Мусульманские завоевания Афганистана начались во время мусульманского завоевания Персии , когда арабские мусульмане мигрировали на восток в Хорасан , Систан и Трансоксанию . Спустя пятнадцать лет после битвы при Нахаванде в 642 году нашей эры они контролировали все сасанидские владения, за исключением Афганистана. [1] Более полная исламизация была достигнута только в период между 10 и 12 веками при династиях Газневидов и Гуридов , которые покровительствовали мусульманским религиозным учреждениям. [2]
Хорасан и Систан , где зороастризм был хорошо укоренен, были завоеваны. [3] Арабы начали продвигаться к землям к востоку от Персии в 7 веке. [4] Мусульманская граница в современном Афганистане стабилизировалась после первого столетия лунного календаря хиджры, поскольку относительная важность афганских территорий уменьшилась. [5] Из исторических свидетельств следует, что Тохаристан (Бактрия) был единственной территорией, завоеванной арабами, где буддизм процветал. [6] Окончательное завоевание Балха было предпринято Кутайбой ибн Муслимом в 705 году. [7]
Восточные регионы Афганистана иногда политически рассматривались как части Индии . [8] [9] Буддизм и индуизм господствовали в регионе до мусульманского завоевания. [10] Кабул и Забулистан , где были распространены буддизм и другие индийские религии , оказали жесткое сопротивление раннему мусульманскому продвижению. [3] Тем не менее, арабские Омейяды регулярно заявляли о номинальном господстве над Зунбилами и Кабульскими шахами . [11]
Походы халифа Аль-Мамуна (правил в 813–833 гг. н. э.) были последними арабскими походами на Кабул и Забул. [12] Король Кабула был захвачен им в плен и обращен в ислам. [13] Последний зунбил был убит Якубом бин аль-Лайсом вместе со своим бывшим сюзереном Салихом ибн аль-Надром в 865 году. [14] Тем временем индуистские шахи Кабула были разбиты под командованием Махмуда Газневи . [15] Индийские солдаты были частью армии Газневидов [16] , а мусульманский ученый XIV века Ибн Баттута описал Гиндукуш как «убийцу индийцев», потому что большое количество рабов, привезенных из Индии, погибло из-за его коварной погоды. [17]
Географ Якуби утверждает, что правители Бамиана , называемые Шер , обратились в христианство в конце VIII века. Записано, что Якуб разграбил его языческих идолов в 870 году, в то время как гораздо более поздний историк Шабанкараи утверждает, что Альп-Тегин добился обращения своего правителя в христианство в 962 году . [18] В Гуре не было установлено постоянного арабского контроля [19] , и он стал исламизированным после набегов Газневидов . [20] Ко времени Бахрам-шаха Гур был обращен и политически объединен. [21]
Среда обитания пуштунов во время их завоевания Махмудом находилась в Сулеймановых горах на юге Афганистана. [22] До миграции пуштунов в долину реки Кабул таджики составляли доминирующее население Кабула , Нангархара , долины Логар и Лагмана на востоке Афганистана. [23] Позже пуштуны начали мигрировать на запад из Сулеймановых гор на юге и вытеснили или поработили коренное население, такое как таджики, хазарейцы , фарсивани , нуристанцы и пашаи до или во время 16-го и 17-го веков. [24]
До своего обращения нуристанцы или кафиры Кафиристана практиковали форму древнего индуизма , смешанную с местными приращениями. [25] Регион от Нуристана до Кашмира был домом для огромного количества «кафирских» культур. [26] Они оставались политически независимыми , пока не были завоеваны и обращены в ислам афганским эмиром Абдул Рахман Ханом в 1895–1896 годах. [27]
Во время мусульманского завоевания Персии арабы были привлечены на восток с иракских равнин в центральную и восточную Персию, затем в Мидию , в Хорасан , Систан и Трансоксанию . Спустя 15 лет после битвы при Нахаванде арабы контролировали все сасанидские владения, за исключением частей Афганистана и Мекрана . [1] Нэнси Дюпри утверждает, что продвигающиеся арабы, несущие религию ислама, легко захватили Герат и Систан, но другие области часто восставали и возвращались к своей старой вере всякий раз, когда арабские армии отступали. Жестокость арабского правления заставила местные династии восстать после того, как арабская власть ослабла, как Саффариды, основанные ревностным Якубом , который завоевал многие города региона. [28] Историк Кэмерон А. Петри утверждает, что, хотя арабская экспансия имела как социальные, так и религиозные мотивы, именно взимание ими налогов с покоренных людей вызвало многочисленные местные восстания. [29]
Средневековые исламские ученые разделили современный Афганистан на два региона — провинции Хорасан и Систан. Хорасан был восточной сатрапией Сасанидской империи , включавшей Балх и Герат. Систан включал ряд афганских городов и регионов, включая Газни , Заранг , Бост , Кандагар (также называемый аль-Руххадж или Заминдавар ), Кабул , Кабулистан и Забулистан . [30]
До мусульманского правления регионы Балх ( Бактрия или Тохаристан ), Герат и Систан находились под властью Сасанидов. Дальше на юг в регионе Балх, в Бамиане , признаки власти Сасанидов уменьшаются, с местной династией, по-видимому, правящей с поздней античности , вероятно, эфталиты, подчиненные Ябгу западных тюрков . В то время как Герат контролировался Сасанидами, его внутренние районы контролировались северными эфталитами, которые продолжали править горами Гуридов и речными долинами. Арабские Омейяды регулярно заявляли о номинальном господстве над Зунбилами и Кабульскими шахами, и в 711 году Кутайбе ибн Муслиму удалось заставить их платить дань. [11] Они также были завоеваны Саффаридами и Газневидами . [ 3]
В Афганистане граница исламского завоевания стала более или менее неподвижной к концу первого века календаря хиджры. Одной из причин было то, что относительное значение Систана и Белуджистана начало уменьшаться ко времени Муавии I , когда были предприняты завоевания Бактрии и Трансоксании. Кроме того, завоевание в восточном направлении было распространено на Мекран и Синд , и мусульманские колонии были основаны там в 711–12 годах. [5]
Ранние арабы называли Систан Сиджистаном , от персидского слова Sagestan . Это низменный регион, лежащий вокруг и к востоку от озера Зарах , который включает дельты Гильменда и других рек, впадающих в него. [31] Мусульманское завоевание Систана началось в 23 г. хиджры (643-644 гг. н. э.), когда Асим бин Амр и Абдаллах ибн Амир вторглись в регион и осадили Зарандж. Систанцы заключили договор с мусульманами, поручив им платить харадж . [32]
Неимущий в деньгах сасанидский царь Йездигерд III , имевший большую свиту, бежал в Керман в 650 году. Ему пришлось бежать из Кермана в Систан после того, как его высокомерие разозлило марзбана этого места, ускользнув от арабских сил из Басры , которые победили и убили марзбана. Йездигерд потерял поддержку губернатора Систана после того, как потребовал от него налоги, и был вынужден уехать в Мерв . [33] Неизвестно, был ли этот губернатор сасанидским принцем или местным правителем в то время. Арабы провели кампанию в Систане несколькими годами ранее, и Абдаллах ибн Амир теперь отправился в погоню за Йездигердом. Он прибыл в Кирман в 651 году и послал войско под командованием Раби ибн Зияда аль-Харити в Систан. [34]
Раби пересек пустыню между Кирманом и Систаном, достигнув крепости Зилак, которая находилась в пяти фарсангах от границы Систана. Форт был сдан его дихканом . [34] Крепость Каркуйя, огненный храм которой упоминается в анонимном «Тарих-и-Систан» , вместе с Хайсуном и Нашрудом сдалась Раби. [33] [34] Затем Раби расположился лагерем в Залике и планировал захватить Заранг, который, хотя ранее и подчинился арабам, нужно было снова покорить. Хотя его марзбан Апарвиз оказал сильное сопротивление, он был вынужден сдаться. [34]
