Buddhist
inscriptions on pottery have also been found in Panjikent. Buddhism, which
came to Sughd from the south at an early period, flourished according to the
Sui shu and the T’ang shu.22 By the seventh century, however, it had almost
disappeared from Sogdiana. In the eighth century T’ang Buddhism spread
among Sogdian emigrants, as a result of which most Sogdian Buddhist works
are translations from Chinese. An inscription in the Afrasiab murals shows
that in the seventh century a Sogdian king received assurances from foreign
envoys that they were acquainted with the local religion of Samarkand.23 This
is clearly linked to aspirations to cultural self-determination during the hey-
day of Sughd.
No correctly painted Buddhist images exist in Sogdian painting, but im-
ages of Hindu gods (of secondary importance from the Buddhist point of view)
helped the Sogdians to create their own religious iconography in the sixth to
the eighth century. As in Sogdian Buddhist and Manichaean texts,24 Zurvan is
depicted in the form of Brahma, Adbag (Ohrmazd) in that of Indra (Sakra) and
Veshparkar (Vayu) in that of Shiva (Mahadeva). A four-armed Nana mounted
on a lion (Fig. 23), a divine couple with symbols in the form of a camel and a
mountain ram and other images of divinities are also known. The absence of
highly developed forms of state organization explains the important role played
by the worship of the divine patrons of individual families and communities.
Although there were non-Zoroastrian divinities among these gods, the influ-
ence of Zoroastrianism was indubitable.25 The Sogdians probably regarded
themselves as Zoroastrians, as indeed they were considered by al-Biruni and
other authors writing in Arabic. Those Sogdian customs that seem contrary to
Zoroastrian doctrine (Hindu-style iconography, the mourning of the dead) also
existed in Khwarizm, whose Zoroastrianism is not open to doubt and where
the Avestan gahanbars (phases of creation) were celebrated as religious feasts.
There is evidence from the fifth century onwards in Sughd of the custom of
cleaning the flesh from bones and burying them in ossuaries, as in Khwarizm
(Fig. 24).
21. Livshits, 1981, pp. 350–62.

23. Al’baum, 1975, pp. 52–6, translation and comments by V. A. Livshits.
24. Humbach, 1975.
25. Henning, 1965, p. 250.
253

FIG. 23. Panjikent. Four-armed Nana mounted on a lion (seventh century).

Drawing by B. I. Marshak.
Scripts, epics and literary sources

Sogdians used different types of script according to the religion to which they
belonged. The Buddhists used a national script of Aramaic origin, with
heterograms. This script is also known from secular writings and from what is
probably the only Zoroastrian text in it.26 The Manichaeans had their own al-
phabet and the Christians used Syriac script, but both sometimes wrote in the
national Sogdian script. There was also what could be described as scientific
literature in Sogdian, in particular a book about minerals, documents on medi-
cine and on the calendar, and glossaries.
A fragment of the epic of Rustam, probably translated from Middle Per-
sian, has been found near Dunhuang.27 Among the Manichaean writings, tales
and fables, including some from the Indian Panchatantra and the Greek fables
of Aesop, have been discovered. There are also non-Manichaean fairy-tales.
The paintings of Panjikent show a similar but wider repertoire of subjects from
both translated and local literature: among the epic narratives, in addition to
the story of Zohak, the tales of Rustam28 and perhaps the Mahabharata, there
are also illustrations of several episodes of a previously unknown Sogdian
26. Sims-Williams, 1976, pp. 46–8; Gershevich, 1976; Livshits, 1981, p. 354.
27. Gershevich, 1969, p. 227.
28. Belenitskiy, 1980, pp. 103–5, 199–202, Abb. 25–33.
254

Sogdiana
FIG. 24. Sughd. Ossuary (seventh century).

255

FIG. 25. Panjikent. Wall painting showing a judgment scene. Location VI.
epic. In one of the halls the pictures are accompanied by fragments of text.29
The murals illustrate tales about the man who promised his daughter to a sea-
spirit; a prince, a bear, a wolf and a jackal; a wise judge (Fig. 25) and a woman’s
wiles; fables about a dog barking at an elephant, and about a blacksmith and a
monkey; Aesop’s fables about the goose that laid the golden eggs, and about
the father and his sons; parables from the Panchatantra about the jackal, the
lion and the bull; the lion and the hare; the learned men who resuscitated a
tiger; and the foresight of the king of the monkeys. In Iran – the home of the
Parthian and Middle Persian authors of the Manichaean works translated by
the Sogdians – literary and folkloric parables and tales similar to those known
in Sughd and recorded by the artists of Panjikent were popular. Similar sub-
jects can be found in many countries.
Direct and remarkably vivid evidence of the past is provided by the ‘An-
cient Sogdian Letters’ from Dunhuang (probably written at the beginning of
the fourth century) and the documents from Mount Mug on the upper reaches
of the Zerafshan (Figs. 26 and 27). The ‘Ancient Letters’ describe the life of
Sogdian settlers in China, while the Mug papers show Sughd at the time of the
Arab conquest. These letters were found with legal and economic documents
in a castle that served as the last refuge of Divashtich, the ruler of Panjikent,
29. Belenitskiy, 1980, pp. 116–18; Azarpay, 1981, Fig. 60.
256

Sogdiana
FIG. 26. Mount Mug. Sogdian document. Marriage contract. Leather.

257

who was captured by the Arabs in 722.30 Syriac, Bactrian, Indian (Brahmi) and
Arabic texts have been discovered in Sughd; and in Panjikent there is a Middle
Persian wall inscription whose writer obviously came from Iran. The first evi-
dence of the penetration into Sughd of the New Persian (Tajik) language, which
supplanted Sogdian between the ninth and the eleventh century, dates to the
eighth century.
FIG. 27. Mount Mug. Inscription affirming

receipt of helmets and armour. Wood.
30. Sogdiyskie dokumenty s gory Mug, 1962–63.
258

Sogdiana
P a r t Tw o
USTRUSHANA, FERGHANA, CHACH AND ILAK
(N. N. Negmatov)
Ustrushana
Ustrushana was closely linked to Sughd (Sogdiana) by its historical destiny
and ethnic, linguistic and cultural history. It originally formed part of the ter-
ritory of Sughd, but then developed its own historical and cultural identity as
the area became more urbanized. Its rich agricultural and mineral resources,
and its situation on the main trans-Asian route from the Near and Middle East
to the heart of Central Asia, played a considerable role in this process.
Ustrushana occupied a large area of the valley and steppes on the left
bank of the middle reaches of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes), the foothills and gorges
of the western part of Turkestan’s range, the headwaters of the Zerafshan river
and its principal tributaries, the Matcha and Fan Darya. To the west and south-
west it bordered on Sughd, to the east and north-east on Khujand and Ferghana
and to the north on Ilak and Chach (present-day Tashkent). Ustrushana is men-
tioned in the Wei shu and the Sui shu and frequently appears in the history of
the T’ang dynasty. In the T’ang shu the region is called Eastern Ch’ao (the
ideogram for Cao without the sign for ‘water’), and Su-du-li-she-na (in Hsüan-
tsang, 629–630), and Cao (in Huei-ch’ao, 728). Early Arabic and Persian his-
torical sources give this name variously as Ashrushana, Asrushana, Ustrushana,
Usrushna, Surushana and Sutrushana. The discovery and deciphering of the
Sogdian documents from Mount Mug on the upper Zerafshan established that
the correct form of the name is Ustrushana.31
By the Early Middle Ages, new towns and settlements with the charac-
teristics of the rising feudal system had replaced those of the ancient period.
The old capital Kurukada (Ura-tyube) was replaced by the city of Bunjikat
(Fig. 28), 20 km to the south of the modern town of Shahristan. According to
archaeological evidence, the intensive growth of this city began in the seventh
and eighth centuries.32 A new historical map of Ustrushana33 came into being,
divided into a number of rustaks (regions), both on the plains and in the moun-
tains, with towns such as Vagkat, Mink (in the valley of Dahkat), Shaukat (Nau),
Kurkat, Havast, Savat and Zaamin (all of which still exist) and country settle-
ments centred on castles and estates (Ak-tepe, Dungcha-tepe, Tashtemir-tepe,
etc.). In the suburbs around the capital Bunjikat there were noblemen’s castles
31. Sogdiyskie dokumenty s gory Mug, 1962, pp. 77–87.

32. Negmatov and Khmel’nitskiy, 1966.
33. Negmatov, 1957, pp. 34–49.
259

FIG. 28. Bunjikat. Kala-i Kahkaha I.

Plan of the city with the reconstruction of the city-walls.
with strong fortifications and elaborate architectural layouts, such as Chilhujra

and Urta-kurgan.34
The sources give little information about the political history of
Ustrushana during this period. The break-up of the great Central Asian states
of late antiquity led to the secession of Ustrushana from the Sogdian federa-
tion, as recorded in the Pei-shih. From the late fifth to the seventh century,
Ustrushana formed part of the Hephthalite and Western Türk states, although
it probably preserved its internal autonomy and was ruled by its own kings,
the afshins of the Kavus dynasty, some of whose names are known from writ-
ten sources and coins. In the late seventh to the eighth century, Ustrushana
was drawn into a long and dramatic struggle against the forces of the Arab
c
Abbasid caliphate.35
34. Negmatov et al., 1973; Pulatov, 1975.

35. Smirnova, 1981, pp. 31–5, 324–35.
260

Sogdiana
C U LT U R E , A G R I C U LT U R E A N D T R A D E
The population of Ustrushana consisted of tribes and clans, speaking a dialect

of Sogdian, with an economy based on settled agriculture and urban crafts.
The Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Hsüan-tsang and Huei-ch’ao note a certain
community of culture – language, mores and customs – between the people of
Ustrushana and the Sogdians of the Zerafshan valley, Ferghana, Chach and the
adjacent regions. Hsüan-tsang calls the whole land between Suyab and Kish
by the name ‘Su-le’, and its population ‘Sogdians’.36 Archaeological excava-
tions show common traits in the artefacts of the region’s culture.
Agriculture, stockbreeding and mining provided a reliable threefold eco-
nomic basis for the development of craft production, trade and urban life in
Ustrushana.37 With considerable use of artificial irrigation, its people grew a
wide range of agricultural produce (cereals, cotton, garden crops and grapes),
and bred livestock and riding and draught animals on the rich upland pastures.
Mining output was considerable, with iron ore in the region of Mink, gold,
silver, ammonium chloride and vitriol in the upper Zerafshan valley, lead in the
Ura-tyube region and a number of other minerals. There was an extensive craft
production of metal articles (such as weapons, agricultural implements, tools
and household utensils), cotton, wool, silk and leather goods. Pottery manu-
facture was widespread, producing unglazed cooking pots, tableware and stor-
age jars (for liquids and foodstuffs). There were potters’ quarters with kilns at
Bunjikat, Vagkat and Gala-tepe (fifth–sixth century). Building, fortification and
woodwork were well developed, as were wood-carving and mural painting.
During the sixth and seventh centuries, Ustrushana’s own bronze coinage was
current in trade.
ARCHITECTURE A N D A R C H I T E C T U R A L D E C O R AT I O N
The architecture of Ustrushana is remarkable for its variety. From the early
medieval period (sixth–eighth century), we find structures of varied purpose
and type, each with a well-developed, characteristic layout – royal palaces, cas-
tles of the urban and rural aristocracy, barracks and temples. The palace of
Kala-i Kahkaha II is a three-storey building, with middle and upper levels set
on a stepped, beaten earth platform. The first level includes an entrance vesti-
bule, a stateroom, and an aiwan (hall) opening on to a courtyard. The second
level consists of a corridor, rooms for servants and kitchens. On the third level
there is a suite of three staterooms, including a throne room with wide win-
dows opening on to the courtyard, decorated with murals and carved wood-
work.
36. Livshits and Khromov, 1981, pp. 347–9, 367.

37. Negmatov, 1957, pp. 82–112; Bilalov, 1980.
261

FIG. 29. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Reconstruction of the palace of the afshins.

Drawing by S. Mamajanova.
The layout of the palace of Kala-i Kahkaha I is very complex, but clearly
planned (Fig. 29).38 It is also built on a high platform but has a small keep, or
tower, in the middle of the building. Its entrance in the form of an aiwan looks
out on the town’s rabad (suburb). An axial corridor divides the palace into two
unequal parts. To the west there is a two-level hall with a throne loggia (Fig. 30)
opening out at its far end and an entrance area in front, a second parallel ‘lesser’
hall and the palace shrine. To the east are found a large living room, a small
room for servants and a separate corridor with an ‘arsenal’ (a store of stones).
To the north and south, the palace had walled courtyards with kitchen, bakery
and domestic premises. The palace gates were in the west wall of the north
courtyard.
There are two principal types of castle in the Shahristan depression. One
has an elaborate individualized layout with staterooms, living quarters, shrines
and domestic offices, and an extremely rich decor of mural paintings and wood-
carvings. The building is either positioned on a mountain crest (as in Chilhujra)
(Fig. 31) or on a high man-made platform (as at Urta-kurgan) (Fig. 32). The
other type has a simple, ‘corridor-ridge’ layout, without ornamentation, and is
either placed on a mountain ridge (as at Tirmizak-tepe) or in an arable valley
with fortified courtyard walls and chicanes (as at Tashtemir-tepe).
38. Voronina and Negmatov, 1975, pp. 50–71.
262

Sogdiana
FIG. 30. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace of the afshins. Throne hall.

Drawing by V. L. Voronina.
FIG. 31. Chilhujra. Castle. Drawing by S. Mamajanova.
263

The dwellings of early medieval townspeople have long, wide interiors,

usually divided by partition walls into a back room, middle room and front
aiwan (the northern quarter of Kala-i Kahkaha I). At the south wall of Kala-i
Kahkaha I there is a neighbourhood of small separate units, detached but built
close to each other. Each has a common corridor leading to two or three rooms,
and its own street entrance. The dwellings in the quarter near the city square of
Kala-i Kahkaha I have a more individualized layout, which includes entrance
aiwans, reception rooms and rooms with rich interior decoration of benches,
roofs supported on columns and mural paintings (Figs. 33 and 34).
FIG. 32. Urta-kurgan. Castle.

Drawing by S. Mamajanova.
The architectural ornamentation and monumental art of Ustrushana are

rich and varied. Murals of high artistic quality with floral and geometric pat-
terns and depictions of secular, epic-heroic, mythological and cultural scenes
were an important feature of the interior decoration of palaces, castles and other
buildings (Figs. 35–39). Many examples of wood-carving and clay-moulding
have survived: columns, beams, cornices, friezes, thresholds, door posts and
door frames, lintels, window grilles, entrance screens, artistic clay mouldings
and patterned fired bricks (Figs. 40–45). The capital, Bunjikat, was the main
centre for the development of architecture and the applied arts.
264

Sogdiana
FIG. 33. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Mural painting.

A she-wolf feeding two youngsters.
FIG. 34. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Drawing of a fragment

of mural painting showing musicians.
265

FIG. 35. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace.

Fragment of a mural painting representing
the goddess Nana on a lion.
266

Sogdiana

Fragment of a mural painting representing the goddess Nana.

Fragment of a mural painting representing a demon.
267

FIG. 38. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Fragment of a mural painting representing

demons. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
FIG. 39. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Drawings of the fragments of mural paintings
representing demons.
268

Sogdiana

Fragment of a wooden panel ‘tympanum’ showing the
legendary King Zohak (lower level).

Fragment of a wooden panel ‘tympanum’.
269


Wooden panel ‘tympanum’. Detail of the medallion.
FIG. 43. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Fragment of a wooden frieze.
270

Sogdiana
FIG. 44. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Fragment of a wooden frieze.
FIG. 45. Kala-i Kahkaha I. Palace. Drawings of wooden friezes with floral
and geometrical designs.
271

FIG. 46. Chilhujra. Head of an idol.

Charred wood.
RELIGIOUS A N D C U LT U R A L L I F E
Ustrushana also had a rich variety of spiritual and cultural traditions, for the
most part purely local. According to written sources, the Ustrushanians prac-
tised the so-called ‘white religion’, in which carved wooden idols were adorned
with precious stones. Idols of this type were kept in the palaces of Haidar (the
Ustrushanian ruler) in Samarra, in Ustrushana itself and in Buttam, and they
were also brought to Ustrushana by refugees from Khuttal. Many toponyms
in this region included the word mug (fire-worshipper). So far archaeologists
have discovered the castle and palace shrines mentioned above and an urban
idol temple. Other finds include wooden idols in Chilhujra (Fig. 46), a house
of fire at Ak-tepe near Nau, a dakhma at Chorsokha-tepe near Shahristan, rock
burial vaults near Kurkat with human remains in khums (large jars) and
ossuaries, and a number of other burials in khums and ossuaries in various
regions of Ustrushana.
All these finds are evidence of a particular local form of Zoroastrianism
that incorporated the worship of idols and various divinities and other reli-
gious practices, and is also reflected in the monumental art of Ustrushana. In
particular, the paintings of the lesser hall of the palace of Kala-i Kahkaha I show
272

Sogdiana
a three-headed, four-armed divinity, which may be a specifically Ustrushanian

interpretation of the Hindu Vishparkar. Also depicted is a four-armed goddess
mounted on a lion, which has been interpreted as an image of the principal
goddess of Ustrushana and the great warrior-mother, thus personifying the
worship both of the productive forces of nature and of fertility, and identified
with the Kushano-Sogdian great goddess Nana (see above, Fig. 35).39
The central figure of the huge composition painted on the west wall of
the same lesser hall is of special interest. This is a large, richly dressed male
seated on a zoomorphic horse’s-head throne. A warrior-king in a chariot, iden-
tified with this first image, is depicted three times on the north and east walls
of the hall. These paintings are generally considered to represent an ancestor of
the ruling dynasty of Ustrushana. The male figure has no apparent divine at-
tributes and his immediate entourage includes musicians, aristocrats seated under
a canopy, and warriors in various situations. The worship of the ancestor of a
family line and dynasty is known from written sources. It is also known that
religious as well as secular power was concentrated in the hands of the afshins
of Ustrushana and that they were almost deified, as is clear from the formula
by which they were addressed – ‘To the lord of lords from his slave so-and-so
the son of so-and-so’.40
Other important features of the spiritual life of Ustrushana were extra-
religious, epic-mythological traditions concerning Good and Evil, Light and
Dark, the struggle between these principles and the victory of the forces of
Good and Light. They were personified in the well-known oriental images of
Kava, Faridun, Surush and Zohak; abandoned infants nurtured by animals (a
she-wolf feeding two babies) (see above, Fig. 33);41 a ‘celestial musician’, the
harpist Zuhra (Venus); the bird-woman, Shirin; and a number of other images
recorded in monumental painting, wood-carving and ceramics.
Artefacts reveal the characteristics of Ustrushanian culture. First, it was
very traditional, rich and complex. Second, it was in the forefront of Central
Asian cultural traditions and those common to the entire Eastern world. Third,
in its general features and content, it had a number of elements close to the
related Sogdian culture seen in excavations at Panjikent and Samarkand. These
fit in with the general ethnic and linguistic history of Sughd and Ustrushana,
although Ustrushanian culture developed independently and had its own
identity.
39. Negmatov, 1984, pp. 146–64.

40. Negmatov and Sokolovskiy, 1977, pp. 152–3.
41. Negmatov, 1977; Negmatov and Sokolovskiy, 1975.
273

Ferghana
Whereas the third to the eighth century was a time of economic, national and
cultural upsurge in Ustrushana, Ferghana (Pa-khan-na in Chinese sources) was
in a different position. After the fall of the state of Dawan, the trend was to-
wards territorial disintegration into a series of small regions and domains that
experienced markedly uneven development. The sources reveal Ferghana’s
troubled political history. Although it had its own ruling dynasty with the title
of ikhshid, their rule was sometimes interrupted. The name Alutar or At-Tar, a
powerful king during the first quarter of the eighth century, is known. In 726
Ferghana had two kings, one ruling over the north and subject to the Türks,
the other ruling over the south and subject to the Arabs. From 739 onwards,
all Ferghana was ruled by the Türk, Arslan Tarkhan.
Ferghana occupied the whole basin, surrounded on all sides by moun-
tains; it was rich and fertile and especially abundant in fruit, the famous Ferghana
horses and other livestock. Cotton and many types of cereal were grown, and
leather goods and cotton cloth were made. Horses, cereals, medicine, paints,
glass and other goods were exported to neighbouring countries.
The capital of Ferghana was first the city of Kasan, then Akhsikat on the
bank of the Syr Darya.42 The other towns included Urast, Kuba, Osh and
Uzgend. During the seventh and eighth centuries, the total area of Uzgend was
20–30 ha and it consisted of a citadel (kuhandiz), the town itself (shahristan)
and a commercial and craft quarter (rabad). It was particularly important as a
trading post because of its proximity to the territories of the Türks. Osh, which
consisted of a shahristan with a kuhandiz and a rabad, was regarded as a large
and beautiful city. Rich and well supplied with water, it had markets at the foot
of the hill. The towns of Bamkakhush and Tamakhush were situated in the
valley of Isfara.
KHUJAND
In the western part of Ferghana, on the bank of the Syr Darya, the city of
Khujand was going through a period of change. From the second to the fifth
century, it had remained within the same territorial limits as during ancient
times, its central nucleus occupying an area of approximately 20 ha. During
the sixth to the eighth century, however, Khujand experienced a period of rapid
growth and radical changes were made to its basic layout and fortifications, the
eastern half of the old city being transformed into a new citadel approximately
8 ha in area. This was done using the east wall and parts of the north walls of
the old city as foundations for the walls of the new citadel. Only the west wall
was entirely new, as can be seen from excavations 31 and 32, from samples
42. For a review of the sources and literature, see Gafurov, 1972, pp. 292–3; Litvinsky, 1976.
274

Sogdiana
taken from the outer surfaces of the wall and from the fragments of ancient
pottery in the clay of the early medieval walls. Parts of the former city moat
were left around the east and south walls of the new citadel, and at the foot of
the west wall a new moat was dug. The ancient citadel was converted into the
inner palace arc of the new citadel. This early medieval reconstruction trans-
formed Khujand into a large city with three main areas – the citadel, the town
itself, and the commercial and craft quarter equipped with a mighty system of
fortifications.
Khujand is mentioned in written Arabic and Persian sources in the
accounts of events in the second half of the seventh century and in the T’ang
shu’s description of events of the second half of the eighth century (Chapter 221).
According to the Arab encyclopaedist Yaqut, it was incorporated at an early
date into the domains of the Haytal (the Hephthalites). During the 680s, it was
first raided by a detachment of the forces of the caliphate (the invaders were
routed near the town). Khujand was involved in the Sogdian campaign against
the caliphate in 721–722, when military action took place at the gates of the
commercial quarter, opposite whose strong walls the invaders’ catapults were
set up.
During the medieval period, the territory of Khujand had its own ruler,
with the title of malik (king). The territory was not large: apart from the city of
Khujand itself, it included Kand and the smaller town of Samghar. Kand, which
is mentioned in the early eighth-century Sogdian documents from Mount Mug,
subsequently came to be known as Kand-i Bodom (town of almonds) because
of the large quantities of almonds it exported to various countries. According
to al-Muqaddasi, a river or canal ran through the bazaars of Kand. Samghar
was in the centre of a small agricultural oasis on the right bank of the Syr Darya
and consisted of a citadel-castle, a town and outlying buildings. The territory
of Khujand also included several small settlements in the cultivated areas along
the Syr Darya and in the delta part of the Khujabakyrgan. Khujand was situ-
ated on the main trans-Asian trade route, Kand on its Ferghana branch and
Samghar on its Chach branch. This fact, together with access to mineral and
agricultural resources, promoted the growth of these cities’ trade and econo-
mies and also their rise to political prominence.43
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Archaeological research has been carried out on several dozen early medieval
Ferghanian urban and rural settlements. Varied and significant material has been
obtained: (a) from the ruined fortifications of Kasan (a fortified citadel with
chicanes in front of the gates, angle towers on the irregular outline of the city
walls, and a castle with a mighty curtain wall and six towers built on a rock
43. Negmatov, 1956, pp. 103–9.
275

platform); (b) on the architecture and Buddhist religion from Kuba (a temple
with two halls, each with its own entrance, with colossal figures of horses and
a bearded deity with a human skull depicted on his forehead at the entrance to
the aiwan, and with painted clay statues representing the Buddhist pantheon
in the halls); (c) on the construction of the castle from Kala-i Bolo in the valley
of Isfara (a high platform with sloping sides and vertical fortress walls with
loopholes, and dwellings and domestic offices with sloping roofs); (d) from a
number of inaccessible mountain castles in the Asht and Isfara regions forming
the defences of their river valleys; and (e) in the rural settlements (the estate of
Kairagach in the valley of the River Khujabakyrgan, which has a large complex
of buildings and a private chapel decorated with murals and pedestals bearing
carved alabaster idols in the form of human figures with distinctive attributes,
possibly used in the worship of family and clan ancestors).
Interesting material has been obtained concerning the fortified settle-
ment of Tudai-kalon, which is built on a high platform, with a reception room
in the centre, side chambers and a flat roof supported on wooden columns.
Among the finds is an ivory plaque depicting flying goddesses of victory (Nike-
Victoria), half-turned towards each other and each holding a wreath in her
hand.44 In all, over 600 small sites (tepes, or mounds, with platform; and sepa-
rate tepes) representing Ferghanian settlements and castles have been recorded,
most of them belonging to the period from the third to the eighth century.45
During the fourth century the culture of Ferghana’s settled agricultural popu-
lation reached its finest flowering and the characteristic thin-walled, red slip
ceramic ware of excellent quality spread throughout the region. After a short
period of cultural decline, the sixth to the eighth century saw an upsurge in the
material culture of towns and settlements on the basis of new socio-economic
conditions.
ETHNIC H I S T O RY
The ethnic history of Ferghana is quite complicated. First the K’ang-chü and
Sogdian, then Hephthalite elements were grafted on to the ancient local Saka
stock, and all these elements combined to form the fairly cohesive population
of Ferghana with its own East Iranian Ferghanian language. During the sixth
and seventh centuries, when Ferghana became subject to the Türks, there was
increasing infiltration by Türk elements from the east and north, as can be seen
from a group of inscriptions in runic script from Ferghana. In palaeo-anthro-
pological terms, the population now belonged to the mesocranial and
44. Bernshtam, 1952, pp. 233–44; Bulatova-Levina, 1961, pp. 41–3; Davidovich, 1958; Brykina,
1971; Saltovskaya, 1971, pp. 12–14, 20.
45. Gorbunova, 1977, pp. 107–20; Filanovich, 1985, pp. 311–16.
276

Sogdiana
brachycranial Europoid group, with only a small percentage of dolicranial

Europoids very sparsely interspersed with Mongoloid admixtures.46
Chach and Ilak

The lands of Chach and Ilak gradually emerged as historical and geographical
entities over the first half of the first millennium, although they were often
given the same name of Chach (Shash in Arabic sources and Shi-Luo in Chi-
nese sources). They were situated on the right bank of the middle reaches of
the Syr Darya in the basins of its important tributaries, the Parak (Chirchik)
and Ahangaran (Angren), and the neighbouring mountains of the western part
of the T’ien Shan range. The economies of Chach (based on arable farming in
the valleys and stockbreeding in the mountains) and Ilak (based on mining and
stockbreeding), together with the local urban crafts of both regions, gave them
an important role in the overall history of Central Asia.
Written sources give little information about Chach and Ilak in the third
to the eighth century. After the break-up of the K’ang-chü state which was
centred on this region, it appears that lesser domains with their own ruling
dynasties sprang up. During the fifth century they came under the supreme
power of the Hephthalite state. In 606, after the ruler of Chach was killed and
the region was incorporated into the Western Türk Kaghanate, a Türk tegin
(ruler) was put on the throne of Chach. Under the Hephthalites and the Türks,
however, the local autonomy of the regions continued – their rulers bore the
titles of tudun of Chach and dihqan of Ilak. In the 560s, Chach was the arena
of the ruinous wars of the Türk kaghan and the Sasanian king Khusrau I against
the Hephthalite king Gatfar. One episode of this war ended in the capture of
Chach, the Parak (Chirchik) region and the bank of the Syr Darya by the Türk
kaghan. In the seventh century, part of the nomadic Türgesh people settled in
Chach. During the first half of the eighth century, according to Arab sources
and a Sogdian document from the castle on Mount Mug (see above, Figs. 26
and 27), Chach, Ferghana and Sughd repeatedly formed military alliances to
defend their territories against the Arab incursions, especially during the inva-
sions of the forces of Qutaiba b. Muslim in 711, 712, 713 and 714 and of Nasr
b. Sayyar in 737–738. In 739 the Kharijites, led by Harith b. Suraij, found refuge
in Chach when harried by the forces of the same Nasr b. Sayyar.
46. Klyashtorny, 1964; Livshits, 1968; Litvinsky, 1960; 1976, pp. 49–65: these works give a com-
plete bibliography of the question.
277

R E L I G I O US C U LT U R E A N D T R A D E
According to Hsüan-tsang, the territory of Chach was one-third smaller than

that of Ustrushana, but the produce of both regions was the same and their
peoples shared the same customs. The inhabitants of Chach are included in the
‘List of Nations and Tribes’ known to the Sogdians, which was found among
Sogdian Manichaean texts of the eighth–ninth century. The people of Chach
mainly followed Zoroastrian-Mazdean teachings and practised burials in
ossuaries (astodans). Buddhist preachers came as far as the territories of Chach,
where they erected Buddhist buildings. The epic genre was widespread in Chach;
interestingly, Firdausi states that in the Shah-name he used epic material col-
lected for him by a dihqan from Chach. Chach, like Sughd, Ustrushana and
Ferghana, was famed for its music. Dancing girls from Samarkand, Kumed,
Kish, Maimurg and Chach were in high repute at the Chinese Imperial Court.
Chach and Ilak were situated on an important sector of the trans-Asian
trade route: roads passed through them from the Near and Middle East via
Samarkand, Jizak in Ustrushana and Khujand, and from Central Asia through
Taraz and Isfijab. The region’s economic prosperity owed much to the caravan
trade, in which silver, lead, gold, iron and copper ware from Ilak were impor-
tant, and also to commercial exchanges in basic necessities with the nomads of
the nearby steppes.47
Archaeological investigation of the sites of Kaunchi II (late second–early fourth

century), Kaunchi III (second half of the fourth–eighth century) and Ming-
uruk (second half of the sixth–eighth century) has shown them to be repre-
sentative of the culture of their period. Kaunchi II and III are remarkable for
their advanced fortifications, and also for the building of monumental houses,
palaces and public and religious buildings, with characteristic methods of build-
ing domes, vaults and arched structures. At the Ming-uruk sites, citadels, cas-
tles and city walls were built on artificial mounds. Residential, public and reli-
gious buildings came to be decorated with large murals and carved clay reliefs.
Burials in ossuaries began to be practised in addition to the previous custom of
internment in tumuli. A wide variety of iron, non-ferrous and precious metal-
ware and a variety of coinage have been found.
Many towns and large mining centres grew up in Chach and Ilak, with a
sharp increase in the number of towns and their geographical spread during
the Kaunchi II and III periods. These sites show two types of town layout:
geometrical and amorphous. Towns of the first type were probably influenced
by the ancient Central Asian urban cultures, while those of the second type
47. Summary of information from Istoriya Uzbekskoy SSR, 1967; Gafurov, 1972.
278

Sogdiana
reflect the semi-nomadic life-style of agricultural and stockbreeding econo-

mies. On the archaeological evidence, some 100 settlements belong to this pe-
riod. The progress of town building was accompanied by a general develop-
ment of the region’s settled agricultural life: a change to irrigated farming can
be observed, based on artificial irrigation and the building of protective dykes
and small reservoirs. Overall, the period was characterized by the develop-
ment of crafts and trade, the exploitation of ore and raw materials and the growth
of commercial and monetary relations.
Thirty-two towns dating from the Ming-uruk period are known (two-
and-a-half times more than in the previous period), although few of them were
large. Greater attention was paid to fortification, and citadels were equipped
with round and rectangular towers and with covered walkways. Groups of
palace, religious, residential and workshop buildings have been studied. Most
of the citadels combine the defensive, residential and administrative functions
of a ruler’s residence; some, however, were purely defensive. In the towns,
groups of smelters’, metal workers’ and potters’ workshops have been found.
The towns were densely built up, with a network of streets and market places
and a water supply system. During this period the towns of Tunkat (the capital
of Ilak), Ulkai-toi-tepe, Ming-uruk, Kanka and many others expanded. There
was a chain of fortresses in the Chirchik basin. It was also during the fourth to
the seventh century that Chach grew up as a town, with a citadel, a ruler’s
palace and a shahristan. Two hundred and twenty-five archaeologically identi-
fied settlements throw light on the rural environment. In the Chirchik valley
more than 30 large canals, with water-collecting installations supplying the
various branches of the local economy, have been recorded.48
ETHNIC H I S T O RY
The complex ethnic history of Chach and Ilak between the third and the eighth
century is similar to that of Ferghana. The oldest local ethnic group consisted
of Saka and K’ang-chü tribes from beyond the Syr Darya, who were joined by
large numbers of Hephthalite and Sogdian settlers. By the early medieval pe-
riod the basic Iranian-speaking population of Chach and Ilak had been estab-
lished. They probably spoke Iranian (Saka or Sogdian) dialects, which have left
considerable traces in local toponyms and early medieval onomastics, as re-
corded in medieval Arabic and Persian literature and in numismatic and other
material. The incorporation of Chach and Ilak into the sphere of Türk states in
the sixth and seventh centuries led to a marked intensification of the settling
and migration of the Turkic-speaking population. The following centuries saw
48. Classification and descriptions from Buryakov, 1975; 1982; see also Filanovich, 1983; 1985,
pp. 297–303.
279

the formation in Chach and Ilak of a Tajik population (speaking the present-
day archaic Brichmulla dialect of the Tajiks on the border of the Tashkent dis-
trict and southern Kazakstan) and a local Turkic population, just as the same
process led to the formation in Ferghana of the Ferghanian group of northern
Tajik and Turkic dialects.49
49. Oranskiy, 1960, pp. 63–6, 147–8, 205–10; Livshits and Khromov, 1981, pp. 247–8; Klyashtorny,
1964.
280

11
THE C I T Y - S TAT E S
OF THE TARIM BASIN*
Zhang Guang-da
Geography and climate

Between the third and the eighth century, a number of relatively large and
powerful city-states, situated widely apart along the border of the Taklamakan
desert in the Tarim basin, partitioned among themselves the region’s oases. The
Tarim basin stretches east for nearly 1,600 km from the foothills of the Pamirs
to the westernmost end of the Hexi (Ho Hsi) corridor, the narrow passage
along the peninsular territory of China’s Gansu province through which ran
the ancient Silk Route. With the vast expanse of the Taklamakan (337,000 sq. km)
in the centre, the Tarim is surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges except
towards the east where it ends in the depression of Lake Lop Nor. Along the
southern edge of the Tarim lies the mighty Kunlun range. Farther to the south-
east of the basin the Kunlun is continued by the Altyn-tagh, which extends
eastward to the Tsaidam basin in Koko Nor province and forms the southern
boundary of the corridor. To the north-east of the Pamirs lies the main range
of the T’ien Shan, which follows an easterly course and separates Dzungaria to
the north from the Tarim basin to the south.
The configuration of these ranges constitutes the most striking feature of
the Tarim. The isolation from oceanic influences has had far-reaching effects
on this enclosed region, producing extreme aridity and enormous temperature
variations. In Central Asia, there are several striking instances of fluctuations
in the water level of the great lakes. This led some explorers to believe that the
climate there had also fluctuated widely. Ellsworth Huntington, the American
geographer and a leading investigator of desiccation in the history of Central
Asia, put forward this theory more systematically1 to explain the terracing of
lake shores and similar phenomena. The number of abandoned sites seemed to
* See Map 6.
1. Huntington, 1919, pp. 359–85.
281

Zhang Guang-da
provide further proof of progressive desiccation and fluctuating water supply

under the impact of cyclical climatic changes. These then bore directly on the
interaction of nomads and sedentary peoples in the impulses to migration, and
the rise and fall of oasis populations.
Such an assumption is far from confirmed by the archaeological and geo-
graphic evidence, however, and there are alternative explanations. For exam-
ple, Stein’s careful on-the-spot observations of the marshy basin levels showed
that large numbers of abandoned settlements were not the victims of drought.
On the contrary, many failed to survive because of a surplus of water which
damaged the irrigation systems. Others disappeared because of drifting sand
which buried cultivation areas on the desert fringe. Nevertheless there had in-
disputably been a process of desiccation and the level of lakes and marshes had
fluctuated in response to the varying annual snowfall. Given the present state
of knowledge, it is difficult to demonstrate that the climate in the Tarim region
underwent notable changes in historical times. Nor can a link be made be-
tween the climatic condition of the Tarim and the precipitation received by
high ranges.2
Obviously, the desert could support no society: water is life in this area.
Oases around the Tarim, such as Kashgar, Yarkand, Karghalik, Khotan, Keriya,
Niya, Aksu and Kucha, owe their water – and with it their existence – to the
snow-fed streams from the northern glacis of the Kunlun and the southern
slopes of the T’ien Shan. These oases, in sharp contrast to the surrounding
desert or semi-desert waste, are highly fertile and provide sites for human settle-
ments. Because of the practice of irrigation agriculture, communities of great
antiquity grew up and important city-states were formed.
Although the water carried by the streams usually reaches far beyond
the irrigated areas, it does not cross the great expanse of the desert, where the
streams soon dry up or become lost among the dunes and change into a subter-
ranean flow. The extreme points reached by the rivers, however, are of archaeo-
logical interest. They constitute a type of ruined oasis termed ‘terminal oasis’
by Stein.3 Owing to the sand, which preserves what it buries, ancient sites can
be traced far more easily in these ‘terminal oases’ than in other cultivated sites.
The most striking illustrations are the numerous sand-buried sites such as those
of Dandan-oïlig, Niya, Endere and Uzun-tati. Located on the southern rim of
the Taklamakan, they represent typical ‘terminal oases’ buried by moving sand
during the first to the eighth century.
2. Stein, 1921, Vol. 2, pp. 664–5.

3. Stein, 1907, Vol. 1, pp. 95–6, 383, 419.
282

The city-states of the Tarim basin
Peoples and languages

Archaeological and anthropological discoveries have shown that long before
the gradual infiltration by Türks, this region was largely inhabited by Europoids
and Indo-European-speaking peoples. From earliest times the nomadic peoples
of Central Asia have constantly shifted their locations, some branches extend-
ing their tribal movements to the region of the Sita river, the modern Tarim.
People known to the Chinese as the Sai (archaic Chinese sék) sought a
home in the west and south of the Tarim at an early date. Patient studies of the
geographic, epigraphic and literary evidence have identified the Sai with the
Saka known to the Achaemenid Persians, Greek geographers and historians,
and with the Sakas in Indian texts. This is an ethnic name like ‘Yavana’, ‘Pahlava’,
‘Tukhara’ and ‘Cina’. The Sakas must have come to Khotan long before the
second century B.C. and formed the kingdom of Khotan by combining with an
indigenous people. According to the Han shu [History of the Former Han],
the Sai tribes split and formed several states. To the north-west of Kashgar,
states such as Hsiu-hsün and Chüan-du were all of the Saka race. The people
of Tashkurgan in the Pamirs may perhaps have been a branch of the Sakas,
since they could have spoken a language close to Khotanese and Tumshuqese.
Excavations have revealed Saka cemeteries in this region. Another Saka group
settled in Tumshuq – an important site located between Kashgar and Aksu –
and probably formed the ruling class. Documents in Saka, written on wood or
paper and dating from the seventh to the tenth century, have been found in
Khotan and Tumshuq. They were written in Brahmi script and represent sev-
eral dialects: of those from Khotan and Tumshuq, the latter represents the more
archaic.4 The Tibetans called Kashgar ‘Ga-hjag’ and clearly the word is the
same as Kanchaki, a language still spoken in villages near Kashgar in the elev-
enth century, as reported by Mahmud al-Kashgari in his Diwan lughat al-Turk
(1076). It can thus be deduced that the population of the Kashgar area also
spoke a dialect of their own which can be classified as a Saka language.5
More than one of the peoples who settled on the northern rim of the
Tarim basin have been identified as speakers of the language known as
Tokharian. According to the linguistic classification, Tokharian belongs to the
centum type, or western branch of Indo-European languages. It shows no af-
finity to its immediate neighbours, belonging to one or another satem type of
Indo-European. Manuscript fragments recovered from Kucha, Karashahr and
Turfan, mostly Buddhist literary texts translated from Sanskrit or Central Asian
languages, were written in the two dialects of Tokharian. Various proposals
have been advanced to name these two dialects. They are commonly called
Tokharian A and B or designated as Agnean and Kuchean. The former has
4. Bailey, 1958, p. 134.

5. Bailey, 1982, p. 56.
283

Zhang Guang-da
been identified as the eastern dialect, which spread throughout Karashahr (Argi
or Agni in ancient times) and also the Turfan region, while the latter, the west-
ern dialect, spread mainly in Kucha and its environs.
Strong evidence for the existence of a third Tokharian dialect is provided
by the documents of Lou-lan and Niya, recovered in the east and south-east of
the Tarim. It is clear that the language of these documents in Kharoqthi script was
not pure Gandhari or north-western Prakrit. It had borrowed some terms from
the aboriginal dialect that was similar to Tokharian. It seems likely that the
Krorainic of Lou-lan, Shan-shan and Niya district was a dialect closely akin to
Agnean and Kuchean before the spread of Gandhari as an official language.6
From the third century onwards several oasis city-states came to domi-
nate the Tarim and overshadow their weaker neighbours. The oases in the south
and west were separately united to the kingdoms of Kashgar and Khotan. Kucha,
Karashahr and Kocho were consolidated into independent powers to the north
while the kingdom of Lou-lan still held sway in the east towards Lop Nor.
According to Chinese records, the name of the ruling family with the title of
A-mo-chih (Amaca) in Kashgar was P’ei. Khotan (Khotana in Kharoqthi script,
Hvatäna in Brahmi and Hvamna or Hvam in the later Khotanese texts) was
known throughout its 1,200 years as a kingdom (Hvatäna-kshira). It was
founded by the Saka royal lineage of Visha (Vijaya in Tibetan and Yüeh-chih in
Chinese), which continued to the end of the kingdom in 1006. The hegemony
of the Khotanese over the southern oasis states seems to have begun in the
second half of the first century. In Kucha the ruling princes came from the
House of Po (‘white’), first mentioned for the year 91 and referred to in 787 in
the Chinese sources. Agni was under the rule of a royal family called Lung
(Dragon) by the Chinese.
Social life and the economy

Owing to the scant information available, our understanding of the social struc-
ture of these oasis city-states remains fragmentary. However, since their geo-
graphic setting and many other aspects were similar, the written sources and
archaeological material allow us to draw a general picture of their socio-eco-
nomic life.
The Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang has left us a personal observation of
Khotanese life and character in the fourth decade of the seventh century:
The country [Khotan] is about 4,000 li [1 li = 0.274 of a mile, or 0.44 km, as given by
the explorer Sven Hedin] in circuit, the greater part is nothing but sand and gravel,
the arable portion of the land is very limited. It is suitable for the cultivation of cere-
als and produces an abundance of fruits. It manufactures carpets, felts of fine quality,
6. Burrow, 1937, pp. vii–ix. See also Tikhvinsky and Litvinsky (eds.), 1988; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
284

and fine-woven light silks. Moreover, it produces white and dark jade. The climate is
soft and agreeable, but there are wind storms which bring with them clouds of dust.
The manners and customs show a sense of propriety and justice. The inhabitants are
mild by nature and respectful, they love to study literature, and distinguish them-
selves by their skill and industry. The people are easy-going, given to enjoyments,
and live contented with their lot. Music is much practised in the country, and men
love the song and the dance. Few of them wear garments of wool and fur, most dress
in light silks and white clothes. Their appearance is full of urbanity and their customs
are well regulated.7
Further information of a similar character is given in the special Notices con-

cerning the Western Regions in the official Chinese dynastic histories. For ex-
ample, there is additional (though fragmentary) material about life in Kucha.
According to the Chin shu [History of the Chin] (Chapter 97):
They [the people of Kucha] have a walled city and suburbs. The walls are threefold.
Within are Buddhist temples and stupas numbering a thousand. The people are en-
gaged in agriculture and husbandry.
The Chou shu [History of the Chou] (Chapter 50) relates:

In the penal laws [of Kucha], a murderer is executed, and a robber has one arm and
one leg cut off. For the military and civil administrative taxes, they measure the land
in order to assess the levies. Those who hold no fields remit in silver coins. Marriage,
funerals, customs and products are about the same as in Karashahr. It also produces
delicate felt, deerskin rugs, cymbals, sal ammoniac, cosmetics, good horses, wild oxen
and the like.
These descriptions are in full agreement with other early records. According
to another report, the city walls of Kucha were indeed triple, equal in circum-
ference to those of Ch’ang-an, the capital of the T’ang dynasty, and the number
of stupas and temples within the city amounted to 1,000. We have similar de-
scriptions of other cities. In Khotan, for example, Buddhist stupas were built
in front of almost every house; the total number of stupas and temples was
estimated at 1,000 and some 10,000 monks resided in the city.
The economy of these oasis city-states was based on irrigation agricul-
ture combined with livestock breeding and crafts. Two wall paintings in Kyzyl
cave no. 175 depict peasants ploughing with two oxen.8 Other iron tools were
in use besides the plough, showing that the local residents had mastered ad-
vanced agricultural techniques. As cultivation depended entirely on irrigation,
and water constituted the mainstay of economic life, the maintenance and pe-
riodic distribution of canal water between the various villages and households
were strictly regulated. This activity was the primary concern and occupation
of the royal administration. People living along the great canals were permit-
ted only shared use of water and were obliged to keep the canals clean and in
7. Hsüan-tsang, 1985, Ch. 12, Notice on Khotan.

8. Yan Wen-ru, 1962, Nos. 7–8, p. 45.
285

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 1. Kyzyl. Wall painting.

(Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin –
Preussischer Kulturbesitz Museum für Indische Kunst.)
286

FIG. 2. Kyzyl. Wall painting. (Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin –

good repair. The T’ang even had a special office, the T’ao-t’o-suo, in charge of
irrigation in Kucha.9
Wheat, barley, millet, peas, lucerne and cotton were the chief agricultural
products. According to the reports on the Western Regions in the Liang shu
[History of the Liang] and the Pei-shih [History of the Northern Dynasties],
rice was also planted here. Melons, peaches, apricots, almonds, chestnuts and
jujube were extensively grown. Grapes grow quickly and easily in this area
and many people in Kucha kept wine in their houses, some even as much as
1,000 hu (1 hu = approx. 13.25 litres) – this wine would keep for up to ten years.
In regions such as Shan-shan, people’s livelihood depended on raising livestock,
but stock-breeding was also pursued in Kucha and other regions. Paintings in
the Kyzyl caves depict horses, cows, sheep and other domestic animals (Fig. 1).
9. Pelliot, 1967–88: Duldur-Aqur, Nos. 57, 80, 84, 86, 90, 98.
287

Zhang Guang-da
As mentioned above in Hsüan-tsang’s report, the people were luxury-

loving and given to enjoyment. The royal palace buildings in Kucha were splen-
didly decorated with gold and jade, shining like the dwellings of the gods. The
garment and adornment of adult men and women conformed to the Western
Barbarian style. The hair-styles so characteristic of the donors depicted in the
Kuchaean frescoes must illustrate the coiffure referred to in the text of Hsüan-
tsang (Fig. 2).
Shan-shan: administrative system

The literary evidence has been supplemented by archaeological material that
provides new data on the social life and customs of the oasis city-states. Ad-
ministrative documents on wood found in Lou-lan, Shan-shan and Niya, and
which cover a span of 88 (or 96) years from the middle of the third century to
the middle of the fourth, show that the state of Shan-shan was a monarchy.
During this period, five kings – Pepiya, Tajaka, Amgoka, Mahiri (or Mayiri)
and Vasmana – ruled in succession.10 In the documents every king is desig-
nated by a lengthy title: ‘Great King, King of Kings, Greatness, Victory, Right
Law Staying at the Truth, His Majesty [mahanuava], Great King and Son of
Heaven [devaputra]’. Later, in the seventeenth year of Amgoka, a new title for
the king appears: jitugha, jitumgha or citumgha. This seems to be a transcrip-
tion of the Chinese title Shih-chung, transmitted to Shan-shan or conferred by
Chinese emperors on the kings of several Western countries.
All official orders were issued in the name of the king; he was assisted by
officials who attended to administrative, judicial and financial affairs at both
central and local level. To judge by his position as described in the documents,
the ogu was the highest official. Other high titles were kitsaitsa and guwura
(both of a judicial nature), kala (prince), camkura (protector), chu-kuo (pillar
of the state) and rajadaraga (governor of the kingdom). The cojhbo, although
inferior in rank to the dignitaries mentioned above, was an important and ac-
tive functionary in the local administration. On a still lower level, the qothamga
was charged with keeping the accounts of royal property and collected wine
and other commodities, paid as taxes in kind. The vasu and ageta were the
local judicial authorities. Divira (scribes) and lekhaharaga or dutiyae (letter-
carriers) are among the subordinate designations that occur most frequently in
the documents.
From the mid-third to the mid-fifth century the kingdom of Shan-shan
maintained its control over the southern route of the Tarim, leading from
Dunhuang to Khotan, and incorporated the smaller kingdoms and principali-
ties of Ch’ieh-mo (Calmadana, Cherchen), Hsiao Yüan and Ching-chüeh (Niya,
10. Rapson and Noble, 1929.
288

Cad’ota). At the height of its power, Shan-shan seems to have been composed
of a series of rajas or rayas (districts) administrated by rajadaragas or
rajadareyas nominated by the king. Ching-chüeh was listed, for example, among
the rajas, retaining its original ruler. Each raja was divided into avanas and
nagaras. Avana might first have meant a local market, but later it took on the
broader meaning of market-town, including the land around it. Nagara (town)
was sometimes used as a synonym for avana. The wata or wada (100 house-
holds) constituted the basic division of the avana, with a wadavida or karwenava
at its head. It seems likely that taxes in kind (butter, wine, cereals, sheep, cam-
els, carpets, felt and many other commodities) were levied by the wata and col-
lected by the qothamgas. The year’s tax was assessed both from the kilme(m)cis
and from the rajya. The rajya seems to have been the land directly owned by
the king, while the kilmes were fiefs or estates granted to the nobility. Freemen
owned farm land in the state and had the right to buy and sell their holdings.
Monasteries apparently had independent economies and possessed their own
lands.
Apart from wooden tablets conveying royal orders, official decisions and
civil and penal judgements, most of the Kharoqthi documents on wood and
leather are contracts for marriage, purchases, sales and other domestic transac-
tions. Contracts concerning slave-trading are evidence of the existence of slav-
ery. From all these documents, it appears that the society of Shan-shan was
composed of a nobility, officials, householders, Buddhist monks and dajhas or
dasas (slaves).11
Political upheavals
In 445 the kingdom of Shan-shan was definitively annexed by the Wei dynasty
(386–534) of northern China and an administrative system similar to that of
China proper was introduced. However, the Northern Wei soon lost the king-
dom of Shan-shan to the Juan-juan, a tribal confederacy that made its appear-
ance on the steppe around the beginning of the fifth century.
The rapid political upheavals experienced by the kingdom of Shan-shan
were a common occurrence in the history of most city-states in the Tarim ba-
sin. Owing to their strategic geographic position, these principalities have, since
the mid-third century, been subject to the vicissitudes of the outside world.
Contacts with the Kushans, for example, profoundly influenced the function-
ing of government in some oasis states. The incessant interventions of the eques-
trian steppe confederacies sometimes brought severe trouble. At best, the oasis
cities maintained a precarious independence, or enjoyed local autonomy in
exchange for the payment of tribute.
11. Cf. Boyer et al., 1920–29; Burrow, 1940; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
289

Zhang Guang-da
At the beginning of the fourth century, China underwent a north-south

division. After more than two centuries of invasions and infiltration by the
northern peoples, Barbarian dynasties were established in its northern and
north-western provinces. Over a span of 135 years (304–439), 16 ephemeral
kingdoms sprang up along the northern marches of China proper, ruled by
3 Chinese and 13 immigrant leaders of 5 different nationalities: 3 Hsiung-nu,
5 Hsien-pi, 3 Ti, 1 Chieh, and 1 Chiang. In 327 the Former Liang (313–376),
one of the Sixteen Kingdoms founded by the Chinese, with the Hexi corridor
as its principal domain, set up a prefecture in the Turfan area on the model of
the commandery system used in China proper. Chinese was used here side by
side with the local Hu language, and schools were established for Confucian
doctrines.
During the fourth and fifth centuries the Former Liang and Former Chin
(351–394) sent a number of punitive expeditions against Shan-shan, Karashahr,
Kucha and Turfan. The mission of Yang Hsüan, general of the Former Liang,
took place in 334. Four years later Lü Kwang, general of the Former Chin and
subsequently founder of the Later Liang (386–403), was commissioned at the
head of a force of 70,000 to conquer Kucha. In 441–442, with the extinction of
the Northern Liang (397–439) by the Northern Wei, Wu Hui and his brother
An Chou, scions of the former royal house, fled west and occupied Shan-shan
and Kocho. Shortly afterwards, all or part of this region fell successively under
the control of the Northern Wei (445), the Juan-juan (413–448), the Kao-chü
(?–492) and the Hephthalites (484–558 or 567) (see also Chapters 6 and 13).
Between 560 and 563 the Western Türks inflicted crushing defeats on the
Juan-juan and the Hephthalites. As a direct consequence of these victories, the
Western Türks became the uncontested masters of the vast stretch of Eurasian
steppe. The situation changed radically after the T’ang conquest of Kocho in
640. The decades that followed witnessed consistent efforts by the T’ang court
to consolidate its position in the Western Regions by implementing a series of
important administrative measures. Local institutions already established in
China proper, such as the prefecture-county and canton-neighbourhood sys-
tem, were introduced into the Qomul, Turfan and Beshbalyk districts and the
Chinese equal-land system was put into practice in Turfan. Through a pro-
tracted and bitter struggle against the Tibetans (see Chapter 15), who made
incursions into this area in alliance with the Türks, the Türgesh and the Karluks,
the Chinese managed to regain control over the Tarim. Following the tradi-
tional suzerain-vassal pattern, the T’ang court granted autonomy to all the oasis
city-states. The local kings, retained as rulers and governors, were left in charge
of the local administration under the supervision of the Protector-General of
An-hsi (Kucha). For almost 150 years Kucha, Kashgar, Khotan and Suyab (re-
placed by Karashahr after 719) were called the ‘Four Garrisons of the An-hsi
Protectorate-General’.
The presence of these military bases, established to maintain T’ang rule
290

over the Western Regions, led to Chinese influence in many areas of life, as
revealed by recent archaeological excavations. A number of Confucian clas-
sics, copied in duplicate, such as the Lun-yü [Analects of Confucius] with Cheng
Hsüan’s commentary, recently unearthed in the Turfan cemetery, show how
deeply Chinese language and culture penetrated this region. It is no surprise to
find that Qoshu Han, a Türgesh youth from Kucha who became a great gen-
eral at the T’ang court in the mid-eighth century, was fond of reading the Han
shu and other Chinese historical literature (T’ang shu, Chapter 104, Biographical
Notice on Qoshu Han).
At about the time that the T’ang dynasty was engaged in consolidating
its hegemony over the Tarim, a great new power arose in the west: the Arabs
(known to the Chinese as Ta-shih), who had already penetrated Transoxania
and were advancing eastward. Their presence in Central Asia led to a clash
with the Chinese. In a battle fought in July 751 on the plains near the Talas
river, Kao Hsien-chih, the T’ang deputy Protector-General, was defeated by
the Arabs under the command of Ziyad b. Salih. This disaster marked the end
of the T’ang advance into the Western Regions.
Trade
In spite of numerous vicissitudes, the period from the third to the eighth cen-
tury saw the expansion of overland commerce and cultural exchange, together
with the spread of Buddhism. The Silk Route created favourable conditions
for an unprecedented increase in commercial and cultural activity. The most
important merchandise traded along this caravan road was Chinese silk. Its
market value greatly exceeded that of other goods and it brought a substantial
income both to local rulers and to residents of the oasis states. Large amounts
of Chinese silk were exported to the West by Sogdian merchants who, from
very early times (and to a greater extent than the nomadic peoples), were in-
strumental in carrying on the Eurasian caravan trade. Specimens of Chinese
and Sogdian silk products have been found in districts as far west as
Moshchevaya Balka in the Caucasus.12
The technique of sericulture seems to have been introduced into Khotan
very early (it is alluded to in the legend concerning a Chinese princess who
smuggles silkworms into the region).13 The domestic silk-weaving industry
appears to have existed in other oasis states too, as the terms ‘Kuchean bro-
cade’ and ‘Kashgar brocade’ both appear in Turfan documents. Persian bro-
cade (or an imitation) has been discovered in ancient tombs of the Astana cem-
etery in Turfan that date from after the seventh century. The weave is a
12. Yerusalimskaya, 1972.

13. Stein, 1907, Vol. 1, pp. 229–30.
291

Zhang Guang-da
weft-patterned compound twill with a double yarn warp,14 totally different

from that of Chinese warp-patterned design. It appears that such Persian-style
brocade was specially manufactured for export to China proper or even to Iran.
Turfan was also famous for its cotton textiles and almost all the oasis states
were widely known for their fine carpets, felt products and home-woven wool-
len fabrics.
Other articles transported along the Silk Route included jade from Khotan,
turquoise from Iran, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, tortoiseshell and ivory from
India, coral and pearls from the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, gold and silver-
ware from Sasanian Iran, glassware from the eastern Mediterranean and bronze
mirrors, tricoloured pottery and lacquerware from China. Other exotica, such
as embroidered robes, tapestry, armour, swords, harness with gorgeous deco-
rations, and metalwork, were also traded along the Silk Route. Byzantine gold
coins and large amounts of Persian silver species have been found in many sites
of the Tarim.15
Religion
Among those who used the Silk Route were Buddhist monks from the terri-
tory of the Kushans and north-west India travelling to the east, and itinerant
Buddhists from Kucha, Khotan and China proper going to the west. The in-
troduction of Buddhism into the Tarim basin and China is first connected with
the missionary translators from Parthia and Sogdiana, and then with the ex-
pansion of the Kushan Empire, especially during the reign of the great ruler
Kanishka I. In the earlier period of Buddhist expansion, most Buddhist scrip-
tures were introduced to China through the Tarim, with the addition of many
local cultural elements. One example is the Chinese translation of Buddha as
Fo and Fu-Tu. This was simply a transliteration into Chinese of the term ‘But’
that was used in the Tarim basin.16
The two major schools of Buddhism – Hinayana and Mahayana – coex-
isted in the Tarim region, each becoming predominant at certain periods, and it
is not always possible to draw a sharp distinction between them.17 The earliest
Buddhist texts, written mostly in Gandhari Prakrit, may be dated to the latter
half of the second century. The discovery by Dutreuil de Rhins of a manu-
script of a Prakrit version of the Dharmapada shows that the establishment of
Buddhism in Khotan is of considerable antiquity. The Mahayana school had
flourished there since the beginning of the fourth century, without arousing
14. Hsia Nai, 1979, pp. 89–97.

15. Hsia Nai, 1974.
16. Bailey, 1931, Vol. 6, Part 2, pp. 282–3; Ji Xianlin et al., 1982, p. 341.
17. Asmussen, 1965, pp. 144.
292

FIG. 3. Duldur-Aqur.
Wall painting.
Musée Guimet, Paris.
any appreciable hostility from the Sarvastivadins.18 The Hinayana school was
predominant in Kucha, where most of the wall paintings found in rock-cut
viharas (monasteries) are connected with the Hinayana, though, occasionally,
themes belonging to the Mahayana also appear.19
Khotan played an important role in the propagation of Buddhism: to
zealous Chinese Buddhists of the earlier period, it was the chief seat of Bud-
dhist studies and the foremost source of original Buddhist texts. According to
Hsüan-tsang, a large number of Sanskrit manuscripts of the Buddhist canons
reached Khotan from Kashmir.20 Sutras like the Avamamwaka appear to have
been compiled in Khotan and huge quantities of Buddhist manuscripts were
translated from Sanskrit and Gandhari into Khotanese Saka. It should be noted
that in the later period the extreme mysticism of the Vajrayana school is also
found in Khotan.
The religious influence of Kucha was very strong and the region is dot-
ted with many Buddhist sites (Kyzyl, Duldur-Aqur, Kyzyl-Qagha, Kumtura,
Su-bashi, Simsim, Acigh-Iläk and Kirish) (Figs. 3–6). The site of Tumshuq was
18. For the Dharmapada, see Brough, 1962.

19. Gaulier et al., 1976, Vol. 1, p. 24.
20. Asmussen, 1965, p. 143; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
293

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 4. Kyzyl. Wall painting (detail). (Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.)
FIG. 5. Kyzyl. Painted dome. (Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin –

294

FIG. 6. Kumtura. Terracotta figurine. Musée Guimet, Paris.

295

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 7. Tumshuq. Buddhist decoration. Terracotta. Musée Guimet, Paris.

296


also a place of great importance in the spread of Buddhism (Figs. 7–9).

Kumarajiva (344–413), one of the four great translators into Chinese of Bud-
dhist scriptures, was of Kuchean origin. A monk of great attainments, he ac-
quired a mastery of Chinese thought and literary style and his translations
reached a high degree of accuracy.
Side by side with Buddhism, pre-Zoroastrian Old Iranian beliefs contin-
ued among the Khotan Saka population. Remnants of the old Indo-European
religion were preserved among the Tokharian population, and Taoist beliefs
among the local Chinese. The dominance of Buddhism was also challenged by
other religions. Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism may have entered the Tarim
region much earlier than Buddhism; their activity manifested itself in the T’ang
period. According to T’ang sources, Hsien-shen (‘the Zoroastrian god’) was
worshipped in Kashgar and Khotan. The term Hu-t’ien (Barbarian god) in the
Chinese Turfan documents is sometimes interpreted as meaning Ohrmazd.
Manichaeism did not prosper until the Uighurs established their supremacy in
Kocho in the first half of the ninth century. Sogdian Manichaean merchants
297

Zhang Guang-da

must have brought their faith to Turfan and other states as they travelled along
the Silk Route, as shown by the discovery of Manichaean texts in Tokharian B
and by the Manichaean Sogdian Xuastvanift fragment. In 635 a Syrian mis-
sionary called Aloben (known to the Chinese as A-lo-pen) introduced Nestorian
Christianity to Ch’ang-an and established a Nestorian Church there three years
later. However, traces of Nestorianism in the Tarim region are lost in obscurity
(Fig. 10) (see also Chapters 17 and 18).
Since the Tarim basin is located at a crossroads, its culture came to reflect
a peculiar syncretism of various heterogeneous civilizations. This can be seen
clearly in Buddhist art. The source of Buddhist iconography in the Tarim re-
gion is to be found in Gandhara. Its features include the huge statues of the
Buddha in various poses, the treatment of his hair and the drapery of his clothes,
and the representation of arhats, Bodhisattvas, the various Buddhist divinities,
ascetics, donors and other figures. The paintings of Turfan are characterized by
an elongation of the images, a pronounced contrast of light and shade, and
similar devices. These characteristics provide eloquent evidence that, during
298

FIG. 10. Kocho. Wall painting representing a Christian scene.

the Kushan period, Gandharan styles were mixed with Iranian, Hellenistic and
Bactrian elements and had a predominant influence upon Buddhist art, especially
during its earlier phase. This can be observed in the paintings of Miran in par-
ticular. Later periods even reveal traces of the influence of Sogdian art.
The ruined complexes of Buddhist monastic buildings (examples include
Rawak in the vicinity of Khotan, Duldur-Aqur and Su-bashi in Kucha, and
Shorchuk near Karashahr) (Fig. 11) also bear silent witness to the inspiration
derived from the planning of similar structures in India, Gandhara and Bactria.
The hewing of caves or grottoes into the rocks seems to have been a practice
borrowed from India via the Bamiyan valley and the Termez area (Kara-tepe).
The layout of viharas and stupas of various types around the Tarim basin also
points to the close affinity of architectural styles.
Music, dance and the associated fine arts, especially the Buddhist arts,
299

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 11. Shorchuk. Buddha. Painted clay.

300

also flourished under the influence of both east and west. Many of the musical
instruments shown on the wall paintings of Kucha had their origin in Central
Asia, India and China. The dances of Kucha show strong Indian influence: the
swaying of the hips, the frequent changes of gesture and the expression in the
eyes shown in the paintings are all typical of Indian dance. The Hu-hsüan dance,
which was very famous at the T’ang court, originated from Sogdiana, devel-
oped in Kucha and was later introduced into Ch’ang-an, the capital of the T’ang.
Artists of the Tarim area – such as the famous painter Yü-ch’ih I-sen (Visha
Irasangä) from Khotan, several of whose paintings of the Devaraja still survive
– introduced new techniques to China proper.
Buddhist canons, religious plays and other kinds of performances were
also known in these oasis states. Manuscripts dating from this period of the
Buddhist sutra, such as the Dharmapada and the Udanavarga, and of the Bud-
dhist play the Maitreya-samitinataka, both in Sanskrit and in their translation
into Tokharian A, have been discovered.21 Tibetan manuscripts of the Li-yul
lun-bstan-pa report the performance of a Buddhist play in the temple of
Khotan.22
21. Lüders, 1911; Sieg and Siegling, 1921.

