Global InformationBuddhas of Bamiyan information
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
Larger 55-metre (180 ft) "Western Buddha" Smaller 38-metre (125 ft) "Eastern Buddha" Pictures of the two Buddhas before they were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. Carbon dating determined that the Western Buddha was built around 591–644 CE and that the Eastern Buddha was built around 544–595 CE.[1][2] | |
| Location | Bamiyan, Afghanistan |
| Part of | Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamyan Valley |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi. |
| Reference | 208-001 |
| Inscription | 2003 (27th Session) |
| Endangered | 2003–present |
| Area | 105 ha |
| Buffer zone | 225.25 ha |
| Coordinates | 34°49′55″N 67°49′36″E / 34.8320°N 67.8267°E |
  Location of the Buddhas of Bamiyan within Afghanistan | |
The Buddhas of Bamiyan (Pashto: د باميانو بودايي پژۍ, Dari: تندیسهای بودا در بامیان) were two possibly 6th-century[3] monumental Buddhist statues in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan. Located 130 kilometres (81 mi) to the northwest of Kabul, at an elevation of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), carbon dating of the structural components of the Buddhas has determined that the smaller 38 m (125 ft) "Eastern Buddha" was built around 570 CE, and the larger 55 m (180 ft) "Western Buddha" was built around 618 CE, which would date both to the time when the Hephthalites ruled the region.[2][4][5] As a UNESCO World Heritage Site of historical Afghan Buddhism, it was a holy site for Buddhists on the Silk Road.[6] However, in March 2001, both statues were destroyed by the Taliban following an order from their leader Mullah Muhammad Omar.[7] A Taliban envoy, Sayed Rahmatullah Hashimi, explained that the Taliban decided to destroy ancient works in anger after a foreign delegation offered money to preserve them while a million Afghans were starving. "When your children are dying in front of you, you don't care about a piece of art," he said.[8] International and local opinion condemned the destruction of the Buddhas.[9]
The statues represented a later evolution of the classic blended style of Greco-Buddhist art at Gandhara.[10] The larger statue was named "Salsal" ("the light shines through the universe") and was referred as a male. The smaller statue is called "Shah Mama" ("Queen Mother") and is identified as a female figure.[11][12] Technically, both were reliefs: at the rear, they each merged into the cliff wall. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, the majority of which wore away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands, and folds of the robes; the larger one was painted carmine red, and the smaller one was painted multiple colours.[13] The lower parts of the statues' arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix, supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces consisted of huge wooden masks.[2]
Since the 2nd century CE, Bamiyan had been a Buddhist religious site on the Silk road under the Kushans, remaining so until the Islamic conquests of 770 CE, and finally coming under the Turkic Ghaznavid rule in 977 CE.[1] In 1221, Genghis Khan, invaded the Bamiyan Valley, wiping out most of its population but leaving the Bamiyan Buddhas undamaged.[14][15] Later in the 17th century, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb briefly ordered the use artillery to destroy the statues, causing some damage, though the Buddhas survived without any major harm.[16][17][18]
The Buddhas had been surrounded by numerous caves and surfaces decorated with paintings.[19] It is thought that these mostly dated from the 6th to 8th centuries CE and had come to an end with the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan.[19] The smaller works of art are considered as an artistic synthesis of Buddhist art and Gupta art from ancient India, with influences from the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, as well as the Tokhara Yabghus.[19]
- ^ a b Blänsdorf, Catharina; et al. (2009). "Dating of the Buddha Statues – AMS 14C Dating of Organic Materials". Monuments and Sites. 19: 231–236.
- ^ a b c Petzet, Michael, ed. (2009). The Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan. Safeguarding the remains (PDF). ICOMOS. pp. 18–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta (5 December 2006). "Afghans consider rebuilding Bamiyan Buddhas". International Herald Tribune/The New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ Eastern Buddha: 549–579 CE (1 σ range, 68.2% probability) 544–595 CE (2 σ range, 95.4% probability). Western Buddha: 605–633 CE (1 σ range, 68.2%) 591–644 CE (2 σ range, 95.4% probability). In Blänsdorf et al. (2009).
- ^ Nicholson, Oliver (19 April 2018). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press. p. 708. ISBN 978-0-19-256246-3.
The Bamiyan Buddhas dated from Hephthalite times
- ^ "Taliban make ancient Buddhas they destroyed into a tourist attraction". NBC News. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Bamiyan Valley – Afghanistan".
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/19/world/taliban-explains-buddha-demolition.html
- ^ Shah, Amir (3 March 2001). "Taliban destroy ancient Buddhist relics – International pleas ignored by Afghanistan's Islamic fundamentalist leaders". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011.
- ^ Morgan, Kenneth W (1956). The Path of the Buddha. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 43. ISBN 978-8120800304. Retrieved 2 June 2009 – via Google Books.
- ^ "booklet web E.indd" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Visit Bamiyan". Bamiyanculturalcentre.org. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta (6 December 2006). "From Ruins of Afghan Buddhas, a History Grows". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
- ^ "Bamiyan and Buddhism Afghanistan". Depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Remembering Bamiyan". Kashgar.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ Jain, Meenakshi (2019). Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History. Aryan Books International. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-7305-619-2.
- ^ "Bamiyan and Buddhism Afghanistan". Depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Remembering Bamiyan". Kashgar.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ a b c Higuchi, Takayasu; Barnes, Gina (1995). "Bamiyan: Buddhist Cave Temples in Afghanistan". World Archaeology. 27 (2): 299. doi:10.1080/00438243.1995.9980308. ISSN 0043-8243. JSTOR 125086.