Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan,[3] was a royal dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They were a dynasty of Hephthalite 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 the Turk Shahi ruler (either Barha Tegin or Tegin Shah), who ruled over the Hephthalite kingdom from his capital in Kabul.[3][5][6][7][8][9] The Zunbils are described as having Turkish troops in their service by Arabic sources like Tarikh al-Tabari and Tarikh-i Sistan.[10] However the term "Turk" was used in an inaccurate and loose way.[4]

Zunbils
680–870[1][2]
Approximate location of the Zunbils (), and contemporary polities c. 800
Ghazni, the capital, and other important cities of the Zunbils (brown dots), c. 725
CapitalGhazni
Common languagesBactrian
Religion
Buddhism
Zoroastrianism
Historical eraEarly Middle Ages
• Established
680
• Disestablished
870[1][2]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Alchon Huns
Nezak Huns
Tokhara Yabghus
Turk Shahis
Saffarid dynasty
Samanid dynasty
Lawik dynasty
Today part ofAfghanistan

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 a solar deity which might have been connected to Aditya (Surya). However, according to Shōshin 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 towards Zabulistan from Kapisa.[12][1] According to André Wink the god Zhun was primarily Hindu, though parallels have also been noted with pre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices in Tibet and had Zoroastrian influence in its ritual.[13][14] Other scholars such as H. Schaeder and N. Sims-William have connected it with Zurvan.[15]

Their territory included between what is now the city of Zaranj in southwestern Afghanistan and Kabulistan in the northeast, with Zamindawar and Ghazni serving as their capitals.[16] In the south their territory reached at times the cities of Rakhwad (al-Rukhkhaj) and Bost (near Kandahar).[3]

The title Zunbil can be traced back to the Middle-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]

Zabulistan under the Turks

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The Zunbils were affected by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.
  Desert areas (Registan Desert and Thar Desert)
  Zunbils
  Kingdom of Sindh (c. 632– 711 CE)
then, Caliphal province of Sind (712-854 CE)
  Maitraka Kingdom (c.475–c.776 CE)

During more than two centuries of their rule, the Tokhara Yabghus, followed by the Turk Shahis and the Zunbils were consistently an obstacle to the eastward expansion of Muslims forces.

Early Arab incursions in Zabulistan

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Rashiduns

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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 general Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura of the Rashidun 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 the marzbān 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]

Umayyad Caliphate

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Circa 665 AD, the Arabs under Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura, a general of the Umayyad Caliphate and caliphal governor of Sijistan, captured Kabul for the first time, critically weakening the Nezak Huns.[1][21][18] But the Turkic ruler Barha Tegin was soon able to mount a counter-offensive and repulse the Arabs, taking back the areas of Kabul and Zabulistan (around Ghazni), as well as the region of Arachosia as far as Kandahar, and founding the new dynasty of the Turk Shahis circa 665 AD.[18][22]

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 in Zabulistan by Barha Tegin after he conquered the region from Ghar-ilchi.[8][24][5]

Rutbil and the king of Kabul campaigned together against the Arabs after Abdur Rahman ibn Samura was replaced as the governor of Sistan. Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi upon assuming governorship in 671 CE attacked Rutbil at Bost, and drove him to al-Rukhkhaj.[8] Rabi's successor Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra continued the war upon being appointed in 673 CE, leading Rutbil to negotiate a peace treaty for both Kabul and Zabul, in which the governor of Sistan acknowledged control of these territories by Rutbil and the King of Kabul.[8]

Establishment of the Zunbils (680 CE)

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Around the time the first ruler of the Turk Shahis Barha Tegin died, his dynasty split into two kingdoms. From 680 AD, Tegin Shah became the king of the Turk Shahis, and ruled the area from Kabulistan to Gandhara 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 as Wusan teqin sa.[5] His grand title probably refers to his resistance to the peril of the Umayyad caliph from the west.[5]

In 680-683 AD, Rutbil split from his brother the Shahi of Kabul according to al-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 a Bactrian script legend on the obverse, a Pahlavi script legend on the reverse, and a short Brahmi script legend in the name of Śrī Vākhudevaḥ ("His Highness the Majestic Lord"):

 
A coin of the Rutbils, minted in Zabulistan circa 720 AD, closely imitating the coinage of Sasanian ruler Khosrau 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.

