Zunbil, also written asZhunbil, orRutbils of Zabulistan,[3] was a royal dynasty south of theHindu Kush in present southernAfghanistan region. They were a dynasty ofHephthalite origin.[4] They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD.[3][2] The Zunbil dynasty was founded by Rutbil (Turkic:Iltäbär), the elder brother of theTurk Shahi ruler (eitherBarha Tegin orTegin Shah), who ruled over theHephthalite kingdom from his capital inKabul.[3][5][6][7][8][9] The Zunbils are described as having Turkish troops in their service by Arabic sources likeTarikh al-Tabari andTarikh-i Sistan.[10] However the term "Turk" was used in an inaccurate and loose way.[4]
The faith of this community has not been researched as much. According to the interpretation of Chinese sources by Marquarts and de Groots in 1915, the king of Ts'ao is said to have worn a crown with a golden fish head and was related to the Sogdians. The Temple of the Zun was recognizable by a large fish skeleton on display; this would indicate a related merchantry deity.[11] In addition to that Marquarts states the Zunbils to have worshipped asolar deity which might have been connected to Aditya (Surya). However, according toShōshin Kuwayama there was a clear dichotomy between worshipers of the Hindu god Surya and followers of Zhun. This is exemplified by the conflict between Surya and Zhun followers, which led to the followers of Zhun migrating southwards towardsZabulistan from Kapisa.[12][1] According to André Wink the god Zhun was primarilyHindu, though parallels have also been noted withpre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices inTibet and had Zoroastrian influence in its ritual.[13][14] Other scholars such as H. Schaeder and N. Sims-William have connected it withZurvan.[15]
Their territory included between what is now the city ofZaranj in southwestern Afghanistan andKabulistan in the northeast, withZamindawar andGhazni serving as their capitals.[16] In the south their territory reached at times the cities of Rakhwad (al-Rukhkhaj) andBost (nearKandahar).[3]
The title Zunbil can be traced back to theMiddle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, 'Zun the Justice-giver'. The geographical name Zamindawar would also reflect this, from Middle Persian 'Zamin-i dātbar' (Land of the Justice-giver).[17]
During more than two centuries of their rule, theTokhara Yabghus, followed by theTurk Shahis and the Zunbils were consistently an obstacle to the eastward expansion of Muslims forces.
About 643-644 AD,the Arabs raided Sistan for the first time, and then started to attack the Turkic territory from the southwest.[18]
In 653-4 AD, an army of around 6,000 Arabs was led by generalAbd al-Rahman ibn Samura of theRashidun Caliphate, and they arrived to the shrine of Zoon in Zamindawar. It is reported that Samura "broke off a hand of the idol and plucked out the rubies which were its eyes in order to persuade themarzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness."[19] Samura explained to the marzbān: "my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good."[20]
Rutbil is first mentioned to have existed during his time, as his earliest mention in Arab sources dates to 666 CE.[23] Rutbil may have been the brother or nephew of Barha Tegin, and may have been appointed as the governor inZabulistan by Barha Tegin after he conquered the region fromGhar-ilchi.[8][24][5]
Rutbil and the king of Kabul campaigned together against the Arabs afterAbdur Rahman ibn Samura was replaced as the governor ofSistan.Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi upon assuming governorship in 671 CE attacked Rutbil atBost, and drove him toal-Rukhkhaj.[8] Rabi's successorUbayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra continued the war upon being appointed in 673 CE, leading Rutbil to negotiate a peace treaty for bothKabul andZabul, in which the governor ofSistan acknowledged control of these territories by Rutbil and the King of Kabul.[8]
Around the time the first ruler of the Turk ShahisBarha Tegin died, his dynasty split into two kingdoms. From 680 AD,Tegin Shah became the king of theTurk Shahis, and ruled the area fromKabulistan toGandhara as well as Zabulistan.[22][5] His title was "Khorasan Tegin Shah" (meaning "Tegin, King of the East"), and he was known in Chinese sources asWusan teqin sa.[5] His grand title probably refers to his resistance to the peril of theUmayyad caliph from the west.[5]
In 680-683 AD, Rutbil split from his brother the Shahi of Kabul according toal-Tabari, and established the Zunbil dynasty, paying temporary allegiance to Salm ibn Ziyad, the Arab governor of Sistan.[25][26] The area of Zabulistan came to be ruled by Rutbil, also spelled Zibil or Jibul (from Turkic:Iltäbär "Commander").[5][27]
The relationship between the two relatives was at times antagonistic, but they fought together against Arab incursions.[5] Rubtil issued coins derived from Sassanian prototypes, with aBactrian script legend on the obverse, aPahlavi script legend on the reverse, and a shortBrahmi script legend in the name ofŚrī Vākhudevaḥ ("His Highness the Majestic Lord"):
A coin of the Rutbils, minted in Zabulistan circa 720 AD, closely imitating the coinage of Sasanian rulerKhosrau II ().Anahita in flames on the reverse.[3]
Obverse:yypwlh. wtyp’ / GDH / ’pzwt PWN ŠMY yzt’ yypwl bgyh. wtyp’ wh. m’n’n mlt’n MLK’ King Jibul, [his] glory increased!In the name of god, Jibul, the Majestic Lord [is] King of brave men
Reverse:Śrī Vākhudevaḥ / pncdh. z’wlst’n / ’pl plm’n yzd’n His Highness the Majestic Lord / [minted in his] 15th [regnal year in] Zavulistan, by the order of the gods.