22. Emmerick, 1967, pp. 41–5; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
301

12
KOCHO (KAO-CH’ANG)*
Zhang Guang-da
T
he Turfan depression, located in the eastern T’ien Shan region, has an
area of 50,147 sq. km, of which 4,050 sq. km are below sea level. Lake
Ayding-köl lies at 156 m below sea level, the lowest point of Turfan,
which is bounded on the south by Mount Chol Tagh and on the north by
Mount Bogdo Ula. These steep, rugged mountains are covered with snow all
the year round, and the melting snows irrigate the oases of the depression’s
north-central plain. Stone and pottery relics unearthed north of the village of
Astana and west of the moat of the ancient city of Yar (Chiao Ho) indicate that
there was already human activity in the area more than 4,000 years ago. Over
the centuries, the reputation of these fertile, lush and very habitable oases grew.
The area’s favourable natural conditions and its strategic location attracted
many ethnic groups and it became a meeting point for various cultures. The
Chü-shih people were early settlers of the Turfan depression; like the Agni of
Karashahr, they presumably spoke an Indo-European dialect. According to
Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Shih-chi [Historical Records] and Pan Ku’s Han shu [History
of the Former Han], the Chü-shih ‘lived in felt tents, moved from place to
place in search of water and pasture, and applied themselves to agricultural
work to an appreciable extent’. In 200 B.C. Turfan was bordered on the north
by the territory of the Hsiung-nu tribe who had ‘3,000 trained bowmen’ (Shih-
chi, Chapter 123, Notice on Ta-yüan, i.e. Ferghana), on the south by the oasis
city-states founded by the area’s original inhabitants and on the east by the
Western (Former) Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 24), whose capital was on the
site where Xi-an stands today. In 108 B.C. the Han authorities sent a 700-strong
cavalry unit headed by Chao Po-nu to rout the Chü-shih.1 However, the area
of Turfan inhabited by the Chü-shih was still ruled by the Hsiung-nu, leading
to a struggle for control between the Hsiung-nu and the Han. This period,
* See Map 6.
1. Hirth, 1917, p. 106.
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Zhang Guang-da
which lasted from 99 to 60 B.C., is known in Chinese history as ‘the five wars
for the control of the Chü-shih’ (Han shu, Chapter 96, Notice on the Western
Regions). Finally, in 60 B.C., the Han seized the area and appointed Cheng Chi
as the first Protector-General of the Western Regions (Hsi-yü Tu-hu).
For the next 70 years, the Han exercised firm control over the area and
their culture was to leave a significant mark. The area was divided into the
kingdoms of ‘Anterior Chü-shih’ and ‘Posterior Chü-shih’. The former, which
had Yar as its capital, was inside the depression itself. The latter was situated
north of Bogdo Ula, a mountain of the eastern branch of the T’ien Shan range.
In 48 B.C. the Han stationed a wu-chi hsiao-wei (colonel of Wu and Chi)2 in
the Anterior Chü-shih city of Kocho (Kao-ch’ang), 30 km south-east of Turfan
in Xinjiang. The wu-chi hsiao-wei’s main responsibilities were, first, to com-
mand the Han troops from the central plains of China and, second, to make
the soldiers work the agricultural colonies which provided food for the Han
troops garrisoned in the Western Regions and for the Han diplomatic envoys
passing through the area. During the period of Yüan-shih (A.D. 1–5), the wu-
chi hsiao-wei Hsü P’u-yü opened the ‘New Northern Route’, which greatly
shortened the journey from the Jade Gate in the Dunhuang limes to the terri-
tory of the Posterior Chü-shih.3 With the opening of this direct route via Hami
(Qomul), Turfan was destined to become even more important to the Chinese
than before.
In the first century A.D., control of Turfan constantly changed hands
between the Han and the Hsiung-nu. From 73 onwards, and especially after 89
when General Pan Ch’ao of the Eastern (Later) Han (24–220) brought the Tarim
basin back under Han control, the Chü-shih were once again under Han juris-
diction. Following the conquest of Chü-shih, the Eastern Han re-established,
after an interval of some 60 years, the offices of Protector-General and wu-chi
hsiao-wei. Increasing numbers of Han garrison troops were stationed in the
area and the newly opened up territory was expanded. Pan Chao’s son Pan
Yung, who was appointed chang-shih of the Western Regions in 123, stationed
his troops at Lukchun (T’ien Ti), an important site located in the centre of
Turfan, not far east of Kocho. Gradually, the Han Chinese from the central
plains of China and the Ho Hsi corridor intermingled with the Chü-shih na-
tives. During the Wei dynasty (220–265), founded by the House of Ts’ao, and
the Western Chin dynasty (265–316), the kingdom of Chü-shih was basically
loyal to China thanks to the implementation of a continuous policy of ‘control
by reconciliation’ through the wu-chi hsiao-wei. The so-called ‘Kocho soldiers’
of the Wei and Chin dynasties may have been a local army made up of Chü-
shih natives and immigrant Han Chinese.
2. For the title wu-chi hsiao-wei and its supposed origin, see Chavannes, 1907, p. 154, note 2;
Hulsewé and Loewe, 1979, p. 79, note 63.
3. Stein, 1921, Vol. 2, pp. 705 et seq.; 1928, pp. 542, 571 et seq.
304

Kocho (Kao-ch’ang)
The Kocho Prefecture period (327–460)

The fall in 316 of the Western Chin led to the fragmentation and breakdown of
Chinese power. In 327 Chang Chun of the local dynasty, the Former Liang
(313–376), occupied Kocho and captured the wu-chi hsiao-wei Chao Chen,
who had attempted to proclaim the independence of Turfan. The same year,
Chang Chun established a prefecture in Kocho to administer the counties of
Kocho and Lukchun. The Turfan depression and its agricultural colonies be-
came a prefecture of the Former Liang. As power over the Ho Hsi area changed
hands, so did the administration of the prefecture. Ephemeral dynasties fol-
lowed and when in 439 the Northern Liang (397–439) were defeated by the
Northern Wei (386–534), Wu Hui of the Northern Liang royal family led a
retreat of some 10,000 families from Dunhuang west to Shan-shan. In 442 Wu
Hui occupied Kocho, establishing himself the following year as king of Liang
and creating a regional state that was independent of Ho Hsi district.
In 448 Wu Hui’s younger brother An Chou took control of the city of
Yar and finally destroyed the Anterior Chü-shih regime; the remaining Chü-
shih forces moved westwards to Agni (Karashahr). Turfan’s political, economic
and cultural centre thus moved from Yar to Kocho. It was at this point that the
Chü-shih people, who had been active in the Turfan depression since the Han
dynasty, left the stage of history. In 460 An Chou4 was killed in a Juan-juan
invasion. As there were over 10,000 Han Chinese families living in Kocho, the
Juan-juan – whose power base was in Mongolia – found it difficult to exercise
direct rule and therefore placed a Chinese puppet king, K’an Po Chou,5 on the
throne. K’an Po Chou’s reign marked the beginning of a period during which
the Turfan depression was governed as a kingdom.
Despite its remote location to the west of the central plains, the Turfan
depression was strongly influenced by Han Chinese culture during the Kocho
Prefecture period when it was governed by the local Ho Hsi regime. Its politi-
cal and military institutions were very similar to those of China proper. For
example, at the time when family clans held sway over the central plains, rich
and powerful families also ruled in Turfan. Moreover, under the long-term in-
fluence of the wu-chi hsiao-wei system, there was almost no difference in sta-
tus between the military and civilian populations. Civilians and soldiers re-
cruited or dispatched from the central plains joined with the native inhabitants
to form Kocho’s prefectural armies which guarded the borders and built roads
and canals, enabling Turfan to develop and prosper.
4. The memory of An Chou is celebrated in the Chinese inscription of 469 acquired by Grünwedel
from the ruins of a Buddhist shrine of Idikutshahri; this inscription has been edited and dis-
cussed by Franke, 1907, and Pelliot, 1912.
5. For the entire fifth century, some interesting notices concerning Turfan are extracted from
Chinese historical sources, especially the Pei-shih, and lucidly discussed in Franke’s important
papers, 1907.
305

Zhang Guang-da
The Kocho kingdom period (460–640)

In 460 the Juan-juan established the House of K’an as puppet rulers. By 485
internal conflicts had undermined the Juan-juan and Kocho seized the oppor-
tunity to break away from their rule. However, various nomadic tribes, in-
cluding the Juan-juan, the Kao-chü and the Hephthalites, competed for power
over Kocho and the independence of the House of K’an was shortlived. In 491
the regime was brought down by the Kao-chü nation, a powerful force on the
steppe. The Kao-chü king set up Chang Meng Ming, a native of Dunhuang, as
the king of Kocho. A few years later, Chang was killed by his countrymen,
who put Ma Ju on the throne. Ma Ju, constantly harrassed by the Kao-chü,
sent an envoy to the Northern Wei in 497, asking for permission to move his
people into the interior. This caused dissatisfaction among the native inhabit-
ants. The Kao-chü killed Ma Ju, placed Ch’ü Chia on the throne and made
Kocho the capital. Although constantly harassed by northern nomads and
besieged by dissenters, the precarious Kocho kingdom founded by Ch’ü Chia
was to survive for 138 years (502–640), making it the longest lived of the local
regimes.
The Kocho kingdom ruled by the Ch’ü family measured 300 li from east
to west and 500 li from north to south (Chou shu, Chapter 50, Notice on Kao-
ch’ang, i.e. Kocho), with about 8,000 households and a total population of some
30,000. Kocho was the most powerful and most culturally advanced city-state
of the western oases. Recent research by scholars into Turfan documents has
revealed numerous reign titles (Yüan Ho, Ch’eng Ping, Lung Hsing, etc.) that
are not recorded in China’s historical annals. These findings help to clarify a
series of political changes during the Kocho kingdom period. On the basis of
detailed scholarly research, it is possible to plot a rough chronology of the
Kocho kingdom under the House of Ch’ü.6
The kingdom was controlled by wealthy, influential local clans closely
connected through intermarriage. Apart from the Ch’ü family, the most emi-
nent clans were the Changs, the Fans, the Yins, the Mas, the Shihs and the
Hsins. At the beginning of this period, the tiny kingdom of Kocho was threat-
ened by the Kao-chü. In 552 the Türk Kaghanate became immensely power-
ful, conquering the Juan-juan and dominating the northern Gobi desert. The
kingdom of Kocho submitted to Türk rule and several Türk princes married
into the Kocho royal family. By the beginning of the seventh century, how-
ever, the Türk Kaghanate had begun to decline and the T’ieh-le tribe held
suzerainty over Kocho.
During Ch’ü Po-ya’s reign, the kingdom of Kocho developed close rela-
tions with the Sui dynasty (581–618) and actively pursued a policy of
Sinicization. This caused dissatisfaction among the great families, resulting in a
6. Hou, 1984, p. 75.
306

coup d’état. The rebel’s reign lasted 6 years, after which the Ch’ü were restored
to the throne with the aid of the Chang clan, who were closely linked to the
Ch’ü family by generations of intermarriage. The T’ang dynasty (618–907) won
a succession of military victories against the nomads in the north and west, and
in 630 they eliminated the powerful Eastern Türk Kaghanate. The 7 cities of
Qomul (I-Wu), which had belonged to the Eastern Türks, were merged with
the T’ang nation. Because his kingdom was adjacent to the Western Regions,
the king of Kocho, Ch’ü Wen-t’ai, was fearful of T’ang ambitions to move
westward and he reached an agreement with the Western Türks to resist the
T’ang. When attacked by the T’ang, however, the Western Türks were the first
to surrender; in 640 the Chü rulers of the Kocho kingdom also yielded. Hav-
ing lasted for over 100 years and 10 reigns, the Ch’ü family’s rule over Kocho
now came to an end. The T’ang government established the Hsi-chou district
and the An-hsi (An-xi) military Protectorate-General at Yar (Chiao Ho),7 and
for the next 152 years (640–792) Turfan was ruled directly by the T’ang.
Recently discovered documents at Kocho

Following the 1898 Turfan expedition by the Russian archaeologist
D. Klementz, a succession of archaeological teams from Britain, Germany, Ja-
pan and Sweden came to this area to conduct excavations (Fig. 1). As the re-
ports of these excavations were published long ago and are well known, we
shall not dwell on them here.8 Since 1959 other excavations have been con-
ducted by Chinese archaeologists at the cemeteries of Astana and Karakhoja,
north of the ancient city of Kocho. According to reports published between
1959 and 1975, 13 major excavations were conducted and 459 ancient graves
were opened, including 354 at the Astana cemetery. Documents were found in
119 of the excavated graves. Of the 1,586 documents written in Chinese,9 403
dated from the period when the Ch’ü family ruled the Kocho kingdom and
1,020 from the T’ang period. Many of the 300 epitaphs excavated belong to the
Ch’ü period. Because of Turfan’s extremely dry climate, the documents are
well preserved and the manuscripts appear quite new. Taken together, these
documents provide a comprehensive record of contemporary social, political,
economic and cultural life in the Turfan region.
7. Zhang, 1988, pp. 81–7.

8. Dabbs, 1963.
9. Tang, 1982.
307

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 1. Kocho. Ruins of stupa ‘Y’. (Photo: © R.M.N. Paris.)
Administrative system and socio-economic life

under the House of Ch’ü
The Turfan documents provide a general picture of the capital, prefectures and
territory of the Kocho kingdom, which probably derived its name from that of
its capital, Kocho. The city was divided into at least four districts, and there
were gates on all four sides of the surrounding city wall. The gates bore the
same names as the gates of Lo-yang, the capital of the Han, Wei, Chin and
Northern Wei dynasties; and of Gu Tsang (Wu-wei county), a city of the Six-
teen Kingdoms. The names clearly reveal the cultural influence of China proper.
The Kocho kingdom under the House of Ch’ü established prefectures
and counties modelled on the institutions that had existed in China proper
during the Kocho Prefecture period. As a sop to those clans that had emigrated
from China proper and from the Ho Hsi corridor, additional prefectures and
counties were established. It is believed that the administrative system of this
period was roughly based on a division into 4 prefectures and 22 counties and
cities, with Kocho at their centre. The most important prefectures included
Kheng-chieh Prefecture, the political and economic centre of north-eastern
Kocho, and Yar Prefecture, the political and cultural centre of western Kocho
and formerly the capital city of the Anterior Chü-shih kingdom.
During this period, the oases of the Turfan depression were fully exploited
and great emphasis was placed on irrigation. The Kocho king had direct con-
308

trol over all lands, and every transaction involving land or vineyards required
his approval. The king’s permission was also needed when a lay person do-
nated lands or vineyards to a temple (according to the documents: ‘let the lay
service turn into the divine one’). The king’s permission was required even for
bequests of land from father to son. These practices indicate that the system of
land distribution in accordance with the number of people in a household – as
implemented in the central plains of China proper – was not applied in the
Kocho kingdom during the rule of the House of Ch’ü.
In early times, the system of calculating wealth was to assess a family’s
assets by converting the household’s land acreage into the amount of grain it
could produce. The taxes, corvées and horses due from each household were
determined in accordance with this amount. During the period of the Kocho
kingdom, the system of levying taxes and corvées drew a distinction between
monks and lay citizens, the rates probably being more moderate for monks
than for laymen. Taxes, payable in silver coins, were levied not only in accord-
ance with acreage, but also in accordance with the fertility of the land. The
same system was applied to determine the quota for each of the various types
of corvée. A multitude of other rents, corvées and trade taxes were introduced
over the years. Trade flourished in Kocho and silver coins were used as cur-
rency. Tenancy was common during the rule of the House of Ch’ü. Discover-
ies of land lease deeds and contracts show that land was rented by government
bodies, temples and individuals.
The documents and epitaphs also reveal that a few influential families
enjoyed a monopoly of power in Turfan. For example, 68 of the 300 epitaphs
discovered belong to the powerful Chang family. Three successive generations
of Changs were important officials at court; the Changs were linked with the
Ch’ü clan through intermarriage and were powerful enough to help the Ch’ü
family regain the throne.
The meeting and merging of cultures

In Turfan, local civilizations met and intermingled with those of China, India,
Iran and the eastern Mediterranean. Because its very foundations were the Han
Chinese garrison troops and their agricultural colonies under the wu-chi hsiao-
wei system, the Kocho Prefecture was profoundly influenced by Han culture.
Later, when the regional governments of the Ho Hsi (Hexi) corridor estab-
lished their prefectures in Turfan, the Han and Wei cultures, mingled with lo-
cal elements specific to the Ho Hsi area, were introduced. During the rule of
the House of Ch’ü, the administrative system and official titles in the Kocho
kingdom were nearly identical to those used in the Chinese government.10 The
10. Hou, 1984, pp. 52–74.
309

Zhang Guang-da
grave patterns, sepulchral inscriptions and documents found all indicate the
dominant role of Han culture;11 for example, the names of the deceased and
their official titles appear in Han style. Fragments of Mao Heng and Mao
Ch’ang’s version of the Book of Odes, dating from the Northern Liang dy-
nasty, have been excavated at the ancient cemetery in Astana, an indication that
the Confucian classics were in circulation there at an early time.
Han culture rose to even greater prominence during the period when the
Kocho kingdom was ruled by the House of Ch’ü. Ch’ü Chia, the first Ch’ü
king of Kocho, petitioned the Northern Wei for a loan of the Confucian Five
Classics and the Book of History and invited a Chinese man of letters (Pei-shih,
Chapter 97, Notice on Kao-ch’ang) to give instruction to students in Kocho.
Ch’ü Jian, the third king of Kocho, had a picture of ‘Ai Gong, the duke of Lu,
asking advice from Confucius’ (Sui shu, Chapter 83, Notice on Kao-ch’ang)
painted in his home to illustrate his own policy of benevolence. The books
recovered from the Astana tombs include not only Confucian classics, but also
books on history, as well as some poems and children’s readers in Chinese such
as the Ch’ien-tzu-wen [Book of One Thousand Characters] and the Chi-chiu-
chang [Elementary Book of Chinese Characters]. Under the Ch’ü, the ruling
class actively encouraged the study of Confucian thought, with the aim of con-
solidating their own power. Confucianism thus became the dominant ideology
of the ruling class.
The kingdom’s official records were written in Chinese characters and
were similar in form and wording to those used in China proper during the
Han and Wei periods. The kingdom nevertheless had its own culture. The na-
tive inhabitants wrote in the so-called ‘Barbarian script’, which, judging from
the existing evidence, was probably Tokharian A, although further study would
be needed to confirm this. All in all, the influence of Chinese culture in Kocho
was, at that time, far more profound and far-reaching than the influence of
Buddhism from the west.
Taoism and metaphysics, which enjoyed great popularity in China dur-
ing the Wei, Chin, Southern and Northern dynasties, also found their way to
Kocho. Taoist talismans (vermilion characters written with cinnabar on yellow
paper) have been unearthed from tomb no. 303 at the Astana cemetery, prov-
ing that the grave’s occupant was a Taoist.12
Because of its location on the main artery of the Silk Route, Turfan was
inevitably influenced by Buddhism from the Kushan Empire and Tokharistan,
and many Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit reached Kocho from these areas. In
the early twentieth century, a large number of hand-copied Buddhist scrip-
tures were found in the ancient cities of Kocho, Yarkhoto and Sengim-aghiz
by Prussian and other foreign expeditions. In the early days of the Kocho
11. Stein, 1928, Vol. 2, Ch. 19, p. 668.

12. Texts of the Documents Found in Turfan, 1981–87, Vol. 2, p. 33.
310

Prefecture period, local Buddhist monks supervised the translation into Chi-
nese of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures. In an ancient catalogue concerning the
translation of the Buddhist Tripitaka (Ch’u San Tsang Chi Chi), several refer-
ences are made to the translation of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures by Buddhist
monks from Kocho.
Under the Ch’ü, Buddhism developed rapidly. The first few kings, in-
cluding Ch’ü Chia and Ch’ü Chian, considered themselves to be Confucians.
Later monarchs, including the seventh king, Ch’ü Ch’ien-ku, and the ninth,
Ch’ü Wen-t’ai, were pious Buddhists. Ch’ü Wen-t’ai was especially noted for
his devoutness. When on his pilgrimage to India to find the Buddhist scrip-
tures, the seventh-century Chinese monk Hsüan-tsang stopped at Kocho and
gave lectures on Buddhism. Ch’ü Wen-t’ai knelt on the ground so that Hsüan-
tsang could use his back as a step to mount the dais.13
In addition to the translation of Buddhist scriptures, religious activities
included the building of temples and the carving of grottoes. The building of
rock temples reached its peak during the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (304–
439). To this period also should be assigned the carving of the Thousand-Buddha
grottoes in Toyoq and Bezeklyk (Fig. 2). Steles erected in commemoration of
the completion of temples and statues bear witness to the religious fervour of
the imperial families. Over 40 temples were named after prominent families,
reflecting the growing power of the family clans. In a sense, Buddhist temples
became family shrines, indicating a process by which Buddhist power was
merged with that of the aristocratic families of Kocho.
The Pei-shih provides a description of the clothes worn in Kocho: ‘the
adult men attire themselves in conformity with Hu [Barbarian] style, women
are in jackets and skirts and wear their hair in buns’ (Pei-shih, Chapter 97, Notice
on Kao-ch’ang). ‘The adult men allowed their queues to fall to the back and
wore long robes with narrow sleeves’ (Liang-shu, Chapter 54, Notice on Kao-
ch’ang). Recent excavations at the Astana cemetery have yielded women wear-
ing right-buttoned silk jackets and skirts and men with queues coiled under
their necks. Many of the faces are covered with face guards (face cloths) and
the eyes are covered by metal eye shades called ‘eye cages’ in Turfan docu-
ments.14 Similar objects have been discovered in tombs on the Eurasian steppes
as far away as Hungary, indicating that the use of eye shades may have been a
part of the burial customs of the steppe nomads.
Many of those with the surnames K’ang and Ts’ao had come from
Samarkand, Bukhara and Gubdan of Zerafshan district. In Chinese historical
literature, these surnames are generally applied to the ‘Nine Hu’ (Barbarians)
of the Chao-wu in Sogdiana district. Their skill as traders made them well known
13. Hui, 1959, Ch. 1; see also Litvinsky (ed.), 1992 and Ch. 18.
14. Stein, 1928, Vol. 2, Ch. 19, p. 670; Texts of the Documents Found in Turfan, 1981–87, Vol. 2,
pp. 61 et seq. See also Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
311

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 2. Bezeklyk. Buddhist grottoes.

on the Eurasian plains throughout the Middle Ages. As the intermediaries of

inland trade between Europe and Asia, the Sogdians also played an important
role in the dissemination of various religions. They were actively engaged in
the translation of Buddhist texts and played a key role in the spread of Zoro-
astrianism and Manichaeism. Zoroastrianism was brought to Turfan during the
Kocho Prefecture period and the god Hu T’ien of the local pantheon may, in
fact, have been Ohrmazd. The title sabu which occurs in documents may well
have indicated an administrator in charge of Zoroastrian affairs. Sogdians were
also instrumental in the spread of Manichaeism. Manichaean texts written in
Sogdian, Middle Persian, Parthian and Old Turkic have been discovered in
Turfan (Figs. 3–5), in addition to a fragment in Bactrian and two fragments in
Tokharian B.15 However, most Manichaean texts are posterior to the influx
into the Turfan region of the Uighurs, following the dissolution of their em-
pire in Mongolia in 840.
15. Lin, 1987; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
312

FIG. 3. Kocho. Manichaean painted book.

Preussischer Kulturbesitz für Indische Kunst Museum.)
FIG. 4. Kocho. Manichaean painted book.

Preussischer Kulturbesitz für Indische Kunst Museum.)
313

Zhang Guang-da
FIG. 5. Kocho. Portrait of Mani engraved on a silver dish.

After: S. F. Ol’denburg, Russkaya Turkestanskaya eskspeditsiya 1909–1910 goda,
kratkiy predvoritel’niy otchët. St Petersburg, 1914.
In 840 the Uighur Empire of Mongolia was overthrown by another Turkic

people, the Kyrgyz. Fifteen of the defeated Uighur tribes fled west to settle
around Kucha, Karashahr and Kocho and, in c. 850, finally established them-
selves in the Turfan basin with Kocho as its capital. In their new land, the
Uighurs abandoned nomadism for agriculture and adopted a sedentary way of
life. They played a major role in the Turkicization of Chinese Turkestan.
The old religion, Manichaeism, continued to flourish but was progres-
sively replaced by Buddhism. The Uighurs introduced a new cursive script
adapted from the Sogdian Letters, which was later adopted by the Mongols.
Archaeological discoveries at the beginning of the twentieth century have dem-
onstrated the high level attained by Uighur culture in the Turfan region: a large
number of the manuscripts (written in 24 different scripts) date from the late
ninth century. Wang Yan-te, an envoy of the Sung court, visited Kocho be-
tween 981 and 984 and was impressed by its highly colourful and civilized way
of life.
In 1209 the idi-kut Barchuk, ruler of the Uighur kingdom of Kocho, vol-
untarily submitted to Chinggis Khan as his vassal. As the first teachers of the
Mongols, the Uighur scribes performed a valuable service in helping the Mon-
gols organize their administration.
314

13
NO RT H E R N NOMADS*
L. R. Kyzlasov
I
n the first five centuries A.D. tribes of various origins, who were mostly
herdsmen, inhabited the wide open spaces of the Eurasian steppes between
the Caspian Sea in the west and the Great Wall of China in the east. Many
of them were semi-nomadic, others were stock-breeders and farmers and some
were agriculturalists who kept cattle. These economic differences resulted from
the great variations in the geographical environment, ranging from the arid
plateaux of the steppe to oases along great rivers and lakes.
Written sources, especially in Chinese, provide the most detailed infor-
mation about the history of the people who lived in the steppes. Unfortunately,
the tumuli in the steppes dating back to the first five centuries have not yet
been subjected to detailed archaeological investigation, nor are there any local
epigraphic sources.
K’ang-chü
The most extensive and stable state in the west of this region was K’ang (the
ancient Kangha in the Avesta or K’ang-chü in the Chinese chronicles). Some
scholars believe that the K’ang-chü state was centred on oases situated between
the upper and lower reaches of the River Syr Darya (Jaxartes),1 known in an-
cient times as the River Kanga. During the early period, the power of the rulers
of K’ang-chü extended to the territories of Transoxania and the valley of the
River Zerafshan, while in the north there were vassal states, the largest of which
was Yen-ts’ai. According to the Chinese chronicles, by the second century it
* See Map 6.
1. Litvinsky, 1968, pp. 14–15; Groot, 1921, pp. 5–15. See also Zuev, 1957; Hulsewé and Loewe,
1979, pp. 123–31.
315

L. R. Kyzlasov
had been renamed Alania and was dependent on K’ang-chü.2 Alania was situ-
ated between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea.
A military and political alliance between the Sarmatian and Alan tribes
living between the lower reaches of the Volga and the Aral Sea was formed
under the name of Yen-ts’ai–Alania. It consisted mainly of semi-nomadic herds-
men speaking Iranian languages. According to Chinese sources, their customs
and costume were similar to those of the inhabitants of K’ang-chü and their
forces were 100,000 strong. The climate of their country was temperate, and
there were many pine trees and large areas of broom and feather-grass. Ac-
cording to sixth-century sources, the Alanian region of Yen-ts’ai was renamed
Su-te or Su-i and the Hsiung-nu from Central Asia took possession of it (ap-
parently in the second century). It is reported that large numbers of merchants
from Su-te came to trade in the Chinese region of Lanzhou, and in 564 envoys
from that land came to China bearing gifts.
In K’ang-chü itself, which lay north-west of Ta-yüan (Ferghana), although
there were many semi-nomadic herdsmen, most of the Iranian-speaking popu-
lation were reported to be farmers and craftsmen. The inhabitants of the re-
gion were said to lead a settled life, have towns, cultivate the land and breed
livestock. Originally all the territories were dependent on the great Hsiung-nu
power. The sources mention that in the first century B.C. dissent among the
Hsiung-nu leaders weakened their power and Chih-chih (56–36 B.C.), a rebel-
lious shan-yü (ruler) of the Hsiung-nu, sought refuge for a short time in K’ang-
chü and was killed there. K’ang-chü is still mentioned in fifth-century sources,
but in the sixth century instead of K’ang-chü we find five principalities which,
as the chronicles stress, were situated in the ‘former territories of K’ang-chü’.3
The Huns
During the middle and the second half of the second century, the Greek au-
thors Dionysius and Ptolemy mention the presence of Huns on the Caspian
coast among the ‘Scythians and Caspians’. In the scholarly literature, the Huns
appearing on the European horizon are often considered a branch of the Hsiung-
nu which had migrated to the West when the united Hsiung-nu power disinte-
grated in the first century. This view has been seriously challenged and has
been the subject of controversy since the eighteenth century. According to the
Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, the Huns, ‘this restless and untamed
2. Hulsewé and Loewe, 1979, p. 129, No. 316; see also Maenchen-Helfen, 1944–45, p. 230;
Shiratori, 1956, p. 232.
3. Bichurin, 1950, pp. 149–275. K’ang-chü was divided into five principalities in antiquity; see
Hulsewé and Loewe, 1979, pp. 130–1; McGovern, 1939, p. 400; Pulleyblank, 1966, p. 28; Enoki,
1956, p. 47, No. 25.
316

Northern nomads
people, burning with uncontrolled passion to seize the property of others, as

they advanced, robbing and slaughtering neighbouring peoples, came to the
Alans’. The Alans were routed, and most of them fled from the Aral Sea region
and the lower reaches of the Volga to the northern Caucasus. There also, how-
ever, they were subject to the Huns and Alanian detachments were incorpo-
rated into the Hun forces. The works of Armenian historians contain hints of
a struggle between the peoples of the Caucasus and the Later Huns in the third
and fourth centuries.
In the 370s a mass of nomadic tribes, united by the Huns in a powerful
alliance, burst into Europe and, in 375, attacked the Eastern Goths.4 Ammianus
Marcellinus describes the Hun invasion in the following terms: ‘This race of
untamed men, without encumbrances, aflame with an inhuman desire for plun-
dering others’ property, made their violent way amid the rapine and slaughter
of the neighbouring peoples . . . ’.5 The language of the Huns is unknown.
According to Ammianus Marcellinus, they were a new tribe about which ‘an-
cient works know little’. He was a bitter enemy of the Huns and extremely
biased in his descriptions of them. Nevertheless, we can deduce from his infor-
mation that the Hun army was well organized and presented a formidable threat.
Their forces were generally victorious and nothing could stem their advance.
There are grounds for presuming that the Western Huns, like the Hsiung-
nu of Central Asia, had a clear-cut military and administrative system, with
subdivisions into groups of tens, hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands.
This warrior people had hereditary rulers.
And when deliberation is called for about weighty matters [writes Ammianus
Marcellinus], they all consult for a common object . . . No one in their country ever
plows a field or touches a plow-handle. They are all without fixed abode, without
hearth, or lax, or settled mode of life, and keep roaming from place to place, like
fugitives, accompanied by the wagons in which they live; in wagons their wives weave
for them their hideous garments, in wagons they cohabit with their husbands, bear
children, and rear them to the age of puberty. None of their offspring, when asked,
can tell you where he comes from, since he was conceived in one place, born far from
there, and brought up still farther away . . . They dress in linen cloth or in the skins of
field-mice sewn together, and they wear the same clothing indoors and out . . . They
cover their heads with round caps and protect their hairy legs with goatskins; their
shoes are formed upon no lasts, and so prevent their walking with free step.6
The Western Huns had lived in conditions of constant war and mass migra-
tion. When they reached central Europe, however, they settled in Pannonia.
In the early 350s peoples known as the White Huns or Chionites ap-
peared in Central Asia. Several scholars believe that they spoke a language of
4. Maenchen-Helfen, 1973, pp. 18–168.

5. Rolfe, 1939, p. 387.
6. Ibid., pp. 383–7.
317

L. R. Kyzlasov
the Iranian group and had come south from the Aral Sea area. These warlike
semi-nomadic herdsmen took part in raids on Sasanian Iran and even on the
northern regions of India. They founded several principalities in Central Asia
and India. Remains of their original towns and settlements have been found in
the lower reaches of the Syr Darya (the sites of the Dzhety-Asar group) (for
details, see Chapters 5 and 6).
The Hsien-pi
When the ruler of the Northern Hsiung-nu was beaten by Chinese forces in 91
and fled in an unknown direction, a new people,
the Hsien-pi, took the opportunity to migrate, and settled on his territories. The re-
maining Hsiung-nu clans, which numbered more than 100,000 yurts, began to call
themselves Hsien-pi, and from that time on the Hsien-pi began to gather strength.
According to the Chinese chronicles, the Hsien-pi originated in a land of for-

ests and high mountains near the basin of the River Amur. Their language and
customs are described as similar to those of the Wu-huan, except that before a
wedding they first shaved their heads, then held a large assembly on the river
during the last month of spring; they feasted, and once the feasting was over,
celebrated the marriage. Wild birds and beasts not to be found in the Middle
Kingdom of China lived in the territories of the Hsien-pi, who made bows out
of horns. There were also sables, foxes and squirrels with soft fur, from which
fur coats renowned for their beauty were made in the Celestial Kingdom. The
breeding of cattle, sheep, goats and horses by the Hsien-pi is also mentioned
and they are said frequently to rustle each other’s herds of livestock and horses.
The Hsien-pi were described by one of the Chinese emperor’s council-
lors in 117 as follows:
After the Hsiung-nu fled, the Hsien-pi, who took over their former territories, grew
in strength. They have hundreds of thousands of warriors, they are remarkable for
their physical strength, and are more quick-witted than the Hsiung-nu. It should
also be noted that, as a result of lack of discipline at the guard-posts on the line of
fortifications, there are many ways of evading the embargo, which robbers use to
obtain fine metal and iron of good quality. The Chinese get in [through these gaps]
and become the main counsellors of the Hsien-pi, and so they acquire keener weap-
ons and faster horses than the Huns.
During the reign of the Han emperor Huang-ti (146–168), an energetic leader
named T’an-shih-huai appeared among the Hsien-pi. He subjected the elders
to his authority, introduced laws, gathered large forces and defeated the North-
ern Hsiung-nu around 155.
All the elders of the eastern and western nomadic communities submitted to him. As
a result of this he looted the lands along the line of fortifications, repulsed the Ting-
318

Northern nomads
ling in the north, made the Fu-yü kingdom retreat in the east, attacked the Wu-sun in
the west, and took possession of all the former Hsiung-nu territories, which extended
for more than 14,000 li to the east and the west, were intersected by mountains and
rivers, and had large numbers of fresh and salt water lakes.
Thus the territories of the Hsien-pi extended as far as those settled by the Wu-
sun in the Ili basin in the west, while in the north they adjoined those of the
Ting-ling alliance of tribes which occupied the Altai mountains, the basins of
the upper and middle Yenisey and the areas adjoining and to the west of Lake
Baikal.
During the Hsien-pi period, culture in Central Asia declined and society
regressed compared with the Hsiung-nu state which preceded it. Many towns
and settlements which had flourished during Hsiung-nu rule appear to have
died out, craft production declined and centres of agricultural activity van-
ished (or at least the written sources which describe the Hsien-pi make no
mention of them).
During their heyday, the Hsiung-nu shan-yüs had been recognized as
Sons of Heaven and the equals of the emperors of Han China, and Chinese
historians considered their state to be comparable in strength and power with
the Middle Kingdom. When the might of the Hsien-pi was at its greatest, the
emperor Huang-ti is reported to have sent an envoy with a seal and cord grant-
ing T’an-shih-huai the title of wang (prince) and seeking to conclude a peace
treaty with him on the basis of kinship. T’an-shih-huai unhesitatingly rejected
these advances, refusing to accept a tributary relationship with the Han em-
peror.
The history of the Eastern (Later) Han dynasty (24–220) is full of infor-
mation and complaints about the Hsien-pi raids on the frontier districts and
territories of China. These areas suffered greatly from robbery, mass murders
and the abduction of vast numbers of people into captivity. One of the sources
gives the following explanation for these raids:
The number of the Hsien-pi increased every day, and stock-breeding and hunting
could no longer satisfy their needs for food. T’an-shih-huai therefore rode out to
inspect his lands. He saw the River Wu-huo-ching, extending for several hundred li.
There were large numbers of fish in the creeks, but the Hsien-pi did not know how
to catch them. When he heard that the inhabitants of Vozhen were skilled in catching
fish with nets, T’an-shih-huai attacked this land on the east, captured over 1,000 fami-
lies and resettled them on the banks of the River Ukhotsin, ordering them to catch
fish in order to make up the insufficiency of food.
It is clear that the Hsien-pi did not even consider engaging in agriculture or
crafts.7
There is no evidence that the Hsien-pi expanded to the west or north. All
their efforts appear to have been directed to the south, to the rich districts of
7. Taskin, 1984, pp. 70–80.
319

L. R. Kyzlasov
northern China. By the end of the rule of the Eastern Han in 220, the Hsien-
pi, together with other nomad armies, had advanced as far as the basin of the
River Liaohe and some of their tribes (A-zha in Tibetan literature) had even
migrated to Gansu and Chinghai. Tens of thousands of Hsien-pi had settled
over the Central Plain and other inner regions of China by the end of the third
century. The largest ethnic groups among them were the Mu-jung, T’o-pa
(Tabgach) and Yü-wen.
Nomad kingdoms of northern China

These nomadic settlers enjoyed great military strength and founded their own
kingdoms in northern China. Of the various kingdoms established by the Hsien-
pi in northern China, the Northern Wei (386–534), founded by the T’o-pa leader
T’o-pa Kui, became particularly strong. T’o-pa Kui is said to have pacified the
people and devoted his attention to agriculture. The Hsien-pi who settled in
the Northern Wei kingdom rapidly made the transition from a patriarchal slave-
owning society to the feudal system. They later assimilated with the Chinese.8
The Late Hsiung-nu realm of Yüeh-pan, described by the sources as situ-
ated ‘to the north-west of Wu-sun’ (in the present-day district of Tarbagatai),
was one of the districts belonging to the shan-yü of the Northern Hsiung-nu.
In 93, when the Northern shan-yü had migrated westwards over the moun-
tains to K’ang-chü:
the weaker nomads who were not up to following them remained in the north of
Kucha. They occupy an area of several thousand li, and number up to 200,000 . . .
Their customs and language are the same as those of the Kao-chü [i.e. Turkic-speak-
ing tribes], but they are better groomed . . . They trim their hair and make their eye-
brows even, applying a paste to them which makes them glossy. They wash three
times a day before eating.
The Juan-juan
The inhabitants of Yüeh-pan waged war against the Juan-juan. In 449:
their ruler sent an envoy to the court with gifts, and he also sent a remarkable physi-
cian . . . It was said that in their state there were sorcerers who could produce long
periods of rain, great storms and even flooding during Juan-juan attacks. Two-tenths
– or perhaps as many as three-tenths – of the Juan-juan drowned or died of cold . . .
Afterwards the ruler always sent envoys with gifts.9
8. Shan, 1959, pp. 138–41.

9. Bichurin, 1950, Vol. 2, pp. 258–60.
320

Northern nomads
The Juan-juan became known as a distinct ethnic group from the end of the
third century. Constantly attacked by the Wei kingdom, the Juan-juan ma-
noeuvred in the Gobi until, at the end of the fourth century, they overcame the
Kao-chü (see pages 323 et seq.) who lived to the north of the desert. Their
ruler, She-lun, settled on the River Khalkha.
Here for the first time he established military laws, according to which 1,000 men
formed a detachment under an appointed commander, and 100 men made up a ‘ban-
ner’ under an appointed leader. The prisoners and booty taken were granted to the
man who first broke into the ranks of the enemy . . . They had no written alphabet,
so that they could not keep written records, but later they learnt to make records
well by making notches in wood . . . She-lun earned the epithet of powerful and pros-
perous. He bred livestock, moving from place to place, wherever he could find water
and grass.
Further to the west of his territories were the lands of Yen-ch’i [Karashahr], and
the lands of Ch’ao-hsien; in the north his realm occupied all the sandy desert and
reached Hanhai [the upper reaches of the Amur], and in the south approached the
Great Desert. He held all the small countries as if they were on a leash, and they were
subject to him. Because of this, She-lun assumed the local title of ch’iu-tou-fa kaghan:
in the language of the Wei dynasty, ch’iu-tou-fa means ‘ruling and leading to expan-
sion’ and kaghan means ‘emperor’.
Around 400 the Juan-juan established a powerful empire (402–555) in Mongo-

lia.10 From 402 onwards, Juan-juan forces made regular incursions on the fron-
tier districts of northern China; in the ensuing wars, which lasted for several
decades, sometimes the Juan-juan were victorious and sometimes the North-
ern Wei. At the beginning of the fifth century the Juan-juan repeatedly attacked
the Wu-sun state, situated in Semirechye, driving the local tribes of herdsmen
out to the Pamir mountains.
According to the Chinese chronicles, the Juan-juan:
graze their livestock, going from place to place in search of water and grass. They live
in dome-shaped huts. They plait their hair. They wear narrow-sleeved silk robes with
woven patterns, tight trousers and high waterproof boots. In their land they suffer
from cold, and as early as the seventh moon ice-floes float on the rivers, blocking
their course.
In their realm they use sorcery to offer sacrifices to heaven and call up a wind
that brings snow. [As a result], ahead of them the sun shines brightly and behind
them there are streams of muddy water. Because of this, when they are defeated it is
impossible to catch up with them.
Another chronicle reports:

They do not have towns surrounded with inner and outer walls, but herd livestock,
going from place to place in search of water and grass. Their homes are felt tents,
which they take to the place where they stop. There is no green grass in the steppes,
10. Sinor, 1969, pp. 97–9.
321

L. R. Kyzlasov
the climate is cold, the horses and cattle chew dry grass and lick the snow, but are
naturally fat and strong. The administration of the state is simple. There are no offi-
cial written documents, and they keep records by making notches in wood.
The Juan-juan kaghans and nobles were well acquainted with Buddhist teach-
ings and were probably Buddhists as early as the beginning of the sixth cen-
tury. It is known that in 511 they sent a Buddhist monk and preacher to China
with the gift of an image of the Buddha ornamented with pearls for the em-
peror.
It was at this time that the Juan-juan are reported to have first built a
town: they surrounded it with inner and outer walls and called it Mumo-chen.
They also gradually learnt to write, and by now there were many learned peo-
ple among them.
It may be assumed that by then some of the Juan-juan already lived a
settled life and practised agriculture. The original sources repeatedly mention
that their kaghans obtained ‘seed millet’ from China (some 10,000 shi each time).
This shows that the Juan-juan society and state had gradually developed from
nomadic herding to a settled agricultural way of life, from yurts to the building
of houses and monumental architecture, from the nomadic district to towns.
They had invented their own system of writing and developed their own local
culture and Buddhist learning flourished.
The Juan-juan state was undoubtedly multi-ethnic, but there is no defi-
nite evidence as to their language. As the ancient sources regard the Juan-juan
as a separate branch of the Hsiung-nu, it may be assumed that the Juan-juan
language belonged to the same linguistic family as that of the Hsiung-nu (whose
language is also unknown). Some scholars link the Central Asian Juan-juan
with the Avars (see also page 323) who came to Europe from the east in the
mid-sixth century. According to a widespread but unproven and probably un-
justified opinion, the Avars spoke a language of the Turkic group.
During the late years of their rule in Central Asia, the Juan-juan con-
tracted to guard the frontiers of northern China, with whose court they were
allied by marriage. In 538 the daughter of the Juan-juan kaghan A-na-kui be-
came empress of the Western Wei kingdom (535–556). In 535 a princess from
the Eastern Wei kingdom (534–550) married A-na-kui, and in 545 the real
ruler of the Eastern Wei married another of A-na-kui’s daughters. A relative
peace was thus established on the frontiers of northern China. The previous
constant wars with China had exhausted the human and economic resources
of the kaghanate and led to internal revolts and risings of the peoples subju-
gated by it.
322

Northern nomads
The Türks
Among these peoples the Türks, who lived on the Altai and supplied the Juan-
juan with ferrous metal products such as iron blooms, tools and weapons, be-
came particularly powerful in the 530s. The rising of the Türks, who at about
that time were joined by the T’ieh-le nomads (with up to 50,000 wagons), was
crowned with success. In 552 the Juan-juan kaghan A-na-kui was routed by
the Türks and committed suicide.11 In the period before 555 the Türks and the
Chinese had killed large numbers of Juan-juan who were fleeing to China and
westward towards the Aral Sea. A new state, the Türk Kaghanate (552–630,
683–745), was established in Mongolia (see Chapter 14).
It was precisely at this time that the first information about the Avars
being pursued by the Türks appears in Western chronicles. In c. 562, for exam-
ple, the Byzantine historian Menander Protector12 wrote that Silziboulos, the
ruler of the Türks, having learnt of the Avars’ retreat after an attack on the
Türks, sent the following message to Byzantium:
The Avars are not birds, to escape Türk swords by flying through the air; they are
not fish, to dive into the water and disappear in the depths of the sea; they wander
over the surface of the earth. When I finish the war with the Hephthalites I shall
attack the Avars, and they will not escape my forces.
According to Menander, in 568 the emperor Justin II asked a Türk who was
visiting Constantinople: ‘Tell us how many Avars have cast off Türk rule, and
whether you still have any Avars.’ He was told that: ‘There are Avars who are
still faithful to us; we suppose that up to 20,000 have fled from us.’ The Türks
also called the Avars ‘Ouarchonites’ and regarded them as their subjects. As
mentioned previously, from these facts some scholars conclude that the Avars,
sometimes known as Ouar, Koun or Ouarchonites, are the same people as the
Juan-juan.
The T’ieh-le and Kao-chü

The T’ieh-le group was the strongest and largest of the various tribes subject to
the Juan-juan Kaghanate. According to the Chinese chronicles, of the 15 tribes
belonging to the T’ieh-le, some were the descendants of the Hsiung-nu. Those
tribes whom the Chinese called Kao-chü (High Chariot) were regarded as the
closest to the T’ieh-le in terms of ethnic composition. The Chinese sources
provide a fairly detailed picture of the Kao-chü, who were apparently the last
surviving branch of the ancient Chidi. Originally known as the Ting-ling, in
11. Taskin, 1984, pp. 267–95.

12. Blockley, 1985.
323

L. R. Kyzlasov
the north they were called the Chi-lei, and in China the Kao-chü Ting-ling
(High Chariot Ting-ling).
The Kao-chü were constantly at war with the Juan-juan and also fre-
quently attacked and plundered the borders of the Wei state. In 397 the Kao-
chü, together with the Juan-juan, became subject to T’o-pa Kui, who founded
the Northern Wei dynasty. When T’o-pa Kui declared himself emperor the
following year, the Kao-chü confirmed their subjection to him. At the end of
the fourth century their territories situated to the north of the ‘sandy steppe’
(i.e. the Gobi) were seized by the first Juan-juan kaghan, She-lun (402–410).
From the end of the fourth to the beginning of the fifth century the
Northern Wei launched 9 successive campaigns against the Kao-chü, taking
prisoners and reportedly seizing over 200,000 head of horses, cattle and sheep.
Finding themselves between two fires, the Kao-chü were later forced to sur-
render to the Northern Wei forces. Several hundred thousand yurts, with more
than a million head of horses, cattle and sheep, were resettled to the south of
the desert.
The Kao-chü later tried to exploit the disagreements between the Juan-
juan and the Northern Wei kingdom to gain their independence. In 487 the
Kao-chü leader A-fu-chi-lo raised a revolt against the Juan-juan and migrated
westwards at the head of 100,000 warriors. He established a kingdom (487–
541) to the north-west of the present-day Turfan and there he declared himself
a wang (prince). In his message to the Northern Wei court, A-fu-chi-lo de-
scribes the situation in these terms:
The Juan-juan rob the Son of Heaven. I exhorted them, but they would not listen to
me, and therefore I stirred up a revolt, travelled to the territory I now occupy, and
declared myself ruler. In the interests of the Son of Heaven I must punish and anni-
hilate the Juan-juan.
The Kao-chü state lasted for 55 years and won a number of victories over the
Juan-juan forces, but quarrels broke out among the Kao-chü nobles. A-fu-chi-
lo was killed and Mieh-tu was made ruler. On his accession to the throne, Mieh-
tu began to send tribute to the court of the Wei dynasty again.
War then broke out with the Juan-juan, in which the latter were victori-
ous and killed Mieh-tu. The Juan-juan kaghan Ch’ou-nu covered Mieh-tu’s
skull with black lacquer and made it into a drinking goblet. During the reign of
the new rulers of the Kao-chü, I-fu, Yüeh-ch’u and Pi-shih, war between the
Kao-chü and the Juan-juan continued from 520 to 542, with success now on
one side, now on the other.
Despite all these failures, the Kao-chü, who are known as the T’ieh-le in
later Chinese chronicles (see the T’ang shu, for example), did not give up the
idea of founding their own state. In 536 the first Türk kaghan, Bumin, attacked
the T’ieh-le and captured as many as 50,000 wagons. Even after the incorpora-
tion of the T’ieh-le into the Türk state, they continued their struggle for free-
324

Northern nomads
dom. They waged war with the Türks from 602 to 605, and in 618 were subju-
gated by the Türk ruler, T’ung yabghu. The chronicles state that ‘the Türks
performed feats of valour with their forces in the deserts of the north’.13
The T’ieh-le tribes were numerous. The best known among them at a
later stage were the Hsieh-yen-to, the Qurigan and the Uighurs, who created
their own states. Although they spoke Turkic languages, their origins and cul-
ture differed from all the other Turkic-speaking peoples of the Middle Ages.
During the early sixth century the entire Eurasian steppe zone came under the
power of the Türk Kaghanate. Turkic gradually took the place of several Ira-
nian languages, some of which ceased to be used.
Archaeological evidence
The archaeological remains of the ethnic groups which inhabited the steppe
zones in the first five centuries A.D. such as the Hsien-pi, Yüeh-pan, Juan-juan
and Kao-chü or T’ieh-le have not yet been studied in depth. However, remains
from the first to the fifth century, presumably connected with the Western and
White Huns, are partially known to archaeologists. It appears that their nobil-
ity wore richly adorned garments in what is called the polychrome style, made
of gold and decorated with many inset semi-precious stones and patterns in
cloisonné enamel. Examples of richly decorated weapons, harness, ‘Hun-type’
cast bronze cauldrons and other articles have been found far to the west.
The tombs of nobles, containing articles in the above-mentioned style,
have been discovered over a wide area reaching from the T’ien Shan and the
Altai in the east to Pannonia and the sources of the Danube in the west. The
most thoroughly studied antiquities are those of Hungary, the Danube area
and the steppes adjoining the Black Sea to the west of the Volga. As for the
northern region of the steppes, we have some knowledge of the antiquities of
the areas around the lower Volga, the Aral Sea and the lower reaches of the Syr
Darya, where the Alans and White Huns lived.
The wide steppes of Kazakstan, Mongolia and Dzungaria, however, are
still blank spaces in the archaeological map of the first five centuries. Much
further investigation of both archaeological and written sources will be required
before we know where the various northern semi-nomadic peoples lived and
understand their economy, way of life and culture.
13. Bichurin, 1950, Vol. 1, pp. 228, 243, 279, 283, 301; Taskin, 1984, pp. 278–9, 401–6.
325

14
THE TÜRK EMPIRE*

D. Sinor and S. G. Klyashtorny
Part One
THE FIRST TÜRK EMPIRE (553–682)
(D. Sinor)
The two centuries during which the Türks were the dominant power in Inner
Asia would seem to mark a turning point since, for the first time in recorded
history, an essentially nomad empire bordered simultaneously on three major
sedentary civilizations: those of China, Iran, and the Western world as repre-
sented by Byzantium. A more or less permanent link was established between
these three civilizations, allowing the free flow of trade and with it, one must
presume, a range of ideas and information.
There are other reasons for attaching great importance to the emergence
of the Türks: not only were they the first Altaic people to leave behind indig-
enous historical documents; they were also the first Altaic people to leave be-
hind documents written in an Altaic language, namely Turkic – these consti-
tute the earliest textual evidence of any Altaic language. It follows from these
two points that the Türks were the first people to form a major nomad empire
centred on present-day Mongolia whose language can be established with ab-
solute certainty. The attribution of a given language to any of the earlier great
nomad empires (such as, for instance, that of the Hsiung-nu or the Juan-juan)
remains highly speculative. Finally, the Türks became the eponymous people
of all the Turks who followed them throughout history. We are particularly
fortunate in that the history and civilization of the Türks can be studied through
a variety of written sources, including Chinese, Persian, Armenian, Greek and
Latin texts, in addition to the indigenous Türk or Sogdian inscriptions.
Ethnogenesis
In terms of political history, the Türks entered the scene in 552 with the revolt
of the Türk kaghan (chief) Bumin, who overthrew the Juan-juan Empire of
* See Map 7.
327

which his people had, up to then, formed an integral part. For the period
preceding this fateful event, we must rely on the (often self-contradictory) tes-
timony of Chinese sources.
According to the Chou shu, ‘No doubt the Türks are a detached branch
of the Hsiung-nu,’ an opinion taken over verbatim by the Pei-shih. But the
Chou shu also relates ‘another tradition’ according to which the Türks ‘origi-
nated in the country of So, located north of the Hsiung-nu’. Since the location
of So cannot be established, the information is of little use and simply shows
that, according to this ‘other tradition’, the Türks were not a part of the Hsiung-
nu confederation. Moreover, Chinese sources are wont to attribute Hsiung-nu
origin to any people belonging to the vast group of Northern or Western Bar-
barians. Indeed, such an indication may almost be considered a simple stylistic
device, just as Greek sources would attribute Scythian origins to any nomad
people appearing on the steppe.
More importantly, Chinese sources record at least three different legends
concerning the origin of the Türks. The first of these, which we may call that
of ‘The Abandoned Child Brought up by a Wolf’, is related with slight varia-
tions by both the Chou shu and the Pei-shih. It tells the story of a young boy
mutilated by the enemy and thrown into a marsh where he has intercourse
with a she-wolf. The wolf and the boy subsequently take refuge in a cavern,
where the wolf gives birth to ten boys. Several generations later the Türks emerge
from the cavern and become the blacksmiths of the Juan-juan. There is another
legend, also related in the Chou shu, which, in the words of this source, ‘differs
from the other [legend], nevertheless it shows that [the Türks] descended from
a wolf’.
A third legend is preserved only in a collection of anecdotes, curious and
miraculous histories probably compiled in 860 and entitled the Yu-yang tsa-
tsu. According to this legend, which we may call that of ‘The Spirit of the Lake’,
the ancestor of the Türks, who is called Shê-mo-shê-li and lives in a cavern, has
a liaison with the daughter of the lake spirit. One day, as the Türks are prepar-
ing for a great hunt, the girl says to Shê-mo: ‘Tomorrow during the hunt a
white deer with golden horns will come out from the cavern where your ances-
tors were born [author’s emphasis]. If your arrow hits the deer we will keep in
touch as long as you live, but if you miss it our relationship will end.’ In the
course of the hunt, a follower of Shê-mo kills the deer. Shê-mo angrily decapi-
tates the culprit and orders that a human sacrifice be established in which a
man of that follower’s tribe be beheaded. According to the Yu-yang tsa-tsu,
the sacrifice remained in practice ‘to this day’.
There is no reason to impugn the authenticity of these legendary tradi-
tions, which clearly reveal the composite ethnic character of the Türks. The
three legends differ in so many essential points (which cannot be examined
here in detail) that they cannot possibly represent a single tradition.
The theme of the ‘wolf’ in two of the three Türk legends is shared with
328

The Türk Empire
the Wu-sun, who preceded the Türk Empire by many centuries. Also shared
with the Wu-sun is the theme of the mutilated child abandoned in the wilder-
ness by the enemy. According to the Shih-chi, the Wu-sun ruler K’un-mo was
cast out to die when still a baby, but was nourished by birds that brought him
meat and by a wolf that suckled him. The story is also related in the Han shu
and its close relationship with one of the Türk origin myths is obvious. There
is, however, the significant difference that, whereas in the Wu-sun myth the
wolf saves the ancestor of the tribe, it is not – as in the case of the Türks – the
ancestor of the people. (The connections with Mongol myths, though undeni-
able, should not concern us here.)
The theme of the ‘cavern’ that appears in two of the three Türk ancestral
legends has its parallels in later Mongol mythology. More importantly, it es-
tablishes a link between the Türks and the Kyrgyz, whose ancestor, accord-
ing to the Yu-yang tsa-tsu, ‘lived in a cavern to the north of the Kögmän moun-
tain’. According to the same source, however, ‘the Kyrgyz do not belong to
the race of the wolf’.
There is convincing evidence to show that Türk ceremonial practices
took into account the existence of these two themes, namely those of the
cavern and the wolf. For example, the Pei-shih clearly states that, ‘In front of
the gate to the camp [the Türks] placed a standard with a wolf’s head on it, so
as to show that they had not forgotten their origins.’ This is confirmed by the
Chou shu: ‘[The Türks] put golden wolves’ head on their standards . . . The
Türks descended from a wolf and did not want to forget their origin.’ A bas-
relief on the Sogdian Bugut inscription (see pages 342 and 343) erected by
Türk rulers represents a she-wolf with a small human figure under her belly
and thus supports the evidence of written sources. The present author ven-
tures the hypothesis that the ‘wolf theme’ represents an Indo-European, per-
haps Iranian, element in the Türk system of beliefs linking at least some sec-
tions of the Türk ruling class to the Sogdians and, beyond them, to the Wu-sun
who – for all we know – may have been Iranians. At the same time, it must be
emphatically stated that the widely accepted view according to which the Wu-
sun had blue eyes and blond hair rests on a textual misunderstanding, as was
shown by Otto Franke as early as 1904.
Nor is the theme of the cavern a literary invention: it was a belief actively
held by the Türks. The Yu-yang tsa-tsu even gives the name of the cavern (A-
shih-tê), which is that of a Türk clan of great importance, a perennial antago-
nist of the A-shih-na clan, whose claim to rule the Türks is clearly implied by
the other two legends. The legend of ‘The Spirit of the Lake’ speaks of a ‘birth
cavern’ and the existence of such an ‘ancestral cavern’ is demonstrated by the
Chou shu’s statement that every year the Türk kaghan leads the notables of his
people ‘to the ancestral cavern to offer a sacrifice’. The Tung tien (193, 14a)
cites from a work (now, alas, lost) entitled On the Origin and Development of
the Türks in which the caverns of the Türks were also mentioned.
329

Of the various themes which can be identified in the Türk ancestral leg-
ends, those of the wolf and the cavern appear together only in one, namely,
‘The Abandoned Child Brought up by a Wolf’, which justifies the rule of the
A-shih-na clan. The theme of the cavern also appears in ‘The Spirit of the Lake’,
though this story differs so fundamentally from the other two legends that it
cannot be ascribed to the same clan. It is just possible – and the suggestion is
made with the utmost caution – that this theme indicates some links with the
Kyrgyz.
The composite character of the Türk nation, as revealed by an examina-
tion of their ancestral legends, is supported by evidence of a different nature.
Türk civilization as we know it from the written sources contained a number
of specific elements which are atypical for Turkic peoples. Among them were,
first, a system of orientation facing east; and, second, an unusual system of
numerals where, in double-digit numbers, the tens are indicated by the next
highest multiple of ten, e.g. bir otuz ‘21’ (= one thirty), and which cannot be of
Turkic origin.
It has been established beyond doubt that the population of the Türk
Empire was multilingual – the existence of the Bugut inscription, written in
Sogdian, would in itself prove this point. It has also been shown that Türk – as
used in the inscriptions of the Orkhon – contains a number of Samoyed or
Ugric loan words which are specific to this language and form no part of the
common Turkic vocabulary. Even in the solemn, funerary style of these in-
scriptions, Ugric or Samoyed words appear, expressing concepts as common
as ‘word’ (ay, sab) or, indeed, ‘horse’ (yunt). Their occurrence in Türk indi-
cates the presence of Ugric or Samoyed elements in that stratum of Türk soci-
ety which had some cultural influence on the ruling class. It can be taken for
granted that the language of the funerary inscriptions (be it Sogdian as in Bugut,
or Turkic as on the Orkhon) was that of the contemporary ruling class. Refer-
ence in the Orkhon inscriptions to a feminine deity, Umay, of clearly Mongol
origin, attests to the presence of some Mongol element within the fabric of
early Türk civilization.
Türk personal names appear in a great variety of sources and scripts which,
apart from Türk itself, include Chinese, Sogdian and Greek. No methodical,
comprehensive study of these names has been undertaken, but even a cursory
examination of Türk anthroponyms reveals a substantial number which can-
not be explained from Turkic. It is seldom easy to reconstruct the original form
of a proper name that is attested only in Chinese transcription. Nevertheless
there have been several successful attempts, particularly in instances where the
language to which the name belongs is known – as, for example, with Chinese
transcriptions of Buddhist technical terms. However, the original Turkic forms
of many Türk proper names have not yet been established. Such is the case, for
example, of the clan names A-shih-na or A-shih-tê (attempts to see in the former
a Mongol (?) word meaning ‘wolf’ lack proper phonetic foundations). Nor has
330

The Türk Empire
a satisfactory Turkic form been established for the Türk personal name that is
written as Silziboulos in Greek characters.
In several instances (for example, Nivar kaghan; see page 333) the per-
sonal names of Türk dignitaries are clearly non-Turkic – with the exception of
a few, clearly specified cases, the initial n- does not occur in Old Turkic. It is
well known that a Turkic word cannot begin with a consonant cluster, yet the
names of two Türk chiefs appear in Greek sources as Spartseugoun and Stembis.
The latter name is known also in Chinese transcription and occurs in the Orkhon
inscriptions either with or without the initial i-: shtmi or ishtmi, to be read
Ishtemi. There is no reason why the Greek transcription would have ignored
an initial i- had the name had one in its original form. There are, however, very
good linguistic reasons for the Türks to attach a prosthetic i- to an initial st-
consonant cluster. Clearly, the name Ishtemi, though borne by a Türk ruler
(see page 332), was not Turkic. Although a detailed examination of Türk proper
names is beyond the scope of the present chapter, it is clear that many of the
personal and tribal names and dignitary titles used by the Türks are neither
Turkic, nor Mongol, nor Iranian.
The economy
In 552, as previously mentioned, a successful Türk uprising overthrew the Juan-
juan ruler A-na-kui and effectively ended the Juan-juan Empire which, for the
previous century and a half, had been the dominant power on the eastern steppe.
Bumin, the leader of the coup, is said to have been angered by A-na-kui’s re-
fusal to grant him the hand of one of his daughters on the grounds that the
suitor was merely a ‘blacksmith slave’ and thus unworthy of such an honour.
There is overwhelming evidence that the Türks – the people of Bumin – were
originally a group of metallurgists engaged in the mining or processing of iron,
or possibly both. The above-mentioned ‘caverns’ of the Türks were, in fact,
underground mines where they laboured for the principal benefit of the Juan-
juan.
Thus the overthrow of Juan-juan rule was not the result of an invasion
by an external enemy but was brought about by an internal upheaval, the re-
volt of a discontented faction which, ethnically or linguistically, may not have
been different from the dominant group. (There is as yet no conclusive evi-
dence as to the language of the Juan-juan – it might even have been Turkic.)
The only distinction between the Juan-juan and the Türks which can be estab-
lished with any degree of certainty relates to occupation. To put it in simple
terms, through Bumin’s action the reins of power were seized by the metallur-
gists of the Juan-juan Empire.
Although (if for no other reason than military necessity) pastoral no-
madism was the dominant economic activity of the ruling stratum of the newly
331

created Türk state, it did not involve the whole population. Besides metallurgy
– which, at some time, the Türks seem to have left to the Kyrgyz – important
sections of the population must have continued to provide for themselves
through hunting and fishing, the traditional economic activities of the forest
region where pastoral nomadism could not be practised and where many Türks
continued to live. That the leaders were preoccupied with the necessities of
daily life is evident from the words on Bilge kaghan’s funeral stele: ‘I [Bilge]
did not reign over a people that was rich; I reigned over a people weak and
frightened, a people that had no food in their bellies and no cloth on their
backs.’ In some campaigns the Türks were even short of horses. The inscrip-
tion of Tonyuquq (see below) reveals that at least on one occasion ‘two parts
[of the Türk army] were mounted, one part was on foot’. The very precarious-
ness of their existence made the Türks, or at least their leaders, vulnerable to
the lure of those ‘Chinese riches’ mentioned in the inscriptions.
Political history
Bumin died shortly after he had deposed A-na-kui. He was followed by his
son Kuo-lo (Qara?), who ruled for only a few months. On his death, the gov-
ernment of the newly created Türk Empire was divided between Bumin’s other
son Muhan (553–572) and Ishtemi (553– ?), Muhan’s uncle, and brother of the
late Bumin. Muhan ruled over the eastern part of the empire, centred on Mon-
golia, while Ishtemi was in charge of the western areas. The heart of the empire
– where the ‘ancestral cavern’ and Mount Ötükän, the sacred forest of the Türks,
were located – was the eastern part. Thus it can be said that almost from the
moment of its inception, the Türk Empire was bicephalous.
Uncle and nephew embarked on a series of military campaigns. In the
east, this brought victory over the Kitans and the incorporation of the Kyrgyz
into the Türk state. In the west, between 557 and 561, the Hephthalite Empire
was crushed through a joint action of the Türks (probably led by Ishtemi) and
the Sasanian king, Khusrau I Anushirvan, resulting in the establishment of a
common border between the two empires. Through their conquests the Türks
now controlled large sections of the trade routes to the West and, edged by
their Sogdian subjects, they wished to take advantage of the lucrative silk trade
formerly dominated by the Hephthalites. After their attempts to establish com-
mercial footholds in Persia met with failure, they aimed to bypass Persia alto-
gether and establish direct links with Byzantium, the principal consumer of
silk.
The first Türk delegation known to us arrived in Constantinople in 563.
It had been sent by Askel, head of the first tribe of the Nu-shih-pi tribal fed-
eration of the Western Türks. It was followed five years later by a more sub-
stantial trade delegation headed by a Sogdian called Maniakh. He was received
332

The Türk Empire
by Emperor Justin II, who was more interested in securing an ally to the rear
of the Sasanians (with whom, since 527, Byzantium had been in almost perma-
nent conflict) than in the importation of silk. According to the Byzantine his-
torian Menander, the Türk ruler on whose behalf Maniakh negotiated was
Silziboulos (who is usually wrongly identified with Ishtemi, even though this
name is rendered Stembis in Greek sources; see above). Silziboulos and his son
Turxath were minor rulers in the westernmost parts of the Türk Empire, per-
haps on the same level of authority as the previously mentioned Askel.
Menander clearly states that Turxath was but one of the eight chiefs among
whom rule over the Türks was divided.
On his return journey, Maniakh was accompanied by a Byzantine coun-
ter-embassy led by the strategos Zemarkhos, who was, in his turn, very well
received by Silziboulos. Other diplomatic exchanges followed until 572 when,
on his second mission to the Türks, the Byzantine envoy Valentine was re-
ceived by Turxath (perhaps Türk shad), son of the just deceased Silziboulos. In
sign of mourning, members of the Byzantine delegation were not only requested
to lacerate their faces, but were given a bitterly hostile reception by Turxath,
who accused the Byzantine emperor of treason for having given asylum to the
Avars (considered by him to be fugitive subjects of the Türks: see Chapter 13).
At that time the principal ruler of the Western Frontier Region of the Türk
Empire was Tardu, a son of Ishtemi, whose year of accession is unknown, al-
though it cannot have been later than 572 since it was to him that the irate
Turxath sent Valentine.
The principal Türk ruler Muhan (553–572) was followed on the throne
by his younger brother Taghpar (572–581).1 Having converted to Buddhism,
Taghpar embarked on an ambitious programme of building monasteries and
sponsoring the translation of Buddhist canonical works, presumably from
Chinese into Sogdian and Turkic. These activities continued under Taghpar’s
brother, Nivar (581–587) (his name is read Jibü by Harmatta), whose court
became an important centre of Buddhist learning. It was at the time of Nivar
that the rift separating Eastern and Western Türks occurred, an event which
has long been thought to have taken place immediately following the death of
Bumin.
At Taghpar’s death Muhan’s son, Apa kaghan (known as Ta-lo-pien in
Chinese sources), had not taken kindly to his uncle Nivar occupying the throne.
He enlisted the help of Tardu but failed to oust Nivar, who received support
from his father-in-law, the Sui emperor Kao-tsu. Obsessed with the desire to
have a state of his own, Apa kaghan then turned against his former ally Tardu,
chased him from his domain and established the state of the Western Türks
opposed to that of the eastern parts controlled by Nivar. In 585 Tardu fled to
the Sui court; nothing further is known of his activities until 594, when he
1. Harmatta’s reading instead of the currently used Taspar.
333

reappeared in a conflict with the Eastern Türk kaghan, Yung-yü-lü (588–599).