Силы Заранджа понесли тяжелые потери во время битвы с арабскими войсками и были отброшены обратно в город. [33] Согласно источникам, когда Апарвиз предстал перед Раби, чтобы обсудить условия, он обнаружил, что арабский генерал сидит на стуле, сделанном из двух мертвых солдат, а его окружение получило указание сделать сиденья и подушки таким же образом. Апарвиз был напуган до такой степени, что подчинился и пожелал избавить свой народ от этой участи. Мирный договор был заключен с выплатой больших пошлин. [34] Договор предусматривал выплату одного миллиона дирхамов в качестве ежегодной дани, в дополнение к 1000 рабов-мальчиков, несущих 1000 золотых сосудов. Город также был занят гарнизоном Раби. [33]
Таким образом, Раби удалось с большим трудом захватить Заранг, и он оставался там в течение нескольких лет. Два года спустя жители Заранга восстали и изгнали лейтенанта и гарнизон Раби. Абдаллах ибн Амир послал Абд ар-Рахмана ибн Самуру, чтобы вернуть город, который также добавил Буста и Забула к арабским завоеваниям. [34] Абд ар-Рахман осадил Зарандж, и после того, как марзбан сдался, дань была удвоена. [35] Дань, наложенная на Заранг, составила 2 миллиона дирхамов и 2000 рабов. [36]
В период первой гражданской войны в Арабском халифате (656–661) мятежники в Заранге заключили в тюрьму своего губернатора, в то время как арабские бандиты начали совершать набеги на отдаленные города в Систане, чтобы поработить людей. [35] Они сдались новому губернатору Риби, который взял город под контроль и восстановил закон и порядок. [37] Абдаллах ибн Амир снова стал губернатором Басры и ее восточных зависимых территорий с 661 по 664 год. Самура был отправлен обратно в Систан в 661 году. [38] Под его началом была отправлена экспедиция в Хорасан, в которую вошли такие известные лидеры, как Умар ибн Убайдуллах ибн Мамар , Абдулла ибн Хазим, Катарайи ибн аль-Фуджаа и Аль-Мухаллаб ибн Аби Суфра . [36] Самура отвоевал Заранг, а также завоевал регион между Зарангом и Киштом, Арахозией , Заминдаваром , Бустом и Забулом. [39]
Зияд ибн Абихи был назначен губернатором Басры в 664 году, а также был назначен губернатором Куфы и ее зависимых территорий в 670 году, что сделало его наместником всей восточной половины исламской империи. Он послал своего родственника Убайдаллу ибн Аби Бакра разрушить зороастрийские храмы огня в Фарсе и Систане, конфисковать их имущество и убить их жрецов. В то время как храм огня Карияна был разрушен, храм огня в Каркуе сохранился вместе со своим хербадом . [40] Сын Зияда Аббад был назначен губернатором Сиджистана Муавией I в 673 году и служил до 681 года. [41] В течение его губернаторства провинция, по-видимому, оставалась стабильной, и Аббад возглавил экспедицию на восток, которая привела Кандагар к халифату. [41] Халиф Язид I заменил Аббада своим братом Салмом , который уже был губернатором Хорасана. [41]
Среди арабских источников существует общее согласие, что завоевание Хорасана началось в правление Усмана при Абдаллахе ибн Амире, который был назначен губернатором Басры (р. 649–655). Однако традиция Сайфа не согласна с этим, датируя его 639 годом во время правления Умара , когда экспедицию возглавлял Ахнаф ибн Кайс . Между тем, ат-Табари сообщает, что завоевания Ахнафа произошли в 643 году. Это могло быть из-за путаницы в более поздних действиях Ахнафа при Ибн Амире и попытки преувеличить его роль в завоевании Хорасана. [42]
Завоевание южной Персии было завершено к 23 году хиджры, и Хорасан остался единственным регионом, который остался непокоренным. Поскольку мусульмане не хотели, чтобы какая-либо персидская земля оставалась под персидским владычеством, Умар приказал Ахнафу ибн Кайсу выступить на нее. После захвата городов Табас и Тун он напал на самый восточный город региона Герат . Персы оказали упорное сопротивление, но были разбиты и сдались. В городе был размещен гарнизон, в то время как была выделена колонна, которая покорила Нишапур и Тус . [43] Умар отправил Ахнафа с 12 000 человек из Куфы и Басры вслед за Йездигердом, бежавшим в Мерв. После того, как туда прибыли арабы, Йездигерд бежал в Мерв аль-Руд, откуда он отправил послов к хакану тюрков , правителю Согда и китайскому императору, с просьбой о помощи. Позже Йездигерд бежал в Балх, где был разбит арабами и бежал через реку Окс . [44]
Умар запретил Ахнафу переходить реку, так как земля за ней была неизвестна арабам и находилась для них очень далеко. [43] Йездигерд отправился в Согд, правитель которого снабдил его большой армией. Хакан тюрков, собрав войска из Ферганы , переправился через Окс вместе с Йездигердом и двинулся в Балх. Риби б. Амир тем временем отступил с войсками куфанов в Мерв аль-Руд, где он присоединился к аль-Ахнафу. [44] Сасанидский царь и хакан, возглавлявшие армию из 50 000 всадников, состоявшую из людей из Согда, Туркестана , Балха и Тохаристана , прибыли в Мерв аль-Руд. У Ахнафа была армия из 20 000 человек. Две стороны сражались друг с другом с утра до вечера в течение двух месяцев в месте под названием Дейр аль-Ахнаф. [44]
Сражение в Дейр-эль-Ахнафе продолжалось до тех пор, пока Ахнаф, получив информацию о тюркском вожде, осматривающем аванпосты, не отправился туда в определенную ночь и последовательно убил трех тюркских вождей во время их осмотра. Узнав об их смерти, хакан был поражен этим и отступил в Балх, затем он отступил через реку в Туркестан. Йездигерд тем временем отправился из Мерв-эль-Руд в Мерв, откуда он забрал богатства своей империи и отправился в Балх, чтобы присоединиться к хакану. Он сказал своим чиновникам, что хочет отдать себя под защиту турок, но они отговорили его от этого и попросили его искать защиты у арабов, на что он отказался. Он уехал в Туркестан, в то время как его чиновники забрали его сокровища и передали их Ахнафу, подчинившись арабам и получив разрешение вернуться в свои дома. [44]
Абдулла ибн Амир отправился в Хорасан из Кермана в 650 году и выступил вместе с авангардом тамими-арабов и 1000 асавир через Кухистан. Народ Табасайна нарушил свой мирный договор и вступил в союз с эфталитами Герата . Аль-Ахнаф отвоевал Кухистан и разбил эфталитов Герата в Нишапуре . Канаранг или марзбан Туса попросил арабов о помощи против набегов эфталитов Герата и Бадгиса . Он согласился на мирное соглашение за 600 000 динаров. [45]
Действия эфталитов побудили мусульман предпринять военную операцию, чтобы закрепить свои позиции в Хорасане. После падения Туса Ибн Амир послал армию против Герата. Правитель (марзабан или азим ) этого места согласился на мирный договор для Герата, Бадгиса и Пушанга за дань в 1 миллион дирхамов. [45] Правитель, которого в «Футух аль-Булдан » называли азимом или «могущественным» , возможно, был вождем эфталитов. [46] Праведные халифы следовали более раннему правилу Мухаммеда о наложении джизьи на несколько органов совместно и в некоторых случаях также налагали условие, что они принимают мусульман. Это правило соблюдалось в большинстве иранских городов, причем джизья не указывалась на душу населения, а была оставлена на усмотрение местных правителей, хотя некоторые мусульманские командиры подчеркивали сумму, зависящую от способности правителя платить. Ту же формулировку можно увидеть в договоре Ибн Амира. [47]
В 652 году Ибн Амир послал аль-Ахнафа вторгнуться в Тохаристан с 4000 арабов и 1000 иранских мусульман (очевидно, тамими и асавира), вероятно, из-за помощи его правителя сыну Йездигерда Перозу . В то время как гарнизон Марв аль-Рудха согласился на мирные условия для всего округа за 300 000 дирхамов, сам город оставался осажденным. [45] Это был последний крупный оплот Сасанидов, и он пал перед аль-Ахнафом после ожесточенной битвы. [46] После кровопролитных боев его марзабан согласился на мирный договор за 60 000 или 600 000 дирхамов, а также на пакт о взаимной обороне. Ему также было разрешено сохранить свои родовые земли, чтобы должность марзабана была наследственной в его семье, и чтобы он был освобожден от налогов вместе со всей своей семьей. [45] Балазури цитирует Абу Убайду , который утверждает, что турки поддерживали жителей города. Эти турки были эфталитами, вероятно, из Гузгана , что может объяснить причину, по которой арабы затем атаковали Гузган, Фарьяб и Талкан . [48]
