Tapa Shotor, also Tape Shotor or Tapa-e-shotor ("Camel Hill"), was a large

Sarvastivadin The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

monastery near Hadda,

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 bordere ...

, and is now an archaeological site. According to archaeologist

Raymond Allchin Frank Raymond Allchin, FBA (9 July 1923 – 4 June 2010) was a British archaeologist and Indologist. He and his wife, Bridget Allchin, formed one of the most influential British partnerships in the post-Independence study of South Asian archaeolo ...

, the site of Tapa Shotor suggests that the

Greco-Buddhist 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 s ...

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 Vall ...

descended directly from the art of Hellenistic

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, southwe ...

, as seen in

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 s ...

."Following discoveries at

Ai-Khanum 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 s ...

, excavations at Tapa Shotor, Hadda, produced evidence to indicate that Gandharan art descended directly from Hellenised Bactrian art. It is quite clear from the clay figure finds in particular , that either Bactrian artist from the north were placed at the service of Buddhism, or local artists, fully conversant with the style and traditions of Hellenistic art , were the creators of these art objects" in The site of Tapa Shotor was destroyed by arson and looted in 1992.

Stylistic analysis

In view of the style of the objects found at Tapa Shotor, particularly the clay figures, Allchin suggests that either Bactrian artists came and worked for Buddhist monasteries, or that local artists had become "fully conversant" in Hellenistic art. This opinion was confirmed by the archaeologist who excavated the site Tarzi: "in the light of the latest discoveries there is no longer any doubt about the prolongation of the Graeco-Bactrian artistic past". According to Tarzi, Tapa Shotor, with clay sculptures dated to the 2nd century CE, represents the "missing link" between the Hellenistic art of Bactria, and the later stucco sculptures found at Hadda, usually dated to the 3rd-4th century CE. The sculptures of Tapa Shortor are also contemporary with many of the early Buddhist sculptures found in

. Traditionally, the influx of artists conversant in Hellenistic art has been attributed to the migration of the Greek populations from the

Greco-Bactrian 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 India ...

cities of

and

Takht-i Sangin Takht-i Sangin ( Tajik: "Throne of Stone") is an archaeological site located near the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, the source of the Amu Darya, in southern Tajikistan. During the Hellenistic period it was a city in the Greco-Bactrian ...

. Tarzi further suggested that Greek populations were established in the plains of

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

, which included Hadda, around the Hellenistic city of Dionysopolis, and that they were responsible for the Buddhist creations of Tapa Shotor in the 2nd century CE.

Chronology

According to archaeologist Zemaryalai Tarzi, the first, pre-monastic, period of Tapa Shotor, corresponds to the reign of the

Indo-Scythian Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...

king

Azes II Azes II (Greek: , epigraphically ; Kharosthi: , ), may have been the last Indo-Scythian king, speculated to have reigned circa 35–12 BCE, in the northern Indian subcontinent (modern day Pakistan). His existence has been questioned; if he did ...

(35-12 BCE). The first Buddhist period dates to the reign of

Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

king

Huvishka Huvishka ( Kushan: Οοηϸκι, ''Ooēški'', Brahmi: ', '; Kharosthi: 𐨱𐨂𐨬𐨅𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', ') was the emperor of the Kushan Empire from the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 150 CE) until the succes ...

(155-187 CE). This period correspond to the creation of vihara, and niches 1, 2 and 3 in particular. The period after

Vasudeva I Vāsudeva I ( Kushano Bactrian: Βαζοδηο ''Bazodeo''; Middle Brahmi script: ''Vā-su-de-va'', Chinese: 波調 ''Bodiao''; fl. 200 CE) was a Kushan emperor, last of the "Great Kushans." Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kan ...

to the last Kushans (225-350 CE) saw the creation of niche XIII. After the Kushans, a period of the site corresponds to the

Kidarites The Kidarites, or Kidara Huns, were a dynasty that ruled Bactria and adjoining parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries. The Kidarites belonged to a complex of peoples known collectively in India as the Huna, and in Euro ...

