The ancient region of Bactria lay across Northern Afghanistan, South-east Uzbekistan and South-west Tadjikistan, divided in two by the broad waters of the Amudarya. This volume concerns that part of Bactria that lay north of the river. These lands at the foot of the Hissar mountains, fed by major tributaries of the Amudarya, are sheltered and fertile, and attracted settlement since earliest times. They formed part of the Achaemenid Empire and so fell to Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, and event that had a critical impact on the cultural development of the region. The subsequent establishment of the Kushan Empire created a unique and heady blend of Indian, western and regional influences without parallel in the ancient world, and through this then spread the followers of the Buddhist faith, establishing monasteries and places of worship, further enriching the architectural, sculptural and artistic traditions of the region. Despite its remarkable archaeological heritage, physical and political realities gave acted to limit the dissemination of research on northern Bactria and its Buddhist legacy. Original reports, of which there are many, are mainly in Russian or Uzbek.

ISBN 13: 9789350980972

ISBN 10: 9350980975

Year: 2015

Pages etc.: 274p., (198)b&w figs., bib., ind., 25cm.

Binding: Hardbound

Subject(s): Fine Arts