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The Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, also known as the Kandahar Edict of Ashoka and less commonly as the Chehel Zina Edict, is an inscription in the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
languages that dates back to 260 BCE and was carved by the
Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...
emperor
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
() at Chehel Zina, a mountainous outcrop near
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. It is the among the earliest-known
edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expres ...
, having been inscribed around the 8th year of his reign (), and precedes all of his other inscriptions, including the Minor Rock Edicts and Barabar Caves in
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
and the Major Rock Edicts.Valeri P. Yailenk
''Les maximes delphiques d'Aï Khanoum et la formation de la doctrine du dharma d'Asoka''
Dialogues d'histoire ancienne vol.16 n°1, 1990, pp.243
This early inscription was written exclusively in the Greek and Aramaic languages. It was discovered below a layer of rubble in 1958 during an excavation project around Kandahar, and is designated as KAI 279. It is sometimes considered to be a part of Ashoka's Minor Rock Edicts (consequently dubbed "Minor Rock Edict No. 4"), in contrast to his Major Rock Edicts, which contain portions or the totality of his edicts from 1–14.For exact translation of the Aramaic see "Asoka and the decline of the Maurya" Romilla Thapar, Oxford University Press, p.26

/ref> The Kandahar Edict of Ashoka is one of two ancient inscriptions in Afghanistan that contain Greek writing, with the other being the Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka, Kandahar Greek Inscription, which is written exclusively in the Greek language. Chehel Zina, the mountainous outcrop where the edicts were discovered, makes up the western side of the natural bastion of the ancient Greek city of Alexandria Arachosia as well as the Old City of modern-day Kandahar.Une nouvelle inscription grecque d'Açoka, Schlumberger, Daniel, Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Année 1964 Volume 108 Numéro 1 pp. 126-14

/ref> The edict remains on the mountainside that it was discovered on. According to the Italians, Italian archaeologist Umberto Scerrato, "the block lies at the eastern base of the little saddle between the two craggy hills below the peak on which the celebrated Cehel Zina of
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
are cut". A cast of the inscription is present in the
National Museum of Afghanistan The National Museum of Afghanistan ( Dari: موزیم ملی افغانستان, ''Mūzīyam-e mellī-ye Afghānestān''; ps, د افغانستان ملی موزیم, ''Də Afghānistān Millī Mūzīyəm''), also known as the Kabul Museum, is a ...
in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...
. In the Kandahar Edict, Ashoka, a patron of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, advocates the adoption of
piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...
(using the Greek-language term ''
Eusebeia Eusebeia (Greek: from "pious" from ''eu'' meaning "well", and ''sebas'' meaning "reverence", itself formed from ''seb-'' meaning sacred awe and reverence especially in actions) is a Greek word abundantly used in Greek philosophy as well as in ...
'' for the Indian concept of ''
Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...
'') to the Greek community of Afghanistan.Notes on the Kandahar Edict of Asoka, D. D. Kosambi, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 2, No. 2 (May, 1959), pp. 204-20

/ref>


Background

Greek communities lived in the northwest of the Mauryan empire, currently in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, notably ancient
Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
near the current Pakistani capital of
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...
, and in the region of
Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...
, nowadays in Southern Afghanistan, following the conquest and the colonization efforts of Alexander the Great around 323 BCE. These communities therefore seem to have been still significant in the area of Afghanistan during the reign of Ashoka, about 70 years after Alexander.


Content

Ashoka proclaims his faith, 10 years after the violent beginning of his reign, and affirms that living beings, human or animal, cannot be killed in his realm. In the Hellenistic part of the Edict, he translates the ''
Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...
'' he advocates by "Piety" ''εὐσέβεια'',
Eusebeia Eusebeia (Greek: from "pious" from ''eu'' meaning "well", and ''sebas'' meaning "reverence", itself formed from ''seb-'' meaning sacred awe and reverence especially in actions) is a Greek word abundantly used in Greek philosophy as well as in ...
, in Greek. The usage of
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
reflect the fact that Aramaic (the so-called Official Aramaic) had been the official language of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
which had ruled in those parts until the conquests of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
. The Aramaic is not purely Aramaic, but seems to incorporate some elements of
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
. According to D.D.Kosambi, the Aramaic is not an exact translation of the Greek, and it seems rather that both were translated separately from an original text in
Magadhi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...
, the common official language of India at the time, used on all the other Edicts of Ashoka in Indian language, even in such linguistically distinct areas as Kalinga. It is written in
Aramaic alphabet The ancient Aramaic alphabet was adapted by Arameans from the Phoenician alphabet and became a distinct script by the 8th century BC. It was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the Fer ...
. This inscription is actually rather short and general in content, compared to most Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka, including the other inscription in Greek of Ashoka in Kandahar, the
Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka The Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka are among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language. They were found in the ancient area of Old Kandahar (known ...
, which contains long portions of the 12th and 13th edicts, and probably contained much more since it was cut off at the beginning and at the end.


