Rag-i-Bibi
Coordinates: 35 ° 53 ′ 10 ″ N , 68 ° 44 ′ 54 ″ E
The Rag-i-Bibi ( lady's veins ) is a Sassanid rock relief in present-day Afghanistan . It was only noticed by Western scientists in 2002. It is located about one kilometer south of the village of Shamarq and 10 km south of Pol-e Chomri . Rag-i-Bibi is the local name of the relief. The name refers to Fatima bint Mohammed , the daughter of Mohammed , who was highly regarded by the Shiites .
The relief is 4.9 m high and 6.5 m wide. Today it is badly damaged, due on the one hand to old age and on the other to the devastation of the Taliban . At the end of the Taliban rule, local villagers reported the relief to local authorities, fearing that the relief would suffer. Individual Taliban then became aware of the relief and devastated it because local residents would revere it.
The relief shows a Sassanid king hunting an Indian rhinoceros . The king rides a horse at a gallop. His figure would be about eight feet tall if he were standing. There are three figures around the king. Behind the ruler's horse a second one can be seen, which is poorly preserved. The upper end of the relief shows a number of poorly preserved architectures.
The ruler's head in particular has been badly damaged. The crown would enable secure identification. However, certain stylistic details indicate that Shapur I was depicted. In style, the relief combines Sassanid, but also local ( Gandhara ) features.
literature
- Frantz Grenet, Jonathan Lee, Philippe Martinez, François Ory: The Sasanian relief at Rag-i Bibi (Northern Afghanistan). In: Joe Cribb, Georgina Herrmann (Ed.): After Alexander. Central Asia before Islam (= Proceedings of the British Academy 133). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2007, ISBN 978-019-726384-6 , pp. 243-267.