— Coin legend of Rutbil[27]

According to Anthony McNicoll, "the Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD".[28] Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-day Helmand Province of Afghanistan. The shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south of Musa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that the Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this exact house of worship.[29]

Umayyad Caliphate offensives (698-700 CE)

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In 698 Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra, governor of Sijistan and a military commander of the Umayyad 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 appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of Zabulistan.[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 711 Qutayba ibn Muslim managed to force them to pay tribute.[32] In 725–726, Yazid ibn al-Ghurayf, governor of Sistan failed to do so.[32] The Arabs would not be able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils again until 769 CE, when Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni.[32]

Khuras and his son Alkhis, lords of Ghazni (714-715 CE)

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Type of the coins excavated in Tang-i Safedak (Göbl, Hunnen Em. 243), next to the inscription of Alkhis. Bactrian script legend σηρο "Sero" (contemporary of Sahi 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 by Alkhis, son of Khuras, lord of "Gazan", thought to be Ghazni. Alkhis is considered as the patron of the second period of florescence of the Buddhist sanctuary of Tapa 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."

— Bactrian inscription of Tang-i Safedak. translation by Nicholas Sims-Williams.[36]

Vassalage to the Yabghus of Tokharistan

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The city of Ghazni was the capital of the Zunbils.

According to Chinese sources, in particular the chronicles of the Cefu Yuangui, the Turks in Kabul were vassals of the Yabghus of Tokharistan. When a young brother of the Yabghu Pantu Nili, named Puluo (僕羅 Púluó in Chinese sources), visited the court of the Tang dynasty in Xi'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 the Hindu Kush, including the areas of Kabul and Zabul.[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), and cishi (heads of regional governments). The king of Zabul rules two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, the king of Kabul two hundred thousand, each king of Khuttal, Chaghanian, Jiesu, Shughnan, Evdal, Kumedha Wa'khan, Guzganan, Bamiyan, Lieyuedejian, and Badakhshan fifty thousand."

— Cefu Yuangui 3.5. Fanyan in Vol. 999 (Claims, Foreign Subjects), 718 AD.[40]

Chinese influence

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Tang dynasty investiture

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A few Zunbil rulers are named in Chinese sources, especially Shiquer or Zigil (Chinese:誓屈爾 Shìqū'ér), ruler of Zabulistan from 720 CE and for a few years until 738.[41] A Chinese account from the Tangshu mentions how Zabulistan (Chinese: 誓䫻 Shìyù) was a vassal to the Kabul 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 of Gedaluozhi Xielifa (Chinese: 葛達羅支頡利發). The word "Geluodazhi" in this extract (Chinese: 葛罗达支, pronounced in Early Middle Chinese: kat-la-dat-tcǐe), is thought to be a transliteration of the ethnonym Khalaj.[44] Xielifa is the known Chinese transcription of the Turkish "Iltäbär", hence Shiquer was "Iltäbär of the Khalaj":[45]

The people from Tujue (Turks), Jibin (Kabul), and Tuhuoluo (Tokharistan) live together in this country [Zabulistan]. Jibin recruits from among them young men to defend against Dashi (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 of Gedalouzhi ("Khalaj") Xielifa ("Iltäbär") Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756).

— Old Book of Tang, Book 221: account of Zabulistan (谢䫻 Xiėyù).[46]

Visit by Hyecho (726 CE)

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Hyecho's description of Zabulistan

In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk Hyecho 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]

From Kapisa I travelled further west and after seven days arrived at the country of Zabulistan which its people call She-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 the Three 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 (680-750 CE)

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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 of Tepe 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 of Alkhis, a contemporary ruler of the Zabul area who was probably of the same ethnicity as the nearby Turk Shahis of Kabul 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 towards Tang dynasty styles, and clearly following Tang prototypes.[51] Such phenomenon is also seen in the site of Adzina Tepe.[51] It is thought that Buddhism was particularly strong in China during the rule of Empress Wu Zhao (624-705 CE), and that, together the several missions of Chinese pilgrims to Afghanistan and India, Chinese monks settled in Ghazni from around 700 CE.[51] This activity mirrored the active development of monasteries in Xinjiang 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 751 CE when Tang China withdrew from Central Asia following the Battle of Talas.[51]