It seems likely that the Türk kaghan who, in 598, wrote a letter to the Byzan-
tine emperor Maurice describing himself as ‘lord of the seven races, master of
the seven climes’ was Tardu, once again riding high, ruling over an ill-
determined part of Türk territory. The destiny of this extraordinary man
remains unknown; chased by a revolt in 603, he fled and we lose his traces for
ever.
Apa kaghan did not live to enjoy the fruits of his treacherous victory
over Tardu. After being taken prisoner by Nivar’s successor Ch’u-lo-hu (587–
588), he disappeared from the stage of history. His place was taken by Ni-li
(587–604?), a somewhat shadowy figure; he may have been the ‘Great King of
the Türks’ who, according to the Armenian historian Sebeos, was killed in battle
in 589 by the Sasanian general, Bahram Chobin, while fighting Hormizd IV in
Persia. Türk involvement in Iranian affairs continued under T’ungyabghu (619–
630), kaghan of the Western Türks, an ally of Emperor Heraclius against
Khusrau II. T’ung yabghu received the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang, who was
duly impressed by the magnificence of the Türk court. However, pride and
unbridled ambition caused T’ung yabghu’s downfall. In the words of the T’ang
shu, he was no longer ‘good to his people and the tribes hated him’ and he fell
victim to a revolt led by the Karluks.
The Chinese, past masters in the art of fighting Barbarians with Barbar-
ians, exploited the Türks’ endemic internal dissensions to the full. In the words
of the Sui shu, ‘The Türks prefer to destroy each other rather than to live side-
by-side. They have 1,000, nay 10,000 clans who are hostile and kill one an-
other.’ Because, owing to their location, the Eastern Türks presented the greater
danger, the short-lived Chinese dynasties of the period attempted to keep them
at bay with trade concessions which were tantamount to the paying of tribute.
Thus, for example, both Muhan and Taghpar received 100,000 pieces of silk
per year from the Northern Chou, a gift barely compensated for by the horses
sent to China by Taghpar.
Both Kao-tsu, founder of the T’ang dynasty, and his son T’ai-tsung skil-
fully played off one Türk ruler against another. Constant attempts were made
to persuade T’ung yabghu and other Western Türk rulers to keep the Eastern
Türk kaghans Shih-pi (609–619) and Hsieh-li (619–634) at bay, but final defeat
came through direct Chinese victory. T’ai-tsung’s troops routed those of Hsieh-
li who, taken prisoner, died in China. With his death, darkness would descend
on the Eastern Türk Empire for half a century.
The Western Türk Empire, which was less bothersome for the Chinese,
was left to its own devices of self-destruction. Always a confederation of tribes
acting more or less independently, the Western Türk state was swiftly falling
apart. The Ten Arrows (On oq) or, as the Chinese called them, the Ten Clans
were rent by the murderous conflicts of their leaders. The Orkhon inscrip-
tions give the reasons for the internal decay:
334

The Türk Empire
Because of discord between the nobles and the commoners, because of the cunning
and deceitfulness of the Chinese who set against each other younger and elder broth-
ers, nobles and commoners, the Türk people caused the disintegration of the empire
that had been their own, [and] caused the ruin of the kaghan who had been their
kaghan.
Ho-lu, the last de facto ruler of the Western Türks, was captured by the Chi-
nese in 657 and died two years later, to be buried beside Hsieh-li. Thus the two
rulers of the fratricidal Türk empires were put to rest, side-by-side and in
Chinese soil.
P a r t Tw o
THE SECOND TÜRK EMPIRE (682–745)
(S. G. Klyashtorny)
Resurgence of the Türk Empire

After the First Türk Empire had been defeated by the emperor T’ai-tsung in
630, the Eastern Türk tribes were resettled north of the Ordos and Shansi.
T’ai-tsung drafted his new subjects into the service of the T’ang Empire, but
the existing tribal and administrative system was not altered and measures were
taken to attract the Türk aristocracy to the imperial service. The author of the
ancient Türk inscriptions in honour of Kül-tegin (732) notes with disapproval,
when speaking of those times, that ‘The Türk begs abandoned their Türk ti-
tles. The begs who went to China held Chinese titles, obeyed the Chinese
emperor; they served him for fifty years’ (KT, E 7–8). For most of the Türk
people, forcibly resettled in strictly defined regions, life was hard. The Türk
historian recalls those five decades as a time of shame, degradation and humili-
ation; the heaviest burden was the ‘blood tribute’, the obligation to fight in the
imperial wars: ‘Your blood flowed like a river; your bones were heaped up like
a mountain; your beg-like sons became slaves; your lady-like daughters be-
came servants’ (KT, E 23).
The Türk uprising in 679–681 was at first unsuccessful, although it led,
in 682, to the withdrawal of Kutlug-chor, one of the Türk leaders of the kaghan
tribe of the A-shih-na, into the Gobi desert. Once they had established them-
selves in the Yin Shan mountains (Cugay quzï in ancient Turkic), Kutlug-
chor and his closest comrade-in-arms, Tonyuquq, succeeded in winning the
support of most of the Türks and conducted successful military operations
against the imperial forces in Shansi between 682 and 687. Kutlug-chor
335

proclaimed himself Ilterish kaghan, and in so doing ushered in the resurgent

Türk Empire.
In 687 Ilterish kaghan left the Yin Shan mountains and turned his united
and battle-hardened army to the conquest of the Türk heartlands in central
and northern Mongolia. Between 687 and 691 the Tokuz-Oghuz tribes and the
Uighurs, who had occupied these territories, were routed and subjugated; their
chief, Abuz kaghan, fell in battle. The centre of the Second Türk Empire shifted
to the Ötükän mountains (now called the Khangai mountains), on the rivers
Orkhon, Selenga and Tola. Having united two powerful tribal groups under
his command – the Türks and the Tokuz-Oghuz – Ilterish kaghan was now a
dangerous menace to the T’ang Empire.2
Political and social structure

Under Ilterish kaghan the traditional structure of the Türk state was restored.
The empire created by Ilterish and his successors was a territorial union of
ethnically related and hierarchically co-ordinated tribes and tribal groups; they
were ideologically linked by common beliefs and accepted genealogies, and
politically united by a single military and administrative organization (el) and
by general legal norms (törüs). The tribal organization (bodun) and the politi-
cal structure (el) complemented one another, defining the strength and dura-
bility of social ties; in the words of the Türk inscriptions, the khan (kaghan)
‘el tutup bodunïm basladïm’ (controlled the state and was head of the tribal
group).
The principal group in the empire was composed of twelve Türk tribes
headed by the dynastic tribe of the Ashina.3 Next in political importance was
the Tokuz-Oghuz tribal group of ‘nine Oghuz [tribes]’.4 The Tokuz-Oghuz
were more numerous than the Türk tribes themselves, but were politically
less united; however, at the beginning of the seventh century, they were united
under the Uighurs, themselves a group of ten tribes led by the dynastic tribe
of the Yaghlakar. Two further confederations of tribes played an active role in
the political life of the empire – the Karluks and the Basmils. Each individual
tribe had its leader, the irkin, and each tribal group was headed by an elteber.
Türk monuments frequently mention these important representatives of the
tribal aristocracy – the elteber of the Uighurs, the great irkin of the Bayirku,
and others.
The administrative structure of the empire, which incorporated the tribal
leaders, was more complex. At the head of the administration stood the kaghan
2. Klyashtorny, 1964, pp. 25–32.

3. Czeglédy, 1972, pp. 275–81.
4. Czeglédy, 1982, pp. 89–93.
336

The Türk Empire
and his closest kinsmen, who held the titles of shad and yabghu. The kaghan
was surrounded by his counsellors (buyur), who discharged military, adminis-
trative, diplomatic and legal functions and bore titles such as tarkhan, chor and
tudun. In order to facilitate the administration, the tribes were divided into
two territorial groups, the Tardush (western) and the Tölish (eastern). The sol-
diery of these two groups composed the right and left wings of the army’s
battle order, and they were led by the close kinsmen of the kaghan (the shads)
and the most influential tribal leaders of each wing.
With its dual system of tribal and political principles, the administrative
structure was a natural reflection of the social structure of the ancient Türk
community. Its highest stratum consisted of begs (begler in Türk), a hereditary
aristocracy; it was composed of members of families whose special status in
the management of the affairs of the tribe was considered unchallengeable and
hallowed by tradition. The dynastic families and tribes (the A-shih-na, the A-
shih-tê and the Yaghlakar) formed the élite of this hereditary aristocracy. An-
other stratum of that same community was the igil qara bodun (the ‘common
people’). Any deterioration of relations between strata or tribes represented a
grave threat to the political organization of the empire. The kaghan, who per-
sonified the unity of the community and exploited its military and economic
potential to the full, clearly had a vested interest in minimizing all opposition.
As the manifestos recorded in inscriptions dating from the kaghanate show,
there were frequent appeals for unity between the begs and the people and for
obedience to the kaghan.
Whereas the kaghan was the personification and supreme power of the
community, its base was the fraternity of full male members of the family and
tribe, who were designated er (man-warrior). Any youth could become an er
when he reached a certain age and had accomplished an initiation rite (some
exploit in battle or the hunt), receiving his er aty (man’s or hero’s name) whether
he was one of the hundreds of common soldiers or a prince of the royal line. In
practice, however, the situation of an er in the tribe and in the state depended
on his rank and riches.
Epigraphic and archaeological records show that there was a consider-
able degree of social and material discrimination within the Türk tribes. Wealth
became a subject of pride and praise for the Türk aristocracy. Rich men (bays)
are contrasted in Türk inscriptions with the poor (cygay), who are described as
‘pitiful, insignificant and base’. Far from arousing sympathy, poverty was de-
spised. A real er would obtain riches by force of arms. The inscriptions often
list the spoils of war – gold, silver and slaves, both male and female. The Türks’
principal wealth and most coveted booty, however, was livestock, especially
herds of horses. ‘The Türk people were hungry. I took the cattle and fed them,’
says Bilge kaghan in his account of one of his campaigns (BK, E 38).
The burial mounds of the common soldiers, where the saddled warhorse
lay next to its fully armed master, pale into insignificance when compared to
337

the burial chambers of the higher aristocracy. In the graves of the poorest peas-
ants, however, neither costly weapons nor horses were to be found. Impover-
ished nomads who had lost their livestock were settled in winter quarters and
in small, permanent settlements (balïqs), where they engaged in a primitive
form of agriculture. They mainly sowed millet and built small forts (qurgans
or kurgans) in which to store their grain.
Some impoverished members of a tribe would maintain their nomadic
way of life with the help of rich relations. Free ers of slender means inevitably
became dependent on the begs, whose bodyguard and servants were drawn
from their ranks. But no matter what quarrels soured relations between poor
and rich ers, and between begs and the ‘common people’, the community as a
whole was quite distinct from another sector of the population – the slaves
(qul kün, male and female slaves), who were entirely dependent on the ers,
enjoyed no rights and formed the periphery of ancient Türk society.
The basis of the economy of the Türk tribes was nomadic cattle-raising.
The organized hunt in the steppes and mountains was of military as well as
economic significance: it was during such hunts that warriors were trained and
the various detachments were co-ordinated. A Chinese chronicler describes
the economy and way of life of the Türks thus: ‘They live in felt tents and
wander following the water and the grass.’ Horses were of vital importance to
the Türks. Although the economy rested on cattle-raising, winter feed for live-
stock was not stored. The advantage of the horse was that it could be at grass
all the year round, feeding even under a light cover of snow. Sheep and goats
followed the horses, eating the grass that they themselves would have been
unable to clear of snow. Bulls, yaks and camels are also frequently mentioned
in Türk texts as valuable items of livestock.
Relations with China

In 691 Ilterish kaghan died and was succeeded by his younger brother, who
assumed the title Kapagan kaghan (‘Conquering kaghan’; Mo-ch’o in Chinese
sources). His reign (691–716) marked the apogee of the military and political
might of the Second Türk Empire – and the beginning of its decline.
Between 693 and 706 Kapagan’s army forced a crossing of the Huang He
(Yellow River) six times and made deep inroads into northern China against
which the Chinese forces could offer no effective resistance. The empress Wu
paid vast indemnities to Kapagan and sent him gifts, which were in effect thinly
disguised tributes. In 696–697 Kapagan subjugated the Kitan tribes and sealed
an alliance with the Khi (tataby in Turkic texts), which stemmed the advance
of the Chinese armies to the north-east, into the foot-hills of the Khingan, and
secured the empire’s eastern frontier. Between 698 and 701 the northern and
western frontiers of Kapagan’s state were defined by the Tannu Ola, Altai and
338

The Türk Empire
Tarbagatai mountain ranges. After defeating the Bayirku tribe in 706–707, the
Türks occupied lands extending from the upper reaches of the Kerulen to Lake
Baikal. In 709–710 the Türk forces subjugated the Az and the Chik (tribes liv-
ing in Tannu Tuva), crossed the Sayan mountains (the Kögmen yïs in Turkic
texts), and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Yenisey Kyrgyz. The Kyrgyz ruler,
Bars beg, fell in battle; his descendants were to remain vassals of the ‘kaghan of
the Ötükän mountains’ for several generations.
In 711 the Türk forces, led by Tonyuquq, crossed the Mongolian Altai,
clashed with the Türgesh army in Dzungaria, on the River Boluchu, and won
an outright victory. Tonyuquq forced a crossing over the Syr Darya in pursuit
of the retreating Türgesh, leading his troops to the border of Tokharistan.
However, in battles with the Arabs near Samarkand the Türk forces were cut
off from their rear services and suffered considerable losses; they had difficulty
in returning to the Altai in 713–714. There they reinforced the army that was
preparing to besiege Beshbalyk (Pei-t’ing). The siege was unsuccessful and, after
losing in six skirmishes, the Türks raised it.5
The empire in crisis

These military defeats changed the situation drastically, serving as a signal for
formerly submissive tribes to revolt. The Kitans and the Khi seceded; and first
the Karluks then all the Tokuz-Oghuz tribes revolted, the latter representing a
particularly serious threat to the Türk Empire. The Toguz-Oghuz were de-
feated in five battles in 715, but the revolt was not crushed. The following year,
the great irkin of the Bayirku tribes fell on Kapagan’s headquarters on the Tola
river. Although the attack was repulsed, Kapagan himself was ambushed and
killed.
Kapagan had tried to change the existing order of succession, according
to which he would be succeeded by the elder son of Ilterish, known as ‘the
shad of the Tardush’ since 698, who in turn would be followed by his younger
brother Kül-tegin. At the time of Kapagan’s death, both were renowned gen-
erals. Nevertheless, with the help of Kapagan’s retainers, his son Bögü came to
power. After this flagrant breaking of the law, Kül-tegin, who was the hero of
many battles and very popular with the forces, and enjoyed the support of all
the influential Türk families, attacked the headquarters. He killed Bögü kaghan
and many of Kapagan’s retainers, and then set on the throne his elder brother,
known as Bilge kaghan (‘Wise kaghan’), who ruled from 716 to 734.
Bilge kaghan mounted the throne at a time when the empire founded
by his father was on the verge of collapse. The western lands seceded for
good; and immediately after the death of Kapagan, the Türgesh leader Suluk
339

proclaimed himself kaghan. The Kitan and Tatabi tribes refused to pay tribute;
the Oghuz revolt continued; and the Türk tribes themselves began to rebel.
Feeling unable to control the situation, Bilge kaghan offered the throne to his
brother, Kül-tegin. The latter, however, would not go against the legal order of
succession. Then, at last, Bilge decided to act. Kül-tegin was put at the head of
the army, and the septuagenarian Tonyuquq, who enjoyed great authority
among the tribes, became the kaghan’s closest adviser. Bilge and Kül-tegin now
attacked the Uighurs; the rout of the Uighurs broke the resistance of the Tokuz-
Oghuz tribes and the rich spoils heartened the Türk forces. In the summer of
718 Bilge crushed the Tatabi and the Kitans and regained possession of the
Khingan. The detachment led by Tudun Yamtar, one of Bilge’s captains, at-
tacked the Karluk tribes, forced them to submit and took vast herds of horses,
which were distributed among the tribes loyal to Bilge.
In 718 those Türk and Oghuz tribes which had fled to China during the
time of internecine strife in 716 returned to Bilge’s empire. The kaghan’s army
became so strong that he decided to resume the war with China, his southern
neighbour, which had offered help and protection to his adversaries. In the
face of determined opposition from his chief counsellor, Tonyuquq, however,
Bilge sent an embassy to Ch’ang-an instead, proposing a peace treaty. The
emperor Hsüan-tsung, who had pacified his border with Tibet, refused to ne-
gotiate with the Türks in the hope of destroying their state, which had never-
theless been weakened by the internecine strife.
The last war with T’ang China

In 720 the Chinese army, whose main attacking force was the cavalry of its
confederates – the Basmil, Kitan and Tatabi tribes – advanced on the Ötükän
mountains in two directions. Tonyuquq’s army met the Basmils and defeated
them, taking Beshbalyk as they pursued the defeated tribe. The Türks then
swiftly invaded Gansu and annihilated the Chinese garrison in the vicinity of
Liang chou. The army of Bilge kaghan, which had participated in the victory
over the Basmils and in the Gansu campaign, wheeled east and inflicted further
severe defeats on the Kitans and Tatabi. In 721 Hsüan-tsung immediately ac-
cepted the new peace proposals.
The war of 720–721 was the last between the Second Türk Empire and
China. The Chinese emperor no longer dared to disturb the peace, and Bilge
kaghan broke with the policy of his predecessor, Kapagan. He strove consist-
ently to expand trade with China and to establish family ties with the imperial
House of Li, conserving the territorial status quo and the policy of non-inter-
ference in each other’s internal affairs. It should be noted that Hsüan-tsung
paid dearly for peace on his northern frontier, a fact that Bilge kaghan does not
fail to mention in Kül-tegin’s epitaph: ‘I made peace with the Chinese people;
340

The Türk Empire
they gave us gold, silver and silk in abundance’ (KT, S 4–5). In the year 727
alone, the Chinese emperor gave Bilge kaghan a ‘present’ of 100,000 pieces of
silk in return for a symbolic ‘tribute’ of 30 horses. And it was not until 734 that
the Chinese participated in a war between the Kitans and the Tatabi, siding
with the latter; Bilge kaghan, fearing for his eastern frontier, fought against the
Tatabi and defeated them. There were no direct confrontations between Chi-
nese and Türk forces.
The winter of 723–724 was a hard one for the Türks: they lost most of
their cattle because of the icy conditions. In spring the war with the Oghuz
and the Tatars broke out afresh, imperilling the gains of previous years. It took
a supreme effort to defeat the rebels and ensure political stability within the
kaghanate. In 727 Bilge kaghan refused to ally himself with the Tibetans against
China; he was rewarded with concessions from the imperial government in
Ch’ang-an, allowing an expansion of the frontier trade between the nomads
and Chinese merchants. From then on, gifts of huge amounts of silk arrived
annually.
In 732 Bilge kaghan entered the sixteenth year of his reign. ‘By the grace
of Heaven and because of good fortune and propitious circumstances, I brought
back to life the dying people, the naked people I clothed, and I made the few
many’ (KT, E 29).6
The final decade

Kül-tegin died in 731. Bilge kaghan did not long outlive his brother – in 734 he
was poisoned by one of his retainers. Near the River Orkhon, in the
Koshotsaidam basin between the mountains, monuments were erected to both
brothers with inscriptions that chronicled the turbulent history of the Second
Türk Empire (see below).
Bilge’s successors, his short-lived sons Izhan kaghan (734–739) and Tengri
kaghan (740–741), did not depart from their father’s policies, but with Tengri
kaghan’s death, in 741, the empire began to disintegrate. Apanaged rulers of
the kaghan’s House of Ashina were less and less able to cope with central power.
The young Tengri kaghan was killed by his uncle, Kutlug yabghu, who seized
power. War broke out with the tribal groups of the Uighurs, the Basmils and
the Karluks, and Kutlug yabghu and his followers perished in the fighting. In
745 the Second Türk Empire ceased to exist. The Türk tribes, who retained
part of their lands, played no significant role in succeeding events. The last
reference to them in Chinese sources relates to the year 941.7
6. English translation: Sinor, 1990, p. 313.

341

FIG. 1. Mongolia. FIG. 2. Mongolia.

Stele with the Bugut inscription. Stele with the Bugut inscription.
(Photo: © S. G. Klyashtorny.) (Photo: © S. G. Klyashtorny.)
FIG. 3. Mongolia. Bulgan aimak. Obverse of the stele.

(Photo: © S. G. Klyashtorny.)
342

The Türk Empire
FIG. 4. Mongolia. Bulgan aimak. Reverse of the stele.

Epigraphic memorials of the Türks

Türk stone inscriptions date back to the second half of the sixth century, when a
stele in honour of the Türk kaghan Taspar (Taghpar in Harmatta’s reading) was
erected, with inscriptions in Sogdian and Sanskrit (the Bugut inscription, 582)
(Figs. 1 and 2).8 However, the heyday of ancient Türk epigraphy – in the original
runic script, which was invented no later than the middle of the seventh century,
and in the Türk language – was the era of the Second Türk Empire. The earliest
example appears to be the memorial from Choiren, which dates from between
687 and 691; the inscription tells of the Türks’ return to their lands in northern
Mongolia and of their victory over the Tokuz-Oghuz. The largest and most
significant memorials are the Koshotsaidam steles (monuments in honour of
Kül-tegin and Bilge kaghan, who died in 731 and 734 respectively), written on
behalf of Bilge kaghan by his nephew Yollyg-tegin; and the memorial written by
Tonyuquq after 716 and subsequently incorporated in his burial mound.
Further inscriptions of this kind are known to us; these historical and
biographical texts are memorials or eulogies for the living, and they tell of the
deeds of Türk kaghans and their retainers. They combine descriptions of events
that involved the hero of the inscription (or his ancestors) with an exposition
of the political beliefs and ideas of the author of the text; they may be seen as
‘declarations of intent’ and to some extent were used as propaganda (Figs. 3
and 4). Even more common were memorial inscriptions on rock faces, some of
8. Klyashtorny and Livshits, 1972, pp. 69–102.
343

FIG. 5. Mongolia. Gobi-Altai aimak.

which proclaimed the author’s right to use the adjacent pasture or site (Figs. 5
and 6).9
The Türgesh state

At the end of the seventh century Wu-chih-lê (699–706), leader of the Türgesh
tribes that lived in the western T’ien Shan mountains, had driven the T’ang
protégé Böri-shad out of Semirechye and established his own power over the
9. Klyashtorny, 1975, pp. 119–28.
344

The Türk Empire
FIG. 6. Mongolia. Gobi-Altai aimak.

territory from Chach (present-day Tashkent) to Dzungaria. ‘Major’ and ‘mi-

nor’ headquarters for the kaghan were established in Nevaket on the rivers
Chu and Ili, and the country was divided into 20 districts ruled by the kaghan’s
stewards (tutuk), each of whom was able to muster between 5,000 and 7,000 war-
riors. Wu-chih-lê assumed the traditional title of the Western Türk states,
‘kaghan of the People of Ten Arrows’; and also the new title, ‘Türgesh kaghan’
– copper coins were now minted in Nevaket bearing this legend in Sogdian.
Wu-chih-lê’s successor, Sakal kaghan (706–711), met with opposition from tribal
leaders who supported his younger brother’s claim to the throne. The Eastern
Türk leader, Kapagan kaghan, intervened in the civil unrest, and after the defeat
345

of the Türgesh forces in a battle on the River Boluchu in 711 both brothers
were killed. What was left of the Türgesh army was rallied by the commander,
Suluk Chabish-chor (Su-lu in Chinese sources), and retreated beyond the Syr
Darya into Tokharistan. It was not until 715 that Suluk, having proclaimed
himself Türgesh kaghan, was able to return and restore the independence of
his state.
Throughout his reign (715–738) Suluk Chabish-chor had to fight on two
fronts. From East Turkestan he was threatened by pretenders to the throne
who belonged to the family of the Western Türk kaghans and were supported
by Chinese troops. Suluk obviated this danger by means of diplomacy (mar-
riage to the daughter of one of the pretenders) and military action (laying siege
to the capital of the T’ang governor of Kucha in 726–727). By marrying the
daughters of the Eastern Türk leader Bilge kaghan and the king of Tibet, the
Türgesh kaghan firmly consolidated his eastern flank.
From the west the Türgesh were threatened by the conquering Arab ar-
mies, who crossed the Syr Darya (Jaxartes) several times in 714–715. This com-
pelled Suluk to join battle with the Arabs, along with other Central Asian states
striving to retain their independence. In 720–721 Suluk’s general, Küli-chor
(Kursul in Arab sources), led successful military actions against the Arabs in
Sogdiana. In 728–729 Suluk supported the anti-Arab revolts of the citizenry of
Samarkand and Bukhara, and drove the Arabs from Sogdiana. It was not until
732 that the Arab governor defeated the Türgesh, near Tavavis, and entered
Bukhara. In 737 the Türgesh crushed the Arabs in Tokharistan, but were sub-
sequently defeated. When Suluk returned to Nevaket the following year, he
was killed by one of his retainers; and in 739 the Arabs captured and executed
Küli-chor.
The death of Suluk and the brief reign of his son, Kut-chor kaghan (T’u-
ho-hsien in Chinese sources) (738–739), marked the beginning of a 20-year
struggle for power between the leading members of the ‘yellow’ and ‘black’
tribes, which polarized the Türgesh tribal group. Taking advantage of the inter-
necine strife in 748, the T’ang governor of Kucha led an invasion force into
Semirechye, capturing Suyab, one of its most important towns. In 751, how-
ever, the Chinese forces were defeated by the Arabs and the Türks near Talas,
and they fled Semirechye. The kaghans of the ‘black’ Türgesh seized power
(749–753) but they were unable to end the internal conflicts. In 766 the Karluks,
who had consolidated their hold on Semirechye after being driven from Mon-
golia in 746–747 by the Uighurs, killed the warring Türgesh kaghans, and the
Karluk yabghu became the founder of a new state in the T’ien Shan moun-
tains.10
10. Chavannes, 1903, pp. 279–303.
346

The Türk Empire
The Uighurs and the Karluks

The fall of the Second Türk Empire and the revolt of the Uighur, Basmil and
Karluk tribes had created a political vacuum in the steppe. The struggle to obtain
power and the title of kaghan, and to set up a new state, intensified between
the Basmils (whose leader was proclaimed khan) and the Uighurs. The Uighurs
emerged victorious. Their allies, the Karluks, who had gained no advantage
from their participation in the war with the Türks, then allied themselves with
the Türgesh, but, failing to defeat the Uighurs in battle, fled to the T’ien Shan
mountains in 746. The following year, the Karluks, with the support of the
Tatar tribes living in eastern Mongolia, attacked the Uighurs once again, but
without success. In 744, with the Uighur tribes’ proclamation of Kül-bilge
kaghan as their leader, the Yaghlakar dynasty came to power in the steppe.
Meanwhile in Central Asia a powerful state of Turkic-speaking nomads – that
of the Uighurs – came into being.11
11. Klyashtorny, 1982, pp. 335–66.
347

15
THE WESTERN REGIONS (HSI-YÜ)

UNDER THE T’ANG EMPIRE
AND THE KINGDOM OF TIBET*
Mu Shun-ying and Wang Yao
Three great empires

The seventh century is of particular significance for the political history of
Central Asia. In its first quarter it witnessed the rise of three great powers,
each of which was to have a major impact on the course of events in the two
succeeding centuries. In the east, China came under one of its most powerful
and prosperous dynasties, the T’ang (618–907). At the foot of the towering
peaks of the Himalayas, the ancient Tibetan people, the Bod (known as the
Tu-po or more commonly as the Tu-fan in Chinese records, and as Tüpüt in
Sogdian and Turkic), emerged victorious from their age-old inter-tribal ri-
valry and were quick to establish a unified monarchy of the Yar-klung-spu-
rgyal family. In the west a series of historical events led to the sudden rise of
the Arabs.
By a curious coincidence, all three empires were founded almost simul-
taneously. In the 640s the T’ang came to dominate the oasis states of the Tarim.
From the 660s onwards, Tibet, having established itself firmly in the Koko
Nor area (now Qinghai province in China), began to dispute supremacy over
the Gansu corridor and the Tarim with the T’ang. This rivalry, which lasted
more than two centuries, brought several other peoples in this area into the
conflict. Thus, a multilateral relationship between the T’ang, the Tibetans and
many Türk confederations evolved in the Western Regions (Hsi-yü), which
reflected a motley combination of interests. At the same time, the Arabs ac-
complished their conquest of the Sasanian Empire in 651 and continued to push
eastwards.
One hundred years later, in 751, the Arabs under the command of Ziyad
b. Salih, in alliance with the Karluks and other Turkic peoples, defeated the
Chinese forces under the military governor Kao Hsien-chih near the Talas river.
* See Map 6.
349

In itself this battle was not of great importance, but the outbreak of the An Lu-
shan rebellion (755–763) in China proper, and the consequent withdrawal of
the Chinese armies from the Western Regions, left the Arabs in a strong posi-
tion to extend their influence in Central Asia. However, according to the evi-
dence of both Chinese and Tibetan sources, any further Arab advance seems to
have been temporarily checked by the Tibetans.1
The Western Regions under the Early T’ang

Before the establishment of the T’ang dynasty in 618, the Eastern and Western
Türks dominated the vast expanse of the Central Asian hinterland. The East-
ern Türk kaghan Hsieh-li (619–634) made repeated incursions into China and
even reached the vicinity of Ch’ang-an, the T’ang capital, in 626; but the tide of
events then began to turn in favour of the T’ang. In 630 Hsieh-li was taken
prisoner by the T’ang expeditionary forces, thus ending the power of the East-
ern Türk Kaghanate for over half a century. In the same year, the Western Türk
kaghan, T’ung yabghu (619–630), was murdered. His death triggered off a se-
ries of quarrels and bitter rivalries among the Western Türks. Most of the no-
madic tribes on the steppe, together with the oasis city-states of the Tarim ba-
sin, were caught in the conflict between the T’ang and the Western Türks,
changing their allegiance as the situation required.
It is no accident that the first oasis city-state that the emperor T’ai-tsung
(627–649), the real founder of the T’ang dynasty, intended to conquer was
Kocho: located in the Turfan depression, a strategic location on the Silk Route,
this oasis was the closest to Ch’ang-an as well as the largest of the Western
Regions. Ever since the first century B.C., it had been more influenced by Chi-
nese culture than other oasis states. From 502 to 640, it was even ruled by the
royal House of Ch’ü, of Chinese origin. In 638 the king of Kocho, an ally of
the Western Türks, was encouraged by them to defy the T’ang. The emperor
T’ai-tsung dispatched an expeditionary army against the king. The Western
Türks, whose troops were stationed at Beshbalyk (present-day Jimsa in
Xinjiang), an important city to the north of Turfan, had promised to assist Kocho
in case of attack, but fled upon the arrival of the Chinese. In 640 Kocho was
forced to surrender. The occupation of Kocho not only inaugurated the Chi-
nese penetration of the Western Regions, but also increased tension between
the Chinese and the Western Türks. The T’ang set up Hsi-chou Prefecture in
Kocho and T’ing-chou Prefecture in Beshbalyk in 640.
T’ang policy after the conquest of Kocho was aimed at dominating all
the Western Regions. In spite of opposition by the Western Türks, the king of
Karashahr acknowledged T’ang rule in 644. Two years later, Haripuspa, who
1. Beckwith, 1980, pp. 30–8; 1987; Bacot et al., 1940–46; Chang, 1959–60.
350

The Western Regions (Hsi-yü) under the T’ang Empire and the kingdom of Tibet
had succeeded Suvarnadeva (624–646) as ruler of Kucha, submitted to the

Western Türk Kaghanate. In response, the T’ang army crossed the T’ien Shan
and captured the city. Most of the other oasis states hastened to offer their
submission. On the death of Emperor T’ai-tsung in 649, Ho-lu, kaghan of the
Western Türks, sought to reassert his supremacy over the Western Regions.
After a campaign lasting seven years (651–657), the T’ang defeated Ho-lu and
the Western Türks ceased to exist as a political force.
A D M I N I S T R AT I V E SYSTEM
To rule the newly conquered areas, the T’ang created a double administrative
system, which took account of local conditions. Three oases in the eastern part
of the region, where Chinese influence was most evident – Hami, Turfan and
Jimsa – were incorporated into the Chinese civil administration. The discovery
of many administrative documents bearing official seals has provided concrete
evidence of T’ang rule in the Turfan district.2 Nomadic tribes and city-states
that had pledged allegiance to the T’ang court were allowed to maintain their
privileged status in their localities in accordance with a system called chi-mi.
This was an institution by which the conquered rulers were ‘restrained’ (chi),
and ‘won over’ (mi) by the honour of being invested with a title and the con-
ferment of an embroidered silk robe, together with the standard, drums and
horns as the emblems of mandate.
The chi-mi system was an important means of resolving conflicts be-
tween the T’ang court and the various nationalities under their rule. The T’ang
usually appointed representative members of those ruling clans, or hereditary
royal families, who had pledged allegiance to government posts and bestowed
on them honourable ranks or titles. In principle, all the original rulers within
the chi-mi governorates or prefectures were allowed to continue to reside in
and oversee the domestic affairs of their districts. For example, the T’ang set
up for the nomadic Western Türks two chi-mi Protectorates-General – those
of Meng-chih and K’un-ling – with the subordinate Türk chieftains appointed
as khans and protectors-general. Four chi-mi governorates were also estab-
lished for the sedentary inhabitants of the oasis states.
The officials in charge of the various chi-mi administrations were all
members of the local minority élites. For example, King Su-chi (son of
Haripuspa) and King Fu-shih-hsiung were nominated governors-general of
Kucha and of Pi-sha (Visha in Khotanese, Vijaya in Tibetan) in Khotan respec-
tively. Chi-mi administrators had to pledge allegiance to the T’ang, accepting
the patents issued to them by their Chinese overlords. Their task was to guar-
antee the security of the empire’s borders, while the T’ang government sta-
tioned troops only in key locations, namely the ‘Four Garrisons’. All chi-mi
2. Tu-lu-fan chu-tu wen-shu, 1985–92.
351

administrators regularly had to pay taxes to the T’ang court. The tribute in-
cluded horses, sheep, camels, eagles, the skins of leopards and martens, rare
birds, jade, agate, pearls, shui-ching (‘germ of water’ crystal), gold and silver
wares and various kinds of woollen blankets. Of all the items of tribute, the
horses from the Western Regions were the most important.
To control the chi-mi governorates the T’ang set up a combined civil and
military administration, the Protectorate-General of An-hsi (i.e. ‘Pacifying the
West’). It was first established immediately after the conquest of Kocho in 640
and moved to Kucha after the suppression of the revolt of Ho-lu in 657. The
Four Garrisons – Kucha, Su-le (Kashgar), Khotan and Yen-chih (Agni in
Tokharian, Karashahr in Turkic) – came under the jurisdiction of this Protec-
torate-General. From 679 to 719 Suyab was listed among the Four Garrisons
instead of Yen-chih. It should be noted that the An-hsi Protectorate-General,
with its Four Garrisons, was in control of all the region’s military and admin-
istrative affairs. In 702 the Protectorate-General of Pei-t’ing was established at
Beshbalyk to strengthen the T’ang position to the north of the T’ien Shan (the
Celestial Mountains).
T H E T I B E TA N CHALLENGE
After 659 the T’ang faced their most powerful opponent in the Tarim when the
Tibetans appeared on the stage to challenge T’ang supremacy. Allying them-
selves with the revived Eastern Türks and various tribes of the resurgent West-
ern Türks, the Tibetans invaded the Tarim and repeatedly occupied the oasis
states. Under their attacks, after 663, the Chinese were more than once forced
to withdraw and to abandon An-hsi with its Four Garrisons to the Tibetans.
At the peak of its power, the territory controlled by Tibet ranged from the
T’ien Shan in the north to T’ien-chu (the Chinese name for present-day India)
in the south, and from the present western Gansu province and Sichuan in the
east to eastern Central Asia. In 692 the T’ang finally defeated the Tibetans,
restored the Protectorate-General of An-hsi in Kucha and recovered the Four
Garrisons. At this time a Chinese force of some 30,000 men was stationed in
the Western Regions. The presence of a permanent garrison indicates the threat
posed by the Tibetans and the T’ang court’s need to keep control of the Four
Garrisons and the route by which they were supplied.
SOCIETY, R E L I G I O N A N D C U LT U R E
Under the Early T’ang, the Turkic tribes had a nomadic economy with the
corresponding customs and way of life. Later they became semi-nomadic, trans-
migrating between winter quarters and seasonal pastures.
Under T’ang rule, the sedentary population in the area south of the
T’ien Shan adopted new customs. In Kucha, for example, people had their
352

hair cut short around the top of their heads – the only exception was the
king, who, moreover, wore a hat and robe made of brocade, and a bejewelled
belt. At the start of each year, there were games involving goats, horses and
fighting camels. These festivities lasted for seven days, with predictions about
the year’s harvests based on the results of such fights. The ‘sprinkling with
cold water’ was a winter solstice dance. In the tenth month of the year, par-
ticipants had to wear masks, paint their faces to resemble animals or disguise
themselves as ghosts, leaping about to the clamour of drums and other musi-
cal instruments. They splashed cold water on each other and over passers-by
in order to drive out devils. The local population were adherents of Bud-
dhism (see pages 364–5), especially the Hinayana school. Every year, on the
occasion of certain Buddhist festivals, people would gather to hear the expo-
sition of Buddhist doctrines; statues of the Buddha were taken from the mon-
asteries and carried on a ‘parade of Buddhas’, often drawing thousands of
participants.
Of all the cultural activities in Kucha, music and dance seem to have had
the greatest importance and influence and to have enjoyed the greatest popu-
larity among the people. The music and dance of Kucha were celebrated by
many T’ang poets. ‘Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Dress’, a song and dance of
Central Asian origin, was probably brought into Ch’ang-an, the T’ang capital,
by way of Kucha. The best known of all was the popular music of Western
Liang, a town of the Gansu corridor (now Wu-wei in Gansu province): it was
actually an amalgam of the music of Kucha with traditional Chinese music. After
being introduced into the two T’ang capitals, Ch’ang-an and Lo-yang, the songs
and dances of the population of the Western Regions also became very popu-
lar. Even the so-called Ta-yüeh (Grand Music), played at the imperial court,
was mixed with Kuchean music and used Kuchean musical instruments, as re-
corded in the T’ang shu. The Kuchean four-stringed bent-neck lute, the oboe,
the flute and the drum were among the most popular instruments adopted by
Kuchean musicians.
Under the influence of the musical styles of Kucha and that of Sogdiana,
Chinese T’ang music began to sound like that of the city-states of Central Asia.
Following the fashion, many members of the imperial family and of the aris-
tocracy took to playing drums of the type widely used in musical perform-
ances in the Western Regions. During that time, almost all the famous musi-
cians and dancers in the T’ang capital – for example, the Kuchean musician Po
Ming-ta – were of Central Asian origin. As for the dancing girls, with their
long hair, fluttering sleeves and gauzy scarves, they excelled in beautiful dances
with whirling gyrations ‘as swift as the wind’.
In the kingdom of Khotan, the people were pious and enthusiastic Bud-
dhists and it seems likely that Khotan had already adopted Buddhism some
time before the first century. Hundreds of saNgharamas (monasteries), study-
ing the Mahayana doctrine, were active centres of religious and literary life,
353

engaged in copying Buddhist Sanskrit and Khotanese Saka manuscripts, trans-

lating and adapting Indian poetry and religious literature, and so on. Khotan
was always attractive to Chinese pilgrims seeking Buddhist scripts.
The Khotanese paid particular attention to etiquette. Whenever they sent
a letter, they would hold it over their heads to show respect for the recipient.
They used wood to make pens, and jade to make seals. The people of Khotan
excelled in woollen rugs and carpets and silk tapestries of fine workmanship,
with figurative and floral motifs. They were also, like the people of Kucha,
devoted to singing and dancing.
Many areas of Central Asia maintained their own distinctive styles and
considerably influenced the development of T’ang culture. The Barbarian (Hu)
styles constituted a prominent element in T’ang culture and art; and Barbarian
and Turkic costumes became fashionable in Ch’ang-an and Lo-yang, with even
the imperial family and the aristocracy adopting the fashion. Many well-known
painters came from the Western Regions. Among the painters of the seventh
century, a father and son from the Yü-chi family – Yü-chi Pa-chih-na and Yü-
ch’ih I-sen (Visha Irasangä in Khotanese) – were the best known. Famous as
‘Yü-chi the Elder’ and ‘Yü-chi the Younger, they were members of the Khotan
royal family. Yü-chi the Younger specialized in painting Buddhas and foreign-
ers; a painting of a devaraja by this master has survived.3
The frequent passage of caravans along the Silk Route had not only stimulated
trade, but also promoted the exchange between East and West of scientific,
artistic and cultural achievements, as documented by abundant archaeological
evidence. The most important material remains found in the tombs at Astana
and Karakhoja (two cemeteries in the suburbs of Kocho) are Chinese docu-
ments, silk fabrics, clay sculptures, wooden figures (Fig. 1), paintings (Fig. 2),
pottery and woodwork, building equipment, dried fruit and dried foods, Byz-
antine gold and Persian silver coins, as well as T’ang copper coins. Although
most of these relics are damaged and incomplete, they are authentic products
of the T’ang period. In the paintings on silk, for example, the ‘plump women’
are typical of the peak period of T’ang art. Many of the Confucian classics
were found in the tombs around Kocho.
Archaeological evidence shows that elaborate funerals were held for the
dead. The tombs of the period usually had one or more chambers, doors and
paved approaches. In the case of government officials and persons of impor-
tance, the funerary objects included wooden models of chambers and pavil-
ions, clay figurines representing male and female attendants, and men and
women riding horses or playing polo. The same group of graves (i.e. tombs at
3. Liu, 1969; Samolin, 1964; Tikhvinskiy and Litvinsky, 1988; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
354

FIG. 1. Kocho. Seated Buddha. Wood.

(Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.)
Astana and Karakhoja) also yielded painted clay tomb-guardians or guardian

genii, and figures showing the fabulous creatures of composite monsters with
both human and animal features. A T’ang copper coin, a Persian silver coin or
a Byzantine gold coin was frequently placed in the mouth of the deceased and
the face was covered with a special type of brocade called fu-mien.
355

FIG. 2. Kocho. Head of Buddha. Wall painting.

(Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.)
From both the archaeological evidence and the literary sources, it is clear
that there were workshops in the oasis states specializing in the production
and manufacture of textiles, paper, wine, pottery, wooden objects, utensils,
coaches and horse trappings. There were also grain-depots, firewood merchants
and jewellers’ shops. In the markets, people traded in silks, cattle, horses,
camels and slaves. A new wine-making grape, the famous ‘mare teat’ or ‘horse-
nipple’ grape, was introduced from Kocho to China, and with it, knowledge of
356

the art of making grape wine in ‘eight colours’ of this highly aromatic bever-
age. Another novelty was cotton cloth (tie-pu), spun and woven by the natives
of Turfan.
Silk had long been China’s traditional export. Chinese documents un-
earthed from ancient tombs in Turfan show that Chinese silk was then avail-
able in all Central Asian markets. Under the T’ang, the silk industry made
important progress and textile centres began to appear in the Western Regions.
There were special brocades from Kucha, Kashgar and Kocho and Persian
dibadj-brocade was also on sale.4 A batch of T’ang silk products, discovered in
tombs at Turfan, includes brocade, damask, lute-strings, silk gauze, and printed
and embroidered silk fabrics. The bright colours and unique designs of this
superb collection are very impressive. Advanced Chinese techniques in textile-
production, paper-making and printing were transferred to Western Asia and
eventually reached Europe.
The art of paper manufacture was first introduced from China to Kocho
(Turfan), and Chinese paper was imported to Samarkand as early as 650. Among
the T’ang soldiers captured by the Arabs at the battle of Talas in 751 were crafts-
men skilled in the manufacture of paper, textiles, and gold and silver ornaments.5
According to the Arabic sources, the paper-makers among the Chinese prison-
ers were taken to Samarkand to start a local production. Samarkand became a
centre for paper-making after the eighth century and thence the paper industry
passed to Baghdad.6
BUDDHISM
The dominant religion of the period was Buddhism. From the third to the ninth
century, a vigorous Buddhist civilization developed in all the ancient oasis king-
doms, such as Khotan, Kucha, Agni and Kocho. Buddhist monasteries and
temples were built with donations from members of the local royal family,
aristocrats, government officials and other rich people. The kings of the vari-
ous oasis states became ardent patrons of Buddhism (see Chapter 18).
During the 630s and 640s, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hsüan-tsang
made the round trip to India by way of the Western Regions. In the account of
his travels, he notes that in the areas south of the T’ien Shan, some places have
‘a dozen or so chia-lans and about 2,000 monks’, while other places have ‘more
than 100 chia-lans and over 5,000 monks’.7 (Chia-lan is a Chinese translitera-
tion of the Sanskrit word saNgharama, meaning ‘Buddhist monastery’.) Hsüan-
4. Tu-lu-fan chu-tu wen-shu, 1985–90, Vol. 1, pp. 181, 187; Vol. 2, pp. 18, 60.
5. Du Huan, ‘Travels’, in Tu Yu, 1988, chapter on the Frontier Defence. On this work, see Rotours,
des, 1932, pp. 84, 99, 149.
6. Maillard, 1973; 1983; Litvinsky (ed.), 1992; Yaldiz, 1987.
7. Hsüan-tsang, 1985, Ch. 1, pp. 48, 54. See also Litvinsky (ed.), 1992.
357

tsang also remarks that Hinayana Buddhism is prevalent in Kucha, while the
Mahayana is represented principally in Yarkand and Khotan.
Buddhism was also widespread among the Türks. The Western Türk
kaghan, T’ung yabghu, was converted by an Indian monk called Prabhaka-
ramitra. Several other minor Türk rulers also showed respect for, and devotion
to, Buddhism.
Most Buddhist monasteries and temples in the Western Regions were built
along streams in mountain valleys, or in cave-temples. The best-known of these
are the Kyzyl in present-day Bay, the Kumtura, the Kyzyl-kargha and Simsim
cave-temples in the Kucha area and the Bezeklyk and Toyoq cave-temples in
Turfan. In addition, there are large Buddhist temples and stupas built on flat
FIG. 3. Kyzyl. Wall painting. (Photo: © R.M.N. Paris.)
358

FIG. 4. Kumtura. Bodhisattva. Musée Guimet, Paris.

ground, such as the ruins of the Su-bashi monastery in Kucha, the large mon-
astery of Miran, and Ming-oi at Karashahr, and monasteries at Kocho and Yar
in the Turfan area. More than 1,000 Buddhist caves have been located in present-
day Xinjiang region, most of them with painted murals. For example, the walls
and ceilings of every cave in the Kyzyl cave-temple have murals illustrating
Buddhist legends and representing the finest expression of Graeco-Irano-
Gandharan art (Fig. 3). There are also styles typical of T’ang painting in the
murals of the Kumtura and Bezeklyk cave-temples. Some temples had clay fig-
ures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (Fig. 4), but most are badly damaged.
359

The kingdom of Tibet

As mentioned above, a Tibetan royal line sprang up in the Yarklung valley in
the first quarter of the seventh century. The power of this family – the Yar-
klung-spu-rgyal – spread rapidly to the north-west and the constant disputes
between the numerous warlike clans, fragmented throughout the rugged val-
leys of southern and central Tibet, were quickly ended. The Sumpa (Supi), the
Greater and Lesser Yang-t’ung (Upper and Lower Zhangzhung), the Bailan,
the A-zha (T’u-yü-hun) and other peoples of Chiang stock were annexed in
quick succession. The great reserve of energy of the Tibetan people, tempered
by an austere life in the wilderness, was set free and directed to politico-military
expansion. This extended over the vast space of the Koko Nor–Tibetan plateau
and lasted for some two and a half centuries.
Early in the seventh century, gNam-ri-srong-brtsan (c. 570–620), btsan-
po (chief) of the Yar-klung-spu-rgyal clan, had already laid the foundations of
the new monarchy by bringing more than a dozen clans under his rule.8 But
the feudal customs of the tribal chieftains and the noble clans remained semi-
autonomous, although incorporated into the comparatively centralized state
under the btsan-po. The death of gNam-ri-srong-brtsan provoked a rebellion.
The brilliant new era in Tibetan history was ushered in with the enthronement
of Srong-brtsan sgam-po (c. 620–649 or 650), gNam-ri’s son, as btsan-po. The
new ruler quickly unmasked all intrigues and quelled all signs of open revolt.
In 633 Srong-brtsan sgam-po moved the royal residence from Lho-kha to Lhasa
(‘place of the god’), a step of great strategic importance for the rapid expansion
that followed.
According to Tibetan and Chinese records, Srong-brtsan sgam-po under-
took sweeping legislative reforms with the assistance of his chief minister, sTong-
brtsan yul-bzung of the mGar clan (Lu-dong-zang in Chinese literature, ?–667).
sTong-brtsan served the btsan-po until the latter’s death, and his office of Great
Minister (blon-chen-bo) was filled by his descendants for decades. The btsan-
po, fully aware of the presence of four powers in the monarchy – majesty (nMga-
thang); magic (dBu-ring; literally, the ‘helmet’ worn by the btsan-po at sacred
functions); religious law (chos), which originated with the Bon-po; and political
authority (chab-srid), which the ruler exercised through his officials9 – set up
new political institutions. Many of them were modelled on the T’ang adminis-
trative system and regulations: the ministers had, for example, credentials and
emblems of rank. The Great Minister and the vice-Great Minister (blon-chen-
vog-ma) were followed by the ‘inner’ (nang-blon) and ‘outer’ (phyi-blon) min-
isters and a supreme judge (shal-ce-pa chen-po), each of whom had the insignia
8. There seem to have been 18 noble clans. A list of them is found in Bka’ thang sde lnga, c. 1285,
Vol. 5, fol. 7. See Tucci, 1949, pp. 737–8; Chang Kun, 1959–60, pp. 130–1, 153, note 10.
9. Hoffman, 1975, p. 389.
360

accorded to his position in the hierarchy. The ‘inner’ minister handled the inter-
nal affairs of the court while the ‘outer’ minister was in charge of relations be-
tween subordinate clans, external reconnaissance and the launching of punitive
expeditions. The supreme judge oversaw the administration of justice; his posi-
tion was similar to that of the ‘minister of punishment’ under the T’ang dy-
nasty. In addition, there was an official (mngan-pon) who was responsible for
the budget and a chief accountant (rtsis-pa-chen-po) in charge of book-keeping.
Laws were drawn up, some of which were designed for the half-cultivator/half-
herdsman activities of the population, as evidenced by the fragmentary Tibetan
scrolls of legal documents found in Dunhuang.10
One of the most important reforms seems to have been the integration of
the entire Tibetan territory, setting up 5 ru (dbu-ru, g’yo-ru, g’yas-ru, ru-lag
and sum-pa-ru) and 61 stong-sde as unified military and administrative units.11
This institution was supplemented by the oath-of-alliance, a characteristic prac-
tice among the Tibetans when subordinates pledged their loyalty to the nobles,
and the nobles in their turn swore allegiance to the monarch.
The king had subjects who were ‘near to his heart’ and others who were
‘distant from his heart’.12 They regularly exchanged oaths of fealty, accompa-
nied by a ceremony of sacrifice, a minor one every year and a major one every
three years. The words of the oaths, apart from expressing a feeling of awe for
the deities called as witnesses, stipulated the rights and obligations of all the
allied parties. This system – forming alliances by oaths and even concluding
treaties – brought great advantages to the newly founded Tibetan regime. Such
oath-taking rituals between the btsan-po and his ministers appear to have be-
come a fixed procedure in the political life of Tibetan society. In addition, when
the btsan-po proclaimed some important policy, the oath-taking ceremonies
were often used as the form for such proclamations. For example, Khri-srong
lde-brtsan (755–797) held such ceremonies twice during his reign to make public
the royal edict on advocating Buddhism. The ceremonies were also staged when
establishing relations with the T’ang or with neighbouring clans.
Judging from the lists of names attending several large-scale alliance cer-
emonies, and found in the Tibetan chronicle discovered in Dunhuang, the sys-
tem seems to have been instrumental in realizing the dynastic aspirations of
Srong-brtsan sgam-po and his successors. The essence of these alliances was
their military strength: by joining the alliance, every clan inevitably became a
military unit. The stong-sde and ru were in effect the designations for different
clans under the command of the ‘Supreme Commander of all Troops under
Heaven’.
10. For example, ‘Compensation Law on Hunters who Injure a Third Party’, a Tibetan manu-
script in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris, Fond Pelliot tibétain, PT 1,071.
11. See Bacot et al., 1940–46; Uray, 1962, pp. 353–60.
12. Stein, 1972, p. 132.
361

R E L AT I O N S WITH T’ANG CHINA
In 634 the Tibetans established diplomatic relations with the T’ang court, send-
ing envoys and tribute. Soon afterwards, Srong-brtsan sgam-po was granted a
marriage with a Chinese princess, Weng-cheng Kung-chu, known to the
Tibetans as Mun-chhang Kong-cho; she was sent to Tibet in 641. Then fol-
lowed a period of friendship lasting two decades between the Tibetans and the
Chinese. Young people of the Tibetan nobility were sent to Ch’ang-an to study
the Chinese classics, Chinese books were brought to Lhasa and there were
constant attempts to translate and adapt Chinese classics and literary works
into Tibetan. Some of these translated texts can be found in the Tibetan manu-
script hoard of Dunhuang. At the same time other clans, including the Yangtong,
Türgesh, Bolor and Nepal, also built up relations with Tibet by marriage.
Within half a century the power of the Tibetan state had expanded west-
ward towards the Pamirs, eastward towards Su-chuan, Yun-nan (Nan-chao)
and northward to impinge upon the Koko Nor area and the Gansu corridor.
After 663 Tibetan military incursions, especially those led by the ministers and
commanders of the mGar clan (sometimes in alliance with the Western Türks),
posed a direct threat to, and exerted pressure on, the Chinese western and south-
western frontier. With the deliberate aim of counterbalancing Tibetan influ-
ence over the Western Regions, the T’ang court organized successive expedi-
tions against the Tibetans both in the Gansu corridor and in the Tarim (670,
675–679, 692). In 692 the T’ang decided to station some 30,000 ‘protective’
soldiers permanently at the Four Garrisons of the An-hsi Protectorate-General
to defend the Tarim area and the communication route against the Tibetans in
the south and their Türk ally in the north.
In 710 another Chinese princess, Chin-ch’eng (Kyim-sheng Kong-cho),
was granted to a Tibetan king. According to some sources, in 742 she gave
birth to a son who was destined to become king: this was Khri-srong lde-brtsan.
Under his reign, the Tibetans once again ruled over Gilgit (Drusha). The pos-
session of Gilgit and its neighbour Baltistan was of great strategic importance:
it allowed the Tibetans to control the main route from Kashgar through the
Mintaka pass to Kashmir and the Indus valley, and made it possible for Tibet
to establish direct contact with the Turkic tribes of the Tarim area and the Ar-
abs of Central Asia. At the same time, tribute was paid twice by the Pala kings
of Magadha and Bengal to Tibet, in 755 and in 756. According to some records,
the Tibetans may also have invaded India in search of relics of the Buddha in
Magadha and set up an iron column on the Ganges.13
In the reverse direction, the Tibetans took the opportunity of the An Lu-
shan rebellion (755–763) to invade China proper and even captured Ch’ang-
an, placing a boy-emperor on the T’ang throne for 15 days (in the eleventh
13. Stein, 1972, p. 64.
362

month of 763). Then, availing themselves of the withdrawal of the Chinese

garrison, they succeeded in occupying the Gansu corridor and the Four Garri-
sons of the An-hsi Protectorate-General (from 763 onwards). Thus the Tibet-
ans attained their long-desired objective: complete control of the route through
the Gansu corridor and the Tarim to Central Asia, Kashmir and northern In-
dia; and through modern Afghanistan to Transoxania and Iran. Their military
presence in these vast areas also allowed them, from 791 onwards, steadfastly
to oppose the challenge posed by the Arabs in Central Asia.
A G R I C U LT U R E , A N I M A L H U S B A N D RY A N D C R A F T S
Tibet’s high-altitude environment, with a diversity of local conditions, gave its

economic life a two-fold structure of cereal culture and animal husbandry, with
people frequently alternating between the two modes of life according to the
environment and the season. All political and cultural centres were located in
regions of intensive cultivation. The rise of the first Tibetan monarchy was
mainly due to its control of the most fertile cultivated regions, where highland
barley, wheat, buckwheat and beans were grown. Two yoked oxen were used
for ploughing, and irrigation and drainage techniques were known.
Tibetan pastoral stockbreeding was more advanced than agriculture.
Domesticated animals comprised yaks, a yak-and-cow hybrid, goats, sheep,
horses and a few pigs and dogs. The yak played (and continues to play) an
important role – indeed, one could go so far as to say that without the yak,
there would be no Tibetan culture. These animals roved around during spring
and summer in search of pasture and water, and during autumn and winter
they stayed on pastureland. Stories of levying ‘taxes for oxen legs’ reveal one
aspect of the development of animal husbandry.
Tibetan metallurgical techniques (in iron-working) had reached a very
high level, suggesting a development over several centuries, and the skills of
quench-hardening and grinding had already been mastered. Needless to say,
these techniques ensured an ample supply of suits of armour and sharp swords
for the troops. Even today, in their religious rituals, Tibetans still use large
bells and elaborate golden utensils cast during the time of the ancient Tibetan
monarchy.
In the mid-seventh century, in response to an earnest request from Srong-
brtsan sgam-po and his Chinese bride, Chinese craftsmen and artisans trained
in the manufacture of rice alcohol, mill-stones, paper, ink and glass were sent
to Tibet. Silk-worms and tea were also introduced. Simultaneously, Tibet fell
under the influence of its western and southern neighbours: from India, for
example, came astrological calculations and medical science.
363

A T I B E TA N SCRIPT AND GRAMMAR
The most outstanding attainments during the reign of Srong-brtsan sgam-po

were the creation of a Tibetan script and the introduction of Buddhism. Ac-
cording to Tibetan tradition, Srong-brtsan sgam-po sent a young minister named
Thon-mi-sambhota, sambhota of the Thon-mi clan, with other youngsters to
the Kashmir area to study languages. After many vicissitudes, the minister suc-
ceeded in learning Sanskrit and several other languages of ancient India; he
then made comparative studies of them before creating an alphabetic system
for the writing of documents. Thon-mi-sambhota is also credited with compil-
ing a Tibetan grammar on the Indian pattern.
INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM
Before the introduction of Buddhism the religion of the Tibetans was Bon-po,
which had many similarities with other primitive religions. Some scholars be-
lieve that Bon-po is a variant of Shamanism, while others insist on seeing the
country of Zhang-zhung as the home of the Bon-po religion. Since most of
Tibet’s neighbours were Buddhist, the influence of Buddhism was strong. The
introduction of Buddhism was marked especially by the occasion when Prin-
cess Weng-cheng of the T’ang dynasty and Princess Khri-brtsun, daughter of
the king of Nepal, each brought a figure of the Buddha into Lhasa. Both prin-
cesses were married to Srong-brtsan sgam-po and propagated Buddhism among
the Tibetans. After several generations, the aboriginal religions in the Tibetan
area were either gradually displaced or became integrated into the more sys-
tematic and better-knit philosophical system of Buddhism.
A decisive event in the history of Tibetan Buddhism was the adoption in
791 by King Khri-srong lde-brtsan of Indian Buddhism as the state religion. It
was the culmination of a process in which Indian Buddhism replaced not only
the Bon-po religion but also counteracted the influence in Tibet of the Chinese
Ch’an tradition of Buddhism. The main task was the translation of Buddhist
writings into Tibetan and the unification of Buddhist terms (the drafting of the
Mahavyut-patti in 814), an activity vigorously supported by the king. He was
greatly helped by one Shang-shi, who brought Buddhist books to Tibet from
China, and by gSal-snang, governor of a Tibetan province bordering Nepal
who not only brought in Indian books but also persuaded the great Mahayana
teacher Santiraksita to spend some time in Tibet. He ordained seven young
men as ‘the chosen ones’ (sad-mi) to continue his work. On Santiraksita’s de-
parture, his place was taken by the towering figure of Padmasambhava from
Uddiyana. During the same period, the great Buddhist temple of bSsam-yas
was completed (755?). Important though the advance of Buddhism was, it did
not go unhindered. Nor did it eliminate Bon-po beliefs, which were vigor-
ously supported by some factions of the feudal nobility.
364

THE FINAL YEARS
Since 789 the Tibetan troops had been pushing towards Beshbalyk and were in
fierce confrontation with the Uighurs. As the two sides plunged into an even-
handed war, their relations deteriorated irretrievably. The protracted warfare
constantly forced the Tibetan regime to enlist Nanshao troops from the Yunnan
to fight on the frontier. The Tibetans found themselves increasingly isolated,
however, and the domestic situation reached a crisis. Although the army re-
mained powerful, it could not avert the regime’s final defeat. The palace coup
of 846 revealed the serious corruption in the Tibetan ruling class, and frequent
factional conflicts and religious strife sapped the morale of its troops and caused
the collapse of the once powerful alliance of clans. Under the pressure of up-
risings by the nobles and the common people in various areas, as well as in
their own territory, Tibet’s glorious early history of more than two centuries
came to an end.
365

16
T O K H A R I S TA N A N D G A N D H A R A
UNDER WESTERN TÜRK RULE
(650–750)*
J. Harmatta and B. A. Litvinsky
Part One
H I S T O RY OF THE REGIONS
(J. Harmatta)
Trade, and above all the silk trade, played a major role in the economic life of
the states of Central Asia in the sixth and seventh centuries. Political and mili-
tary events, for both the sedentary and the nomadic peoples of the time, were
largely determined by the struggle for control of the Silk Route. About the
middle of the sixth century, the Hephthalite kingdom controlled (and derived
considerable economic benefit from) the most important sections of the route,
which led across Central Asia together with its branches from the Tarim basin
to the Aral Sea in the west and to Barygaza-Broach in the south.
At that very time, however, a powerful rival appeared in Central Asia, the
Türk tribal confederation (see Chapter 14). The Türks first came to the Chinese
frontier fortresses to barter their products for silk in c. 545 but they were re-
fused. After their military victory over the T’ieh-le and the Juan-juan, however,
they received great quantities of silk from the Chinese states. From 569 the
Chou court supplied the Türks with 100,000 bales of silk a year.1 As the Türks
accumulated great stores of the precious material, their efforts to develop the
silk trade and to gain control over the Silk Route became ever more aggressive.
As a consequence of their economic interests, and in alliance with the Sasanians
(who shared these interests in many respects), the Türks overthrew the
Hephthalite kingdom, but could only take possession of the territory of Sogdiana.
The Sasanians secured Chaganiyan, Sind, Bust, Rukhkhaj, Zabulistan,
Tokharistan, Turistan and Balistan as vassal kingdoms and principalities.2
Thus, the Türks took possession of great sections of the Silk Route in
Central Asia. In spite of their military success, the Türks and their Sogdian
merchants could only sell their silk stocks to the Sasanians, who refused, how-
ever, to establish trading relations with them. At first, the Türks tried to estab-
* See Map 7.
1. Ecsedy, 1968, pp. 131–80.
2. Harmatta, 1969, p. 401 and note 71.
367

lish trading relations with the Byzantines and to sell their silk stocks directly
to them. But the steppe route – starting from Sogdiana and crossing the deserts
to the north of the Caspian Sea and the Volga to reach Byzantine territory on
the south-eastern shores of the Black Sea, and thence by ship to Constantino-
ple – proved too difficult for the nomads. It was also unsafe because, from
their fortresses on the limes Sasanicus in the Caucasus, the Sasanians controlled
the land to the north up to the Kuban valley. Thus the Türks soon reverted to
military force. In 569–570 they launched a great military expedition against
Sasanian Iran in which they conquered the territory of the former Hephthalite
kingdom belonging to Iran in the form of vassal kingdoms and principalities.
(The Sasanians were powerless to resist because they were also engaged in war
against Byzantium.) Although there is no source that gives the details of the
war waged by the Türks against Iran in 569–570, it is clear from the phrase
‘Turkun wa Kabulu’ (The Türks and [the people of] Kabul), in a poem written
between 575 and 580 by the Arab poet al-cAsha, that the Türk army was oper-
ating in the Kabul–Gandhara area in 570.3
Later historical events show that the successor principalities of the
Hephthalite kingdom, formerly annexed to Iran, accepted Türk supremacy and
became vassals of the Western Türk kaghan. Thus, the southern section of the
Silk Route was opened to the Türks and the Sogdian silk merchants, who were
able to transport their merchandise to the harbours on the western shores of
India. The taking of the city of Bosporus by the Türk army in the Crimea in
these years was also designed to ensure control of the steppe Silk Route up to the
Black Sea.
The former Hephthalite territories were probably not yet under perma-
nent military occupation at this time. Since the Türk army consisted of tribal
military forces, the permanent garrisoning of troops would only have been
possible through the transfer of entire tribal groups and their livestock, pro-
viding them with an economic base. Thus, the Hephthalite principalities con-
tinued to exist as vassals of the Western Türk kaghans, while the Xingil dy-
nasty ruled in Kabul and Gandhara.
However, the Sasanians did not renounce their claim to eastern Iran nor
did the Hephthalites abandon their aspirations for independence. According
to the Pei-shih (Chapter XLIV, p. 4), both the Sasanians and the Hephthalites
revolted against Tardu (Ta-t’ou) kaghan in 581 or 582.4 Some years later, in
588–589, in a further war with the Hephthalites, the Sasanian army, under their
commander-in-chief Bahram Chobin, took Balkh and crossed the Amu Darya.
In the battle against the Türk army coming to the aid of the Hephthalites,
3. Harmatta, 1962, p. 133, note 5.

