AFGHANISTAN

Influences that gave rise to a particular Architectural Style

Afghanistan contains striking architectural remnants of all ages, including
Greek and Buddhist stupas (shrines or reliquaries)
In August 2010, it was announced that in Mes Aynak of the Logar Province in Afghanistan,
which is south of Kabul, about 42 Buddhist relics were discovered. According to archeologists,
some of these objects date back to the 2nd century. In Ghazni, several Buddhist sites have been
discovered. Two Buddhist temples (Stupas), Buddha statues, frescoes, silver and gold coins and
precious beads are among the objects in Logar.
There's a temple, stupas, beautiful halls, large and small statues, two with seven and nine meters
in height, colorful frescoes decorated with gold and some coins... Some of the relics are from the
fifth century (AD). We have found signs that before Christ or prehistory, there may be items that
go back to the era. To support us with more excavations, we need foreign assistance to retain
these and their expertise.

Mes Aynak stupa

Mes Aynak, also known as Mis Ainak or Mis-e-Ainak, is a site located 40 km (25 mi) southeast
of Kabul, Afghanistan, in a barren Logar Province area. Mes Aynak has the largest copper
deposit in Afghanistan, as well as the ruins of an ancient village with over 400 Buddha statues,
stupas and a monastery complex of 40 ha (100 acres). Archeologists are only beginning to find
artifacts below the Buddhist level, including an ancient copper smelter, from an older 5,000-
year-old Bronze Age site.
The decoration of the stupa provides an interesting case of Greco-Buddhist art,
combining Hellenistic and Indian artistic elements. The reconstitution consists of several parts,
the decorated stupa base, the canopy, and various decorative elements.

The Chakhil-i-Ghoundi Stupa, A small calcareous stupa from the Chakhil-i-Ghoundi monastery,
also known by the code as the "Stupa C1," is found in the archeological site of Hada in Eastern
Afghanistan. Most of the stupa remains was collected by Jules Barthoux of the DAFA's
archeological mission in the year 1928 and preserved in cooperation with the Tokyo Museum.
They are now on display at the Guimet Museum in Paris. It is usually dated to the CE of the
second and third centuries.
Monasteries
Tepe Narenj, is also an archeological site for the ruins of a Buddhist monastery near Kabul,
Afghanistan, from the 5th or 6th century.

In the Chinese novel Journey to the West, first published in the 1590s, the monastery is first
mentioned. It is mentioned in the novel that during the 7th century, the Buddhist monk Tang
Sanzang visited the monastery as he returned from India.
The Nava Vihāra There were two Buddhist monasteries in northern Afghanistan, near the
ancient city of Balkh. Historical accounts document it as thriving between the seventh and
eleventh centuries CE as an important center of Buddhism. It may have been built significantly
earlier in the second century CE, probably in or after the reign of Kushan emperor Kaniquelka.
As flourishing as an important center of Buddhism between the seventh and eleventh centuries
CE, historical accounts report it. It may have been founded significantly earlier in the second
century CE, possibly in or after Kani's reign.

Arches

The ancient city of Bust in southern Afghanistan on the east bank of the Helmand River was
settled as early as the seventh century B.C.E. and lived its golden age under the Ghaznavids, who
founded it as their winter capital in 976. After their capture of the city in 1149, the colossal arch
north of the citadel mount (Qal'a-i Bust) was designed by Ghurid rulers. Pope Arthur U.,
Schroeder Eric, and J.
The most prominent sites are Herat's and Mazar-esharif's greatest mosques, Jam's minarets on the
western central highlands, Qal'eh-ye's Great Ark (1000 years old), Zina's Cello (Forty Steps) and
stone inscriptions by the Mughal Emperor Babur in Kandahar, Bamian's Great Buddha (55
m/180 ft tall), Ghazny's Victory Towers and emperor Babur's tomb and great.

History of Culture of People

Afghanistan's civilization has existed for more than three centuries, dating at least 500 BCE to
the period of the Achaemenid Empire. In the official languages of the country, Dari and Pashto,
Afghanistan translates into "Land of the Afghans" or "Place of the Afghans." It is mostly a tribal
society that has its own subculture in different regions of the country.
Almost all Afghans observe Islamic customs, celebrate the same holidays, dress the same, eat the
same food, listen to the same music and, to some degree, are multi-lingual. The Pashtuns live
according to the Pashtun tradition by adopting Pashtunwali (meaning "the way of the Pashtuns")
in the southern and eastern areas, as well as in western Pakistan, which was traditionally part of
Afghanistan. Afghanistan's western, northern and central regions were influenced by the
neighboring cultures of Central Asia and Persia.

Architectural Features
The field has made significant contributions to the architecture of the world. UNESCO
recognized the role of Afghanistan by declaring the Bamiyan Valley and home to the famous
Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban as World Heritage Sites. Many examples of important
architectural achievements can be found in the provinces of Herat, Mazar-I-Sharif, Ghazni
Kandahar, and Firuzkoh.

