Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan,[3] was a royal dynasty south of the
Hindu Kush in present southern
Afghanistan region. They were a dynasty of
Hephthalite origin.[4] They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD.[3][2] The Zunbil dynasty was founded by Rutbil (Turkic: Iltäbär), the elder brother of the
Turk Shahi ruler (either
Barha Tegin or
Tegin Shah), who ruled over
Hephthalite kingdom from his capital in
Kabul.[3][5][6][7][8][9] The Zunbils are described as having Turkish troops in their service by Arabic sources like Tarikh al-Tabari and Tarikh-i Sistan.[10] However the term "Turk" was used in an inaccurate and loose way.[4]
The faith of this community has not been researched as much. According to the interpretation of Chinese sources by Marquarts and de Groots in 1915, the king of Ts'ao is said to have worn a crown with a golden fish head and was related to the Sogdians. The Temple of the Zun was recognizable by a large fish skeleton on display; this would indicate a related merchantry deity.[11] In addition to that Marquarts states the Zunbils to have worshipped a
solar deity which might have been connected to Aditya (
Surya). However, according to
Shōshin Kuwayama there was a clear dichotomy between worshipers of the Hindu god Surya and followers of Zhun. This is exemplified by the conflict between Surya and Zhun followers, which led to the followers of Zhun migrating southwards towards
Zabulistan from Kapisa.[12][1] According to André Wink the god Zhun was primarily
Hindu, though parallels have also been noted with
pre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices in
Tibet and had Zoroastrian influence in its ritual.[13][14] Other scholars such as H. Schaeder and N. Sims-William have connected it with
Zurvan.[15]
Their territory included between what is now the city of
Zaranj in southwestern Afghanistan and
Kabulistan in the northeast, with
Zamindawar and
Ghazni serving as their capitals.[16] In the south their territory reached at times the cities of Rakhwad (
al-Rukhkhaj) and
Bost (near
Kandahar).[3]
The title Zunbil can be traced back to the
Middle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, 'Zun the Justice-giver'. The geographical name Zamindawar would also reflect this, from Middle Persian 'Zamin-i dātbar' (Land of the Justice-giver).[17]
During more than two centuries of their rule, the
Tokhara Yabghus, followed by the
Turk Shahis and the Zunbils were consistently an obstacle to the eastward expansion of Muslims forces.
Early Arab incursions in Zabulistan
Rashiduns
About 643-644 AD,
the Arabs raided Sistan for the first time, and then started to attack the Turkic territory from the southwest.[18]
In 653-4 AD, an army of around 6,000 Arabs was led by general
Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura of the
Rashidun Caliphate, and they arrived to the shrine of Zoon in Zamindawar. It is reported that Samura "broke off a hand of the idol and plucked out the rubies which were its eyes in order to persuade the
marzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness."[19] Samura explained to the marzbān: "my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good."[20]
Rutbil is first mentioned to have existed during his time, as his earliest mention in Arab sources dates to 666 CE.[23] Rutbil may have been the brother or nephew of Barha Tegin, and may have been appointed as the governor in
Zabulistan by Barha Tegin after he conquered the region from
Ghar-ilchi.[8][24][5]
Rutbil and the king of Kabul campaigned together against the Arabs after
Abdur Rahman ibn Samura was replaced as the governor of
Sistan.
Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi upon assuming governorship in 671 CE attacked Rutbil at
Bost, and drove him to
al-Rukhkhaj.[8] Rabi's successor
Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra continued the war upon being appointed in 673 CE, leading Rutbil to negotiate a peace treaty for both
Kabul and
Zabul, in which the governor of
Sistan acknowledged control of these territories by Rutbil and the King of Kabul.[8]
Establishment of the Zunbils (680 CE)
Around the time the first ruler of the Turk Shahis
Barha Tegin died, his dynasty split into two kingdoms. From 680 AD,
Tegin Shah became the king of the
Turk Shahis, and ruled the area from
Kabulistan to
Gandhara as well as Zabulistan.[22][5] His title was "Khorasan Tegin Shah" (meaning "Tegin, King of the East"), and he was known in Chinese sources as Wusan teqin sa.[5] His grand title probably refers to his resistance to the peril of the
Umayyad caliph from the west.[5]
In 680-683 AD, Rutbil split from his brother the Shahi of Kabul according to
al-Tabari, and established the Zunbil dynasty, paying temporary allegiance to Salm ibn Ziyad, the Arab governor of Sistan.[25][26] The area of Zabulistan came to be ruled by Rutbil, also spelled Zibil or Jibul (from Turkic: Iltäbär "Commander").[5][27]
The relationship between the two relatives was at times antagonistic, but they fought together against Arab incursions.[5] Rubtil issued coins derived from Sassanian prototypes, with a
Bactrian script legend on the obverse, a
Pahlavi script legend on the reverse, and a short
Brahmi script legend in the name of
Śrī Vākhudevaḥ ("His Highness the Majestic Lord"):
A coin of the Rutbils, minted in Zabulistan circa 720 AD, closely imitating the coinage of Sasanian ruler
Khosrau II ().