4. Chavannes, 1903, p. 50.
368

Tokharistan and Gandhara under Western Türk rule (650–750)
Bahram Chobin killed Ch’u-lo (*Cor), the Türk kaghan, with an arrow and
obtained great booty.5
Bahram Chobin’s military successes were to have no lasting consequences,
however, because shortly after his victory he revolted against the Sasanian
emperor, Hormizd IV (579–590). Nevertheless, Vistahm, who was appointed
governor of Khurasan by Khusrau II (590–628) after Bahram Chobin had been
defeated, compelled the Hephthalite rulers Shaug and Pariowk to acknowl-
edge his supremacy. Later, in 595 or 596, however, Vistahm was treacherously
murdered by Pariowk.
The troubled years between 591 and 596 led to the Western Türk kaghans’
decision to change the system of vassal Hephthalite principalities in eastern
Iran and to submit the territory of the former Hephthalite kingdom to direct
Türk rule. The realization of this plan was delayed, however, because of inter-
necine wars between the Northern and the Western Türks. The accession of Jig
(Shih-kuei) kaghan in 611 stabilized the internal situation of the Western Türk
Empire. When war broke out between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites in
616–617, the Türk kaghan sent an army to the aid of the Hephthalites, won a
great victory over the Sasanians and advanced as far as Ray and Isfahan.6
Two interesting material relics connected with the Türk invasion of Iran
have recently become known. The Foroughi Collection of Sasanian seals in-
cludes a remarkable specimen with Middle Persian and Türk runic inscriptions.
The Middle Persian legend runs as follows: (1) zyk, (2) hhn, (3) GDH (Zig
kaghan, glory!), while the Turkic text runs: (1) b(a)q (e)s eb, (2) qïy (ü)g (o)ηkü
(Take care for companions, house, settlement; make a good name for your-
self!). This is clearly a seal of Jig kaghan, destined for the administration of the
conquered territories. The Middle Persian legend was probably prepared with
the help of Sogdian scribes because the spelling hhn of the word ‘kaghan’ re-
flects Sogdian orthography (Sogdian γ ’γ ’n versus Middle Persian h’k’n). The
runic text gives the norms of royal behaviour for the Türk kaghans in concise
form. The other noteworthy material relic of the Türk invasion of Iran is a
medal representing Jig kaghan in profile with the legend: (1) GDH ’pzwn zyk,
(2) MLK’ ’n MLK’ (Glory, growth! Zig King of Kings),7 which was probably
minted to commemorate his victory.
It is clear from the inscriptions that the Western Türk kaghans intended
to annex the eastern Iranian territories to their realm. In spite of their military
success, however, they failed to realize their plans. For unknown reasons, the
5. Marquart, 1901, p. 65; Markwart, 1938, pp. 138 et seq., 141 et seq., 153 et seq.; Czeglédy, 1958,
p. 24.
6. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, pp. 435, 478 et seq.
7. It was published by Göbl, 1987, pp. 276 et seq., Pl. 39, Fig. 2, who could not, however, read
the name of the king and erroneously dated the medal (anonymous in his opinion) from Is-
lamic times.
369

Türk army was recalled by Jig kaghan. Thus Smbat Bagratuni, the Persian
commander of Armenian origin, was again able to defeat the Hephthalites,
killing their king in single combat.
The definitive annexation of Tokharistan and Gandhara to the Western
Türk Empire was to take place some years later, in c. 625, when Sasanian Iran
became involved in the war against Byzantium that ultimately led to its eclipse.8
The Western Türk army of T’ung Yabghu kaghan advanced to the River In-
dus, took possession of the most important cities and replaced the Hephthalite
dynasties with Türk rulers. This event was commemorated by a medal minted
probably by Tardu shad, the new Türk ruler of Tokharistan, in honour of T’ung
Yabghu kaghan, with the legend GDH ’pzwt’ yyp MLK’ ’n MLK’ (The glory
increased, jeb (= Yabghu) King of Kings!)9
Of the territories annexed in c. 625 by the Western Türk Empire, Khuttal
and Kapisa–Gandhara were independent kingdoms after the disintegration of
the Hephthalite kingdom. The Hephthalite kings bearing the title xingil of
Kapisa–Gandhara continued the coinage of the Hephthalite kings of
Tokharistan. The names of the kings Khingila II, Purvaditya, Triloka, Narana,
Narendra I and Narendra II are attested by the legends of their coins. All the
coin legends are written in the Brahmi alphabet and all kings (with the excep-
tion of Khingila) bear Indian names. This is clear evidence of the slow
Indianization of the Hephthalite royal dynasty during the sixth century. The
same is true of the Hephthalite princes of Khuttal, who also minted coins with
Indian legends: jayatu Baysara Khotalaka (Be victorious Baysara, [Lord] of
Khuttal!), jayatu Baysara (Be victorious Baysara!) and wri Vasyara (His High-
ness Vasyara!).10
The last Hephthalite king of Kapisa–Gandhara, Narendra II, bears on
his coin (Cabinet des Médailles 1974.443) a crown decorated with a bull’s head.
Since the bull’s head also appears on the coins of the Türk yabghus of
Tokharistan, this symbol clearly implies the recognition of Türk sovereignty.
The appearance of the bull’s head among the royal symbols of the Western
Türk kaghans probably goes back to the title buqa (bull) adopted by Tardu
kaghan after becoming the sole ruler of the entire Türk Empire in 599.11
8. For the connection of this war with the struggle for the Silk Route and the events in Central
Asia, see Harmatta, 1974, pp. 95–106.
9. Harmatta, 1982, pp. 167–80.
10. Humbach, 1966, pp. 31, 58.
11. Chavannes, 1903, p. 51.
370

Tokharistan
Compared with Kapisa–Gandhara, Tokharistan (with its capital, Balkh) lost
much of its former importance. Although the Hephthalite ruler of Balkh bore
the Bactrian title sava (king), the name of his son, Pariowk (in Armenian, cleri-
cal error for *Parmowk) or Barmuda, Parmuda (in Arabic and Persian, clerical
error for *Barmuka, *Parmuka) which goes back to the Buddhist title pramukha,
shows that he was the lord and head of the great Buddhist centre Naubahar at
Balkh. His dignity and power were thus more of an ecclesiastic than a secular
nature. The famous Barmakid family of Islamic times were apparently the de-
scendants of the Hephthalite pramukhas of the Naubahar at Balkh.
After the Türk conquest, all the principalities of the former Hephthalite
kingdom came under the rule of the Türk yabghu of Tokharistan residing in
Qunduz. The Chinese encyclopedia the Chih-fu-yüan-kuei12 lists the king-
doms subject to the Türk yabghu of Tokharistan: Hsieh-yü (Zabulistan), Chi-
pin (Kapisa–Gandhara), Ku-t’u (Khuttal), Shih-han-na (Chaganiyan), Chieh-
su (Shuman), Shih-ni (Shignan), I-ta (Badhghis), Hu-mi (Wakhan), Hu-
shih-chien (Gozgan), Fan-yen (Bamiyan), Chiu-yüeh-to-chien (Kobadian) and
Pu-t’o-shan (Badakhshan). The Chinese pilgrim Huei-ch’ao, who travelled in
these lands between 723 and 729, asserts that in Gandhara, Kapisa and Zabulistan
the kings and military forces were T’u-chüeh (Türks).13 This evidence clearly
shows the immigration of a Turkic population into these territories. The settle-
ment of the Karluks is attested by the Chinese sources and the immigration of
both the Karluks and the Kalach is shown by the Arabic and Persian sources.14
The first Türk ruler of Tokharistan and the subjugated petty kingdoms
was Tardu shad, the son of the Western Türk T’ung Yabghu kaghan. When
Tardu was poisoned by his wife a few years later, he was succeeded by his son
Ishbara yabghu, who, as first among the Türk rulers, began to mint coins. His
coin effigy represents him bearing a crown decorated with two wings and a
bull’s head. The legend on one of his coins (Cabinet des Médailles 1970/755)
runs as follows: obverse: sb’lk' yyp MLK’ (Isbara Jeb [= yabghu] sah); reverse:
pncdh hwsp’ ([minted in his] 15th [regnal year at] Khusp). If Ishbara yabghu
ascended the throne in c. 630, the coin would have been minted in 645 at Khusp,
a town in Kuhistan. Another issue15 was struck in the 13th year of Ishbara at
Herat (Hare) and a third one in his 20th year at Shuburgan. This shows that
Ishbara’s reign lasted to 650 and that at least three mints (at Khusp, Herat and
Shuburgan) were working in the western part of Tokharistan during this pe-
riod. In c. 650, however, Western Türk power declined and its fragmented parts
12. Chavannes, 1903, pp. 250 et seq.

13. Fuchs, 1938, pp. 444, 447, 448.
14. Minorsky, 1937, pp. 347 et seq.; Czeglédy, 1984, p. 216.
15. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 3, issues 265/2, 265/1.
371

became, at least nominally, vassal kingdoms and principalities of the T’ang

Empire.
The first Türk yabghu (king) of Tokharistan, confirmed by the Chinese
emperor, was Wu-shih-po of the A-shih-na dynasty. By this time, however
(653), the Arab advance towards Central Asia had already begun. In 652–653
al-Dahhak b. Qais (al-Ahnaf), the commander of the advance guard of Amir
c
Abdallah b. cAmir, took Merv-i rud, conquered the whole of Tokharistan and
agreed with the inhabitants of Balkh on the terms of their capitulation. Under
the rule of the Umayyad caliph cAli (656–661), however, the Arabs were driven
from eastern Iran (even from Nishapur) and the rule of Peroz III, son of
Yazdgird III, was reestablished by the yabghu of Tokharistan in Seistan.16 Under
the reign of the caliph Mucawiya (661–680), Balkh and Kabul were retaken by
c
Abd al-Rahman b. Samura, but Arab rule did not last long.
As a consequence of the Arab invasions, the power of the Türk yabghu
of Tokharistan was considerably weakened. After Ishbara yabghu, relations
with China also seem to have been interrupted because of the Tibetan con-
quest of the Tarim basin (see Chapter 15). It was not until 705, under P’an-tu-
ni-li, the yabghu of Tokharistan, that another mission was sent to the Chinese
court. By that time, the yabghu had moved to Badakhshan because his capital,
Balkh, and the central territories of his kingdom were occupied by the Arabs.
Thus, Shuburgan, Khusp and Herat (where the mints had worked for the
yabghus of Tokharistan) were lost and their coinage ceased to exist at the be-
ginning of the eighth century.
Accordingly, the two issues known besides that of Ishbara yabghu can
only be dated to the second half of the seventh century. One of them (Cabinet
des Médailles 1965.1915), which bears the legend sym yyp MLK’ (Sem Jeb [=
yabghu] sah) on the obverse and hpt spwlg’n' ([minted in his] 7th [regnal year
at] Shuburgan) on the reverse, is evidence that Shuburgan was still among the
possessions of the yabghu of Tokharistan. Another specimen of the same is-
sue17 indicates hwsp' (Khusp) as the minting place on the reverse. Sem yabghu
may be identified with Wu-shih-po, the first Türk king of Tokharistan. The
Chinese spelling (taking the Chinese character po as a clerical error for mu)
and its North-Western T’ang form .uo-wi(ß)-m(uγ ) may well reflect a foreign
prototype *Asem ~ *Asim. Counting the reign of Sem Wu-shih-mu as starting
in 653, his 7th regnal year would be 659–660, i.e. a year before the repeated
Arab invasions under Mucawiya.
The third issue (Cabinet des Médailles 1970.749),18 which bears the leg-
end gwn spr' yyb MLK’ (Gün Ispara Jeb [= yabghu] sah) on the obverse, does
not indicate either the regnal years or the mint. This striking phenomenon can
16. Marquart, 1901, pp. 67 et seq.; Harmatta, 1971, pp. 140 et seq.; Daffina, 1983, p. 133.
17. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 3, issue 266.
18. Ibid., Vol. 3, issues 267–71.
372

probably be explained by historical events, in the course of which (as men-

tioned previously), the yabghu of Tokharistan withdrew to Badakhshan, while
his central territories and mints came under Arab rule. After Gün Ishpara
yabghu, whose reign may be dated to the last decades of the seventh century,
the coinage of the yabghus of Tokharistan came to an end and the region lost
its political and military importance.
It appears that even the rule of the Türk A-shih-na dynasty ceased at that
time. P’an-tu-ni-li was succeeded as yabghu of Tokharistan by Ti-shê, king of
Chaganiyan, in 719. The later yabghus are only mentioned by the Chinese
sources on the occasion of their missions to the T’ang court: in 729 Ku-tu-lu
Tun Ta-tu (Qutluγ Ton Tardu) asked for aid against the Arabs; 20 years later,
Shih-li-mang-kia-lo asked for and received military aid against the Tibetans;
and in 758 Wu-na-to came personally to the T’ang court and took part in the
fight against the rebel An Lu-shan.19
Kapisa–Gandhara
As mentioned above, the Hephthalite kingdom of Kapisa–Gandhara managed
to preserve its independence even after the annexation of the western territo-
ries of the Hephthalite kingdom, first by the Sasanians and subsequently by
the Western Türks. At the time of the Western Türk conquest in c. 625, the last
ruler of the Xingil dynasty in Gandhara, Narendra II, recognized the supremacy
of T’ung yabghu kaghan and thus maintained his throne.
According to the report of Hsüan-tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim,
the royal dynasty of Gandhara was extinct by the time of his visit in 630 and
the land had come under the rule of Kapisa.20 From Hsüan-tsang’s account it
becomes clear that prior to his arrival, the authority of the Xingil dynasty had
been confined to Gandhara, while in Kapisa another prince, probably of West-
ern Türk origin, was ruling and only united the two kingdoms under his rule
after the death of Narendra II. There is no other evidence for the separation of
Kapisa from Gandhara prior to the Western Türk conquest. At the time that
the Western Türks advanced to the Indus, in c. 625, Kapisa was probably sepa-
rated from Gandhara and entrusted to a Western Türk prince who also became
ruler of Gandhara after the extinction of the Xingil dynasty.
According to the T’ang shu, the king of Kapisa and Gandhara in 658 was
Ho-hsieh-chih,21 whose name (North-Western T’ang xâk-γ ik-twi < Türk
*Qarγ ïlacï) clearly points to Turkic origin. At first, he may have been appointed
king of Kapisa, then, after some years (but before 630) he succeeded Narendra II
19. Chavannes, 1903, pp. 155–8; Chavannes, n.d., p. 95.

20. Chavannes, 1903, p. 130.
21. Ibid., p. 131 and note 4.
373

even in Gandhara, where his accession may have been facilitated by a marriage
alliance. The new Türk dynasty adopted the Hephthalite royal title xingil and
regarded themselves as the heirs to the Xingil dynasty.22
In spite of the emphasis on continuity, the new Türk dynasty of Kapisa–
Gandhara began to strike a new coin type23 on which the king is represented
with a crown similar to that of Ishbara yabghu but decorated with only one
moon sickle instead of two; the Brahmi legend is replaced by a Pahlavi one,
running as follows: nycky MLK’ (King Niza/i/uk). The minting of this coin
type lasted for almost a century (c. 630 – c. 720). The same effigy was main-
tained by the subsequent issues although minor modifications in the form of
the crown and the ear-pendant can be observed and the legend gradually be-
came deformed.24 In view of the long period of minting and the fact that the
first ruler of the Türk dynasty of Gandhara bore the name *Qarγ ïlacï, the leg-
end nycky MLK’ cannot represent a proper name; it can only be interpreted as
a title or a dynastic name. The reading nycky MLK’25 is firmly supported by
the report of the Chih-fu-yüan-kuei according to which Na-sai, king of Ko-
p’i-shih, sent a delegate to the Chinese court.26 Without doubt Ko-p’i-shih
(Ancient Chinese kâ-b’ji-wie) is the Chinese transcription of Kapisi (the king-
dom of Kapisa–Gandhara) while Na-sai (Ancient Chinese nâ-sék) may well
reflect the Bactrian variant *Nazuk of the name *Nizük. The reading nycky had
previously been identified with the name of Tarkhan Nizak, the ruler of
Badhghis. A thorough revision of the palaeographic and historical evidence,
however, has revealed the true form of the latter to be Tirek,27 a name of Türgesh
origin.
When the supposed connection between nycky MLK’ and Tarkhan Nizak
is dropped, the relation of the Nizük dynasty with the tribal aristocracy of the
Western Türk tribe A-hsi-chieh Ni-shu Szu-kin (*Äskil Nizük Jigin) becomes
evident. The heads and nobles of this tribe bore the name Ni-shu (*Nizük, cf.
Ni-shu Mo-ho shad, Ni-shu kaghan, Ni-shu Szù-kin, Ni-shu ch’o). At the time
of the Western Türk conquest, the royal powers and princely ranks in the suc-
cessor states of the Hephthalite kingdom appear to have been distributed among
the Western Türk tribal heads and nobles. Thus, the kingdom of Kapisa was
entrusted to a member of the aristocracy of the Äskil Nizük Jigin tribe. The
element Nizük (going back to a Saka form *näjsuka-, meaning ‘fighter, war-
rior’, from the Saka näjs-, ‘to fight’) in the tribal name became the dynastic
22. Harmatta, 1969, pp. 404–5.

23. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 3, issues 198–205, 217–24.
24. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 3, issues 198 (nycky MLK’), 200 (ycky MLK’), 219 (cky MLK’).
25. Besides, the readings npky and nypky are also possible, while nspky is impossible from a
palaeographic viewpoint.
26. Chavannes, n.d., p. 40.
27. Esin, 1977, pp. 323 et seq.
374

name of the kings of Kapisa–Gandhara, while their family name may have been
Ho-hsieh-chih (*Qarγ ïlacï), which was borne by the first Western Türk yabghu
of Kapisa–Gandhara.
The Nizük dynasty of Kapisa–Gandhara separated into two branches in
c. 670. Following a conflict between the king and his brother, the latter escaped
to the Arab governor of Seistan, who permitted him to take up residence in the
town of Zabul. The Arabs had already conquered Seistan in c. 650, but under
the caliph cAli both Seistan and Khurasan were lost. Under Mucawiya, how-
ever, Seistan, Tokharistan and Kabul again came under Arab rule for a decade.
After the death of the Arab governor cAbd al-Rahman b. Samura in 670 or 671,
the king of Kabul (Kapisa–Gandhara) expelled the Arabs from his territories.
At the same time, his brother (by now the ruler of Zabul) conquered Zabulistan
and Rukhkhaj. Although he was then defeated by the new Arab governor al-
Rabic b. Ziyad, the Arab sub-governor of Seistan, Yazid b. Ziyad, later suf-
fered a heavy defeat and fell in battle at Ganza (modern Ghazni). This clearly
points to the strengthening of the kingdom of Zabul. Its ruler assumed the title
zibil (earlier misreadings include zanbil, zunbil and rutbil), going back to the
ancient Hephthalite title zaßolo which was still borne by the kings of Zabul as
late as the ninth century.
The relationship between the two branches of the Western Türk Ho-hsieh-
chih ( Qarγ ïlacï) royal family, ruling in Kapisa and Zabul respectively, was far
*
from peaceful. According to the T’ang shu, Zabul (i.e. the branch of the family
ruling in Zabul) extended its power over Kapisa–Gandhara after 711. This event
is probably the basis of the legend concerning the origin of the Türk Shahi
dynasty of Kabul, as told by al-Biruni in his India three centuries later. Ac-
cording to this legend, the founder of the dynasty (Barhatakin) hid in a cavern
and then unexpectedly appeared before the people as a miraculous being, thus
coming to power.
It is clear that the story of Barhatakin, with its cavern motif, represents a
late echo of the legend of origin of the Türks (see Chapter 14, Part One) ac-
cording to which their ancestors lived in a cavern. The real historical event,
however, was quite different. According to the Chinese pilgrim Huei-ch’ao,
who visited Gandhara between 723 and 729 (i.e. a decade after the event), when
Wu-san T’ê-chin Shai was ruling there:
the father of the T’u-chüeh [Türk] king surrendered to the king of Chi-pin [Kapisa–
Gandhara] together with all sections of his people, with his soldiers and his horses.
When the military force of the T’u-chüeh strengthened later, he killed the king of
Chi-pin and made himself lord of the country.28
28. Fuchs, 1938, p. 445. Fuchs did not realize that at the time of Huei-ch’ao’s visit, it was Wu-san
T’ê-chin Shai and not Barhatakin who was king in Kien-to-lo (Gandhara). For the origins of
the Türk Shahi dynasty of Kabul, see Stein, Sir Aurel, 1893, pp. 1 et seq.
375

Accordingly, power in both Zabul and Kapisa–Gandhara was concentrated in

the hands of the same line of the Qarγïlacï royal family. Indeed, Huei-ch’ao
explicitly states that the king of Zabul was the nephew of the ruler of Kapisa–
Gandhara. In spite of his legendary garb, the founder of the new dynasty,
Barhatakin, must have been a real person. His name, Barha, is a hyperSanskritism
for *Baha, going back to Turkic *Baγ a, while takin represents the Turkic title
tegin. The name Baγ a is well attested among the Western Türks (in Chinese
transcription Mo-ho; North-Western T’ang mbâγ -γ â < Türk Baγ a) and the
title tegin (in Chinese transcription t’ê-ch’in) was also widely used by them.
Thus, the name *Baγ a tegin in the legendary tradition may in fact be authentic.
It follows from Huei-ch’ao’s report that Barhatakin had two sons: one
who ruled after him in Kapisa–Gandhara, and another whose son became king
of Zabul. According to the T’ang shu, the king of Kapisa–Gandhara between
719 and 739 was Wu-san T’ê-ch’in Shai. It is clear from the historical context
that he was the son of Barhatakin. The Chinese transcription (Ancient Chinese
.uo-sân d’ék-g’ién qai) reflects the Iranian title *Horsan tegin sahi. The Chinese
form of the name follows the Chinese word order, however, and may be inter-
preted as ‘Tegin sahi of Horsan’. The word Horsan may be the Hephthalite
development of Xvarasan (Khurasan) and the whole title obviously means
‘Tegin, king of Khurasan’.
The coming to power of the new dynasty of Barhatakin was reflected in
the coinage. The characteristic effigy of the Nizük kings was replaced by a new
royal portrait. The king bears a new crown decorated with three moon sickles,
or tridents, which indicates a return to Hephthalite traditions29 and is a clear
declaration of independence from the Türk yabghu of Tokharistan. In the first
issues, the meaningless remnants of the legend nycky MLK’ were retained,30
although they later came to have a purely decorative function.31 At last, a new
legend written in the Bactrian alphabet appears on the coins: σριο ραυο (His
Highness the King).32 Seemingly, the name of the king does not appear in the
legend. According to al-Biruni, Barhatakin assumed the title ‘sahiya of Kabul’
on coming to power. He could therefore be identified simply as ‘the sahi’ in
the coin legend. Perhaps simultaneously, he also minted coins with the Brahmi
legend wri qahi (His Highness the sahi [King]).33
Barhatakin was followed by his son Tegin shah, who was ruler of Kapisa–
Gandhara from 719. On his accession, Tegin assumed the high-ranking title
Khurasan shah (king of Khurasan): this was a return to Hephthalite traditions
because the two most important Hephthalite kings, Lakhana and Jabula, had
29. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 1, p. 155.

30. Ibid., Vol. 3, issues 225–31.
31. Ibid., Vol. 3, issues 232–4.
32. Ibid., Vol. 3, issues 236–7.
33. Ibid., Vol. 3, issue 252.
376

both borne this title. Tegin shah continued the coinage of his father in so far as
he retained the crown decorated with moon sickles to which he added two
wings (the symbol of the farn, or royal splendour). He also took into account
the various ethnic elements of his kingdom in the coin legends. His earliest
issue (which can be dated to 721) has an exclusively Pahlavi legend to be read
in the following way: obverse (10 h) GDH ’pzwt (2 h) 1. tkyn' bgy 2. hwtyp 3.
hwl’s’n MLK’; reverse (9 h) TLYN (2 h) z’wlst’n (The royal splendour is in-
creased! Tegin, the Majestic Lord, King of Khurasan, [minted in his] second
[regnal year in] Zavulistan). The remarkable fact that the issue was minted in
Zabulistan points to cordial relations between the kingdoms of Kapisa–
Gandhara and Zabul.
The next issue was again struck in Gandhara. Its legend is written partly
in Bactrian, partly in Pahlavi and partly in Brahmi alphabets and in Bactrian
(or Hephthalite), Middle Persian and Sanskrit languages. It runs as follows:
obverse (2 h) σρι ταγ ινο ραυο; reverse (3 h) w’y (9 h) TLT’, on both sides of
the fire altar 1. wrila devi 2. Pinawri (His Highness Tegin, the King, [minted at]
Way<hind> [in his] 3rd [regnal year]. The beautiful Queen Pinawri). The pecu-
liarity of this issue lies in its mentioning the name of the queen. This was obvi-
ously a gesture towards the Indian population of Gandhara since the queen
was of Indian origin and she enjoyed high status in Indian society. This is clearly
shown by the Gilgit birch-bark manuscripts, which mention the name of the
queen besides that of the king. Another interesting feature of this issue is that
it was minted in Way<hind> (ancient Udabhandapura, and subsequently Hund),
the capital of the sahi kings of Kabul. Its name occurs in its Middle Indian
form here for the first time.
The third coin type of Tegin shah was also minted in Gandhara. The
style of the king’s crown differs from those of the former issues. The legend is
written exclusively in the Bactrian script and language: obverse (2 h) ταγ ινο
υωρσανο ραυο; reverse (2 h) χρονο υφδ, (10 h) πορραοορο (Tegin, king of
Horsano [Khurasan], [minted in] era-year 494, [at] Purqavur [Purushapura]).
The development Purqavur of Purushapura almost exactly coincides with the
medieval form of the name in Arabic literature, viz. Pursawar and Pursor.34 No
less noteworthy is the dating of the issue. The date is given in the Late Kushan
era, which began in 231–232.35 Accordingly, the issue was minted in 725–726.
The fourth coin type of Tegin shah represents the king again bearing a
new crown decorated with three moon sickles, two wings and an animal head.
The legend on the obverse is written partly in Bactrian and partly in Brahmi;
the reverse is in Pahlavi script. It runs as follows: obverse, in Bactrian: σςι ραυο
(His Highness the King); in Brahmi: wri hidibira kharalaca paramewvara wri qahi
tigina devakaritam (His Highness, the hidibira, the Kharalaca, the Supreme
34. Markwart, 1938, p. 109.

35. Harmatta, 1969, p. 425.
377

Lord, His Highness the sahi Tegin, the Majesty has [the coin] minted); reverse,
in Pahlavi: (a) tkyn' hwl’s’n MLK’ (b) hpt' hpt’t' (Tegin, king of Khurasan,
[minted in the era-year] 77).
This coin legend presents some interesting problems. As concerns the
date, the year 77 is apparently reckoned in the post-Yazdgird era,36 which began
in 652. Thus, the year 77 corresponds to 729. Another question is raised by the
word hidibira. This may be the same term as the Turkic title ilteber or elteber,
which also has the variants iltber, ilber, attested among others by the Chinese
transcription hsieh-li-fa (North-Western T’ang Xi(k)-lji-pfvyk), reflecting a
foreign prototype: *ilber.37 The second problematic word of the coin legend is
kharalaca, which must surely be a name or a title. It can be identified with the
family name *Qarγ ïlacï of the dynasty if we assume a development rγ > r and
ï > a (*Qarγ ïlacï > *Qaralaca) in it, which is abundantly attested in Old Turkic.38
This recognition may dispel the confusion in both the Chinese sources
and the scholarly literature about the Chinese name Ko-ta-lo-chih or Ko-lo-
ta-chih for Zabulistan. According to the T’ang shu, the original name of
Zabulistan was Ts’ao-chü-cha (*Jaguda < Javula); between 656 and 660 it was
named Ho-ta-lo-chih; and then the empress Wu changed this name to Hsieh-
yü (North-Western T’ang Zi-èvyk < *Ziβil). It is a notorious mistake of early
scholarly research that, on the basis of a superficial phonetic resemblance, the
quoted Chinese spellings were identified with the name Rukhkhaj, used in
Arabic geographic literature to denote ancient Arachosia (Middle Persian
Raxvad). However, this identification is impossible for several reasons.
First, Ho-ta-lo-chih was only used officially by the T’ang court from
656 to 660. It is, therefore, impossible for it to have been used instead of the
official name Hsieh-yü in a document written in the imperial chancellery in
718–719. Second, the Arabic form Rukhkhaj is not attested before the tenth
century. It developed as a guttural assimilation from Middle Iranian Raxvad >
*Raxvag, but simultaneously the original form Rakhwadh was still used by
Ibn Rusta and Maqdisi as late as the tenth century. Moreover, the phonetic
change g > j had not yet taken place in Arabic in the seventh century, as is
clearly proved by the Middle Persian transcriptions of Arabic names. Conse-
quently, a form *Rukhkhaj could not have existed in Arabic in the seventh
century when the Chinese name Ko-ta-lo-chih came into being.
The Chinese initial ko/ho (Ancient Chinese kât/γ ât) clearly points to a
foreign initial *q. The North-Western T’ang form of the name was kâk-d’â(k)-
lâ-twi and counting on q - γ > q - d dissimilation, or on the confusion of the
sign hsia with ta (which are very similar), one can regard the Chinese form
36. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 1, p. 144.

37. The resemblance of the form hitivira to the Turkic title elteber had already been noted by
Humbach, 1966, p. 60.
38. Cf., for example, qarγuy (sparrow hawk) > qaruy, balïq (fish) > balaq, Gabain, 1950, p. 49.
378

Kâi-d’â(k)-lâ-twi or kâk-γ a-lâ-twi as an exact transcription of the Türk royal

family name Qarγïlacï, which became the name of the country. The case of
Zabulistan shows the Chinese practice of naming a country after the name or
title of its ruler. This may date back to nomadic usage and is attested up to the
time of the Mongols. The first Chinese name for Zabulistan was Ts’ao-chü-
cha < *Jaguda ~ Jagula, the Hephthalite form of the royal title and name Javula.
After the accession of the Qarγ ïlacï, the name of the country became *Ko-ho-
lo-chih (*Qarγ ïlacï). Finally, after the separation of the two branches of the
Qarγïlacï dynasty and the establishment of the Zibil kingdom at Ghazni, the
Chinese named the country Hsieh-yü-kuo, or ‘the country of the Hsieh-yü
[*Zivil]’. This name was retained during the eighth century because all kings of
Zabulistan bore the royal title zibil. Consequently, in the coin legend of Tegin
shah, the terms hidibira Kharalaca (just as the Chinese phrases Ko-ta-lo-chih
hsieh-li-fa and Ko-ta-lo-chih t’ê-ch’in) do not mean ‘the elteber of Arachosia’
and ‘the tegin of Arachosia’, but simply indicate the family name (Qarγ ïlacï ~
Qaralaca) and the titles (elteber and tegin respectively) of the kings.
The characteristic features of the coinage of Tegin shah can be seen as
reflecting the historical situation, the rich cultural tradition and the ethnic com-
position of Kapisa–Gandhara at that time. The coin legends are written in all
the important languages (Bactrian, Middle Persian, Sanskrit) and scripts (Pahlavi,
Bactrian, Brahmi) of the country and their contents refer equally to Persian,
Hephthalite, Turkic and Indian traditions of royal ideology. The same syncre-
tism is seen in Tegin shah’s dating of coins – in regnal years to stress his inde-
pendence, in the Late Kushan era referring to local traditions, and in the post-
Yazdgird era to indicate his distance from the Sasanian dynasty.
Zabulistan
As a contemporary of Tegin shah, his nephew Zibil ruled in Zabulistan from
720 to c. 738. His name was registered in the T’ang court in two different forms,
Shih-yü and Shih-k’ü, but both spellings represent variants of the same title
and name. Zibil Shih-yü (North-Western T’ang, *Zi-ivyk) reflects the form Zibil
~ Zivil, also attested by the Arabic sources, while Shih-k’ü (North-Western
T’ang Zi-kivyk) represents a form *Zigil, being the Hephthalite development
of Zivil.
The independence, importance and power of Zabulistan are well illus-
trated by its coinage at that time. In this respect too, Zibil was independent
from his uncle, Tegin shah. He created an effigy based on Sasanian traditions
and on the coinage of the Arab governors, a phenomenon which reflects the
fact that his interests lay towards the west, while his Indian links are only rep-
resented by a short legend in Brahmi. The legend of his coins runs as follows:
obverse (1 h) yypwl hwtyp' (11 h) GDH (9 h) ’pzwt; on the rim around (1 h)
379

PWN SM Y yzt' (3 h) yypwl bgy hwtyp' (6 h) whm’n’n mlt’n (9 h) MLK’; re-

verse (11 h) wri vakhudevah (1 h) pncdh z’wlst’n (3 h) ’pl plm’n yzd’n (King
Jibul, [his] glory increased! In the name of god, Jibul, the Majestic Lord [is]
King of brave men – His Highness the Majestic Lord – [minted in his] 15th
[regnal year in] Zavulistan, by the order of the gods).
Coin issues of Jibul ~ Zibil are so far known from his 2nd, 9th, 10th and
15th regnal years. It is very likely that he died shortly after his 15th regnal year
(corresponding to 735) because his son Ju-mo-fu-ta ascended the throne in
738.39 In spite of the apparently entirely different form of his name in Chinese
spelling, the new king of Zabulistan again bore the name or title Jibul. The
North-Western T’ang form of Ju-mo-fu-ta was Ji-mbui pfvyk-d’âk, which
clearly reflects a foreign prototype *jibul Pirdar (Elder Jibul), probably to be
distinguished from a ‘Junior Jibul’.
The fight for independence

One year later, in 739, Tegin shah abdicated the throne of Gandhara in favour
of his son, Fu-lin-chi-p’o (also known as Fromo Kesaro, the Bactrian form of
his name).40 In this name, there is a confusion between the sign p’o and so;
accordingly, the correct form is Fu-lin-chi-so (North-Western T’ang pfvyr-lèum-
kèe-sâ) in which it is easy to recognize the Iranian name *From Kesar (emperor
of Rome [= Byzantium]). This name implies an anti-Arab programme and
propaganda at the time, which might be explained by Fromo Kesaro’s having
entered into manhood as an er at (meaning ‘man’s name’) in 719, the year in
which a Byzantine delegation travelled through Tokharistan on their way to
the Chinese emperor and informed the kingdoms of Central Asia of the great
victory they had won over the Arabs the previous year.41
The coinage of Fromo Kesaro (Fig. 1)42 is more closely connected with
that of the Late Sasanians and of the Arab governors than with that of Tegin
shah. The legends are written only in Bactrian and Pahlavi scripts and languages.
They run as follows: obverse (11 h) (1) GDH (2) ’p<zwt> (2 h) (1) bg (2) hwtyp
(The glory increased! The Majestic Sovereign); on the rim around, φροµο
κησαρο βαγο χοαδηο (Fromo Kesaro, the Majestic Sovereign); reverse (10 h)
ST’ (2 h) hwndy ([minted in his] 6th [regnal year at] Hund). This is the latest
issue of Fromo Kesaro known so far to have been minted in Hund (ancient
Udabhandapura).
39. Chavannes, 1903, p. 210 and note 1. As Chavannes noticed, the death of Shih-yü (*Zivil) and
the accession of Ju-mo-fu-ta could also have taken place two to three years earlier.
40. Chavannes, 1903, p. 132.
41. Harmatta, 1969, p. 412.
42. Mochiri, 1987, Pl. XXI, 125.
380

FIG. 1. Coin of Fromo Kesaro

(obverse and reverse).
The coinage of the kings of Zabulistan and Kapisa–Gandhara bears wit-

ness to the economic and political force and importance of both countries. They
were able to preserve their ethnic and cultural identity and successfully fought
for independence against the Arab conquerors. Arab rule was firmly estab-
lished in Seistan, Badhghis, Gozgan, Tokharistan and Transoxania and even in
Sind by the beginning of the eighth century. Nevertheless, and in spite of
Qutaiba b. Muslim’s tax-collecting expedition against Zabulistan in 710–711,
both Zabulistan and Kapisa–Gandhara stood as islands in the sea of Arab
predatory raids. It was only towards the end of the eighth century that both
lands formally acknowledged the supremacy of the Umayyad caliph al-Mahdi
381

and the true conquest of Kabul did not take place until the end of the ninth
century.
An important recent discovery has provided a surprising insight into the
events of this epoch. On the coins of some Arab governors, a Bactrian text
overstruck on the rim has been discovered.43 The reading of the text is as fol-
lows: φροµο κησαρο βαγο χοαδηο κιδο βο ταzικανο χοργο οδο σαο βο
σαβαγο ατο ι µο βο γαινδο (Fromo Kesaro, the Majestic Sovereign [is] who
defeated the Arabs and laid a tax [on them]. Thus they sent it.). These coins
formed part of the tax paid by the Arabs to Fromo Kesaro and were overstruck
with a legend telling of his victory over them. Obviously, this event occurred
during the reign of Fromo Kesaro (739–746) and may have contributed to his
transformation in later historical tradition44 into the Tibetan national hero
Phrom Ge-sar, whose figure still survives today in the folklore of the territory
of ancient Gandhara.
The memory of the taxes paid by the Arabs has also been preserved in
the Tibetan historical tradition according to which two Ta-zig (= Arab) kings,
La-mer-mu and Hab-gdal, ‘having taken kindly to Tibetan command, paid
punctually without fail their gems and wealth’.45 La-mer-mu may be an abridged
form of the name cAmr b. Muslim, while Hab-gdal may have preserved the
memory of cAbdallah b. al-Zubair. The latter evidence may also illustrate the
successful resistance of the Gandharan population against the Arab conquest.
However, the struggle was not decided here but in the far north at Talas, where
the Arabs and Türks won a decisive victory over the Chinese army in 751.
Beside the most important successor states of the former Hephthalite
kingdom (that is, Tokharistan, Kapisa–Gandhara and Zabulistan), some minor
principalities also played a remarkable historical role during the time of the
Arab conquest. Thus, Badhghis surrendered to the Arabs at an early date, but
its energetic ruler, Tarkhan Tirek, continued the struggle until his death in 709.
More successful was the resistance of Khuttal and Bamiyan, which disposed of
greater military forces. The kings of Khuttal also struck coins, the land having
had a tradition in this respect since the Late Hephthalite epoch. By the time of
Huei-ch’ao’s visit in the 720s, Khuttal already acknowledged Arab supremacy.
To the north of Gandhara were two small states of great strategic impor-
tance: Great Po-lü and Little Po-lü according to the Chinese sources. The routes
leading through these countries were equally significant for T’ang China and
Tibet, and as a consequence of the Arab conquest of Khurasan, the arduous
Silk Route connecting India directly with the Tarim basin became of vital im-
portance. The Chinese name Polü (North-Western T’ang Buk-lèk) reflects the
local form, Bolor (noticed later by al-Biruni), which goes back to the form
43. The discovery was made by Humbach, 1987, pp. 81 et seq.

44. Harmatta, 1969, pp. 409 et seq.
45. Thomas, 1935, Vol. 1, p. 273.
382

*Bhauttapura (city of the Bhauttas), the latter being a Sanskrit term used for
the Tibetans.46 The population of the two Bolor (Po-lü) states consisted, how-
ever, of different ethnic elements: Tibetans, Dards and Burushaskis. It is inter-
esting to note that the name Gilgit occurs in the Chinese sources for the first
time during this epoch, appearing in the form Nieh-to in one text and Nieh-ho
in another. Since no confusion of the sign to with ho seems possible, one sign is
obviously missing from both spellings here. The correct form is therefore Nieh-
ho-to (North-Western T’ang gik-γ uâ-tâ), which is a rather exact transcription
(*Gilgat) of the name Gilgit.
The conflicting Chinese and Tibetan interests led to China’s military inter-
vention in Gilgit in 747. Commanded by Kao Hsien-chih, a Chinese general of
Korean origin, the Chinese forces won a decisive victory over the Tibetans and
thus secured their routes to Khurasan and Gandhara.47
The period from 650 to 750 was a critical epoch in the history of Central
Asia. The eclipse of Sasanian Iran, and the Western and Northern Türk em-
pires, the crisis of the Byzantine Empire and the decline of T’ang China on the
one hand, and the rise of the Arab caliphate and Tibet on the other hand, clearly
indicate major historical changes. On the ruins of the ancient great empires, a
new world was in the making. However, several centuries were to elapse be-
fore the emergence of significant new cultural achievements.
P a r t Tw o
LANGUAGES, L I T E R AT U R E , C O I N A G E ,
A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D A RT
(B. A. Litvinsky)
Ethnic groups and languages

The kingdom of the Kabul Shahis was multiracial, inhabited by many different
peoples. A considerable part of the population was composed of sedentary
speakers of: (i) Middle and New East Iranian languages, Late Bactrian, and the
New Iranian phase – the Afghan language; and (ii) West Iranian languages in
the Middle Iranian and New Iranian phases – Tajik or Persian. Sanskrit and
Prakrit were widespread. A large group of the population used Indo-Iranian
46. Chavannes, 1903, pp. 149 et seq.; Markwart, 1938, pp. 103 et seq.; Fuchs, 1938, pp. 452 et
seq.: (Khuttal), p. 443 (Great Bolor), p. 444 (Little Bolor).
47. Stein, Sir Aurel, 1923, pp. 173–7.
383

Dardic languages as their mother tongues. Of the aboriginal languages of the

east of the region, the linguistically isolated Burushaski should be mentioned.
Of particular importance are the Türks (see Chapter 14), who brought their
language from the depths of Central Asia. Information is given below about
those ethnic groups and languages not discussed in previous chapters.
The origins of the Tajiks and of their language lie in remotest antiquity.
According to the eminent Iranologist Lazard:
The language known as New Persian, which may usually be called at this period by
the name of dari or parsi-i dari, can be classified linguistically as a continuation of
Middle Persian, the official, religious and literary language of Sasanian Iran . . .
New Persian belongs to the West Iranian group. In its phonetic and even its
grammatical structure, New Persian had changed little from Middle Persian.
Its vocabulary had changed, however, because New Persian drew heavily on
the East Iranian languages, especially Sogdian, and also on the Turkic languages
and Arabic.48 Middle Persian was widespread in Khurasan and some parts of
Middle Asia, partly promoted by the Manichaean movement. At the time of
the Arab conquest, New Persian had already appeared in Tokharistan. Accord-
ing to Huei-ch’ao (writing in 726), the language of Khuttal – one of the most
important domains of Tokharistan, located in the south of modern Tajikistan –
was partly Tokharian, partly Turkic and partly indigenous.49
In connection with the events of the first third of the eighth century, the
Arab historian al-Tabari relates that the inhabitants of Balkh used to sing in the
New Persian (Tajik) language. It is quite possible, therefore, that a third (‘in-
digenous’, according to Huei-ch’ao) language was current in Tokharistan in
addition to Tokharian and Turkic. If that is the case, Parsi-i Dari would appear
to have been in use in Tokharistan as early as the sixth and seventh centuries.
After the Arab conquest, the Dari language also spread to other parts of Mid-
dle Asia and Afghanistan. Much later it divided into separate Persian and Tajik
branches, and a third branch is sometimes identified too – the Dari that is the
contemporary New Persian language of Afghanistan. Some 30 million people
speak these languages today. Like its close relatives Persian and Dari, Tajik has
a rich history documented by literary sources. The wealth of literary and sci-
entific writings created in the Middle Ages in Parsi, the literary language that is
common to both the Tajiks and the Persians, is a cultural asset of the peoples of
Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.50
The Tajiks emerged as a people in the ninth and tenth (or perhaps the
tenth and eleventh) centuries, but it was not until the first third of the eleventh
century that the term ‘Tajik’ began to be applied to them. That too was when
48. Lazard, 1971; 1975, pp. 595–7.

49. Fuchs, 1938, p. 452.
50. Oransky, 1988, p. 298.
384

Tajik (Persian) literature was founded, and its first great representatives lived
and worked in Middle Asia.
Although the origins of the Afghans lie in very ancient times,51 the first
mentions of the Afghan people appear only in the sixth and seventh centuries.
The Brhat-samhita (XVI, 38 and XI, 61) speaks of the pahlava (Pahlavis), the
svetahuna (White Huns or Hephthalites), the avagana (Afghans) and other
peoples. On his return journey from India, the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang
travelled from Varnu (possibly modern Wana) to Jaguda in Ghazni, crossing
the land of A-p’o-k’ien,52 a word derived from Avakan or Avagan, meaning
Afghans. In Islamic sources, the first reliable mention of the Afghans is found
in the Hudud al-calam, which says of a settlement on the borders of India and
the Ghazni district that ‘there are Afghans there too’. Mention is also made of
a local ruler some of whose wives were Afghan women.53 The Afghan lan-
guage, or Pashto, is one of the East Iranian groups. Among its characteristics,
it contains a stratum of Indian words and its phonetic system has been influ-
enced by Indian phonetic systems, which is not the case of other Iranian lan-
guages. There are approximately 23 million Pashto-speakers in Afghanistan and
Pakistan today.54
The mountains in the east of modern Afghanistan and the north of mod-
ern Pakistan were settled by Dards. They were known to the ancient Greek
authors, who used several distorted names for them: Derbioi, Durbaioi, Daidala,
Dadikai and Derdaios.55 In their descriptions of India, the Puranas speak of
the Darada in the same breath as the inhabitants of Kashmir and Gandhara.
They are repeatedly mentioned in the Ramayana and the Saddhar-
masmrtyupasthana, together with the Odra (the Uddiyana). In Tibetan sources,
the Darada are known as the Darta.56
There are two groups of languages that are now generally known as
Dardic. The first are the languages of Nuristan (a region of Afghanistan): they
form an ‘individual branch of the Indo-Iranian family belonging neither to the
Indo-Aryan, nor to the Iranian group’. The second group of languages (par-
ticularly the Dardic) are ‘part of the Indo-Aryan [group], though far departed
in their development from the latter’. The two groups, however, have much in
common in their ‘structural and material features [phonetical, grammatical and
lexical]’.57 The Nuristani languages include Kati, Waigali, Ashkun and Prasun
(or Paruni) and are chiefly spoken in Nuristan. The Dardic languages proper
include Dameli, which is the link between the Nuristani languages and the
51. Morgenstierne, 1940; Grantovskiy, 1963.

52. Hui-li, 1959, p. 188.
53. Hudud al-calam, 1930, p. 16-a.
54. Morgenstierne, 1942; Gryunberg, 1987.
55. Francfort, 1985, Vol. 1, pp. 397–8.
56. Tucci, 1977, pp. 11–12.
57. Edelman, 1983, pp. 14–15, 35–6.
385

Central Dardic. According to one classification, the Central Dardic languages

comprise Pashai, Shumashti, Glangali, Kalarkalai, Gawar, Tirahi, Kalasha and
Khowar. The Eastern Dardic group is divided into three sub-groups contain-
ing the Bashkarik, Torwali, Maiyan, Shina, Phalura and Kashmiri languages. In
the early 1980s Dardic languages were spoken by 3.5 million people in Paki-
stan, India and Afghanistan, of whom 2.8 million spoke Kashmiri, some
165,000 spoke Khowar and some 120,000 spoke Pashai. The Nuristani languages
were spoken by around 120,000 people.58
Burushaski is a completely distinct language: it stands at the confluence
of three great families – the Indo-European, the Sino-Tibetan and the Altaic –
but belongs to none of them. Its speakers live in northern Pakistan, in the re-
gion of the Hunza and Vershikum rivers, and number around 40,000. The lan-
guage’s morphological structure is very rich and the verb has a particularly
extensive system of accidence. Burushaski is one of the oldest tongues, but its
place in the system of ancient and modern languages remains obscure. Although
a literary tradition may well have existed in the early Middle Ages, when Bud-
dhism was widespread, no literary records have been found, which hampers
attempts to reconstruct the language’s past. There have been repeated attempts
to trace its affiliations, and links with the Caucasian, Dravidian, Munda, Basque
and other languages have been suggested, but from the standpoint of contem-
porary linguistics the case is not conclusive. Burushaski was unquestionably
more current in ancient times and occupied a number of regions where Dardic
languages are now spoken and where Burushaski acted as a substratal or adstratal
foundation. Grierson has even postulated that speakers of Burushaski or re-
lated languages once inhabited all or almost all the lands now held by
Dardic-speaking tribes.59
Writing systems and literature

We have considerable information about the literature and writing systems of
the period. Hsüan-tsang reports of the writing system of Tokharistan:
In the composition of its language [Tokharistan] differs somewhat from the remain-
ing realms. The number of letters in its script is 25, they combine to form various
combinations and with their help all may be reproduced. The script is read horizon-
tally, from left to right. Literary works are composed in great quantity and exceed the
Sogdian in volume.60
58. Morgenstierne, 1944; 1967; 1973; Fussman, 1972: Gryunberg, 1980; Edelman, 1983.
59. Grierson, 1919; Zarubin, 1927; Lorimer, 1935, Vol. 1; 1938, Vol. 2; Klimov and Edelman,
1970.
60. Pelliot, 1934, p. 50.
386

This refers to the Late Bactrian writing system (for its development and
writing, see Chapter 6), which persisted in some parts of Tokharistan as late as
the twelfth century. With time, changes obviously occurred in the Bactrian lan-
guage and its various written records may reflect different dialects.61 The script
became increasingly cursive, some characters were identical in shape and some
had several meanings (this is particularly true of the ligatures), making the script
difficult to decipher.
Among the more famous written records of Late Bactrian (sometimes
called Hephthalite) writing, mention should be made of two cursive inscrip-
tions carved on rocks in Uruzgan (north-west of Kandahar in Afghanistan).
According to Bivar, who published them, one speaks of a king of Zabul called
Mihira(kula) and dates from around 500,62 although other scholars (Henning
and Livshits) suggest a far later date in the eighth or ninth century. The Bactrian
inscriptions in the Tochi valley of north-western Pakistan are very badly pre-
served. The Tochi valley also has Arabic and Sanskrit inscriptions from the
first half of the ninth century. The text of the Bactrian inscription, which is
very cursive, cannot be read with confidence: Humbach’s proposed reading is
completely rejected by other scholars.63
Inscriptions have also been found on sherds and walls in Middle Asia (at
Afrasiab, Zang-tepe and Kafyr-kala among others). Hsüan-tsang’s account
suggests that many more manuscripts existed than have yet been discovered.
Nevertheless some have been preserved in East Turkestan, in the Turfan oasis.
Brahmi manuscripts are known from Sir Aurel Stein’s discovery of the
Gilgit birch-bark manuscripts, which were immured in a stupa some time be-
tween the fifth and the seventh century. They include a Pratimokqa-sutra, a
Prajñaparamita and others. A mathematical manuscript found near Peshawar,
the Bakhshali manuscript (see below), may date from the end of this period.64
Other birch-bark manuscripts have been found in Zang-tepe, 30 km north of
Termez, where fragments of at least 12 manuscripts have been found. One of
them bears a Buddhist text from the Vinaya-vibhanga. A fragment of birch-
bark manuscript bearing a text of apparently Buddhist content has been found
at Kafyr-kala in the Vakhsh valley. Mention should also be made of the Bud-
dhist birch-bark manuscripts found at Merv and nearby at Bairam-Ali. The
latter find consists of 150 sheets, both sides of which bear a synopsis of various
Buddhist works, written in Indian ink. It was compiled for his own use by a
Buddhist priest of the Sarvastivada school.65 Sanskrit manuscripts of varied
61. Gershevitch, 1985, p. 113.

62. Bivar, 1954.
63. Humbach, 1966, pp. 110–17; see Gershevitch, 1985, p. 93; Harmatta, 1969, p. 345.
64. Kaye, 1927; Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts, 1959–60, Parts 1–2; and others.
65. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, 1983, pp. 63–8.
387

content, including medical materials, and dating from different periods have
been found in the Bamiyan valley (see also Chapter 18).66
It was during the late eighth and early ninth centuries that the Warada
script was developed on the basis of Brahmi. In Afghanistan, two marble
sculptures have been found with inscriptions which ‘represent transition scripts
from Brahmi to Warada’67 and which date from the eighth century. The origin
and chronology of the ‘proto-Warada script [are] far from being certain and
[are] still open to speculation’.68 In this regard, some materials from Bamiyan
are of interest.
The Bakhshali manuscript is written in Warada script and was copied by
five scribes, the chief of whom was Ganakaraja. It appears to have been a com-
mentary on an earlier mathematical work and contains rules and techniques
for solving problems, chiefly in arithmetic but also in geometry and algebra.
The standard of knowledge in this field is indicated by the fact that the work
treats square roots, geometric and arithmetic progressions and so on. Gram-
mars are also known. ‘The oldest work of this school of grammar known to us
is by Durga SiMha who flourished in about 800 A.D. and has written a com-
mentary entitled Durgavritti and a Tika of it.’69
The provinces and their rule

According to Hsüan-tsang, in the year 629 Tokharistan (Tou-ho-lo) measured
approximately 1,000 li from south to north and some 3,000 li from east to west.
He reports:
For many centuries past the royal race has been extinct. The several chieftains have
by force depended for the security of their possessions upon the natural divisions of
the country, and each held their own independently, only relying upon the natural
divisions of the country. Thus they have constituted twenty-seven states divided by
natural boundaries, yet as a whole dependent on the T’u-chüeh tribes [Türks].70
Later reports paint a somewhat different picture. From the year 718 we have
another Chinese report (see page 371 above). The yabghu’s younger brother
ruled over Po-lü (probably Baltistan but possibly Gilgit). The capital of the
‘dominion of the yabghu of Tou-ho-lo [Tokharistan]’ was in the vicinity of
modern Qunduz.71 T’ang chronicles report that the state of Tokharistan had a
66. Levi, 1932; Pauly, 1967.

67. The Archaeology of Afghanistan, 1978, p. 244.
68. Sander, 1989, pp. 108–12.
69. Pandey, 1973, p. 240.
70. Beal, 1969, pp. 37–8.
71. Enoki, 1977, p. 88.
388

‘select host of 100,000, all expert in battle’.72 In Khuttal alone, there were
reportedly 50,000 troops.73 The rulers (muluk, pl. of malik, in Arabic sources)
of some provinces bore specific titles. In the state of Uddiyana (valley of Swat),
‘by custom people are not killed. Serious crimes are punished by exile, while
trivial offences are pardoned. There are no tributes or taxes.’74 There were
reportedly 5 cities in this state and the ruler lived in the city of Chu-meng-
yeh-li.75 Use was made of trial by ordeal. The ruler took decisions only after
consulting the priests.76 In 745 the ruler of Kapisa was also the ruler of
Uddiyana.77 Earlier, in 726, a kinsman of the ruler of Kapisa was the ruler of
Zabulistan.78 Earlier still, in the time of Hsüan-tsang, 10 provinces were under
his rule.79 Thus, in the seventh century, Kapisa was a very powerful state.
In the state of Bamiyan, ‘the literature, customary rules and money used
in commerce are the same as those of the Tukhara country [Tokharistan]. Their
language is a little different.’80 The ruler of Bamiyan had a large and powerful
army81 and bore the title ‘sher-i Bamiyan’, while the ruler of Kabul province
bore that of ratbil shah.82 The capital of the state, or so al-Biruni bluntly as-
serts, was Kabul. Against this must be set the account of the Chinese Buddhist
pilgrim Wu-k’ung, who visited these parts in the 750s and reported that ‘Kapiwi
country had its eastern capital in Gandhara. [The] king resided in winter here
and in summer in Kapiwi.’83
Coinage
The coinage not only differed considerably from region to region, but was dif-
ferent in each of the provinces of Tokharistan. In what is now southern Tajikistan
three variations of cast copper coins with central holes circulated: (i) coins of
Tokharistan with legends in late cursive Bactrian (Hephthalite) script; (ii) coins
with Sogdian legends; and (iii) coins without legends. Particularly noteworthy
72. Malyavkin, 1989, p. 68.

73. Chavannes, 1903, p. 200.
74. Malyavkin, 1989, p. 70.
75. Ibid., p. 245.
76. Bichurin, 1950, Vol. 2, p. 270; Chavannes, 1903, pp. 128–9.
77. Enoki, 1977, p. 91.
78. Fuchs, 1938, p. 448.
79. Hui-li, 1959, p. 55.
80. Beal, 1969, p. 50.
81. Fuchs, 1938, p. 448.
82. There is also a view that ‘ratbil is the result of the corrupt scribe of the word Zabul’ (Pandey,
1973, pp. 73–4). In the edition of the Tarikh-i Sistan, the editor reports that the manuscript
gives the word ZNBYL, supporting the reading Zunbil. See also Ibn Khordadbeh, 1889, p. 39;
Kohzad, 1950.
83. Levi and Chavannes, 1895, pp. 349–57.
389

are the local imitations of Peroz drachms, some countermarked with Sogdian
legends, which remained current as late as the mid-eighth century.84
In the part of northern Tokharistan that is now the Surkhan Darya re-
gion of Uzbekistan, different varieties of coins circulated. In Chaganiyan, sil-
ver coins of the Sasanian shahanshah Khusrau I (531–579) were common be-
cause Khusrau’s conquests had extended to this region. Subsequently, imitations
began to be struck. Interestingly, both genuine coins and imitations were
countermarked, some with a cursive Bactrian legend of the ruler’s name, others
with a miniature portrait and others again with a symbol (tamgha). Sometimes
the same coin was countermarked several times, with one impression on top of
the other. Later, copper coins of the local Chaghan khudat dynasty began to
be issued. On the obverse was a portrait copying Khusrau I, in the margin three
portraits of the Chaghan khudat and on the reverse a fire altar. On some coins
the obverse bore a Bactrian legend; sometimes it merely carried the title khidev
(ruler) or ‘Khnar (or Enar) the khidev’. There were also copper coins bearing
the likeness of the ruler and his consort. These are the characteristic coins of
the Sogdian and Turkic states. Unlike similar coins from Chach (modern
Tashkent) and Sogdiana, they bore a non-Sogdian inscription and another
symbol.
In Termez, copper coins were struck bearing a portrait of the ruler on the
obverse, and a symbol of a different shape from that used in Chaganiyan on
the reverse. This coinage was probably issued by the local dynasty of Termez-
shahs.85
Although the coinage of Afghanistan and Pakistan has not been studied
in such detail, issues of Vrahitigin (or Vahitigina) should be noted. These were
silver coins (probably struck in the late seventh century) bearing the bust of
the ruler and inscriptions in Bactrian and proto-Warada, the meaning of which
was: ‘Caused to be made by Wri Hitivira Kharalava, the Supreme Lord Wri
Vahitigina the God’. On the reverse is a divinity crowned with a flame and a
Pahlavi inscription. The ruler’s crown comprises a wolf’s head, indicating Turkic
affiliations, while the divinity replicates the images on coinage of Khusrau II
(590–628). Coins of this kind are found in the Indus valley, in northern Paki-
stan and in Afghanistan, including Kabul. Humbach86 has suggested that
Vahitigina is the same as Barhatakin, the founder of the Kabul Türk dynasty, of
which al-Biruni reports, ‘The Hindus had kings residing in Kabul, Türks who
were said to be of Tibetan origin.’ Sachau87 suggested that this name derived
from the Hindu Brhatkina or Brhatketu (for linguistics, see pages 375–6 above).
84. Davidovich and Zeimal, 1980, p. 74.

85. Rtveladze, 1987, pp. 120–9.
86. Humbach, 1966.
87. Sachau, 1888.
390

FIG. 2. Ajina-tepe. Reconstruction of the south-eastern part of the complex.
Cities, architecture and art

The capital of the state of Kapisa–Gandhara (possibly, its winter capital) was
Udabhandapura, now the settlement of Hund, situated on the right bank of
the Kabul river. Most of the city was surrounded by a defensive rampart. Later,
in the Islamic period, it formed a square and its total length measured 1.3 km.
Each side had a central gate fortified with bastions. Traces of older fortifica-
tions have been discovered and there is also a well-preserved section of the old
wall some 20 m long. Around the fortified portion, the remains of buildings
have been found, indicating the great extent of the town.88
Although Balkh remained the capital of Tokharistan, there were many
other large towns that acted as provincial centres. One of them, the Vakhsh
valley centre now known as Kafyr-kala, has already been described (see Chap-
ter 6). In this period, the city was characterized by a radical restructuring of
the palace and residential quarters.
Individual structures, including palaces (Kafyr-kala), castles (Balalyk-
tepe, Zang-tepe, etc.), houses (Kala-i Kafirnigan) and, of course, Buddhist
buildings, have been studied in considerable detail. Here we shall concentrate
on Ajina-tepe (Fig. 2). This fully excavated Buddhist monastery consists of
two halves that made up a single complex of religious and residential build-
ings, each half occupying an area of 50 × 100 m. The south-eastern half, which
88. Another identification is possible: see Caroe, 1962, pp. 97–8.
391

FIG. 3. Ajina-tepe. Axonometric projection

of locations XXIV and XXV. Reconstruction.
formed the monastery proper, consists of a quadrangle of buildings around a

square courtyard. In the centre of each side is an aiwan (hall) and behind it a
cella. The cella on the south-eastern side contained sculptures, including a
4-m-high statue of the Buddha, placed on figured pedestals. The other cellas
were large halls, which served both as assembly rooms for the saNgha (mo-
nastic community) and as refectories. The aiwans were linked by winding,
vaulted corridors from which passages led off into tiny cells. Some or all of
the complex was two-storied.
The second part could be called the temple. Its overall layout was identi-
cal, but there were no cells for the monks. In the central shrine there was a vast
quantity of Buddhist sculptures on pedestals, or on the floor between. In each
wall of the long, winding corridors there were three or four deep-set niches
(Fig. 3), in which large statues of the Buddha sat in varied poses. At the end of
the final corridor was a gigantic pedestal taking up almost an entire section, on
which was a 12-m-high statue of a recumbent Buddha in Nirvana (Fig. 4). The
vaulted ceilings of the corridors, and their walls, were covered in paintings and
there were also paintings in the shrines (Fig. 5).
The entire centre of the courtyard was occupied by the main stupa,
which was star-shaped in plan and accessed by four staircases, one in the
392

FIG. 4. Ajina-tepe. Hand of the 12-m statue of the Buddha in Nirvana.

FIG. 5. Ajina-tepe. Mural painting. (Photo: © Vladimir Terebenin.)
393

FIG. 6. Ajina-tepe. Torso of a Bodhisattva. Painted clay.

centre of each side. In the corners of the yard were miniature stupas of the
same type, some ornamented with reliefs depicting small human figures
(Figs. 6-10).89 Buddhist temples have also been found in Kala-i Kafirnigan
(where some excellent paintings and sculptures have been preserved) and in
the palace complex at Kafyr-kala. Overall, there are grounds for speaking of
89. Litvinsky and Zeimal, 1971.
394

FIG. 7. Ajina-tepe. Head of a Buddha. Painted clay.

395

FIG. 8. Ajina-tepe. Head of a brahman. Painted clay.

396

FIG. 9. Ajina-tepe. Head of a noblewoman. Painted clay.

397

FIG. 10. Ajina-tepe. Head of a monk. Painted clay.

398

FIG. 11. Fundukistan. Two naga kings (seventh century). Musée Guimet, Paris.
(Photo: © UNESCO/Lore Hammerschmid.)
a Tokharistan school of art, related to, but not identical with, the art of cen-
tral Afghanistan.90
Bamiyan has already been described in Chapter 6. Here we shall say a
few words about the Fundukistan complex, which has been ascribed to the
seventh century.91 The part that has been excavated includes a shrine and, linked
to it by a vaulted passageway, another area consisting of several monastic cells,
an assembly hall and other communal rooms. The shrine is in the form of a
square hall with three deep vaulted niches along each side: it appears that there
were originally just two on the entrance side. Between the niches are pilasters
with Corinthian-style capitals. In the centre of the shrine there was a slender
stupa with an arcade on each side of its pedestal. The building material con-
sisted of large-sized blocks of pakhsa. Clay statues stood in the niches, whose
surface was lined with murals. The art of Fundukistan is characterized by vivid
colours, bold foreshortening and elegance: although it betrays a powerful In-
dian influence, there is also a certain similarity with the art of Ajina-tepe and
Kala-i Kafirnigan (Figs. 11 and 12).

91. Carl and Hackin, 1959.
399

Buildings of the late period at Tepe Sardar, near Ghazni, are of similar
date. In this large Buddhist monastery complex, the main stupa is surrounded
by many miniature stupas and shrines, ornamented with clay bas-reliefs. There
were several colossal statues of the Buddha, including one seated and one of
the Buddha in Nirvana. In one shrine, which is in the Hindu style, a clay sculp-
ture of Mahishasuramardini (a form of the Hindu goddess Durga) was found.
Thus a Hindu element was inserted within the Buddhist context. It is thought
that this shrine is linked with the upper classes of society.92 The remains of a
Hindu shrine have also been found in Chigha Saray (or Chaghan Sarai) in the
Kunar valley, dating from the eighth or ninth century.93
Hindu art is also represented by finds of marble sculpture such as a Shiva
and Parvati (Umamaheshvara) from Tepe Skandar 30: ‘It is carved from one
block of white marble and represents the four-armed, three-eyed Shiva seated
on Nandi, flanked by his consort Parvati and Skanda standing at the left side of
his mother.’94 The group stands on a pedestal with two steps. On the upper
step there is a three-line inscription in a transitional script between Brahmi and
Warada. It cites Shiva as Maheshvara.95 Another fine example of Hindu art is a
marble statue of Surya from Khair Khanah:
The piece can be divided into upper, middle and lower parts. In the centre of the
upper part is Surya, flanked by Danda and Pingala. In the middle part is the driver
Aruna holding the reins of two horses whose backs are shown as they veer upwards
to the right and left. The lower part is the pedestal.96
A whole series of other marble Hindu sculptures dating from this period has
been discovered.97 Taken together, they indicate a powerful Indian influence
and the spread of non-Buddhist Indian religions.98
92. Taddei, 1972; 1973; 1974.

93. Van Lohuizen, 1959.
94. Kuwayama, 1976.
95. Ibid., pp. 381–3.
96. Hackin and Carl, 1936; Kuwayama, 1976, pp. 375–6.
97. For the latest analytical review, see Kuwayama, 1976, pp. 375–407.
98. The Archaeology of Afghanistan, 1978, pp. 291–2.
400

FIG. 12. Fundukistan. Dressed Buddha (seventh century).