Аль-Мадаини специально утверждает, что Ахнаф, возглавляя следующую экспедицию, не хотел просить помощи у немусульман Марв аль-Руд, вероятно, потому что он не доверял им. [48] Арабы расположились лагерем в Каср аль-Ахнафе, в дне пути к северу от Марв аль-Руд. 30-тысячная армия, состоящая из войск Гузгана, Фарьяба и Талкана, при поддержке войск Чаганиана , двинулась им навстречу. Битва была безрезультатной, но противоборствующая сторона рассеялась, и некоторые остались в Гузгане, в то время как арабы отступили в Марв аль-Руд. Ахнаф отправил экспедицию под предводительством аль-Акра ибн Хабиса, по-видимому, состоявшую исключительно из тамимитов, в Гузган. Арабы разгромили Гузган и вошли в него силой. Ахнаф тем временем двинулся к Балху, по пути заключив мирные договоры с Фарьябом и Талуканом. [48]
Постоянное умиротворение Хорасана было длительным делом, когда местные властители часто восставали и обращались за помощью к внешним силам, таким как эфталиты, западные турки или тюргеши , согдийцы и императорские китайцы, которые претендовали на определенную степень сюзеренитета над Средней Азией. [46] В течение года после смерти Йездигерда местный иранский знатный человек по имени Карин начал восстание против арабов в Кухистане. Он собрал своих сторонников из Табасайна, Герата и Бадгиса, собрав, как сообщается, армию из 40 000 повстанцев против арабов в Хорасане. Однако арабы совершили внезапное нападение, убив его и многих из его людей, а многие другие были взяты в плен. [49] Ожидалось, что недавно покоренный народ восстанет. Однако в Хорасане, похоже, не было предпринято никаких всеобъемлющих усилий для изгнания арабов после восстания Карина. Китайские источники утверждают, что была предпринята попытка восстановить Пероза армией Тохаристана, однако этот эпизод не подтверждается арабскими источниками. [50]
Пероз поселился среди турок, взял себе местную жену и получил войска от царя Тохаристана. В 661 году он утвердился как царь По-сы (Персия) с китайской помощью в месте, которое китайцы называли Джа-линг (Чи-линг), которое, как предполагается, было Зарангом. Его походы отражены в мусульманских источниках, которые упоминают восстания в Заранге, Балхе, Бадгисе, Герате, Бушандже , а также в Хорасане в период Первой Фитны в правление Али и Муавии I. Хотя они не упоминают Пероза, они утверждают, что недавно назначенный Али губернатор Хорасана услышал в Нишапуре, что губернаторы сасанидского царя вернулись из Кабула, и Хорасан восстал. Однако регион был отвоеван Муавией. Пироз вернулся в столицу империи Тан и получил грандиозный титул, а также разрешение построить храм огня в 677 году. [51]
Язид ибн аль-Мухаллаб стал преемником своего отца на посту наместника Хорасана в 702 году и вел кампанию в Средней Азии, но добился небольшого успеха, за исключением подчинения Незак Тархана в Бадгисе. [52]
Тохаристан , примерно древняя Бактрия , сегодня разделена между Афганистаном, Таджикистаном и Узбекистаном . Согласно наиболее общему использованию названия, Тохаристан — это широкая долина вокруг верхней реки Окс, окруженная горами с трех сторон, прежде чем река переходит на открытые равнины. Крупнейшим городом был Балх , один из крупнейших городских центров северо-восточного Ирана. Он был расположен на перекрестке и торговых путях во многих направлениях, что позволяло контролировать эти маршруты в случае его завоевания. Во время губернаторства Абу 'л Аббаса 'Абдаллаха ибн Тахира (р. 828–845) существует список округов ( кувар ) региона, включая Саганьян на севере и Кабул на юге. Другие перечисленные места — Тирмид , Джузджан , Бамиан , Руб и Саманджан. Некоторые арабские географы использовали это название только для южной части долины Окс. [6]
Балх также был частью Хорасана вместе с другими областями в течение различных периодов времени. [53] Согласно ат-Табари, Йездигерд бежал из Марв-аль-Руд в Балх во время завоевания Ахнафом Хорасана в 643 году. Он укрепился, но был побежден арабами и бежал через реку Окс . [44] Йездигерд отправился в Согд, правитель которого предоставил ему большую армию. Хакан тюрков, собрав войска из Ферганы , пересек Окс вместе с Йездигердом и двинулся в Балх. [44]
В 652 году Ибн Амир послал аль-Ахнафа вторгнуться в Тохаристан с 4000 арабов и 1000 иранских мусульман (очевидно, тамими и асавира), вероятно, из-за помощи его правителя сыну Йездигерда Перозу . Он приблизился к Балху после завоевания Марв аль-Руд и безрезультатной битвы с 30-тысячным войском из Гузгана, Фарьяба и Талкана. Прибыв в Балх, он осадил город, а его жители предложили дань в размере 400 000 или 700 000 дирхамов. Он отправил своего кузена собрать дань и двинулся в Хорезм, но вернулся в Балх с приближением зимы. [48] Именно в Балхе осенью 652 года местные жители познакомили его кузена Асида с дарением золота и серебра своему губернатору во время Михриджана . [35]
Зияд ибн Аби Суфьян реорганизовал Басру и Куфу, исключив многих из дивана и вдохновив его на поселение 50 000 семей в Хорасане. И Балазури, и Мадаини согласны в этом числе, хотя последний утверждает, что каждая половина была из Басры и Куфы. Аль-Али не согласен, заявляя, что куфанцев было 10 000. Галиб потерпел неудачу в своей экспедиции, и Раби ибн Зияд аль-Харити, который был назначен губернатором Хорасана в 671 году, возглавил экспедицию по поселению. Он двинулся в Балх и заключил мирный договор с местными жителями, которые восстали после более раннего договора аль-Ахнафа. [54]
Кутайба ибн Муслим возглавил окончательное завоевание Балха. Ему было поручено подавить восстание в Нижнем Тохаристане. Его армия была собрана весной 705 года и прошла через Марв аль-Руд и Талкан в Балх. Согласно одной из версий в Тарих аль-Табари , город был сдан мирно. Другая версия, вероятно, для продвижения претензий бахилитов на Бармакидов , говорит о восстании среди жителей. Последняя версия может быть правильной, поскольку Табари описывает город как разрушенный четыре года спустя. [7] Жена Бармака, врача из Балха, была взята в плен во время войны и отдана Абдулле, брату Кутайбы. Позже она была возвращена своему законному мужу после того, как провела некоторое время в гареме Абдуллы . Таким образом, Халид родился в 706 году, и Абдаллах принял последствия отцовства, не нарушая обычных обязанностей Бармака и не влияя на воспитание Халида. [55]
В 708–709 годах Испахбад, местный правитель, получил письмо от мятежника-гефталита Незака Тархана, который пытался объединить аристократию Тохаристана против Кутайбы. [56] Арабы построили новый военный лагерь под названием Барукан в двух фарсангах от города. В 725 году губернатор Асад ибн Абдаллах аль-Касри восстановил город после вражды между арабскими войсками, и Бармак был нанят в качестве его агента для выполнения этой задачи. [57]
Ранние арабы были склонны рассматривать Иран как единое культурное целое, однако это была земля многих стран с различным населением и культурой. Из исторических свидетельств следует, что Тохаристан был единственной областью, сильно колонизированной арабами, где процветал буддизм , и единственной областью, включенной в Арабскую империю, где санскритские исследования продолжались вплоть до завоевания. Внук Бармака был визирем Арабской империи и проявлял личный интерес к санскритским трудам и индийским религиям. [6] Корейский путешественник восьмого века Хуэй'Чао записывает хинаянистов в Балхе под арабским правлением. [58] Он посетил этот район около 726 года, упомянув, что истинный царь Балха был все еще жив и находился в изгнании. Он также описывает всех жителей региона как буддистов под арабским правлением. Однако другие источники указывают, что бактрийцы исповедовали множество различных религий. [59]
