Bamiyan Valley

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Bamiyan Valley
In the Bamiyan Valley, 2012

In the Bamiyan Valley, 2012

location Bamiyan , Afghanistan
Geographical location 34 ° 49 '35 "  N , 67 ° 49' 18"  E Coordinates: 34 ° 49 '35 "  N , 67 ° 49' 18"  E
Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan)
Bamiyan Valley
Template: Infobox Glacier / Maintenance / Image description missing

The Bamiyan Valley is located in the center of Afghanistan at an altitude of 2,500 meters and gives the province its name.

The region is the center of the Hazara settlement area , the so-called Hazarajat . From about the 3rd to the end of the 10th century AD there was a Buddhist culture in which several thousand Buddhist monks lived in the mountain caves or monasteries. The best-known testimony from this time were the two 53 and 35 m high standing Buddha statues , which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 . Furthermore, there are a number of cultural sites from both the Buddhist and from the later Islamic era of the valley by the UNESCO for World Heritagewere declared. Since the Taliban was overthrown from power in 2002, considerable efforts have been made to preserve the cultural monuments in the valley in the long term.

geography

The 2,500 m high valley is about 230 km northwest of Kabul and separates the Hindu Kush mountain range from the Koh-e Baba Mountains. The river of the same name flows through the valley , into which the rivers of the two side valleys flow. On its north side there is an approximately 1.5 kilometers long, high, almost vertical sandstone cliff that was formed by a glacier. The Buddha statues and most of the caves in the valley were carved into this rock face. In the valley itself and on the slopes there are numerous other ruins from earlier times. Archaeological remains can also be found in the two side valleys, the Kakrak Valley to the southeast of the rock face and the Foladi Valley in the southwest.

history

Favored by its location on one of the main trade routes from the West to China and India, the valley was of great strategic importance even in antiquity. In the past it became a stop for trade caravans, a well-known artistic site, and was also a major Buddhist center for centuries. Under later Islamic rule, Bamiyan also gained great importance until the valley was sacked and completely devastated by Genghis Khan . Several decades passed before a town appeared in the valley again, but it could only acquire regional importance.

Early history

The area of ​​Bamiyan belonged to the Persian Achaemenid Empire under Darius I and was on the southern border of the twelfth satrapy of this empire.

Alexander the Great may have passed Bamiyan when he was born in 329 BC. BC crossed the Hindu Kush on his campaign of conquest . However, this assumption has not yet been historically confirmed.

Buddhist culture

Ashoka , ruler of the ancient Indian Maurya dynasty , according to an old inscription, sent in 261 BC. BC the Buddhist monk Maharakkita in this region to evangelize the area. This was shortly before the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom declared independence in the northern Hindu Kush region.

Under the rule of the Kushana dynasty, Buddhism gradually established itself in the Hindu Kush area. Between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, a number of Buddhist sites - stupas , temples and monasteries - arose along the trade routes at that time , both south and north of the Hindu Kush Mountains. Bamiyan itself would become the largest and most famous of these Buddhist sites.

However, the exact point in time when Buddhism found its way into Bamiyan itself is not known. It is accepted between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. The first written records mentioning the name Bamiyan date from the end of the 4th century.

This Buddhist art was significantly influenced by the earlier Gandhara culture, which originated further south, and the Indian Gupta culture , the result of this cultural synthesis being unique of its kind. The Gandhara culture was already in retreat or largely collapsed when Buddhism experienced a renaissance here.

Caves carved into the cliffs that were used as living quarters and places of worship. About 1,000 such caves exist in the valley.

The two large Buddha statues were erected in the large rock face on the north side of the valley in the 6th century. Corridors and galleries were carved into the rock around the figures, and hundreds of prayer halls and caves were created, some of which were decorated with rich wall paintings.

The number of caves currently present in Bamiyan is estimated to be around 1,000. The time of their creation is dated to the period 450–850 AD. Some of the murals have been identified as the oldest known oil paintings in the world, dating to the 7th century. An earlier chronicle estimates the number at 12,000 caves, a number that is exaggerated for the Bamiyan Valley alone, but seems appropriate for the entire region, including around 50 km of surrounding valleys.

In late antiquity , the adjoining room was predominantly in the hands of tribes who are counted among the Iranian Huns and were in conflict with the Sassanid Empire . After 560, the Gök Turks became the dominant power in Transoxania .

Xuanzang , a Chinese monk, wandered through the valley around 630 AD, was received by King Bamiyans and spent around 15 days in Bamiyan. He described the Buddha statues in the valley, as well as the location of some temples, whereby his information was confirmed by science as very exact. Based on other statements by Xuanzang, it is assumed that at least half of the one thousand caves known today must have been inhabited. Almost a hundred years later, in 727, the Korean monk Hyecho (Hui Chao) described Bamiyan as an independent and powerful kingdom despite the presence of Muslim Arab troops north and south of the region.