Implications

The proclamation of this Edict in Kandahar is usually taken as proof that Ashoka had control over that part of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
, presumably after Seleucos had ceded this territory to
Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an emp ...
in their 305 BCE peace agreement. The Edict also shows the presence of a sizable Greek population in the area, but it also shows the lingering importance of Aramaic, several decades after the fall of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
. At the same epoch, the Greeks were firmly established in the newly created
Greco-Bactrian kingdom The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Ind ...
under the reign of
Diodotus I Diodotus I Soter (Greek: , ''Diódotos Sōtḗr''; c. 315-300 BC – c. 235 BC), was the first Hellenistic King of Bactria. Diodotus became independent of the Seleucid empire around 255 or 245 BC, and established the Diodotid Bactrian Kingdom, ...
, and particularly in the border city of
Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning ''Lady Moon''; uz, Oyxonim) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was probably founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and se ...
, not far away in the northern part of Afghanistan. According to Sircar, the usage of Greek in the Edict indeed means that the message was intended for the Greeks living in Kandahar, while the usage of Aramaic was intended for the Iranian populations of the
Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian peopl ...
.


Transcription

The Greek and Aramaic versions vary somewhat, and seem to be rather free interpretations of an original text in
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
. The Aramaic text clearly recognizes the authority of Ashoka with expressions such as "our Lord, king
Priyadasin Priyadasi, also Piyadasi or Priyadarshi ( Brahmi: 𑀧𑀺𑀬𑀤𑀲𑀺 ''piyadasi'', Kharosthi: 𐡐𐡓𐡉𐡃𐡓𐡔 ''Prydrš''), was the name of a ruler in ancient India, or simply an honorific epithet which means "He who regards other ...
", "our lord, the king", suggesting that the readers were indeed the subjects of Ashoka, whereas the Greek version remains more neutral with the simple expression "King Ashoka".


Greek (transliteration)

#δέκα ἐτῶν πληρη ... ν βασι ὺς #Πιοδασσης εὐσέβεια ἔδ εν τοῖς ἀν- #θρώποις, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου εὐσεβεστέρους #τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐποίησεν καὶ πάντα #εὐθηνεῖ κατὰ πᾶσαν γῆν• καὶ ἀπέχεται #βασιλεὺς τῶν ἐμψύχων καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ #ἀνθρωποι καὶ ὅσοι θηρευταὶ ἤ αλιείς #βασιλέως πέπαυνται θηρεύοντες καὶ #εἲ τινες ἀκρατεῖς πέπαυνται τῆς ἀκρα- #σίας κατὰ δύναμιν, καὶ ἐνήκοοι πατρὶ #καὶ μητρὶ καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παρὰ #τὰ πρότερον καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ λῶιον #καὶ ἄμεινον κατὰ πάντα ταῦτα #ποιοῦντες διάξουσιν.


English (translation of the Greek)

#Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King # Piodasses made known (the doctrine of) #Piety (''εὐσέβεια'',
Eusebeia Eusebeia (Greek: from "pious" from ''eu'' meaning "well", and ''sebas'' meaning "reverence", itself formed from ''seb-'' meaning sacred awe and reverence especially in actions) is a Greek word abundantly used in Greek philosophy as well as in ...
) to men; and from this moment he has made #men more pious, and everything thrives throughout #the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) #living beings, and other men and those who (are) #huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted #from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they #have ceased from their intemperance as was in their #power; and obedient to their father and mother and to #the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, #by so acting on every occasion, they will live better #and more happily."