Abbasid Caliphate claim to overlordship (750 CE)

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Arabic sources recount that, after the Abbasids came to power in 750, the Zunbils made submissions to the third Abbasid Caliph al-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 historian Ya'qubi (died 897/8) in his Ta'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of various Central 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 was Ḥanḥal; the king of Ṭabaristān, the Iṣbahbadh; the king of Soghdia, the Ikhshīd; the king of Tukhāristān, Sharwin; the king of Bamiyan, the Shīr; the king of Farghana, ------ ; the king of Usrūshana, Afshīn; the king of the Kharlukhiyya, Jabghūya; the king of Sijistān, Zunbīl; the king of Turks, Tarkhan; the king of Tibet, Ḥ-h-w-r-n; the king of Sind, al-Rāy; the king of China, Baghbür; the king of India and Atrāḥ, Wahūfūr; and the king of the Tughuz-ghuz, Khāqān.

— Ya'qubi (died 897/8), Ta'rikh ("History")[56][57]

In 769 CE, the Arabs were again able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils after nearly half a century, when Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni.[32]

Arab destructions are documented around 795 CE, as the Muslim writer Kitāb al-buldān records the destruction of a Šāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), thought to be Tepe Sardar, at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked the Šāh Bahār, "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them".[58]

End of the Turk Shahis (822 CE)

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In 815 CE, the Abbasids led by caliph Al-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of the Turk Shahis in 815 CE, in what was essentially a political retribution: hoping to take advantage of the Great Abbasid Civil War (811-819 AD), the Turk Shahi ruler, named "Pati Dumi" in Arab sources, had invaded parts of Khorasan.[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 reaching Indus river, and imposing a critical defeat.[59] A new dynasty, the Hindu Shahi dynasty, took over in Gandhara and Kabul in 822 CE.[59] The Zunbils were unaffected by Al-Ma'mun's raids and continued to rule for about two more decades, before getting embroiled in the conflict to eventual extinction.[59]

Saffarids Conquest (870 CE)

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Statue of Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD), conqueror of the Zunbils (Dezful, Iran)

The Zunbils were finally defeated in 870 AD by the Muslim conqueror Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD, founder of the Saffarid 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 of Herat, and defeated them. He then marched towards Karukh, and defeated another Khariji leader who was named Abd al-Rahman.[61] His army would then march to Ghazna, conquering the Zunbils, and further to Bamyan and Kabul, pushing the Hindu Shahis to the East, conquering these territories in the name of Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of the Hindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under Saffarid control. The Panjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint silver coins.[62]

According to C.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 of Sistan and fierce resistance from the rulers of the region.[63]

The Hindu Shahis, setting up defenses in Gandhara, continued the resistance to the eastern expansion of Islam until circa 1026 CE.

Religion

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In his travel diaries, the Chinese monk Xuanzang reported in the early 700s that the temple of the Hindu 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]

Buddhism

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The last phase of the Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]
 
Head of Buddha from Tapa Sardar, Afghanistan (3rd to 5th century AD).

In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk Hyecho 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 the Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]

Zhun

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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 deity Mithra.[15] Zhun has been linked with the Hindu god Aditya at Multan, pre-Buddhist religious and kingship practices of Tibet as well as Shaivism.[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 and Shiva.[67]

His shrine lay on a sacred mountain in Zamindawar and another at a temple in Sakkawand. 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 of Tibet, next to Zoroastrian 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]

Zurvan hypothesis

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Other scholars however have connected Zun with the Sassanid Zoroastrian deity Zurvān, 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 the Islamization 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]

According to N. Sims-Williams:[15]

"It is not unlikely that Zhun derives from the Iranian Zurwan."

