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Rag-i-Bibi
Rag-i-Bibi (''Veins of the Lady'') refers to a Sassanian rock relief on a cliff in modern Afghanistan. It first became known to western scholarship in 2002. It is located about a kilometre south of Shamarq and 10 km south of Puli Khumri. Rag-i-Bibi is the local name of the relief, which refers to Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad, who is venerated by the Shiites. The relief is 4.9 m high and 6.5 m wide. It has been largely destroyed, partially by weathering and partially by Taliban iconoclasm. At the end of Taliban rule, local villagers reported the relief to local authorities, since they feared it would be damaged. Thus, individual Taliban were conscious of the relief and damaged it on the grounds that local residents "worshipped" it. The relief shows a Sassanian king hunting an Indian rhinoceros. The king reins in a galloping horse. His figure would be about 2.4 m high if it were standing upright. Three figures stand around the king. Behind the ruler's horse, another two can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent until the death of the latter in 242. During his co-regency, he helped his father with the conquest and destruction of the Arab city of Hatra, whose fall was facilitated, according to Islamic tradition, by the actions of his future wife al-Nadirah. Shapur also consolidated and expanded the empire of Ardashir I, waged war against the Roman Empire , and seized its cities of Nisibis and Carrhae while he was advancing as far as Roman Syria. Although he was defeated at the Battle of Resaena in 243 by Roman emperor Gordian III (), he was the following year able to win the Battle of Misiche and force the new Roman Emperor Philip the Arab () to sign a favorable peace treaty that was regarded by the Romans as "a most shameful t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gandhara Art
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara. The series of interactions leading to Gandhara art occurred over time, beginning with Alexander the Great's brief incursion into the area, followed by the Maurya Empire, Mauryan Emperor Ashoka converting the region to Buddhism. Buddhism became the prominent religion in the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Indo-Greek Kingdoms. However, Greco-Buddhist art truly flowered and spread under the Kushan Empire, when the first surviving devotional images of the Buddha were created during the 1st-3rd centuries CE. Gandhara art reached its zenith from the 3rd-5th century CE, when most surviving motifs and artworks were produced. Gandhara art is characterized by Buddhist subject matter, sometimes adapting Greco-Roman elements, rendered in a style and forms that are hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horses In Art
Horses have appeared in works of art throughout history, frequently as depictions of the horse in battle. The horse appears less frequently in modern art, partly because the horse is no longer significant either as a mode of transportation or as an implement of war. Most modern representations are of famous contemporary horses, artwork associated with horse racing, or artwork associated with the historic cowboy or Native American tradition of the American West. In the United Kingdom, depictions of fox hunting and nostalgic rural scenes involving horses continue to be made. Horses often appear in artworks singly, as a mount for an important person, or in teams, hitched to a variety of horse-drawn vehicles. History Prehistory The horse appeared in prehistoric cave paintings such as those in Lascaux, estimated to be about 17,000 years old. Prehistoric hill figures have been carved in the shape of the horse, specifically the Uffington White Horse, an example of the traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baghlan Province
Baghlan (Dari: ''Baġlān'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. As of 2020, the province has a population of about 1,014,634. Its capital is Puli Khumri, but its name comes from the other major town in the province, Baghlan. The ruins of a Zoroastrian fire temple, the Surkh Kotal, are located in Baghlan. The lead nation of the local Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was Hungary, which operated from 2006 to 2015. History Early history The name Baghlan is derived from ''Bagolango'' or "image-temple", inscribed on the temple of Surkh Kotal during the reign of the Kushan emperor, Kanishka in the early 2nd century CE. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled through Baghlan in the mid-7th century CE, and referred to it as the "kingdom of ''Fo-kia-lang''". In the 13th century CE, a permanent garrison of Mongol troops was quartered in the Kunduz-Baghlan area, and in 1253 fell under the jurisdiction of Sali Noyan Tatar, appoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasanian Art
Sasanian art, or Sassanid art, was produced under the Sasanian Empire which ruled from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD, before the Muslim conquest of Persia was completed around 651. In 224 AD, the last Parthian king was defeated by Ardashir I. The resulting Sasanian dynasty would last for four hundred years, ruling modern Iran, Iraq, and much territory to the east and north of modern Iran. At times the Levant, much of Anatolia and parts of Egypt and Arabia were under its control. It began a new era in Iran and Mesopotamia, which in many ways was built on Achaemenid traditions, including the art of the period. Nevertheless, there were also other influences on art of the period that came from as far as China and the Mediterranean. The surviving art of the Sassanids is best seen in its architecture, reliefs and metalwork, and there are some surviving paintings from what was evidently a widespread production. Stone reliefs were probably greatly outnumbered by interior ones in plaster, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological Sites In Afghanistan
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, 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 over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the wider Middle East, the Caucasus, Southeastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The academic reference work will eventually cover all aspects of Iranian history and culture as well as all Iranian languages and literatures, facilitating the whole range of Iranian studies research from archeology to political sciences. It is a project founded by Ehsan Yarshater in 1973 and currently carried out at Columbia University's Center for Iranian Studies. It is considered the standard encyclopedia of the academic discipline of Iranistics. The scope of the encyclopedia goes beyond modern Iran (also known as "Persia") and encompasses the entire Iranian cultural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jona Lendering
Jona Lendering (born 29 October 1964) is a Dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, Dutch history and modern management. He has an MA in history from Leiden University and an MA in Mediterranean culture from the Amsterdam Free University, taught history at the Free University, and worked as an archivist employed by the Dutch government, before becoming one of the founders of the history school Livius Onderwijs. Career and works Born on 29 October 1964 in Beneden-Leeuwen, Gelderland, Lendering's biography of Alexander the Great (''Alexander de Grote'') attempted to make greater use than earlier scholars of Persian and Babylonian sources. For example, he argued from Babylonian astronomical diaries that Darius III of Persia was deserted by his troops when he faced Alexander at the Battle of Gaugamela, rather than personally leading the retreat as reported by Greek sources. His work, "Alexander de Grote. De ondergang van het Perzische rijk" was described by ''Bryn Mawr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgina Herrmann
Georgina Herrmann, (born 20 October 1937) is a British retired archaeologist and academic, specialising in Near Eastern archaeology. Having worked as a civil servant, she later studied archaeology and spent the rest of her career as an active field archaeologist and lecturer. She was Reader in the Archaeology of Western Asia at University College London from 1994 to 2002. Early life and education Herrmann was born on 20 October 1937 to John and Gladys Thompson. He first career was as a secretary in the Foreign Office from 1956 to 1961. She then returned to education, and studied for a postgraduate diploma at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, which she completed in 1963. She then undertook research at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1966. Her doctoral thesis was titled "The source, distribution, history and use of Lapis Lazuli in western Asia from the earliest times to the end of the Seleucid era": this wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sassanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).Norman A. Stillman ''The Jews of Arab Lands'' pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 International Congress of Byzantine Studies ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3'' pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 2006 The empire was founded by Ardashir I, an Iranian ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened from internal strife and wars with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Relief
A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, rock-cut architecture. However, they tend to be omitted in most works on rock art, which concentrate on engravings and paintings by prehistoric peoples. A few such works exploit the natural contours of the rock and use them to define an image, but they do not amount to man-made reliefs. Rock reliefs have been made in many cultures throughout human history, and were especially important in the art of the ancient Near East. Rock reliefs are generally fairly large, as they need to be in order to have an impact in the open air. Most of those discussed here have figures that are over life-size, and in many the figures are multiples of life-size. Stylistically they normally relate to other types of sculpture from the culture and period concerne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Rhinoceros
} The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than . Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, the alluvial Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment. As of August 2018, the global population was estimated to comprise 3,588 individuals, including 2,939 individuals in India and 649 in Nepal. Kaziranga National Park alone had an estimated population of 2,048 rhinos in 2009. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam has the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world with 84 individuals in an area of in 2009. Indian rhinos once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but excessive hunting and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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