Среди буддийских монастырей Балха крупнейшим был Нава Вихара , позже персидизированный в Нау Бахара после исламского завоевания Балха. [60] Неизвестно, как долго он продолжал служить местом поклонения после завоевания. Рассказы ранних арабов предлагают противоречивые рассказы. По аль-Балазури, его комплекс ступа-вихара был разрушен при Муавии в 650-х годах. Табари, сообщая об экспедиции в 650-х годах, не упоминает о какой-либо напряженности вокруг храма, заявляя, что Балх был завоеван Раби мирно. Он также утверждает, что Низак ходил молиться на это место во время своего восстания против Кутайбы в 709 году, подразумевая, что он, возможно, не был разрушен. Кроме того, географический трактат X века « Худуд аль-Алам» описывает оставшиеся королевские здания и украшения Нау-Бахары, включая живописные изображения и замечательные произведения, вероятно, фрески секко или резные фигурки на стенах храма, которые сохранились до времен автора. [61]
Санскритские, греческие, латинские и китайские источники со 2-го века до н. э. по 7-й век н. э. идентифицируют народ под названием « Тухарас », в стране, позже названной Тохаристаном. Бадахшан ранее был резиденцией Тухара. [62] Нет точной даты арабского завоевания Бадахшана, как и никаких записей о том, как там был введен ислам. Ат-Табари также упоминает этот регион только один раз. [63] В 736 году Асад ибн Абдаллах аль-Касри отправил экспедицию в Верхний Тохаристан и Бадахшан против мятежника Аль-Хариса ибн Сурайджа , который занял крепость Табушхан. [64] Джудай ибн Али аль-Кирмани, который был отправлен в поход против аль-Хариса, захватил Табушхан. [65] Джудай также убил своих пленных защитников, а его женщин и детей обратили в рабство и продали в Балх, несмотря на то, что они были арабского происхождения. [66] Аль-Харис позже объединился с тюргешами и продолжал восстание, пока не был помилован халифом Язидом ибн Валидом в 744 году . [67]
Воспользовавшись фракционной борьбой среди арабов, Трансоксания начала восстание, и Асад ибн Абдаллах в ответ напал на Хутталь в 737 году. Вооруженные силы Согда, Чача и многих тюрков во главе с турецким каганом Сулу прибыли, чтобы помочь им. Асад бежал, оставив багаж с добычей из Хутталя. [68] Когда он вернулся с основной частью своих войск, тюрки отступили в Тохаристан, а он вернулся в Балх. В декабре 737 года тюргеши напали на Хульм , но были отбиты арабами. Обойдя Балх, они захватили столицу Гузгана и отправили набеги. Асад организовал внезапное нападение на тюрков в Харистане , у которых было всего 4000 солдат. Тюргеши потерпели сокрушительное поражение и потеряли почти всю свою армию. Сулу и аль-Харис бежали на территорию Ябгу Тохаристана, а Сулу вернулся на свою территорию зимой 737–738 гг. [69]
Зунбилы в до- Саффаридский период правили в Забулистане и Заминдаваре , простираясь между Газни и Бостом, и долгое время служили барьером против мусульманской экспансии. Известно, что в Заминдаваре есть святилище, посвященное богу Зуну. Его связывают с индуистским богом Адитьей в Мултане , добуддийскими религиозными и королевскими обычаями Тибета , а также с шиваизмом . Последователи Зунбилов назывались турками в арабских источниках, однако они применяли это название ко всем своим врагам на восточных окраинах Ирана. [70] [71] Такие источники , как Табари и Тарих-и-Систан, описывают их как имеющих турецкие войска на своей службе . [72]
Впервые титул Зунбил появляется в арабских источниках вместе с титулом Кабульского шаха и, согласно Табари, был титулом брата короля Кабула (либо Барха Тегина , либо Тегин Шаха ). Зунбил, по-видимому, отделился от верховного владычества Кабула около 680 г. н.э. и основал собственное королевство в Забулистане и аль-Руххадже. [73] [74]
Королевство Забулистан (ар-Руххадж) со столицей в Газни, где проживал царь Зунбиль или Рутбиль, упоминается китайскими источниками под сюзеренитетом Джабгу Туркестанского . [75] Значение для арабов королевства Зун и его правителей заключалось в том, что они предотвратили вторжение их ранних кампаний в долину Инда через восточный и южный Афганистан. Только при ранних Саффаридах произошла массовая исламизация , в отличие от грабительских набегов или дани арабского правления. [70] Экспедиции халифа аль-Мамуна против Кабула и Забула были последними, и длительный конфликт закончился распадом Арабской империи, последовавшим вскоре после этого. [12]
Сакаванд в Забулистане был крупным центром индуистского паломничества. [76] [77]
После появления в Заранге Абд ар-Рахман ибн Самура и его отряд из 6000 арабов проникли в святилище Зуна в 653–654 годах. Он отломил руку у идола Зуна и вырвал рубины, которые были его глазами, чтобы продемонстрировать марзбану Систана, что идол не может ни навредить, ни принести пользу кому-либо. [78] Он также взял Забул по договору в 656 году. [45] Сообщается, что в святилище Зуна в Заминдаваре Самура «отломал руку идола и вырвал рубины, которые были его глазами, чтобы убедить марзбана Систана в никчемности бога». [79] [80] Самура объяснил марзбану: «Моим намерением было показать вам, что этот идол не может принести ни вреда, ни пользы». [81] Бост и Забул подчинились арабскому захватчику по договору в 656 году н. э. [79] Мусульмане вскоре потеряли эти территории во время Первой гражданской войны (656–661). [79]
В 665 г. н. э., после повторного назначения в Систан при Муавии, Самура разгромил Забулистан, народ которого нарушил предыдущее соглашение. [82] Самура был заменен на посту губернатора Раби ибн Зиядом и умер в 50 г. хиджры (670 г. н. э.), в то время как царь Забула восстал вместе с Кабульским шахом , и они вдвоем отвоевали Забулистан и Руххадж, согласно аль-Балазури.
Ар-Раби, арабский правитель, однако, напал на зунбилей в Бусте и заставил его бежать. Затем он преследовал его до Рукхаджа, где он напал на него, а затем покорил город ад-Давар. [83] [82] Зияд ибн Аби Суфьян был назначен губернатором Басры в 665 году, а Хорасан и Систан также попали под его мандат. Сначала он назначил Раби в Систан, но позже заменил его на 'Убайдаллах ибн Аби Бакра. В этот период яростное сопротивление зунбилей продолжалось, пока он, наконец, не согласился заплатить один миллион дирхамов за Балазури и Тарих-и-Систан . [84] Зунбилы также вели переговоры о мирном договоре как для Забула, так и для Кабула. [83]
Аль-Балазури пишет, что при Муавии губернатор Систана Аббад ибн Зияд ибн Абихи совершил набег и захватил город Кандагар после ожесточенных боев. Он также упоминает характерные высокие шапки жителей города. Хотя его текст несколько двусмыслен, похоже, что Аббад переименовал город в Аббадию в честь себя. Мусульманское правление, вероятно, было свергнуто, и это название никогда не упоминается после того, как его губернаторство закончилось в 680–681 годах, к 698 году к востоку от Боста не осталось контролируемого мусульманами региона. [85] Городом правили арабские мусульмане и Зунбилы, а затем позже Саффариды и Газневиды. Он редко упоминается в ранних исламских источниках. [86]
В 681 году Салм ибн Зияд был назначен губернатором Хорасана и Систана Язидом I. Он назначил своего брата Язида ибн Зияда , по-видимому, возглавить военную экспедицию против зунбилей Забулистана. Однако экспедиция оказалась катастрофической: Язид был убит, его брат Абу-Убайда взят в плен, а арабы понесли тяжелые потери. Салм отправил экспедицию Талхи ибн Абдиллаха аль-Хузаи, чтобы спасти своего брата и усмирить регион. Арабские пленники были выкуплены за полмиллиона дирхамов, и регион был усмирен скорее дипломатией, чем силой. [84] [87]
После смерти Талхи в 683–684 годах среди арабов Систана воцарилась настоящая анархия. Его армия отказалась присягнуть Язиду или Муавии II , а его сыну Абадалле пришлось покинуть Заранг, который остался без командующего. Многие арабы захватили различные кварталы Заранга и районы Систана. Это побудило Зунбиля и его союзников, которые уже нанесли унизительное поражение арабам ранее, вмешаться в арабские дела в Систане и Бусте. [88] Балазури говорит об этом периоде:
Он [Талха] назначил своим преемником человека из Бану Яшкур [ потомков Бакра ], но группа мудари изгнала его; вспыхнула фракционная борьба ( 'ассабия ), каждая группа захватила город для себя, так что у зунбилей возник соблазн вмешаться туда.