According to Anthony McNicoll, "the Zunbils ruled in theKandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD".[28] Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-dayHelmand Province ofAfghanistan. The shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south ofMusa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that the Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese travelerXuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this exact house of worship.[29]
In 698Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra, governor ofSijistan and a military commander of theUmayyad Caliphate, led an 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils. He was defeated and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade the territory of the Zunbils again.[30]
About 700,Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointedIbn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality ofZabulistan.[31] During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbils, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion.[31]
The Arabs regularly claimed nominal overlordship over the Zunbils, and in 711Qutayba ibn Muslim managed to force them to pay tribute.[32] In 725–726,Yazid ibn al-Ghurayf, governor ofSistan failed to do so.[32] The Arabs would not be able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils again until 769 CE, whenMa'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them nearGhazni.[32]
Khuras and his son Alkhis, lords of Ghazni (714-715 CE)
Type of the coins excavated in Tang-i Safedak (Göbl, Hunnen Em. 243), next to the inscription ofAlkhis.Bactrian script legendσηρο "Sero" (contemporary ofSahi Tigin). Circa late 7th-early 8th century CE.[33][34]
The Bactrian inscription of Tang-i Safedak, dated to around 714/15 CE, mentions the dedication of a stupa byAlkhis, son of Khuras, lord of "Gazan", thought to beGhazni. Alkhis is considered as the patron of the second period of florescence of the Buddhist sanctuary ofTapa Sardar, characterized in this period by the creation of hybrid Sinicized-Indian Buddhist art.[35][36]
Tang-i Safedak inscription
"(It was) the year 492, the month Sbol, when I, Alkhis son of Khuras, lord of Gazan, established this stupa (as) a (pious) foundation(?) in Ragzamagan(?). (At that time) when there was a Turkish ruler and an Arab ruler, the deyadharma (meritorious gifts) made by me were kept . . . , and afterwards I made this Zinaiaka-deyadharma in the willing belief which I had towards the huddha-sastra and in great faith (Sraddha) and in ... Whatever merit (punya) may arise hereby, now and (in) the future, may I, Alkhis, and my parents and wife and brothers (and) sons and (other) relatives too-may each (and) every one (of us) attain (his) own desire. Homage to the buddhas."
According to Chinese sources, in particular the chronicles of theCefu Yuangui, the Turks in Kabul were vassals of the Yabghus ofTokharistan. When a young brother of the Yabghu Pantu Nili, named Puluo (僕羅Púluó in Chinese sources), visited the court of theTang dynasty inXi'an in 718 AD, he gave an account of the military forces in the Tokharistan region.[37] Puluo described the power of "the kings of Tokharistan", explaining that "Two hundred and twelve kingdoms, governors and prefects" recognise the authority of the Yabghus, and that it has been so since the time of his grandfather, that is, probably since the time of the establishment of the Yabghus of Tokharistan.[38] This account also shows that the Yabghu of Tokharistan ruled a vast area circa 718 AD, formed of the territories north and south of theHindu Kush, including the areas ofKabul andZabul.[39] Finally, Puluo reaffirmed the loyalty of Yabghu Pantu Nili towards the Tang dynasty.[38]
Part of the Chinese entry for this account by Puluo is:
On the Dingwei day of the eleventh month in the sixth year of the Kaiyuan era, Ashi Tegin Puluo writes to the emperor: Tokhara Yabghu, his elder brother, is controlling as his subordinates two hundred and twelve persons, such as the local kings of various states,dudu (Governors-General), andcishi (heads of regional governments). The king of Zabul rules two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, the king of Kabul two hundred thousand, each king ofKhuttal,Chaghanian,Jiesu,Shughnan,Evdal, Kumedha Wa'khan,Guzganan,Bamiyan,Lieyuedejian, andBadakhshan fifty thousand."
