Kalai Kafirnigan
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Kalai Kafirnigan
Kalai Kafirnigan, also Kala-i Kafirnigan was a Buddhist temple in the region of Tokharistan (Classical Bactria), dated to the 7th-8th century CE. Buddhism in Tokharistan is said to have enjoyed a revival under the Western Turks (known as Tokhara Yabghus in Tokharistan). Several monasteries of Tokharistan dated to the 7th-8th centuries display beautiful Buddhist works of art, such as Kalai Kafirnigan, Ajina Tepe, Khisht Tepe or Kafyr Kala, around which Turkic nobility and populations followed Hinayana Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' pa ... Buddhism. File:Mural from Kalai Kafirnigan, Museum of National Antiquities, Dushanbe, Tajikistan.jpg, Buddhist mural from Kalai Kafirnigan, Museum of National Antiquities, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. 7th-early 8th century. Kalai Kafirnigan w ...
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Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It has an area of and an estimated population of 9,749,625 people. Its capital and largest city is Dushanbe. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. It is separated narrowly from Pakistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. The traditional homelands of the Tajiks include present-day Tajikistan as well as parts of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the city of Sarazm of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including the Oxus civilization, Andronovo culture, Buddhism, Nestorian Ch ...
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Tokharistan
Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan came under the rule of the Chinese Empire, administered by the Protectorate General to Pacify the West. Today, Tokharistan is fragmented between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Names of Tokharistan Several languages have used variations of the word "Tokhara" to designate the region: * Tokharistan may appear in ancient India sources as the Kingdom of Tushara, to the northwest of India. "Tushara" is the Sanskrit word for "snowy" "frigid", and is known to have been used to designate the country of Tukhara. In Sanskrit, it became तुखार (Tukhāra). * In ancient Greek, the name was Tokharoi ( grc, Τόχαροι ) or Thaguroi. * Tochari for Latin historians. * The name "Tokhara" appeared in the 4th century CE, in Buddhist texts ...
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Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwestern Tajikistan and southeastern Uzbekistan. Called "beautiful Bactria, crowned with flags" by the Avesta, the region is one of the sixteen perfect Iranian lands that the supreme deity Ahura Mazda had created. One of the early centres of Zoroastrianism and capital of the legendary Kayanian kings of Iran, Bactria is mentioned in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great as one of the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire; it was a special satrapy and was ruled by a crown prince or an intended heir. Bactria was the centre of Iranian resistance against the Macedonian invaders after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century BC, but eventually fell to Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander, Bactria was annexed by ...
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Western Turks
The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after the split of the Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century on the Mongolian Plateau by the Ashina clan) into a western and an eastern Khaganate. The whole confederation was called ''Onoq'', meaning "ten arrows". According to a Chinese source, the Western Turks were organized into ten divisions. The khaganate's capitals were Navekat (summer capital) and Suyab (principal capital), both situated in the Chui River valley of Kyrgyzstan, to the east of Bishkek. Tong Yabgu's summer capital was near Tashkent and his winter capital Suyab. The Western Turkic Khaganate was subjugated by the Tang dynasty in 657 and continued as its vassal until their collapse. History The first Turkic Khaganate was founded by Bumin in 552 on the Mongolian Plate ...
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Tokhara Yabghus
The Tokhara Yabghus or Yabghus of Tokharistan () were a dynasty of Western Turk– Hephtalite sub-kings with the title "Yabghus", who ruled from 625 CE in the area of Tokharistan north and south of the Amu Darya, Oxus River, with some smaller remnants surviving in the area of Badakhshan until 758 CE. Their legacy extended to the southeast where it came into contact with the Turk Shahis and the Zunbils until the 9th century CE. Territorial expansion The Turks initially occupied the area of north of the Oxus (Transoxonia, Sogdiana) following their destruction of the Hephthalites in 557–565 CE through an alliance with the Sasanian Empire. The Sasanians, on the other hand, took control of the area south of the Oxus, with Chaganiyan, Sind, Bust, Rukhkhaj, Zabulistan, Tokharistan, Turistan and Balistan being transformed into vassal kingdoms and principalities. After this time, a tense Turco-Persian border existed along the Oxus, which lasted several decades. The area south of the ...
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Kafir-kala (Tajikistan)
Kafir-kala ("Fortress of the infidels") is an ancient fortress in the Vakhsh valley in Tajikistan. Fortress and Buddhist temple It consists in a rectangular town surrounded by a wall with towers (360x360 meters), surrounded by a large ditch, and has one citadel (360x360 meters) in one corner, also surrounded by a wall. The citadel (70x70 meters) contained the palace of the rulers. A Buddhist temple was found in the palace complex of the fortress as well as a Buddhist Vihara with Buddhist paintings, belonging to the " Tokharistan school of art". Inscriptions with apparently Buddhist content have also been found."A fragment of birchbark manuscript bearing a text of apparently Buddhist content has been found at Kafyr-kala in the Vakhsh valley." in Artefacts File:Adults in caftan and child, Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE.jpg, Adults in caftan and child, Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan File:Buddha head, Kafyr Kala, Taji ...
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Hinayana
Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' paths. This term appeared around the first or second century. Hīnayāna was often contrasted with ''Mahāyāna'', which means the "great vehicle". In 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists declared that the term Hīnayāna should not be used when referring to any form of Buddhism existing today. In the past, the term was widely used by Western scholars to cover "the earliest system of Buddhist doctrine", as the ''Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' put it. Modern Buddhist scholarship has deprecated the pejorative term, and uses instead the term ''Nikaya Buddhism'' to refer to early Buddhist schools. ''Hinayana'' has also been used as a synonym for Theravada, which is the main tradition of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asi ...
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Tajikistani Culture
The culture of Tajikistan has developed over several thousand years. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and '' Kuhiston'' (Highland). Modern city centres include Dushanbe (the capital), Khudjand, Kulob, and Panjikent. Religion Zoroastrianism had been adopted by Persian emperors as a state religion, and was practiced in Central Asia as well. It eventually declined after the Arab conquests. The largest celebration in Tajikistan to come from the pre-Islamic period is Navruz, which means "New Day". It is held on March 21 or 22, when the cultivation of the land starts. During Navruz, many families visit relatives, throw out old belongings, clean the house, and play field games. Special dishes are also served. Other pre-Islamic Tajik traditions like fire jumping, dancing round the fire, and fighting 'devils' with fire, still occur in the more remote regions. Tajikistan's government has shown intolerance of some religious faiths, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, an ...
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Archaeological Sites In Tajikistan
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, archaeological site, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes ove ...
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