Aramaic (in

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewis ...
, stylized form of the
Aramaic alphabet The ancient Aramaic alphabet was adapted by Arameans from the Phoenician alphabet and became a distinct script by the 8th century BC. It was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the Fer ...
)


English (translation of the Aramaic)

#Ten years having passed (?). It so happened (?) that our lord, king Priyadasin, became the institutor of Truth, #Since then, evil diminished among all men and all misfortunes (?) lie caused to disappear; and here ispeace as well as joy in the whole earth. #And, moreover, here isthis in regard to food: for our lord, the king, nlya few # nimalsare killed; having seen this, all men have given up he slaughter of animals even (?) those men who catch fish (i.e. the fishermen) are subject to prohibition. #Similarly, those who were without restraint have ceased to be without restraint. #And obedience to mother and to father and to old men eignsin conformity with the obligations imposed by fate on each erson #And there is no Judgement for all the pious men, #This .e. the practice of Lawhas been profitable to all men and will be more profitable
n future N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...


Other inscriptions in Greek in Kandahar

The other well-known Greek inscription, the
Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka The Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka are among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language. They were found in the ancient area of Old Kandahar (known ...
, was found 1.5 kilometers to the south of the Bilingual Rock Inscription, in the ancient city of
Old Kandahar Old Kandahar (locally known as Zorr Shaar; ps, زوړ ښار, , Old City, also Shahr-i-Kona in Dari) is a historical section of the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Many believe that there are hidden ancient treasures buried in and aroun ...
(known as Zor Shar in
Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...
, or Shahr-i-Kona in
Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī  ...
), Kandahar, in 1963. It is thought that
Old Kandahar Old Kandahar (locally known as Zorr Shaar; ps, زوړ ښار, , Old City, also Shahr-i-Kona in Dari) is a historical section of the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Many believe that there are hidden ancient treasures buried in and aroun ...
was founded in the 4th century BCE by Alexander the Great, who gave it the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας (
Alexandria of Arachosia Alexandria in Arachosia ( el, Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀραχωσίας) also known as Alexandropolis (Ἀλεξανδρόπολις) was a city in ancient times that is now called Kandahar in Afghanistan. It was one of more than twenty citie ...
). The Edict is a Greek version of the end of the 12th Edicts (which describes moral precepts) and the beginning of the 13th Edict (which describes the King's remorse and conversion after the war in Kalinga). This inscription does not use another language in parallel. It is a plaque of limestone, which probably had belonged to a building, and its size is 45x69.5 cm. The beginning and the end of the fragment are lacking, which suggests the inscription was original significantly longer, and may have included all fourteen of Ashoka's Edicts, as in several other locations in India. The Greek language used in the inscription is of a very high level and displays philosophical refinement. It also displays an in-depth understanding of the political language of the Hellenic world in the 3rd century BCE. This suggest the presence of a highly cultured Greek presence in Kandahar at that time. Two other inscriptions in Greek are known at Kandahar. One is a dedication by a Greek man who names himself "son of Aristonax" (3rd century BCE). The other is an elegiac composition by Sophytos son of Naratos (2nd century BCE).''The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion'', Esther Eidinow, Julia Kindt, Oxford University Press, 2015

/ref> File:Kandahar Greek inscription.jpg,
Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka The Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka are among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language. They were found in the ancient area of Old Kandahar (known ...
, 3rd century BCE, Kandahar. File:Kandahar son of Aristonax inscription.jpg, Inscription in Greek by the "son of Aristonax", 3rd century BCE, Kandahar. File:Kandahar Sophytes Inscription.jpg, Kandahar Sophytos Inscription, 2nd century BCE, Kandahar.


See also

* List of Edicts of Ashoka *
Edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expres ...
*
Greco-Buddhism Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BC and the fifth century AD in Gandhara, in present-day north-western Pakistan and parts of nor ...
* The Greek-Aramaic inscription of Julius Aurelius Zenobius in the
Great Colonnade at Palmyra The Great Colonnade at Palmyra was the main colonnaded avenue in the ancient city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The colonnade was built in several stages during the second and third century CE and stretched for more than a kilometer (approxima ...
.


References


Sources

* {{Coord, 31, 36, 56.3, N, 65, 39, 50.5, E, display=title 3rd-century BC works 1958 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Afghanistan Edicts of Ashoka Kandahar Greek inscriptions Aramaic inscriptions KAI inscriptions Multilingual texts