Naqsh-e Rustam
It lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab, with a further group of Sassanid reliefs. The oldest relief at Naqsh-e Rustam dates back to c.1000 BC, though it is severely damaged, it depicts a faint image of a man with unusual head-gear, and is thought to be Elamite in origin. The depiction is part of a mural, most of which was removed at the command of Bahram II. The man with the unusual cap gives the site its name, Naqsh-e Rustam, four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. The tombs are known as the Persian crosses, after the shape of the facades of the tombs. The entrance to each tomb is at the center of cross, which opens onto to a small chamber. The horizontal beam of each of the facades is believed to be a replica of a Persepolitan entrance. One of the tombs is explicitly identified, by an accompanying inscription, the other three tombs are believed to be those of Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II respectively.
The order of the tombs in Naqsh-e Rustam follows, Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I, Xerxes I. A fifth unfinished one might be that of Artaxerxes III, who reigned at the longest two years, but is likely that of Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid Dynasts. The tombs were looted following the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great, Kaba-ye Zartosht is a 5th century BCE Achaemenid square tower. The structure is a copy of a building at Pasargadae. It was built either by Darius I when he moved to Persepolis, the building at Pasargadae is a few decades older. The wall surrounding the dates to Sassanid times. Several theories exist regarding the purpose of the Kaba-ye Zartosht structure, seven over-lifesized rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rustam depict monarchs of the Sassanid period. The investiture relief of Ardashir I, The founder of the Sassanid Empire is seen being handed the ring of kingship by Ohrmazd. The triumph of Shapur I, This is the most famous of the Sassanid rock reliefs, behind the king stands Kirtir, the mūbadān mūbad, the most powerful of the Zoroastrian Magi during the history of Iran.
A more elaborate version of this relief is at Bishapur
Carus
Carus was Roman Emperor from 282 to 283, and was 60 at ascension. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success and he brought stability in the empire and died in 283 aged 61. During his campaign against the Sassanid Empire, he sacked their capital Ctesiphon and he was succeeded by his sons Carinus and Numerian, creating a dynasty which, though short-lived, granted further stability to a resurgent empire. Carus, whose name before the accession may have been Marcus Numerius Carus, was born at Narbo in Gaul but was educated in Rome. He was a senator and filled various civil and military posts before being appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard by the emperor Probus in 282, after the murder of Probus at Sirmium, Carus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. Although Carus severely avenged the death of Probus, he was suspected as an accessory to the deed and he does not seem to have returned to Rome after his accession, contenting himself with an announcement to the Senate.
The Sassanid King Bahram II, limited by internal opposition and his troops occupied with a campaign in modern-day Afghanistan, the victories of Carus avenged all the previous defeats suffered by the Romans against the Sassanids, and he received the title of Persicus Maximus. Carus hopes of further conquest were cut short by his death and his death was variously attributed to disease, the effects of lightning, or a wound received in the campaign against the Persians. The fact that he was leading a campaign, and his son Numerian succeeded him without opposition. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I, AD260-395, Cambridge University Press,1971 Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge,2001 Canduci, Triumph & Tragedy, The Rise and Fall of Romes Immortal Emperors, Pier 9, ISBN 978-1-74196-598-8 Gibbon. Edward Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Hugh
Refuge (Buddhism)
Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels or Triple Gem. The Three Jewels are, the Buddha, the Dharma, the teachings, Refuge is common to all major schools of Buddhism. Pali texts employ the Brahmanical motif of the refuge, found in Rig Veda 9.97.47, Rig Veda 6.46.9. Faith is an important teaching element in both Theravada and Mahayana traditions, in contrast to perceived Western notions of faith, faith in Buddhism arises from accumulated experience and reasoning. In the Kalama Sutra, the Buddha explicitly argues against simply following authority or tradition, there remains value for a degree of trusting confidence and belief in Buddhism, primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvation or enlightenment. Faith in Buddhism centres on belief in the Three Jewels, for someone who wishes to study and practice Buddhism, the five ethical precepts encouraged are to voluntarily undertake the practice to, refrain from killing. Note, The precepts may be listed in order of the gravity of harmful actions guarded against, improper sexual conduct can roughly mean hurtful or harmful sexual conduct.