Ulf Jäger states: We should interpret "Zhun" as the name of the ancient Iranian deity of time, "Zurwan".[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b ALRAM, MICHAEL (2014). "From the Sasanians to the Huns New Numismatic Evidence from the Hindu Kush" (PDF). The Numismatic Chronicle. 174: 282–285. ISSN 0078-2696. JSTOR 44710198.
  2. ^ a b "16. THE HINDU SHAHIS IN KABULISTAN AND GANDHARA AND THE ARAB CONQUEST". Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Alram, Michael; Filigenzi, Anna; Kinberger, Michaela; Nell, Daniel; Pfisterer, Matthias; Vondrovec, Klaus. "The Countenance of the other (The Coins of the Huns and Western Turks in Central Asia and India) 2012-2013 exhibit: 15. THE RUTBILS OF ZABULISTAN AND THE "EMPEROR OF ROME"". Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b Wink, Andre. The Making of the Indo-Islamic World C.700–1800 CE. Cambridge University Press. p. 63.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "14. KABULISTAN AND BACTRIA AT THE TIME OF "KHORASAN TEGIN SHAH"". Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ^ 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."
  7. ^ History of Civilizations of central Asia, B A Litivinsky Zhang Guang-Da, R Shabani Samghabadi, p.376
  8. ^ a b c d Petrie, Cameron A. (2020-12-28). Resistance at the Edge of Empires: The Archaeology and History of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200. Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9781785703065.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Raphael Israeli, Anthony Hearle Johns (1984). Islam in Asia: South Asia. Magnes Press. p. 15.
  11. ^ 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. ISSN 1868-9027.
  12. ^ Kuwayama, Shoshin (2000). Historical Notes on Kāpiśī and Kābul in the Sixth-Eighth Centuries (PDF).
  13. ^ a b Al- Hind: The slave kings and the Islamic conquest - Volume I. Brill. 1991. pp. 118, 119. ISBN 9004095098.
  14. ^ a b Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1977). The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Variorum Reprints. p. 344.
  15. ^ a b c d e Jäger, Ulf (2019). Sino-Platonic Papers: A Unique Alxon-Hunnic Horse-and-Rider Statuette (Late Fifth Century CE) from Ancient Bactria / Modern Afghanistan in the Pritzker Family Collection, Chicago (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  16. ^ André Wink, "Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World", Brill 1990, p. 118
  17. ^ Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. 2002. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: Brill. Zamindawar. p.439.
  18. ^ a b c Kim, Hyun Jin (19 November 2015). The Huns. Routledge. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-1-317-34090-4.
  19. ^ André Wink, "Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World", Brill 1990. p 120
  20. ^ "Amir Kror and His Ancestry". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  21. ^ Alram, Michael; Filigenzi, Anna; Kinberger, Michaela; Nell, Daniel; Pfisterer, Matthias; Vondrovec, Klaus. "The Countenance of the other (The Coins of the Huns and Western Turks in Central Asia and India) 2012-2013 exhibit: 13. The Turk Shahis in Kabulistan". Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  22. ^ a b Vondrovec, Klaus. Coins, Art and Chronology II - The First Millennium C.E. in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands (Coinage of the Nezak). p. 183.
  23. ^ Rehman 1976, pp. 47.
  24. ^ Rehman 1976, pp. 58–67.
  25. ^ al-Tabari (16 June 2015). The History of al-Tabari Vol. 14: The Conquest of Iran A.D. 641-643/A.H. 21-23. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-2039-4.
  26. ^ Rehman 1976, pp. 66.
  27. ^ a b Dani, Ahmad Hasan; Litvinsky, B. A. (January 1996). History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750. UNESCO. pp. 379–380. ISBN 978-92-3-103211-0.
  28. ^ Excavations at Kandahar 1974 & 1975 (Society for South Asian Studies Monograph) by Anthony McNicoll