Anahita in flames on the reverse.[3]
Obverse: yypwlh. wtyp’ / GDH / ’pzwt PWN ŠMY yzt’ yypwl bgyh. wtyp’ wh. m’n’n mlt’n MLK’
King Jibul, [his] glory increased!
In the name of god, Jibul, the Majestic Lord [is] King of brave men
Reverse: Śrī Vākhudevaḥ / pncdh. z’wlst’n / ’pl plm’n yzd’n
His Highness the Majestic Lord / [minted in his] 15th [regnal year in] Zavulistan, by the order of the gods.
According to Anthony McNicoll, "the Zunbils ruled in the
Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD".[28] Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-day
Helmand Province of
Afghanistan. The shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south of
Musa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that the Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese traveler
Xuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this exact house of worship.[29]
Umayyad Caliphate offensives (698-700 CE)
In 698
Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra, governor of
Sijistan and a military commander of the
Umayyad Caliphate, led an 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils. He was defeated and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade the territory of the Zunbils again.[30]
About 700,
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed
Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of
Zabulistan.[31] During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbils, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion.[31]
The Arabs regularly claimed nominal overlordship over the Zunbils, and in 711
Qutayba ibn Muslim managed to force them to pay tribute.[32] In 725–726,
Yazid ibn al-Ghurayf, governor of
Sistan failed to do so.[32] The Arabs would not be able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils again until 769 CE, when
Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near
Ghazni.[32]
Khuras and his son Alkhis, lords of Ghazni (714-715 CE)
Type of the coins excavated in Tang-i Safedak (Göbl, Hunnen Em. 243), next to the inscription of
Alkhis.
Bactrian script legend σηρο "Sero" (contemporary of
Sahi Tigin). Circa late 7th-early 8th century CE.[33][34]
The Bactrian inscription of Tang-i Safedak, dated to around 714/15 CE, mentions the dedication of a stupa by
Alkhis, son of Khuras, lord of "Gazan", thought to be
Ghazni. Alkhis is considered as the patron of the second period of florescence of the Buddhist sanctuary of
Tapa Sardar, characterized in this period by the creation of hybrid Sinicized-Indian Buddhist art.[35][36]
Tang-i Safedak inscription
"(It was) the year 492, the month Sbol, when I, Alkhis son of Khuras, lord of Gazan, established this stupa (as) a (pious) foundation(?) in Ragzamagan(?). (At that time) when there was a Turkish ruler and an Arab ruler, the deyadharma (meritorious gifts) made by me were kept . . . , and afterwards I made this Zinaiaka-deyadharma in the willing belief which I had towards the huddha-sastra and in great faith (Sraddha) and in ... Whatever merit (punya ) may arise hereby, now and (in) the future, may I, Alkhis, and my parents and wife and brothers (and) sons and (other) relatives too-may each (and) every one (of us) attain (his) own desire. Homage to the buddhas."
The city of
Ghazni was the capital of the Zunbils.
According to Chinese sources, in particular the chronicles of the Cefu Yuangui, the Turks in Kabul were vassals of the Yabghus of
Tokharistan. When a young brother of the Yabghu Pantu Nili, named Puluo (僕羅 Púluó in Chinese sources), visited the court of the
Tang dynasty in
Xi'an in 718 AD, he gave an account of the military forces in the Tokharistan region.[37] Puluo described the power of "the kings of Tokharistan", explaining that "Two hundred and twelve kingdoms, governors and prefects" recognise the authority of the Yabghus, and that it has been so since the time of his grandfather, that is, probably since the time of the establishment of the Yabghus of Tokharistan.[38] This account also shows that the Yabghu of Tokharistan ruled a vast area circa 718 AD, formed of the territories north and south of the
Hindu Kush, including the areas of
Kabul and
Zabul.[39] Finally, Puluo reaffirmed the loyalty of Yabghu Pantu Nili towards the Tang dynasty.[38]
Part of the Chinese entry for this account by Puluo is:
On the Dingwei day of the eleventh month in the sixth year of the Kaiyuan era, Ashi Tegin Puluo writes to the emperor: Tokhara Yabghu, his elder brother, is controlling as his subordinates two hundred and twelve persons, such as the local kings of various states, dudu (Governors-General), and cishi (heads of regional governments). The king of Zabul rules two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, the king of Kabul two hundred thousand, each king of
Khuttal,
Chaghanian, Jiesu,
Shughnan, Evdal, Kumedha Wa'khan,
Guzganan,
Bamiyan, Lieyuedejian, and
Badakhshan fifty thousand."