Musée Guimet, Paris.
(Photo: © UNESCO/Lore Hammerschmid.)
401

17
RELIGIONS A N D RE L I G I O U S
MO V E M E N T S – I*
Ph. Gignoux and B. A. Litvinsky
Part One
ZOROASTRIANISM
(Ph. Gignoux)
Nothing would be known about Zoroastrianism (Mazdaism) under the

Sasanians had not one of its most outstanding religious leaders, themobad (high
priest) Kartir (Kirder), left four inscriptions carved in rock at various places in
Fars: near Persepolis, at Naqsh-i Rustam (KKZ and KNRm) and Naqsh-i Rajab
(KNRb), and to the south of Kazerun at Sar Mashhad (KSM) (Figs. 1 and 2).
In them, the magus begins by describing his own career. A mere ehrpat (theo-
logian) under Shapur I (241–272), he was appointed by Shapur’s successor,
Hormizd I (272–273), as ‘Magupat of Ohrmazd [Ahura Mazda]’ (a title that
refers to the supreme god, not the king himself), and eventually by Bahram II
(276–293) as ‘Magupat of the Blessed Bahram [i.e. referring back to Bahram I
(272–276)] and of Ohrmazd’.1 It was under Bahram II that Kartir obtained his
most important offices, including judicial appointments. He benefited from
the great favour of the king, who not only authorized him to have inscriptions
carved and decorated with his bust but even had him included among the royal
family and court officials on several reliefs.
The work of the magus was essentially, as he tells us in the inscriptions,
to encourage the foundation of fire temples and increase the number of their
attendants, and to combat religions other than Mazdaism: Manichaeism (see
Part Two of the present chapter), which was beginning to spread under the
vigorous leadership of its founder Mani, in whose death Kartir doubtless played
a significant role; Christianity (see Chapter 18, Part One), which was gaining a
foothold in Mesopotamia and Iran as early as the second century; and also
Judaism and Buddhism (see Chapter 18, Part Two). However, Kartir also com-
bated deviations from Zoroastrianism, which had been open to the influence
of Greek philosophy and Babylonian astrology during the Hellenistic period.
There is therefore no doubt that he contributed to the rise of a more orthodox
* See Map 1.
1. Grenet, 1990; Gignoux, 1991.
403

FIG. 1. Sar Mashhad. Inscription. General view.

(Photo: R. Ghirshman. Courtesy of Ph. Gignoux.)
FIG. 2. Sar Mashhad. Inscription. Detail.

(Photo: R. Ghirshman. Courtesy of Ph. Gignoux.)
404

Religions and religious movements – I
Zoroastrianism, to establishing its supremacy over the other religions and, it is

thought, to turning it into a ‘state religion’ linked to the power of the throne,
though it is not certain that he succeeded in the last objective.
The Persians had no temples, but worshipped at fire altars on which the
symbol of the supreme god burned. In the third century, only two types of fire
appear to have existed: the aduran, a lower category established in small locali-
ties; and the Vahram fires, which served a province (shahr)2 and were probably
named after the king, as is suggested by coins and inscriptions – especially the
great trilingual inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-i Rustam (which mentions the
fire of Shapur and fires named after members of the royal family) – rather than
after the god of victory, Véréthraghna.3 There was also a temple to the goddess
Anahita, for which Kartir became responsible.
The Vahram fires remained the most important type during the post-
Sasanian period, but at some moment that is impossible to identify, there came
into being three major fires associated with social groups and bearing names
that point more to a founder than to a deity. Adur-Farrbay was the fire of the
priests; Adur-Gusnasp, the fire of the warriors; and Adur-Burzen-Mihr, the
fire of the farmers. The second of these is the best known to us through Ger-
man archaeological excavations4 which discovered the exact site at Takht-i
Sulaiman in Azerbaijan and a large collection of administrative documents,
including the temple’s official seal. The original location of the temple, how-
ever, is said to have been Media. The location of the other two major fires is
also thought to have shifted westwards over the centuries, though archae-
ological research has failed to confirm what may be conjectured from some
late texts, i.e. that the first of the fires, founded in Khwarizm, is thought to
have been transferred to Kariyan, in Fars.5 The site has not been found, but as
its name was related to the Xvarénah (royal glory), it was also called Adur-
Khvarreh. The third great fire was established in Parthia, on Mount Revand
(Bundahisn 9, 21), but its site has not been identified. It appears to have been
the most venerated fire during the Arsacid dynasty. According to Boyce,6 this
triad of fires reflected the division of Iran between the Parthians, the Persians
and the Medes.
Very little is known about the architecture of the fire temples since the
only ones to have been properly excavated are the large Takht-i Sulaiman com-
plex, the temple of Kuh-i Khwaja and the little temple of Tureng-tepe.7 The
monument at Bishapur, identified as a fire temple by Ghirshman,8 is probably
2. Harmatta, 1964, p. 226.

3. Boyce, 1975–78, pp. 222–3.
4. Osten, von der, and Naumann, 1961; Vanden Berghe, 1979.
5. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. 1, p. 474.
6. Boyce, 1975–78, p. 473.
7. Boucharlat, 1987, pp. 51–71.
8. See Schippmann, 1971, pp. 142–53.
405

not one since it is an underground construction. The most common type is the
domed chahar-taq, of which some 50 are known (many discovered by Vanden
Berghe), consisting of 4 quadrangular pillars connected by 4 arches supporting
a cupola. They are small monuments with sides less than 10 m long, a few of
them surrounded by a narrow corridor and some with subsidiary buildings
(called aiwans) added. This type of monument has often been equated with the
Sasanian fire temple but it is impossible to say whether the chahar-taq was a
location for public ceremonies, a temple reserved for the priesthood or the place
where the fire was kept. In addition, it may date back to the Parthian period
and is certainly attested at the beginning of the Islamic era.9 Some of these
monuments are hard to distinguish from signal fires that were located at the
tops of hills or mountains to guide travellers while also serving as places of
worship. The existence of open temples, however, is highly improbable.
Although the worship of fire, which had to burn eternally, appears to
have constituted the central ritual of Zoroastrianism, as is also attested by the
Nebenüberlieferung (Acts of the Syriac martyrs, Graeco-Latin sources), the
sacrifice of animals accompanied by various libations continued under the
Sasanians. We learn this from the great Naqsh-i Rustam inscription of Shapur,
who built up stocks of sheep, wine and bread, in particular for the maintenance
of pious endowments established for the souls of dead and living members of
the royal family, an institution which testifies to the importance of individual
eschatology among the Mazdeans. The sacrificial victim was probably smoth-
ered or strangled, but not bled as among the Semites.10
The doctrine expounded by Kartir, which did not even refer to Zoroaster,
was also essentially eschatological and could be summed up in a few simple
ideas, such as the existence of a paradise for the righteous and a hell for the
wicked. The need is stressed for justice and for obedience to the kings and the
gods. Among the latter, explicit mention is made of Ohrmazd. In the account
of a vision vouchsafed to Kartir by the gods, several deities with an eschatological
function appear; though not named, they may be Rashn, Mihr or Vahman. This
kind of journey into the other world, although presented for the purpose of
moral edification and as a warning for the faithful, has several points in com-
mon with the journey of Arda Viraz,11 a descent into hell suggesting a shaman-
istic experience.
Kartir appears to distinguish between two different rituals, that of Yasna,
defined by the word yast, and other rituals called kirdagan.12 It should be noted
that liturgical texts had not yet been written down: the Avestan alphabet had
not been invented and a canon was not constituted until the fifth century at the
9. Boucharlat, 1985, pp. 461–72.

10. Gignoux, 1988, pp. 11–12.
11. Gignoux, 1984a.
12. Back, 1978.
406

earliest. Until that time, the only written language available was Pahlavi, but
no written work from before the Islamic period has come down to us.
The Gathas [Hymns] attributed to Zoroaster, and the so-called ‘Recent
Avesta’ texts, were not written down until some ten to fifteen centuries later.
This came after the invention of an alphabet derived from the cursive script of
Book Pahlavi, supplemented by extra signs and admirably adapted to the pho-
netics of a language whose geographical home (Khurasan, Margiana, Bactria or
even Seistan) is still a matter of discussion. Such a precise system may even not
have been perfected until the Middle Ages by Zoroastrians who had taken ref-
uge in India after the Islamization of Iran and who were familiar with the struc-
tures of Sanskrit, since the Avestan language can be correctly analysed only
through comparison with that language. Indeed, it is through the Parsees of
India that the Avesta manuscript tradition – and that of the Late Pahlavi texts
– have come down to us.
The Avestan alphabet13 comprises over 50 signs, many of them borrowed
from Book Pahlavi, which serves to represent various phonemes or historical
pronunciations. Old Avestan is the language of the Gathas (c. 1000 B.C.; di-
vided into 5 sections in verse) and of the Yasna Haptanhaiti (in prose), but this
arrangement remains rather artificial. The Sasanian collection of theAvesta (most
of which is lost) and its commentary (called the Zand) is described in Book VIII
of the Denkard (see page 411). It was composed of 21 nasks (chapters), divided
into 3 sections called gathics (commentaries on the Gathas and the legend of
Zoroaster), ritual (liturgy, cosmogony, etc.) and law (primarily juridical texts).
The extant Avesta contains, besides Yasna 28–53 (= Gathas), various prayers,
invocations and professions of faith. The yasts (hymns to deities) constitute,
together with the Small Avesta and the Vendidad (laws relating to purification;
comparable to the Book of Leviticus in the Bible), the main texts of the ‘Recent
Avesta’.14
In establishing itself, orthodox Zoroastrianism not only had to vie with
Manichaeism, which rapidly constituted a body of doctrines presented in a
great variety of writings and languages and was thus able to claim universality;
it also had to struggle against internal deviations, the importance of which has
occasionally been exaggerated. Among these deviations, Zurvanism was prob-
ably more a matter of popular belief than of heresy in the strict sense.15 It ex-
pressed a more radical dualism than the Mazdean doctrine by making Zurvan,
the god of time, the father of the two twin gods, Ohrmazd and Ahriman, in
this way conferring equality on Good and Evil, both of which were thus cre-
ated by God. This doctrine, which is described in particular in the Nebenüber-
lieferung, has been given too much weight by some authors, who either con-
13. Hoffmann, 1971, pp. 64–73.

14. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. 3, Fasc. 1, pp. 36–44.
15. See Shaked, 1969.
407

sider it the normal form of Sasanian Mazdaism16 or attempt to expose this heresy
in the Pahlavi literature. Zaehner,17 for instance, believed he had detected three
strands of Zurvanism, a claim that was rightly rejected by Molé.18
Mazdakism, which was as much a social as a religious movement, en-
joyed a certain success because it was supported by the monarchy under Kavad I
(488–531). The movement was not initiated by Mazdak but by one Zardusht.
Thanks to the famous polygraph al-Shahrastani, who included a brief analysis
of it in his Kitab al-milal wa ’l-nihal,19 and to a few allusions in the Denkard,
its doctrine is quite well known: in some ways reminiscent of communism, the
movement impressed people by its teaching that possessions and women should
be held in common. Shaki20 has noted its limits, showing how such a system of
marriage in common or in a group could only have evolved in a very closed
society that practised incest or consanguineous marriage (xwedodah). In his
view, too, the cosmogony of Mazdak hardly differed from that of Mazdaism.21
Recently, however, Sundermann22 has emphasized the Mazdakite communi-
ty’s sense of solidarity in times of famine, and pointed out that the consequences
of holding women in common would tend to create a matrilinear society, which
could only offend the Zoroastrians, attached as they were to male predomi-
nance. The fact that a few women (Boran, Azarmigdukht) attained supreme
royal power at the beginning of the seventh century may reflect a certain change
in attitudes.
The esoteric or mystical character of Mazdakism, which was welcomed
by Arabo-Persian authors, who related it to the batiniyya, enables us to define
it as a gnosis, the principal traits of which have been defined by al-Shahrastani.
Salvation was achieved through faith and justice, not through observance. There
was no longer any religious obligation for those in whom the 4, 7 and 12 pow-
ers (an obvious reference to the planets and the signs of the zodiac) were united.
Shaki recognizes that it was, like any gnosis, a syncretic movement in which
doctrines deriving from the Graeco-Jewish writer Philo, neo-Platonism and
neo-Pythagorism may also be detected, but that it had little in common with
Manichaeism. Mazdak is said to have been put to death by Khusrau I (531–
579), who brought the movement to an end.
Al-Shahrastani believes that there were a large number of sects or her-
esies in Sasanian Iran. Indeed, as Shaked23 has shown, a pluralist attitude to
faith may have predominated. He points to great tolerance over differences in

17. Zaehner, 1955.
18. Molé, 1963.
19. Shahrastani, 1986.
20. Shaki, 1978.
21. Papers in Honor of Professor Mary Boyce, 1985.
22. Sundermann, 1988.
23. Shaked, 1987.
408

the formulation of doctrines, though such deviations from religious orthodoxy

did not necessarily entail the constitution of separate ecclesiastical structures –
it was simply that Sasanian Zoroastrianism was not monolithic.
The presence and expansion of Zoroastrianism in the eastern provinces
of Sasanian and Kushano-Sasanian Iran, and further east through Central Asia
and as far as China, remain obscure, despite large numbers of excavations in
regions governed by the former Soviet Union. These have so far yielded little
evidence apart from archaeological monuments and objects relating to the
religious or material culture. There are almost no texts apart from those found
at the famous sites of Turfan and Dunhuang. These do not concern Zoroas-
trianism but are essentially related to Manichaeism, Nestorianism and Bud-
dhism, which cohabited or succeeded one another in East Turkestan. They
are fundamental for the history of those religions and even more so for our
knowledge of Middle Iranian (Sogdian, Middle Parthian and Middle Persian)
and Turkic.
Using the literature published in Russian over the last few decades and as
a result of his own studies, Grenet has shown that the northern regions, Sughd
and Khwarizm, provide evidence of funeral practices and eschatological doc-
trines that accord with what we learn from the works in Pahlavi (see below) on
sixth- and seventh-century ossuaries. For several of these, Grenet24 has identi-
fied scenes of Mazdean liturgy, the representation of the six Amesha Spentas
(Abstract Entities), or even the judgment of the soul, in accordance with the
doctrine of the Pahlavi texts, even though lamentation rites (as on the Panjikent
frescoes) were normally prohibited.
In Bactria, Kushan coins attest to a whole series of Zoroastrian deities
but to only two of the Amesha Spentas, Shahrewar and Wahman, whose rela-
tionship to Greek and Indian gods provides evidence of a clear tendency to
syncretism.25 The cult of water, concentrated on the deified Oxus (Amu Darya),
which is represented on these coins as a bearded man with a fish, is also found
at Panjikent. On the Kushano-Sasanian seals, it is Mithra who invests the king
(further west this falls mainly to Ohrmazd) and plays an important role to-
gether with the river god.
Central Asia seems to have been unaffected by the development of the
fire cult as the only legal form of Zoroastrianism, the type found in western
Iran. This is shown by the Kushano-Sasanian coins and by the name of the
temple in Sughd (vaγ n < *bagina: ‘dwelling-place of god’), where there appear
to be signs of the worship of statues of Iranian deities. Of the temples exca-
vated, only Temple B of Surkh Kotal may be regarded as a genuine fire temple.
Those at Toprak-kala (Khwarizm, fourth–fifth century), Er-kurgan (Sogdiana,
second–seventh century, and where a dakhma for exposing the dead has, it
24. Grenet, 1986.

25. Grenet, 1988.
409

seems, also been identified), Kurgan-tepe (Samarkand, third–fourth century),

Panjikent (fifth–eighth century) and Kayragach (Ferghana, fifth–sixth century),
among others, are not fire temples, although their functions as places of wor-
ship are well established. The temple of the god Oxus at Takht-i Sangin merely
has two ‘chapels’ reserved for the worship of fire. The cassolettes for incense
or for the burning of offerings, found in connection with a deity in Kushan
Bactria, in Sogdiana and as far as Gandhara, should not be confused with the
receptacles for fire in the fire temples. The lack of texts rules out a detailed
overview but the essential fact that emerges is that the cult of images was not,
in eastern Iran, subject to the iconoclastic taboo of Sasanian Zoroastrianism.
In Margiana and Bactria, Sasanian Zoroastrianism had to compete with
Buddhism, and also with Hinduism and the worship of Shiva, but the Bud-
dhist complex at Kara-tepe was abandoned in the fourth century (?), probably
because of the Zoroastrians. Merv had a Nestorian community in the fourth
century and there was a bishopric at Samarkand, where Jews and Manichaeans
also lived, in the sixth century. To the north in Khwarizm and Sogdiana, on the
other hand, Buddhism made little headway.
As far as is known, relations between Iran and China did not really start
until the end of the fourth century when, with the decline of the Kushan Em-
pire, the Sasanians were able to gain control over the first portion of the Silk
Route, the rest of it being in the hands of Sogdian and Indian merchants and
later, after the fall of the Hephthalite Empire, of Persians. These last did not
really establish themselves in China until some time during the sixth century,
as attested by the discovery of several hoards of Sasanian coins. There was at
that time a considerable penetration of Iranian culture into China from Cen-
tral Asia. One eloquent, albeit rather late (784) piece of evidence is the Pahlavi-
Chinese tomb inscription of Xian.26
Although we are unable to determine the nature of Zoroastrianism in
China itself, the works in Pahlavi, though not written until the ninth and
tenth centuries, are a rich source of information concerning the religion as it
was practised in the east. This collection includes translations of Avestan texts
(the Yasna, the Vendidad, etc.) and compendiums covering a wide range of
subjects. For example, the cosmogonic myths about the creation of the world,
together with eschatological doctrines concerning the destiny of the indi-
vidual soul and the events of the last days leading to the restoration of a
world identical to that of the beginning of time, are found chiefly in the
Bundahisn [The Primal Creation] and in the Vizidagiha-i Zadsparam. The
latter is an ‘anthology’ which includes a large section on the hagiography of
Zoroaster, describing the attacks starting in childhood and from which he
escaped, and his miraculous powers. The same stories appear in the Denkard
(Books V and VII). Another topic concerns the rules of legal purity, dealt
26. Humbach and Wang, 1988.
410

with at length in the Vendidad or Sayist-ne-sayist (what is permitted and what

is prohibited, with a list of the fines to be paid as reparation for transgres-
sions) or the Dadestan-i denig. The Madayan-i hazar dadestan, a document
of a more strictly legal nature, provides specific information on family law,
the law of property and judicial procedures. Other texts concerned with cor-
rect ritual are the Nerangestan, which deals with liturgical expressions and
headings, and the Herbadestan, which is chiefly a manual for the use of
Mazdean priests.
Manushcihr, the brother of the ninth-century priest Zadsparam, left three
long letters in which he protests against the tendency to simplify the ritual,
necessitated by the difficult conditions in which the community found itself
after the Islamization of Iran. These conditions are described in numerous texts
– though the Muslims are almost never mentioned – in particular, in the
Denkard, an enormous compilation divided into nine books (the first two of
which are lost) and intended to encompass all the knowledge of the Zoroastri-
ans. This work makes much greater use of philosophical argumentation than
do the other books, frequently using concepts borrowed from Greek or In-
dian science, in order to refute the tenets of Islamic philosophy, as de Menasce27
has clearly shown, and hence belongs to the literature of apology. Faced with
Muslim attacks concerning the problems of divine attributes and of divine cau-
sality with regard to evil, the Mazdeans wanted to defend their dualism and
reject the patent determinism of certain schools of Islamic thought. The Skand
gumanig wizar28 is even more of an apologia for Mazdaism, not only against
Islam but also against Manichaeans, Jews and Christians.
The andarz (wisdom literature), later highly valued by the Persians, is
represented in the Denkard (Book VI)29 and in a few other scattered texts. The
Mazdean Apocalypse was probably a late work,30 and the events it predicts may
be related to the troubles arising from the rebellion of Bahram Chobin (sixth
century) and even more closely to the revolt of Mazyar (between 823 and 840),
reported in the Zand-i Vahman yast (a so-called translation of an Avestan yast
which never existed).
The royal ideology – immortalized by Sasanian sculpture as its sole artis-
tic expression, and associated with the glory of the ancient mythical Kayanian
kings – occurs in numerous texts. It must have been the basis for the Khwaday-
namag [The Book of Lords], now unfortunately lost, which linked the history
of legendary kings with that of historical kings and inspired the authors of
epics, the most famous of whom is Firdausi. The alliance between royalty and
religion, presented as two sisters or two twins unable to live without each other,
27. Menasce, de, 1958; 1973.

28. Menasce, de, 1945.
29. Shaked, 1979.
30. Gignoux, 1986.
411

is a recurring theme which, however, must not be taken literally. It seems to

have represented an ideal which impressed Arabo-Persian writers and provided
the inspiration for a literary theme.31
The palace revolutions which led to a whole succession of kings after the
reign of Khusrau II (591–628), and the conquest of the empire by the Arab
armies, must have rapidly disrupted the Mazdean Church. Wealthy supporters
of the temples probably preferred to support the new power and Islam in or-
der not to be ruined by the heavy taxes henceforth imposed on minorities,
since the Mazdeans were held in even lower esteem than the Jews or Chris-
tians. The priests, as can be seen from certain chapters of the Dadestan-i denig,32
faced serious financial difficulties in celebrating their offices. Many Zoroastri-
ans later emigrated to India, where they are known as Parsees. Here they es-
tablished flourishing communities and were able to safeguard the texts of the
Sacred Canon which can still be read today.
P a r t Tw o
MANICHAEISM
(B. A. Litvinsky)
The founder of the Manichaean religion, Mani (216–274 or 277), was able to
propagate his teaching without let or hindrance in Iran during the reign of
Shapur I. After Shapur’s death in 272, however, the opposition of the Zoroas-
trian priesthood became increasingly active. Finally, the prophet of the new
religion was imprisoned and tortured to death and Manichaeism became a per-
secuted religion in its birthplace, the Sasanian Empire.
Mani, who was acquainted with many religions, especially Zoroastrian-
ism, Christianity, Mandaeism and Buddhism, proclaimed the foundation of a
world religion to replace all existing religions. He borrowed much from their
doctrines and practices, and therefore, for all its idiosyncrasies, Manichaeism is
a syncretic religion. In consequence, it was partly familiar to Zoroastrians,
Christians and Buddhists and the prophets of these religions were adopted by
Manichaeism as its precursors. This encouraged the spread of Manichaeism
and made it a universal religion, one that was easily propagated among the
followers of other faiths.
The basic principle of the Manichaean religion was an all-embracing
dualism, reflecting the dualism of the environment in an idealistic form. In
working out his dualistic conception, Mani borrowed much from Iranian
31. Gignoux, 1984b.

32. Kreyenbroek, 1987.
412

religion and the Gnostics. According to the Manichaean religion, the ‘two
principles’ (do-bun), Good (= Light) and Evil (= Darkness), have existed from
the beginning; they are uncreated and are the direct opposites of each other.
The modern world as a whole, and man in particular, is a mixture of the two
principles. At the same time, they are not equal – Good is the higher. In the
world of light, the Father of Light (in Middle Persian, pydr rwsn) (also called
the First Parent) sits enthroned. The Divinity of Light has a twelvefold Dia-
dem of Light and is surrounded by twelve sons.
The good god is called the God of Light and acts more as an abstract
principle than a personality. The God of Light has five ‘light elements’: Ether,
Air, Light, Water and Fire. His kingdom reaches out limitlessly to the north,
west and east.33 In the south it borders on the kingdom of the Prince of Dark-
ness (in Middle Persian, Ahriman). This kingdom is divided into five worlds
(or caves). The Kingdom of Darkness is the source of eternal disturbance and
agitation. Incursions are made from it into the Kingdom of Light. In outward
appearance, the Prince of Darkness is a mixture of a number of different be-
ings.34 The origin of the universe is the junction or merging of the forces of
light and darkness.
When the forces of the Prince of Darkness invaded the Kingdom of Light,
the King of Light offered resistance. For this purpose he evoked two spiritual
principles, or rather he ‘called up’ the Mother of Life, who in her turn called
up Primordial (or the First) Man, her son (in the Central Asian texts, Ohrmazd,
or Ahura Mazda). He entered the struggle and suffered a fatal defeat. The sec-
ond part of the cosmogonic act was the liberation of captive Primordial Man.
Although he was liberated, he left five elements, his sons, in captivity when he
returned to the heavens. Nevertheless particles of darkness penetrated into the
light-bearing principle. With the aim of ‘purifying’ it, the Father of Light created
the visible world: the earth, heaven and the heavenly bodies.
The earth and heaven were created from the bodies of the slain demons,
‘from the generation [or line] of darkness’ (Augustin, Contra Faustin, XX, 9),
and the heavenly bodies from the liberated particles of light. In order that vic-
tory might be complete, a third messenger came into the world at the behest of
the Father of Light – the Living Spirit. He had the attributes of the Iranian sun
god Mithra (the name by which he is called in the Middle Persian work the
Shabuhragan) and at the same time he prefigured Mani himself. The third
messenger evoked the Maiden of Light (Twelve Maidens) and forced the de-
mons of darkness to ejaculate the seed and embryos from which plants and
animals were born. In answer to this, the forces of darkness gave birth to Adam
and Eve in the form of gods, in an attempt to keep back particles of light so
that the flesh would continue to absorb light elements. They passed on to the
33. Fihrist, 1970, pp. 786–7.

34. Ibid., p. 778.
413

first human couple the particles of light which had been absorbed by the forces
of evil that gave birth to them, and formed the souls of this couple. This was a
dark or material soul, made up of such things as lust, greed and envy. Jesus,
evoked by the Father of Light, aroused this couple, and they became ‘new’
people instead of ‘old’, able to distinguish between good and evil.35 At this
time a constantly operating mechanism was set up for the liberation of the light
particles, which finally rose up into the Kingdom of Light.36
The elements of light were separated from the elements of darkness with
the coming of Mani. Their complete separation will occur when the Last Judg-
ment takes place – the Great War, when the spirit is freed from the body, the
particles of light rise up to heaven and the carriers of darkness are cast down.37
It will be a sign of the end of the world when the forces of evil prevail and a
considerable part of the light is driven out of the world. This will be followed
by the second coming of Jesus, who will sit in judgment and separate the right-
eous from the sinners. Then heaven and earth will collapse, a Great Flame will
arise and all the particles of light will be liberated. A new paradise will come
into being and evil will be fettered and incarcerated in a great stone: the King-
dom of Light will have arrived.38
Thus man is destined to work for the liberation of the light particles in
his own being and in the world around him, and for their union with the prin-
ciple of light; he must support the principle of light. Man should not kill his
fellow men, nor should he kill animals; he should lead a moral life. Neverthe-
less, evil and the forces of darkness are very active, and man, because of his
origin, is predisposed to evil. Man, who has free will, should struggle reso-
lutely with evil (darkness) and choose good.
These precepts were addressed to the Manichaean laity, the ‘hearers’, both
men and women, who had to observe certain rules of conduct. For example,
they were forbidden to kill animals, and they could eat only the flesh of ani-
mals that had died a natural death or been killed by others.39 The main aim of
their life was to do good and above all to provide food for the ‘elect’ and to
serve them. The task of the ‘elect’ was to pray and to spread the doctrine. In
addition, they ate vegetable food (especially melons and cucumbers, in which
light was supposedly concentrated) and bread, and let these foods pass through
them. Thus their bodies served as a ‘filter’ for the liberation of the particles of
light contained in the plants, which then ‘along the Column of Glory mount
from Earth to Heaven’.40 Although the ‘elect’ were allowed to eat only vegeta-
35. Boyce, 1975, p. 7.

36. Fihrist, 1970, p. 782.
37. Polotsky, 1935; Puech, 1949; Widengren, 1961; 1983; Klima, 1962.
38. Boyce, 1975, p. 8; for a detailed description in the Shabuhragan, see Mackenzie, 1979, p. 513.
39. Asmussen, 1975a, p. 27.
40. Gershevitch, 1980, p. 282.
414

ble food, they were forbidden to pick the plants and fruits themselves – this
was the task of the ‘hearers’. The preferred drink was fruit juice. All sexual life
was forbidden.
The ‘elect’ who lived in the monasteries were required to journey on foot,
spreading the doctrine. They ate once a day, after sunset, and were allowed to
possess no more food than was necessary to feed them for one day and no
more clothing than was needed for one year.
A pious layman ‘hearer’ could become an ‘elect’ and then attain paradise,
but only after a cycle of reincarnations. (Mani’s doctrine included a belief in
the reincarnation of souls similar to the Indian concept of samsara.) The prac-
tice of repentance and absolution was widespread. An adherent could acquire
the chance of salvation by devoting his life to the service of the ‘elect’, in which
case he could hope to be born again as one of the ‘elect’ and attain paradise.
The impious would go to hell. The lowest rank in the Manichaean hierarchy
was that of the ‘hearers’, then came the ‘elect’; even higher were 360 Elders,
then 72 Bishops and finally 12 Teachers. At the head stood Mani’s successor,
whose seat was in Babylon.41
Manichaeism contained a considerable element of social criticism, declar-
ing the world to be the incarnation of evil. Manichaeans rejected everything in
the world around them, including social institutions, and this could be regarded
as a form of social protest. Nevertheless, since they held that evil was eternal,
they did not believe it was possible to destroy evil on earth. This explains their
characteristic pessimism, their feeling that there was no solution. According to
this doctrine, the rich would inevitably go to the Kingdom of Darkness. The
future of the adherents of the religion was seen as a liberation from all adversi-
ties – the Kingdom of Light. The element of social protest inherent in the
Manichaean religion made it attractive to the oppressed masses.42
Manichaeism inspired a rich literature. Mani and his followers used a
special ‘Manichaean script’ (supposedly invented by Mani himself), which was
related to Syriac Estrangelo and even more closely to the Mandaean script.
Mani used the East Aramaic language, for reasons which are clear: it was the
language spoken over the widest area and could be used as a linguistic medium
for the propagation of the new doctrine. All the earliest Manichaean religious
works, with the sole exception of the Shabuhragan, were written in East Ara-
maic. Mani himself is said to have thought and spoken in Aramaic.43
For the study of the Manichaean doctrine, the Manichaean sources them-
selves are of the first importance, especially the seven canonical texts: the
Shabuhragan, the Living Gospel, the Treasure of Life, the Pragmateia, the Book
41. Asmussen, 1975a, pp. 29–31; for a detailed analysis, see Schaeder, 1934, pp. 11–16; Van
Tangerloo, 1982.
42. Kats, 1955; Sidorov, 1980.
43. Schaeder, 1934, p. 11.
415

of Mysteries, the Book of Giants and the Letters. Only the first of these, the
earliest work, is written in Middle Persian; the others were compiled in Syriac.
Among the other Manichaean sources, the Kephalaia is important. Mention
should also be made of the Homilies and a collection of illustrations of the
most important aspects of the doctrines, the Ardhang.44
In addition, in Manichaean circles in Egypt and East Turkestan, canoni-
cal Manichaean works were translated and original works written in various
languages. Many Manichaean works have been found in East Turkestan; they
are written in Middle Persian, Parthian, Bactrian, Sogdian, Ancient Turkic and
Chinese. For example, there was a translation of the canon into Parthian by
Mar Ammo (see below), an associate of Mani. There was an extensive
Manichaean religious literature in Parthian, consisting of two cycles of hymns,
prose works about the life and activities of Mani and his death, expositions of
the doctrine and liturgical texts.45 The canon was also translated into Sogdian,
as were prayers, precepts and Manichaean prose works, including the history
of the spread of Manichaeism in the east, and the text of the confession for the
use of the leaders of a Manichaean community. Even letters have survived,
addressed to various people, including a certain Manichaean teacher.46 Old
Turkic works include the penitential prayer of the Manichaeans, the Xuastvanift.
Much information (some of it valuable) can be found in Christian po-
lemic works such as the Acts of Archelaus (Acta Archelai), the works of St
Augustin, the Syrian Christian chronicles, and the Book of Commentaries of
the Syrian Theodor bar Konai. Especially valuable Islamic sources are the
Chronology of al-Biruni and al-Fihrist al-cUlum by Ibn al-Nadim.47
Mani’s teaching spread far and wide even during his lifetime and he him-
self undertook a missionary journey to Sind. In the course of his journey, he
also visited the town (and region) of Turan in Baluchistan. Here Mani was re-
ceived as a true Buddha, and as a result of his preaching many were converted,
including the ruler Turanshah and the nobility.48 Although Mani claimed that
he ‘converted the whole country of India to the doctrine’, in fact he meant the
north-west part of India.49 It is possible that he made other journeys to the east
– the sources mention ‘the Parthian state’, ‘Kushan’ and other lands,50 but this
may be a reference to missionary travels undertaken by his disciples. Manichaean
missionaries engaged in polemics with other religions. According to one Middle
44. Boyce, 1968, p. 70.

45. Boyce, 1954; 1968; 1975; Asmussen, 1975b; Sundermann, 1973; 1979; 1981.
46. Asmussen, 1975b.
47. Flügel, 1862; Hegemonius, 1906; Alfaric, 1918–19; Polotsky, 1934; 1935; Säve-Söderbergh,
1948; Widengren, 1961, pp. 77–86; Klima, 1962, pp. 401–512; Abel, 1963; Rudolph, 1974;
Adam, 1969; Heinrich and Koenen, 1975; Asmussen, 1975a, 1975b.
48. Henning, 1977, 1, p. 385; Sundermann, 1971b, pp. 375–6.
49. Sundermann, 1971a, pp. 88–91.
50. Henning, 1977, 1, p. 386.
416

Persian text, they were especially vehement in their opposition to ‘idols, idol
priests, altars and their gods’.51
Mar Ammo was one of the main preachers of Mani’s teaching in the east.
He had a good knowledge of the Parthian language and script. On Mani’s
instructions, and in the company of the Parthian prince Ardavan and several
scribes, Mar Ammo travelled to Abarshahr (Nishapur), whence he continued
to Merv. According to the Missionary History, ‘he ordained numerous kings
and rulers, grandees and noblemen, queens and ladies, princes and princesses . . .
He completed and fulfilled all orders and injunctions that [had been given]
him by [Mani].’ He then travelled further east into the lands of the Kushan
Empire, where he set up a Manichaean community in one of the towns.52
Merv became one of the main centres of Manichaean propaganda in the
east. After the death of Mani, the head of the Manichaean hierarchy came to
Merv, where he found that ‘all the brothers and sisters lived in piety’. He sent
one of them, called Zurvandad, with two sacred books to Mar Ammo, who
was preaching in the town of Zamb (according to Arab geographers, this was
Zamm on the Amu Darya). In his accompanying letter, he wrote that other
copies of these books would be made in Merv.53
In the east, in Middle Asia and later in East Turkestan, a distinct
Manichaean sect arose. According to Ibn al-Nadim, it was called ‘Dinawariyya’,
from the Middle Persian denavar, meaning ‘giver [or carrier] of religion’. This
sect – which constituted an independent church, having its own leader – came
into being very early, either during Mani’s lifetime or soon afterwards.54
The Eastern Manichaean Church used Middle Persian as its main sacred
language. There were also Manichaean texts in Parthian; the Sogdians copied
them, and added versions in Sogdian. Most of the Manichaean texts discovered
in East Turkestan were the work of copyists in Sogdian Manichaean communi-
ties. Parthian was apparently supplanted as early as the fifth century, and was
preserved in the Eastern Manichaean Church as a dead language. In the sixth
century it was replaced by Sogdian in the region of Transoxania, although it
remained in use in northern Khurasan. There were flourishing Manichaean
communities in Merv and Balkh.
Buddhism and Manichaeism coexisted in Central Asia for a long time.
Even the most ancient Parthian Manichaean texts (poems which can be at-
tributed to Mar Ammo himself) contain some Indian Buddhist terms and the
number of these increases in fourth-century Parthian texts. A Manichaean
text on magic, which was probably written on the border of Iran and India,
perhaps in Balkh, in the sixth century, indicates that there were very close
51. Asmussen, 1975b, p. 13.

52. Henning, 1977, 1, pp. 200–3; 2, pp. 225–30.
53. Ibid., 1, p. 285.
54. Ibid., 1, p. 202, footnote 1; Sundermann, 1974, pp. 12–128, 131.
417

contacts between Manichaeans and Buddhists. Sogdian Manichaean texts also

include borrowed Buddhist terms and concepts connected with Buddhist tra-
dition.55
Buddhism had a considerable influence on the pantheon, the terminol-
ogy and even the concepts of Eastern Manichaeism, and also on its religious
practice. For example, one of the central concepts of Eastern Manichaeism,
that of the confession of sins, may have been borrowed from Buddhism or the
reverse.56 Under the influence of Buddhism, Manichaean monasteries
(manistans) appeared in the east and later in the west. Information about them
comes from documents found in East Turkestan, including one Old Turkic
document of the tenth or eleventh century which mentions a monastery in
Turkestan. The document even lists the provisions which were to be delivered:
‘Every day 30 melons must be taken to a big monastery and 30 to a small mon-
astery.’57
Manichaean worship included prayers, the singing of hymns, and prepa-
rations for the feast of the remission of sins. The ‘elect’ had to pray seven times
a day and the ‘hearers’ four times. They prayed facing the sun during the day-
time and facing the moon at night. Manichaeans had a religious ceremony which
marked the imprisonment and death of Mani; it took place in spring and lasted
the whole month. On the last day of this month (i.e. the thirtieth) there was the
celebration of Bema (‘the Throne’). An empty throne was set on a dais and a
portrait of the prophet was placed on it.58 The dais had five steps and was cov-
ered with rich draperies.
In the second half of the sixth century the Central Asian Manichaean
community, then led by Shad-Ohrmazd (from Babylon), declared its indepen-
dence. In the eighth century, however, the schism was healed, and during the
period of office (710–740) of Mihr as head of the Babylonian community his
jurisdiction was recognized also in Central Asia.59
Manichaeism played an important role in the ideological life of Central
Asia right up to the time of the Arab conquest. In the year 719, for example,
Tokharistan was among the countries that sent envoys to China. The embassy
was headed by the Great Mu-shia, a Manichaean ‘elect’, and a man profoundly
versed in the ‘configurations of the heavens’. His name is a Chinese transcrip-
tion of the Manichaean term mocag (literally, ‘the teacher’). The king of
Chaganiyan (a region in Tokharistan) asked the Chinese emperor to confer
55. Henning, 1977, 1, p. 383; 2, pp. 227–30, 283–4; Asmussen, 1965, pp. 136–47; Sims-Williams,
1983, pp. 132–40. For general issues concerning the relationship between Manichaeism and
Buddhism, see Ries, 1980.
56. Asmussen, 1965.
57. Zieme, 1975, pp. 332, 334, 336.
58. Boyce, 1975, p. 3.
59. Ibid.
418

with his envoy on the subject of the condition of the state and ‘our religious
teachings’.60
Following the Arab conquest, a more lenient attitude was adopted to-
wards the Manichaeans and many of them returned to Iran and Mesopotamia.
Under the cAbbasids, however, savage persecutions began again. The head of
the Manichaean Church lived in Baghdad until the tenth century, when his
residence was transferred to Samarkand.61 According to Ibn al-Nadim, during
this century there were Manichaeans in Samarkand, Sogdiana and especially
Tunkat (in the Tashkent region).62
There were many conversions to Manichaeism in East Turkestan. Its
advance was encouraged when the Uighur ruler Bögü kaghan adopted
Manichaeism in 762, after which it became the established religion of the Uighur
state. According to a Uighur text, the ruler decided to become a convert after
an inner conflict. After two days and nights of unceasing preaching by
Manichaean missionaries, Bögü kaghan appeared before the assembly of the
Manichaean ‘elects’, and ‘falling before them on his knees and bowing, begged
them to absolve him of his sins’. Then he said, ‘When your “elects” give the
command, I shall move [act] according to your words and your advice.’63 Under
normal circumstances, however, as can be seen from the Chinese version of the
Karabalgasun inscription,64 conversion required a long time and the participa-
tion of the highest echelons of the Manichaean Church. It is possible that the
stream of Manichaeans arriving from Mesopotamia, Iran and Central Asia as a
result of the Arab conquest and the introduction of Islam contributed to Bögü
kaghan’s conversion. As a result of his adoption of the new religion, the con-
flict between the two schools of Mesopotamian Manichaeism was transferred
to East Turkestan, where their followers coexisted with members of the East-
ern Manichaean Dinawariyya community.65 The Patriarch and the upper hier-
archy of the Eastern Manichaean Church resided in Kocho, the capital of the
Uighur state of Turfan (850–1250).66
The importance of Manichaeism in the Uighur state gradually waned. As
late as 983–984, however, the Chinese traveller Wang Yen-te remarked that, in
addition to 50 Buddhist temples there were ‘Manichaean temples’, and that
‘Persian monks pray according to their laws’. Manichaeism had also spread
through East Turkestan to China as early as 672. Manichaean missionaries ap-
peared at the T’ang court in 694; and in 732 an imperial edict allowed them to
60. Chavannes and Pelliot, 1913, pp. 152–3, 197; Belenitskiy, 1954, pp. 44–5; Schafer, 1963, p. 50.
61. Puech, 1949, pp. 64–5; Boyce, 1975, p. 3.
62. Fihrist, 1970, p. 803.
63. Bang and von Gabain, 1972, pp. 32–42. See also Marquart, 1912.
64. Chavannes and Pelliot, 1913, pp. 190–5.
65. On the subject of the two schools, see Fihrist, 1970, p. 393.
66. Sundermann, 1980.
419

preach67 to co-religionists, although the same permission was not granted to

proselytes. Later edicts were more tolerant, but then persecutions began again.68
Manichaeism played an important role in the development of art. Mani
was very fond of music, to which his followers ascribed a divine origin
(Augustin, De moribus manichaeorum, II, V, 16). Even in Mani’s lifetime, reli-
gious works were adorned with ornaments and illustrations to heighten the
effect of the text. Splendidly illuminated manuscripts were common in the
Hellenistic circles with which Mani and his followers were in contact. Mani
himself was an exceptionally skilled artist (Kephalaia, CLIV, 2). Later, during
the Islamic era, the name of Mani in Persian literature came to signify an artist
of the first order. Even Mani’s contemporaries were impressed by the size and
magnificence of Manichaean manuscripts and Arab authors were later to com-
ment on this. The scribes formed a special class among the ‘elect’.69 Texts were
usually written in ink on paper, or on silk or leather.70 Manichaean scribes paid
special attention to the beauty of their calligraphy and, as Boyce states, the
manuscripts are written in a ‘clear and elegant’ script. The headings at the
beginning of a work and of each section were filled in with vignettes and the
text was frequently framed with intricate ornamentation. Miniatures, however,
were the most striking ornament of the manuscripts. They portray all the ranks
of Manichaean society – Mani, the ‘elect’ (dressed in white) and the laity – and
depict religious feasts and symbolic images.71
The Manichaeans had the reputation of being initiated into magic lore
and did, indeed, engage in magic. They were, however, also well versed in
astronomy (astrology), geography and other sciences.72 They also produced
theologians and poets.73
67. Boyce, 1975, p. 3.

68. Asmussen, 1975a, p. 24.
69. Ibid., p. 62.
70. Boyce, 1975, p. 14; 1968, p. 67.
71. Le Coq, 1973; 1979, Pl. 2–6.
72. Asmussen, 1975b, pp. 44–5; Boyce, 1968, pp. 75–6.
73. Fihrist, 1970, p. 803.
420

18
RELIGIONS A N D RE L I G I O U S
MO V E M E N T S – II*
B. A. Litvinsky and M. I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya
Part One
CHRISTIANITY, INDIAN AND LOCAL RELIGIONS
(B. A. Litvinsky)
Christianity
According to al-Biruni, a Christian preacher appeared in Merv 200 years after
the birth of Christ,1 but Christian preachers must have been in Iran even ear-
lier. In the western areas of the Parthian Empire, ‘Christian communities ex-
isted . . . from the beginning of the second century, and during the century these
communities consolidated themselves by some form of organization.’2 Under
the Parthians, religious minorities, including Christians, were tolerated. They
gradually spread eastward and the list of bishops of the Syrian Church in 224
includes the bishop of Dailam, a province to the south of the Caspian Sea.3
During the Early Sasanian period the number of Christians increased, but
at the same time persecutions began. They reached their peak under the mobad
Kartir (Kirder) (see Chapter 17, Part One), a champion of orthodox Zoroastri-
anism and of the power of the higher Zoroastrian priesthood. In his inscription
at the Kacbe of Zoroaster, Kartir records the persecution, in c. 280, of Nazarenes
(n’cl’y) and Christians (”klstyd’n). During the war with the Roman Empire,
large numbers of Greek- and Syriac-speaking Christians were taken prisoner.
These communities, which used different languages, became increasingly influ-
ential. The head of the Eastern Church was the bishop of Ctesiphon (Seleukia),
but the other bishops did not always recognize his jurisdiction.4 At the synod of
410, the bishop of the diocese of Abarshahr (Nishapur) was mentioned.
It can be assumed that the large Christian community in Khurasan came
into existence as early as 334 in Merv and 430 in Herat.5 There is some
* See Map 1.
1. Biruni, 1957, p. 330.
2. Asmussen, 1983, p. 928.
3. Sachau, 1915, p. 20.
4. Asmussen, 1983, pp. 929–32.
5. Bartold, 1964, pp. 271–2; see also Asmussen, 1983, p. 932.
421
CentAsiaIII-Chap18à20 421 3/12/96, 12:40

archaeological evidence that Christian communities existed in Merv and south-

ern Turkmenistan in general from the third to the sixth and seventh centuries.
The necropolis at Merv, which has several Christian tombs, dates back to this
time; the ruins of a small Christian monastery and other religious buildings
have also been found here. A treasure of early Christian gold medallions and
plaques has been found in Geok-tepe, and impressions of seals bearing a
Nestorian cross and other objects of a Christian character have been discov-
ered in Ak-tepe (southern Turkmenistan).6
The history of Christianity in the Sasanian Empire, including Khurasan,
was determined by three groups of interwoven and constantly interacting fac-
tors: the history of the Eastern Christian Church itself; the relationship be-
tween the Sasanians and the Roman Empire; and the political and religious
situation within the Sasanian state. A schism took place at the oecumenical
councils in Ephesus in 431 and in Chalcedon in 451, when the Dyophysites,
who recognized a dual nature (the human and the divine) in Christ, separated
from the main body of the Church. This belief came to be known as
Nestorianism, after one of its apologists, Nestorius. The Monophysites (who
held that Christ had a single, divine nature) prevailed and the Nestorians had
to flee to the east, where they attained the leading position in the Eastern Church.
Throughout the Early Sasanian period, Christians lived under normal
conditions and systematic persecutions occurred only when the Zoroastrian
priesthood and the state took concerted action against them. Even the persecu-
tion under Bahram I and Bahram II (between 273 and 276), which was linked
with the activities of Kartir, ‘had no catastrophic consequences for the Chris-
tian communities, because Narseh (A.D. 293–302) altered the directions that
had hitherto been followed, giving rise to cool relations with the Zoroastrian
dignitaries’.7 The position changed dramatically under Shapur II (309–379),
when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire under
Constantine. This led to the long and systematic persecution (lasting almost
40 years) of their brethren in Sasanian Iran. Shapur II’s heirs did not continue
his religious policy, however, and under Yazdgird I (399–421), who was hostile
to the Zoroastrian priesthood, circumstances again became favourable for the
Christians.
The autonomy of the Iranian Church had been stressed at the third synod,
in 424;8 the number of Iranian Christians had increased considerably and in-
cluded members of the nobility. Within the Iranian Church a serious struggle
then broke out between Nestorianism and Monophysitism, the latter being
more rigid and ascetic than the former. Iranian Christians, who had only
recently converted from Zoroastrianism, were ideologically closer to
6. Nikitin, 1984, p. 123.

7. Asmussen, 1983, p. 936.
8. Ibid., p. 941.
422

Religions and religious movements – II
FIG. 1. Sasanian Iran.

Bas-relief in stucco representing a cross.
(Photo: © Musée du Louvre/Antiquités
Orientales.)
Nestorianism, which recognized the human nature of Christ and rejected rigid
monastic rules. As a result, the synods of 484 and 497 confirmed Nestorianism
as the dominant Christian teaching in Iran. This did not mean that Mono-
physitism was completely ousted, however, and under Khusrau II (591–628) it
enjoyed the strong support of Shirin, one of the shahanshah’s two Christian
wives, and also of his court physician, Maruta of Tagrit (d. 649), who played a
considerable role in strengthening Monophysitism. In general, Khusrau II
showed great favour to the Christians. Shirin enjoyed wide-reaching influence
and is said to have preached the Gospel in the palace; Khusrau had a church
and a monastery built for her. There were several Christians among the higher
nobility (Fig. 1). An imperial edict was issued permitting Christians to restore
churches that had been destroyed. According to al-Tabari, anyone except the
magi (members of the priestly caste) was allowed to convert to Christianity.9 A
rumour arose, which has survived in Persian tradition, that the shahanshah
himself secretly became a Christian.10
9. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, p. 287.

10. Pigulevskaya, 1946, pp. 234–49.
423

Many remarkable people were involved in the work of the Eastern Chris-
tian Church. One of these was the Catholicos (Patriarch) Mar Aba, a Persian
by origin and a former Zoroastrian. A man well versed in Zoroastrian lore, he
studied extensively and spoke at disputations in the Academy of Nisibis (see
Chapter 3, Part Two) (where he later taught) and in Alexandria, Constantino-
ple and other Christian centres. As a result of the synod summoned by Mar
Aba in 544, the organization of the Nestorian Church of Iran was more clearly
defined and became more centralized.11 The Arab conquest finally brought an
end to the Sasanian Empire: the last shahanshah, Yazdgird III (632–651), was
killed in Merv (a Christian outpost in the East and a base for Christian preach-
ing in Central Asia). Interestingly, it was the Christian bishop of Merv who
arranged Yazdgird’s burial.
Although it is known that Christianity came to Bactria (Tokharistan) from
Parthia, there is very little information about the Christian community there,12
and it is unclear whether there was a Nestorian bishop in Balkh.13 The Syrian
Book of the Laws of the Lands, from the school of Bardaishan (d. 222), gives
information about Christian women in the ‘Kushan country’ which, according
to Marquart, means Bactria. The statement by the fifth-century Armenian au-
thor Elishe Vardapet that Christianity had spread to the land of ‘K’usankc’ and
from there southwards to India refers to the reign of Shapur II, that is, to the
fourth century. In his Christian Topography, Cosmas Indicopleustes writes that
the Bactrians, ‘Huns’, Persians and ‘other Indians’ had many churches.14 In
549, at the request of the Hephthalites, the Catholicos Mar Aba appointed a
bishop for all the Christians in Hephthalite domains. The History of Mar Aba
tells us that later, at the request of the king of the Hephthalites and of those
Hephthalites who were Christians (Krestyane haptaraye), the Catholicos ap-
pointed one of their priests as bishop of the kingdom of the Hephthalites.15
Christianity was widespread among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia.
It is known that in 644 Elijah, the Metropolitan of Merv, converted a large
number of them – the Türk kaghan (king) with all his army ‘beyond the river
Oxus’, that is, in Tokharistan.16 In 719 several embassies from Tokharistan went
to China. Information drawn from one of them shows that Nestorianism ex-
isted in Tokharistan, and it is also suggested that there was a link between the
Nestorian Church and the ruling circles there.17 An inscription in Si-an-fu (781)
mentions a priest named Miles from Balkh.18 It is known that there were
11. Pigulevskaya, 1979, pp. 204–6.

12. Sachau, 1919, p. 67.
13. Spuler, 1961, p. 140.
14. Bartold, 1964, p. 278, note 88; Mingana, 1925, p. 302; Marquart, 1961, p. 283.
15. Mingana, 1925, pp. 304–5; Altheim, 1961, pp. 104–5.
16. Mingana, 1925, pp. 305–6.
17. Enoki, 1964, p. 72, note 114.
18. Sachau, 1919, p. 68.
424

differences in dogma and liturgical practice in the eastern regions, including

Central Asia.19
Christian preachers went from Bactria to Sogdiana, and Syrian sources
from 410–415 provide information about the founding of a Metropolitan See
in Samarkand. Even if this see was in fact established later, it is still indirect
evidence that there were numbers of Christians in this region at an early date.
Narshakhi reports the existence of a Christian church in pre-Arab Bukhara,20
and according to Ibn al-Nadim there were ‘dualists’ (i.e. Nestorians) and Chris-
tians in Sogdiana in ancient times. Archaeological work has confirmed these
reports. As one example, a potsherd bearing a fragment of a psalm in Syriac has
been found in the course of excavations in Panjikent. This was a school text,
written as a dictation, and judging from the nature of the errors the writer was
a Sogdian. It dates from the first half of the eighth century, no later than 740.
Nestorian burial-grounds have also been found in Panjikent.21
The Christian mission went from Sogdiana to Semirechye, where archaeo-
logical and epigraphic evidence reveals the spread of Christianity. A Christian
necropolis dating back to the sixth or seventh century and an eighth-century
Christian church have been found at the site of Ak-Beshim. Christian inscrip-
tions in Syriac and Sogdian have also been found in Semirechye; and when the
Türk tribes came to Semirechye they found Christians there. From the epistle
of the Nestorian Catholicos Timothy I, it appears that certain Turkic peoples,
probably the Karluks (among whom Christianity was particularly widespread),
were converted at the end of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth century.
One of the most famous missionaries of the Nestorian Church at that time was
Shubkhalisho, who preached in Central Asia.22 In 893, when Ismail Samani
seized the town of Taraz, there was a large church there.23
Christianity penetrated even further east and reached the Kyrgyz tribes.
A runic inscription in Sudzhi mentions the ‘instructor in the faith’ of the Kyrgyz
chief and uses the Syriac title mar, which denotes a Christian clergyman. Other
Kyrgyz steles with runic inscriptions are marked with crosses.
Christianity penetrated to East Turkestan even before the formation of the
Uighur kingdom of Turfan. As East Turkestan had very close links with Central
Asia, Christian missionaries (apparently including many Sogdians) made their
way there in the fourth and fifth centuries. They were to play an even greater role
in the fifth and sixth centuries, the period during which it appears (according to
the earliest Christian texts found in East Turkestan) that the first Christian
19. Mingana, 1925, p. 321. For more information about Christianity in Bactria (Tokharistan), see
Litvinsky, 1971, pp. 122–3.
20. Narshakhi, 1954, p. 53.
21. Paykova and Marshak, 1976; Paykova, 1979.
22. Nikitin, 1984, pp. 126–7.
23. Narshakhi, 1954, pp. 86–7.
425

communities appeared there.24 The translation of Christian works into Middle

Persian in Iran and into Sogdian in Sogdiana had already begun. Many remains
of Christian texts have been discovered in the sites of East Turkestan, including
the library of the ruined Nestorian monastery in the oasis of Turfan. They were
written in Syriac, Middle Persian, Parthian, Khotanese Saka, Sogdian and
Turkic. Sogdian texts predominate, however, and Sogdian became the second
most important language (after Syriac) in the Nestorian Church in Central Asia.25
According to the Chin-shih (Chapter 124), the family of Ma Si-ling-tsi-
sa (i.e. Mar Sargis) settled in Lintau (in what is now the province of Gansu) in
578. Christian missionaries clearly penetrated even further east and in 635 Bishop
Aloben (A-lo-pen in the Chinese sources) reached the T’ang court, bringing
with him sacred books and images. The emperor treated him favourably and a
Christian monastery was built, marking the beginning of Christianity in China
itself.26
Indian religions (except Buddhism)

As an important source of religious teachings, India had a major influence on
the peoples of neighbouring countries. This was true of both Buddhism and
Hinduism. During the period of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom in northern India
and Pakistan, and apparently in Afghanistan as well, the worhip of Vishnu was
widespread. Vishnu was regarded by his worshippers as the basis of creation
and the source of all that exists.27 Judging from certain Indo-Greek coins bear-
ing the image of a humped bull, the worship of Shiva was also widespread28 –
he was a fierce god, combining the characteristics of the Vedic Rudra and some
non-Aryan fertility god. Shiva rode on the humped bull, Nandi, and was fre-
quently accompanied by his wife, the beautiful Parvati. The linga, a phallic
pillar, was often used as a symbol of Shiva.
There is much evidence that the worship of Shiva flourished in north-
western India immediately before the coming of the Kushans. For example, a
group of coins of the Indian Saka ruler Maues bears the image of Shiva. In
Sirkap (Taxila), in a stratum corresponding to approximately the first century
A.D., a bronze seal has been discovered bearing the image of Shiva with an in-
scription in Brahmi and Kharoqthi: Wivarakwita (protected by Shiva).
The worship of Shiva was also widespread in the Kushan Empire, as can
be seen from Kushan coins: those of Vima Kadphises, Kanishka, Huvishka and
24. Hansen, 1968, p. 93.

25. Nikitin, 1984, pp. 128–30, including a detailed bibliography.
26. Kychanov, 1978, pp. 76–8.
27. Tarn, 1951, pp. 137, 172, 381, 391, 406; Agravala, 1970; Majumdar, 1970, pp. 30–2.
28. Tarn, 1951, pp. 135–6, 163, 172–3, 213.
426

Vasudeva bear a figure of Shiva or of Shiva with his vehicle, the bull Nandi.
The inscription Oeso on coins refers to Shiva. It used to be believed that this
legend reflected the Prakrit word havewa (in Sanskrit, bhavewa), an epithet of
Shiva meaning ‘Lord of Being’, or the Prakrit development veqa of the Sanskrit
vrqa (bull).29 The theory has now been advanced that this name is in fact an
East Iranian development of the name of the Zoroastrian wind god Vayu, who
took on the iconographic appearance of Shiva.30 A stele has been discovered in
Mathura with the image of two Kushans worshipping the Shiva linga.
The worship of Shiva also spread to those areas of the Kushan state that
are now in Afghanistan, and reached the Amu Darya (Oxus). In Airtam, near
Termez, a stone slab has been found with a Bactrian inscription and a carved
image of Shiva. In Soazma-kala, near Balkh, a stone slab was discovered bear-
ing the image of a three-headed standing Shiva with a trident and other attributes,
which strongly resembles Hercules.31 A wall-painting still to be seen in the
temple of Dilberjin has a central group depicting Shiva and Parvati mounted
on the recumbent bull Nandi,32 which cannot be earlier than the fifth century.
Many works of Shivaite art and of Hindu art in general, dating back to between
the fifth and the eighth century, have been discovered in Afghanistan. These
include some 25 marble sculptures and other works of art.33 Recent excavations
in Panjikent have yielded a large sculptural group of Shiva–Parvati.
Brahmanism played an important role in the religious life of Afghanistan
in early medieval times; individual brahmanic images even penetrated into
Buddhist circles and can be found in Buddhist sites such as Tepe Sardar.
‘Indianization’ also affected Bamiyan.
All these influences must have affected the religion and (to a greater de-
gree) the fine arts of Central Asia. The wall-paintings of Panjikent include images
directly related to the iconography of Shiva worship, in particular a standing
three-headed god. Yet in many details they are quite unlike the Indian proto-
types. The clothing of the three-headed deity bears the inscription wsprkr (or
wysprkr). Linguists suggest that this name links the Sogdian Vysprkr with the
name Oeso on Kushan coins, which in turn comes from the Zoroastrian wind
god Vayu. Ves-parkar (Veshparkar) is believed to come from the Avestan Vaiius
Uparo Kairitio (‘the wind whose action spreads in the upper region’). In Sogdian
translations of Buddhist texts, he corresponds to Shiva (Mahadeva) and is de-
scribed as having three faces. Thus this god with a Sogdian name and found in
the art of Panjikent appears in a form connected with the worship of Shiva,
which is in keeping with the Sogdian written tradition.34
29. Rosenfield, 1967, pp. 22 et seq., 93–4, 111, etc.

30. Humbach, 1975, pp. 404–5.
31. Fischer, 1957.
32. Kruglikova, 1976, pp. 93–4, figs. 54, 55.
33. Kuwayama, 1976.
34. Humbach, 1975, p. 404; Belenitskiy and Marshak, 1976, pp. 78–9.
427

Local religions
Despite the fact that Nestorianism, Manichaeism and Buddhism spread in the
non-nomadic areas of Central Asia such as Tokharistan, Sogdiana and
Khwarizm, most of the population continued to profess the local Iranian reli-
gion. This could be described as a Central Asian version of Zoroastrianism,
which differed substantially from the orthodox Iranian form.
In Sogdiana, according to Chinese sources, ‘they honour the Buddhist
religion; they sacrifice to the god of heaven’, which Chavannes takes as refer-
ring to Mazdaism.35 The texts report that believers worshipped a golden image
and sacrificed animals to it. Thousands of worshippers came every day to offer
sacrifice. According to other information, in Samarkand ‘the king and the peo-
ple did not follow Buddhism, but worshipped fire’.36 There was a temple for
ancestor worship in the palace of the Sogdian ruler. The feasts and customs of
the Sogdians are also described (in the eleventh century) by al-Biruni. He men-
tions that the Sogdians celebrated the coming of the New Year, which was
connected with ideas about the death and revival of nature. Once a year, the
people of Sogdiana mourned the dead. When doing this they lacerated their
faces and offered food and drink to those who had died.37
The worship of Siyavush was connected with the worship of the dead.
On the first day of the New Year a cock was sacrificed to him. It was believed
that the divine youth had died and his bones had been lost. On a particular day,
the believers, dressed in black and bare-footed, looked for them in the fields.
The custom of burial in ossuaries (ceramic receptacles for bones) was wide-
spread in Sogdiana, Khwarizm, the oasis of Tashkent and Semirechye. When
the flesh had fallen away from the bones, these were gathered into the ossuaries,
which were placed in a special chamber. Some ossuaries were richly decorated
with magnificent reliefs.
Sources relating the Arab conquest mention ‘fire temples’ and ‘idol tem-
ples’. They were richly decorated and contained many precious objects for use
in worship – for example, a pearl the size of a hen’s egg is mentioned. The
imagination of the Arab conquerors was fired by the size of the gold and silver
idols in these temples.38 Firdausi’s Shah-name also mentions ‘fire temples’ in
Bukhara and Paikent. The ninth-century Pahlavi geographical treatise Sahriha-
i Eran mentions the establishment of a ‘miraculous fire’ in Samarkand by
Siyavush’s son and the placing there for safe-keeping of gold (or gilded) plates
inscribed with the text of the Avesta. The treatise also mentions the destruc-
tion, by Sokandar (Alexander of Macedon), of these plates, after which the
35. Chavannes, 1903, p. 135.

36. Hui-li, 1959, p. 46.
37. Biruni, 1957, p. 258; see also pp. 236, 255.
38. Belenitskiy, 1954; Gafurov, 1972, pp. 285–7.
428

Turanian Frasiak (Afrasiab) ‘made the dwelling of the gods into temples of the
daevas’. In Kushaniya stood a temple on whose walls were depicted the an-
cient kings of various nations.
Sogdian texts mention various divinities. First there is zrw (Zurvan). In
translations of Buddhist texts this name is used in place of the Indian Brahma.
He is called ‘King Zurvan’ and given the epithet of ‘great’ and ‘king of gods’.
His particular iconographic feature was the beard. Xwrmzt’βγ (Ahura Mazda,
or Orhmazd), the supreme god of Zoroastrianism, is very rarely mentioned.
There is more frequent mention of Aδβaγ, who held the second place in the
divine hierarchy and was worshipped by Zrwsc (Zoroaster). Clearly Ohrmazd
(Ahura Mazda) was also referred to as Aδβaγ. The deity Veshparkar (wsprkr)
has already been mentioned. All this is evidence of the Zurvanite tendency of
Sogdian Zoroastrianism and of certain links with Indian religions. There is also
mention of Vrθ raγ na (wsγ n), Druvaspa (δrw’sp), Haoma (γwm), Xvarénah
(prn) and other gods, among whom one of the most important was the female
divinity Nanai. It is significant that the Amesha Spentas (see Chapter 17, Part
One) occur in personal names. Henning has described the Sogdian religion as
‘the impact of Zoroaster’s teachings on the native paganism of Sogdiana’39 –
perhaps it would be more accurate to say ‘the native Iranian paganism’.
Religious iconography and architecture, as well as burial customs, are
proof that the local religions of Sogdiana, Khwarizm and Tokharistan were
closely related. The principles of the ancient Iranian religion, which was dual-
istic, served as the unifying factor and idiosyncratic variations of these princi-
ples continued to develop right up to the conversion to Islam. At the same
time, there were considerable changes in their pantheon and principles, which
assimilated many new subjects, elements and figures that did not appear in the
west Iranian religion. Some of these inclusions were due to interaction with
religious systems of foreign origin (see also Chapter 17). The religion of the
Central Asian nomadic Iranian peoples was even more idiosyncratic. From the
fourth to the eighth century they continued the practice of burying the dead in
tumuli. Both inhumation and cremation were practised.
The beliefs of the ancient Turkic and Mongol peoples belong to a com-
pletely different religious and mythological system. Their cosmogonic ideas
are known from runic inscriptions in honour of Kül-tegin and Bilge kaghan:
When high above the blue sky was created and down below the brown earth had
been created, between the two were created the sons of men. When this took place,
the heaven rose up like a roof above the earth.
The rising sun was also worshipped and the east was considered the most im-
portant direction: the doors of the kaghan’s tent faced east. The earth was seen
as square; the kaghan’s headquarters was in its centre, where the Türk people
39. Henning, 1965, p. 250.
429

lived, while their enemies lived around the periphery. There are hints of a myth
concerning a cosmic catastrophy which was part of a cosmogonic myth.
The Turkic peoples, and those belonging to the Siberian Central Asian
religious system in general, saw the universe as divided into three parts: an Up-
per (= Heaven), a Middle (= Earth) and a Lower World. The Lord of the Lower
World (the Underworld) was Erklig (in Mongolian, Erlik kaghan). One mem-
ber of his retinue was Bürt, the spirit of sudden death; he was opposed by Tengri
(Heaven), the supreme deity of the pantheon. Tengri determined the order that
prevailed in the world and also the destinies of people. The West Turkic people
of the Khazar conceived of Tengri as a hero of gigantic size; tall trees were dedi-
cated, and horses sacrificed, to him. According to al-Kashgari, the Türks used
the word ‘Tengri’ to mean ‘high mountains’ and ‘big trees’. According to Chi-
nese sources, it was on high mountains that the Eastern Türk kaghans and ‘na-
tion’ offered prayers to the ‘spirit of heaven’. Tengri’s divine consort was Umai,
the goddess of fertility, protectress of the new-born. Prayers and sacrifices were
offered to the sacred ‘Earth-Water’, belonging to the Middle World.40
In the mythology of the ancient Mongol nomads of the steppe (the Hsien-
pi, Kitans and others), there were two main cosmic principles, Heaven and
Earth (cf. the ancient Türk mythology). The Hsiung-nu and Wu-huan wor-
shipped the spirits of their ancestors, heaven, earth, the sun, the moon and the
stars. The legends of the Hsien-pi tribes included zoomorphic elements that
had their origins in clan totems: a horse, a bull, a deer (elk). The Kitans wor-
shipped abstract gods – which they personified – such as war and fire (some-
times in the form of totemic animals – a white horse or a deer) and also the
spirits of their ancestors. They believed that the Initial Order, mounted on a
white stallion, had met a celestial maiden in a cart drawn by a cow near the
mountain of Mu-ye. Eight sons, the forefathers of the Kitan tribes, were born
from the marriage of Initial Order and the celestial virgin.
The Mongols themselves had a dualistic system. Their supreme deity was
Tengri (Heaven), the creator of all that exists, who determined the fates of men
and affairs of state. He was called blue and eternal, and was viewed as the male
principle. His counterpart was Ütügen, the goddess of Earth, who was associ-
ated with notions of fertility and the rebirth of nature. Ütügen was the femi-
nine principle just as Umai was in ancient Türk mythology. The Mongols also
worshipped the sun, which was regarded as the mother of the moon. There
were distinctly totemic ideas in their legends.41 Ancient Altaic religious and
mythological systems and religious practices were shamanistic.
The religions of Central Asia not only co-existed, but also interacted,
and competed for adherents. The religions which penetrated into Central Asia,
40. Roux, 1956–57; 1962; Potapov, 1978; Klyashtorny, 1981.