A few Zunbil rulers are named in Chinese sources, especiallyShiquer orZigil (Chinese:誓屈爾Shìqū'ér), ruler of Zabulistan from 720 CE and for a few years until 738.[41] A Chinese account from theTangshu mentions howZabulistan (Chinese: 誓䫻Shìyù) was a vassal to theKabul Shah around 710-720 CE, and how the Zunbil ruler, named "Shiquer", was recognized by the Chinese court in 720 CE.[42][43] Shiquer received the title ofGedaluozhi Xielifa (Chinese: 葛達羅支頡利發). The word "Geluodazhi" in this extract (Chinese: 葛罗达支, pronounced inEarly Middle Chinese: kat-la-dat-tcǐe), is thought to be a transliteration of the ethnonymKhalaj.[44]Xielifa is the known Chinese transcription of the Turkish "Iltäbär", hence Shiquer was "Iltäbär of the Khalaj":[45]
The people fromTujue (Turks),Jibin (Kabul), andTuhuoluo (Tokharistan) live together in this country [Zabulistan]. Jibin recruits from among them young men to defend againstDashi (Arabs). They sent an envoy to the Tang in the first year of Jingyun (710) to present gifts. Later, they subjugated themselves to Jibin. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), the Emperor approved the enthronement ofGedalouzhi ("Khalaj")Xielifa ("Iltäbär") Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monkHyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国Xiėyùguó) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism. According to him, the King of Kabul was the uncle of the king of Zabul.[47]
FromKapisa I travelled further west and after seven days arrived at the country of Zabulistan which its people callShe-hu-lo-sa-t'a-na. The native are Hu people; the king and cavalry are Turks. The king, a nephew of the king of Kapisa, himself controls his tribe and the cavalry stationed in this country. It is not subject to other countries, not even his own uncle. Though the king and the chiefs are Turks, they highly revere theThree Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks.Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. There is a great Turkish chief called Sha-tuo-kan, who once a year lays out his gold and silver, which is much more than the king possesses. The dress, customs, and products of this land are similar to those of Kapisa, but the languages are different.
Chinese artistic influences, on top of nomical political influence, are discernable in the artistic creations under the Zunbils around that time, as seen in the Buddhist monastery ofTepe Sardar. During the period from 680 to 720 CE, essentially Indian post-Gupta start to blend with Chinese stylistic influences, "a Chinese touch" discernable in Buddhist works of art.[50]
A full-blown "Chinese phase" is attributed to the period from 720 to 750 CE, corresponding to the last major phase of construction and decorations of Buddhist monuments before the Arab conquests.[51] This construction period was possibly marked by the patronage ofAlkhis, a contemporary ruler of theZabul area who was probably of the same ethnicity as the nearbyTurk Shahis ofKabul and a member of the Zunbils,[36] or his successors.[51] The period sees a marked evolution in the facial types of the statues, with the Chinese-Indian traits of the previous period moving markedly towardsTang dynasty styles, and clearly following Tang prototypes.[51] Such phenomenon is also seen in the site ofAdzina Tepe.[51] It is thought that Buddhism was particularly strong in China during the rule of EmpressWu Zhao (624-705 CE), and that, together the several missions of Chinese pilgrims to Afghanistan and India, Chinese monks settled inGhazni from around 700 CE.[51] This activity mirrored the active development of monasteries inXinjiang during the 7th-8th centuries, and highlight a broad territorial unity of Buddhist kingdoms in Western Central Asia at that time, based on intense exchanges and a westward influence of Chinese Buddhism and artistic styles.[51]
The influence of Chinese artistic styles vanishes after the Anshi rebellion.