Футух аль-Булдан [88]
В период Второй Фитны зунбилы напали на Систан в 685 году, но были разбиты и убиты арабами. [87]
Абдалмалик назначил Умайю ибн Абдаллаха ибн Халида ибн Асида губернатором Хорасана в 74 г. хиджры (693-4 гг. н. э.), включив в свое губернаторство Систан. Умайя послал своего сына Абдуллу главой экспедиции в Систан. Хотя изначально они были успешными, новый Зунбил смог победить их. По некоторым данным, сам Абдулла был убит. Умайя был уволен, а Систан был добавлен к губернаторству аль-Хаджаджа ибн Юсуфа . [89]
Аль-Хаджадж, ставший губернатором Ирака и Востока в 78 г. хиджры (697–98 гг. н. э.), назначил Убайдаллу, который был маулей смешанного абиссинского и иракско-персидского происхождения, своим заместителем в Систане. Зунбилы, которых оставили без присмотра, полностью прекратили платить дань. Это дало повод расторгнуть мирный договор между двумя сторонами. Убайдалла был назначен для похода против них в 698 г. и получил приказ от Аль-Хаджаджа «атаковать, пока он не опустошит территории Зунбиля, не разрушит его крепости, не убьет всех его воинов и не поработит его потомство». Последовавшая кампания была названа «Армией разрушения» ( Джаиш аль-Фана ). Однако она закончилась катастрофой для арабов. [90]
Отчет Аль-Балазури о авторитете Аль-Мадаини в Futuh al-Buldan и Ansab al-Ashraf является наиболее полной документацией кампании. Отчет Табари идет параллельно, но основан на Абу Михнафе и не включает поэму А'ша Хамдан, включенную в Ansab al-Ashraf . Kitab al-Ma'arif Ибн Кутайбы упоминает об этом лишь вскользь. Ta'rikh al-khulafa' содержит более подробный отчет и резюмирует рассказы Табари и Балазури. Tarikh-e-Sistan путает эту кампанию с другой кампанией против хориджей Заранга. Армия состояла из иракцев из Басры и Куфы, хотя Балазури упоминает присутствие некоторых сирийцев. Сам Убайдаллах возглавлял басранцев, в то время как Таби Шурайх ибн. Хани аль-Харити ад-Дабби возглавил куфанов. [91]
Они двинулись в Заминдавар или аль-Руххадж (классическая Арахосия ), но обнаружили, что она бесплодна и лишена продовольствия. Их наступление, вероятно, произошло летом 698 года, поскольку поэма А'ши Хамдана упоминает палящую жару, которую им пришлось вынести. В регионах Забулистана Газни и Гардиз они разграбили значительное количество скота и других животных, а также разрушили различные крепости. Зунбилы, которые опустошали сельскую местность во время отступления , заманивали арабов в ловушку на негостеприимной и бесплодной местности. Футух аль-Булдан утверждает, что мусульмане почти проникли в Кабул. Табари тем временем говорит, что они подошли на расстояние 18 фарсахов от летней столицы Зунбилов в регионе Кандагар . [91]
План зунбилов сработал, и они загнали арабов в долину. Убайдаллах, осознавая серьезность ситуации, предложил 500 000 или 700 000 дирхамов, а также своих трех сыновей вместе с некоторыми арабскими лидерами в качестве заложников, пообещав не совершать набегов снова во время своего пребывания на посту губернатора Систана. Шурайх, который ранее советовал отступить, посчитал, что отступление будет бесчестным. К нему присоединилась группа людей в битве, и все, за исключением горстки из них, были убиты. Остатки арабской армии отступили обратно в Буст и Систан, страдая от голода и жажды. Многие погибли в «пустыне Буст», предположительно, в пустыне Регистан , и только 5000 вернулись в Буст. Многие из тех, кто выжил, умерли, объевшись едой, которую им прислали, согласно Табари. Убайдаллах устроил для них еду, увидев их страдания, а сам умер либо от горя, либо от болезни уха. [91]
Аль-Хаджадж подготовил еще одну экспедицию в 699 году, как сообщается, из 40 000 солдат из Куфы и Басры под командованием Абдуррахмана ибн Мухаммада ибн аль-Ашаса . Хотя это было замаскировано под военную экспедицию, на самом деле это была вынужденная миграция элементов из двух иракских городов, доставляющих беспокойство Хаджаджу. Она была оснащена по лучшим стандартам и называлась «Армией павлинов» из-за мужчин, включенных в ее ряды. В нее входили самые гордые и выдающиеся лидеры Ирака во главе с Ибн аль-Ашасом, внуком Аль-Ашаса ибн Кайса . В нее также входили выдающиеся старейшины, служившие в первых армиях завоевателей, а также те, кто сражался в битве при Сиффине . Эта арабская армия прибыла в Систан весной 699 года. [92]
Арабы продвинулись на восток в Забулистан и одержали несколько побед. Однако войска не хотели сражаться в этом негостеприимном регионе и начали проявлять беспокойство. Аль-Хаджадж приказал им продолжать наступление в сердце Забулистана, чего бы это ни стоило, дав им понять, что он хочет, чтобы они вернулись в свои дома. [92] Ибн аль-Ашас также заключил соглашение с зунбилами, что в случае его победы дань не будет потребована, а в случае проигрыша его укроют от Аль-Хаджаджа. [93] Войска взбунтовались против принудительной эмиграции Хаджаджа и вернулись в Ирак, но были разгромлены сирийскими войсками. Они бежали обратно на восток, в то время как Ибн аль-Ашас бежал в Систан, где он умер в 704 году нашей эры. [92]
Когда Ибн аль-Ашас вернулся в Систан в 702-703 годах нашей эры, ему не разрешили войти в Заранг, и он бежал в Буст, где его похитил Ияд ибн Химьян аль-Бакри ас-Садуси, которого он назначил заместителем Буста, чтобы Ияд мог вернуть себе расположение аль-Хаджаджа. Однако зунбилы напали на город и пригрозили убить или поработить всех там, если Ибн аль-Ашас не будет передан ему. Ияд освободил его, и он отправился на территорию зунбилей вместе со своей армией. [94] Однако представитель аль-Хаджаджа убедил зунбиля выдать его. Однако его судьба неясна. По некоторым данным, он покончил жизнь самоубийством, в то время как по другим данным, он был убит зунбилями, которые отправили его голову Омейядам в Систан. [95] После этого было объявлено перемирие между Аль-Хаджаджем и Зунбилем, в обмен на то, что последний выплатит дань натурой , а Аль-Хаджадж в свою очередь пообещал не нападать на него. [96]
Кутайба ибн Муслим, завоеватель Трансоксании, назвал Сиджистан «зловещим фронтом» [97] и заставил зунбилов платить дань. [11] Халид аль-Касри в Ираке назначил Язида ибн аль Гурайфа аль-Хамдани губернатором Систана, сирийца из Джунд аль-Урдунна , в 725 году. Язид возобновил кампанию, отправив армию под командованием Балала ибн Аби Кабши. Однако они ничего не получили от зунбилов. [98]
The new governor of Sistan, al-Asfah b. 'Abd Allah al-Kalbi, a Syrian, embarked on an ambitious policy of campaigning against the Zunbils. The first one was carried out in 726. During the second one in late 727–728, he was warned by the Sijistanis who were with him to not campaign in winter, especially in the mountain defiles. Per Ya'qubi, his army was completely annihilated by the Zunbils. Per Tarikh al-Sistani, al-Asfah managed to get back to Sistan where he died. The next two governors did not undertake any campaigns. The Zunbil was unable to take advantage of the annihilation of al-Asfah's army, but the defeat was a heavy one. It would become one in a series of blows for the caliphate.[99]
The Sistan front remained quiet in the latter part of Abd al-Malik's reign except perhaps the Kharjite activity, with long tenures and blank records of 'Abd Allah b. Abi Baruda and Ibrahim b. 'Asim al-'Uqayli suggesting that the instability in the region had been controlled to an extent. It appears this was only possible because no more campaigns were undertaken against the Zunbils.[100]
Al-Mansur sent Ma'n b. Zaida ash-Shabani to Sistan in response to the disturbances there. Ma'n along with his nephew Yazid b. Ziyad undertook an expedition against the Zunbil for making him obedient and restoring the tribute not paid since the time of al-Hajjaj. It is especially well-documented by al-Baladhuri. He ordered the Zunbil to pay the tribute and was offered camels, Turkish tents and slaves, but this did not placate him.[101] Per al-Baldahuri, under the reign of al-Mansur, Hisham b. 'Amr al-Taghlibi after conquering Kandahar, destroyed its idol-temple and built a mosque in its place.[102]
Ma'n and Yazid advanced into Zamindawar but the Zunbil had fled to Zabulistan. They nonetheless pursued and defeated him, taking 30,000 as captives, including Faraj al-Rukhkhaji, who would later become a secretary of the department of private estates of the Caliph under al-Ma'mun. Zunbil's deputy Mawand (who is recorded as his son-in-law Mawld in Tarikh-e-Sistan) offered submission, which was requested, and was sent with 5,000 of their soldiers to Baghdad, where he was treated kindly and given pensions along with his chieftains per Baladhuri.[12][101]
The tribute was paid by the Zunbils to amils of caliphs al-Mahdi and ar-Rashid, though rather irregularly.[103] When the Caliph Al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833 AD) visited Khorasan, he was paid double the tribute by Rutbil, but was evidently left unmolested and the Arabs later subdued Kabul.[12]