Refrain from sleeping on high and luxurious beddings Sanskrit version, बुद्धं शरणं गच्छामि। धर्मं शरणं गच्छामि। संघं शरणं गच्छामि। Buddhaṃ śaraṇaṃ gacchāmi, I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. Pāli version, बुद्धं सरणं गच्छामि। दम्मं सरणं गच्छामि। सङ्घं सरणं गच्छामि। Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi, khmer characters, ទុតិយម្បិ ពុទ្ធំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ។ ទុតិយម្បិ ធម្មំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ។ ទុតិយម្បិ សង្ឃំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ។ For the second time. Khmer characters, តតិយម្បិ ពុទ្ធំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ។ តតិយម្បិ ធម្មំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ។ តតិយម្បិ សង្ឃំ សរណំ គច្ឆាមិ ៕ For the third time, the Outer form is the Triple Gem, the Inner is the Three Roots and the Secret form is the Three Bodies or trikaya of a Buddha. These alternative refuge formulations are employed by those undertaking Deity Yoga, happiness is temporary, lifetimes are impermanent and ultimately refuge is taken until reaching unsurpassed awakening. Ceremony for Taking Refuge and Precepts by Ven, thubten Chodron A Buddhist View on Refuge Refuge, A Safe and Meaningful Direction in Life by Dr
Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom
They were in turn displaced in 410 by the invasions of the Huna people. They were able to re-establish some authority after the Sassanids destroyed the Hephthalites in 565, thus the Kushans lost their western territory to the rule of Sassanid nobles named Kushanshahs or Kings of the Kushans. Around 325, Shapur II was directly in charge of the part of the territory. The Hephthalites dominated the area until they were defeated in 565 AD by an alliance between the Gokturks and Sassanids, and some Indo-Sassanid authority was re-established, the Kushano-Hephthalites were able to set up rival states in Kapisa and Kabul. The 2nd Indo-Sassanid period ended with the collapse of Sassanids to the Rashidun Caliphate in the mid 7th century, sind remained independent until the Arab invasions of India in the early 8th century. The Kushano-Hephthalites or Turkshahis were replaced by the Shahi in the mid 8th century, the prophet Mani, founder of Manichaeism, followed the Sassanids expansion to the east, which exposed him to the thriving Buddhist culture of Gandhara.
He is said to have visited Bamiyan, where several religious painting are attributed to him and he is related to have sailed to the Indus valley area of Pakistan in 240 or 241, and to have converted a Buddhist King, the Turan Shah of India. On that occasion, various Buddhist influences seem to have permeated Manichaeism, the Indo-Sassanids traded goods such as silverware and textiles depicting the Sassanid emperors engaged in hunting or administering justice. The example of Sassanid art was influential on Kushan art, the Indo-Sassanids created an extensive coinage with legend in Brahmi, Pahlavi or Bactrian, sometimes inspired from Kushan coinage, and sometimes more clearly Sassanid. The obverse of the coin depicts the ruler with elaborate headdress
Anahita
Aredvi Sura Anahita is Ardwisur Anahid or Nahid in Middle- and Modern Persian, Anahit or Anaheed in Armenian. The Greek and Roman historians of classical antiquity refer to her either as Anaïtis or identified her with one of the divinities from their own pantheons,270 Anahita, a silicaceous S-type asteroid is named after her. Only Arədevī is specific to the divinity and it might have been derived from Arya devi The words sūra and anāhīta are generic Avestan language adjectives, and respectively mean mighty and pure. Both adjectives appear as epithets of other divinities or divine concepts such as Haoma, both adjectives are attested in Vedic Sanskrit. In its old Iranian form *Harahvatī, her name was given to the region, rich in rivers and it might have been derived from the Goddess Sarasvati. In the Persian texts of the Sassanid and eras, Arədvī Sūra Anāhīta appears as Ardwisur Anāhīd, the evidence suggest a western Iranian origin of Anāhīta. She shares characteristics with Mat Zemlya in Slavic mythology and it was moreover the association with the planet Venus, it seems, which led Herodotus to record that the learnt to sacrifice to the heavenly goddess from the Assyrians and Arabians.
Ishtar apparently gave Aredvi Sura Anahita the epithet Banu, the Lady and it is completely unknown in the texts of the Avesta, but evident in Sassanid-era middle Persian inscriptions and in a middle Persian Zend translation of Yasna 68.13. Also in Zoroastrian texts from the post-conquest epoch, the divinity is referred to as Anahid the Lady, Ardwisur the Lady, according to Boyce, it is probable that there was once a Perso–Elamite divinity by the name of *Anahiti. It is likely that it was this divinity that was an analogue of Ishtar, and that it is this divinity with which Aredvi Sura Anahita was conflated. The cosmological qualities of the river are alluded to in Yasht 5, but properly developed only in the Bundahishn. In both texts, Aredvi Sura Anahita is not only a divinity, but the source of the world river and the world river itself. This source is at the top of the world mountain Hara Berezaiti, High Hara, around which the sky revolves and that is at the center of Airyanem Vaejah, the first of the lands created by Mazda.
