Oriental Studies in Afghanistan

Abstract

IN THE PAST western orientalists have been inclined to regard their eastern colleagues with a good deal of scepticism, in many cases with justification. Orientals, in studying their own culture and history, have often been prejudiced with nationalistic or racial bias. In the last decade, however, many Indian, Iranian, Turkish, and Arab scholars have made important contributions to Oriental Studies. In Afghanistan a start has also been made with promise of development in the future. ilence it behooves western orientalists to keep in touch with activities in the eastern centers. The French archaeological missions in Afghanistan gave the first stimulus to the people to take an interest in the past of their country. Previous to the first world war there had been, of course, individuals who had promoted the study of Afghan history, language, and literature, but there was not an organized group which concerned itself in a systematic manner with the work of these individuals. It was in 1922 that A. Foucher made a contract with the Afghan government, which was to assure the French a privileged position in the excavation of sites in Afghanistan for a period of thirty years. The work of the Delegation Frangaise en Afghanistan in its first decade has been well summarized by its chief, M. J. ilackin.' From 1933 to 1943 summaries have appeared in the Almanach de Kaboul, the first issue of which appeared in 1933.2 During this period archaeological work was mainly concentrated in Begrdm (ancient Kapisa), to the north of Kabul, and Seistan, with minor sites in the vicinity of Kabul.3 The discoveries of the French missions necessitated the establishment of a museum, which was accomplished with the assistance of French specialists. At the present time the Kabul museum is a stone building of two floors located in Dar al-Funfin, the site of the new city of Kabul. The museum is divided into twenty or more rooms, each of which contains objects found in a certain site. It is ethnographical as well as archaeological. The most interesting rooms are those of Bamiyan, iladda, and Begrdm. In the Bdmiyan room are wall paintings similar to those brought back from Chinese Turkestan, and deposited in the Central Asian Antiquities Museum in New Delhi. There are also Sanskrit and Persian fragments found in the caves in the vicinity of BAmiydn.4 In the iladda room one finds a large number of figurines and heads of stucco and stone. While Buddha heads predominate, a surprising number reveal personal characteristics of the subject after whom the head was modelled. Several with Mongoloid features, and others wearing PPhrygian hats, strike the eye.5 The hall of Begrdm is the most impressive in the museum, for here are found Greek figurines and plaques, placed beside pure Indian carved ivories, and colored pieces of Chinese silk. The importance of Begrdm as a meeting point of Classical, Indian, and Far Eastern cultures is here strikingly presented. Only when one has seen the exquisite workmanship of the Indian ivories, and the fine Greek style of the bronze figurines of Zeus and other classical subjects, can he appreciate the importance of Afghanistan to the history of art. The collection of coins, especially Graeco-Bactrian, Kushan, and local dynasties, is quite large, as well as the manuscript collection. Among the latter is a rare Persian translation of Jaihanl's Ashkdl al-iAlam (Forms of the World), or Masdlik-i-Manfdlik (Routes of the Countries). It has been described in some detail. The founding of a museum at Kabul stimulated the provincial centers to imitate the capital. At Mazdr-i-Sharlf, in Afghan Turkestan, a small museum has a large collection of unclassified coins, 1 Hackin, J., L'Oeuvre de la Delegation Archgologique Franvaise en Afghanistan (1922-1932), Tokyo, Maison Franco-Japonaise, 1933. 2 Cf. Hackin, J., Les Fouilles de BegrAm 1939 (In French and Persian), Almanach de Kaboul 1318 (19391940), 1-10. Hackin, New Excavations in Afghanistan (In Persian), Almanach de Kaboul 1316 (1937-1938), 211-228. s Buddhist monastery at the Khair Khane Pass, Marinjan tepe, etc. 4 Levi, S., Note sur des manuscrits sanscrits provenant de Bamiyan et Gilgir, JA, Janvier 1932. 6 Cf. note 1. 6Arydn.&, Kabul 1321 (1943), nos. 2, 4, 5.