Islamic rule and Islamization

Soon after Hyecho's visit, however, the king of Bamiyan had to surrender to the troops of the caliphate (see Islamic expansion ); this was during the reign of al-Mansur , the second Abbasid caliph . Despite Islamic rule, Islam was only very slowly consolidated in Bamiyan because the Buddhist faith was not sanctioned. Only when the local ruling dynasty Bamiyan the Ghaznavids under the reign of Sultan Mahmud defeated, Bamiyan was Islamized. This was around the time of the first millennium AD. At that time, the center of the city of Bamiyan was moved from the northwest of the valley, where the rocky cliff with the Buddha statues is located, further to the southeast. Some of the fortifications in the valley also date from this period.

Under the rule of the Ghurids , Bamiyan was for about 60 years, namely from 1155 to 1212, the capital of a large kingdom which stretched north to the Oxus River (today's Amu Darya ).

Decline by Genghis Khan's raid

A few years later, in 1221, Genghis Khan completely devastated the city and massacred its inhabitants, as he was taking revenge for his slain grandson. Bamiyan was unable to recover from this event for a long time. Even decades later, the city was still devastated, according to a report by a Persian historian.

Resettlement as a regional center

From the age of the Timurids , there is said to have been a city again in Bamiyan. However, the general decline in transcontinental trade during this time meant that the city could no longer grow to its old size and could no longer acquire supra-regional importance.

Even in the time of the Mughal Empire , Bamiyan is mentioned again in the history books, especially in connection with Aurangzeb , who had the 53 m tall Buddha statue shot at with cannons during his looting.

During the time of the Afghan monarchy, Bamiyan was a bulwark in the central mountain region. At that time, however, the area was still claimed by the Uzbek Miren ruling in the north . They demanded tribute payments, mainly in the form of deliveries from slaves from the Hazara tribes of the surrounding mountains.

Younger story

Many of the wall paintings in the caves - some of which were among the oldest oil paintings in the world - were destroyed by the Taliban.

Before the caves were systematically examined by archaeologists in the 20th century, thousands of nomads used them as living quarters. Around 2,500 civil war refugees also lived in the caves for years.

During the Afghan Civil War, the Bamiyan Valley was a strategically important place that was often contested. At that time, many of the caves were used for years as ammunition depots or weapons depots.

On March 12, 2001, on the orders of Mullah Mohammed Omar , the Taliban militias blew up the statues that had been damaged by vandalism in previous years. 80% of the cave paintings were also destroyed or looted in the course of the war, as it turned out in 2002.

The Bamiyan Valley has always been the habitat of the Hazara, the nomadic Kuchi people also claim the region. In recent years, this formerly peaceful coexistence has repeatedly led to sometimes violent conflicts due to the scarcity of resources.

Today's city of Bamiyan

The city of Bamiyan is the only urban settlement in the entire Bamiyan Province. The 1979 census showed 7,355 residents. It became the center of the then newly created Bamiyan Province in 1964. The city grew rapidly, but at the same time suffered from the lack of a zoning plan. Bamiyan's bazaar at that time had around 300 to 400 shops and there was a very busy market twice a week.

Not far south of the city there is an airfield, the runway of which is a simple gravel runway.

Historic sites

The numerous remains of monasteries, painted caves, statues and fortifications have been on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage since 2003 . At the same time, they were also entered on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger.

The protected world heritage sites include:

  • The famous Buddha statues of Bamiyan from the 6th century. Around the niches of the two 53 and 35 meter high, destroyed statues, at least 900 caves are carved into the rock, adorned with frescoes and stucco work.
  • The Islamic fortress Schahr-i Suhak about 15 km east of the cliff from the time of the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids (10th to 13th centuries).
  • The remains of Qallai Kaphari about 12 km east of the cliff with protective walls, towers and citadels.
  • The fortified citadel Schahr-e Gholghola on a hill in the middle of the valley (6th to 10th centuries).
  • The Kakrak valley about 3 km southeast of the cliff contains over 100 caves from the 6th to 13th centuries, the remains of a 10 meter high Buddha statue and an altar with paintings from the Sassanid Empire .
  • The caves in the Foladi Valley about 2 km southwest of the cliff, especially the ornate Qoul-i Akram and Kalai Ghamai caves .

Conservation measures

Renovation work on a historical monument. In the background the foothills of the Koh-i-Baba massif south of the valley

As part of UNESCO's efforts to protect cultural heritage in Afghanistan, significant aid has been raised to save the monuments. For example, the niches of the Buddha statues, which were in danger of collapsing, were secured and their rubble secured, and the wall paintings still in the caves were preserved.