A few Zunbil rulers are named in Chinese sources, especially Shiquer or Zigil (Chinese:誓屈爾 Shìqū'ér), ruler of Zabulistan from 720 CE and for a few years until 738.[41] A Chinese account from the Tangshu mentions how
Zabulistan (Chinese: 誓䫻 Shìyù) was a vassal to the
Kabul Shah around 710-720 CE, and how the Zunbil ruler, named "Shiquer", was recognized by the Chinese court in 720 CE.[42][43] Shiquer received the title of Gedaluozhi Xielifa (Chinese: 葛達羅支頡利發). The word "Geluodazhi" in this extract (Chinese: 葛罗达支, pronounced in
Early Middle Chinese: kat-la-dat-tcǐe), is thought to be a transliteration of the ethnonym
Khalaj.[44]Xielifa is the known Chinese transcription of the Turkish "
Iltäbär", hence Shiquer was "Iltäbär of the Khalaj":[45]
The people from Tujue (Turks), Jibin (
Kabul), and Tuhuoluo (
Tokharistan) live together in this country [Zabulistan]. Jibin recruits from among them young men to defend against Dashi (Arabs). They sent an envoy to the Tang in the first year of Jingyun (710) to present gifts. Later, they subjugated themselves to Jibin. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), the Emperor approved the enthronement of Gedalouzhi ("
Khalaj") Xielifa ("
Iltäbär") Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk
Hyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国 Xiėyùguó) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism. According to him, the King of Kabul was the uncle of the king of Zabul.[47]
From
Kapisa I travelled further west and after seven days arrived at the country of Zabulistan which its people call She-hu-lo-sa-t'a-na. The native are Hu people; the king and cavalry are Turks. The king, a nephew of the king of Kapisa, himself controls his tribe and the cavalry stationed in this country. It is not subject to other countries, not even his own uncle. Though the king and the chiefs are Turks, they highly revere the
Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks.
Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. There is a great Turkish chief called Sha-tuo-kan, who once a year lays out his gold and silver, which is much more than the king possesses. The dress, customs, and products of this land are similar to those of Kapisa, but the languages are different.
Chinese artistic influences, on top of nomical political influence, are discernable in the artistic creations under the Zunbils around that time, as seen in the Buddhist monastery of
Tepe Sardar. During the period from 680 to 720 CE, essentially Indian post-
Gupta start to blend with Chinese stylistic influences, "a Chinese touch" discernable in Buddhist works of art.[50]
A full-blown "Chinese phase" is attributed to the period from 720 to 750 CE, corresponding to the last major phase of construction and decorations of Buddhist monuments before the Arab conquests.[51] This construction period was possibly marked by the patronage of
Alkhis, a contemporary ruler of the
Zabul area who was probably of the same ethnicity as the nearby
Turk Shahis of
Kabul and a member of the Zunbils,[36] or his successors.[51] The period sees a marked evolution in the facial types of the statues, with the Chinese-Indian traits of the previous period moving markedly towards
Tang dynasty styles, and clearly following Tang prototypes.[51] Such phenomenon is also seen in the site of
Adzina Tepe.[51] It is thought that Buddhism was particularly strong in China during the rule of Empress
Wu Zhao (624-705 CE), and that, together the several missions of Chinese pilgrims to Afghanistan and India, Chinese monks settled in
Ghazni from around 700 CE.[51] This activity mirrored the active development of monasteries in
Xinjiang during the 7th-8th centuries, and highlight a broad territorial unity of Buddhist kingdoms in Western Central Asia at that time, based on intense exchanges and a westward influence of Chinese Buddhism and artistic styles.[51]
The influence of Chinese artistic styles vanishes after 751 CE when Tang China withdrew from Central Asia following the
Battle of Talas.[51]
Arabic sources recount that, after the
Abbasids came to power in 750, the Zunbils made submissions to the third
AbbasidCaliphal-Mahdi (r. 775–785), but these appear to have been nominal acts,[53] and the people of the region continued to resist Muslim rule.[54] The Muslim historian
Ya'qubi (died 897/8) in his Ta'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of various
Central Asian rulers, including that of the Zunbils.[55] The original account by Ya'qubi reads:
Al-Mahdī sent messengers to the kings, calling on them to submit, and most of them submitted to him. Among them were the king of Kābul Shāh, whose name was
Ḥanḥal; the king of
Ṭabaristān, the
Iṣbahbadh; the king of
Soghdia, the
Ikhshīd; the king of Tukhāristān,
Sharwin; the king of
Bamiyan, the Shīr; the king of
Farghana, ------ ; the king of
Usrūshana,
Afshīn; the king of the
Kharlukhiyya, Jabghūya; the king of
Sijistān, Zunbīl; the king of Turks,
Tarkhan; the king of
Tibet, Ḥ-h-w-r-n; the king of
Sind, al-Rāy; the king of
China,
Baghbür; the king of India and Atrāḥ, Wahūfūr; and the king of the
Tughuz-ghuz, Khāqān.