  29. ^ a b "The Temple of Zoor or Zoon in Zamindawar". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  30. ^ Kennedy, Hugh (2010). The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Hachette UK. p. 128. ISBN 9780297865599.
  31. ^ a b Hugh Kennedy,The Great Arab Conquests', 2007, pages 194-198
  32. ^ a b c d Lee, Jonathan L.; Sims Williams, Nicholas (2003). "Bactrian Inscription from Yakawlang sheds new light on history of Buddhism in Afghanistan". Silk Road Art and Archaeology. 9: 167.
  33. ^ Lee, Jonathan L.; Sims Williams, Nicholas (2003). "Bactrian Inscription from Yakawlang sheds new light on history of Buddhism in Afghanistan". Silk Road Art and Archaeology. 9: 172.
  34. ^ "Late Hunnic, Turkic and Arab-Hephthalite Issues, page 7". grifterrec.org.
  35. ^ Verardi, Giovanni; Paparatti, Elio (2005). "From Early to Late Tapa Sardār: A Tentative Chronology". East and West. 55 (1/4): 433. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29757657.
  36. ^ a b c Lee, Jonathan L.; Sims Williams, Nicholas (2003). "Bactrian Inscription from Yakawlang sheds new light on history of Buddhism in Afghanistan". Silk Road Art and Archaeology. 9.
  37. ^ Kuwayama, S. (2002). Across the Hindukush of the First Millennium: a collection of the papers (PDF). Kyoto University. p. 139.
  38. ^ a b Sims-Williams, Nicholas (2002). "Nouveaux document bactriens du Guzgan (note d'information)". Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. 146 (3): 1057. doi:10.3406/crai.2002.22500.
  39. ^ "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." in Kuwayama, Shoshin (2005). "Chinese Records on Bamiyan: Translation and Commentary". East and West. 55 (1/4): 153, 3–5. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29757642.
  40. ^ Kuwayama, Shoshin (2005). "Chinese Records on Bamiyan: Translation and Commentary". East and West. 55 (1/4): 143–144. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29757642.
  41. ^ Lee, Jonathan L.; Sims Williams, Nicholas (2003). "Bactrian Inscription from Yakawlang sheds new light on history of Buddhism in Afghanistan". Silk Road Art and Archaeology. 9: 166.
  42. ^ Michael, Alram (1 February 2021). Sasanian Iran in the Context of Late Antiquity: The Bahari Lecture Series at the University of Oxford. BRILL. p. 18. ISBN 978-90-04-46066-9.
  43. ^ 稲葉穣, Inaba Minoru (2015). "From Caojuzha to Ghazna/Ghaznīn: Early Medieval Chinese and Muslim Descriptions of Eastern Afghanistan". Journal of Asian History. 49 (1–2): 99–100. doi:10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097. ISSN 0021-910X. JSTOR 10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097.
  44. ^ Balogh, Dániel (12 March 2020). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Barkhuis. p. 105. ISBN 978-94-93194-01-4.
  45. ^ Original Chinese in Cefu Yuangui, book 0964 冊府元龜 (四庫全書本)/卷0964 "九月遣使冊葛達羅支頡利發誓屈爾為謝䫻國王葛達羅支特勒為𦋺賔國王", simplified Chinese "九月遣使册葛达罗支颉利发誓屈尔为谢䫻国王葛达罗支特勒为𦋺賔国王", "In September [720 CE] ambassadors recorded that Gedalouzhi Xielifa Shiquer was enthroned as king of Zabulistan, Gedaluozhi Tele was enthroned as king of Jibin." see Inaba, Minoru (2010). From Kesar the Kābulšāh and Central Asia, in "Coins, Art and Chronology II The First Millennium C.E. in the Indo-Iranian Borderland". Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. p. 452. ISBN 978-3700168850. also " 開元八年,天子冊葛達羅支頡利發誓屈爾為王。至天寶中數朝獻。" "In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), the Emperor approved the enthronement of Gedalouzhi Xielifa Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756)." in 稲葉穣, Inaba Minoru (2015). "From Caojuzha to Ghazna/Ghaznīn: Early Medieval Chinese and Muslim Descriptions of Eastern Afghanistan". Journal of Asian History. 49 (1–2): 100. doi:10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097. ISSN 0021-910X. JSTOR 10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097.