41. Wittfogel and Fêng, 1949; Rintchen, 1959; 1961; 1975; Tucci and Heissig, 1970; Zhukovskaya,
1977; Neklyudov, 1981.
430

such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity, had to es-

tablish themselves in an environment where other beliefs existed, whether
Tokharian, Iranian (the Khotanese Sakas, Sogdians, Bactrians, Khwarizmians,
etc.) or Altaic (ancient Turkic and Mongol). Even the spread of the ideas em-
bodied in Zoroaster’s teaching did not have the same consequences among the
eastern Iranians as in western Iran, because a substratum of local beliefs and
rituals survived. There were considerable differences between Central Asian
and Persian Zoroastrianism. In other cases, several religious systems were super-
imposed, for example in the case of the spread of Buddhism, Manichaeism and
Christianity among the Türks and Uighurs, whose shamanistic beliefs remained,
to a greater or lesser degree, the substratum of their spiritual concepts.
As this process continued over many centuries, only a few traces were
left of the local religion. This was, for example, the case with the Khotanese
Sakas, whose conversion to Buddhism was so complete that almost nothing
remained of their original, ancient Iranian religion; the same is true of the
Tokharians. The Sogdians, who kept many elements of their original religion,
were in an intermediate position. There was also interaction between the vari-
ous new religions, both local and imported, which had a developed written
tradition. This led to borrowings, the transference of religious concepts and
ideas, and syncretism.42
P a r t Tw o
BUDDHISM
(M. I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya)
Written sources
As mentioned in previous chapters, the enormous territory encompassing
Central Asia and East Turkestan constituted a single region in the final centu-
ries B.C. and during the greater part of the first millennium A.D. This is ex-
plained by its common ethnic character, its shared historical fortunes, the simi-
lar geographic and economic circumstances that conditioned the character and
pace of its socio-economic development, and the region’s cultural similarity. A
basic factor determining this cultural similarity was Buddhism, which was ac-
cepted over the entire territory as a doctrine of moral ethics, an ideology and a
religion.
42. Asmussen, 1965.
431

The spread of Buddhism beyond the boundaries of India took place at

the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (c. 268 B.C.), and found expression
in his edicts engraved on pillars and rocks at various points throughout the
empire. In the propagation of Buddhism and Indian culture in Central Asia
and East Turkestan (of which Ashoka Maurya was the initiator), an important
role was played by the Parthian, Saka and Kushan rulers of north-western In-
dia. A major influx of Buddhist missionaries into these territories occurred
among the Kushans. The principal route of Buddhist expansion lay through
Bactria and the western possessions of the Kushan Empire. Part of this terri-
tory (northern Bactria on the right bank of the Amu Darya, or Oxus – later
Tokharistan) now forms part of Middle Asia (southern Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan). Recent archaeological findings have shown that Buddhism and
Indian culture permeated every area of Central Asia, leaving direct evidence in
the form of inscriptions and religious structures, as well as profound traces in
the cultural substrata of the local peoples. Buddhism only ceased to play an
important role in the region from the end of the eighth century, after the arrival
of Islam, and in the northern region of Central Asia (in Semirechye) Buddhist
religious centres were evidently still functioning as late as the tenth century.
In the Kushan period, Buddhism also began to be actively propagated in
East Turkestan. Buddhist penetration followed two paths: from Bactria, the
centre of the Kushan possessions, to Kashgar and further east; and from north-
western India and Kashmir to Khotan and the southern oases of East Turkestan
(see Chapter 15). Although no precise information is available about the time
when Buddhism penetrated to the northern oases of Turfan and Kucha, it prob-
ably became established there at the beginning of the Christian era. In 300 Chi-
nese sources report the presence in Kucha of 1,000 Buddhist temples and sanc-
tuaries; and in the fourth century Kucha became an important centre of Buddhist
education, where translators were trained for China. It was from here that
Kumarajiva, the celebrated translator of Buddhist texts, whose school was con-
sidered one of the most authoritative in China, was invited to that country.
Judging by the borrowing of some Prakrit Buddhist terms from the Khotanese
Saka language into the Tokharian languages, Buddhism came to the Tokharians
from the south, in other words, from Khotan (Fig. 2).
One of the most important results of India’s cultural influence on East
Turkestan was the dissemination of ancient forms of Indian writing – Brahmi
and Kharoqthi – which were adopted by the local peoples (who had no script)
to set down their languages. From the adaptation of Indian Brahmi to the writ-
ing of the Tokharian A and B languages in the northern oases of East Turkestan
(Turfan and Kucha), a version of Brahmi known as Central Asiatic slanting
Brahmi emerged.
In Khotan and Kashgar, Indian Brahmi was adapted to the writing of the
Saka language (one of the East Iranian languages current in the area), which
was the tongue of the original population. From this adaptation another version
432

FIG. 2. Fragment of a manuscript on paper from the collection

of N. F. Petrovskiy (no. SI P/7). Text in Sanskrit Saddharma-pundarika.
On the lower level an inscription in Khotanese Saka.
Script in South Turkestan Brahmi. Coloured illustration: Buddha receiving offerings.
of Brahmi emerged – Central Asiatic upright Brahmi, the writing of the south-
ern oases. These processes had evidently been concluded by the fifth century.
Palaeography is today used as one of the criteria for dating manuscripts in the
Brahmi script and for determining where they were copied.
Another form of ancient Indian writing which found its way into East
Turkestan and Central Asia was Kharoqthi, long thought to be a chancery hand
which had spread to north-western India from the Achaemenid chancery. The
Kushans promoted it to the rank of official state script and it was employed in
Bactrian territory alongside the local Bactrian writing system. Besides two ver-
sions of the Bactrian script, other forms of writing which gained currency in
Central Asia included Parthian, Sogdian, Khwarizmian and Pahlavi (Middle
Persian). This is evidently the reason why the Indian scripts, Kharoqthi and
Brahmi, did not develop local versions here; and in the following centuries
their use was confined to a Buddhist context, where they appeared in inscrip-
tions on monastic ceramic ware and similar articles, on reliquaries and in Bud-
dhist manuscripts (Fig. 3).
In East Turkestan, no inscriptions on monastic ware have been discov-
ered, but in the first and second centuries, local coins with a ‘Sino-Kharoqthi’
433

FIG. 3. Clay pot with an inscription in Brahmi.

Found in Afrasiab near Samarkand.
legend were being minted in Khotan. The largest find of written monuments in
Kharoqthi characters is an archive of official documents on wooden strips, dat-
ing from the mid-third to the mid-fourth century and found in the southern
oases of Niya and Kroraina in the territory of the small, independent, ancient
state of Kroraina in the oases of the Taklamakan desert.
The inscriptions on monastic ceramic ware and reliquaries (deposited in
Buddhist religious buildings) and Buddhist manuscripts are the main written
sources that have enabled modern research to determine the territorial spread
of Buddhism, the time when this propagation took place, and the principal
Buddhist schools and centres which have influenced the region’s history and
culture. The Buddhist manuscripts found in East Turkestan and Central Asia
remain the only original texts of the Buddhist canon known anywhere in the
world. Even in India, virtually none of these texts has been preserved. Some of
the Buddhist writings, and commentaries on them, found in India are merely
in the form of late copies. Questions as to how the doctrinal, philosophical,
434

dogmatic and religious tenets of Buddhism came to be established in the terri-

tories of India and beyond, and what transformation these aspects of Buddhism
underwent in the new cultural milieu, can be answered only on the basis of the
information obtained from the manuscripts of East Turkestan and Central Asia.
A large group of Buddhist texts, found in the territory of East Turkestan
and in the ideologically, religiously, culturally and (for almost a century) ad-
ministratively associated Dunhuang, were written (or copied) in these areas in
Chinese, Tibetan and Uighur. For copying the Buddhist texts, the Türks, among
whom Buddhism started to be professed as early as the sixth century, used the
Uighur (Sogdian in origin), Brahmi (seventh–eighth centuries) and Tibetan
(eighth-century) scripts. Turkic Buddhist manuscripts and xylographs have been
found in Turfan, Dunhuang, Miran (south-west of Lake Lop Nor) and Suzhou.
The territories in which Buddhist texts in Indian scripts have so far been found
are listed below, together with a brief description of the texts themselves.
E A S T T U R K E S TA N
(a) Manuscripts written in Brahmi characters (Indian and slanting), in San-

skrit and in Tokharian A and B, have been found in the northern oases –
Turfan and Kucha – as well as in Dunhuang (for details of the manu-
scripts, see below).
(b) Manuscripts written in Brahmi characters (Indian and upright), in the
Khotanese, Tumshuq Saka and Sanskrit languages, have been found in
Khotan and Kashgar.
(c) Manuscripts written in Kharoqthi characters in Gandhari, in which a lo-
cal non-Indian substratum is traceable, have been found in the oases of
Niya and Kroraina to the south of Lake Lop Nor (around 800 official
documents on wooden strips, including many texts concerned with the
activities of the local Buddhist community and the performance of reli-
gious rituals).
(d) A manuscript in the Kharoqthi script in Gandhari, on birch bark, con-
taining the text of the Buddhist Hinayana sutra, the Dharmapada (Fig. 4),
has been discovered in Khotan.
(e) A small fragment of palm leaf bearing a text in the Kharoqthi script in
Gandhari, and evidently an excerpt from the Hinayana version of the
Mahaparinirvana sutra, has been discovered although the location of the
find is unknown. The fragment, which has not been published, forms
part of the S. F. Oldenburg Collection in the Institute of Oriental Studies
of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. The fragment shows
that the Kharoqthi script was used for making manuscript copies of Bud-
dhist canonical texts, and that the Dharmapada find is not an exception.
(f) The only known dedicatory inscription to a Buddhist community, in
Gandhari and written in Kharoqthi characters, was found in Lo-yang.
435

FIG. 4. Manuscript on birch bark in Kharoqthi script

with the text of the Dharmapada.
436

B A C T R I A ( T O K H A R I S TA N )
(a) In the Kushan period, Old Termez was a prominent Central Asian Bud-
dhist centre and many remnants of religious buildings have been found
in the region, including the Buddhist monastery of Kara-tepe and the
Fayaz-tepe monastic site. The Old Termez area has provided a large quan-
tity of ceramic inscriptions written in Kharoqthi and Brahmi script con-
nected with the activity of the Buddhist community of Mahasamghika.
Dedicatory inscriptions on reliquaries and other objects have also been
found.
(b) The castle of Zang-tepe, 30 km to the north of Termez, probably had a
Buddhist stupa. Fragments of various Sanskrit manuscripts written in
Brahmi script on birch bark have been recovered.
(c) Round the demolished Buddhist stupa at the palace of Kafyr-kala (in the
town of Kolkhozabad in the Vakhsh valley), scorched remains of manu-
scripts in Brahmi script, written on birch bark, have been recovered from
the débris.
(d) At Balkh, excavations of the Buddhist complex have brought to light a
broken piece of pottery with a Buddhist dedicatory inscription written
in Kharoqthi characters.
(e) In southern Bactria, a copper vessel has been found with a dedicatory
inscription, in which mention is made of the Buddhist school of
Dharmaguptaka.
M E RV OASIS ( T U R K M E N I S TA N )
In Merv, archaeologists have discovered an important Buddhist centre, with

temples and a number of stupas. In one of the stupas in Merv, and in another
stupa opened by chance in Bairam-Ali, immured vessels with two Buddhist
manuscripts have been found: both were written in Sanskrit in Brahmi charac-
ters and inscribed on birch bark. One of them has been restored and is pre-
served at the Institute of Oriental Studies in St Petersburg; the other is under-
going restoration in Moscow.
S E M I R E C H Y E ( K Y R G Y Z S TA N )
In the Krasnorechensk site, in the Chu valley, excavations have been in progress
for many years on the site of the Buddhist temple. In 1985, in the passageway
not far from the 11-m-high statue of Buddha in Nirvana, manuscript fragments
in Sanskrit, written in Brahmi characters on birch bark, have been found.
437

KAPISA REGION ( A F G H A N I S TA N )
As regards contacts between Iranian and Indian cultures,43 the numerous finds
of Buddhist relics – monasteries, stupas and rock inscriptions – show that
Buddhism flourished in the Kushan period. Ceramic, reliquary, vase, wall and
rock inscriptions in Kharoqthi script have been discovered in the following
areas: Wardak, Begram and Gul Dara (all near Kabul); Tor Dheri (in Pakistani
Baluchistan); and Dasht-i Nawur (a trilingual rock inscription in Bactrian,
Kharoqthi and an undeciphered script similar to Kharoqthi). Manuscripts in
Brahmi and Kharoqthi characters have also been found in the Bamiyan monas-
tery (Afghanistan).
M O U N TA I N A R E A S N O RT H O F GANDHARA
The diffusion of Buddhism in this territory over a lengthy time span, from the
Kushan period to the Muslim conquest, is attested by the many rock inscrip-
tions left by Buddhist pilgrims and by reliquary inscriptions from Bajaur, Tirah,
Swat, Gilgit and Hunza written in Kharoqthi and Brahmi scripts. In the first
millennium B.C., the Gilgit and Hunza areas were crossed by Buddhist pil-
grims, merchants and traders travelling between Central Asia, India and East
Turkestan. It was in Gilgit, in the early 1930s, that Sir Aurel Stein made one of
the most outstanding discoveries of the century – a Buddhist library of the
seventh century, immured in a stupa and comprising Buddhist manuscripts, on
birch bark and paper, written in Sanskrit in Brahmi characters. Most of the
manuscripts relate to the canon of the Mulasarvastivada Hinayana school.
NAGARAHARA (HADDA/JALALABAD AREA)
This area is rich in Buddhist monuments of the Kushan period. Many inscrip-
tions written in Kharoqthi script have been found on Buddhist reliquaries, ves-
sels and walls in the monasteries of Bimaran, Hadda, Jalalabad and Basawal.
Inscriptions in Buddhist complexes

The contents of the inscriptions listed above provide information about the
geographic spread of Buddhism and its various schools; about the chronologi-
cal sequence of the diffusion process; and about the names of those who pro-
fessed the religion. In some cases, this information can help to establish the
43. Identified by Fussman, 1989, p. 445. Thanks to Fussman’s brilliant work, devoted to the pal-
aeography of inscriptions in Indian scripts and to the Gandhari language, the study of Indian
inscriptions can, for the first time, be placed on a scientific basis.
438

ethnic group or native language of the donor or proprietor of the object, or the
social status and occupations of the followers of Buddhism.
Chronologically speaking, Buddhist inscriptions in Kharoqthi characters
encompass the period from the first century B.C. to the second century A.D.
(the earliest attested dating is 58 B.C. and the latest A.D. 129). Inscriptions in
Brahmi characters, on the other hand, bear no dates. Through palaeography
and an analysis of the accompanying material, they may be dated approximately
to the fourth–fifth centuries A.D.
It is legitimate to regard the oldest groups of inscriptional finds as the
most representative. To judge from the finds made in Buddhist monasteries
and temples, dedicatory inscriptions were usually made on earthenware that
was donated to the Buddhist community. Another type of earthenware inscrip-
tion is found on articles belonging to people living in the monasteries. In the
area of Middle Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.)
where a number of monastic complexes have been excavated – Kara-tepe, Fayaz-
tepe, Ajina-tepe, Merv, Dalverzin-tepe, Ak-Beshim, Kuva, Krasnorechensk
urban region, and many others44 – over 100 inscriptions have been found, both
on whole pottery vessels and on shards. The majority of these relate to the
Kara-tepe monastery and have been published in the works of Grek,
Vertogradova, Harmatta and Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya.45
An important historical and cultural inference can be drawn from a study
of the inscriptions on ceramic ware and other articles: it is that followers of the
Mahasamghika Hinayana school settled in the Old Termez region. This is the
only written evidence to show that, in the Kushan period, the doctrine of this
school permeated to the extreme westerly point of the Kushan Empire. It is
known that Mahasamghika was one of the most ancient Buddhist schools which
broke away after the schism within early Buddhism in c. 350 B.C. According to
the written sources, the language in which this school started to codify its doc-
trine was Prakrit. The inscriptions found show that, in the west, this Prakrit
was Gandhari, written in Kharoqthi script.
Another Buddhist school which, judging by inscriptions, permeated be-
yond the frontiers of India was Dharmaguptaka. A third school, the name of
which is attested in Buddhist manuscripts found in Central Asia, was
Sarvastivada. Its establishment belongs to the period of Kanishka’s rule, and
evidently took place in Kashmir. The language employed by the adherents of
the Sarvastivada school, and in which, according to Buddhist tradition, they
codified their canon at the time of the Kashmir Council in the early second
century, was Sanskrit. The findings of written sources have confirmed the in-
formation derived from Buddhist sources. The adherents of the Dharmaguptaka
44. Staviskiy, 1963, pp. 171–6; Litvinsky, 1971, pp. 110–33.

45. Grek, 1964, 1972; Vertogradova, 1983, p. 87; Harmatta, 1969, pp. 32–9; Vorobyova-
Desyatovskaya, 1983.
439

and Sarvastivada schools used the Brahmi script and the Sanskrit language. It is
possible that the Kara-tepe ceramic inscriptions in Brahmi characters were made
by followers of the Sarvastivada school.
The written sources from Central Asia do not yet enable us to discuss
the dissemination of Mahayana in this area. The local inhabitants evidently
continued their traditional adherence to Hinayana, which, to judge from the
paintings and sculptures found in Buddhist temples and monasteries, broadly
represented early Buddhism in all its aspects. The division of Buddhism into
two main systems – Hinayana and Mahayana – took place in Indian territory
only at the beginning of the Christian era. Starting from religious dogma (the
sutras), it then made the transition to philosophical doctrine and the methods
and functions of the mental techniques of yoga practice. The Buddhist texts
found in manuscripts in East Turkestan have enabled us to follow how this
division took place, and how, in the core of Hinduism and early Buddhism, the
foundations of the three main systems (Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana)
emerged, systems which have persisted to the present day.
The names of personal donors show that they included several Buddhist
pilgrims from India, chiefly from the north-west. It is probable that the mon-
asteries were founded by missionaries from that area, and the scribal schools
that existed in the Kara-tepe monastery were linked to the scribal traditions of
Kashmir and north-western India. The bulk of the donations were made by
local inhabitants with Iranian names or names whose origin is unknown. Peo-
ple came to the monasteries with their relatives and probably lived there for
some time. Among the donors were monks and lay people, and persons who
performed economic functions within the monasteries. All of them made a ‘gift
of faith’ (deya-dharma or dana-mukha) for the sake of their health and the
health of those close to them, in order to ensure eternal life, to increase their
religious merit and for favourable rebirths.
Manuscripts from East Turkestan and Central Asia

The manuscripts found in the oases of East Turkestan, Gilgit and Central Asia
represent the canonical literature of a number of Hinayana and Mahayana schools,
together with tantras and a quantity of writings of the Vajrayana school, which
was established in Central Asia at the end of the first millennium. The establish-
ment of Buddhist doctrines in this area took place simultaneously in a variety of
cultural traditions, between which there were close contacts and much interac-
tion. Without recourse to Chinese and Tibetan translations of Buddhist sutras,
it is impossible to follow the history of Buddhist texts in other languages.
Collections of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts, copied in East Turkestan,
are at present preserved in Europe, Japan and India. Manuscripts found in
Middle Asia are preserved in St Petersburg, Ashgabat, Tashkent, Bishkek and
440

Delhi. The total number of Sanskrit manuscripts probably amounts to some

5,000 preserved items (around 100,000 sheets and fragments).
The earliest manuscripts in Brahmi characters known to science date from
the Kushan period. They comprise three manuscripts from the German Turfan
collection, one manuscript from Bamiyan, numerous small manuscript frag-
ments on palm leaves from the collections of Petrovsky and Berezovsky (prob-
ably of the second–third centuries) and some sheets of a manuscript found in
Bairam-Ali (probably dating from the third–fourth centuries).
The manuscripts confirm that, during the Kushan period, the Buddhist
doctrine had already acquired a fairly large number of adherents throughout
the territories of East Turkestan and Central Asia, and that their contents en-
compass excerpts from different parts of the Buddhist canon and passages from
various Buddhist authors. The Turfan manuscripts, for example, include ex-
cerpts from the writings of the Indian scholar Ashvaghosha, one of the first
authors of Buddhist drama and poetry. Indian tradition holds that Ashvaghosha
was a contemporary of Kanishka, who was his mentor and patron. After
Kanishka’s death, Ashvaghosha set down his actions in poetry. The creative
heritage of Ashvaghosha in Central Asia is represented by passages from all his
main works: the poems known as the Buddhacarita, which describe the life of
Buddha Shakyamuni; the poems entitled the Saundaranandakavya; and the
Buddhist drama the Wariputraprakarana, a biography of Shariputra, one of the
Buddha’s pupils. Ashvaghosha’s drama was unknown to Indian literature prior
to the discovery of the early manuscripts in East Turkestan.
The presence of Buddhist literary texts in Sanskrit of the Kushan period
goes hand in hand with the codification of the Sanskrit canon of the Sarvastivada
school in Kashmir at the Buddhist council in the time of Kanishka. Although
there is no doubt that sutras already existed in Sanskrit at this time, the ques-
tion as to which type of Sanskrit was represented in these early sutras has not
finally been resolved, despite much research. Investigation into the language of
Buddhist texts started at the beginning of the twentieth century with the works
of Lüders. The designation of this language as ‘Hybrid Sanskrit’ was intro-
duced following the appearance in 1953 of Edgerton’s grammar and diction-
ary.46 In the view of modern scholars, the term ‘hybrid language’ arises from
the ‘transposition’ of Prakrit texts into Sanskrit, as a transitional stage to liter-
ary Sanskrit. As investigations have shown, grammatical and orthographic pe-
culiarities depend not only on the degree of grammatical competence and edu-
cation of the communicator, but also on the special features of the mother
tongue. It seems more neutral to refer to this Sanskrit as ‘Buddhist’, which also
designates the sphere in which it was used.
It is clear that, in the fifth century, Sanskrit canonical texts started to be
copied on a regular basis in local Buddhist centres in East Turkestan, chiefly in
46. Edgerton, 1953.
441

Khotan. At the same time, the translation of Buddhist texts into the Khotanese
Saka language was also undertaken in Khotan. No information is available
concerning the starting point for translations of Buddhist texts into the
Tokharian languages. The earliest Tokharian manuscripts, copied in the north-
ern oases of East Turkestan, date from the seventh century.
The gradual transformation of East Turkestan into an international Bud-
dhist centre, in which great numbers of manuscripts were copied, translated
into various languages, transmitted to both East and West and preserved in
monastic libraries and the houses of local inhabitants, is attested by the discov-
ery here of a large number of copies of these texts in various languages and
several scripts. The earliest Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts (dating from the mid-
eighth century) have been found in East Turkestan, and it was here that the
Tibetans began to translate Mahayana canonical texts into their language.
In the northern oases, Tokharian, Uighur and Chinese translators worked
on translations of Buddhist texts throughout the second half of the first mil-
lennium. The monasteries of Dunhuang maintained close cultural contacts with
Turfan and Kucha. The earliest Chinese manuscripts from the Dunhuang li-
brary belong to the third–fourth centuries. Buddhist translation and literary
activity in the Turkic languages started at a fairly early date but, with a few
exceptions, the written texts of the seventh–ninth centuries are modest. The
colophons of some manuscripts also mention translations from Tokharian A
(‘the language of Karashahr’) and Tokharian B (‘the language of Kucha’). A
number of translations from Sanskrit and (probably) Sogdian are known.
It is important to note that the majority of Sanskrit Buddhist texts found
in East Turkestan are not complete works, but merely excerpts and fragments,
without headings or colophons. Due, however, to the unbroken tradition, from
the manuscripts found in East Turkestan and Dunhuang, the Buddhist Hinayana
canon and the principal Mahayana schools are the most fully represented in
translations. This has allowed researchers to assess the structure of the canons
of the various Hinayana schools, and the scope of the canonical literature of
Mahayana.
H I N AYA N A , M A H AYA N A AND V A J R AYA N A
In the first millennium, the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana systems of

Buddhism were represented in the region. No details are known about the sharp
contradictions and hostilities that existed between the advocates of these sys-
tems, although it seems that the masses followed those who were victorious in
open dispute. Between the northern and southern oases, however, there was a
traditional doctrinal divergence connected with the cultural milieux defined
by the Tokharian and Saka languages. Basically, Hinayana texts were popular
in Turfan, Kucha and Karashahr and a huge body of Buddhist Hinayana litera-
ture was preserved in translation. Malov has suggested that virtually the entire
442

FIG. 5. Wooden tablets with incantational dharani. Script in North Turkestan

Brahmi. Found in Kucha by the archaeological mission of M. M. Berezovskiy.
Hinayana canon was translated by the Uighurs into their language and kept in
monastic libraries.47
In the southern oases – Khotan and Kashgar – the findings have mainly
been of Mahayana texts since only the texts of this school were translated into
Khotanese and Tibetan. The great majority of Chinese manuscripts from
Dunhuang contain Mahayana writings, with an insignificant number of
Hinayana texts. In Middle Asia, on the other hand, only Hinayana writings
have so far been found and we have no information concerning the dissemina-
tion of Mahayana in the region.
Towards the end of the first millennium, Vajrayana writings, sutras with
a large number of incantational dharanis (formulae), collections of dharanis,
magical formulized mantras, and so on, appeared throughout the territory of
East Turkestan: they were in the Sanskrit, Tibetan, Khotanese, Chinese and
Uighur languages (Fig. 5). A rupture in the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism
47. Malov, 1951, p. 142; Laufer, 1907, p. 302.
443

is apparent from this material. Mahayana, with its basic concept of Nirvana
and its attainment by the path of the ‘great wisdom’ (mahaprajña), gave way to
more attractive and quicker methods, realizable in a single life-span, of achiev-
ing salvation in ‘Sukhavati, the world of bliss’, the ‘pure land of Bodhisattva’.
In difficult situations in life, recourse was had to the reading of dharanis and
mantras, which explains their great popularity. Many magical texts were in-
serted into the Mahayana texts, thus achieving canonical status. As a result,
Mahayana sutras began to be used for the attainment of practical blessings in
life.
Among the Hinayana sutras, those which included jatakas and avadanas
(stories in which Buddhas or Bodhisattvas were reborn in human or animal
form) continued to spread. Moral and ethical exhortations in verse form (of
the Dharmapada type) were exceptionally popular. These not infrequently
served as models for poetic imitations: Buddhist poetry in the Turkic languages,
for example, includes 1,500 verses of this kind, in which the customary and
favourite forms of folk poetry were used. Collections of jatakas and avadanas
appeared that had been borrowed from the Buddhist canon. A synopsis of one
such collection, compiled for Buddhist homilies, was found in Bairam-Ali in
manuscripts of the third–fourth centuries. Analogous collections have been
preserved in Chinese and Tibetan translations.
The pragmatic character assumed by Buddhist doctrine towards the end
of the first millennium was evidence of its incipient decline. With the loss of
political backing by local rulers, Buddhism was forced to relinquish its status
as an independent religion and make the transition to the sphere of spells and
magic cults.
T H E H I N AYA N A SCHOOLS
A second conclusion that can be drawn from the manuscripts found in East
Turkestan and Central Asia is the existence of Sanskrit canons for most of the
Hinayana schools. The 1982 Göttingen symposium established the existence
of at least seven different versions of the Sutrapitaka, relating to different
schools. Fragments have been found of the Vinayapitaka of three schools, rep-
resented by the adherents of Sarvastivada, Mulasarvastivada and Dharma-
guptaka. Research has shown that the majority of the Hinayana texts from
East Turkestan belong to the Sarvastivada and Mulasarvastivada schools.
The structure of the Hinayana canons, and the distribution of the sutras
over the various agamas (sections), has not yet been precisely established. Sutras
have been found which relate to four agamas: Dirghagama, Madhyamagama,
Samyuktagama and Anguttaragama. The proper arrangement of the agamas
within canons of the various schools has not been settled. A number of sutras
were particularly popular, and were used independently of their relationships
to the agamas. The finding in Bairam-Ali of a manuscript in which the colo-
444

phon has been preserved enabled the structure of the Vinayapitaka of the ad-
herents of Sarvastivada to be determined precisely (Fig. 6). Besides the general
compositions for all schools (the Pratimokqa sutra and comments on it), the
canon was found to include special writings of the karma-vacana type, i.e.
collections of rules for the performance of rites by monks and nuns.
FIG. 6. Manuscript on birch bark from Bairam-Ali (Merv oasis).

Script in Indian Brahmi. Text from Buddhist canon of Sarvastivada.
T H E M A H AYA N A SUTRAS
The range of Mahayana writings discovered in manuscripts in East Turkestan

does not enable us to assert that this school of Buddhism possessed its own
canon in India, constructed on the same principle as the Hinayana canon, the
Tripitaka. In Sanskrit, as in the other languages, only sutras have been pre-
served. Fragments of 25 Mahayana sutras have, for example, been preserved in
the Khotanese Saka language.48 Khotan maintained permanent links with Kash-
mir and the monasteries of northern India. The range of literature in circula-
tion in Khotan has been found to be identical to that discovered in the Gilgit
library.49
Central Asia has yielded a large quantity of Mahayana texts, allowing a
picture to be drawn up of the Buddhist schools and cults that held sway in the
various cultural traditions. Among the schools, that of the Prajñaparamita held
the foremost position. Significant quantities of its manuscripts have been found
in all languages (except the Tokharian languages). The Prajñaparamita litera-
ture has been well researched, thanks to the work of Conze.50
The cult of the Buddha Amitabha, the lord of the west in Sukhavati (the
world of bliss) was particularly popular among the peoples of Central Asia. In
48. Emmerick, 1992.

49. Hinüber, 1979.
50. Conze, 1977.
445

East Turkestan, the cult underwent further development and in the second half
of the eighth century a special, apocryphal version known as the Aparamitayur
sutra arose, which was disseminated in all the local languages. The manuscripts
found in Gilgit show that in India, too, the doctrine of ‘Sukhavati, the world of
bliss’, became, in the second half of the first millennium, one of the chief
Mahayana concepts.
In East Turkestan, yet another Mahayana school – that of the Saddharma-
pundarika, or ‘Lotus sutra’ – experienced an important transformation. From
this, the cult of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara separated out and underwent
further, independent development. In East Turkestan, the 25th chapter of the
‘Lotus sutra’ was translated into every language, and the Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, who was eulogized in it, was transformed into a major deity,
providing a shield against all earthly ills and gaining the status of protector of
Tibet.
The sutra of ‘Golden Radiance’ – the Suvarnaprabhasa sutra – under-
went an analogous development in Central Asia. In the transformation of its
text, preserved in a variety of versions and editions in many languages, it is
possible to follow the growth of basic Mahayana doctrine into Vajrayana. The
dharanis from the sutra of ‘Golden Radiance’ were also disseminated as a means
of protection, and the reading of its text – thanks to a special preface added to
it in East Turkestan that was in harmony with Buddhist tradition – afforded
protection against being reborn in hell.
Besides the sutras existing in the popular milieu, important philosophical
Mahayana sutras have been found in East Turkestan. These bear witness to the
dissemination of the doctrines of two philosophical schools: Madhyamaka,
which was established in India by Nagarjuna (150–250), and Yogacara, which
derived its tradition from Asanga (310–390). An almost complete Sanskrit text
of the sutra which provides the fundamentals of both schools (the
Maharatnakuta-dharmaparyaya or Kawyapaparivarta sutra) has been discov-
ered in East Turkestan.
East Turkestan – a major Buddhist centre

The pinpointing by archaeologists of the sites where manuscripts have been
found, their palaeography, and the linguistic peculiarities preserved in their texts
show that Buddhist centres were active in the territory of East Turkestan in the
first millennium. In these centres (Turfan in the north and Khotan in the south),
Buddhist texts were translated from Sanskrit and then Prakrit languages into
the local idioms, and were then disseminated by copying and printing from
wooden blocks (xylography). The centres’ activities encompassed areas in which
two local cultural traditions – the Tokharian and the Khotanese – were dif-
fused. Both Turfan and Khotan experienced the powerful influence of the Indian
446

and Iranian cultures, while in the north the cultural influence of China, and in
the south that of Tibet, was felt.
The high level of literacy of the population of East Turkestan and
Dunhuang was undoubtedly linked to the presence of a large number of Bud-
dhist monasteries. In Tokharian manuscripts, the most frequently mentioned
monastery is that of Yurpishka in Shorchuk, in the Kucha district, which was
a major centre for the copying of manuscripts during the period of Hsüan-
tsang’s visit to Kucha in the first half of the seventh century. From 650, the role
of Karashahr probably started to grow (Kucha was devastated by the Chinese
and the Türks) and in the eighth–ninth centuries Turfan assumed the leading
position. In the middle of the ninth century, after the disintegration of the
Uighur Kaghanate, one Uighur branch established a small state in the Turfan
oasis with its centre at Beshbalyk – later to be known as the Kocho state.
The Buddhist centre moved there and, by the middle of the thirteenth century,
Kocho was the single small island of Buddhist culture in the ocean of Islam,
which engulfed the whole territory of East Turkestan.51
In the south, at the end of the seventh century, Khotan was gradually
becoming an international Buddhist centre, encouraged by the tense political
situation in the neighbouring countries. A period of wars and internal disor-
ders had radically altered the situation in Central Asia and India. Among the
inauspicious events for Buddhism, the following should be mentioned: the
seizure of Central Asia by the Arabs in the eighth–ninth centuries; the perse-
cution of Buddhism in T’ang China; the attempt to eradicate Buddhism from
Tibet during the reign of gLang-dar-ma (836–842); the decline of Buddhism in
India and the schism within the Buddhist community there; and, finally, the
Muslim conquest of India. It is evident from the documents that regal power
in Khotan continued to be strong, and afforded protection to Buddhism. The
increase in the number of Buddhists is attested by the growing number of
Buddhist centres referred to in the written sources in Tibetan, and of copies of
Buddhist writings dating from the eighth and ninth centuries.
It is probable that this period saw an influx into Khotan of Buddhists
from neighbouring regions. Vajrayana texts circulated in Khotan at this time
and Tibetans, too, participated in the creation of Vajrayana cults. It was per-
haps in Khotan that the features of Tibetan tantrism developed that were to
determine the fortunes of Buddhism in Tibet. The active and creative role of
the Khotanese Buddhist centres is clear from the part they played in formu-
lating the Buddhist canon and perfecting its structure. For example, at least
three collections of sutras were compiled in East Turkestan that were not in
51. Gabain, 1973. In 1986, Hamilton published 36 Uighur fragments of the ninth and tenth cen-
turies from the P. Pelliot Collection and the British Library. These include many unidentified
Buddhist fragments. The manuscripts relate to the period of existence of the Kocho state (see
Hamilton, 1986).
447

circulation in India: the Maharatnakuta, the Mahavatamsaka and the

Mahasannipata. The assimilation of Buddhist doctrine and Indian culture evi-
dently proceeded more vigorously in Khotan than in the northern oases.
Translations from Sanskrit and the Prakrit languages, and the compila-
tion of collections of sutras and didactic, narrative writings, took place not
only in Khotanese Saka, but also in the Tibetan and Chinese languages. It was
in Khotan that the earlier, unaltered versions of many Mahayana sutras were
preserved, and Chinese pilgrims in quest of Buddhist works started to travel
not to India, but to Khotan. Finally, Khotan was the site of the creation of
apocryphal works, on the basis of which the cults of individual Buddhas, pa-
tron Bodhisattvas and protectors evolved, as well as a number of abstract Bud-
dhist categories of evil personified as demons and evil spirits, such as the kleshas.
The foregoing justifies the assertion that, towards the end of the first
millennium, Khotan was transformed into an international Buddhist centre of
the East. This was the region in which Sanskrit versions of the Buddhist sutras
were in circulation; these versions were then adopted as the basis of Chinese,
Tibetan, Tangut, Uighur and Mongol Buddhism.
The Buddhist centre in Khotan ceased to exist at the beginning of the
eleventh century after its seizure by the Türks. As mentioned above, the sole
Buddhist centre that continued to function in this region was Kocho, where
the basic translations of Buddhist literature into the Uighur language were
codified in written form. However, this lies outside the period covered by the
present volume.52
52 . We express our deep gratitude to S. G. Klyashtorny for giving us access to his work before it
was published (Klyashtorny, 1992). See also Litvinsky, 1992.
448

19
THE ARAB CONQUEST*
B. A. Litvinsky, A. H. Jalilov and A. I. Kolesnikov
Part One
THE ARAB CONQUEST O F IRAN
(B. A. Litvinsky)
The first Arab invasion of Iran

A new religion – Islam – was founded by Muhammad (d. 632) in Arabia at the
beginning of the seventh century. In the ensuing conquests, the Arabs subju-
gated the peoples of the Near and Middle East and of North Africa, and a vast
territory – extending from Spain to Sind at the time of maximum expansion
and including the western part of Central Asia – came under Arab rule. The
historical destiny of the peoples of Central Asia was to be profoundly influ-
enced by the Arab conquest and the spread of Islam.
The Arabs advanced into Central Asia through Iran and so it is with Iran
that the present account begins.1 Arab tribes had settled in Mesopotamia even
before the Sasanian era and the Sasanian Empire was therefore obliged to have
dealings with them from the outset. According to al-Tabari, the Sasanian em-
peror Shapur I (241–271) actually settled one of the Arab tribes within Iran in
Kerman.2 Shapur II (309–379) subjugated the entire western part of the Per-
sian Gulf. Islands were also incorporated in the Sasanian Empire and the Arab
sea trade, linking the Mediterranean with India, was controlled by the Sasanians.
Moreover, under Khusrau I (531–579) Iran intervened in the affairs of Yemen
in an attempt to assist the Arabs against Byzantium.
Sasanian Iran also controlled the semi-independent Arab kingdom of al-
Hira (located to the north of the great swamp of lower Iraq) under the Lakhmid
dynasty. Under the reign of Nucman III (580–602), al-Hira had become
increasingly independent. In spite of Nucman’s attempts to pursue an indepen-
dent policy that was inconsistent with or even contrary to Sasanian interests,
* See Map 5.
1. This account mainly follows the ideas and materials set out in the monograph written on the
Arab conquest of Iran by Kolesnikov, 1982.
449

however, the small kingdom was incapable of holding its own against its giant
neighbour and was subdued. Al-Hira and its neighbouring Arab tribes never-
theless continued to be a thorn in the side of the Sasanian authorities (in 604–
605, for example, they inflicted a defeat on the Sasanian forces).3 Raids by in-
dividual Arab tribes inside the boundaries of the Sasanian Empire also continued.
In the 630s, the 16-year-old shahanshah Yazdgird III (632–651) came to
power in Iran; a group of dignitaries acted as his guardians and a regent gov-
erned on his behalf. The rule of the first caliph, Abu Bakr (632–634), began at
almost exactly the same time. In the spring of 633 the caliphate’s forces under
Khalid b. al-Walid embarked on their first campaign within Sasanian territory.
They were opposed by the troops of one of the most powerful Iranian grandees,
the governor of the border zone. The Iranian soldiers were fastened together
by a chain to prevent them from fleeing. In the preliminary single combat,
Khalid b. al-Walid slew his Iranian adversary and the Arabs were victorious in
the subsequent attack, gaining possession of the shahanshah’s crown valued at
100,000 drachms. Whereas ‘The Persians had probably regarded the Muslim
advance on al-Hira as another annoying raid of the bedouins,’4 the battle of
Kadhima opened up the route to Iraq for the Arabs.5
The conquest of Iraq

The Arabs then set out to conquer Iraq, one army moving northwards from
the Tigris-Euphrates delta and another moving across from the west. At a place
near the harbour of cUbulla, the Arabs first joined battle with an Iranian army
sent against them from the capital, Ctesiphon: the Arabs were again victorious.
They next launched an attack against al-Hira, hitherto the main Sasanian strong-
hold west of the Euphrates and the key to the inner regions of Iraq. Although
the Sasanian army was defeated, the local population continued to offer resist-
ance for a time before eventually surrendering and paying tribute.
All these events occurred prior to the accession to the caliphate ofcUmar b.
al-Khattab (634–644), under whom the forces of Islam enjoyed further suc-
cesses. During his rule the Arab army in Iraq came under a new military leader,
Abu cUbaida. The Iranians also appointed a new commander-in-chief, the gov-
ernor of Khurasan, Rustam b. Farrukhzad. Armour-clad war elephants helped
the Iranians win one of the battles and Abu cUbaida himself was crushed to
death by an elephant.6 In subsequent battles, however, the Arabs regained the
3. Kolesnikov, 1970, pp. 74–6.

4. Frye, 1975, p. 56.
5. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 2023–5; Ibn al-Athir, 1851–76, Vol. 2, p. 295.
6. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 2175–6; Ibn al-Athir, 1851–76, Vol. 2, p. 388; al-Dinawari, 1888,
p. 119; al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 404.
450

The Arab conquest
upper hand and their territorial expansion continued. Their victory in the sec-
ond battle of Yarmuk in August 636 completed the conquest of Syria and the
caliph sent part of the Syrian army to the Mesopotamian front, their ranks
swelled by large numbers of fresh volunteers. cUmar himself had intended to
command these forces, but he subsequently assigned the task to one of the
Prophet’s first companions, Sacd b. Abu Waqqas. Altogether, the Arab troops
in Mesopotamia numbered some 30,000, the largest Muslim military force ever
assembled in that country.
Sacd b. Abu Waqqas then sent an embassy of 14 men to the Iranian capi-
tal; they demanded land concessions beyond the Euphrates, a trading corridor
and the right to trade in Mesopotamia, together with the payment of taxes and
tribute. The shahanshah rejected these demands out of hand. Arab sources give
grossly exaggerated accounts of the size of the Iranian army that was subse-
quently raised. These estimates range from 60,000 to 120,000, some sources
even maintaining that the figure of 60,000 refers only to the so-called ‘profes-
sional’ soldiers of the regular army, who were accompanied by ‘assistants and
slaves’. According to modern researchers, however, the Iranian forces prob-
ably did not greatly outnumber the Arabs.
THE B AT T L E O F A L - Q A D I S I Y YA
The Iranians moved southwards until they were close to al-Qadisiyya, a small
fortified town some 30 km from Kufa, and subsequent events took place on
the bank of the cAtiq channel. To begin with, the Iranian general, Rustam
b. Farrukhzad, again engaged in negotiations that were as protracted as they
were futile. Then his men forced their way over the channel by a specially con-
structed crossing. They were drawn up in line along the channel, with the cen-
tre reinforced by a group of 18 war elephants, and smaller numbers defending
the 2 flanks. The elephants’ attack proved highly effective and the Arabs were
terrified. As a result, the Iranians initially had the upper hand, but the Arabs
soon recovered and began to strike the elephants’ trunks with their spears while
the archers shot down their Persian counterparts. The Iranians were forced to
retreat to their original positions.
On the second day, the Arabs were more frequently on the offensive.
The Iranians’ war elephants were severely wounded and their opponents
mounted palanquin-like structures on camels, causing panic among the Iranian
horses. The Arabs were also reinforced with a 10,000-strong detachment from
Syria. On the third day, both sides fought even more doggedly. The Iranians
introduced new war elephants but without success: the wounded animals merely
retreated into their own lines, sowing panic and confusion. The fighting was so
fierce that it continued even after nightfall. Although the Arabs succeeded in
breaking through the centre of the Iranian lines, both flanks stood firm. Nature
itself was against the Iranians, who were lashed by winds of hurricane force.
451

One of the Arab units fought its way through to Rustam b. Farrukhzad’s head-
quarters and the general was killed in flight (according to another version, he
died in single combat with Sacd b. Abu Waqqas).
The Iranian troops retreated in panic to the eastern bank of the channel.
Although individual contingents continued to offer staunch resistance, the main
group was annihilated and the rest fell back. There were extremely heavy casu-
alties. The Arabs seized the Sasanian imperial flag ornamented with precious
stones.7 The sources disagree on the date of the battle of al-Qadisiyya; accord-
ing to Kolesnikov,8 it took place at the end of September 636.
The Arab forces proceeded to capture the Iranian strongholds one by
one, gradually drawing nearer to Ctesiphon. Yazdgird III himself fled the capital
with his relatives and entourage and it surrendered without putting up any
resistance. An enormously rich booty fell to the Arabs, including some of the
contents of the state treasury that the fugitives had left behind in their haste.
By 637 the whole of Mesopotamia had come under Arab control. According
to Zarrinkub:
c c
On entering the palace of Khusrau, Sa d had performed an eight rak at prayer for his
victory and, because of its appropriateness in recalling the fate of those who reject
c
God, recited the Qur anic verse (44, 25–27) which begins with ‘How many gardens
and springs have they left’. He made a mosque in the citadel and the four-hundred-
year-old capital of the Sasanians became for a time the camping ground of this Mus-
lim general.9
The conquest of Khuzistan

The conquest of Khuzistan then began. The Arabs were led by Abu Musa
Ashcari, the future governor of Basra. He first captured two border strong-
holds, the outcome being determined by victory on the battlefield. In the mean-
time, Yazdgird had moved to Nihavend in central Media. One after another,
the towns and strongholds of Khuzistan fell to the Arabs, including the
provincial capital of Ahvaz. Then began the battle for Shushtar, which was of
great strategic importance. A seventh-century Syriac chronicle describes the
town as follows: ‘Shushtar covers a wide area and is strongly fortified by large
and deep channels, surrounding it on all sides like moats.’ The sources disagree
on the duration of the battle, mentioning periods ranging from a few months
to two years. The action began on the outer defence lines, where the Iranian
troops occupied trenches. Having crushed the outer defences (the defenders
retreated into the town, reinforcing its own defences), the Arabs stormed the
7. Yusuf, 1945.
8. Kolesnikov, 1982.
9. Zarrinkub, 1975, pp. 12–13.
452

The Arab conquest
fortifications but their attacks were repulsed. However, they were assisted by
a traitor called Siya, who led an Arab detachment through a secret entrance by
night. They killed the guards and threw open the gates. The remainder of the
garrison sought refuge in the citadel, where the treasure was deposited. Their
commander was Hurmuzan (or Hurmuzdan), the marzban (governor) of
Khuzistan. Although the garrison put up fierce resistance, beating off the Arab
attacks, the defenders’ strength dwindled and the citadel eventually fell. Ac-
cording to some sources, the marzban sued for peace and his life was spared
following his conversion to Islam; the majority of his companions, however,
were put to death.10
The battle of Nihavend

Finally realizing what a formidable adversary he was dealing with, Yazdgird III
issued a decree for the mobilization of troops, especially from the neighbour-
ing provinces. They were to assemble in Nihavend. The forces that gathered
there came from Media itself, from Persia, the Caspian provinces, Khurasan,
Seistan (modern Sistan) and other regions. A huge army was formed, estimated
by the sources to number between 60,000 and 150,000 men. The caliph cUmar
also mobilized an impressive number of troops, some of whom came from Syria;
Nucman b. cAmr b. Muqarrin was appointed commander-in-chief.
The Iranians drew up their troops close to Nihavend, firmly resolved to
fight a defensive battle. Iron spikes were strewn in front of the lines to hinder
the attacks of the Arab cavalry. Once again, the Iranian infantry were chained
together in groups of five to ten men to prevent them retreating. After initial
fruitless parleying, the Arabs spread the rumour that the caliph was dead and
they were about to retreat, even going through some of the motions of with-
drawal. The ruse worked and part of the Iranian army advanced into the open
field. During the fierce fighting that resulted, both sides incurred heavy losses,
but the scales eventually tipped in the Arabs’ favour. Although their commander-
in-chief was killed, the Arabs continued to attack and the Iranian army was
routed, part of it seeking refuge in the town and the neighbouring fortress. The
Iranians then abandoned the fortress, emerged on to the battlefield and contin-
ued fighting. They were utterly defeated. The ruler of Nihavend managed to
conclude a charter of immunity for the population of the town, but the Arabs
seized great quantities of booty, including the treasures of the fire temple. It is
believed that these events occurred in 642.11
According to Frye, ‘this was the most difficult battle of all those which
10. Al-Kufi, 1968–75, Vol. 2, pp. 23–5; al-Baladhuri, 1866, pp. 380–1; al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1,
pp. 2554–5; Qummi, 1934, p. 300.
11. Kolesnikov, 1982, p. 111.
453

the Arabs had to fight against imperial Sasanian forces’.12 Described as the ‘battle
of battles’, its role was extremely important since it took place on the Iranian
plateau. After the battle of Nihavend, the organized resistance of the Sasanian
authorities came to an end. According to al-Tabari, ‘from that day on, there
was no further unity among them [the Persians] and the people of the indi-
vidual provinces fought their own enemies on their own territory’. After the
fall of Nihavend, Yazdgird III is reported to have moved to Istakhr and from
there to Kerman and finally Khurasan. Following their victory in Nihavend,
the Arabs captured Hamadan, which had to be subdued on two occasions. The
whole of Media was now under their control.
The sources do not give a clear-cut chronological account of the remain-
der of the conquest. This confusion is frequently due to the fact that many
towns and even provinces had to be conquered two or more times. Isfahan was
taken in 643 and 644, for example, and Ray was captured at around the same
time. The Arabs’ next step was to subjugate Iran’s northern provinces. They
also took possession of Persia and Kerman.
The conquest of Seistan

We shall now consider in greater detail the Arab conquest of Seistan and
Khurasan, regions that form part of Central Asia. Seistan (in ancient times,
Drangiana) was one of the remote eastern provinces of the Sasanian Empire.
The Arab conquest of Seistan began in the middle period of the caliph cUthman’s
rule (644–656), although the first raids had taken place under the previous cal-
iph. cUthman appointed his fellow tribesman, cAbdallah b. Amir, future gover-
nor of Basra, with instructions to complete the conquest. Having fortified his
position in Kerman, cAbdallah b. Amir planned to advance on Seistan. An at-
tack was possible from the west, but this would have meant crossing the vast
desert of Dasht-i Lut, which extended for a distance of some 450 km. The other
approach was from the north-west via Kuhistan and Herat: it was a much easier
route but those regions would first have to be conquered.
It was nevertheless decided to take the route through the desert and the
first offensive took place in 650–651. cAbdallah b. Amir placed the attacking
forces under the command of Mujashi b. Mascud. Many Arabs were slain in
the fighting and their forces had to retreat. The following year, cAbdallah b.
Amir himself took part in the campaign: he proceeded with the main body of
the army to Khurasan, while Rabic b. Ziyad was sent to Seistan, where he suc-
ceeded in reaching the town of Zaliq, some 30 km from the capital Zarang.
The ruler of Zaliq preferred a peace treaty to the battlefield. The Arabs then
subjugated the towns of Karkuya, Haisun and Nashrudh before arriving in the
12. Frye, 1975, p. 60.
454

The Arab conquest
vicinity of Zarang. They crossed the Huk, a channel or tributary of the River
Helmand, and came to the walls of the capital. A fierce battle ensued and dur-
ing the first attack many Muslims were killed. The second attack resulted in an
Arab victory. But the town’s fortifications, especially its citadel, were excep-
tionally strong – according to local tradition, they had been constructed by
order of Kai Khusrau, Alexander the Great and Ardashir I Papakan, the co-
founder of the Sasanian Empire.
Iran b. Rustam, the marzban or ispahbad (local governor) of Zarang, then
assembled the élite of the nobility and the Zoroastrian clergy, who agreed that
hostilities should end even if the military commanders wished to continue fight-
ing. A ‘justification’ was even found: the ‘divine mission’ of the Arab aliens
was supposed to have been foretold in the Zoroastrian sacred books. Rabic b.
Ziyad agreed to make peace on condition that Seistan paid an annual tribute of
1 million dirhams, to be handed over by 1,000 boy slaves (other sources say
girls), each bearing a golden bowl. The entire region of Seistan was then subju-
gated and the conqueror, Rabic b. Ziyad, was appointed Arab governor. Arab-
Sasanian coins minted in Seistan in 651–652 and 652–653 are known. When
Rabic b. Ziyad was recalled to Basra some 18 months later, he was replaced by
Abu Sacid cAbd al-Rahman b. Samura. In the meantime, however, the local in-
habitants had risen up against the Arabs and overthrown them, and the new
governor had to resume military action. Zarang was subdued and this time the
conquest was final. The Arab forces had extended the territory under the cal-
iph’s rule as far as India.13
The conquest of Khurasan

The conquest of Khurasan was bound up with the fate of the last Sasanian
shahanshah. Abandoning Kerman, Yazdgird III had gone, according to most
of the sources, straight to Khurasan (other versions say Seistan), halting in
Nishapur (or, in another source, Bust). He then moved on to Merv because it
was ruled by the kanarang (the east Iranian counterpart of marzban) Mahoe,
who was personally indebted to Yazdgird for his ascent to high office.14
The shahanshah apparently hoped to enlist the aid of the Türks and Chinese
and raise a new army.
In the meantime Yazdgird had no army. He travelled with a suite of sev-
eral thousand relatives, courtiers and servants, accompanied (as far as Merv) by
only a small military detachment. Friction then arose between Yazdgird and
his vassal Mahoe. The sources offer different explanations for this conflict: some
maintain that Mahoe had already come to an agreement with the Türk kaghan,
13. Bosworth, 1968, pp. 13–25.

14. For Khurasan on the eve of the Arab conquest, see Shaban, n.d.
455

hoping to secede from the Sasanian Empire; according to others, Yazdgird or-
dered Mahoe to pay a large tax; a third group claims that the shahanshah wished
to remove Mahoe and appoint a military leader in his place, and when this plan
failed sought to replace Mahoe by his nephew. According to one account, the
people of Merv had also been turned against Yazdgird and refused him entry
to the town. The Türk kaghan, whatever his role in the affair, can hardly have
been well-disposed towards the shahanshah.
What is certain is that a conspiracy had been hatched against Yazdgird.
Having no troops at his disposal, he secretly abandoned his residence and took
flight, hiding in a mill on the River Murghab with a Christian miller. The fugi-
tive’s costly apparel, jewellery and performance of the Zoroastrian rites made
it easy for his pursuers to track him down. According to some sources, the
miller himself murdered his illustrious guest. The funeral was organized by
Merv’s Christian community, who buried him in the garden of the Metropoli-
tan of Merv. (According to another report, however, his body was taken to
Istakhr.) The sources also give divergent accounts of Mahoe’s fate: according
to some, he sought refuge from the approaching Arabs with the Türk kaghan;
another source claims that the people of Merv themselves delivered their
marzban to an agonizing death.
Yazdgird’s death in 651 finally brought an end to the Sasanian Empire,
but it did not halt the Arab advance. Under cAbdallah b. Amir, the Arabs cap-
tured Nishapur, routing Hephthalite forces from Herat province in the pro-
cess. Following a siege of several months, Nishapur was finally betrayed by a
member of the Iranian aristocracy and its citadel captured. Towns such as Tus,
Abivard, Nisa, Sarakhs, Herat and Merv then fell to forces commanded by the
Arab general Ahnaf b. Qais. Continuing eastwards, he reached and captured
Balkh. Khurasan was subdued but the local population persistently rebelled
against the Arabs. A long struggle still lay ahead.
P a r t Tw o
THE ARAB CONQUEST OF TRANSOXANIA
(A. H. Jalilov)
The first Arab incursions into Transoxania

Under the Umayyads, the conquest began in the 680s of parts of the right bank
of the Amu Darya (an area known to the Arabs as Ma wara ’l-nahr: literally,
‘that which is beyond the river’, i.e. Transoxania). The forces came from
Khurasan, where an Arab governorship had been set up with the town of Merv
456

The Arab conquest
as its centre. At first the campaigns took the form of predatory raids. The first
major raid into Transoxania was carried out by the governor of Khurasan,
c
Ubaidallah b. Ziyad. In 673 he crossed the Amu Darya and reached Bukhara,
which at that time was ruled by the khatun (queen), the mother of the young
Bukhar khudat (ruler of Bukhara), Tughshada. After the very first skirmish
she made peace with cUbaidallah b. Ziyad, who obtained a ransom from her
and returned to Merv.
In 676 the Arabs repeated their raid on Bukhara under the leadership of
the new governor of Khurasan, Sacid b. cUthman. The khatun made peace with
him too and he went on to Samarkand, having taken 80 hostages.15 All the
attempts by Sacid b. cUthman to capture the town proved unsuccessful: he was
forced to make peace with the inhabitants and to leave the territory of Trans-
oxania, taking 50 Sogdian hostages with him. On his return to Medina he made
slaves of them, but they killed him and then committed suicide, preferring death
to slavery.16
The Arabs next raided Khwarizm, Khujand and Samarkand in 680 under
the leadership of the new governor of Khurasan, Salm b. Ziyad. Their rulers
also made peace with him and, after obtaining a ransom from them, he with-
drew from Transoxania. Similar raids were conducted by the next-but-one
governor, al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra, and his successors up to the year 705.17 In
spite of these raids, the local rulers still did not realize the seriousness of the
Arab threat. Instead of uniting to repulse the foreign invaders, some rulers even
invited their enemies into their country so that, with their help, they could
settle accounts with neighbouring rulers.18
The beginning of the conquest of Transoxania

At the end of the seventh/beginning of the eighth century, Arab policy to-
wards Central Asia underwent a fundamental change. The internecine strife
among the Arabs subsided somewhat towards the end of the reign of the caliph
c
Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (685–705), and the Umayyads were able to begin the
systematic conquest of Transoxania.
In the year 705, the task of conquering Transoxania was entrusted to the
governor of Khurasan, Qutaiba b. Muslim (705–715), who ushered in a new
and decisive stage in the conquest of Transoxania by the Umayyads. Qutaiba
skilfully exploited the internal quarrels between the rulers of Central Asia.
During his first campaign in Transoxania, his forces included the ruler of Balkh,
15. Narshakhi, 1897, p. 52.

16. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 412; Gibb, 1923, pp. 18–19.
17. For these raids, see Istoriya Tajikskogo naroda, 1964, pp. 96–7.
18. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, p. 994.
457

and the Chagan khudat (ruler of Chaganiyan) invited Qutaiba into his coun-
try to participate in a joint struggle against the ruler of the neighbouring terri-
tories of Akharun and Shuman.19 Such treason provided Qutaiba with the in-
formation he required about Transoxania and in 706 he undertook a bold
campaign in the area of Bukhara.
One of the closest towns to the Amu Darya in the Bukhara oasis was the
small trading centre of Paikent. This was the first place in which Qutaiba
encountered stubborn resistance from the population of Transoxania. The Arabs
were forced to take Paikent twice, killing all of its defenders and razing the
town to the ground. In 707 and 708 Qutaiba attempted to seize the oasis of
Bukhara, but was vigorously repulsed by the combined forces of Bukhara,
Sughd and the Türks, and returned to Merv. It was only after making peace
with the Sogdian ikhshid (king), Tarkhun, and driving a wedge between the
allies that Qutaiba managed to capture Bukhara in 709, and Shuman, Kish and
Nakhshab the following year. Tarkhun’s policy of compliance with the invaders
greatly displeased the Sogdians: in 710 they dethroned him and elected Ghurak
in his place.20 This was a convenient pretext for Qutaiba to begin the conquest
of Sughd and Khwarizm. (For the conquest of Khwarizm, see Chapter 9.)
In 712 the Arab commander set out against Samarkand, after incorporat-
ing military detachments from Khwarizm and Bukhara in his own main forces.
The Sogdians first gave battle to the Arabs at Arbinjan; this was followed by
the siege of Samarkand, which lasted a month. Although the rulers of Chach
(Tashkent) and Ferghana sent a small detachment to assist the people of
Samarkand, the Arabs managed to destroy the force before it arrived.21 Ex-
hausted by the month-long siege, the Sogdians had no option other than to
surrender and to make peace on the worst possible terms. In 713 and 714,
Qutaiba conducted two major campaigns against Chach and Ferghana22 and
almost reached the territory of Kashgar.
The following year, Sulaiman (715–717) succeeded to the caliphate.
Qutaiba b. Muslim, aware of Sulaiman’s hostility to him, moved with his fam-
ily to Ferghana in order to break away from the caliphate. But the Arab troops,
wearied by the continuous bloody wars which had lasted for a decade, would
no longer obey Qutaiba, and he and his family were killed. For several years
after his death, there were no more Arab conquests in Central Asia. With the
exception of a raid on Kashgar and the conquest of Dihistan (on the shores of
the Caspian Sea), the Arabs launched no major campaigns to extend their do-
minions during the period 715–720, concentrating instead on consolidating their
hold on the regions they had already conquered.
19. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, pp. 419–20.

20. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, pp. 1229–30.
21. Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 1242–3.
22. Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 1256.
458

The Arab conquest
From the first stages of the conquest, the nomadic Arab nobility had at-
tempted to colonize the conquered areas of Transoxania. This policy was widely
pursued by the Arabs, particularly under Qutaiba b. Muslim, who consolidated
his military victories by settling Arabs among the population and through them
conducting large-scale propaganda campaigns on behalf of Islam.23
The struggle of the peoples of Central Asia

against the Umayyads
In order to attract the people to Islam, the Arabs initially offered certain privi-
leges to converts as well as applying methods of coercion. Those who accepted
Islam, for example, were exempted from payment of the jizya (poll-tax). But
when mass conversions began and tax receipts declined, the governor of
Khurasan, al-Jarrah b. cAbdallah al-Hakami (717–719), decreed that only con-
verts who accepted circumcision and were acquainted with the Qurcan would
be exempted from payment of the jizya. This gave rise to the large-scale anti-
Umayyad movement of the Sogdians in the years 720–722.
There were two stages in this movement. During the first stage (720–
721), the Sogdians, with the aid of the Türks, destroyed the Samarkand garri-
son and expelled the Arabs from the town. All the attempts by the governor of
Khurasan, Sacid b. cAbd al-cAziz b. al-Hakam (720–721), to restore Arab power
in Samarkand proved unsuccessful. In the autumn of 721 he was replaced as
governor by Sacid b. cAmr al-Harashi.
On his arrival in Khurasan, al-Harashi organized a major punitive expe-
dition against the Sogdians. However, their ikhshid, Ghurak, instead of leading
the rising, tried to persuade his subjects to offer allegiance to al-Harashi.24 For
these reasons, the anti-Umayyad movement among the Sogdians then entered
a second stage (721–722), moving from an active to a passive struggle. Realiz-
ing that their forces were inadequate, the Sogdian rebels left their homeland
and moved to regions which offered greater protection from their foes. The
rebels from the western part of Sughd, led by Karzanj, the ruler of Pai (present-
day Katta-kurgan), set out for Ferghana, whose king, at-Tar, promised them
protection and refuge. The rebels from the eastern part of Sughd, led by
Divashtich, the ruler of Panjikent, travelled east to the upper reaches of the
Zerafshan. But at-Tar proved perfidious; when the Sogdians arrived he held
them in Khujand and secretly informed al-Harashi of their whereabouts.25 The
Arab governor swiftly dispatched a large detachment and dealt brutally with
23. Narshakhi, 1897, p. 63.

24. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, p. 1,439; Ibn al-Athir, 1851–76, Vol. 5, p. 78.
25. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, pp. 1440–2; Ibn al-Athir, 1851–76, Vol. 5, pp. 78–9.
459

the Sogdian emigrants. He also killed over 3,000 farmers in the Khujand neigh-
bourhood because of their solidarity with the Sogdians.26
After brutally annihilating the group led by Karzanj, al-Harashi rap-
idly dispatched a detachment against the Sogdians under Divashtich; they
were occupying the fort of Abargar (now known as ‘the castle on Mount
Mug’), located on the left bank of the Zerafshan, some 120 km to the east of
Panjikent.27 At the approach of the Arabs, the Sogdians sortied and gave bat-
tle to the enemy at a distance of 6-7 km from the fort in a gorge near the
village of Kum. The Arabs won and laid siege to the castle. Realizing that
further resistance was useless, Divashtich gave himself up to the Arabs, who
then seized and pillaged the fort. In the autumn of the same year (722), al-
Harashi had Divashtich killed on the road from Kish to Arbinjan.28 The de-
feat of this second group of rebels sealed the fate of the anti-Umayyad move-
ment among the Sogdians in the years 720–722.29
Although the Arabs dealt harshly with the movement of 720–722 and re-
established their authority over Sughd, the people of Transoxania continued
their resistance, this time with the aid of the Türks. In 728, in an attempt to
reduce popular discontent and consolidate Arab power in Transoxania, the
governor of Khurasan, Ashras b. cAbdallah al-Sulami, decreed that anyone
accepting Islam would be exempt from the jizya. So many people responded
by becoming ‘Muslims’ that there was hardly anyone left to pay the jizya. But
the abandoning of the tax conflicted with the interests of both the Arabs and
the local élite. Al-Sulami therefore revoked his decision in the same year and
again began to levy the jizya on all non-Muslims and on Muslims who had not
yet been circumcized and were not familiar with the Qurcan. This led to a major
rebellion which extended to almost the whole of Transoxania.
The oasis of Bukhara became the centre of the rising, attracting rebels
from Sughd and the Türks, led by their kaghan. The Arabs were practically
driven out of Transoxania by a broad popular rising in 728: only Samarkand
and Dabusiyya remained in their hands, and that was due to the indecisiveness
of the ikhshid, Ghurak.30 Al-Sulami only managed to recapture Bukhara in the
summer of 729, after several months of hard fighting. In the spring of 730 a
new governor of Khurasan, Junaid b. cAbd al-Rahman al-Murri, arrived in
26. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, pp. 1445–6; Ibn al-Athir, 1851–76, Vol. 5, p. 81.
27. In 1933 various artifacts, including over 80 manuscripts, were discovered in the ruins of the
fort that had once stood on Mount Mug (see Sogdiyskie documenty s gory Mug, 1962, Vol. 1;
1962, Vol. 2; 1963, Vol. 3). The excavation of ancient Panjikent, whose last ruler was Divashtich,
was begun in 1947 and is still under way. The ruins of this ancient town, which ceased to exist
after being conquered by the Arabs, are located to the south-east of the modern town of the
same name (Jalilov and Negmatov, 1969; Belenitskiy and Raspopova, 1971; Isakov, 1982).
28. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, p. 1447.
29. For a detailed account of this movement, see Jalilov, 1961, pp. 134–46.
30. Istoriya Uzbekskoy SSR, 1955, p. 147.
460

The Arab conquest
Bukhara to assist al-Sulami. Their joint forces reached Samarkand with great
difficulty and, after consolidating the garrison there, Junaid returned to
Khurasan the same year.
From that time the Arab position became more difficult in Transoxania
and also in Khurasan itself. In 733–734 there was a drought and famine broke
out.31 One cause of the famine in Khurasan was the Arabs’ loss of the Zerafshan
valley, which supplied them with large quantities of grain. In 734 an anti-
government movement led by Harith b. Suraij broke out in Khurasan among
the Arabs themselves, but it was rapidly crushed by the new governor, Asad b.
c
Abdallah.
Taking advantage of the troubles and disturbances among the Arabs, the
people of Transoxania intensified their struggle against the invaders in the years
736–737. In response, Asad b. cAbdallah transferred his capital from Merv to
Balkh and in 737 led an expedition to Khuttal. Armed forces from Sughd and
Chach and numbers of Türks arrived to support the population of Khuttal.
The Türk kaghan, Sulu, emerged as their overall leader and the first blow was
struck against the Chagan khudat, who had previously supported the Arabs.32
Asad b. cAbdallah fled, leaving behind his baggage train containing the plun-
der from Khuttal. Sulu pursued Asad and on the left bank of the Amu Darya
split his forces into small detachments, which then took to looting the coun-
tryside. On hearing this news, Asad, who was preparing to abandon Balkh for
Merv, rapidly went over to the attack and won a resounding victory over the
allies not far from Kharistan. With the subsequent appointment of Nasr b.
Sayyar (738–748) as governor of Khurasan and the collapse of the anti-caliphate
coalition, the Arabs succeeded in consolidating their position in Transoxania.
Having taken part in the Arab conquests in the time of Qutaiba b. Mus-
lim, Nasr b. Sayyar knew Transoxania well and he realized that it would be
impossible to subdue the country by military action alone. He therefore at-
tempted to normalize relations with the local population by peaceful means.
He introduced a fixed procedure for the levying of taxes and attempted to es-
tablish close relations with the local élite, even marrying the daughter of the
Bukhar khudat. Through several such measures, Nasr and his comrades man-
aged to win influential groups of the local élite over to their side and began the
process whereby the Arab aristocracy merged with the local élite. Neverthe-
less Nasr failed to restore order in Transoxania and discontent with Umayyad
policies continued to grow, not only among the people of Transoxania and the
other countries conquered by the Arabs but also among the Arab population
itself.
The power of the Umayyads rested on the aristocratic élite and protected
its interests alone; as a result, the broad masses of the Arab population were
31. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, p. 1563.

32. Ibid., pp. 1600–1.
461

dissatisfied with Umayyad rule. This hostility was particularly strong in

Khurasan and Transoxania. In those areas, not only the lower sections of the
population (who had to meet obligations such as the kharaj, or land tax, and
the jizya) but even the local aristocracy harboured resentment; although the
aristocracy had established close relations with the conquering élite, they did
not enjoy the same rights.
This general discontent was skilfully exploited by the cAbbasids (the
descendants of cAbbas, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad), who in the 740s
secretly began to conduct a vigorous propaganda campaign against the
Umayyads. At a crucial stage, the cAbbasids sent Abu Muslim, a man loyal to
them, to Khurasan as leader of the movement. He enjoyed great success in
Khurasan and Transoxania in 747–748: when the rebellion was raised, people
flocked to join him under the black banners of the cAbbasids. Although Nasr b.
Sayyar vainly attempted to rally the Arabs, his forces were destroyed and the
rebels seized Merv and then the whole of Khurasan. Taking advantage of his
success, Abu Muslim occupied Damascus, the seat of the caliphate, in the year
750. The power of the Umayyad caliphs collapsed, to be followed by a new
Arab dynasty, the cAbbasids, with its first capital at Kufa (and, subsequently,
its permanent capital at Baghdad). In the battle at the Talas river (751), the
Arabs defeated the Chinese.
The struggle of the peoples of Central Asia

against the cAbbasids and the local nobility
The fall of the Umayyads and the rise to power of the cAbbasids did little to
alter the wretched conditions of the mass of the population. Like their pre-
decessors, the cAbbasids were jealous defenders of Arab dominion over other
conquered countries. Not one of the promises made to the people by the
c
Abbasids and the leader of the movement, Abu Muslim (appointed governor
of Khurasan after the victory over the Umayyads), was fulfilled. The people
still laboured under a host of burdensome obligations, provoking popular ris-
ings from the earliest years of cAbbasid rule.
In 750 a rebellion erupted in Bukhara, directed not only against the
c
Abbasids but also against the local aristocracy which had sided with them.
The rising was led by Sharik b. Shaikh, who encouraged his followers by say-
ing that they had not fought the Umayyads merely in order to submit to the
c
Abbasids. Abu Muslim dispatched a force of 10,000 against them, led by
Ziyad b. Salih, but in the 37 days’ fighting in Bukhara that ensued, the rebels
were victorious in every battle.33 The Bukhar khudat, Qutaiba, then came to
the aid of Ziyad b. Salih with a force of 10,000. With the help of these soldiers
33. Narshakhi, 1897, p. 82.
462

The Arab conquest
(together with the fact that the rebels were suffering from a severe shortage of
food), Ziyad seized the town and dealt harshly with its population. Sharik b.
Shaikh was killed in one of the battles. There was a similar rising in Samarkand,
which was also brutally suppressed by the same Ziyad b. Salih. Although Abu
Muslim fought the rebels and jealously defended cAbbasid power in Khurasan
and Transoxania, the cAbbasid rulers did not trust him and they had him mur-
dered in 755.
The murder of Abu Muslim gave rise to a number of rebellions against
c
the Abbasids. Although Abu Muslim had not been a true popular leader, the
people saw in him the man who had freed them from the Umayyad yoke and
had promised to improve their lot. In 755 a rebellion broke out in Nishapur
which spread to almost the whole of Khurasan and Tabaristan: it was led by
Sumbad, who declared himself a follower of Abu Muslim. Although this rising
too was brutally repressed by the cAbbasids, it provided a powerful stimulus
for a larger-scale rebellion which broke out in the territory of Transoxania during
the 770s and was this time headed by a genuine popular leader, Hashim b.
Hakim, known by the nickname al-Muqannac.
Al-Muqannac was born in one of the villages of Merv. In the years of the
anti-Umayyad campaigns of the cAbbasids, he had been one of Abu Muslim’s
military commanders. In 776, aware that the people of Transoxania were hos-
tile to the policies of the cAbbasids, al-Muqannac dispatched his emissaries to
call the people to rise in open revolt against the foreign yoke and the inequality
of their property status. A number of towns and villages in the Zerafshan val-
ley and the Kashka Darya immediately announced their readiness to support
al-Muqannac, the inhabitants of 60 villages rallying to him on a single day.34
Convinced that the number of his supporters in Transoxania was growing
quickly, al-Muqannac travelled to Kish with 36 followers. By the time he ar-
rived, the Kashka Darya valley and the villages around Bukhara were already
in the hands of his followers, ‘the people in white clothes’ (al-Muqannac’s fol-
lowers were distinguished by their white clothes and banners, whereas the
c
Abbasid colour was black).
The caliph, al-Mahdi (775–785), sent a large force under Jibra’il b. Yahya
to crush the rising. On arrival in Bukhara, Jibra’il, along with the ruler,
Hussain b. Mucaz, attacked the village of Narshakh (a rebel strongpoint in the
Bukhara area) and took it after a four-month siege. Jibra’il killed two of the
rebel leaders, Hakim b. Ahmad and his comrade-in-arms, Khashvi. A new bat-
tle flared up by the walls of the settlement, but the superior Muslim forces
once again emerged victorious over the defenders of Narshakh. Another rebel,
Hakim Baga, was killed during this battle. The rebels’ greatest success came in
777, when they controlled the entire Zerafshan valley (above the oasis of
Bukhara), almost all the Kashka Darya valley and an area further south near
34. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 2, p. 1952.
463

Termez. After the fall of Narshakh, Sughd became the centre of the rebellion.
The Sogdian rebels and the Türks fought Jibra’il b. Yahya at Samarkand and
dealt him a series of crushing blows. In 778 a new governor of Khurasan,
Mucaz b. Muslim, advanced against the rebels with a larger force.
After the fall of Samarkand, the main forces of ‘the people in white clothes’
began to assemble at Kish, in the mountain fortress of Sanam, where al-
Muqannac was based. The above-mentioned Sacid b. cAmr al-Harashi set out
to take the fortress and crush the rising in the Kashka Darya valley.35 The third
and decisive stage in the rebellion now began. The defenders of the fortress put
up a stubborn resistance and al-Harashi managed to seize it only after a siege
in the summer of 780. All the defenders of the fortress found alive were put to
death, while al-Muqannac, not wanting to surrender to his enemies, committed
suicide.36
In spite of its defeat, the rising of ‘the people in white clothes’ was of
great significance in the history of Central Asia, as it shattered the foundations
of the dominion of the Arab caliphate in Transoxania. The rebellion was di-
rected not only against the foreign invaders but also against local oppressors.
Its main motive force was provided by the ordinary people, above all the peas-
antry.37 Although the rising was suppressed, al-Muqannac’s ideas survived for
a long time: ‘the people in white clothes’ were active until the twelfth century,
organizing outbreaks of rebellion in various parts of Central Asia.
In 806 a major new uprising broke out in Sughd, led by Rafic b. Laith. In
ideological terms it was the continuation of the rising by ‘the people in white
clothes’ and it was to have repercussions in Nasaf, Chach, Ferghana, Khujand,
Ustrushana, Bukhara and several other areas of Central Asia. Because of the
treachery of Rafic b. Laith, the caliphate managed to put down this rising in
810.38 Nevertheless the peoples of Central Asia did not give up the struggle
until they had thrown off the rule of the cAbbasids and set up their own inde-
pendent state, which was finally established under the Samanids.
The Arab conquest, like all other conquests, was responsible for many
deaths and destroyed urban life. As a result of military action and fierce bat-
tles, the irrigation systems, which were left unattended, fell into ruin and be-
came blocked, while beautiful works of calligraphy, architecture and art were
destroyed. Islam replaced the former local beliefs and cults as the official re-
ligion of Transoxania. The population paid the kharaj, the jizya and other
taxes to the Arabs and carried out various types of forced labour. Naturally,
this impeded the further development of productive forces and of culture for
35. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 3, p. 484.

36. For details of al-Muqannac’s movement, see Aini, 1944; Bolshakov, 1976; Kadyrova, 1965;
Sadighi, 1938; Yakubovskiy, 1948.
37. Gafurov, 1972, p. 331.
38. For details of this rising, see Kadyrova, 1965, pp. 139 et seq.
464

The Arab conquest
a considerable period. At the same time, the Arab conquest brought large
parts of the East into contact with each other, enabling them to develop eco-
nomic and cultural exchanges, and this paved the way for the subsequent
development of the culture of the peoples of Central Asia under different
conditions and an absolutely new religious ideology, which influenced and
determined private, public and state life.39
Part Three
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES
OF THE ARAB CONQUEST
(A. I. Kolesnikov)
The Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire, except for its extreme northern
and eastern provinces, was completed in the middle of the seventh century.
Although pockets of resistance were still encountered, politically the whole of
Mesopotamia and the Iranian uplands fell to the Eastern caliphate, which was
ruled by the caliph’s governors in Basra and Kufa.40
Reasons for the fall of the Sasanian Empire

Among the factors that hastened the fall of Sasanian Iran, the most important
were: the reverses suffered in the protracted war with Byzantium (604–628);
five years of civil war in Iran; and the economic collapse within the Sasanian
Empire. Nevertheless, the military aspect of the conquest should not be over-
looked. In military terms the Arabs proved formidable opponents; they were
masters of weaponry, tactics and military strategy. In the great battles of the
period of conquest, the Sasanian and Arab forces were practically on a par.41
The great ethnic and religious diversity within the population contrib-
uted to the Arab success in Mesopotamia. The area had been settled by Arabs,
Syrians and Jews (professing Christianity and Judaism) who were persecuted
by the official Zoroastrian Church. By no means all of them welcomed the
Muslim forces, although if conditions were favourable they were willing to
collaborate.
39. Gibb, 1923; Jalilov, 1961; Kolesnikov, 1982.

40. Most of the information about events in Iran at the time of the conquest is taken from a
monograph on this period by Kolesnikov, 1982.
41. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 2265–6.
465

A major factor in the Arab victory was the founding of garrison towns,
which acted as springboards for the eastward military expansion of Islam. Basra
and Kufa became the residences of the caliph’s governors, who ruled the east-
ern part of the caliphate. They appointed Arab military leaders as their provin-
cial deputies.
Relations between Muslims and non-Muslims

in the first century A.H.
Relations between the Muslims and the subject population of the Sasanian
Empire were regulated by peace treaties that established the parties’ mutual
obligations. The conquered were obliged to pay an indemnity and/or the jizya
(poll-tax), as well as other dues. If the conditions of the agreement were re-
spected, the victors guaranteed their subjects security of person and of prop-
erty, defence from external enemies and the right to practise their various reli-
gions and follow their own way of life.
The conditions of the treaty for non-Muslims and the scale of the indem-
nity levied on them partly depended on the way in which the territory had
been subjugated – whether ‘by force of arms’ (anwatan) or ‘by peaceful means’
qulhan) – and on the resources of the population. In the historical tradition of
early Islam (the works of al-Baladhuri, al-Tabari, al-Kufi and others) and in
the legal works written between the eighth and the tenth century, the term
anwatan is always opposed to qulhan. The former means either that the local
population did not accept the terms of the treaty proposed by the Arabs, or
that the Arabs did not accept the conditions of their adversary, so that the matter
was decided by force. If an area was subjugated ‘by force of arms’, part of the
population was put to death or enslaved; those who escaped such a fate were
constrained to pay heavy taxes, or were forced to emigrate, or had to conclude
an agreement with the victors at great disadvantage to themselves. Subjugation
‘by peaceful means’ did not exclude military action, as long as it ended with the
signing of a peace treaty by both sides.
Treaties on Iranian territory in the years of conquest were signed on the
Arab side by the military commander, and on behalf of the local population by
the governor of the town, district or province; in areas with a Christian popu-
lation, treaties were signed by the bishop or the elders of the town. One copy
of the treaty was retained by the Arabs and the other by the local governor.
People of ‘other religions’ who signed a treaty with the Muslims became
dhimmis (ahl al-dhimma), or people who enjoyed the protection of the Mus-
lim community. Although Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews were not always
accorded the same treatment, the conditions of the treaties did not vary greatly
according to the religion of the subjugated group. Whereas the surviving texts
of treaties contain no indication of the period of validity, historical sources
466

The Arab conquest
show that it was determined by the extent to which the parties observed the
treaty’s provisions. The treaties were valid either until ‘the Day of Judgment’
(in practical terms, until a change was deemed necessary) or until they were
violated by one side and abrogated by the other.
The lands of those who had been subjugated ‘by peaceful means’ and
who had signed a treaty with the Muslims were retained by their former own-
ers. The amount of land tax payable, which depended on the conditions of the
treaty and on tradition, was often set at the level determined by the reforms of
the Sasanian shahanshah Khusrau I (531–578), but could be lower or higher.
The high rate of taxation provoked several local uprisings against the con-
querors.
First steps towards Islamization

As the military expansion of Islam continued eastwards, the ranks of the Mus-
lim armies were increased by mawali (pl. of mawla, new converts to Islam
from Zoroastrianism and other religions). In the early period, conversion to
Islam tended to mean recruitment into the conquering army rather than an
acceptance of the new religion. Most of the Muslim sources mention examples
of active collaboration with the Arab armies by part of the Zoroastrian and
Christian communities.
At the battle of al-Qadisiyya in 636 (see above), the Arab armies were
joined by the local nobility and local Arabs, ‘allies’ from Babylonia; there was
also a detachment of Dailamites who had accepted Islam. Some Iranian sol-
diers taken captive at al-Qadisiyya also embraced Islam and supported the
Arabs. Historical sources contain a list of the dihqans of small districts of
Babylonia who accepted Islam under the caliph cUmar (634–644). There were
instances of collaboration with the Arabs even before the storming of Ctesiphon,
when some of the inhabitants of the Sasanian capital showed the Arab leader
where to ford the River Tigris. At the siege of Shushtar in Khuzistan, no fewer
than 100 Iranian Muslim horsemen – an entire military unit – fought on the
Arab side.42
Towards the end of the period of conquest, there were substantial num-
bers of mawali of Iranian descent in the Muslim armies: the 5,000-strong army
of Ahnaf b. Qais, which fought on the north-eastern frontiers of the former
Sasanian Empire, for example, included 1,000 Persian Muslims,43 and the local
contingent in the army of Qutaiba b. Muslim, the conqueror of Middle Asia,
accounted for at least a sixth of the entire force.44
42. Al-Tabari, 1879–89, Vol. 1, pp. 2562–3.

43. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 407.
44. Gibb, 1923, p. 40.
467

Although the Muslim administration hardly ever resorted to forcible

Islamization of the non-Arab population, the number of mawali in Iran rose
steadily. Some of the Iranian nobles were attracted to Islam as a means of avoid-
ing the jizya that placed them on the level of the ordinary tax-payer. Profes-
sional soldiers who took up the new religion hoped to become rich on the
spoils of war. For enslaved prisoners of war, conversion to Islam meant an
opportunity to regain their freedom.
The acceptance of Islam conferred certain privileges on converts, and in
theory it gave them equal rights with Muslim Arabs. This was encapsulated in
the formula ‘rights and obligations in equal measure’. The military nobles who
accepted Islam received sums of money or wages from the caliph’s coffers; they
had the right to choose where they wished to live and held important posts in
the caliphate. Iranian Muslim neophytes in the Arab army received their share
of booty and land. An additional stimulus to the process of Islamization in
Iran was the practice of returning lands taken ‘by force of arms’ on condition
that the land-owner accepted Islam.
The Islamization of Iran during the conquest and in the years following
the final collapse of the Sasanian Empire was nevertheless a very slow process
and most of the population remained faithful to their old religion and customs.
Changes in the ruling ideology had a more appreciable effect in the financial
and clerical sectors.
Iranian regional administration

in the conquered territories
Many of the nobles in the conquered regions retained their privileges not by
accepting Islam, but by acknowledging their political dependence on the Mus-
lim state and paying taxes to the conquerors. Where these conditions were sat-
isfied, the Arab governors allowed the loyal local nobility to retain their lands
and did not interfere in their internal affairs. One example is the Arabs’ treat-
ment of the Median governor Dinar, of the family of Karen, whose principal
duty was to collect taxes for the Arabs from the subject territories. The same
task was carried out by the marzban of Azerbaijan and a number of other rep-
resentatives of the Iranian administration who retained their former posts:
Mahak in Istakhr, Kasmud or Kashmur in Herat and Pushang, Mahoe in
Sarakhs, Bahiyeh in Nisa and Abivard, Dadoeh in Faryab and Taliqan, and
Guraz in Balkh.45
The written sources reveal that the local administrations enjoyed a con-
siderable degree of autonomy. The farther a province was from Basra or Kufa,
45. Al-Kufi, 1969, Vol. 2, pp. 102, 104, 107.
468

The Arab conquest
the seats of the caliph’s governors, the greater its independence. The local no-
bility occasionally rebelled against Arab domination – one such revolt was led
by Khurrazad, a noble from Khuzistan, who refused to acknowledge the sov-
ereignty of the caliph cAbd al-Malik b. Marwan (685–705).46
From the beginning of the reign of the Umayyads (in 661) until the end
of the seventh century, Iranian mints issued what are known as Arab-Sasanian
drachms. They are distinguished from purely Sasanian coinage by the presence
of an Arabic religious inscription on the obverse, and by the fact that the name
of the Arab governor or the caliph replaces that of the shahanshah. Most of
these Arab-Sasanian coins were dated according to the Islamic calendar.
Until the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth – a
period marked by the standardization of coinage in the caliphate – it was the
local Iranian governors who issued this coinage. Evidence of this is found in
the Iranian proper names on various issues of drachms minted in central Iran
and in Balkh: Baffarnag in Kerman from the years 62–71 A.H.; Bundad in
Ardashir-Khvarreh in 66 and 73; Farrukhzad in Ardashir-Khvarreh in 76 and
in Bishapur in 79; Yuvan in Istakhr in 70; and Izdanbud or Gavbud in Balkh in
77. The reform of the caliph cAbd al-Malik at the end of the seventh century
and the beginning of the eighth accomplished the transition to purely Muslim
dirhams, and Arabic became the official language of the administration.47
The fact that the names of Iranian governors continued to appear on coins
for 30 years after the official date of the Arab conquest of Iran is explained by
the growing political unrest within the caliphate, which increased the power of
the local administrations. In this unstable situation, both the Umayyads and
their opponents sought recognition of their right to supreme power and needed
the support of local nobles, who were responsible for the mints. The name of
Bundad appears first on the drachms of cAbdallah b. al-Zubair, the enemy of
the Umayyads, and after his death, on the drachms of the caliph cAbd al-Malik.
Tabaristan and Dailam

Before the Arab conquest, the southern Caspian provinces (Gilan, Dailam and
Tabaristan) were vassals of the Sasanians. At the time of the conquest, Tabaristan
embraced all the territory around the southern Caspian. The first Arab incur-
sions into this almost inaccessible region date from the 640s. Until the mid-
eighth century, however, all the Muslims’ attempts to establish themselves there
met with fierce resistance from the local population. The Tabaristan campaign
under the caliph Mucawiya I (661–680) ended in the rout and almost complete
annihilation of the Muslim expeditionary force. The Arabs’ later attempt at
46. Al-Baladhuri, 1866, p. 383.

47. Gaube, 1973, pp. 2–7.
469

taking the province in 716 compelled the ispahbad (local governor) to sign a
peace treaty involving the annual payment of a sum of dirhams as well as a
tribute of goods and troops. Power, however, remained in the hands of the
ispahbads and Tabaristan subsequently refused to pay the tribute. Around 760
Tabaristan was conquered by the Muslims, as was the mountainous land of
Dailam. The ispahbad Khurshid was replaced by governors appointed by the
c
Abbasids. Under the caliph al-Ma’mun (813–833), the Arabs, with the assist-
ance of a Tabaristan military leader, took control of the mountainous land of
Sharvin. A revolt there in 838 was put down. Tabaristan was finally subjugated
in the middle of the ninth century, when the ispahbad Karen, son of Shahriyar,
accepted Islam.48
Zabul, Kabul, Gandhara and Ghur

Arab military action against Zabulistan and other principalities in what is now
Afghanistan commenced during the conquest of Seistan. Operating from
Seistan, which served as a forward base for their eastern campaigns, the Arabs
managed for a time to gain control of Zabul, to the north-east of Seistan; but
as soon as the army returned to Zarang (the administrative centre of Seistan),
the population ceased to obey their conquerors. Under the caliph Mucawiya,
the military commander cAbd al-Rahman b. Samura restored the power of
the Arab governor in Seistan and moved east, taking Zabul once again and
gaining Rukhkhaj; he reached Kabul, whose ruler was obliged to pay tribute
to the Arabs. This state of affairs did not last long, for the king of Kabul soon
drove the Arabs from his lands. Another Arab expedition against Kabul in
697–698 was repulsed.
A century later, the Muslims successfully invaded Zabul (in 795) and went
on to Kabul. In the subsequent eastern campaign, under the caliph al-Ma’mun,
the ruler of Kabul was captured and he then converted to Islam. The Arabs
succeeded in gaining a firm hold of the region only in 870, when the founder of
the Seistan dynasty of the Saffarids invaded Kabul through Balkh and
Bamiyan.49
Until the second half of the ninth century the main obstacle encountered
by Arab forces in the east was Rukhkhaj, whose rulers (called by the titlezunbil)
waged protracted wars against the army of the Arab governor of Seistan. The
tide of these wars waxed and waned, and the Arabs more than once lost all
their territorial gains to the east of Bust; but during periods when anti-Arab
resistance weakened, the local population temporarily accepted vassalage to
48. Walker, 1941, pp. lxix–lxxx.

49. Bosworth, 1974, p. 356.
470

The Arab conquest
the caliphate, paying tribute to the governor. The rise of the powerful Saffarid
state put an end to the Zunbil dynasty and their power.50
The remote region of Ghur, on the upper reaches of the rivers Farah-rud,
Hari-rud and Murghab, remained beyond the reach of the Muslims for many
decades, during which they were obliged to skirt around it. They only suc-
ceeded in establishing themselves there in the tenth century, by which time
most of the inhabitants of Ghur had converted to Islam.
The Arabs in Sind

Sind, a principality on the shores of the Arabian Sea and the lower reaches of
the Indus, was invaded from the sea by the Muslims in 711. The sea port of
Daibul fell first, then several towns on the banks of the Indus, including Arur,
the capital. Finally, in 713, the Arabs took Multan and the conquest was com-
plete. The fall of Sind opened the way to the markets of Central Asia.51
The survival of pre-Islamic civilization

The Arab conquests brought an end to the Sasanian Empire as a political force
and yet to some extent they preserved the pre-Islamic Iranian civilization: it
underwent no radical change until several centuries later, with the process of
Islamization and the emergence of new social and economic conditions. This
pattern was repeated in the farflung corners of the former Sasanian Empire and
in the neighbouring vassal and independent principalities, which were conquered
much later.
Tabaristan, which was separated from Iran by the chain of the Elburz
mountains, retained its independence for more than a century after the fall of
the Sasanian Empire. It was ruled by the local dynasty, the ispahbads, who
issued their own coins (a smaller version of Sasanian coinage), remained faith-
ful to Zoroastrianism and wrote in Pahlavi script. The year following the death
of Yazdgird III (i.e. 652) marked a new era in the calendar in Tabaristan, which
demonstrates the region’s loyalty to Sasanian tradition and the continuity of
royal succession. The local reckoning of years was used for over 160 years in
the mints both of the rulers of Tabaristan and of the cAbbasid governors who
replaced them. The continuance of local tradition was encouraged by the fact
that Arab garrisons were stationed in the main towns of Tabaristan – Amol
and Sari – and not in the countryside.52
50. Bosworth, 1976, p. 559.

51. Haig, 1934, pp. 433–4.
52. Walker, 1941, pp. lxix–lxxx.
471

In central Afghanistan and in areas to the north of the Hindu Kush, an-
cient Kushan culture continued and the principal religion was Buddhism.53 In
Seistan and neighbouring regions, elements of Sasanian culture and the Zoro-
astrian cult flourished, as is revealed by archaeological data such as the ruins of
fortresses and watchtowers, ceramics and coins.54 In Bamiyan in the seventh
century there were more than 10 Buddhist monasteries and over 1,000 monks
(see Chapter 6). The main Buddhist monastery there was destroyed by the
Saffarids in the second half of the ninth century.55 Kabul and its surrounding
areas also had many buildings devoted to Buddhist and Hindu cults. Further
evidence of the strength of pre-Islamic civilizations in the east in the seventh
and eighth centuries is afforded by the issues of so-called Arab-Hephthalite
coins with legends in Pahlavi, Kufic and Bactrian scripts.56
Most of the Arab-Sasanian coins that circulated in the eastern principali-
ties bore local counterstamps with images of simurgs (a monstrous bird of
Persian myth, with the power of reasoning and speech), camels, elephants,
tamghas and other symbols that were typical of east Iranian culture. Some of
the coins bore legends in Bactrian script.57 Evidence of religious syncretism in
the regions to the north of the Hindu Kush is to be found in the silver coinage
of the kaghan of the Western Türks, whose iconography combines elements of
Iranian Zoroastrianism and Indian Shivaism.58 The leaders of the autonomous
and semi-autonomous eastern principalities retained names in the local
toponymy that were known to Arab geographers as late as the tenth to the
twelfth century.
53. Ball and Gardin, 1982, Vol. 1, Nos. 99, 100 et seq.; Vol. 2, p. 483.
54. Ibid., Vol. 1, Nos. 145, 206, 270, 369, 900 et seq.; Vol. 2, pp. 484–5.
55. Barthold and Allchin, 1960, pp. 1009–10.
56. Walker, 1941, pp. lxv–lxix, 127–9, Pl. xxii, 6–10, xxviii, 1–4.
57. Göbl, 1967, Vol. 2, pp. 112–202.
58. Harmatta, 1982, pp. 167–80.
472

20
CENTRAL ASIA, THE CROSSROADS

O F C I V I L I Z AT I O N S *
T
his concluding chapter aims to give an overview of the interactions and
multilateral cultural exchanges between all the great civilizations stand-
ing at the crossroads of Central Asia during the period from the third
to the eighth century. For most of this time, the reign of the Sasanian Empire
(224–651) remained stable in Iran. China, however, went through a cycle of
rapid dynastic changes until, at the close of the sixth century, the long era of
disunity and invasions by alien tribes that had plagued the country for four
centuries finally ended. A new unified and flourishing empire was established
under the Sui (589–618) and T’ang (618–907) dynasties. From 640 to 792 the
eastern part of Central Asia was under T’ang domination.
On the vast expanse of the steppes, many powerful nomadic confedera-
tions emerged, particularly those of the Huns: Alans, Juan-juan, Chionites and
Hephthalites, Türks, Türgesh, Karluks, Uighurs and other Turkic tribes in the
east, the Khazars (the only Turkic-speaking people ever to have converted to
Judaism) and Pechenegs in the west. These nomadic peoples dwelled in tents,
organized in clans and tribes, and moved about in search of water and pasture.
The formation of one or other such confederation usually indicated a shift of
the ruling clan from one ethnic group to another, with the population assimi-
lated into the new confederation. Byzantium, Sasanian Iran, China and the
nomad kaghanates were not the only powers with influence in the region,
however. There was a flourishing Tokharian-speaking culture with its centres
at Kucha, Agni and Turfan; a blossoming Saka-speaking culture centred on
Khotan, Kashgar and Tumshuq (all these oasis city kingdoms were located
within the Tarim basin in modern Xinjiang); and the highly developed and
widespread Sogdian culture in Transoxania.
Towards the end of the period covered by this volume, other major powers
took the stage. In the eastern part of Central Asia, the ancient Tibetan people,
* See Map 1.
473

the Bod, emerged victorious from their age-old inter-tribal struggles and were
quick to establish a unified monarchy on the Tibetan plateau at the beginning
of the seventh century. Constantly expanding far into the territories of its neigh-
bours, this new power challenged first the T’ang and then the Arabs for su-
premacy over Central Asia.
In the west a series of historical events led to the sudden rise of the
Arabs. By a curious coincidence, the T’ang, the Tibetans and the Arabs arose
as major powers at almost the same time and embarked almost simultaneously
on the road of expansion and conquest. The seventh and eighth centuries are
of special significance for the cultural history of the region. The rivalry be-
tween the three major powers and several Turkic tribal confederations had a
profound influence on the course of cultural developments in the succeeding
centuries. In the conflict between the Arabs and the Chinese, for example, the
former won an easy victory over the latter at the battle of Talas in 751, paving
the way for the later Islamization of the whole area. Another example is the
start of a process by which Turkic languages came to predominate in Central
Asia.
There was also much reciprocal political influence. Since the south-west-
ern part of Central Asia belonged to the Sasanian Empire, for example, there
were similarities in their social structures. By the fifth century, society in Iran
was divided into four orders (resaq): the priests (asron), the warriors (artestaran),
the scribes (dibiran) and the cultivators (vastrosan). Each order had its own
subdivisions. Thus the first order also included judges; the fourth comprised
not only peasants, but also craftsmen and merchants; while the numerous rep-
resentatives of the central and local bureaucracy belonged to the third. A simi-
lar social classification apparently existed in Central Asian society.
As wave upon wave of nomadic migration swept Central Asia, nomadic
peoples settled in the area, inevitably influencing the local institutions. In many
regions of Sogdiana and Tokharistan, the higher administrative echelons were
filled for a certain time by tuduns, supervisers set up by the Türks, besides
local khudat, afshin, khatun and great dihqans.
The period from the third to the eighth century also saw momentous
social changes which were to determine the development of Central Asian so-
ciety for almost 1,500 years. Feudal relationships began to form in the settled
areas of the region and an early form of feudal society arose; this led to the
emergence of nomadic societies such as that of the Türks.
The productive sector was based on free peasant producers belonging to
village communes, which were often agnatic. The members of the commune
were known as hamdudagan (‘people of the same smoke’, from the word dudag:
literally, ‘smoke’). The leader of the agnatic commune was the kadag-khvaday,
who later became the head of the village commune and was invested with cer-
tain administrative functions. The Sasanian Law Book, the Madigan-i hazar
dadestan, made a distinction between the concepts of ‘privately owned’ and
474

Central Asia, the crossroads of civilizations
‘common’ land. If a private individual dug a subterranean canal (kahriz) on

common land, it would belong to him and the members of the commune would
have to pay him for the use of the water. This led to the break-up of the com-
mune. Syrian sources mention free peasants (known as gabra, meaning ‘man’)
and dependent producers (pabaha) among the peasantry of the Mesopotamian
part of the Sasanian Empire. There were some serfs on church land. The free
peasants, including the mare kurie (country gentlemen), were also divided into
social strata. According to the Babylonian Talmud, slaves were used in agricul-
tural work and land was sold together with the slaves. The same type of system
probably prevailed throughout Iran. In practice, the partially freed slaves men-
tioned in the Madigan-i hazar dadestan (18, 9–10; 38, 13–17, etc.) were much
the same as serfs.
The total number of slaves (known as bandak, ansahrik, etc.) was con-
siderable. In Iranian law a slave was regarded as an object (khvastag) and was
part of his master’s property. Thus a slave employed in agriculture and living
on his master’s land (dastagird) was part of the inventory of living things, to-
gether with the draught animals and beasts of burden, and could be alienated
together with the property. The higher social class was represented by the nobles
(azad). The highest position was occupied by the shahanshah (king of kings).
Many of the nobles had thousands of slaves and owned whole villages, huge
orchards or other land. It is evident, therefore, that Sasanian society was marked
by wide economic and social disparities.
At the head of the military administration stood the hazarbed, while the
civil administration was directed by the vuzurg-framadar. A highly developed
bureaucratic system linked central, regional and local administrative organs.
Similarly, the Zoroastrian priesthood had its own complex hierarchy.
The Sasanian authorities strove for the centralization of the empire and
opposed the decentralizing tendencies of the great nobles and the rulers of the
outlying provinces. During the Late Sasanian period the state was divided into
4 parts, known as ‘sides’ (padgos), which were administered by the greatest of
the nobles. These ‘sides’ were divided into 37 districts. In addition, certain prov-
inces (usually the outlying ones) enjoyed a degree of autonomy, and their rul-
ers bore the title of shah (king).
The productive strata of society laboured under an oppressive burden of
taxation – land tax, poll tax and taxes on goods, in addition to customs and
various other duties. In the event of crop failure, the peasants were ruined and
abandoned their villages. When Bahram V acceded to the throne in 420, ar-
rears of land tax alone reached 70 million drachms.1 At the end of the fifth
century and the beginning of the sixth, Iran saw the rise of the powerful
Mazdakite movement, which tried to alleviate the burdensome economic and
social conditions of the majority of the population. Although the Mazdakites
1. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973, p. 105.
475

suffered defeat and Mazdak was executed in 529, the movement succeeded in
reducing the power of the great nobles and the Zoroastrian priesthood. Many
heresies and anti-feudal movements of the Middle Ages were ideologically
linked to that of the Mazdakites.2
Certain similarities can be detected between the social conditions of Cen-
tral Asia and those of Sasanian Iran. However, Central Asia was not occupied
by a single state; moreover its social development and institutions were con-
siderably influenced by the nomadic peoples that inhabited it. It appears that
there were various social classes in Central Asian society. One of the docu-
ments found on Mount Mug shows that Sogdian society consisted of three
strata: the nobility (”z’tk’r), the merchants (w’kry) and the workers (k’ryk’r),
i.e. the peasants and craftsmen.
There were also large numbers of slaves and other dependent groups liv-
ing in Sogdiana and in East Turkestan in the seventh and eighth centuries. They
belonged to various categories: purchased slaves, slaves taken captive in battle,
slaves taken as hostages, and those who had entrusted themselves to a master’s
protection. Members of a family could be sold into slavery by its head. Arab
historians’ reports of the conquest of Middle Asia mention a considerable
number of slaves. The ‘property registers’ from Toprak-kala, dating from the
very beginning of the third century, show that every household had many pa-
triarchal slaves (or dependent people). Document I, for example, lists the names
of 21 men: 4 are freemen (the head of the household, 2 sons and a son-in-law)
and 17 are slaves (dependants).
Peasants sent out to work are called ‘people’ in the documents from Mount
Mug. Linguistic analysis of the name of one of the categories of peasants strongly
suggests the original meaning ‘forced labourer’. Some of the workers performed
their duties for payment. There was also a class of agriculturalists, comprising
farmers and ploughmen. The village commune appears to have coincided with
the agnatic group.
The social hierarchy of the ruling class was complex. The highest rank
was that of the rulers, the afshin and the ikhshid, the supreme ruler in Sogdiana.
Below them came the freemen and nobles (azad), including dihqans and great
dihqans. These were large-scale landowners (sometimes the owners of whole
provinces) who enjoyed considerable power and had armed retinues at their
command. The members of these retinues, the chakirs, were professional war-
riors and formed the core of the armed forces. They were distinguished by
exceptional valour.
At the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth, it was
the custom of the khatun (queen) of Bukhara every day to:
2. Christensen, 1925; 1944; Pigulevskaya, 1940; Solodukho, 1956; Perikhanyan, 1973; 1983a; 1983b;
Lukonin, 1983.
476

sit upon a throne, while before her stood slaves, masters of the seraglio, that is, the
eunuchs, and the nobles. She had made it an obligation for the population that every
day, from the dihqans and princes, two hundred youths, girded with gold belts and
swords carried [on the shoulder], should appear for service and stand at a distance.
When the Khatun came out, all made obeisance to her and stood in two rows while
she inquired into the affairs of state. She issued orders and prohibitions, and gave a
robe of honour to whomsoever she wished and punishment to whom she wished . . .
When it was evening she came out in the same manner and sat on the throne. Some
dihqans and princes stood before her in two rows in attendance till the sun set.3
The above account by Narshakhi, the historian of Bukhara, gives a vivid pic-
ture of the relations between the rulers of large provinces and their vassals. The
details have been confirmed by iconographic materials from Sogdiana. The
ruling class owned vast riches and large numbers of dependent people. Thus,
in Bukhara, ‘the greater part’ of the people ‘were peasants and servants’ of the
ruler, whose title was Bukhar khudat.4
Archaeological materials also provide proof of profound social and eco-
nomic differentiation. In Kala-i Kafirnigan, for example, a luxurious mansion
belonging to the local ruler has been discovered: next to it can be seen the
poor dwellings of the ordinary citizens. The excavations at Panjikent have
revealed the splendid two-storied houses, or rather palaces, of the nobles of
the town, each of which could almost be said to be an art gallery. The wall-
paintings of the castle of Balalyk-tepe show feasting dihqans: richly dressed
men and women sit or recline on rugs; the men wear gold belts, from which
hang magnificent swords and daggers. In the background are servants: their
rank is clearly indicated, for they are shown as approximately half the size of
their master.
As in Iran, the administrative system was highly developed. In Sogdiana
its highest level was represented by the tudun (perhaps the head of the civil
service), the farmandar (in charge of all financial and economic affairs), the
s’ykn (commander in chief of the armed forces), who enjoyed particular hon-
our and influence, and the dapirpat (chief clerk). There were also tax-collectors.
The local administration consisted of the rulers of settlements and rural dis-
tricts, village headmen and other officials. The Sogdian administrative system
worked efficiently and smoothly in the Early Middle Ages. All receipts and
transfers of articles of value had to be recorded; records, registers and receipts
were drawn up; all documents were copied, and when they were signed, seals
were affixed.5
Society in Central Asia could be divided into three sectors – the towns
and the urban population; the villages and the rural agricultural population;
3. The History of Bukhara, 1954, pp. 9–10.

4. Ibid., p. 8.
5. Mandel’shtam, 1954; Smirnova, 1957; 1960; Livshits, 1962, pp. 34–7, 62, 69, 134–5, 176–8; 1984,
pp. 266–7; Gafurov, 1972, pp. 295–300.
477

and the steppes (and sometimes the mountains), with their nomadic popula-
tion. Much can be learnt from the structure of settlements and the way of life
of the rural population. In the oasis of Berkut-kala in Khwarizm, for example,
the distribution of the population can still be clearly observed. The oasis lies in
a narrow strip (approx. 40 × 4–5 km) along the main canal. Fortified farms,
consisting of massively built houses with courtyards, stand a mere 200–300 m
apart. The farms themselves were clustered in 8–13 ‘nests’, each centred round
a castle. Most of the farms were small, the areas of arable land they possessed
being in proportion to their size. The largest castle in the oasis was Berkut-
kala, at the foot of which lay a small town, the centre of craft production. It
appears that the oasis was also home to several large rural communes with a
total population of 7–8,000. Agnatic groups of varying size lived on the farms.6
The castle of Balalyk-tepe in Tokharistan gives an idea of the size and
dimensions of the castles. It is an isolated structure, standing 10 m high, with a
6-m stylobate. On the upper platform there is a structure measuring 24× 24.5 m.
In the middle of the ground floor there is a large square courtyard with nar-
row, partially communicating corridors leading off it. The outer walls of the
building had loopholes in them. Two buildings were erected in the courtyard
at first-floor level. The north-west angle of the courtyard was occupied by a
square building measuring 4.85 × 4.85 m, with sufas along the four sides. The
entire surface of the walls was covered with remarkable murals depicting a
banquet (perhaps this was a chamber for ritual feasts). Adjoining it was a rec-
tangular reception hall measuring 5.3 × 9.3 m. Along its walls stood sufas and
there was a fire altar on a pedestal in the centre. The roof was flat, with carved
beams. Some of the buildings were two-storeyed.
Another type can be seen at Zang-tepe, also in Tokharistan. This is a square
site measuring 150 × 150 m. In its north-east corner are the ruins of a castle: its
upper platform measured 40 × 40 m while its height was 15 m.7
Castles were often erected on the banks of rivers and controlled the up-
per reaches of the main irrigation canals.8 Found both on the plains and in the
mountain areas of Central Asia, the lay-out of such castles differs considerably
according to their social and economic functions. Their main characteristic,
however, is that they always combine the functions of a dwelling for nobles
with highly developed defensive functions. According to Gafurov:
Like the shahristans and citadels of the cities, the castles were inhabited by aristo-
crats, the nobles mentioned in the written sources. The structure of the town and the
large number of castles, the style of art and the traditions of ‘the life of chivalry’, the
armed retinues of the great aristocrats, political disunity and the signs of vassalage –
these all mark profound changes in the social and economic life.
6. Nerazik, 1966; 1976.

7. Al’baum, 1966; Nilsen, 1966, pp. 140–75.
8. Davidovich and Litvinsky, 1955, pp. 165–7.
478

A feudal system was being formed:
From the fifth to the eighth century, its institutions were still in their initial stage and
not fully developed. Much about them can only be surmised from indirect evidence,
but this does not change the basic fact that the non-nomadic areas of Middle Asia
were entering the path of feudal development during the fifth to the eighth century.9
The same can be said of Central Asia as a whole.

It should be stressed that this social development was far from uniform
throughout the region. The role of religion, for example, differed widely in the
various areas: although it was very important in all parts of the region, theo-
cratic states came into being only in Tibet and Khotan.
The development of nomadic society also was accompanied by a trend
towards feudalism, although in less marked and more idiosyncratic forms. This
trend was most pronounced in Türk society.
The economic complexity of Central Asia society only becomes appar-
ent when this society is considered as a whole. Agriculture was fairly intensive
and artificial irrigation was very widely practised, especially in the oasis-states.
Simple but effective water-intake structures supplied water from the rivers to
the main irrigation canals, which were tens and sometimes hundreds of kilo-
metres in length. There were many such canals in Khwarizm (fed by the River
Amu Darya), Sogdiana (fed by the River Zerafshan) and Tokharistan (fed mainly
by the rivers Kunduz Darya, Vakhsh, Kafirnigan and Surkhan Darya) and also
in the Tarim basin. Where necessary, aqueducts, dams and other hydraulic struc-
tures were built. Underground water-collecting galleries (kahriz) were con-
structed if demanded by the particular land configuration, as in parts of
Khurasan and the west of Turkestan.
Other sources of irrigation, such as springs, were also used. Large canals
branched off from the main ones, and from them the water passed to the irri-
gation network itself. In the Dunhuang district the cultivated areas were irri-
gated. During the T’ang period, there were 7 main canals in this area, and the
names of over 100 smaller canals are known. There was a large service staff,
which had to be properly administered.10 In the more humid areas – on the
mountains and foothills – the crops were watered by the rain, but the harvests
were less plentiful.
Various types of iron-tipped wooden ploughs, iron spades and mattocks
and large and small iron sickles came into use throughout the region. The va-
riety of agricultural, horticultural and orchard produce approached that of the
present day. More advanced tools and equipment came into use for processing
agricultural produce, including wine presses. Besides hand presses, there were
9. Gafurov, 1972, p. 299.

10. Chuguevskiy, 1983, pp. 35, 251–2.
479

large presses turned by animals, and even larger ones (with millstones 1 m and
more in diameter) turned by water.11
The rural population and agriculture were still largely based on a natural
economy. At the same time, agriculture supplied both the urban population
and the nomads with foodstuffs, indicating the existence of trading, mainly in
the form of barter. Nevertheless a considerable proportion of the produce which
came onto the market in the towns consisted basically of rent in kind paid to
feudal lords by the peasants. Documents from Dunhuang, Turfan and other
sites in East Turkestan show that such rents were paid not only by free peas-
ants but also by various categories of dependent people. In the areas of Bud-
dhist culture, monastery farms with their administration played an important
role in agriculture.
The wide open spaces of the steppes and semi-deserts were populated by
nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, who practised a rudimentary form of farm-
ing. Their crafts were of a domestic nature, although some, such as toreutics,
had developed to a considerable degree. The nomads, and especially their nobles,
bartered surplus livestock for agricultural produce and, to an even greater de-
gree, for works of urban craftsmanship.
In Central Asia, with its oases, urbanization was highly developed. Al-
though there were far fewer towns than rural settlements (in Tokharistan, for
example, the ratio was one urban settlement to seven or eight rural ones), they
were the bases of the whole infrastructure, the focal points of the political,
economic, cultural and religious life.
In the largest towns of Central Asia, early medieval structures are usu-
ally buried under many layers of medieval strata. Many medium-sized towns
(which acted as regional centres) are much more accessible to investigation and
historical interpretation. Of such towns, ancient Panjikent has been studied in
the greatest detail. The town consists of a shahristan (the town proper), a cita-
del and suburbs. The area of the shahristan is 19 ha and its perimeter 1,750 m.
It is surrounded by a strong system of fortifications, which joined it to the
citadel situated to the west. The suburbs were all situated to the east and south-
east of the shahristan except for one suburb which lay to the south.
The shahristan was interlaced by a network of streets which sometimes
ran parallel to each other and sometimes merged. The width of the main streets
was 3–5 m. Along the main streets there were housing areas, outbuildings, shops
and workshops. Each residential block (they were 2-storeyed) included doz-
ens of dwellings, comprising more than 100 rooms, and consisted of a front
part and the living quarters proper. The ground-floor rooms were vaulted and
ill lit and access could be gained from them to the lighter and better lit first
floor. The principal architectural feature of the first floor was a large, square
hall, the roof of which was supported on columns. Along the walls there were
11. Andrianov, 1969; Litvinsky, 1978.
480

high sufas; opposite the entrance, the sufa took the form of a wide projection.
The walls were covered with several stripes of brightly coloured paintings, and
the columns were ornamented with carvings and wooden sculptures. There
were rooms for the owner and his family, separate accommodation for serv-
ants, and outhouses. This is what the homes of the urban nobility were like. In
the house areas there were much more modest, even poor, dwellings belonging
to the ordinary urban population.
On the sides of the residential blocks facing the streets stood separate
(sometimes two-part) premises, used as workshops by the town’s craftsmen.
There were also several small markets.
In the northern half of the site, in a spacious square, stood two temple
complexes surrounded by a ring of walls. Each of them consisted of the temple
itself, which was raised on a stylobate and richly decorated with paintings
around the perimeter of a group of auxiliary rooms.
A series of ceremonial buildings, including enormous halls, has been dis-
covered in the citadel. The wooden parts of a pedestal for a throne have also
been discovered. The walls were covered with beautiful paintings. These are
probably the remains of the ruler’s palace. Panjikent came into being in the
fifth century and continued to exist, although it was rebuilt, until the eighth
century.12
The capital cities of the smaller states were similar. The area of these towns
spread over 10–20 ha. The capitals of the most important historical and cul-
tural regions – Merv, Balkh and Samarkand – were somewhat larger. Thus, the
area of Samarkand extended over 200 ha, and that of Merv over more than
300 ha. By contemporary estimates, the population of the largest towns, such
as Merv, reached 60,000.13 Very large towns, such as Kocho in Turfan, also
flourished in East Turkestan. They were important and highly developed cen-
tres of urbanization, of political power, and of economic life, culture and reli-
gion. The processes of urbanization also gained ground, although not to such
a marked degree in areas which had earlier been exclusively nomadic, such as
the Uighur towns in Tuva and certain Mongol towns.
Building and architecture reached a very high level of development. There
were marked differences in style in the various regions, with recognizable
schools of architecture, such as the Sodgian, Khwarizmian and Tokharian
schools. These local distinctions did not, however, present an obstacle to the
establishment of a ‘unity in diversity’ throughout the territory of Central Asia.
Many types of building were erected: palaces; Buddhist, Manichaean and
Nestorian places of worship and monasteries, Buddhist stupas and buildings
connected with local Iranian, Buddhist and other religions; the palaces of rul-
ers and feudal castles; the houses of the urban aristocracy; the homes of the
12. Belenitskiy et al., 1973; Belenitskiy et al., 1980.

13. Belenitskiy et al., 1973.
481

urban middle classes and the poor; shops and workshops; burial chambers;
barracks; and a whole range of fortifications and bulwarks.
In India, architectural handbooks were written, in particular the
Manashara, compiled between 500 and 700, although the text includes later
additions. It contains detailed instructions on building and architectural work,
beginning with the preparation of the building site and marking out the plan
into areas, right up to completion. A chief architect was to be in charge of
construction, and his assistants included a ‘planner’. According to the
Manashara (II, pp. 36–7), ‘In this work [the erection of a building] nobody can
succeed without an architect and his guidance. Therefore it [the building work]
should be conducted with the help of these architects.’ In one Middle Persian
text we read, ‘Creation without a creator and decision without a decider are
just as possible as writing without a writer or the erection of a house without
an architect and builder.’
Analysis has shown that in the preparation of a plan, a module was used
which took account, not only of the proportions between the various parts,
but also of questions of symmetry and rhythm. One example is the Buddhist
monastery of Ajina-tepe (Tokharistan), which was constructed according to
the laws of mirror symmetry. The longitudinal axis of the monastery – the
horizontal projection of the plan of symmetry – was marked by a path cutting
across the monastery courtyard and by the two stairs of the central stupa in the
temple. This mirror symmetry of the structure as a whole was combined with
the axial (or congruent) symmetry of each half. The main stupa was similarly
symmetrical. The clearly defined rhythmic order, with a contrasting rhythmic
design, should be noted: the regular repetition of the cells; the alternation and
contrast of the long corridors, their continuity interrupted by two-part sanc-
tuaries at right-angles to them; and the smoothness of the walls, broken by the
alcoves of the aiwans. Combined with the single system of proportion, this
creates harmonic balance and unity. The buildings (as in other centres) show a
synthesis of tectonic, plastic and symbolic elements. Expressiveness was
achieved by an organic synthesis between the architecture itself and its decora-
tive features (murals, bas-relief and other sculpture).
The aesthetic perfection of the architecture was combined with a high
quality of construction. The walls were built mainly of pakhsa (mud-brick)
and compressed clay blocks. The roofs were mainly vaulted and domed or flat.
The domes were supported on squinches which were often arched; the vaults
were wedge-shaped and constructed by the method of slanting sections (as in
Sasanian palaces), and they covered considerable spans. The outside space be-
tween the springing of the vaults of adjacent buildings was occupied by sup-
plementary vaults. In other cases the roofs were supported on richly decorated
wooden columns (Tokharistan, Sogdiana and East Turkestan). The develop-
ment of the construction of wooden columns in East Turkestan and Middle
Asia took place at the same time as the rise of stone construction in India, and
482

their development was interrelated. One variant is represented by the lantern

ceilings of buildings in Central Asia, which were richly decorated. Cave archi-
tecture (both individual caves and whole series of caves) also appeared. Its
emergence in East Turkestan was connected with influences arriving through
Bactria from India.14
Crafts were mainly centred in the towns, where the standard of crafts-
manship was higher than in the country. There was a far wider range of crafts in
the towns and more advanced techniques were used: thus pottery was made on
the wheel and textiles of higher artistic quality were produced. Ceramic pro-
duction developed in practically every town. At the Gyaur-kala site (Merv),
14 kilns have been discovered, showing evidence of very advanced construc-
tion. The pottery is also of a very high quality – the richly decorated vessels from
Khotan are particularly magnificent. Central Asia also produced large quanti-
ties of glassware, some of a very high artistic quality. At the beginning of the
seventh century, glassware sent from Tokharistan to China was greatly admired.
The number of smithies, bronze foundries and jewellery workshops grew
enormously. They produced a wide range of articles: agricultural implements
(the iron tips of primitive ploughs, and sickles); craft and household tools (axes,
hammers, adzes and chisels); articles for everyday use (metal reinforcement
plates, keys, scissors, mirrors, stirrups and buckles); and jewellery, including
both serially produced and unique pieces. Weapons included magnificent dag-
gers and swords for the nobles, decorated with gold and inlaid with precious
stones. Toreutics (which showed evidence of various interacting cultural influ-
ences) should also be mentioned: vessels made of precious metals, for which
Sogdiana was particularly famous.
Weaving was also an important craft. The textiles produced on the larg-
est scale were cotton and wool, but the production of silk fabrics also increased.
Silk-weaving was highly developed in the oasis of Turfan as early as the begin-
ning of the fifth century. A Chinese document of 418 from the Karakhoja
necropolis mentions baskets for the breeding of silk-worms, and a Chinese
document of 456 describes the polychrome silk fabric produced in Gaochang.
(This document shows that silk-weaving techniques were still at an early stage.)
There is a vivid picture painted on a wooden panel discovered by M. A. Stein
at Dandan-oïliq to illustrate the legend that silk-worms were smuggled out of
China to Khotan by a Chinese princess.15 In the fifth century silk fabrics were
also produced in Kashgar, Kucha and Khotan. Later, silk-weaving reached
Sogdiana. One of the main centres of production of such fabrics was Zandana
near Bukhara. The Zandana fabrics were richly ornamented, depicting goats,
horses, deer and other animals. Many of the motifs were influenced by Byzan-
tine and Iranian textiles.
14. Nilsen, 1966; Litvinsky and Zeimal, 1971; Maillard, 1983; Litvinsky and Solov’ev, 1985.
15. Stein, 1975, Pl. LXIII, pp. 259–60.
483

Other crafts such as leatherwork and tailoring were also widespread and
highly developed.16 Some of the goods were sold locally in the towns where
they were made, at town markets (those at Panjikent have been excavated) and
at fairs; some went to rural areas; and some were traded between provinces or
exported. The urban crafts thus served a commercial purpose: they provided
revenue for the nobles of the town in the form of rent in cash and in kind.
Country crafts were mainly of a domestic nature, and only some of these arti-
cles were sold in the town markets.
Written sources stress that there were intensive trade links between the
towns of East Turkestan and Sogdiana. The Sogdians were renowned traders
and famed for their commercial skills. In Bukhara one of the city gates was
even called ‘the market gate’. According to al-Biruni, some settlements held
fairs every month – one even lasted for 7 days.17 The Arabs called Paikent ‘the
city of merchants’. Enormous caravans were equipped for international trade –
in 721 a caravan consisting of 400 merchants was detained in Khujand. The
Silk Route continued to be used, as did the southern and northern routes around
the Tarim basin in East Turkestan. The Han shu (96A, 5A) describes them as
follows:
The one which goes by way of Shan-shan [region near Lake Lop-Nor], skirting the
northern edge of the southern mountains and proceeding west along the course of
the River So-chü [Yarkand], is the Southern Route. To the west, the Southern Route
crosses the Ts’ung-ling [Pamirs] and then leads to Ta-Yüeh-chih [Kushan state] and
An-hsi [Parthia]. The one which starts from the royal court of Nearer Chü-shih
[Turfan], running alongside the northern mountains and following the course of the
river west to Su-le [Kashgar], is the Northern Route. To the west, the Northern Route
crosses the Ts’ung-ling and leads to Ta-yüan [Ferghana], Kang-chü [region of the
middle Syr Darya] and Yen-ts’ai [near the Aral Sea].
During the first centuries A.D., the directions (and also the network) of these
routes changed considerably, and new ones appeared. Because life died out in
some of the oases in the south, for example, the Southern Route moved even
further southwards. When describing routes through East Turkestan, Chinese
sources mention the ‘Middle Route’ (or the ‘Direct Route’), and also the ‘New
Route’.
Starting from the western borders of China proper, these routes, as an-
cient sources bear witness, passed through Central Asia. The most southern
route through Tashkurgan and the difficult passes of the Pamirs reached Vakhan
and then Balkh. Another route from Kashgar, which went through the Terek-
davan pass, the Alai valley and Karateghin, also came out at Balkh. The third
route led through the valley of Ferghana to Samarkand and Bukhara, and
between these towns one branch led to the south, to Balkh, and the other to
16. Schafer, 1963; Belenitskiy et al., 1973; Lubo-Lesnichenko, 1984; Litvinsky (ed.), 1995.
17. Biruni, 1957, pp. 254–5.
484

the south-west, to Merv. From the Vakhan section and from Balkh, routes led
to India, to the area of Gandhara, as far as the mouth of the Indus, and from
there into southern India. The sea route to the Mediterranean countries started
from the sea ports of southern India.
Another route from Balkh went westwards as far as Merv, leading on
through Iran to Mesopotamia and from there to Damascus.18 It crossed
Ferghana to the oasis of Tashkent, and from there to the area of the Aral Sea,
passing through Khwarizm, the lower Volga, the northern Caucasus and the
northern shore of the Black Sea.
Between the fifth and the seventh century the Northern Route moved
further north. It passed through Qomul (Hami) and Beshbalyk, continuing
past Lake Issyk-kül and the River Talas, then onwards to the lower reaches of
the Amu Darya and the Volga, and from there to the northern Caucasus and
then to Trebizond.
Needless to say, trading conditions varied over time in the different parts
of these trade routes. The most active traders were the Sogdians, but the Chi-
nese also travelled along these same routes. Material and numismatic evidence
of intensive trade has been found over the entire network. The high level of
trade was reflected in the intensive circulation of money. Bronze coins played
a major role in domestic transactions and large numbers have been discovered
in Panjikent and southern Tajikistan. Chinese bronze coins of the T’ang period
circulated widely in East Turkestan. Different types of bronze coins were is-
sued in Semirechye19 (the so-called Türgesh coins), in the oasis of Tashkent, in
Ustrushana, Khwarizm and elsewhere. Local coinages circulated mainly, al-
though not exclusively, in their country of issue. Few coins from Vakhsh are
found in neighbouring countries, and none in Chaganiyan, a territory which
has been thoroughly studied. In Panjikent, however, although the coinage of
Panjikent itself was predominant, copper coins from other centres of Sogdiana
also circulated, especially those from Samarkand, Bukhara and Chach (the oa-
sis of Tashkent).
The extensive bronze coinage was connected with the sale of grain and
other agricultural produce in town markets, and probably represented the sur-
plus value collected by feudal rulers as rent. In the Sogdian documents from
Mug, however, with one exception the coins mentioned are not bronze but
silver. They were mostly modelled on the drachms of the Sasanian king
Bahram V (421–439) but were struck in Transoxania. They were mainly minted
in Bukhara, and are usually called ‘coins of the Bukhar khudats’, from the title
of the ruler of Bukhara, but they were also struck in Samarkand. By the eighth
century the original Pahlavi legend had become an illegible imitation.20
18. Hirth, 1885; Herrman, 1938; Shiratori, 1956b.

19. Smirnova, 1981.
20. Some of these coins were plated, with an inner core of copper and outer layers of silver.
485

Written sources give some idea of prices from the mid-eighth century: a
slave cost 200 drachms (on average); a horse 200; brocade (a large piece) 100;
brocade (a small piece) 60; silk (a roll) 28; a pair of oxen 12; a cow 11; kafshi (a
type of footwear) 1–2; and a large earthenware jug 2 drachms.21
Trade on the Silk Route enabled great quantities of extremely valuable
commodities to be distributed and exchanged between China, the states of
Central Asia and the Mediterranean, especially Byzantium. Not only indi-
vidual merchants or guilds (as in India) but also states participated in this
trade; and rulers had an interest in the profits from it. Diplomatic relations
were frequently determined by commercial and economic interests. This can
best be illustrated by the conflict between the Sogdians and the Western Türks
with Sasanian Iran over the transit of silk through Iranian territory; and the
establishment of a military and political alliance between the Türks and By-
zantium (against the Sasanians), who used routes through the northern Cau-
casus.22 It should be noted that the Silk Route contributed to the exchange not
only of goods but also of people, works of literature, works of art, ideas and
concepts.
The period from the third to the eighth century was also a time when
artistic and intellectual life were highly developed, in particular the fine arts –
painting and sculpture. Important centres of art flourished in Central Asia.
The earliest examples – at Fayaz-tepe, Toprak-kala and Miran – show clear
signs of Hellenistic and Roman influence.
Several early medieval schools of painting developed simultaneously, but
with wide distinctions in style and iconography, partly due to external links
and influences. The art of various schools of East Turkestan is marked by very
strong Indian, and at one stage (during the T’ang period) Chinese, influence; in
Central Asia, especially in Sogdiana, local traditions and models prevailed; in
Afghanistan there was a blend of local, Indian and Iranian traditions, particu-
larly in the art of Bamiyan.
The interaction of schools and traditions, together with direct mutual
influences, was revealed in and through the works of outstanding masters. The
works of the great Khotanese artist Visha Irasangä and his influence on the
artistic culture of China and also of Korea and Japan are of special interest.23
The early medieval sculpture of Central Asia is magnificent. Its Gandharan
sources, on which further layers of Gupta tradition were superimposed, can be
clearly recognized. At the same time, the local element is also very strong. One
of its typical features is the appearance of architectural colossi such as the 53 m
and 35 m standing Buddhas in Bamiyan and the gigantic Buddhas in Nirvana
21. Smirnova, 1963; 1981; Vaynberg, 1977; Belenitskiy et al., 1980; Davidovich and Zeimal, 1980.
22. Moravcsik, 1958.
23. Schafer, 1963, p. 32.
486

from Ajina-tepe and Tepe Sardar. The Dunhuang caves are some of the richest
and most magnificent in Buddhist painting and sculpture. The frescoes on the
cave walls cover more than 45,000 sq. m and there are more than 2,000 sculp-
tured statues. The gigantic Buddha of Dunhuang, a counterpart of Bamiyan, is
33 m tall. The elaborate compositions depicting many figures, the perfection
of the technique and the polychrome colour scheme leave a very strong im-
pression. In painting and sculpture, both secular and religious (Buddhist,
Manichaean and Christian) art flourished. Both these branches developed as
interrelated parts of a single art.24
Central Asia was also famed for the high level of its music, dance and
theatrical art. Youths and maidens from Central Asia performed two types of
dance: ‘pliant’ dances and vigorous dances. Large wooden statues of dancing
girls have been preserved in Panjikent. Girls naked to the waist are depicted in
an elaborate turn. The left hand is on the hip; the right leg is bent at the knee
and crosses the straight left leg (see Fig. 13 in Chapter 10). Necklaces, strings
of bells, the elaborate clothing of the lower part of the body – all this was in
perfect harmony with the elegant, elongated figure. It brings to mind the Chi-
nese descriptions of the ‘Dance of Chach’ (Tashkent), which was performed
by two young girls:
dressed in gauze caftans embroidered in many colours, with silver girdles. They wore
the typical tight-sleeved blouses of the Far West, had peaked hats decorated with
golden bells on their heads, and red brocaded shoes on their feet. They appeared first
to the audience from the opening petals of two artificial lotuses, and danced to the
rapid beating of drums. It was an amorous dance, the maidens ogled the spectators
and, at the end, pulled down their blouses to reveal bare shoulders, and the delighted
poet exclaimed: ‘I watch – too soon the tune is done, they will not be detained; whirl-
ing in clouds, escorted by rain, they are off to the Terrace of the Sun.’25
The people of Central Asia were also known as excellent musicians. The names
of 10 Bukharan musical instruments are known to us. There were melodies for
songs and for dances. Some dances and songs were performed solo, others by
a group. Music was also highly developed in Kucha, where the orchestra con-
sisted of 20 musicians. A musical composition called ‘The Great Reconcilia-
tion’, with over 150 participants, was performed in Kucha during the T’ang
period – a complicated magical drum-show. A performance of this type is de-
picted on a reliquary from Su-bashi. The musical culture of Kucha had a pro-
found influence on that of China.26
24. Litvinsky and Zeimal, 1971; Belenitskiy, 1973; Rowland, 1974; Al’baum, 1975; Gaulier et al.,
1976.
25. Schafer, 1963, p. 55.
26. Ibid., pp. 52, 54–5; Liu, 1969, Vol. 1, pp. 106–7, 206–7; Vol. 2, p. 268; Litvinsky, 1984,
pp. 21–2.
487

The art of the theatre also reached a high level of development. Frag-
ments of Buddhist dramas written in Sanskrit and archaic Prakrit, the most
ancient Indian dramas, have been discovered in East Turkestan. It is known
that they existed in Khotanese Saka, Tokharian and other languages. Perform-
ances of such religious dramas were often put on in monasteries.27
The culture of this period was a written culture. Sogdian children were
taught reading, writing, arithmetic and so on. A school exercise book has been
discovered in Panjikent, containing the Sogdian alphabet with an example for
each letter. Large numbers of such educational textbooks and exercise books
have been found in East Turkestan. Witnesses, especially the pilgrims Hsüan-
tsang and Huei-chao, noted the high level of literacy and the existence of
various literary works and whole literatures in East Turkestan, Sogdiana and
Tokharistan. Thanks to the dry climate in East Turkestan, over 100,000 leaves
of written documents have survived: they are in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gandhari,
Tokharian, Khotanese Saka, Sogdian, Parthian, Middle Persian, Bactrian, New
Persian, Syriac, Chinese, Tibetan, Old Turkic and other languages. Most of
them are religious works, but there are other texts of various kinds – letters,
travel diaries, scientific works, business documents and literature, including
poetry. Many works, especially those of a religious character, are translations,
and some are bilingual. This all adds up to a vast multilingual literature. The
art of translation reached a high standard. Khotan was, for example, a major
centre for scholars of the Imperial Court of T’ang China seeking authentic
Buddhist records.
Monasteries were centres of learning and knowledge. In their scriptoria,
books were copied and texts were carefully checked, for which purpose a whole
staff was maintained. There was a large monastic library in one of the grottoes
in Dunhuang. The copying of religious books was considered a work of piety,
and every literate monk was eager to be engaged as a copyist, while the laity
contributed money to the monasteries for the copying of sacred works.28
The translated literature includes all the basic works of Buddhism,
Manichaeism and Christianity. Translators often inserted their own additions
or reinterpreted the original text. If we bear in mind the original compositions
in these languages, this gives us an idea of the local culture and ideology. Works
which have survived nowhere else have come down to us in this literature,
whether in their original language or in translation.
In this context we must emphasize the development of scientific litera-
ture. Indian treatises on medicine were studied and translated into the languages
of Central Asia. Translations of Indian medical works into Khotanese Saka,
Sogdian, Tokharian, Uighur, Tibetan and other languages have been preserved.
There were also works on history and other branches of learning.
27. Lüders, 1911; Bailey, 1960, pp. 266–7; Emmerick, 1967, pp. 43, 45; Litvinsky, 1992.
28. Giles, 1935, pp. 810, 812, 815–17, 820–6.
488

Thus, another distinguishing feature of the culture of this period was that
it was syncretic. Ideas, images and concepts were exchanged, and there was in-
tensive cultural exchange and interpenetration in all fields of culture and intel-
lectual activity and on all levels, from isolated phenomena to concepts. This
produced remarkable results and led to striking achievements in art, architec-
ture, literature and science. The same was true of religion.
Trade and other contacts between T’ang China and Central Asia intro-
duced the people of Central Asia and the Arabs to paper as a writing material.
Paper fragments of the third century have been found in Dunhuang, Lou-lan
and Turfan and probably moved westwards to Central Asia before the seventh
century. As early as 650, Chinese paper was imported to Samarkand. At the
battle of Talas in 751, when the allied Arab-Türk forces routed the Chinese
army, among the prisoners were craftsmen, including paper-makers. They were
taken to start the manufacture of paper in Samarkand, from where the industry
soon moved to Baghdad.29
This period ended with an event of importance for world history: the
rise of Islam and the Arab caliphate and its extraordinarily rapid expansion to
the north, east and west. A considerable part of Central Asia was incorporated
into the caliphate. As seen both by contemporary observers and by later gen-
erations, one of the most important phenomena of the history of Central Asia
from the eighth to the tenth century onwards was its gradual conversion to
Islam and its incorporation into the sphere of ‘Islamic’ culture. Under this in-
fluence, a considerable – and in some ways fundamental – reorientation of the
ideological sphere took place: the concepts of the Muslim religion and its ide-
ology were widely disseminated and penetrated into various fields of intellec-
tual life and also, to a certain degree, although indirectly, into the material
environment. What, however, was the role and importance of pre-Islamic
civilization in the new age?
The Arab conquest of the western part of Central Asia was completed
towards the middle of the eighth century, but the adoption of Islam did not
take place immediately. According to the information available, in the first half
of the ninth century in Merv there was a library of Pahlavi manuscripts, which
were freely available for reading and the copying of extracts.30 Large numbers
of works were translated. Pahlavi works were translated into Arabic, for
example, and some of them, as well as the Pahlavi originals, including epics,
were used in Persian-Tajik literature. Similar work went on in Central Asia.31
The Sogdian language was still spoken and written for several centuries after
the Arab conquest. On the other hand, Islam was superimposed on the Buddhist
background. Buddhism had a certain influence on early Sufism, and individual
29. Needham (ed.), 1985, pp. 296–7.

