Surmala tower
| Surmala tower | |
|---|---|
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| place | near termiz |
| Construction year | 2-3 century |
| height | 16 m |
| Floor space | 242 m² |
| Coordinates | 37 ° 19 '12 " N , 67 ° 32' 24" E |
The Surmala Tower is located in Uzbekistan near the city of Termiz and represents the remains of a Buddhist stupa from the heyday of the Kushan in the 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD.
description
The stupa originally stood on a 1.5 meter high base, which was covered by stone slabs and was approximately 22 m × 11 m in size. On top of it was the tower itself, which had a diameter of almost 15 m and was made of fired bricks. It is estimated that 1.2 million such bricks were used for the structure, which rises a total of 16 meters. It is believed that the Surmala tower was once richly decorated with ornaments. There was also a small reliquary chamber in the upper part of the stupa , and the tower was closed off by a dome-shaped roof.
Today there is little left of the former splendor of the Surmala Tower. Only a relatively misshapen brick structure is recognizable, but it aroused the interest of archaeologists early on. In addition, the Surmala Tower is one of the oldest preserved structures in Uzbekistan.
Historical meaning
The Surmala Tower is of great historical value. As early as 1927 A. Strelkov recognized the remains of a Buddhist place of worship in the ruins, so that the Surmala Tower was the first rediscovered Buddhist monument in Central Asia. Today it is assumed that there were other buildings around the stupa in antiquity and formed an important Buddhist center. The dimensions of the stupa in comparison to other Buddhist facilities such as Fayaz-Tepa are remarkable and indicate the great importance of the place for Buddhism in Central Asia.
With the decline of Kushan and the conquest of the region by the Sassanids , the religious centers of Buddhism lost their importance and fell into disrepair. Presumably the surrounding buildings had disappeared completely in the Middle Ages and the Surmala tower was surrounded by fields.
Individual evidence
- ↑ design topic: Doca Tours | Zurmala. Retrieved August 1, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Klaus Pander: Art Travel Guide Central Asia . 9th edition. Dumont, 2013, p. 252 .
- ↑ Zurmala Tower :: Historical monuments of the Surkandarya region. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Buddhist Stupa Zurmala, Termez, Uzbekistan. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .