Zabulistan (Persian:زابلستان,Zābolistān,Zāwulistān or simplyزابل ), is an ancient and medieval name for a historical region that included mainly southern Afghanistan as well as southeastern Iran.[1]
By the tenth century, Iranian sources mention Zabulistan as part of the Khorasan marches, a frontier region betweenKhorasan andIndia.[2] In theTarikh-i Sistan, finished around 1062 CE, the author regardsZabol as part of the land ofSistan, stretching from theHamun Oasis all the way to theIndus River.[3]
Today, the Afghan province ofZabul and the Iranian city ofZabol take their names from the historical region. Zabulistan has become popularized as the birthplace of the characterRostam ofFerdowsi'sShahnameh, in which the word "Zabulistan" is used interchangeably with "Sistan", which is the same historical region, located in present-day southern Afghanistan (Nimruz,Helmand,Zabul andKandahar) and some parts of Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province).[4]
Zābulistān (Persian:زابلستان) which is the Persian name literally means "the land of Zābol". The etymology of the name Zābol has been marred with speculation. The German historianMarquart, proposed the word, including its uncommon Medieval variant Jāwulistān (Persian:جابلستان) as being a variation of the Sanskrit term.[5] Others have speculated that the wordzābol might be an abbreviation ofzūnbīl, a supposed royal title of the region known from Arabic sources, earlier read asrutbīl, and now used to refer to a local dynasty ofZamindawar now called theZunbils. This notion however currently stands on loose ground, andMinorsky holds that the consonant resemblance between these two words look merely fortuitous.[5]
Jāguḍa (Sanskrit:जागुड), meaningsaffron,[6] was the Sanskrit name of the region. It is also regarded as being referred to by this name in 644 CE by the Chinese traveling monkXuanzang in the Chinese transliterationTsau-kü-ta.[5]
The earliest detailed description of Zabulistan comes from theGreat Tang Records on the Western Regions, written by the travelling monkXuanzang in the early seventh century. He places the country ofTsau-kü-ta (Jāguḍa) between the Great Snowy Mountains (the Hindu Kush) and the Black Range (probably theSulaiman mountains), bordering the country of Vrjisthāna in the north,Kāpiśī to its north-east and Kaikānān to its east.[7] While the Chinese pilgrims never explored the south or west of the region, it is known from later Arabic accounts that Zabulistan at this time was bordered by Turan to its south andRukhkhudh to its west.
"The country of Jāguda is more than seven thousandli in circuit, and its capital city, named Hexina (Ghazni), is over thirtyli in circuit; but the capital is sometimes located in the city of Hesaluo (Guzar), which is also over thirtyli in circuit, both cities being strongly fortified in invulnerable positions. The mountains and valleys are rich in natural resources, and the cultivated farmlands, divided by ridges, are high and dry. Crops are sown in proper seasons. Winter wheat is abundant, and vegetation is luxuriant with profuse flowers and fruits. The soil is good for growing aromatic turmeric, and it produces thehingu herb (Ferula asafoetida), which grows in the Rama-Indu Valley. In the city of Hesaluo there are gushing springs, the water of which flows to all sides, and the people make use of it for irrigation. The climate is severely cold with much frost and snow."-Xuanzang, 644 CE[7]
During the Medieval Islamic era, the region is continuously mentioned in geographical works such asIstakhri's Kitab al-Masalik (930-933 CE), theHudud al 'Alam (982 CE),Qazvīnī'sNuzhat al-Qulub etc.[8]
The first mentions of the region coincides with its takeover by theIranian Huns in the 4th century. Initially being conquered by theAlkhan, then theNezaks in the 5th century.[3] The region fell to theTurk Shahis in the 7th century, then being controlled by a collection loose suzerains of theHindu Shahis to the 10th century. According to Andre Wink:
It is clear however that in the seventh to ninth centuries the Zunbils and their kinsmen the Kabulshahs ruled over a predominantly Indian rather than a Persianate realm. The Arab geographers, in effect, commonly speak of 'that king of al-Hind ... (who) bore the title of Zunbil'.[9]
The region was finally conquered and Islamized by theGhaznavids after 961 CE.[10]
The first mentions of the word Zabol is from coinage of what's known as "the early anonymous clan-rulers". These were late fourth-century tribal chiefs and possibly former governors of the Sasanids from the north of the Hindu Kush, who following the course of theKidarites, declared independence fromSasanid dominance. By 384/5 CE, they controlledKāpiśī andGandhara, and started minting their own characteristic coins in the formerly Sasanian mint.[11] A set of these anonymous coins including some of the coins of kingKhingila I, the first ofAlkhan kings known by name, bore the legendShāh Zāwbul Ālkhān (Bactrian: ϸαυο ζαοβλ αλχανο) translated as 'King of Zabol Alkhan'.[12] This suggests Alkhan control of the Zabulistan region from an early time of Alkhan dominance in the region.[3] Alkhan power, primarily based in the Kapisa and Gandhara valleys, was seldom concentrated with one king alone, as shown by the variety of Alkhan coins minted simultaneously in the different regions of the empire's control, which by 484 CE reached all the way toMawla in Central India.[13] Northern Zabulistan is understood to have remained under nominal control of the Alkhan rulers ofKāpiśī, with the rest remaining under nominal Sasanid rule untilPeroz I's defeat by theHephthalites in 484 CE, which facilitated the takeover of Zabulistan by the new independent rulerNezak Shah.[citation needed]
Following the collapse of Sasanid control inTokharistan in 484 CE, and with Alkhan coinage expanding into the Indian subcontinent, numismatic evidence accounts for the consolidation of a new dynasty in Kapisa and Zabul. TheNezak Shah dynasty, identified through their unique coin designs and thePahlaviNezak Shah stamp (previously interpreted by Göbl as Napki MLK) on their coins, supposedly opened a mint in Ghazni (which's coins are identified by Göbl as the š-group of Nezak coinage) following 484 CE. Later, they managed to also consolidate their rule overKāpiśī, where they overtook the local mint around the first quarter of the 6th-century CE (whose coins are identified by Göbl as the ā-group). Unlike the contemporaryHephthalites andAlkhan, they did not use atamga, but instead donned a golden winged bull-headed crown as their primary signifier.[3]
Sometime after 532 CE, afterMihrakulas devastating defeat againstYasodharman atMalwa, Alkhan power is understood to have subsequently returned to theGandhara and theKāpiśī valleys, thereby having to confront the Nezaks. Whether this encounter was mostly peaceful or hostile is currently unknown, but has been recorded in part among numismatic evidence, from Alkhan coins minted in Gandhara with the characteristic Nezak bull-headed crown over an otherwise typically Alkhan design, to the overstriking of Nezak coins in the second half of the 6th century by the Alkhan rulerToramana II.[3] At around the same period, theSasanians underKhusro I (r. 531-579) briefly reestablished their control ofBalkh, and probably also Zabulistan, which is supported by a Sasanian administrative seal found there from the same period.[12] Succeeding Sasanian control of Zabulistan by the end of the 6th-century, a new group of coins are struck with an š-mint (Zabol) brand and in a design reminiscent of both Alkhan and Nezak coinage, though ultimately missing the bull-headed crown of the Nezaks and struck with the Alkhantamga, while the Nezak ā-coinage is retained inKāpiśī. This new issue is known as the Alkhan-Nezak Crossover, and which dynasty continued to issue coinage from the Ghazni-mint until the middle of the 7th century.[12]
The region of southern Afghanistan was first invaded by Muslim Arabs fromZaranj in what is nowNimruz Province. From there they marched towardBost,Kandahar, Zabulistan, and reached Kabul. In 683 Kabul revolted and defeated the Muslim army.[14]
According André Wink:
"In southern and eastern Afghanistan, the regions of Zamindawar (Zamin I Datbar or land of the justice giver, the classical Archosia) and Zabulistan or Zabul (Jabala,Kapisha, Kia pi shi) and Kabul, the Arabs were effectively opposed for more than two centuries, from 643 to 870 AD, by the indigenous rulers the Zunbils and the relatedKabul-Shahs of the dynasty which became known as the Buddhist-Shahi. WithMakran andBaluchistan and much ofSindh this area can be reckoned to belong to the cultural and political frontier zone betweenIndia andPersia. It is clear however that in the seventh to the ninth centuries the Zunbils and their kinsmen the Kabulshahs ruled over a predominantly Indian rather than a Persian realm. The Arab geographers, in effect commonly speak of that king of "Al Hind" ...(who) bore the title of Zunbil."[15]