In 769 CE, the Arabs were again able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils after nearly half a century, when
Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near
Ghazni.[32]
Arab destructions are documented around 795 CE, as the Muslim writer
Kitāb al-buldān records the destruction of a Šāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), thought to be
Tepe Sardar, at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked the Šāh Bahār, "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them".[58]
End of the Turk Shahis (822 CE)
In 815 CE, the
Abbasids led by caliph
Al-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of the
Turk Shahis in 815 CE, in what was essentially a political retribution: hoping to take advantage of the
Great Abbasid Civil War (811-819 AD), the Turk Shahi ruler, named "Pati Dumi" in Arab sources, had invaded parts of
Khorasan.[59][60] The Turk Shahis not only had to convert to Islam but also had to cede key cities and regions.[59] Another campaign against the Gandhara branch seem to have followed soon, with the Caliphate reaching
Indus river, and imposing a critical defeat.[59] A new dynasty, the
Hindu Shahi dynasty, took over in Gandhara and Kabul in 822 CE.[59] The Zunbils were unaffected by
Al-Ma'mun's raids and continued to rule for about two more decades, before getting embroiled in the conflict to eventual extinction.[59]
The Zunbils were finally defeated in 870 AD by the Muslim conqueror
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD, founder of the
Saffarid dynasty), who conquered the entire Zunbil territory from his base in Sistan.[3]
Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar started his eastern conquests in 870/871 CE, when he marched against the Kharijites of
Herat, and defeated them. He then marched towards
Karukh, and defeated another Khariji leader who was named Abd al-Rahman.[61] His army would then march to
Ghazna, conquering the Zunbils, and further to
Bamyan and
Kabul, pushing the
Hindu Shahis to the East, conquering these territories in the name of Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of the
Hindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under Saffarid control. The
Panjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint silver coins.[62]
According to
C.E. Bosworth, the Saffarids achieved, for the first time, Muslim expansion in eastern Afghanistan, after more than two centuries of plundering raids by the Muslim governors of
Sistan and fierce resistance from the rulers of the region.[63]
The
Hindu Shahis, setting up defenses in
Gandhara, continued the resistance to the eastern expansion of Islam until circa 1026 CE.
Religion
In his travel diaries, the Chinese monk
Xuanzang reported in the early 700s that the temple of the Hindu god Zun/Sun(Surya) was in the region. He also reported there were numerous Buddhist stupas in the area of Zabul. There were dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of Buddhist monasteries.[3] In addition , drawing many pilgrims.[3] According to Wink, it was clear that Zunbils ruled over a predominately Indian realm.[64]
Buddhism
The last phase of the
Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in
Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]Head of Buddha from
Tapa Sardar, Afghanistan (3rd to 5th century AD).
In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk
Hyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国 Xiėyùguó) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism.[47] The last phase of the
Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in
Ghazni, dates to the time of the Zunbils.[65]
The Zunbils worshiped a deity called Zhūn (or Zūn), from whom they derived their name.[66] He is represented with flames radiating from his head on coins. Statues were adorned with gold and used rubies for eyes.