Two teams of archaeologists have been carrying out large-scale excavations in the valley for years. Several monastery sites have already been uncovered, which also resulted in the discovery of a 19-meter-tall, lying statue, preserved in remains. Excavation work was also carried out on the large Bamiyan stupa. Among other things, the archaeologists are looking for a depiction of a sleeping Buddha believed to be around 300 meters long in the valley. ( see also: Buddha statues by Bamiyan )

In 2005, the Japanese-funded Bamiyan Training Center for Cultural Heritage Conservation opened. In the longer term, there are also plans to open a museum in the valley. UNESCO is also trying to record the archaeological sites in the valley and then use this to develop a detailed land use plan for the entire valley. The long-term preservation of the monuments is to be ensured by promoting tourism.

Trivia

"Ski championships" have been held in Bamiyan since 2011. It is a one-time race with a mass start. The first skiers were equipped with modern equipment in 2011. Obviously, however, locals also used "replicas" of skis to move in the mountains, for example in search of runaway pets.

On November 4, 2016, a marathon took place in Bamiyan, in which women athletes participated for the first time.

See also

Web links

Commons : Bamiyan Valley  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Zemaryalai Tarzi, Nadia Tarzi, Abdul Wasey Feroozi: The Impact of War upon Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage , PDF file; 8.8 MB, with high resolution images or PDF file; 434 kB, lower resolution , from: Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) website , pp. 8–12, March 2004, accessed June 28, 2009
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Z. Tarzi: BĀMĪĀN - ii. History and Monuments , in: Encyclopædia Iranica , accessed October 23, 2009
  3. ↑ a b c d Kosaku Maeda: The Mural Paintings of the Buddhas of Bamiyan: Description and Conservation Operations , In: Juliette van Krieken-Pieters (Ed.): Art and Archeology of Afghanistan - Its Fall and Survival , Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-15182-6 ( Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies , Volume 14), p. 128
  4. ↑ a b c d e Kosaku Maeda: The Mural Paintings , p. 129
  5. ↑ Zémaryalaï Tarzi: Professor Tarzi's Survey and Excavation Archaeological Mission, 2003 , on site silkroadfoundation.org , accessed 20 June 2009
  6. ↑ Kosaku Maeda: The Mural Paintings , p. 144
  7. ↑ Oldest Oil Paintings Found in Caves , on National Geographic -Online, February 8, 2008, accessed October 25, 2009
  8. ↑ a b c d Kosaku Maeda: The Mural Paintings , p. 131
  9. ↑ a b c d X. de Planhol: BĀMĪĀN - iii. Modern town and district , in: Encyclopædia Iranica , accessed October 25, 2009
  10. ↑ Nancy H. Dupree, Society for the Preservation Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH): SPACH visits Bamiyan Buddhas , in SPACH Newsletter , Issue 4 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and still Not checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file, 677 kB), April 1998, p. 3, accessed on October 23, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / spach.af
  11. ^ Society for the Preservation Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH): Threat to Bamiyan Buddhas , in SPACH Newsletter , Issue 3 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file, 294 kB), July 1997, p. 9, accessed on October 21, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / spach.af
  12. ↑ Christian Manhart: UNESCO's Rehabilitation of Afghanistans Cultural Heritage: Mandate and Recent Activities , In: Juliette van Krieken-Pieters (Ed.): Art and Archeology of Afghanistan - Its Fall and Survival , Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden 2006, ISBN 978-90 04-15182-6 ( Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies , Volume 14), pp. 51-54
  13. ↑ Bamyan (OABN). Ministry of Transport, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  14. ↑ 27COM 8C.43 - Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan) , http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/628 , accessed June 28, 2009
  15. ↑ World Heritage Scanned Nomination , File: 208rev ( Memento of the original from January 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file, 23 MB), created: May 21, 2003, p. 19ff (English), accessed on June 28, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / whc.unesco.org
  16. ↑ Status report 2006 of the World Heritage Committee on the endangered World Heritage Sites , May 26, 2006, http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2006/whc06-30com-07Ae.pdf (PDF file, 725 kB), p. 82ff (English ), accessed June 28, 2009
  17. ^ Homepage of the Afghan Ski Challenge
  18. ↑ 1st Afghan Ski Challenge , VAMOS! Film, 2012
  19. ↑ The video blogs of the ARD correspondents ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Dilli, Dilli - stories from Delhi by Markus Spieker, November 11, 2016, 9:13 a.m., 8 min., Accessed on November 14, 2016  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / media.tagesschau.de