The area of Kabul was initially ruled by the Nezak Huns. Sometime after the defeat of their last king Ghar-ilchi at the hands of Samura, the Turkic Barha Tegin rebelled and assaulted Kabul. Ghar-ilchi was killed and Barha Tegin proceeded to proclaim himself as the king of Kabul, before taking Zabulistan in the south. The "Turk Shahi" dynasty established by him however split into two around 680 AD.[73][83] The dynasty was Buddhist and were followed by a Hindu dynasty shortly before the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD.[104]
Al-Ma'mun's expeditions were the last Arab conflict against Kabul and Zabul and the long-drawn conflict ended with the dissolution of the empire.[12] Muslim missionaries converted many people to Islam; however, the entire population did not convert, with repetitive revolts from the mountain tribes in the Afghan area taking place. The Hindu Shahi dynasty was defeated by Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998–1030), who expelled them from Gandhara and also encouraged mass-conversions in Afghanistan and India.[15]
During the caliphate of Uthman, new popular uprisings had broken out in Persia and continued for five years from 644 to 649. The revolts were suppressed and Abdullah b. Amir, who was appointed governor of Basra, had captured many cities including Balkh, Herat and Kabul.[105]
After Mu'awiya became the Caliph, he prepared an expedition under 'Abd ar-Rahman b. Samura to Khorasan. Per Baladhuri, after recapturing Zarang as well as conquering other cities, the Arabs besieged Kabul for a few months and finally entered it.[36] Samura concluded a treaty and proceeded to attack Bost, al-Rukhkhaj and Zabulistan. The people of Kabul however rebelled and Samura was forced to recapture the city. The account of Tarjuma-i Futuhat however differs and states that Samura besieged the city for a year. After capturing it, he had all the soldiers massacred and their wives and children taken as captives. He also ordered the captured king Ghar-ilchi to be beheaded, but spared him when he converted. Around the same time according to al-Baladhuri, Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra launched an attack on the Indian frontier, reaching up to Bannu and "al-Ahwaz" (Waihind).[106][107] The historian Firishta states that while capturing Kabul in 664 AD, Samura had made converts of some 12,000 people.[108]
The new king of Kabul Barha Tegin and the Zunbil campaigned against the Arabs after Samura's departure, recapturing Kabul, Zabulistan and al-Rukhkhaj. Rabi b. Ziyad attacked the Zunbil after becoming governor in 671 AD. His successor Ubayd Allah b. Abi Bakra continued the campaign in 673 AD, with the Zunbil negotiating for both Zabul and Kabul soon afterwards.[83] About the time of death of Yazid I however, "the people of Kabul treacherously broke the compact". The Arab army sent to reimpose it was routed.[109]
In about 680–683, the kingdom split into two with the Zunbil fleeing from his brother, the king of Kabul, and approaching Salm b. Ziyad at Amul in Khorasan. In return for him agreeing to acknowledge Salm as his overlord, the Zunbil was allowed to settle down in Amul. Soon he drove his brother out and established himself in Amul. The location of Amul mentioned by Tabari is not certain, Josef Markwart identified it with Zabul. Tabari however claims the Kabul Shah fled instead from the Zunbil and established himself as an independent king during the reign of Mu'awiya.[83][110]
Abdur Rehman, who studied the descriptions of Tabari however stated that these events should be seen as having happened in Yazid's time since Salm was governor under his reign.[111] In 152 AH (769 AD), Humayd ibn Qahtaba, the governor of Khorasan, raided Kabul.[112] According to Ibn al-Athir, al-'Abbas b. Ja'far led an expedition against Kabul sent by his father Ja'far b. Muhamamad in 787–78, which Bosworth claims is the one attributed to Ibrahim b. Jibril by Al-Ya'qubi.[113]
The only record of an event in early Abbasid period obviously related to the area south of the Hindu Kush, is the expedition against Kabul in 792-793 ordered by Al-Fadl ibn Yahya and led by Ibrahim b. Jibril. It is mentioned by al-Tabari's chronicle, the tenth century Kitāb al-Wuzarā'wa al-Kuttāb of al-Jahshiyari and by al-Ya'qubi. Per al-Jahshiyari, he conquered Kabul and acquired a lot of wealth. Al-Ya'qubi states that rulers and landlords of Tukharistan, including Bamiyan's king, joined this army, implying it crossed the Hindu Kush from the north. It also mentions the subjugation of "Ghurwand" (present-day Ghorband). He also mentions the "Pass of Ghurwand", which judging by the itinerary of the expedition from Tukharistan to Bamiyan to Ghorband valley, is identical to Shibar Pass. They then marched to Shah Bahar where an idol venerated by the locals was destroyed. The inhabitants of various towns then concluded peace treaties with Fadl, one of which was identified by Josef Markwart as Kapisa.[113]
Al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833 AD) while visiting Khorasan, launched an attack on Kabul, whose ruler submitted to taxation.[12] The king of Kabul was captured and he then converted to Islam.[13] Per sources, when the Shah submitted to al-Ma'mun, he sent his crown and bejeweled throne, later seen by the Meccan historian al-Azraqi, to the Caliph who praised Fadl for "curbing polytheists, breaking idols, killing the refractory" and refers to his successes against Kabul's king and ispahabad. Other near-contemporary sources however refer to the artifacts as a golden jewel-encrusted idol sitting on a silver throne by the Hindu Shahi ruler or by an unnamed ruler of "Tibet" as a sign of his conversion to Islam.[114]
Qutayba b. Muslim was appointed the governor of Khorasan in 705 by al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf, the governor of Iraq and the East. He began his rule with the reconquest of western Tokharistan in the same year.[115] Qutayba, who was tasked with subduing the revolt in Lower Tokharistan, led the final conquest of Balkh. His army was assembled in spring of 705 and marched to Balkh. Per one version of al-Tabari, the city was surrendered peacefully. Another version, speaks of a revolt among the residents.[7] In 706, he received the submission of Nizak, the leader of Badghis.[115] In 707, he marched on Bukhara oasis along with Nizak in his army but the campaign did not achieve any major objective.[116]
According to Baldhuri, when Qutayba became the governor of Khorasan and Sistan, he appointed his brother 'Amr to Sistan. 'Amr asked the Zunbil to pay tribute in cash but he refused, prompting Qutayba to march against him. The campaign was also partially encouraged by his desire to eliminate the support of the southern Hepthalites, the Zabulites, for their northern brethren to revolt. Zunbil, who was surprised by this unexpected move and scared of Qutayba's reputation, quickly capitulated. Qutayba, realizing the real strength of the Zunbils, accepted it and returned to Merv, leaving only an Arab representative in Sistan.[96]
Per Al-Mada'ini, Qutayba returned to Merv after conquering Bukhara in 709. The rebellion of the Hepthalite principalities from the region of Guzgan, including Taloqan and Faryab, led Qutayba to dispatch 12,000 men from Merv to Balkh in winter of 709. The rebellion was led and organized by Nezak Tarkhan and was supported by Balkh and Marw al-Rudh's dihqan Bādām. Nizak had realised that independence would not be possible if Arab rule was strengthened in Khorasan, and perhaps was also encouraged by Qutayba's attempts to achieve his objectives through diplomacy. The success of Zunbils may also have encouraged him.[117]
Nizak wrote to the Zunblis asking for help. In addition, he also forced the weak Jābghū of Tokharistan to join his cause to persuade all princes of the Principalities of Tukharistan to do the same. His plan to stage the revolt in spring of 710 was however spoilt by Qutayba. Bādām fled when Qutayba advanced on Marw al-Rudh[117] but his two sons were caught and crucified by him. Qutayba next marched to Taloqan,[118] which was the only place in his campaign where the inhabitants were not given a complete amnesty, concerning which H.A.R. Gibb states the "traditions are hopelessly confused". Per one account, he executed and crucified a band of bandits there, though it is possible it was selected for this severity as it was the only place where there was an open revolt.[119]
