Greco-Buddhism is the term given to refer to the cultural syncretism of Hellenistic and Buddhist culture in ancient Bactria and the India (present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northern India) between the 4th century BCE and 5th century CE. The style gave rise after the invasion of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) and the Indus Valley by the Greek armies of Alexander the Great, and flourished under the subsequent Indo-Greek Kingdom and the Kushan Dynasty, who incorporated the Greek Alphabet and other aspects of Hellenistic culture into their own society. The result was an interesting combination of Greek artistic elements in the local Buddhist art. It is generally believed that the first anthropomorphic images of the Buddha emerged during the Greco-Buddhist period in the 1st century CE. Many scholars credit many stylistic elements of the image of the Buddha, such as his halo, stylistic curls, and top bun style to Greco-Roman artistic influence. Interestingly, many standing images of the Buddha at this time also depict him in a Greek contrapposto. Many deities from the Hellenistic pantheon were also adopted into Buddhist religion. The most notable examples are the deities, Heracles, Tyche, and Boreas, who eventually became associated with the Buddhist deities, Vajrapani, Hariti, and Oado respectively. Aspects of Greco-Buddhism managed to filter into Buddhist art within the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Asia as the religion started to spread eastward. Greco-Buddhism is one of the greatest examples of long distance cultural and artistic exchange in the ancient world, spanning between two continents and adapting elements from countless different cultures, most notably, Greco-Roman, Persian, and Hindu.

Greco-Buddhism particularly flourished in the ancient region of Gandhara which encompassed the land around the border of Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. Excavations in the archaeological site of Hadda, located near the Kyber Pass in Afghanistan, recovered over 23,000 examples of Greco-Buddhist art. Many of these sites, unfortunately, were destroyed or heavily damaged through looting and vandalization by the Taliban in the 1990s. Artifacts that have survived are a testament of a very rich and diverse cultural syncretism.

Images: 1) Statue of the “Hadda Triad.” A Giant statue of the Buddha sits between the two deities, Vajrapani/Heracles and Hariti/Tyche who are sculpted in the Hellenistic style. From the Tapa-i-Shotor Buddhist complex in Hadda, Afghanistan. c. 2nd-5th century CE.  This statue was destroyed in the 1990s by the Taliban. Only photographs and illustrations survive.

2) Sculpture relief of the Buddhist gods Hariti/Tyche and her consort Pancika. The two figures are donned in Greek style dress and Hariti/Tyche is holding a Hellenistic-style cornucopia. From Gandhara, Pakistan, c. 3rd century CE. British Museum.

3) Bronze statuette of a seated Buddha. From Gandhara, Pakistan, c.1st-2nd  century CE. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

4) A reliquary known as the “Bimaran Casket.”  The Buddha, pictured in the center, is depicted in a contrapposto pose. He is surrounded by two deities, Brahma and Śakra, inside Greco-Roman style arched niches. From Hadda, Afghanistan, c. 1st century CE. British Museum.

5) Indo-Conrinthian capital decorated with a seated Buddha. From Gandhara, Pakistan. 3rd century CE. Musée Guimet

The 65m-tall Minaret of Jam, marks probably the site of the ancient city of Firuzkuh (later destroyed by the Mongol Ogodï in 1222), which was the capital of the Ghurid dynasty which ruled Afghanistan as well as from Kashgar to the Persian Gulf, and parts of northern Indian. Sultan Ghiyas ud-Din is named as the current Ghurid emperor at the time of construction by the inscription, which also gives a construction date of 1194.

The Minaret of Jam is sometimes called the ‘Victory Tower’, as it is probable that it was constructed to commemorate his 1192 victory at Deihi over the Empire of Ghaznavid. The site is also thought to have once been the summer residence o the Ghurid Emperors. The Minaret is significant for its decoration and architecture, representing the culmination of an architectural and artistic tradition in this region, and is covered in blue, incredibly elaborate brickwork and inscriptions (photo 2). A marvel from an art historical perspective, the Minaret of Jam represents the incredible artistic creativity and mastery of structural engineering of the time, and remains one of the very few so well preserved.

Sections from the inscriptions:

Photos courtesy & taken by James Gordon. When writing this post UNESCO was of great use.

Pair of gold clasps depicting warriors, 1st century BC.  Part of the “Bactrian Hoard", this piece was discovered in 1978 among 20,600 other gold ornaments in an ancient grave site near Sheberghan in Northern Afghanistan.  In 1979 the artifacts were carefully hidden in secret vaults under the Central Bank of Afghanistan in Kabul.  They were rediscovered in 2003.

These Are the First Combat Zone Tintype Photos Created Since the Civil War

(Continue Reading)

Mes Aynak archaeological excavations, Logar, Afghanistan

Otherwise known as “little copper well”, Mes Aynak is a fantastically interesting site. Located on a bloody big copper reserve it has given it a rather important accolade throughout history. Even Alexander the Great was rumoured to have been there.

A large Buddhist monastery complex exists on-top of 5,000-year-old Bronze Age site including an ancient copper smelt. Something rather important to find since generally metallurgists and Ceramic specialists (basically specialists who work with things that transform from one substance into another) get a bit excited by kilns and smelts. Especially old ones. 