According to C. E. Bosword:
"One of the most important aspects of the earlySaffarid policy of significance for the spread of Islam in Afghanistan and on the borders ofIndia long after their empire had collapsed, was that of expansion into eastern Afghanistan. The early Arab governors ofSistan had at times penetrated as far asGhazana 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 southern Hepthalite or Chionite kingdom of Zabul; on more than one occasion, these Zunbils inflicted sharp defeats on the Muslims. The Zunbils were linked with theKabul-Shahs of theShahi dynasty; the whole river valley was at this time culturally and religiously an outpost of the Indian world, as of course it had been in the earlier centuries during the heyday of theBuddhistGandhara civilization."[16]
The Kabul Shahis are generally split up into two eras: theBuddhist Shahis and theHindu Shahis, with the change-over thought to have occurred sometime around 870 CE. The kingdom was known as the Kabul Shahan or Ratbelshahan from 565 CE to 670 CE, when the capitals were located inKapisa and Kabul, and laterUdabhandapura, also known as Hund,[17] for its new capital.[18][19][a] The kingdoms ofKapisa-Gandhara in modern-day Afghanistan, Zabulistan andSindh (which then held Makran) in modern-day Pakistan, all of which were culturally and politically part ofancient India since ancient times,[20] were known as "The Frontier of Al Hind".
"We are told that it was only in 870 AD that Zabulistan was finally conquered by oneYakub who was the virtual ruler of the neighbouring Iranian province ofSiestan. The king was killed and his subjects were made Muslims."[21]
The Hindu Shahis underJayapala, is known for his struggles in defending his kingdom against theGhaznavids for the control over Zabulistan and the surrounding region. Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city ofGhazni both in the reign ofSebuktigin and in that of his sonMahmud, which initiated theMuslim Ghaznavid andHindu Shahi struggles.[22] Sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity.[22] Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the battlefield once more.[22] Jayapala, however, lost control of the entire region from Zabulistan to between theKabul Valley andIndus River.[23]
However, Jayapala's army was hopeless in battle against the Ghaznavid forces, particularly against the young Mahmud of Ghazni.[23] In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with theQarakhanids north of theHindu Kush, Jayapalaattacked Ghazni once more and upon suffering yet another defeat by the powerful Ghaznavid forces, near present-dayPeshawar. After theBattle of Peshawar, he committed suicide because his subjects thought he had brought disaster and disgrace to the Shahis.[22][23] Jayapala was succeeded by his sonAnandapala,[22] who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahis took part in various unsuccessful campaigns against the advancing Ghaznavids but were unsuccessful. These Ghaznavid victories in these wars resulted in the Islamization of Zabulistan and the surrounding regions.[22]
During Buddhist period Zabulistan is known to have been a place of various religious cults and practices, with Ghazni being an old stop on the silk and spice trade flowing betweenTokharistan and Afghanistan. Chinese monkXuanzang recorded numerous Buddhist stupas and monasteries supposedly built byAshoka and several dozen Hindu temples, which were demolished by Islamic invaders around 653/54 CE.[24]Xuanzang also made an account of Zabul (which he called by itsSanskrit nameJaguda), which he describes as animists and adherants ofMahayana Buddhism, which although in the minority had the support of its royals. In terms of other cults, the god Śuna,[25] is described to be the prime deity of the country.[7]
Although they worship various gods, they respect the Triple Gem. There are several hundred monasteries with more than ten thousand monks, all of whom study Mahayana teachings. The reigning king is a man of pure faith who inherited a throne handed down through many generations. He has engaged himself in performing meritorious deeds and is intelligent and studious. There are more than ten stupas built by king Asoka. Deva-temples number several tens, and the heretics, who are in the majority, live together. Their disciples are extremely numerous, and they worship the god Śuna.
