Zabulistan
Encyclopedia
Zabulistan also spelled Zabolestan, is a historical region in the border area of today's Iran
and Afghanistan
.
Babur
records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni
is also known as Zabulistan The name possibly covered a larger area in the past, as evident by the existence of a province in Afghanistan called Zabul at the foot of the Hindukush, (along the border with Pakistan
). According to Persian mythology
, Zabulistan was the country of Iranian
hero Rostam
. In Shahnameh
, Zabulistan and Sistan
are used interchangeably.
In ancient times, Zabulistan was part of the region known as Arachosia
. Northern parts of the region were under control of the Medes
Empire before 550 BCE, after which the province fell to the Achaemenid Persians. Alexander the Great conquered Zabul during his conquest of Persia in the 320s BCE. The region later became part of the Seleucid Empire
, which traded it to the Mauryan Empire in 305 BCE as part of an alliance. The Sunga Dynasty overthrew the Mauryans in 185 BC, but shortly afterwards lost Zabul to the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
. Zabul became part of the break-away Indo-Greek Kingdom
in the mid 2nd century BCE.
Indo-Scythians
expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BCE, but lost the region to the Parthians and Indo-Parthians in the early 1st century CE. The Kushan Empire
soon expelled the Indo-Parthians and ruled Zabul until around 230 CE, when the Kushans were defeated by the Persian Sassanid Empire
and were replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Kushanshas
or Indo-Sassanids. In 420 CE the Kushanshas were driven out of Afghanistan by the Chionites, who established the Kidarite Kingdom. The Kidarites
were replaced in the 460s CE by the Hephthalites, who were defeated in 565 CE by a coalition of Persian and Turkish armies. Zabul became part of the surviving Shahi
Kingdoms of Kapisa, then Kabul
, before coming under attack from the Moslem Arabs.
Dynasty was replaced by the Hindu-Shahi
dynasty, which fell to the Ghaznavids in the early 11th century CE.
and Zabulistan during the Caliphate of Muawiyah (661-680). In 683 Kabul revolted and defeated the Muslim army, but two years later Zabul's army was routed by the Arabs.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
History of Zabulistan
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni
Ghazni Province
Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Babur records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni is also known as Zabulistan It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City...
is also known as Zabulistan The name possibly covered a larger area in the past, as evident by the existence of a province in Afghanistan called Zabul at the foot of the Hindukush, (along the border with Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
). According to Persian mythology
Persian mythology
Persian mythology are traditional tales and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Central Asia, they reflect the...
, Zabulistan was the country of Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
hero Rostam
Rostam
Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
. In Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
, Zabulistan and Sistan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
are used interchangeably.
In ancient times, Zabulistan was part of the region known as Arachosia
Arachosia
Arachosia is the Latinized form of the Greek name of an Achaemenid and Seleucid governorate in the eastern part of their respective empires, around modern-day southern Afghanistan. The Greek term "Arachosia" corresponds to the Iranian land of Harauti which was between Kandahar in Afghanistan and...
. Northern parts of the region were under control of the Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
Empire before 550 BCE, after which the province fell to the Achaemenid Persians. Alexander the Great conquered Zabul during his conquest of Persia in the 320s BCE. The region later became part of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, which traded it to the Mauryan Empire in 305 BCE as part of an alliance. The Sunga Dynasty overthrew the Mauryans in 185 BC, but shortly afterwards lost Zabul to the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC...
. Zabul became part of the break-away Indo-Greek Kingdom
Indo-Greek Kingdom
The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom covered various parts of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries BC, and was ruled by more than 30 Hellenistic kings, often in conflict with each other...
in the mid 2nd century BCE.
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BCE, but lost the region to the Parthians and Indo-Parthians in the early 1st century CE. The Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
soon expelled the Indo-Parthians and ruled Zabul until around 230 CE, when the Kushans were defeated by the Persian Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and were replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Kushanshas
Shahi
The Shahi , Sahi, also called Shahiya dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara , from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century...
or Indo-Sassanids. In 420 CE the Kushanshas were driven out of Afghanistan by the Chionites, who established the Kidarite Kingdom. The Kidarites
Kidarites
The Kidarite were a dynasty of the "Ki" clan, probably originating from the Uar people. They were part of the complex of tribes known collectively as Xionites or "Hunas"....
were replaced in the 460s CE by the Hephthalites, who were defeated in 565 CE by a coalition of Persian and Turkish armies. Zabul became part of the surviving Shahi
Shahi
The Shahi , Sahi, also called Shahiya dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara , from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century...
Kingdoms of Kapisa, then Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, before coming under attack from the Moslem Arabs.
Buddhist and Hindu Shahi
Around 870 CE the Buddhist ShahiShahi
The Shahi , Sahi, also called Shahiya dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara , from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century...
Dynasty was replaced by the Hindu-Shahi
Shahi
The Shahi , Sahi, also called Shahiya dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara , from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century...
dynasty, which fell to the Ghaznavids in the early 11th century CE.
Zunbils
Introduction of Islam
Arabs had been repelled at Sindh in 660, but they invaded KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and Zabulistan during the Caliphate of Muawiyah (661-680). In 683 Kabul revolted and defeated the Muslim army, but two years later Zabul's army was routed by the Arabs.
Sakawand a pilgrimage centre
Various scholars have recorded the importance of Sakawand as a major centre of Pagan pilgrimage.See also
- Zabul ProvinceZabul ProvinceZabul is a historic province of Afghanistan. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963, with Qalat being named the provincial capital. It should not be confused with the city Zabol, on the Iranian side of the border with Afghanistan.- Political and security situation...
- ZunbilsZunbilsZunbils were a dynasty in what is now eastern Afghanistan, related to their contemporaries, the Shahis.-History:-Saffarid and Zunbil Struggles:...
- Abu Ali LawikAbu Ali LawikAbu Ali Lawik or Anuk was the son of the last ruler of Zabul and also said to be a brother in law of the Hindu Shahi Ruler of the region , Kabul Shah ....
- ShahnamehShahnamehThe Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
- SāmSam-People:*Samuel , includes a list of people known as "Sam"*Samantha*Sām, a Persian folk hero, whose name means 'very dark'*Sam , the third son of Lehi and elder brother to the prophet Nephi-Animals:...
- ZalZalZāl , also transliterated Zaal, is a legendary Persian warrior from the old Persian "The Book of Kings/ The king of books" or Shahnameh.-Background:...
- RostamRostamRostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
- ZamindawarZamindawarZamindawar is a historical district of Afghanistan, situated on the right bank of the Helmand River to the northwest of Kandahar bordering the road which leads from Kandahar to Herat via Farah....