Faryab and Guzgan both submitted and their inhabitants were not harmed. From there, Qutayba went on to receive the submission of people of Balkh. Almost all of Nizak's princely allies had reconciled themselves with Qutayba and there were Arab governors in all towns of Tokharistan, spoiling his plans. He fled south to the Hindu Kush, hoping to reach Kabul[118] and entrenched himself in an inaccessible mountain pass guarded by a fortress. The Arabs succeeded in gaining the fort with help of Ru'b Khan, ruler of Ru'b and Siminjan.[120] Nizak fled along the modern road that leads from the Oxus valley to Salang Pass and holed up in an unidentified mountain refuge in a site of Baghlan Province. Qutayba caught up with him and besieged him for two months.[118]
Sulaym al-Nasih (the counsellor), a mawla of Khorasan, helped in obtaining Nizak's surrender to Qutayba who promised a pardon. Nonetheless, he was executed along with 700 of his followers after orders from al-Hajjaj. The Jabghu of Tokharistan was sent as a valuable hostage to Damascus.[121] Qutayba then went in pursuit of Juzjan's king, who requested amnesty and called for exchange of hostages as a precautionary measure. This was agreed upon and Habib b. 'Abd Allah, a Bahilite, was sent as prisoner by Qutayba while the king sent some of his family members in return. The peace treaty was agreed but the king died in Taloqan on his return journey. His subjects accused the Muslims of poisoning him and killed Habib, with Qutayba retaliating by executing Juzjan's hostages.[122]
Tabari records that in 667 AD, Ziyad b. Abihi had sent Hakam b. 'Amr al-Ghafri to Khorasan as Amir. Hakam raided Ghur and Farawanda, bringing them to submission through force of arms and conquered them. He obtained captives and a large amount of plunder from them. A larger expedition was undertaken under Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri, the governor of Khorasan, who raided Gharchistan in 725, receiving its submission as well as the conversion of its king to Islam. He next attacked Ghur whose residents hid their valuables in an inaccessible cave, but he was able to plunder the wealth by lowering his men in crates.[19]
Asad's success prompted him to undertake a second expedition in 108-109 AH against Ghur. The poet Thabit Qutna's eulogical poem of Asad recorded by Tabari called it a campaign against the Turks saying, "Groups of the Turks who live between Kabul and Ghur came to you, since there was no place in which they might find refuge from you." Bosworth states that this campaign may have actually taken place in Guzgan or Bamiyan rather than the purely-Iranian Ghur. He also states that no doubt further sporadic raids continued throughout the Umayyad rule, though not noted by historians. It is known that Nasr ibn Sayyar's commander Sulaiman b. Sul had raided Gharchistan and Ghur some time before 739 AD.[19]
The early history of Ghor is unclear. Minhaj-i-Siraj in Tabaqat-i-Nasiri states that Shansab, who established the Ghurid dynasty, was converted by the Arab Caliph Ali which Mohammad Habib and K. A. Nizami dismissed as unlikely. He further adds that the Ghurid Amir Faulad assisted Abu Muslim in overthrowing the Umayyads during the Abbasid Revolution.[123] He also recounts a legend about a dispute between two prominent families of the area. They sought the intercession of the Abbasids and the ancestor of the Shansabi family, Amir Banji, was subsequently confirmed as the ruler by Harun al-Rashid.[124][125]
No permanent control was ever established on Ghur. According to Bosworth, its value was only for its slaves which could best be obtained in occasional temporary raids.[19] Arab and Persian geographers never considered it important.[126] In all sources it is cited as supplying slaves to slave markets in Khorasan, indicating it had a mostly "infidel" population. Istakhari called it a land of infidels (dar al-kufr) annexed to Islamic domain because of its Muslim minority. However Hudud al-'Alam stated it had a mostly-Muslim population.[127]
The pre-Ghaznavid royal dynasty of Ghazni were the Lawiks. Afghan historian 'Abd al-Hayy Habibi Qandahari, who in 1957 examined a manuscript containing tales about miracles (karamat) of Shaikh Sakhi Surur of Multan, who lived in the 12th century, concluded it dated to 1500. He recorded one of its anecdotes which records the history of Ghazni by the Indian traditionalist and lexicographer Radi ad-Din Hasan b. Muhammad al-Saghani (died 1252) from Abu Hamid az-Zawuli. According to it, a great mosque at Ghazni was earlier a great idol-temple built in honor of the Rutbils and Kabul-Shahs by Wujwir Lawik. His son Khanan converted to Islam and was sent a poem by the Kabul-Shah saying, "Alas! The idol of Lawik has been interred beneath the earth of Ghazni, and the Lawiyan family have given away [the embodiment of] their kingly power. I am going to send my own army; do not yourself follow the same way of the Arabs [ie., Islam]."[128]
Habibi continues stating that Khanan later reconverted to the faith of the Hindu-Shahis. His grandson Aflah however upon assuming power demolished the idol-temple and built a mosque in its place. When the saint Surur arrived at the mosque, he is said to have found the idol of Lawik and destroyed it.[129] The Siyasatnama of Nizam al-Mulk, the Tabaqat-i Nasiri of Juzjani and the Majma' al-ansāb fī't-tawārīkh of Muhammad Shabankara'i (14th century) mention Lawik. Juzjani gives the Lawik who was defeated by Alp-tegin the Islamic kunya of Abu Bakr, though Shabankara'i claims he was a pagan. A variant of his name appears as Anuk in Tabaqat-i Nasiri.[130]
The Buddhist monastery of Tepe Sardar existed near Ghazni during the time Arabs were threatening the Ghazni region, and was destroyed by a fire possibly due to the first Muslim invasion of the region in 671–672 CE. It may have been the "Šāh Bahār" (temple of the king) mentioned as having been destroyed by Muslims in 795 CE in the Kitab al-Buldan.[131]
Ya'qubi states that the lord of Bamyan called the Shēr, was converted to Islam under Caliph Al-Mansur (d.775) by Muzahim b. Bistam, who married his son Abu Harb Muhammad to his daughter. However, in his history he changes it to the rule of Al-Mahdi (r. 775–785). Ya'qubi also states that Al-Fadl ibn Yahya made Hasn, Abu Harb Muhammad's son, as the new Shēr after his successful campaign in Ghorband.[132] Ya'qubi states that the ruler of Bamiyan had accompanied an expedition dispatched by Al-Fadl ibn Yahya in 792–793 against the Kabul Shahi.[113]
Later Shers remained Muslim and were influential at the Abbasid court. However, Muslim sources describe the Saffarid ruler Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar looting Bamiyan's pagan idols. A much later historian Shabankara'i claims that Alp-Tegin obtained conversion of the Sher to Islam in 962. It seems there were lapses to Buddhism among some of the rulers as the Muslim influence grew weak. However, there is no evidence about the role of Buddhism during these periods or whether Buddhist monasteries remained the center of religious life and teaching.[18]
Khurasan was the base for early recruitment of Abbasid armies, especially the Abbasid takeover received support from Arab settlers aiming to undermine the important sections of non-Muslim aristocracy. The Abbasids succeeded in integrating Khorasan and the East into the central Islamic lands. The state was gradually Persianized through political influence and financial support of the dihqans. Al-Ma'mun emerged as the victor in the Fourth Fitna with the help of Khorasani forces and appointed Tahir ibn Husayn as the governor. Later, he appointed Talha as the governor in 822 and Abdallah in 828.[133][134][135] But after the Abbasid decline, Khorasan ended up turning into a virtually independent state under a Persian mawla who rose to favour under Al-Ma'mun.[136]
According to Ibn Khordadbeh, the Shah of Kabul had to send 2,000 Oghuz slaves worth 600,000 dirhams as annual tribute to the governor of Khorasan Abdallah ibn Tahir (r. 828–845).[137] In addition to the Oghuz slaves, he also had to pay an annual tribute of 1.5 million dirhams.[138] Mid-9th century, one of their tributaries Abu Da'udid or the Banijurid Amir Da'ud b. Abu Da'ud Abbas, undertook an obscure campaign into eastern Afghanistan and Zabulistan that was profitable. It is recorded that in 864 Muhammad ibn Tahir sent two elephants captured at Kabul, idols and aromatic substances to the caliph.[139]