The water and clear, flows through a hundred thousand golden channels towards Mount Hugar, on the summit of that mountain is Lake Urvis, the Turmoil, into which the waters flow, becoming quite purified and exiting through another golden channel. Another portion runs down to Vourukasha, the sea upon which the earth rests. In yet other chapters, the text equates the two, as in Ardwisur who is Anahid, the father and mother of the Waters and this legend of the river that descends from Mount Hara appears to have remained a part of living observance for many generations. A Greek inscription from Roman times found in Asia Minor reads the great goddess Anaïtis of high Hara, on Greek coins of the imperial epoch, she is spoken of as Anaïtis of the sacred water. Aredvi Sura Anahita is principally addressed in Yasht 5, known as the Aban Yasht, Yasna 65 is the third of the hymns recited at the Ab-Zohr, the offering to the waters that accompanies the culminating rites of the Yasna service
Bahram I
Bahram I was the fourth Sasanian emperor of the third Iranian Empire. He was the eldest son of Shapur I and succeeded his brother Hormizd I, Bahram I was known as a benevolent and worthy king. Bahram I was the son of Shapur I and he had 3 brothers, who were named Hormizd I, and Shapur Mishanshah. The theophoric name Bahram comes from middle Persian Varahrän, according to a Pahlavi inscription, Bahram I was the son of Shapur I. The earliest reference to Bahram I occurs in the monument of Bahrams grandfather Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rajab. There, the king appears as a smaller figure between Ardeshir and Ahura Mazda, and Bahram is seen bowing before the divinity after whom he is named. Similar iconography, such as the motifs in the seals and crown of Bahram. He was succeeded by his son who bore the name and is known to history as Bahram II. Under the guidance of Kartir, Bahram I had the prophet Mani, Mani died in his cell by unknown cause. On orders of Bahram I, the death was followed by the persecution of his disciples.
Manichaeism was relatively well established by that time, and was supported by numerous priests under a hierarchy of leaders that including twelve apostles. Nearly all of them were handed over to the Zoroastrian clergy, Bahram I did not have good relations with Rome. Zenobia, the wife of Odenathus had established herself the regent of Palmyra in the name of Odenathus minor son, Odenathus had expanded his little kingdom to such a large extent that it now arouse the jealousy of the Roman Emperor. Hence despite the fact that the dealings between Rome and Palmyra were friendly, the Roman Emperor Aurelian still commissioned a force to capture Palmyra in the year 273, Zenobia appealed to Bahram for help, who provided her with an armed contingent. Despite this assistance, Zenobia lost the battle and was forced to flee and she once again appealed to Bahram I for asylum but was overtaken and captured before she could cross into Sassanid-controlled territory. Bahram I appealed to the Roman Emperor for peace and dispatched envoys to Rome, Aurelian accepted Bahram Is gifts and the terms of peace offered.
The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, ch. V. Shapur Shahbazi, A. SASANIAN DYNASTY
Nandi (bull)
Nandi is the name of the gate- guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull which serves as the mount to the god Shiva. The word nandi has come from Tamil root word Nandhu means to grow to flourish or to appear which was used to indicate growing fluorished white bulls as well as divine bull nandi. The Sanskrit word nandi (Sanskrit, नन्दि has the meaning of happy and satisfaction, almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. However, it is documented that the application of the name Nandi to the bull is infact a development of recent syncretism of different regional beliefs within Saivism. The oldest Saivite texts in Sanskrit and other Indian languages, the worship of Shiva and Nandi can be trace to even Indus Valley Civilization time period. Nandi is described as the son of the sage Shilada, Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon — a child with immortality towards Lord Shiva and got Nandi as his son.
It is said that Nandi was born from a Yajna performed by the Shilada, Nandi grew as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and he did penance to become the gate-keeper of the Lord Shiva as well as his mount. Nandi got the knowledge of Agamic and Tantric wisdom taught by Lord Shiva from goddess Parvati. These eight disciples are directed to eight directions of the world by Nandinatha to spread the wisdom he taught them, there are so many other puranic tales are available about nandi. One describes his conflict with Ravana, the anti-hero of Ramayana. andi who cursed Ravana that his kingdom would be burnt by a monkey, and Hanuman burnt Lanka when he went in search of Sita, who was kept prisoner by Ravana in Ashok Vatika. Tamil Thiruvilaiyadal puranam mentions another story in which nandi ] as a whale and it tells that Parvati lost her concentration while Shiva was explaining the meaning of Vedas to her. Parvati incarnated as a fisherwoman for the atone, to unite his master and his beloved wife, Nandi took the form of a whale and started to trouble the people.