Huen Tsang calls him "sunagir".[29]
The origin and nature of Zhun is disputed. M. Shenkar in his study comes to the conclusion that Zhun was possibly connected to the deity of the river Oxus, the modern river Amudarya. Furthermore, he holds it most likely that Zhun was the greatest deity worshiped in Zabulistan.[15] F. Grenet believes that Zhun might have been connected with the Iranian solar deity
Mithra.[15] Zhun has been linked with the
Hindu godAditya at
Multan,
pre-Buddhist religious and
kingship practices of
Tibet as well as
Shaivism.[14] Some scholars have considered the cult to be neither Buddhist nor Zoroastrian, but primarily Hindu.[67] Scholars point out the connections between the deity Zhun/Zun and
Shiva.[67]
His shrine lay on a sacred mountain in
Zamindawar and another at a temple in
Sakkawand. Originally he appears to have been brought at Zamindawar by Hepthalites, displacing an earlier god on the same site. Parallels have been noted with the pre-Buddhist monarchy of
Tibet, next to
Zoroastrian influence on its ritual. Whatever his origins, he was certainly superimposed on a mountain and on a pre-existing mountain god while merging with Shaiva doctrines of worship.[13]
Zurvan hypothesis
Other scholars however have connected Zun with the Sassanid Zoroastrian deity
Zurvān, the deity of time.
"Regarding origin of Žuna, Xuanzang had only mentioned that it was initially brought to Kapisa, later Begram from "far" and later moved to Zabul. There is no consensus as to who brought it and when. By identifying Žun with Sassanian Zurvān, the cult of Žun or *Zruvān can be viewed in a much wider context of Iranian history and religious developments. Žun, Like Zurvān, most likely represented the "god of time", a heresy in Zoroastrianism, which originated in response to the religious reforms introduced during second half of Achaemenid Empire. The cosmopolitan nature of the god is consistent with the variety of religions practiced in the region prior to the
Islamization of Afghanistan."[67]
According to Gulman S, its Afghan followers were, most probably, initially Zoroastrians. Mention of Žun and its devotees disappeared with the end of Žunbil dynasty of Zabulistan in 870. Its followers, according to Ibn Athir, accepted Islam.[67]
^Andre Wink, Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol.1, (Brill, 1996), 115;""The Zunbils of the early Islamic period and the Kabulshahs were almost certainly epigoni of the southern-Hephthalite rulers of Zabul."
^History of Civilizations of central Asia, B A Litivinsky Zhang Guang-Da, R Shabani Samghabadi, p.376
^Rehman, Abdur (1979). The Last Two Dynasties of the Śahis: An Analysis of Their History, Archaeology, Coinage and Palaeography. Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University. pp. 58–67.
^Raphael Israeli, Anthony Hearle Johns (1984). Islam in Asia: South Asia. Magnes Press. p. 15.
^H. Miyakawa und A. Kollautz: Ein Dokument zum Fernhandel zwischen Byzanz und China zur Zeit Theophylakts In: Byzantinische Zeitschrift, S. 14 (Anhang). De Gruyter Januar 1984.
ISSN1868-9027.
^"The account herewith quoted as 3.5. shows that this king of Tokhara had political power to control the principalities belonging to the Governors-General to the north and the south of the Hindukush, not to mention the Yuezhi Governor General." in Kuwayama, Shoshin (2005).
"Chinese Records on Bamiyan: Translation and Commentary". East and West. 55 (1/4): 153, 3–5.
ISSN0012-8376.
JSTOR29757642.
^"One of the most important aspects of early
Saffarids policy of significance for the
spread of Islam in Afghanistan and on the borders of India long after their empire had collapsed was that of expansion into east Afghanistan. The early
Arab governors of Sistan had at times penetrated as far as
Ghazna and
Kabul, but these had been little more than slave and plunder raids. There was a fierce resistance from the local rulers of these regions, above all from the line of Zunbils who ruled in Zamindavar and Zabulistan and who were probably epigoni of the southern
Hepthalite or Chionite kingdom of Zabul; on more than one occasion, these Zunbils inflicted sharp defeats on the Muslims. The Zunbils were linked with the Turk-Shahs of the Turk Shahi dynasty; the whole river valley was at this time culturally and religiously an outpost of the
Indian world, as of course it had been in the earlier centuries during the heyday of the
BuddhistGandhara civilization." in
Bosworth 1975.
Bosworth, C.E. (1975). "The Tahirids and Saffarids". In Frye, Richard Nelson; Fisher, William Bayne; Boyle, John Andrew (eds.). The Cambridge History of Iran: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Vol. IV. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN978-0-521-20093-6.
1.^"Xuanzang's story is simple , but suggests a historical background:there happened a conflict between the two religious groups, the Surya group and the Zhuna group".