Arabic sources recount that, after theAbbasids came to power in 750, the Zunbils made submissions to the thirdAbbasidCaliphal-Mahdi (r. 775–785), but these appear to have been nominal acts,[53] and the people of the region continued to resist Muslim rule.[54] The Muslim historianYa'qubi (died 897/8) in hisTa'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of variousCentral Asian rulers, including that of the Zunbils.[55] The original account by Ya'qubi reads:
Al-Mahdī sent messengers to the kings, calling on them to submit, and most of them submitted to him. Among them were the king of Kābul Shāh, whose name wasḤanḥal; the king ofṬabaristān, theIṣbahbadh; the king ofSoghdia, theIkhshīd; the king of Tukhāristān,Sharwin; the king ofBamiyan, the Shīr; the king ofFarghana, ------ ; the king ofUsrūshana,Afshīn; the king of theKharlukhiyya, Jabghūya; the king ofSijistān, Zunbīl; the king of Turks,Tarkhan; the king ofTibet, Ḥ-h-w-r-n; the king ofSind, al-Rāy; the king ofChina,Baghbür; the king of India and Atrāḥ, Wahūfūr; and the king of theTughuz-ghuz, Khāqān.
In 769 CE, the Arabs were again able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils after nearly half a century, whenMa'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them nearGhazni.[32]
Arab destructions are documented around 795 CE, as the Muslim writerKitāb al-buldān records the destruction of aŠāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), thought to beTepe Sardar, at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked theŠāh Bahār, "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them".[58]
In 815 CE, theAbbasids led by caliphAl-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of theTurk Shahis in 815 CE, in what was essentially a political retribution: hoping to take advantage of theGreat Abbasid Civil War (811-819 AD), the Turk Shahi ruler, named "Pati Dumi" in Arab sources, had invaded parts ofKhorasan.[59][60] The Turk Shahis not only had to convert to Islam but also had to cede key cities and regions.[59] Another campaign against the Gandhara branch seem to have followed soon, with the Caliphate reachingIndus river, and imposing a critical defeat.[59] A new dynasty, theHindu Shahi dynasty, took over in Gandhara and Kabul in 822 CE.[59] The Zunbils were unaffected byAl-Ma'mun's raids and continued to rule for about two more decades, before getting embroiled in the conflict to eventual extinction.[59]
The Zunbils were finally defeated in 870 AD by the Muslim conquerorYaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD, founder of theSaffarid dynasty), who conquered the entire Zunbil territory from his base in Sistan.[3]
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar started his eastern conquests in 870/871 CE, when he marched against the Kharijites ofHerat, and defeated them. He then marched towardsKarukh, and defeated another Khariji leader who was named Abd al-Rahman.[61] His army would then march toGhazna, conquering the Zunbils, and further toBamyan andKabul, pushing theHindu Shahis to the East, conquering these territories in the name of Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of theHindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under Saffarid control. ThePanjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint silver coins.[62]
According toC.E. Bosworth, the Saffarids achieved, for the first time, Muslim expansion in eastern Afghanistan, after more than two centuries of plundering raids by the Muslim governors ofSistan and fierce resistance from the rulers of the region.[63]
TheHindu Shahis, setting up defenses inGandhara, continued the resistance to the eastern expansion of Islam until circa 1026 CE.
In his travel diaries, the Chinese monkXuanzang reported in the early 700s that the temple of the Indo-Iranian god Zun/Sun(Surya) was in the region. He also reported there were numerous Buddhist stupas in the area of Zabul. There were dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of Buddhist monasteries.[3] In addition, drawing many pilgrims.[3] According to Wink, it was clear that Zunbils ruled over a predominately Indian realm.[64]
The last phase of theTapa Sardar Buddhist monastery inGhazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]Head of Buddha fromTapa Sardar, Afghanistan (3rd to 5th century AD).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monkHyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国Xiėyùguó) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism.[47] The last phase of theTapa Sardar Buddhist monastery inGhazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]
The Zunbils worshiped a deity called Zhūn (or Zūn), from whom they derived their name.[66] He is represented with flames radiating from his head on coins. Statues were adorned with gold and used rubies for eyes.Huen Tsang calls him "sunagir".[29]
The origin and nature of Zhun is disputed. M. Shenkar in his study comes to the conclusion that Zhun was possibly connected to the deity of the river Oxus, the modern river Amudarya. Furthermore, he holds it most likely that Zhun was the greatest deity worshiped in Zabulistan.[15] F. Grenet believes that Zhun might have been connected with the Iranian solar deityMithra.[15] Zhun has been linked with theHindu godAditya atMultan,pre-Buddhist religious andkingship practices ofTibet as well asShaivism.[14] Some scholars have considered the cult to be neither Buddhist nor Zoroastrian, but primarily Hindu.[67] Scholars point out the connections between the deity Zhun/Zun andShiva.[67]
His shrine lay on a sacred mountain inZamindawar and another at a temple inSakkawand. Originally he appears to have been brought at Zamindawar by Hepthalites, displacing an earlier god on the same site. Parallels have been noted with the pre-Buddhist monarchy ofTibet, next toZoroastrian influence on its ritual. Whatever his origins, he was certainly superimposed on a mountain and on a pre-existing mountain god while merging with Shaiva doctrines of worship.[13]
Other scholars however have connected Zun with the Sassanid Zoroastrian deityZurvān, the deity of time.