30. Bartold, 1971a, p. 369.
31. Nöldeke, Tabari, 1973; Bartold, 1971b.
489

Buddhist images and ideas penetrated Tajik-Persian literature on a fairly wide

scale.32
There is no doubt that during the first centuries of the dissemination of
Islam, people’s beliefs continued to be dominated by the old, pre-Islamic con-
cepts, which were merely partially hidden beneath a thin layer of an Islamized
amalgam. The situation was different only in the small group of the population
directly involved in Muslim worship. Pre-Muslim and non-Muslim ideology
formed the core of the people’s ideology in the Middle Ages and – both di-
rectly and through folklore, and also through written tradition and reminis-
cences – had a profound influence on literature, philosophy and science, and
on the intellectual climate of society. Indeed, this was the ideological breeding-
ground from which many heresies and popular movements sprang.
The same continuity can be traced in art and architecture. Figurative art
did not, as is frequently supposed, die out completely, but continued to exist
side by side with decorative art. Murals dating from the Ghaznavid period in
Lashkar-i Bazar (Afghanistan) and Khulbuk (Tajikistan) are in a direct line from
the painting tradition of pre-Islamic Central Asia in Afghanistan. The four-
aiwan composition – typical of the Islamic madrasa (school), mosque and cara-
vanserai – was fully developed in Buddhist building (the Buddhist monastery
of Ajina-tepe provides striking examples). There is every reason to assume the
existence of a direct link between the Buddhist monastery and the Islamic
madrasa; the plans and design of the centric Islamic mausoleum also have their
roots in pre-Islamic architecture; and the traditions of pre-Islamic architecture
were also continued in the building of dwellings, palaces, and so on. Last, it is
important to note that there was no break with earlier traditions in the devel-
opment of towns and urban life.33
Thus, in all aspects of its culture, Central Asian civilization from the third
to the eighth century, or rather the structure of Central Asian civilization of
that period, was the basis of many of the fundamental principles of Islamic
civilization in later centuries.
32. Litvinsky, 1968; Gimaret, 1970; Melikian-Chirvani, 1974.

33. Grabar, 1973; Litvinsky, 1980.
490

MAPS
491
CentAsiaIII-MapBib 491 3/12/96, 12:43

Sites 7. Toprak-kala 16. Kala-i Kafirnigan 25. Bamiyan 34. Ak-Bashim
8. Berkut-kala 17. Kafyr-kala 26. Begram 35. Kyzyl
9. Paikent 18. Khulbuk 27. Fondukistan 36. Su-bashi
1. Takht-i Sulaiman 10. Panjikent 19. Ajina-tepe 28. Lashkar-i Bazar 37. Duldur-Aqur
2. Taq-i Bustan 11. Mug 20. Khujand 29. Ghazni 38. Ming-oï (Shorchuk)
3. Taq-i Kasra 12. Zamm 21. Tunkat 30. Tepe Sardar 39. Yarkhoto
4. Kuh-i Khwaja 13. Balalyk-tepe 22. Ak-tepe 31. Hadda 40. Bezeklyk
5. Geok-tepe 14. Fayaz-tepe, Kara-tepe 23. Soazma-kala 32. Sirkap (Taxila) 41. Astana
6. Gyaur-kala 15. Zang-tepe 24. Kakrak 33. Taraz 42. Toyoq
CAUCASUS A
S E
Syr D
ARAL ar
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I A N
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Tal
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Adiabene UM as IRE
SEM
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7
SO
Urmia
IZ
BISHKEK
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1 8
CHACH 33
D AI
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34
KARA KUM
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22
A
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TASHKENT
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C
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M
DIHIS
5 IAN F E R G HA N A
Ecbatana A Zera
Am Bukhara f shan
(Hamadan) USTRUSHANA
TEHRAN ASHGABAT 6 Kashgar
uD
Samarkand
2 TURAN
3 (Su-le)
ary
Mashhad Merv PAMIRS
a
Abarshahr (Nishapur) Ox
(
us)
Mu
Hormizd Ardashir
DASH KHURASAN r TO AN
(Ahvaz) KHARIST
gh a
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KAV KHA
b WA
IR Herat
24
HINDU KUSH Gilgit
T e j en 25
KAPISA
27 26
d Jalalabad GANDHARA
KERMAN an KABUL
lm 29 28 31
e
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Ardashir-Khvarreh ISLAMABAD b
(Firuzabad) ena
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SEISTAN
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In RAJASTHAN
▲
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A R A B I A N
S E A
Narmada
50
Ta
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49
MAP 1. General map of Central Asia (fourth–eighth century).

43. Lou-lan
44. Miran
45. Shan-shan Baikal
46. Niya
47. Dandan-oïlig
48. Rawak
49. Ajanta Yenisey
50. Junagadh e
eng
51. Dilberjin Sel
on
kh
Or ULAN BATOR
Balkhash
DZUNGARIA
G O B I D E S E R T
ow R iv er
YE Yell
R ECH
Ili ORDOS
39 40
41
ALMATY 38 42
AN Karashahr Kocho, Hami
Issyk-kül S37H 36
Kucha (Agni) Turfan Yumen
GANSU
EN Tarim Dunhuang
A 'I 35
T Aksu 43 Lop Nor
ALAI XINJIANG 44
45 Koko Nor
T A K L A M A K A N Ch'ang-an
.
D
n
48 47
Khota
46
Khotan A
H
S 21
N Bukhara Samarkand
L U 9
K U N (Afrasiab)
20
KA Z era
RA fs h a n
10
KO Ka s h k a Darya
11
RU m hsh
A
KA uD AN Vak
SH M A NIY
AG
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M
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D DUSHANBE
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T I B E T 12 Su n
13 14 ga
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fir 18
Termez
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PRADESH H T O A
I M K H A R I S T
A L Balkh
A Y A 23
Ya Gan
mu
n g a
es
Allahabad
Nalanda
500 km

Sites
1. Sargveshi
2. Darband
3. Awroman
4. Arbela
5. Takht-i Sulaiman (Shiz)
6. Nahravan
7. Paikuli
8. Qasr-i Shirin
9. Seleukia
10. Kish
11. Kangavar
12. Taq-i Bustan
13. Bisutun
14. Nihavend
15. Golpayagan BL
16. Susa AC
17. Gundeshapur K
18. Shushtar SE CAUCASUS
19. Aiwan-i Karkha A
20. Ram Hormoz
21. Qumis A
22. cUbulla
S E
23. Behbahan GEORGIA
24. Tang-i Sarvak
25. Istakhr
Ar
e
ax
26. Naqsh-i Rajab
P I A N
1
27. Tang-i Khushk Amida
28. Persepolis (Diyaberkir) 2
NIA
29. Naqsh-i Rustam Van ARM E
A N
30. Sarvestan Tig 3 B A IJ
A ZER
M
31. Bishapur ris

ES
32. Sar Mashhad

Eu
AN
OP
A S
33. Ardashir-Khvarreh KURDISTAN Tabriz
DIHIST
OT
ph
34. Gur (Firuzabad) Urmia KARA

5
rate
35. Darabgird 4 yala

AM
Di
DA
C
36. Siraf
s
IL
ASHGABAT
IA
A
37. Shapur-Khvast 7 8
38. Abarshahr ADIABENE M TA GURGAN
39. Tureng-tepe 6 B A RIS T A N
Ecbatana 39
40. Sarakhs 12 (Hamadan) Mashhad
41. Gyaur-kala Ctesiphon
11 TEHRAN
BAGHDAD 13 14 Nishapur
42. Dilberjin 19 Kermanshah 38
43. Kara-tepe Babylon 9 Dezful 18 KHURA
10 16
15 DASHT-I
44. Fayaz-tepe 17 20
KAVIR
45. Balalyk-tepe Ahvaz
21 37
46. Zar-tepe KHUZISTAN
47. Kesh Ka
E r
48. Ak-tepe E 22 EN 24
AC
un
E N A R 23
49. Klych-duval S C H 25
E 29
50. Darakhsha-tepe M 26
51. Dalverzin-tepe 28
52. Shodmon-kala Shiraz 27 30
53. Halkajar 31 35 KERMAN
PE
34
54. Yavan 32 33
RS
55. Kala-i Kafirnigan FARS DASHT-I LUT

▲ (PERSIA)
IA
56. Munchak-tepe
57. Kay Kobad Shah 36
N
58. Ushtur-Mulla
N
G
59. Durman-tepe
LF
U
60. Chaqalaq-tepe
61. Taliqan
62. Surkh Kotal
63. Bamiyan
64. Begram
65. Tepe Maranjan
66. Ghazni
67. Butkara A R
68. Taxila
500 km
MAP 2. Sasanian Iran.

Bukhara Samarkand
(Afrasiab)
Z era
fs h a n
47 hsh
52 Vak
51
Am
57
D. DUSHANBE
an 55
uD
45 kh 50 53
ry 46 r
Su 49
a
a 43 44 56
54
48
Termez
42 58
T O N
A
K H A R I S T
Balkh
59
60
Syr D Balkhash
ary
ARAL a(
J
SEA
ax
Ch
u
ar
YE
tes
Tal ECH
)
KY
ZY as SE M I R Ili
KH
LK
TR
UM BISHKEK ALMATY
WA
AN
AN
R IZ
SO
SH
M
Issyk-kül
XA
TASHKENT Tarim
E N Aksu
NIA
KUM F E R G HA N A
'I
Zera T
Am
f shan Kashgar XINJIANG

Bukhara
uD
Samarkand
41 TAKLAMAKAN
ary
PAMIRS
Merv
a(
Ox
40
61 us)
Mu
r TO AN
KHARIST
gh a
RASAN Balkh HAHR

b SH ANS
Herat KU
62 63 SWAT KA
T e j en 64 K
APIS
65 A GANDHARA RA
67 KO
d KABUL RU
Birjand an 66
Peshawar M
lm 68
e
H ISLAMABAD
KUHISTAN Kandahar
Quetta PANJAB
SEISTAN PARADAN
us DELHI
nd Ga
ng
I
Yam
un
es
a
MAKRAN SIND
A B I A N
S E A
Narmada

A
S E
Syr D
ARAL ar Balkhash
y
SEA
I A N
a(
1
Jax
K
Ch Ili
a rt u
Y
es)
ZY
Ta
TR
Am
la
AN
s
uD
S P
K
SO
BISHKEK
U
ary
ALMATY
XA
CHACH
a
NI
(Ox
A
TASHKENT
A
2
KARA KUM SOGDIANA Issyk-kül
u
3
AN
C
s)
ASHGABAT 4 Z F E R G HA N A S HAksu Tarim

Bukhara erafsha EN
n 'I
Merv Samarkand hsh T Kashgar
a V ak XINJIA
a ry
Tejen
nD HU TTAL
Murg h a
Mashhad kha K PAMIRS

20
S ur SHUGHNAN TAKLAMAKAN
KHURASAN b GOZGAN AN
T O K H ARIST
BADAKHSHAN
BALTISTAN Khotan
BADHGHIS
KUHISTAN Herat 23 HINDU KUSH Gilgit
24
KABUL AP SWAT 32
K
d I SA GANDHARA
an 25 26 31
KA
lm 27 30 LA RA
Peshawar KO
e
KERMAN H 29 ISLAMABAD DA
Bust 28
KA KH RU
b M
ena SH
Kandahar Ch 33 M
IR
PANJAB
SEISTAN
s
du DELHI
In Ga
RAJASTAN ng
Mathura e s
SIND
A R A B I A N
T
S E A RA
JA N a r m ad a
GU
34
MAP 3. The Hephthalite Empire.

Sites
1. Dzhety-Asar
2. Kasra-bash
3. Kaunchi
4. Amol
5. Karshi
6. Zamm
7. Balalyk-tepe
8. Kuëv-kurgan
9. Band-i Khan
10. Dalverzin-tepe
11. Hissar
12. Washgird
13. Shahr-i Nau
14. Kay Kobad Shah
15. Bishkent
16. Kobadian
17. Kulyab
18. Kafyr-kala
19. Shah oasis
Turfan 20. Taliqan
Karashahr Hami
21. Dilberjin
22. Naubahar
23. Bamiyan
Lop Nor
24. Kapisa (Begram)
ANG 25. Ghazni
26. Gardez
27. Bannu
28. Idak-Spinwam
29. Kalabagh
30. Taxila (Sirsukh)
31. Rajar
32. Skardu
33. Sakala
34. Junagadh
Bukhara Samarkand
(Afrasiab)
Z era
fs h a n
Ka s h k a Darya
I YA
N hsh
N Vak
GA
CH
A
10 13
11
▲
Am
9
6 D. 14 12 DUSHANBE
u
ar 8 n
ha
D
ya rk N
(O x 7 Su 15 an
u s) nig 18
fir 17
Ka
16
Termez
21 T O 19 N
A
Balkh K H A R I S T
22
500 km

MAP 4. The Gupta kingdom.

Talas
S yr Darya ( J a
BISHKEK ALMATY
Taras l
Issyk-kü AN Karashahr
TASHKENT
SH Turfan
Zerafsh N Kucha
IE
xa
an F E R G HA N A Tarim
T ' Aksu
rte
) Lop Nor
s
Bukhara
Khotan D.
Samarkand Kashgar
XINJIANG Dunhuang
S
PAMIR
Termez T A K L A M A K A N
Ox
us Dandan-oïlig
AN Niya
ST
N
TO
Balkh KHARI
A
HINDU KUSH Khotan H
Bamiyan Gilgit S
SWAT N
L U
KA
K U N
PI
S
GANDHARA
A
KABUL K a b KA
ul
Taxila RA
Ind
Peshawar KA KO
us
SH RU
M M
Sakala IR
(Sialkot)
PANJAB
T I B E T
una
Multan Thaneswar
am
Y Brahmaputra
UTTAR
s PRADESH H
du DELHI
Ahichchatra
In RAJASTHAN
Ga
ng Sravasti
I M A L A Y A
e s
SIND Mathura Kanauj
Kanpur Sarnath Vaisali BIHAR ASSAM
Bhita
Gwalior Allahabad
i
at
rb
Besnagar
Pa
Gaur
Ahmedabad Udaygiri Kausambi Pataliputra
MALWA
Mandasor Vidisha
Morvi
Ujjain Nalanda MAGADHA
i
bh
Bagh Bhopal BENGAL

la
a
Narmad
Va
GUJARAT Tamralipti
Deogarh
Junagadh Ta
pt i ORISSA
Ellora
Ajanta MADHYA
Kanheri
PRADESH ANDHRA
Karli
Bombay MAHARASHTRA
Ter
A R A B I A N CAN
DEC
Aihole
S E A Badami
Mangalore
Madras B A Y O F
B E N G A L
Hsüan-tsang's route
Fa-hsien's route
SIMHALA
500 km

Sites
1. Kuyuk-kala
2. Tok-kala
3. Toprak-kala
4. Ayaz-kala
5. Yakke-Parsan
6. Koy-Krylgan-kala
7. Kath
8. Berkut-kala
9. Ichan-kala
10. Hazarasp
11. Varakhsha
BL
12. Paikent AC
13. Narshakh K
14. Pai SE
A
15. Savat
16. Jizak A
17. Havast
S E
18. Zamin
19. Kala-i Kahkaha
A
ra
(Bunjikat) e
P I A N
20. Shahristan
21. Chorsokha-tepe
22. Urta-kurgan Van
Tig
23. Ura-tyube
M
ris
ES
24. Isfijab
Eu
AN
OP
A S
25. Ming-uruk
DIHIST
OT
ph
26. Kaunchi Urmia

KARA
rate
AM
27. Kanka
DA
C
s
ol
IL
28. Tunkat ASHGABAT
IA
Am
ri
A
M
Sa
29. Tudai-kalon
30. Asht TA Tus
B A RIS T A N
31. Akhsikat Ecbatana
TEHRAN Mashhad
Ctesiphon Ray
32. Kasan BAGHDAD Nishapur
33. Uzgend Nihavend
al-Qadisiyya DASHT-I KHUR
34. Osh Ahvaz KAVIR
al-Hira Shushtar
35. Kala-i Bolo Kufa
36. Tamakhush KHUZiSTAN
37. Bamkakhush Basra
38. Shaukat cUbulla DA
SH
39. Kairagach T-I
Istakhr LU
T
40. Chilhujra
Shiraz
41. Mount Mug
KERMAN
PE
42. Panjikent Z
Ardashir-Khvarreh
RS
43. Kish (Firuzabad)

▲
IA
44. Maimurg FARS Faryab

N
45. Sanam (PERSIA)

46. Er-kurgan N
G
47. Nasaf LF
U
48. Arbinjan
49. Dabusiyya
50. Shuman
51. Mink
52. Gyaur-Kala
53. Abivard
A
500 km
MAP 5. The Arab conquest of Iran, Sughd, Ferghana, Chach, Khwarizm, Semirechye
(fourth–eighth century).

1
T
2
Sy
KH
alas
3
r
W
Da
4 5
AR
rya ( J a x a
7
6 CHACH
IZ
M
8 24 Taraz
9
25
rtes)
10
TASHKENT
33
Am u
SUGHD 27
28
26
KARA KUM 13 17 29
32
34
11 31 35
12 30
Dar
14 Khujand 38 36 37
Bukhara 15 16 18 23
49 Z era 19 22 39
ya
fshan 20 21
48 40
ASHGABAT Samarkand 44 42
(O
41 USTRUSHANA
43 45 AN
xu
52 47
GA
N IY DUSHANBE
) HA
Merv
s
53 C 50 51
46 D
. KHUTTAL
Tus n
an
iga
kh
sh
f ir n
kh
ur
Termez S Ka
Va
Syr D
ary
ARAL a(
J Balkhash
SEA
ax
Ch
u
ar
HYE
tes
IREC
K
Tal
S EM
)
Y
as Ili
TR
Z
KH
BISHKEK ALMATY
A
L
N
W
AN
K
Taraz
SO
AR
SH
XA
Issyk-kül
IZM
TASHKENT Tarim
E N Aksu
NI
Urgench
F E R G HA N A 'I
A
A KUM Zera T
Am
f shan Khujand Kashgar

Bukhara
T
uD
Samarkand AL
UTT
ary
Merv
KH PAMIRS
a
Ox Termez
(
d Sarakhs us)
Mu
r TO AN
KHARIST
gh a
RASAN Balkh
b Bamiyan
Herat SWAT KA
T e j en KAP
ISA GANDHARA RA
KO
d KABUL RU
Birjand an Peshawar M
lm
e
H ISLAMABAD
KUHISTAN Kandahar
Karkuya
Zarang
PANJAB
Zabul
SEISTAN PARADAN
Multan
us DELHI
nd Ga
ng
I
Yam
un
es
a
MAKRAN SIND
Daibul
R A B I A N
S E A
Narmada

Irtysh
A
S E
TA
Syr D RBA
ARAL Balkhash GA TA
ar
y
I
SEA
I A N
a(
1
Jax Ch
a rt u
es) Ta
Am
la
HYE
TRA
IREC
s
Ili
uD
S P
SEM
NSO
ary
5 ALMATY
BISHKEK
a (Ox
Kucha 13
A
XAN
TASHKENT 11 14
Issyk-kül 12
u
AN
10
C
s)
IA
SH
9 Tarim
Zera F E R G HA N A 7 8
Bukhara f shan N 6 Aksu
hsh 'IE
Samarkand V ak T Kashgar X I N J I
(Afrasiab) DUSHANBE (Su-le)
Murg h a
2 PAMIRS TAKLAMAKAN
Termez 4
OK Yarkand
b
T
A NBADAKHSHAN 33 32
en
H ARIST 31 29
Mintaka Pass Khotan
Tej
BALTISTAN
HINDU KUSH Gilgit
30
3 (Drusha) KUNLUN
KABUL GANDHARA
KA
d Peshawar RA
an KO
elm KA
RU
H SH
M M
IR
s
du H I
In Ga
ng
e s
▲
N A R A B I A N
T
RA
S E A JA N a r m ad a
GU
MAP 6. The Western Regions and Tibet (fourth–eighth century).

Sites
1. Dzhety-Asar
Baikal 2. Kara-tepe
3. Bamiyan
4. Tashkurgan
SAYAN
5. Suyab
Yenisey 6. Tumshuq
7. Kyzyl
n
ho 8. Duldur-Aqur
AN
NU OL A enge
rk
S el
O
9. Kumtura
T
ULAN BATOR
10. Simsim, Kirish
11. Acigh-Iläk
A L 12. Kyzyl-Qargha
T A GAI
I AN 13. Su-bashi
KH 14. Luntai
15. Beshbalyk
DZUNGARIA G O B I D E S E R T 16. Tingzhou (Jimsa)
(Hua
ng Ho) 17. Yar (Chiao Ho)
16 er 18. Murtuq
Urumchi
Y ellow Riv
BOGDO-ULA
15 17 18 19
ORDOS 19. Bezeklyk
Turfan 20. Sengim-aghiz
Karashahr 23 Hami
20 An-hsi 21. Astana
24 22
21 (Yizhou)
(An-xi) 22. Toyoq
23. Kocho (Kao-ch'ang)
Lop Nor Wuwei
25
Dunhuang 24. Ayding-köl
A N G HEX 25. Lou-lan
26 I Ch'ang-an
27 Koko Nor 26. Miran
Lanzhou 27. Shan-shan
IDAM
TSA GANSU 28. Endere
28 QINGHAI 29. Niya
N 30. Keriya
S HA 31. Karghalik
32. Dandan-oïlig
33. Rawak
SICHUAN
T I B E T
Lhasa
ung YUNNAN
Y arkl
M A L A Y A
500 km

Irtysh
A
S E
Syr D TA
ARAL Balkhash RBA
ar GA
y
SEA
I A N
a(
Jax Ch Ili
KYZYL a rt u
TRA
es) Ta
l as
Am
KUM
YE
CH
NSO
uD
S P
M IRE
ary
SE
XAN
CHACH
a (O
A
KARA KUM TASHKENT Kucha

xu s)
IA
SOGDIANA Issyk-kül
N
C
A
Zera F E R G HA N A SH Tarim
Bukhara f shan N Aksu
hsh 'IE
T Kashgar
15 Samarkand
ry a V ak XINJIA
Merv Da TTAL
kh
an KHU PAMIRS
S ur TAKLAMAKAN
Mur
KHURASAN Balkh T Yarkand

OKH AN
A R I S T BADAKHSHAN
en
gh
Tej
b
a
12 11
HINDU KUSH AN 10
T A N 5 I ST
KIS KA R SWAT
NDU 4 P IS
A U
FO
N
6
7 GANDHARA KA
GAN 3 KABUL
UZ 2
9 RA
UR d 8
Peshawar KO
an RU
elm KA
M
H SH
Zabul 1
Kandahar M
IR
PANJAB
ZABULISTAN
s
du
In RAJASTHAN
Ga
ng
e s
▲
N
ARABIAN
SEA T
RA
JA N a r m ad a
GU
MAP 7. The Türk Empire.

Sites
1. Bust
2. Tepe Sardar
Baikal
3. Ghazni
4. Tepe Skandar
5. Kapisa
SAYAN 6. Khair Khanah
7. Chigha Saray
Yenisey 8. Varnu
9. Hund
n
NU OL A ge ho
AN elen 10. Chilas
rk
O
S
T
11. Gilgit
ULAN BATOR
Bulgan 12. Bamiyan
24
13. Qunduz
AL 14. Balkh
TA GAI
I AN 15. Bairam-Ali
KH 16. Balalyk-tepe
GATAI 17. Zang-tepe
DZUNGARIA 18. Shuman
G O B I D E S E R T 19. Kala-i Kafirnigan
ng Ho)
(Hua 20. Ajina-tepe
Urumchi er
21. Kafyr-kala
Y ellow Riv
23
ORDOS 22. Kobadian
Turfan 23. Beshbalyk
Karashahr Hami
24. Bugut
GANSU
Lop Nor
ANG
Koko Nor
TSAIDAM
Bukhara Samarkand
(Afrasiab)
Z era
fs h a n
Ka s h k a Darya
IYA
N hsh
A N 18 Vak
AG
Am
H
C rya
Da DUSHANBE
u
17 19
ar an
D
n
ya
(O x 16 urk
h iga
u s) S firn
Ka 21
Termez 22
20
TOK
14 HARISTAN
13
500 km

B IBLIOGRAPHY AND R EFERENCES
A B B R E V I AT I O N S OF PERIODICALS
AA = Arts asiatiques, Paris

Acta Ant. Hung. = Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest
AOH = Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest
BEFEO = Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris
BSOAS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London
BSOS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, London
CII = Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Calcutta
CRAI = Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles lettres, Paris
EW = East and West, Rome
IIJ = Indo-Iranian Journal, The Hague
IsMEO = Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. Reports and Memoirs, Rome
JA = Journal asiatique, Paris
JAOS = Journal of the American Oriental Society, New Haven, Conn.
JCA = Journal of Central Asia, Islamabad
JNSI = Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, Varanasi
JRAS = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London
MDAFA = Mémoires de la Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan, Paris
NC = Numismatic Chronicle, London
SA = Sovetskaya arkheologiya, Moscow
TP = T’oung-Pao, Leiden
CHAPTER 1
The Age of Imperial Unity. 1951. The History and Culture of Indian People, Vol. 2.
Bombay.
ALTEKAR, A.S.; MAJUMDAR, R.C. (eds.) 1946. The Vakataka-Gupta Age (circa 200-
550 A.D.). New History of the Indian People, Vol. 6. Reprint, 1954. Benares.
BAILEY, H.W. 1971. Zoroastrian Problems in the Ninth-Century Books, 2nd ed. Oxford.
BANERJI, R.D. 1933. The Age of the Imperial Guptas. Benares.
507

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ROWLAND, B. 1974. The Art of Central Asia. New York.
SHIRATORI, K. 1956a. A New Attempt of the Solution of the Fu-lin Problem. MRDTB,
Vol. 15.
——. 1956b. The Geography of the Western Region. MRDTB, Vol. 15.
SMIRNOVA, O.I. 1957. Iz istorii arabskikh zavoevaniy v Sredney Azii. Sovetskoye
vostokovedenie, No. 2. Moscow.
——. 1960. K istorii samarkandskogo dogovora 712 g. Kratkie soobshcheniya Instituta
Vostokovedenyiya, Vol. 38. Moscow/Leningrad.
——. 1963. Katalog monet s gorodishcha Penjikent (materialy 1949-1956 gg). Moscow.
——. 1981. Svodniy katalog sogdiyskikh monet. Bronza. Moscow.
SOLODUKHO, J.A. 1956. K voprosu o sotsial’noy strukture Iraka v III-V vv. n.ê. Uchenye
zapiski Instituta Vostokovedeniya AN SSSR, Vol. 14, note 3.
STEIN, M.A. 1975. Ancient Khotan. New York.
TUCCI, J.; HEISSIG, W. 1970. Die Religionen Tibets und der Mongolei. Stuttgart.
VAYNBERG, B.I. 1977. Monety Drevnego Khorezma. Moscow.
WITTHOFEL, K; FÊNG CHIA-SHÊNG. 1949. History of Chinese Society Liao (907-1125).
Philadelphia.
555

INDEX
Abarshahr (Nishapur) 36, 37, 38, 52, Amesha Spentas 409, 429
103, 104 Ammianus Marcellinus 38, 52, 54, 76,
c
Abbasids 462–5 120, 316, 317
c
Abd al-Malik b. Marwan 457, 469 Anahita 62, 63, 110, 219
c
Abd al-Rahman b. Muslim 229, 230 A-na-kui 331, 332
c
Abd al-Rahman b. Samura 375, 455, 470 Ancient Sogdian Letters 31, 256, 314
c
Abdallah b. al-Zubair 469 An-hsi 307, 352, 363
c
Abdallah b. Amir 179, 454, 456 Apa kaghan 333, 334
Abrui 236 Aphsad inscription 188
Abu Bakr 450 Arab conquests, 228–31, 449–72
Abu Musa Ashcari 452 Iran 449–50
Abu Muslim 462, 463 Iraq 450–2
Abu cUbaida 450 Khurasan 455–6
Afghans 385 Khuzistan 452–3
Afrasiab 136, 177, 239, 247 Khwarizm 228–31
Mural paintings 248 land tax 467
Afrig 208, 224, 225 Nihavend 453–4
A-fu-chi-lo 324 Seistan 454–4
Ahriman 63, 97, 407, 413 Sind 471
Ahura Mazda 21, 109, 403, 429; see also Social and political consequences
Ohrmazd 465–72
Aiwan-i Karkha 61 Sogdiana 238
Ajanta 199, 203–6 T’ang 291
Ajina-tepe 391–2, 248 Transoxania 456–65
Akhshunvar 39, 139 Arda Viraz 406
Ak-tepe 422 Ardashir I 36, 38, 40, 53, 89, 96, 98, 99,
Alania 316 103, 208
Alans 29, 317 palace 58
Allahabad pillar inscriptions 165, 185, Ardashir II 63, 65
186 Ardashir-Khvarreh 40, 52, 56
Aloben 426 Ardavan V 35, 36, 63, 90, 96
557
CentAsiaIII-Index 557 3/12/96, 12:47

Index
Ardokhsho 110, 164, 165 Bayirku 336, 339

Arslan Tarkhan 274 Begram 43, 111
Aryabhata 199 Berkut-kala 212, 478
Asad b. cAbdallah 461 Bharavi
A-shih-na 330, 335, 337, 372, 373 Kiratarjuniya 197
Ashras b. cAbdallah al-Sulami 460 Bhitari pillar inscription 123, 175, 187
Ashvaghosha 441 Bilge kaghan 332, 337, 339, 340, 341,
Askajamuk II 230 343, 346, 429
Astana 310, 355 al-Biruni 222–31,
at-Tar 459 Al-Qanun al-Mascudi 177
Avars 322, 323, 333 Chronology 223–4, 225, 226, 227
Avesta 79, 84, 85, 87, 169, 407 Khwarizmian eras 222–4
Ayaz-kala 2 212–13 signs of the Zodiac 228
Az 339 Bishapur 36, 41, 52, 56, 59, 61, 405
A-zha 360 Bisutun 61, 63
Azkajwar II 224, 225, 230 Bögü kaghan 339, 419
Bon-po 364
Bactria 20, 37, 112, 147, 176, 425, 437 Boran 44
conquest by the Sasanians 124–6 brahmans 189, 190, 191, 193, 195, 196,
languages and scripts 116, 148 199, 201
Zoroastrianism 109 Brahmi 118, 387, 433, 435, 437, 438, 441
see also Tokharistan Buddhism 22, 23, 24, 33, 110, 253, 292,
Badhghis 179 297, 311, 353, 357, 364, 431–48
Baffarnag 469 art 111, 112, 114, 149, 150, 178, 199,
Bahram Chobin 235, 334, 368, 369, 411 205
Bahram I 100 China 292, 447
Bahram II 44, 64, 403 decline 447
Bahram V 39, 59, 139 East Turkestan and Central Asia 435,
Bakhshali manuscript 387, 388 440–8
al-Baladhuri 213, 229 Hinayana 22, 440, 442, 444
Baladitya 142 Huns 173
Balalyk-tepe 478 Kidarites 133, 167–9
paintings 151–2, 183 Mahayana 22, 440, 442, 445
Balkh 37, 105, 116, 125, 138, 149, 178, Sogdiana 253
182, 208, 461 Tarim basin 292
Bamiyan 152–8, 173, 183, 389 Budhagupta 142
figures of the Buddha 153 Bugut inscription 330, 342, 343
Barhatakin 171, 375, 376, 390 Bukhara 143, 146, 236, 238, 239, 458,
Basmils 336, 340 460, 462
Basra 466 Bumin 327, 331
battle of al-Qadisiyya 451–2, 467 Bunjikat 259, 261, 264
battle of Hormizdagan 36 burial in ossuaries 428
battle of Kadhima 450 Burushaski 384, 386
battle of Nihavend 453 Burzoe 94
battle of Talas 357 Byzantine Empire 32, 53, 192, 368
battle of Yarmuk 451
558

Index
Central Asia 19 peoples and languages 283–4

agriculture 480 religion 292–301
artistic and intellectual life 486–8 Shan-shan 288–9
castles 478–9 social life and the economy 284–8
coinage 485 trade 291–2
cross-cultural influences 33 Constantine 422
ecology, geography and climate 25 Cosmas Indicopleustes 142, 424
irrigation 479 Ctesiphon 36, 41–2, 61
local religions 428–31
silk 483 Dailamites 52, 467
society 479 Dalverzin-tepe 112, 126
written sources 33, 484, 488 Darabgird 41
Chach 143, 278, 279 Darada 385
Chach and Ilak 277–80 Darband 40, 58
archaeological investigation 278 Dardic languages 385, 386
ethnic history 279–80 Dards 385
Chaganiyan 140, 146, 149, 177, 178, 390 Dari language 384
Chalcedon 422 Deccan 186, 187, 197
Chandragupta I 22, 185 Denkard 53, 85, 87, 93, 407, 410, 411
Chandragupta II 21, 22, 123, 186, 187, Deogarh 200
191 Dharmaguptaka 439
Changs 309 Dharmapada 435, 444
Chaqalaq-tepe 113 Dilberjin 114, 116
Chih-chih 316 murals 151
Chik 339 Divashtich 212, 242, 256, 459, 460
chi-mi 351, 352 Dunhuang 238, 288, 361, 442, 447
Chin-shih 426
Chin shu 285 East Iranian groups 385
Chin-ch’eng 362 East Iranian languages 116
Chinese silk 291 East Turkestan 23, 24, 29, 141, 431, 432,
Chionites 20, 30, 38, 119, 234, 317 435, 440–8
Chou 367 manuscripts 434, 435
Chou shu 145, 285, 328, 329 Eastern Christian Church 421, 422
Christianity 92, 94, 110, 147, 221, 253, Eastern Han 319, 320
421–6 Eastern Kushans 104, 163–6
communities 92, 94, 102, 421, 422, 466 Buddhism 166
in East Turkestan 425, 426 economy 166
and Hephthalites 424 Hindu religion 166
and Khusrau II 423 Eastern Manichaeism 417, 418, 419
Melkite Christians 227 Eastern Türks 307, 334, 335
Nestorianism 422–3 Ecbatana (Hamadan) 36, 42, 58
preachers 425 Elishe Vardapet 138, 424
Chü-shih 305 Ephesus 422
city states 285, 289, 350, 351 era of Yazdgird 225
City-states of the Tarim basin 281–301 Eranshahr 103
geography and climate 281–2 Er-kurgan 243
559

Index
Faganish 143, 146, 176, 177 Later Guptas 188

Fa-hsien 167, 168, 189, 193 literature 197
Farrukhmard 83, 101, 102 manufacture of textiles 191
Farrukhzad 469 metalwork 192, 206
Fars 35, 58, 56, 62, 89, 109; see also origin 185
Persia political history 186–9
Fayaz-tepe 118 religious life 195
Ferghana 274–7, 459 royal authority 195
archaeological research 275 science 198–9
ethnic history 276 sculptural art 200
Khujand 274–5 social and economic conditions 189–
fire temples 62, 83, 99, 219, 221, 410 94
Former Chin 290 trade 192
Former Liang 290, 305 Gur 41
Four Garrisons 351, 352 Gurgan 38, 39, 58
Fromo Kesaro 380, 382 Gurjaras 172, 189
Fundukistan 399 Gushnasp 84
Gushtasp 79, 80
Gadaharas 165 Gwalior inscription 142, 174
Gakkharas 165 Gyaur-kala 221
Gandhara 122, 123, 141, 142, 166, 167,
168, 172, 373, 382, 438 Hakim b. Ahmad 463
Ganges valley Hami 304
political unification 186 Han 23, 26, 303, 304, 310
garuda 186 Han shu 26, 283, 303, 304, 484
Gatfar 145, 277 nomadism 27
Ghatotkaca 185 Haripuspa 350
Ghur 471 Harith b. Suraij 277, 461
Ghurak 458, 459 Harsha 22, 188, 189
Gilgit birch-bark manuscripts 383, 387, Harshavardhana 188
440, 446 Hazarasp 213, 229
god Oxus 409, 410 Hephthalites 20, 22, 30, 39, 119, 124,
Gokarna 169 125, 135–62, 176, 177, 235, 306, 332,
Great Kushans 104, 108, 111, 163, 164 367, 368, 369, 371, 424
Great Mu-shia 418 architecture 150–1
Greek writing 116 army 139
Grumbates 38 arts and crafts 151–62
Gundeshapur 41, 42, 43, 92, 93 coinage 140
Guptas 21–3, 123, 141, 185–206 conquests 141–3
administration 194–5 customs 144–5
agriculture 191 funeral rites 147
and the Hunas 123 in India 142
art and architecture 199 kings 370
classical age 198 language and scripts 136, 148–9
conquest of northern India 187 local dynasties 146
golden age 22, 188 monarchs 145
560

Index
of Central Asia 143–4 Ilterish kaghan 336, 338

origins 135 Ilyas b. cAbdallah b. cAmr 230
political history 138–41 Imarat-i Khusrau 61
polyandry 148 inscriptions of Kartir 98, 403
possessions 177, 178, 179 Iranian languages 33, 116, 148, 279, 369
religion 147–8 Ishbara 371, 372
and Sasanians 138–41 Ishtemi 331, 332, 333
social structures 144–7 Islamization of Iran 468
in Sogdiana 235 Istakhr 42
towns 149 Istanbul inscription 89
Herat 38, 105, 179 Izdanbud 469
Hinayana 353, 442, 444 Izhan kaghan 341
Hinduism 22–3, 133, 166
deities 110 Jainism 189, 196–7, 198
gods 201, 253 al-Jarrah b. cAbdallah al-Hakami 459
philosophy 196 jatis 190
Puranic 195, 196 Jewish communities 102, 410, 466
Hindu Shahi dynasty 171 Jibra’il b. Yahya 464
Ho-hsieh-chih 373, 375 Jig kaghan 369
Ho-lu 335 Juan-juan 289, 290, 306, 320, 321, 322,
Hormizd I 63, 96 324, 327, 331
Hormizd II 104 Julian 55
Hormizd III 39, 124, 125 Junagadh rock inscription 141, 191
Hormizd IV 83, 334, 369 Junaid b. cAbd al-Rahman al-Murri 460
House of Ch’ü 308, 309, 310, 350 Justinian 93
House of Ts’ao 304
Hsi-chou Prefecture 350 K’ang-chü 277, 279, 315–16
Hsieh-li 334, 350 Kacbe of Zoroaster inscription 36, 37–8,
Hsien-pi 318, 319, 320, 430 83, 86, 89, 104, 208, 421
Hsien-shen 297 Kabul 144, 171, 470
Hsiung-nu 29–30, 303, 316, 322, 328, 430 Kabul Shahis 383
Hsüan-tsang 136, 142, 145, 148, 149, Kafyr-kala 150, 182
153, 170, 172, 173, 174, 178, 189, 190, Kahaum inscription 123
191, 278, 284, 288, 311, 357, 373, 385 Kakrak 158
on Tokharistan 386, 388 Kala-i Kafirnigan 150, 477
Hsüan-tsung 23, 340 Kala-i Kahkaha I 262–72
Huang-ti 318, 319 Kala-i Kahkaha II 261
Hudud al-calam 179, 385 Kalhana 170, 174
Huei-ch’ao 174, 261, 371, 375, 382, 384 Kalidasa 191
Hunas 29, 174, 175, 187, 188 Kumarasambhava 197
coinage 175–6 Meghaduta 197
Later Huna coins 176 RaghuvaMwa 197
Huns 29, 119, 143, 173, 234, 316, 317 Kanauj 188, 189
Hussain b. Mucaz 463 Kangavar 62
Hvarna 221 Kanishka I 104
Kanishka III 163, 164
561

Index
Kanishka vihara 166, 168, 174 Khusrau II 44, 61, 84, 94, 369, 390, 412,
Kao Hsien-chih 349 423
Kao-chü 306, 323, 324 Khuttal 146, 177, 178, 370, 382, 384, 389,
Kao-tsu 334 461
Kapagan kaghan 338, 339, 345 Khwaday-namag 80, 84, 96, 411
Kapisa 173, 373, 389, 438 Khwarizm 37, 207–31, 458
Kapisa–Gandhara 373–9, 381, 391 agricultural oases 215
Karabalgasun inscription 419 animistic notions 226
Karakorum rock inscriptions 238 Arab conquest 228–31
Karashahr 284, 290, 350, 447 art and architecture 218–22
Kara-tepe 111, 116, 118 al-Biruni 222–31
Karkota dynasty 172 calendar 222–4
Karluks 179, 181, 290, 336, 339, 341, coins 225, 230
347, 349, 425 cult of the dead 226
Karshi 127 eras 208, 224–5
Kartir 64, 87, 89, 97, 403, 405, 406, 421 language 222
Karzanj 459 monetary reform 210
Kashgar 141, 283, 284, 432, 443 religion 218, 219, 225–8
Kashmir 142, 167, 173, 364, 439, 440, 441 social structure and administration
Kath 213, 228 209–18
Katulf 146 socio-economic life 216
Kaunchi 278 Zoroastrianism 226, 227, 253
Kavad I 39, 61, 94, 102, 140, 408 Kidarites 30, 39, 119–33, 141, 165, 172
Kayanians 79, 165, 411 Ammianus Marcellinus 120
Kerder 213, 218, 231 Buddhism 167
Khalaj 179–82 coins 121, 128–30, 167
Khalid b. al-Walid 450 conquest of Gandhara and Kashmir
Khamjird 210, 229, 230 121–2
Kharoqthi 118, 149, 284, 433, 435, 438 culture and life-style 132–3
Khazars 430, 473 decline 123–4
Khi 338, 339 economy, society and polity 126–7
Khingil dynasty 169 ideology 133
Khingila II 370 in Gandhara and Kashmir 167–9
Khotan 141, 283, 284, 285, 291, 293, 351, gold coins 167
432, 435, 443, 447, 448 Kushan heritage 133
Khotanese Sakas 431, 442 monetary system and trade 127–31
Khri-brtsun 364 Pei-shih 121, 122, 128, 132
Khri-srong lde-brtsan 361, 364 religious systen 133
Khujand 274–5, 459 and the Sasanians 121, 124–6, 167
Khurasan 376, 384, 450, 460, 461, 462, in Sogdiana 120
463 Kish 464
Khurrazad 229, 469 Kitans 332, 339, 340, 430
Khusrau I 20, 39, 44, 52, 53, 58, 91, 93, Kobadian 113, 126, 178
94, 95, 96, 98, 102, 144, 176, 177, 277, Kocho (Kao-ch’ang) 303–14, 307, 308,
332, 390, 449 309, 310, 311, 350, 354, 447, 448
reforms 42, 52 administrative system 308–9
562

Index
documents 307 Later Guptas 185, 188

kingdom period 306–7 Later Hephthalites 169–72, 176–83
Prefecture period 305, 308 Later Liang 290
Ko-p’i-shih 374 Liang shu 147, 287
Koy-Krylgan-kala 228 Licchavis 185
Kucha 284, 285, 290, 293, 351, 352, 353, Lou-lan 284
358, 432, 447 Lü Kwang 290
Kuëv-kurgan 150, 182
Kufa 466 al-Ma’mun 470
Kuh-i Khwaja 405 Madhyadesha (middle country) 169, 193
Küli-chor 346 Madinat al-Fir (Kath) 213, 224
Kül-tegin 335, 339, 340, 343, 429 Mafatih al-culum 180
Kumaragupta I 122, 123, 187 Magadha 21, 185, 188, 191
Kumarajiva 432 Magha
Kunkhas 125 Wiwupalavadha 197
Kushano-Sasanians 103–18 Mahabharata 22, 169
art and crafts 114–16 Mahasamghika 439
cities and architecture 111–14 Mahayana 22, 440, 442, 445, 446
coins 105–8, 165 al-Mahdi 463
economy, society and trade 108–9 Mahoe 455–6
governors 37 Maitrakas 188, 196
kings 105, 108 Malwa 186, 188
languages and scripts 116–18 Mandasor inscription 175, 188
local Bactrian art 115 Mani 99, 100, 101, 109, 110, 412, 416
metal-working 115 teaching 416
religious life 109–10 Maniakh 32, 332, 333
state organization and administration Manichaeism 21, 33, 99–100, 101, 102,
103–8 109, 147, 297, 312, 412–20
terracotta 115 communities 417
Kushans 103, 194, 207 Divinity of Light 413
coins 105, 165, 208 doctrine 415
Eastern Kushans 104, 163–6 in East Turkestan 417, 418, 419
Empire 20, 30, 121, 127, 207, elect 414
Great Kushans 104, 108, 111, 163, 164 hearers 414
Later Kushans 20, 163, 164, 185 King of Light 413
Silk Route 108 literature 415
Tarim basin 289 monasteries 418
Kushanshahr 38, 103, 104, 108, 109, 138 Maiden of Light 413
Kut-chor kaghan 346 Mani 100, 101, 109, 110, 412, 416, 420
Kutlug yabghu 341 Prince of Darkness 413
Kutlug-chor 335 propaganda 417
Kuyuk-kala 215 script 90, 254
Kyrgyz tribes 314, 332, 339, 425 in Sogdiana 253
Kyzyl 285, 286, 287, 359 two principles 413
works 416
Late Bactrian writing 387 worship 418
563

Index
Mar Aba 424 Narseh 63, 65, 89, 104

Mar Ammo 416, 417 Nasr b. Sayyar 277, 461
Mar Sargis 426 Naubahar 178, 371
Maruta of Tagrit 423 Nebenüberlieferung 406, 407
Mathura 187, 201 Nestorianism 253, 422, 423
Maues 426 Church 298, 424, 426
Maukharis 188 community 410
mawali 467 schools 92, 93
Mazdaism 403; see also Zoroastrianism New Avestan Calendar 222
Mazdakism 408, 475–6 New Persian language 384
Mazdean priests 411 Nihavend 453
Media 453 Nivar kaghan 331, 333
Melkite Christians 227 Niya 282, 288
Menander 144, 146 Nizük 374
Merv 37, 105, 125, 208, 227, 229, 387, Nomadic societies 26–8, 234
417, 421, 422, 424, 437, 456, 462 major movements 28
Mesopotamia 465 semi-nomadic 27
mGar 362 settled oases 28
Middle Persian 79, 88–90, 94, 99, 100, Northern Hsiung-nu 318
101, 105, 116, 369, 383, 409; see also Northern Liang 305
Pahlavi Northern nomads 315–25
Mieh-tu 324 Hsien-pi 318–20
Mihirakula 142, 175, 188, 196 Huns 316–18
Sanskrit sources 174 Juan-juan 320–2
Mithra 63, 65, 109, 110, 218, 219, 409, Kang-chü 315–16
413 nomad kingdoms 320
Mongol nomads 430 T’ieh-le and Kao-chü 323–5
Monophysitism 422 Türks 323
Mount Mug 210, 256, 259, 277 Northern Wei 289, 305, 306, 310, 320,
Mucawiya I 469, 470 321, 324
Mucaz b. Muslim 464 North-Western T’ang 383
al-Mughir b. cAbdallah 230 Nuristani languages 385–6
Muhallab b. Abi Sufra 457
Muhan 333 oasis states 24–5, 291, 479; see also city-
al-Muqannac 463, 464 states
Muslim administration 468 Ohrmazd 21, 63, 65, 97, 406, 407, 409,
Muslims 466 413; see also Ahura Mazda
Old Termez 127, 133, 439
Nagarahara 438 Orkhon inscriptions 330
Nana 253, 273, 429 Osh 274
Naqsh-i Rajab 64
Naqsh-i Rustam inscription 65, 405, Pahlavi script 79, 80, 82, 83, 88–90, 105,
406 116, 377, 380, 407; see also Middle
Narasimhagupta II 188 Persian
Narendra II 370, 373 Paikent 236, 458
Narendraditya KhiNkhila 170 Paikuli 83, 89
564

Index
Panchatantra 81, 254, 256 Rustam 254

Panjab 39, 122, 124, 142, 163, 164, 166, Rutbils 171
168, 172, 186, 187
Panjikent 234, 236, 239, 242, 243, 256, Sacd b. Abu Waqqas 451
427, 460, 480–1, 485 Sacid b. cAbd al-cAziz b. al-Hakam 459
mural paintings 245–6, 254 Sacid b. cAmr al-Harashi 459, 460, 464
Pariowk 369 Sacid b. cUthman 457
Parsees 412 Sai tribes 283
Parsi-i Dari 384 Sakal kaghan 345
Parthians 19, 35, 36 Sakas 186, 283
cities 56 Salm b. Ziyad 457
culture 62 Samanids 464
language 80, 90–1, 100 Samarkand 230, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239,
reliefs 63 253, 458, 464; see also Afrasiab
Parvati 426 Samudragupta 22, 165, 186
Pashto 385 Sanskrit 174–5, 191, 197–8, 427, 440,
Pei-shih 121, 122, 128, 132, 136, 144, 441, 445
287, 311, 328, 329, 368 Santiraksita 364
Peroz 39, 71, 109, 124, 125, 138, 139 Warada script 388
Peroz-Shapur 41 Sar Mashhad 64, 87, 403
Persia 35, 91; see also Fars Sarnath 199, 201
Peshawar 166, 168 Sarvastivada 439
petroglyphs 31 Sarvestan 59
Pi-sha 351 Sasan 35
Po-lü 388 Sasanian Iran 35–77, 79–102
Prakrit 81, 198, 284, 427, 439 administration 40
Pravarasena II army, warfare and armaments 52–3
coins 169, 176 arts and crafts 62–76
Procopius 52, 136, 144 chart 77
Pushyabhutis 188, 189, 196 and Christians 92–3
cities and fortifications 56–8
Queen Mina 227 coinage 43, 44–52
Qutaiba b. Muslim 229, 230, 277, 457, court architecture 58–61
458, 467 customs and lifestyle 54
economy 43–4
Ramayana 385 intellectual life 79–102
Rabic b. Ziyad 455 jewellery 72–4
Rafic b. Laith 464 languages and scripts 88–91
Rajputs 172, 189 Legal Code 102
economic system 172 literature 79–88, 91, 95, 96, 97
feudal system 173 and northern nomads 38
property system 172–3 religious architecture 61–2
Ramagupta 186 royal cities 40–2
Romans 35, 38, 39, 64, 99, 422 science and philosophy 93–5
Rudrasena II 187 silverware 55, 71
Rukhkhaj 171, 470 vessels 74–5
565

Index
Sasanians 19, 20–1, 104, 108, 124, 140, Siyavush 219, 224, 226, 428
144, 368, 369, 373, 403, 406, 410, 422, cult of the dead 227
449, 465, 466 Skandagupta 123, 141, 187
and the Arabs 449–50, 455, 465, 466 smrtis 166, 189
and Bactria 124–6 Sogdiana 120, 128, 141, 229, 233–80, 425
and Khwarizm 207, 208 administrative system 477
school of Gundeshapur 93 Ancient Sogdian Letters 31, 256, 314
Zoroastrianism 403–12 Chach and Ilak 277–9
school of Gundeshapur 93 Ferghana 274–6
Seistan 104, 171, 454–5, 470 monetary system 120, 129, 233
Seleucid age 225 nomads 234
Seleucids 35 Ustrushana 259–73
Sem Wu-shih-mu 372 see also Sughd
Semirechye 236, 425, 437 Sogdians 31, 32, 226, 312, 428, 458
Shabuhragan 415 and the Arabs 238, 458, 459
Shah-name 80, 96, 176, 180, 278, 428 and Christians 425
Shahrewar 409 and the Hephthalites 235
Shahr-i Nau 126 religions 428
Shaivism 196 Srong-brtsan sgam-po 360, 361
Shamanism 364 Sughd 141, 176, 233–58, 458, 459
Shan-shan 288, 289 art and architecture 239–52
Shapur I 36, 37, 40, 41, 56, 58, 59, 83, 89, carved wood 246, 247
96, 99, 104, 109, 111, 208, 405, 449 coins 239
Shapur II 38, 98, 120, 121, 422, 449 economy 238–9
Shapur III 39, 121 metalwork 250
Sharik b. Shaikh 462 murals 245, 251
Shaug 369 religions 253
Shih-chi 329 scripts, epics and literary sources
Shih-pi 334 254–8
Shiladas 165 temples 243
Shirin 423 see also Sogdiana
Shiva 109, 165, 170, 173, 175, 201, 253, Sui dynasty 23, 306, 333
410, 426, 427 Sui shu 144, 259, 310
Shiva and Nandi 110, 166 Sukhavati 444, 445, 446
Shubkhalisho 425 Sulaiman 458
Shudraka 197 Suluk 339, 346
Shushtar 43, 452 Suluk Chabish-chor 346
Silk Route 30–2, 43, 172, 238, 291, 292, Sung Yün 141, 144, 145, 147
367, 382, 410, 484–5 Susa 52, 58, 75, 91
Buddhist missionaries 32
international trade 32 T’ai-tsung 23, 334, 335, 350
network 31 T’ang dynasty 23–4, 285, 290, 291, 307,
Silziboulos 333 334, 336, 349, 350, 350–9, 360, 362,
Sind 471 364, 372, 373, 382, 419, 426
Siraf 57 administrative system 351
Sixteen Kingdoms 290, 311 Buddhism 253
566

Index
customs 352 Tibetans 352, 361, 362

music 353 Timothy I 425
and Western Regions 350–9 Tish 146, 177
T’ang shu 216, 259, 275, 291, 373, 376, Tochi valley inscriptions 171, 387
378 Tokharistan 112, 121, 125–8, 133, 135,
T’an-shih-huai 318, 319 147, 178, 179, 182–3, 207, 233, 250,
T’ieh-le 323 372, 376, 388–90, 424, 432
T’ing-chou Prefecture 350 Christianity 424
T’o-pa Kui 320, 324 coinage 389–90
T’ung yabghu 334, 350, 358, 370, 373 and the Hephthalites 176–9, 235
al-Tabari 36, 37, 38, 42, 52, 53, 103, 138, and the Kidarites 125–8
139, 384 languages and scripts 283–4, 298, 384,
Tabaristan 84, 463, 470, 471 386, 432, 435, 437
Taghpar 333 manuscripts 442, 444
Tajiks 280, 384 and nomads 235
Takht-i Sangin 410 urban life and art 182–3
Takht-i Sulaiman 57, 62, 405 under Western Türks 371–3
Taliqan 125, 138 see also Bactria
Taoism 33, 310 Tok-kala 208, 223, 224, 227
Taq-i Bustan 65, 67–71 Tokuz-Oghuz 336, 339, 340, 343
Taq-i Kasra 41 Tölish 337
Tardu 333, 334, 368, 370, 371 Tonyuquq 332, 335, 339, 340
Tardush 337 Toprak-kala 207, 213, 215, 218, 219, 222,
Tarikh-e Sistan 180 224
Tarim basin 281–301 Toramana 142, 174, 175, 188
Tarkhan Nizak 179, 374 Transoxania 460, 461, 462, 464
Tarkhan Tirek 382 Tughshada 457
Tarkhun 458 Tumshuq 283
Tashkurgan 283 Turantash 146, 177
Taspar 343 Tureng-tepe 57, 405
Tatabi 340 Turfan 292, 303, 304, 308, 310, 312, 351,
Taxila 168, 172, 174 432, 447
Tegin shah 377 documents 308
Tengri kaghan 341 expedition 307
Termez 116, 117, 127, 133, 143, 149, 178, local civilizations 309
390; see also Old Termez Türgesh 277, 290, 344–7
Thaneswar 188 Türk Empire 327–47
Theophanes Homologétés 144 First 327–35
Tibet 349, 360–5 Second 335–47
agriculture 363 Türk Shahis 170, 172
Buddhism 364 rule in Kabul 171, 375
Buddhist manuscripts 442 Türk stone inscriptions 343
manufacture 363 Türks 20, 24, 30, 136, 143, 144, 145, 177,
metallurgy 363 178, 180, 236, 277, 290, 306, 324, 327,
script and grammar 364 328, 333, 338, 350, 367, 368, 370, 384,
stockbreeding 363 430, 431, 460, 461, 464
567

Index
economy 331–2 Vistahm 369

epigraphic memorials 343 Vologases IV 35
ethnogenesis 327–31 Vologases V 19, 35
funerary inscriptions 330
Old Turkic script 331 Wahman 409
origin 328 Wei dynasty 23, 289, 304, 305, 321, 322
personal names 330 Weng-cheng 364
political history 332–5 Western Barbarians 328
religion 430 Western Chin dynasty 304
Turxath 333 Western Huns 317
Western Regions 24, 122, 285, 287, 290,
c
Ubaidallah b. Ziyad 457 304, 350–65
c
Ubulla 41 administrative system 351–2
Udabhandapura 391 archaeology 354–7
Udaygiri 186, 203 Buddhism 357–9
Ugric 330 and Early T’ang 350–59
Uighurs 24, 314, 325, 336, 340, 347, 431, and the kingdom of Tibet 360–5
447 society, religion and culture 352–4
c
Umar 467 Tibetan challenge 352
c
Umar b. al-Khattab 450 Western Satraps 21, 22
Umayyads 456, 457, 460, 461, 469 Western Türks 277, 290, 307, 332, 333,
Ushtur-Mulla 113 334, 335, 350, 351, 368, 369, 371, 373,
Ustrushana 259–73 376
architecture 261–4 in Tokharistan and Gandhara 367–400
culture, agriculture and trade 261 Western Wei 322
Kala-i Kahkaha 261–71 White Huns 169, 317; see also Chionites
monumental art 264 Wu-chih-lê 344, 345
religious and cultural life 272–3 Wu-huan 430
spiritual life 273 Wu-san T’ê-chin Shai 375
c
Uthman 454 Wu-shih-po 372
Ütügen 430 Wu-sun 26, 29, 319, 321, 329
Vahram fires 405 Xingil dynasty 368, 374

Vaishnava 196
vaiwyas 190 Yaghlakar 336, 337, 347
Vajrayana 442, 447 Yang Hsüan 290
Vakhsh 178, 218, 226 Yar 305, 308
Valabhi 188, 196 Yar-klung-spu-rgyal 349, 360
Varakhsha 239, 247 Yashodharman 175
Varhamihira 199 Yaudheya Republic 21
varna 189, 190 Yavan 112
Vasudeva I 37, 163 Yazdgird I 94, 422
Vasudeva II 163, 164 Yazdgird II 58, 102, 124, 125, 138
Vayu 218, 427 Yazdgird III 95, 179, 225, 424, 450, 452,
Vendidad 407, 411 453, 454, 455
Vishnu 201, 203, 426 Yudhishthira 170
568

Index
Yüeh-chih 29, 30, 122, 127 Ziyad b. Salih 349, 462, 463
Yuvan 469 Zohak 254
Yu-yang tsa-tsu 328, 329 Zoroaster 225, 407
Zoroastrianism 21, 63, 97, 98–9, 109,
Zabul 375, 470 110, 253, 272, 297, 403–12, 429, 466
Zabulistan 171, 377, 378, 379–80, 381 and Christians 92–3, 422
Zadsparam 86, 411 fire altars 111, 405
Zarathustra (Zoroaster) 225 rituals 406
Zardusht 408 Zunbil 471
Zar-tepe 112–13 Zurvan 253, 429
Zemarkhos 32, 333 Zurvanism 407
Zibil 379
569

History of civilizations of Central Asia
Volume I
The dawn of civilization:
earliest times to 700 B.C.
Volume II
The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations:
700 B.C. to A.D. 250
Volume III
The crossroads of civilizations:
A.D. 250 to 750
Volume IV
The age of achievement:
A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century:
Part I:
The historical, social and economic setting
Part II:
The achievements
Volume V
Development in contrast:
from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century
Volume VI
Towards contemporary civilization:
from the mid-nineteenth century
to the present time

B. A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guand-Da, R. Shabani Samghabadi - History of Civilizations of Central Asia - The Crossroads of Civilization - A.D. 250 To 750-Unesco (1996) PDF

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History of

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 3 3/12/96, 11:14

The designations employed and the presentation of material

Published in 1996 by the United Nations Educational,

Composed by Éditions du Mouflon, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (France)

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 4 3/12/96, 11:14

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 5 3/12/96, 11:14

Nor is it sufficient to identify the peoples of Central Asia simply with

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 6 3/12/96, 11:14

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 7 3/12/96, 11:14

Description of the project

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 9 3/12/96, 11:14

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 10 3/12/96, 11:14

HE General Conference of UNESCO, at its nineteenth session (Nairobi,

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 11 3/12/96, 11:14

An International Association for the Study of Cultures of Central Asia

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 12 3/12/96, 11:14

scholars selected by virtue of their qualifications and achievements relating to

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 13 3/12/96, 11:14

Dr F. R. ALLCHIN (United Kingdom) Professor LIU CUNKUAN

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 15 3/12/96, 11:14

Professor C. ADLE Professor H.-P. FRANCFORT

MEMBERS OF THE READING COMMITTEE

Professor A. D. H. BIVAR Professor J. HARMATTA

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 16 3/12/96, 11:14

CentAsiaIII-Prélim 17 3/12/96, 11:14

A. V. NIKITIN Other collaborating specialists

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B. A. Litvinsky and Zhang Guang-da

CentAsiaIII-Chap01 19 3/12/96, 11:16

CentAsiaIII-Chap01 20 3/12/96, 11:16

CentAsiaIII-Chap01 21 3/12/96, 11:16

Buddhism (Mahayana and Hinayana) flourished in Gupta India but external

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The Sui dynasty

The T’ang dynasty

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CentAsiaIII-Chap01 24 3/12/96, 11:16

Ecology, geography and climate

9. Chugevskiy, 1971; Pulleyblank, 1952.

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CentAsiaIII-Chap01 26 3/12/96, 11:16

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settlement and a fairly developed, settled economy based on agriculture and

In the pre-industrial age, the advanced urban-agricultural civilizations produced a

14. Lattimore, 1974, pp. 172–3.

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The Hsiung-nu and the Huns

15. Maenchen-Helfen, 1973; Tikhvinskiy and Litvinsky, 1988.

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The Silk Route

16. Kryukov et al., 1979.

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18. Herrmann, 1938; Raschke, 1978; Tikhvinskiy and Litvinsky, 1988.

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21. Pigulevskaya, 1951; Moravcsik, 1958.

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24. For further details, see Litvinsky, 1984.

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