-Xuanzang, The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, 644 CE[7]
He goes on to describe the god as residing on top of a mountain in Zabul called theŚunāsīra mountain, where people came "from far and near and high and low", even attracting kings, ministers, officials and common people of regions where different customs were observed, to pay homage and make donations.[7]
They either offer gold, silver, and rare gems or present sheep, horses, and other domestic animals to the god in competition with each other to show their piety and sincerity. Therefore, gold and silver are scattered all over the ground, and sheep and horses fill up the valley. Nobody dares to covet them, for everyone is eager to make offerings to the god. To those who respect and serve the heretics and practice asceticism whole-heartedly, the god imparts magical incantations, of which the heretics make effective use in most cases; for the treatment of disease, they are quite efficacious.[5]
-Xuanzang, 644 CE
The god Śuna is again mentioned in Islamic sources in the recounting of the Saffarid conquest of Zabulistan, in the Arabic renderingZūn (Arabic: زون). These sources mention two temples, one atZamindawar and one atSakkawand. The temple at Sakkawand was sacked and plundered in 870 CE.[26][27]
"It is related that, Amru Lais conferred the governorship of Zabulistan on Fardghan and sent him there at the head of four thousand horses. There was a large place of worship of the God Zhun in the country, which was called Sakawand, and people used to come on pilgrimage to the Idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led his army against it, took the temples broke the idols in pieces, and overthrew the idolators. Some of the plunder he distributed among the troops, the rest he sent to Amru Lais."[28]
"Fardaghan, the governor of Zabulistan region aroundGhazni underAmr ibn Layth, plundered Sakawand, a place of pilgrimage to God Zhun, which was within the kingdom of the Shahis."[29]
"The activities of the Saffarid brothers on the Indian frontier attracted special attention in the Caliphate thanks to the care they took to send exotic presents from the plunder to the Abbasid court. Yaqub, for instance, at one time sent fifty gold and silver idols from Kabul to the caliph Al-Mutamid who dispatched them to Mecca. Another set of Idols lavishly decorated with jewels and silver, sent by him, Amr in 896 from Sakawand (a place in the Logar valley between Ghazni and Kabul which the sources describe as a pilgrimage centre dedicated to God Zhun), caused a sensation in Baghdad on account of their strangeness."[30]
Sakawand was a major centre ofHindu pilgrimage.[26][27]
"It is related that, Amru Lais conferred the governorship of Zabulistan on Fardghan and sent him there at the head of four thousand horses. There was a large place of worship of the God Zhun in the country, which was called Sakawand, and people used to come on pilgrimage to the Idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led his army against it, took the temples broke the idols in pieces, and overthrew the idolators. Some of the plunder he distributed among the troops, the rest he sent to Amru Lais."[28]
There was a large Hindu place of worship in that country, which was called Sakawand, and people used to come on pilgrimage from the most remote parts of Hindustan to the idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led bis army against it, took the temple, broke the idols in pieces, and overthrew the idolaters. Some of the plunder he distributed among the troops, the rest he sent to Amru Lais, informing him of the conquest, and asking for reinforcements.
Jaypala of Waihind saw danger in the consolidation of the kingdom of Ghazni and decided to destroy it. He, therefore, invaded Ghazni, but was defeated
When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan, he led his army against Sakawand, a large Hindu place of worship in that country with a temple and many idols. He took the temple, broke the idols into pieces, and overthrew the idolaters. He informed Amr ibn Lais of the conquest and asked for reinforcements. When the news of the fall of Sakawand reached Kamalu, who was Rai of Hindustan, he collected an innumerable army and marched towards Zabulistan to- take revenge.
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