"Regarding origin of Žuna, Xuanzang had only mentioned that it was initially brought to Kapisa, later Begram from "far" and later moved to Zabul. There is no consensus as to who brought it and when. By identifying Žun with Sassanian Zurvān, the cult of Žun or *Zruvān can be viewed in a much wider context of Iranian history and religious developments. Žun, Like Zurvān, most likely represented the "god of time", a heresy in Zoroastrianism, which originated in response to the religious reforms introduced during second half of Achaemenid Empire. The cosmopolitan nature of the god is consistent with the variety of religions practiced in the region prior to theIslamization of Afghanistan."[67]
According to Gulman S, its Afghan followers were, most probably, initially Zoroastrians. Mention of Žun and its devotees disappeared with the end of Žunbil dynasty of Zabulistan in 870. Its followers, according to Ibn Athir, accepted Islam.[67]
^Andre Wink, Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol.1, (Brill, 1996), 115;""The Zunbils of the early Islamic period and the Kabulshahs were almost certainly epigoni of the southern-Hephthalite rulers of Zabul."
^History of Civilizations of central Asia, B A Litivinsky Zhang Guang-Da, R Shabani Samghabadi, p.376
^Rehman, Abdur (1979).The Last Two Dynasties of the Śahis: An Analysis of Their History, Archaeology, Coinage and Palaeography. Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University. pp. 58–67.
^Raphael Israeli, Anthony Hearle Johns (1984).Islam in Asia: South Asia. Magnes Press. p. 15.
^H. Miyakawa und A. Kollautz:Ein Dokument zum Fernhandel zwischen Byzanz und China zur Zeit Theophylakts In:Byzantinische Zeitschrift, S. 14 (Anhang). De Gruyter Januar 1984.ISSN1868-9027.
^"The account herewith quoted as 3.5. shows that this king of Tokhara had political power to control the principalities belonging to the Governors-General to the north and the south of the Hindukush, not to mention the Yuezhi Governor General." inKuwayama, Shoshin (2005)."Chinese Records on Bamiyan: Translation and Commentary".East and West.55 (1/4): 153,3–5.ISSN0012-8376.JSTOR29757642.
^"One of the most important aspects of earlySaffarids policy of significance for thespread of Islam in Afghanistan and on the borders of India long after their empire had collapsed was that of expansion into east Afghanistan. The earlyArab governors of Sistan had at times penetrated as far asGhazna andKabul, but these had been little more than slave and plunder raids. There was a fierce resistance from the local rulers of these regions, above all from the line of Zunbils who ruled in Zamindavar and Zabulistan and who were probably epigoni of the southernHepthalite or Chionite kingdom of Zabul; on more than one occasion, these Zunbils inflicted sharp defeats on the Muslims. The Zunbils were linked with the Turk-Shahs of the Turk Shahi dynasty; the whole river valley was at this time culturally and religiously an outpost of theIndian world, as of course it had been in the earlier centuries during the heyday of theBuddhistGandhara civilization." inBosworth 1975.
Bosworth, C.E. (1975). "The Tahirids and Saffarids". In Frye, Richard Nelson; Fisher, William Bayne; Boyle, John Andrew (eds.).The Cambridge History of Iran: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Vol. IV. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-20093-6.
1.^"Xuanzang's story is simple, but suggests a historical background:there happened a conflict between the two religious groups, the Surya group and the Zhuna group".
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