  46. ^ Original Chinese: "谢䫻居吐火罗西南本曰漕矩吒或曰漕矩显庆时谓诃达罗支武后改今号东距罽賔东北帆延皆四百里南婆罗门西波斯北护时健其王居鹤悉那城地七千里亦治阿娑你城多郁金瞿草瀵泉灌田国中有突厥罽賔吐火罗种人𮦀居罽賔取其子弟持兵以御大食景云初遣使朝贡后遂臣罽賔开元八年天子册葛达罗支颉利发誓屈尔为王至天宝中数朝献" in "唐书 (四库全书本)/卷221下 - 维基文库,自由的图书馆". zh.wikisource.org (in Simplified Chinese)., also: 稲葉穣, Inaba Minoru (2015). "From Caojuzha to Ghazna/Ghaznīn: Early Medieval Chinese and Muslim Descriptions of Eastern Afghanistan". Journal of Asian History. 49 (1–2): 99–100. doi:10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097. ISSN 0021-910X. JSTOR 10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0097.
  47. ^ a b Alram, Michael (1 February 2021). "The numismatic legacy of the Sasanians in the East", in Sasanian Iran in the Context of Late Antiquity: The Bahari Lecture Series at the University of Oxford. BRILL. p. 16. ISBN 978-90-04-46066-9.
  48. ^ Jain, Sandhya (1 January 2011). THE INDIA THEY SAW (VOL-1). Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-8430-106-9.
  49. ^ Original Chinese: 又從此罽賓國西行至七日謝䫻國。彼自呼云社護羅薩他那。土人是胡。王及兵馬。即是突厥。其王即是罽賓王姪兒。自把部落兵馬住此於國。不屬餘國。亦不屬阿叔。此王及首領。雖是突厥。極敬三寶。足寺足僧。行大乘法。有一大突厥首領。名娑鐸幹。每年一迴。設金銀無數。多於彼王。衣著人風。土地所出。與罽賓王相似。言音各別。 in "遊方記抄 第1卷 CBETA 漢文大藏經". tripitaka.cbeta.org.
  50. ^ Verardi, Giovanni; Paparatti, Elio (2005). "From Early to Late Tapa Sardār: A Tentative Chronology". East and West. 55 (1/4): 436–437. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29757657.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g Verardi, Giovanni; Paparatti, Elio (2005). "From Early to Late Tapa Sardār: A Tentative Chronology". East and West. 55 (1/4): 438–442. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29757657.
  52. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (e). ISBN 0226742210.
  53. ^ Al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, p. 479; al-Tabari, v. 30: p. 143
  54. ^ For example, joining Rafi' ibn Layth's rebellion and reneging on tribute agreements: al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, p. 528; al-Baladhuri, pp. 203-04
  55. ^ Kuwayama, Shoshin (1999). "Historical Notes on Kapisi and Kabul in the Sixth-Eighth Centuries" (PDF). ZINBUN. 34: 44.
  56. ^ Gordon, Mathew S. and al. (2018). The Works Of Ibn Wāḍiḥ Al Yaʿqūbī. Brill. pp. 1138–1139, note 2959. ISBN 9789004364165.
  57. ^ Rahman, A. (2002). "New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis" (PDF). Ancient Pakistan: 41.
  58. ^ "The Buddhist site of Tapa Sardar". ghazni.bradypus.net. Archives of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan.
  59. ^ a b c d e Rehman 1976.
  60. ^ Alram, Michael (1 February 2021). "The Numismatic legacy of the Sasanians in the East" in Sasanian Iran in the Context of Late Antiquity: The Bahari Lecture Series at the University of Oxford. BRILL. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-90-04-46066-9.
  61. ^ Bosworth 1975, p. 110.
  62. ^ Pandjhir, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. VIII, 258.
  63. ^ "One of the most important aspects of early Saffarids policy of significance for the spread of Islam in Afghanistan and on the borders of India long after their empire had collapsed was that of expansion into east Afghanistan. The early Arab governors of Sistan had at times penetrated as far as Ghazna and Kabul, 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 the Turk-Shahs of the Turk Shahi 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 the Buddhist Gandhara civilization." in Bosworth 1975.
  64. ^ Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. BRILL. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8.
  65. ^ a b For panorama images of the site see: "The Buddhist site of Tapa Sardar". ghazni.bradypus.net. Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan.
  66. ^ Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. BRILL. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8.
  67. ^ a b c d Afridi, Gulman sher. "Etymology of Zhunbil and Identity of the Rulers of Kabul and Zabul in Seventh -Ninth Centuries C.E". Journal of Asian Civilisation.

Sources

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Notes

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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".