Minaret of Jam
The Minaret Jam in Western Afghanistan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located near
the Hari River in a remote and almost inaccessible region of Shahrak District, Ghor Province.
The 65-meter (213 ft) or62-meter (203 ft) high minaret was constructed around 1190 entirely of
baked bricks and is renowned for its elaborate decoration of bricks, stucco and glazed tiles,
consisting of alternating bands of kufic and naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and Qur'an
verses. After 2002, under severe threat of erosion, the minaret has remained on the World
Heritage list in Danger and has not been actively protected.
Herat Citadel
The Citadel of Herat Often known as Alexander's Citadel and known locally as Qala
Iktyaruddin, it is situated in the middle of Herat in Afghanistan. This dates back to 330 BC when,
after the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander the Great and his troops landed in what is now
Afghanistan. Over the past 2,000 years, it has been used by many nations as a headquarters and
has been demolished and rebuilt several times over the decades.
Saved from demolition in the 1950s, this ancient citadel was excavated and restored by
UNESCO from 1976 to 1979. The citadel began to crumble from decades of wars and neglect,
but in recent years many international organizations agreed to restore it entirely.
Bamiyan Buddha
Bamyan's Buddhas are two colossal statues of Gautama Buddha from the 6th century carved into
the side of a cliff in the Bamyan Valley in central Afghanistan's Hazarajat region, 230 kilometers
(140 mi) northwest of Kabul at an elevation of 2,500 meters (8,200 ft). The statues were installed
in 507 CE (smaller) and 554 CE (larger), reflecting Gandhara's traditional blended theme. They
were 35 and 53 m (115 and 174 ft) high respectively.
On orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban dynamited and demolished the
sculptures in March 2001 after the Taliban government declared that they were idols. An
ambassador visiting the United States in the weeks that followed said they were destroyed in
protest of international aid reserved exclusively for statue repair while Afghanistan was suffering
famine, while the Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister said the destruction was merely about
practicing Islamic religious iconoclasm. The destruction of the Buddhas was strongly condemned
by international opinion.
Religious Structures

Great Mosque of Herat

This suburbanization and the construction of a new Friday mosque in Gawhar Shad's Musalla
marked the end of Masjid-i Jami's patronage of the monarchy. Jalal al-Din Firuzshah, one of
Shah Rukh bin Timur's most influential amirs (1405-1444), completed repairs between 1404 and
1446 (807–850 AH). Including numerous small mosques in the neighborhood for daily prayer,
many Islamic communities.
In addition to numerous small neighborhood mosques for daily prayer, many Islamic world
communities have a larger mosque, a Friday night congregational mosque with a sermon. The
Jama Masjid was not always Herat's largest mosque; there was a much larger complex in the
northern part of the city, the Gawharshad Mosque and Madressa, also founded by the Timurids.
Nevertheless, in 1885, British Indian Army officers dynamized these monumental monuments to
avoid their use as a fortress if a Russian army attempted to invade India.
Blue Mosque (Mazar-i-Sharif)
This is a landmark mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It remains a functioning mosque though
attracting large numbers of tourist tourists as well. It was built during the reign of Ahmed I
between 1609 and 1616. The Külliye includes the tomb of Ahmed, a madrasah and a hospice.
Hand-painted blue tiles decorate the interior walls of the mosque, and the mosque is bathed in
blue at night as the lights frame the five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes of
the mosque.[2] It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist spot.

Periods in Afghanistan
1921 The British are defeated in the Third British-Afghan War (1919-21), beleaguered in the
wake of the First World War, and Afghanistan becomes an independent nation. Concerned that
Afghanistan has fallen behind the rest of the world, Amir Amanullah Khan is launching a
comprehensive socio-economic reform campaign.
1947 Britain leaves India, establishing India's overwhelmingly Hindu but secular state and
Pakistan's Islamic state. Pakistan's nation has a long border with Afghanistan, essentially
uncontrollable.

1973 In a military coup, Khan is overthrowing the last emperor, Mohammed Zahir Shah. Khan's
government, Afghanistan's People's Democratic Party, is coming to power. Khan abolishes the
monarchy and appoints the president himself. The Republic of Afghanistan has close relations
with the U.S.S.R.
1988 In September, Osama bin Laden and fifteen other Islamists form the al-Qaeda group, or
"the foundation," to continue their jihad or holy war against the Soviets and others who say they
are opposed to their goal of a pure Islam-ruled state. With their conviction that their combat is
directly attributable to the faltering war of the Soviet in Afghanistan, they claim victory in their
first campaign, but they also start to shift their focus to America, claiming that the remaining
superpower is the main obstacle to the establishment of a Islam-based government.

2006 Amid continuing fighting between Taliban and al-Qaida fighters and the Afghan
government forces, NATO expands its peacekeeping operation to the southern portion of the
country. After the forces take over from American-led troops, Taliban fighters launch a bloody
wave of suicide attacks and raids against the international troops.
2009 As a special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, President Barack Obama names Richard
Holbrooke. Mr. Obama announces a new Afghanistan war strategy that will send more military
and civilian instructors to the country, in addition to the 17,000 additional combat troops he had
previously ordered. In its war against terrorists, the plan also requires assistance to Pakistan.

2014 Following two rounds of voting, election fraud charges and a power-saving deal with major
rival Abdullah Abdullah, Ashraf Ghani becomes Afghanistan's president in September. NATO
officially ends its war mission in Afghanistan in December. NATO troops led by the U.S. still
need to train and advise Afghan forces.