The image shows a 1,500 years old kitchen, found in presumably the administrative center for mining of copper in Mes Aynak. The storage jar was used for keeping of water or grain, and bears marks of ancient repairs. Work elsewhere at the site suggests that copper excavations in Mes Aynak could had been ongoing since as early as 3th Millenium B.C., involving hundreds, if not thousands, of workers. The site itself is likely to spread across around 1.5 kilometers square. 

But what I find interesting is the possibility that there was a monastic cult set up dedicated to Prince Siddhartha in his pre-enlightend state. This possibility arises from a recent stele found of him in 2010. From this find alone it already changes the early history of Buddhism.

The site, however, is under threat from increasing mining. Its creation is likely to be its demise. As this is posted part of the site has been destroyed. But remember this happens when we excavate anyway. Some of the information has already been gathered, and sometimes it requires a threat to actually drive excavations

(Photo by Michal Przedlacki)

Gold earrings with lapis lazuli, ivory, and quartz pendants

south Bactria, 2nd - 1st century BC (200 - 1 BC)

Pic of the Day: Israel Unveils Ancient Afghan Jewish Manuscripts  This photo from Israel’s National Library shows an ancient manuscript discovered inside caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan – the first physical evidence of a vibrant Jewish community that thrived in that region a thousand years ago. The documents, some 1,000 years old, survived because Jews do not throw out papers that include the name of G-d, and the dry conditions in the caves where they were stored preserved them.

Ancient manuscripts indicate Jewish community once thrived in Afghanistan

A trove of ancient manuscripts in Hebrew characters rescued from caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan is providing the first physical evidence of a Jewish community that thrived there a thousand years ago.

On Thursday Israel’s National Library unveiled the cache of recently purchased documents that run the gamut of life experiences, including biblical commentaries, personal letters and financial records.

Researchers say the “Afghan Genizah” marks the greatest such archive found since the “Cairo Genizah” was discovered in an Egyptian synagogue more than 100 years ago, a vast depository of medieval manuscripts considered to be among the most valuable collections of historical documents ever found. Read more.

The Afghan box camera—a homemade wooden device known as the kamra-e-faoree, meaning “instant camera”—has been used to preserve memories in Afghanistan for generations. It is part of the local landscape, with street photographers dotting city thoroughfares. It is itself a part of Afghan history, having been briefly banned by the Taliban, but these days, the box camera is in danger of disappearing. Fewer and fewer people know how to make and use the traditional tool, which uses no film but can both capture and develop an image.

Lukas Birk and Sean Foley, an Austrian artist and an Irish ethnographer, respectively, had discovered the box cameras while visiting Afghanistan on research trips. They learned that the devices, which came to the region in the early 20th century, were being replaced by their digital descendants among photographers who could afford it—or lying unused by photographers who couldn’t afford to refill on photographic supplies. The art of the karma-e faoree had been passed down through families, but Birk and Foley thought that this generation was going to be the last.

They were both struck by the importance of the cameras in local history and the poignancy of the medium’s persistence, and were also interested in the potential stories to be told when Afghans were photographed by other Afghans.

But the photographs produced by the cameras were the real draw. “We’re both visual people,” said Birk in an email, “and box camera photography is a feast for the eyes.”

So, in 2011, funded by a Kickstarter project, the two traveled to Afghanistan to begin research on a project about the Afghan box camera. The website they produced from that trip features box-camera tutorials, profiles of itinerant photographers and examples of box-camera photography and traditional hand-tinting from Afghanistan and the surrounding region. But the 2011 trip was not the end of their exploration of the box camera. Birk and Foley have started a Kickstarter page to raise money for another trip to Afghanistan, slated for this spring, with plans to produce a book with the additional material.

“Right now we can still talk about it as a living form of photography, maybe for another couple of years, before it will completely disappear,” Birk said.

What is the value of copper weighed against priceless historical artifacts and sites? Apparently to China and Afghanistan the copper is in fact worth a lot more. A 2,600 year old Buddhist site in Afghanistan will likely soon fall victim to a Chinese mining company. The argument is made that it is good for the struggling economy of Afghanistan, but exploitative extraction of raw materials from third world countries has done little good for the countries themselves but rather benefit wealthy investors and corporations in the west, or in this case China. It saddens me to hear that these ancient Buddhas who weathered the Taliban’s destructive campaign against history and two massive wars will soon fall victim to cynical capitalist economics.

New Open Access Article- Glassware from Roman Egypt at Begram (Afghanistan) and the Red Sea trade

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_18.aspx

Ancient Statue Reveals Prince Who Would Become Buddha

In the ruins of a Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan, archaeologists have uncovered a stone statue that seems to depict the prince Siddhartha before he founded Buddhism.

The stone statue, or stele, was discovered at the Mes Aynak site in a ruined monastery in 2010, but it wasn’t until now that it was analyzed and described. Gérard Fussman, a professor at the Collège de France in Paris, details his study in “The Early Iconography of Avalokitesvara” (Collège de France, 2012).

Standing 11 inches (28 centimeters) high and carved from schist — a stone not found in the area — the stele depicts a prince alongside a monk. Based on a bronze coin found nearby, Fussman estimates the statue dates back at least 1,600 years. Siddhartha lived 25 centuries ago. Read more.

This much is known: rare, medieval Jewish manuscripts have been discovered along the fabled Silk Road in Afghanistan and are for sale.

Are they authentic? Scholars who have examined them say they are.

The rest — who found them, where they came from, whether there are more to unearth — remains a...