(4th-5th century CE). The site remained inactive for about 250 years, from around 500 to 750 CE. A last period of activity followed, only marked by restorations, before the destruction of the site by fire in the 9th century CE. The period have been structured as follows: * Tapa Shotor I:

king

(35-12 BCE) * Tapa Shotor II:

king

(155-187 CE). Vihara, and niches V1, V2 and V3 * Tapa Shotor III: (187-191 CE) * Tapa Shotor IV:

(191-225 CE) * Tapa Shotor V: Last Kushans (225-350 CE) * Tapa Shotor VI:

(350-450 CE) * Tapa Shotor VII: 5th century * Tapa Shotor VIII: 6th century. Corresponds to the 1st period of Tape Tope Kalan. * hiatus (6th-8th century) * Tapa Shotor IX: mid 8th century-9th century. Destruction by fire

Excavation

The monastery was excavated by an all-Afghan archaeological team. It yielded numerous sculptures in an archaeologically intact environment, providing great insights on the art of the region. A stupa was excavated in the main courtyard. A coin of the Indo-Greek king

Menander Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...

was found in the ruins, but the abundance of finds of Kushan coinage suggest a main 4th century CE date for the site. Tapa Shortor had some beautiful statuary in Hellenistic style, particularly one seated Buddha attended by

Herakles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also c ...

and a

Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite a ...

-like woman holding a

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

, now destroyed (Niche V2). Another has an attendant reminding the portrait of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

. Boardman suggested that the sculpture in the area might be an "incipient Buddhist sculpture in Indo-Greek style". Many of the statues are three-dimensional representations in-the-round, a rare instance in the area of Hadda, which related the style of Tapa Shotor to the Hellenistic art of Bactria, and to the Buddhist caves of

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

such as the

Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

, probably directly inspired by these. Various niches display scenes of the Buddha surrounded by attendants (especially niches V1, V2, V3). Niche XIII, or "Aquatic niche", also demonstrates sculpture in the round, and depicts Naga Kalika predicting the success of the

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

towards attaining enlightenment. The niche is dated to the period 250-350 CE, and is probably synchronous with the clay sculptures of Temple II in

Penjikent , image_skyline = Pajakent Bazaar1.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Panjakent Bazaar , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Tajikistan#West Asia , pushpin_relief = yes , pushpin_label_position = , pushp ...

. These sculptures are made of clay, while later sculptures molded in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

can also be seen at the site. File:Map of Hadda, Charles Masson 1841.jpg, Map of Hadda, by

Charles Masson Charles Masson (1800–1853) was the pseudonym of James Lewis, a British East India Company soldier and reporter, independent explorer and pioneering archaeologist and numismatist. He was the first European to discover the ruins of Harappa nea ...

in 1841. Tapa Shotor was the "Large Mound with a hollow". File:Tapa Shotor lunette.jpg, Painting of the lunette of an underground meditation chamber. Tapa Shotor, period VI (350-450 CE). File:Rzeźby z buddyjskiej stupy - Hadda - 001552s.jpg, Attendants to the Buddha, Tapa Shotor (Niche V1) File:Rzeźby z buddyjskiej stupy - Hadda - 001551s.jpg, Buddha attendants, Tapa Shotor (Niche V1) File:Tapa Shotor, seated Buddha, Niche V3.jpg, Seated Buddha with "Vajrapani-Alexander" attendant. Tapa Shotor (Niche V3). File:Vajrapani-Alexander, Tapa Shotor.jpg, Head of "Vajrapani-Alexander", Tapa (Niche V3). File:Rzeźby z buddyjskiej stupy - Hadda - 001556s.jpg, Buddha attendants, Tapa Shotor File:Rzeźby z buddyjskiej stupy - Hadda - 001553s.jpg, Small decorated stupas in Tapa Shotor. File:Wykopaliska buddyjskie - Hadda - 001545s.jpg, Site of Tapa Shotor, with a protective roof.

External links

Description and plan of Tapa Shotor (French)
* The famous Buddha with Herakles-Vajrapani and Tyche can be seen in

References

{{Central Asian history Central Asian Buddhist sites Archaeological sites in Afghanistan Former populated places in Afghanistan Buddhism in Afghanistan Buddhist art Stupas in Afghanistan