Buddhism, areligion founded byGautama Buddha, first arrived in modern-dayAfghanistan through the conquests ofAshoka (r. 268–232 BCE), thethird emperor of theMaurya Empire. Among the earliest notable sites of Buddhist influence in the country isa bilingual mountainside inscription inGreek andAramaic that dates back to 260 BCE and was found on the rocky outcrop ofChil Zena nearKandahar.[1]
Many prominentBuddhist monks were based in Afghanistan during this period:Menander I (r. 165–130 BCE), aGreco-Bactrian king, was a renowned patron of Buddhism and is immortalized in theMilinda Panha, aPali-language Buddhist text;Mahadharmaraksita, a 2nd-century BCEIndo-Greek monk, is said to have led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "Alasandra, the city of theYonas" (a colony ofAlexander the Great, located approximately 150 kilometres or 93 miles to the north of modern-dayKabul) toSri Lanka for the dedication of theMahathupa inAnuradhapura, according to theMahavamsa (Chap. XXIX);[2]Lokaksema, a 2nd-centuryKushan monk, travelled to theChinese capital city ofLuoyang during the reign of theHan dynasty, and was the first translator ofMahayana Buddhist scriptures into theChinese language.[3]
TheNava Vihara monasteries, located near the ancient city ofBalkh in northern Afghanistan, functioned as the centre ofBuddhist activity in Central Asia for centuries.
The Buddhist religion survived theIslamic conquest of Afghanistan by theUmayyads and successive rule by theAbbasid Caliphate and regional Islamic polities.[4] Buddhism in Afghanistan was effectively destroyed in the 13th century by Mongol armies during theMongol conquests.[5][6] Foreign Buddhists were known to have had a presence in the MongolIlkhanate andChagatai Khanate, which controlled parts of the region. The disintegration of these states in the 14th century also signaled the last mentions of Buddhism in Afghanistan.[4]
The territory within the modern borders of Afghanistan has seen many cultural and religious shifts over the centuries. The geographical position of the area between the Middle East, South Asian, and Central Asian cultures, and the proximity to the famousSilk Road (connecting East Asian and Mediterranean civilizations, and others in between), have been major drivers of local historical and cultural developments. One major influence was the conquest of the area byAlexander the Great, which incorporated the area for a time into the Hellenistic World, and resulted in a strong Hellenistic influence on Buddhist religious art in that region. In 305 BC, theSeleucid Empire made an alliance with the IndianMaurya Empire. The Mauryans broughtBuddhism from India subcontinent and controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until about 185 BC when they were overthrown.
Alexander took these away from theAryans and established settlements of his own, butSeleucus Nicator gave them toSandrocottus (Chandragupta), upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange 500 elephants.[7]
— Strabo, 64 BC – 24 AD
At the time of these developments, most of the area belonged to the kingdoms ofBactria andSogdiana, including theScythians, followedBuddhism until the arrival of Islam.
After theMauryan Empire, Buddhism also flourished under theKushan Empire, when a tribe called theYuezhi conqueredBactria and entered the region of modern day Afghanistan.[8]
TheSassanian Empire controlled much of Afghanistan and the influence of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the empire, increased in western parts of the area and led to the decline of Buddhism there. However, Buddhism remained extant in eastern Afghanistan.[9]
Soon after the Sassanian dynasty fell to the Muslims (in 651 AD), the Nava Vihara monastery in Balkh came under Muslim rule (in 663 AD), but the monastery continued to function for at least another century. In 715 AD, after an insurrection in Balkh was crushed by theAbbasid Caliphate, many Persian Buddhist monks fled east along theSilk Road to the BuddhistKingdom of Khotan, which spoke a relatedEastern Iranian language, and onward into Tang China. Nava Vihara's hereditary administrators, the PersianBarmakids, converted from Buddhism to Islam after the monastery's conquest and became powerful viziers under theAbbasidcaliphs of Baghdad. The last of the family's line of viziers,Ja'far ibn Yahya, is a protagonist in many tales from theArabian Nights. In folktales and popular culture,Ja'far has been associated with a knowledge of mysticism, sorcery, and traditions lying outside the realm of Islam.
During the early Islamic period, Buddhists were givendhimmi status and allowed to practice their religion and permission was granted to restore Buddhist temples. Local Buddhist rulers and elites were retained to govern specific parts of the area. While these policies were eventually weakened or eliminated later on, Buddhism continued to exist for several centuries, with several 11th century accounts indicating a Buddhist presence in the area.[10] According to historian Johan Elverskog, Muslim rulers in Central Asia (including Afghanistan) "largely allowed the Buddhists to continue with their religious observances."[10] Cultural exchanges including literature, art and science were significant during this period of interaction between Buddhists and the new Muslim powers.[10]
From the 9th century onwards, Buddhism was considered a tolerated religion among the several succeeding Islamic powers that controlled the region, with Buddhist monasteries and iconography possibly still being extant by the early 13th century.[4] Conversions to Islam rose as time passed, with most of the population being Muslim by the early 11th century.[9] Buddhism went into decline during this period, with Muslim and external sources increasingly speaking less about the religion or its adherents.[10] Whatever was left of Buddhism was decimated during theMongol invasions.[5][6] In the aftermath of the conquests, the emergence of successor states like theChagatai Khanate and theIIkhanate signaled a brief return of Buddhism in the region. Rulers would often invite Tibetan Buddhist monks to their royal courts and built Buddhist temples. After the breakup of the Khanates and the decisive conversion of its rulers to Islam in the 14th century, there is no further mention of Buddhism in the area.[4]
One of theearly Buddhist schools, theMahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda, were known to be prominent in the area of Bamiyan. TheChineseBuddhist monkXuanzang visited a Lokottaravāda monastery in the 7th century CE, at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and this monastery site has since been rediscovered by archaeologists.[11]Birchbark andpalm leaf manuscripts of texts in this monastery's collection, includingMahāyāna sūtras, have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in theSchøyen Collection. Some manuscripts are in theGāndhārī language andKharoṣṭhī script, while others are inSanskrit and written in forms of theGupta script. Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this monastery's collection include the following source texts:[11]
In August 2010, it was reported that approximately 42 Buddhist relics have been discovered inMes Aynak of theLogar Province in Afghanistan, which is south of Kabul. Some of these items date back to the 2nd century according to Archaeologists. Some Buddhist sites were found inGhazni.[12] The items in Logar include twoBuddhist temples (Stupas), Buddha statues, frescos, silver and gold coins and precious beads.[13][14][15]
There is a temple, stupas, beautiful rooms, big and small statues, two with the length of seven and nine meters, colorful frescos ornamented with gold and some coins... Some of the relics date back to the fifth century (AD)... We have come across signs that there are items maybe going back to the era before Christ or prehistory... We need foreign assistance to preserve these and their expertise to help us with further excavations.[16]
— Mohammad Nader Rasouli, Afghan Archaeological Department
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The Yuezhi people conquered Bactria in the second century BCE. and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of which would become the Kushan Empire. Recognizing the importance of unification, these five tribes combined under the one dominate Kushan tribe, and the primary rulers descended from the Yuezhi.
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