Fisherwoman Parvatis father told that anyone who killed the whale will marry his daughter, Lord Shiva took the form of a fisherman, killed the whale and got Parvati in her previous form. Agamas describe him in a form with the head of bull and four hands with antelope, mace. In his mount form, nandi is depicted as a bull in all Shiva temples. This nandi form has been even in Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia. The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice, the seated Nandi towards sanctum in Siva temples, represents an individual ] and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Parameshwara
Pahlavi scripts
Pahlavi or Pahlevi denotes a particular and exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are the use of a specific Aramaic-derived script, the Pahlavi script, Pahlavi compositions have been found for the dialects/ethnolects of Parthia, Sogdiana and Khotan. Independent of the variant for which the Pahlavi system was used, Pahlavi is an admixture of written Imperial Aramaic, from which Pahlavi derives its script and some of its vocabulary. Spoken Middle Iranian, from which Pahlavi derives its terminations, symbol rules, Pahlavi may thus be defined as a system of writing applied to a specific language group, but with critical features alien to that language group. It has the characteristics of a language, but is not one. It is a written system, but much Pahlavi literature remains essentially an oral literature committed to writing. If this etymology is correct, Parthav presumably became pahlaw through a semivowel glide rt change to l, the term has been traced back further to Avestan pərəthu- broad, evident in Sanskrit pŗthvi- earth and parthivi of the earth.
Common to all Indo-Iranian languages is a connotation of mighty, the earliest attested use of Pahlavi dates to the reign of Arsaces I of Parthia in early Parthian coins with Pahlavi scripts. There are several Pahlavi texts written during the reign of Mithridates I, such fragments, as the rock inscriptions of Sassanid kings, which are datable to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, do not, qualify as a significant literary corpus. It is in an archaic script than Book Pahlavi. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Pahlavi script was replaced by the Arabic script, except in Zoroastrian sacred literature, the replacement of the Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khurasan. In the present-day, Pahlavi is frequently identified with the dialect of south-west Iran and properly called Pārsi. This practice can be dated to the immediately following the Islamic conquest. Tables showing the letters and their names or pronunciations are available on line, the Pahlavi script is one of the two essential characteristics of the Pahlavi system.
Its origin and development occurred independently of the various Middle Iranian languages for which it was used, the Pahlavi script is derived from the Aramaic script as it was used under the Achaemenids, with modifications to support the phonology of the Iranian languages. It is essentially a typical abjad, where, in general, only vowels are marked with matres lectionis. In addition to this, during much of its history, certain words continued to be spelt with postvocalic ⟨s⟩ and ⟨t⟩ even after the consonants had been debuccalized to ⟨h⟩ in the living language. The Pahlavi script consisted of two widely used forms, Inscriptional Pahlavi and Book Pahlavi, a third form, Psalter Pahlavi, is not widely attested
Bahram II
Bahram II was the fifth Sasanian King of Persia in 274–293. He was the son of Bahram I, Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death. The chief of the Magi, interposed, having effectually alarmed the king, brought him to acknowledge his wrong, Bahram II was the oldest son of Bahram I. During his youth, he grew up in Khuzistan, a province inhabited by many Assyrian Christians and he seems to have learned the doctrine of Christianity and some of the Syriac language of Mesopotamia. During the late reign of his father, Bahram had not reached adulthood yet, when his father died in 276, he succeeded the latter, being aided in the affairs of his empire by his mentor Kartir. Bahram II was shortly married to Shapurdukhtak, the daughter of Shapur Mishanshah, in 282, while Persia was in civil war, the Roman Emperor Carus crossed the Euphrates along with his troops and invaded Mesopotamia wreaking havoc.
Bahram II was not able to offer any resistance as his troops were occupied fighting against his cousin Hormizd in Sakastan, Mesopotamia was ravaged and the city of Ctesiphon was occupied by the Roman troops. However, as an oracle had predicted earlier, the death of Carus cut short his career as well as the Roman advance, following Caruss death, the Romans retreated, Bahram retook Mesopotamia. In 283 Bahram II defeated his brother in Sakastan, and had the latter executed and replaced with his own son Bahram III as the governor of Sakastan and he had rock reliefs cut at Bishapur and Naqsh-e Rustam to commemorate his victory. In 286, Diocletian resumed hostilities with Persia, Armenia was separated after a couple of battles and Tiridates declared himself independent. Tiridates achieved extraordinary success during this period and he defeated two Persian armies in the open field, drove out the garrisons which held the more important of the fortified towns, and became undisputed master of Armenia.
He even crossed the border which separated Armenia from Persia, Bahram II died soon afterwards in an extremely dejected state. He was succeeded by his son Bahram III, of Bahram IIs reign some theological inscriptions exist. Bahram II, like his father, treated Kartir with much respect, saw him as a mentor and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. The Civilizations of the Ancient Near East Volume 7 by George Rawlinson William Leadbetter, Carus, DIR
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Nichiren Buddhism, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening.
Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia.
He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
Kabul
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Mauryans, Kabul Shahis, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed.
A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, spelled Cabool, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism.
The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