The Tahirid rule was overthrown by Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar of Sistan, the first independent Iranian ruler in the post-Islamic era. He also fought against the Abbasid Caliphate.[140] He joined the 'ayyar band of Salih b. al-Nadr/Nasr, who was recognised as Bust's amir in 852. al-Nasr aimed at taking over whole of Sistan and drove out the Tahirid governor in 854, with Sistan ceasing to be under the direct control of the Caliphate. al-Nasr himself was overthrown by Dirham b. Nasr who was overthrown by Ya'qub in 861.[14] Ya'qub and his brother Amr advanced as far as Baghdad and to Kabul itself in eastern Afghanistan with their dynamism, advancing along the historic route taken by the modern Lashkargah-Qandahar-Ghazni-Kabul road. Their eastern campaigns are documented by Arabic sources of Al-Masudi's Murūj adh-dhahab, Ibn al-Athir's al-Kāmil fi't-tā'rīkh and Tarikh-e-Sistan. The Persian historian Gardizi's Zain al-akhbār also mentions the Saffarid campaigns.[141]
Salih fled to ar-Rukhkhaj or Arachosia, where he received the help of the Zunbil. Both Salih and the Zunbil were killed by Ya'qub in 865.[14] Abu Sa'id Gardezi mentions that Ya'qub advanced from Sistan to Bust and occupied the city. From here he advanced to Panjway and Tiginabad (two of the chief towns of Arachosia), defeating and killing the Zunbil, though the date is not given. This account matches with that of Tarikh-e-Sistan.[142] Satish Chandra states that, "We are told that it was only in 870 AD that Zabulistan was finally conquered by one Yakub who was the virtual ruler of the neighbouring Iranian province of Siestan. The king was killed and his subjects were made Muslims."[143]
Muhammad Aufi's Jawami ul-Hikayat meanwhile states that during his invasion of Zabul, Yaqub employed a ruse to surrender after being allowed to pay homage to the ruler along with his troops, lest they disperse and become dangerous to both sides. Yaqub's troops "carried their lances concealed behind their horses and were wearing coats of mail under their garments. The Almighty made the army of Rusal (probably Rutbil), blind, so that they did not see the lances. When Yaqub drew near Rusal, he bowed his head as if to do homage, but raised a lance and thrust it in the back of Rusal so that he died on the spot. His people also fell like lightning upon the enemy, cutting them down with their swords and staining the earth with the blood of the enemies of the religion. The infidels when they saw the head of Rusal upon the point of a spear took to flight and great bloodshed ensued. This victory, which he achieved, was the result of treachery and deception, such as no one had ever committed."[144]
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava states that after this victory by Yaqub over Zabul, the position of Lallya alias Kallar, the Brahmin minister who had overthrown the last Kshatriya king of Kabul Lagaturman, seems to have become untenable. He shifted his capital to Udhaband in 870 AD. Lallya, credited as an able and strong ruler by Kalhana in Rajatarangini, was driven out by Ya'qub from Kabul within a year of his usurpation according to Srivastava.[144]
Gardezi states that after defeating the Zunbil, Yaqub then advanced into Zabulistan and then Ghazni, whose citadel he destroyed and forced Abu Mansur Aflah b. Muhammad b. Khaqan, the local ruler of nearby Gardez, to tributary status. Tarikh-e-Sistan however in contrast states that he returned to Zarang after killing Salih. This campaign may be related to Gardizi's account of a later expedition in 870 where he advanced as far as Bamiyan and Kabul.[142] Salih b. al-Hujr, described as a cousin of the Zunbil, was appointed as the Saffarid governor of ar-Rukhkhaj, but rebelled two years after Zunbil's death and committed suicide to avoid capture.[142]
Ya'qub had captured several relatives of the Zunbil's family after defeating Salih b. al-Nasr. Zunbil's son escaped from captivity in 869 and quickly raised an army in al-Rukhkhaj, later seeking refuge with the Kabul-Shah.[145] Per Gardizi, Ya'qub undertook another expedition in 870 which advanced as far as Kabul and Bamiyan.[142] According to Tarikh-e-Sistan, Bamiyan was captured in 871[145] and its idol-temple was plundered.[141] Ya'qub defeated Kabul in 870 and again had to march there in 872 when the Zunbil's son took possession of Zabulistan. Ya'qub captured him from the fortress of Nay-Laman where he had fled.[146] In 871, Ya'qub sent 50 gold and silver idols he gained by campaigning from Kabul to Caliph Al-Mu'tamid, who sent them to Mecca.[147]
According to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Ghor, which was ruled by Amir Suri in the 9th century, entered into a war against Ya'qub, but escaped conquest due to its difficult and mountainous terrain.[125]
After Ya'qub's death in 879, Al-Mu'tamid recognised his brother and successor 'Amr b. al-Layth (r. 879–902), as governor of Khorasan, Isfahan, Fars, Sistan and Sindh.[148] The caliph however announced divesting him of all his governorships in 885 and reappointed Muhammad b. Tahir as the governor of Khorasan.[149] He was reappointed governor of Khorasan in 892 by Al-Mu'tadid.[150]
Amr led an expedition as far as Sakawand in the Logar Valley, between Ghazni and Kabul, described as a Hindu pilgrimage-centre. In 896, he sent idols captured from Zamindawar and the Indian frontier, including a female copper idol with four arms and two girdles of silver set with jewels and pulled on a trolley by camels, to Baghdad.[148] Al-Baihaki mentions Sakawand as a pass from Kabul to India. It was situated at or near Jalalabad.[151] The idol taken from somewhere in eastern Afghanistan by Amr was displayed for three days in Basra and then for three days in Baghdad. Jamal J. Elias states that it may have been of Lakshmi or Sukhavati at Sakawand. Al-Masudi emphasises the attention it received as a spectacle, with crowds gathering to gawk at it.[152]
Aufi states that Amr had sent Fardaghan as the prefect over Ghazni and he launched the raid on Sakawand, which was a part of the territory of Kabul Shahi and had a temple frequented by Hindus. The Shah of Kabul at this time was Kamaluka, called "Kamalu" in Persian literature. Fardaghan entered it and succeeded in surprising Sakawand.[153] Sakawand was plundered,[151] and its temple destroyed.[154]
Kamalu counter-attacked Fardaghan, who realising his forces were no match for his, resorted to spreading a false rumour that he knew his intentions and had organised a formidable army against him with 'Amr on the way to join him. The rumour had the desired effect and the opposing army slowed its advance, knowing that they could be ambushed and slaughtered if they advanced impetuously into the narrow defiles. Meanwhile, Fardaghan received reinforcements from Khorasan according to Aufi.[155] According to Aufi, he cleverly averted the danger.[154]
Tarikh-e-Sistan does not mention any attack by Fardaghan on Sakawand however, instead beginning with the attack by Kamalu. Per it, when Amr was in Gurgan, he heard that Nasad Hindi and Alaman Hindi had allied and invaded Ghazni. The Saffarid governor 'Fard 'Ali was defeated and fled.[155]
The Samanids came to rule over areas including Khorasan, Sistan, Tokharistan and Kabulistan after Ismail (r. 892–907) in 900 AD had defeated the Saffarids, who had taken over Zabulistan and the Kabul region.[156] The Turks were highly noted for their martial prowess by the Muslim sources and were in high demand as slave-soldiers (ghulam, mamluk) by the Caliphate in Baghdad and the provincial emirs. The slaves were acquired either in military campaigns or through trade. The Samanids were heavily involved in this trade of Turkish slaves from lands to the north and east of their state. As the enslavement was limited to non-Muslims and with the Turks increasingly adopting Islam beyond Samanid borders, they also entered Transoxiana as free men due to various causes.[157]
The Ghaznavids arose indirectly from the atmosphere of disintegration, palace revolutions and succession putsches of the Samanid Empire.[158] Abu-Mansur Sabuktigin was one of the Samanid slave guards who rose from the ranks to come under the patronage of the Chief Hajib Alp-Tegin.[159] After the death of the Samanid Amir 'Abd al-Malik b. Nuh, the commander of forces in Khorasan Alp-Tegin along with the vizier Muhammad Bal'ami attempted to place a ruler of their choice on the throne. The attempt failed however and Alp-Tegin decided to withdraw to the eastern fringes of the empire. Per the sources, he wanted to flee to India to avoid his enemies and earn divine merit by raiding the Hindus. He did not intend to capture Ghazni, but was forced to take it when he was denied transit by its ruler.[160]
Alp-Tegin proceeded with his small force of ghulams and ghazis (200 ghulams and 800 ghazis according to Siyasatnama, while Majma al-ansab of Muhammad b. Ali al-Shabankara'i (d. 1358) states 700 ghulams and 2,500 Tajiks). En route, he subdued the Iranian Sher of Bamiyan and the Hindu-Shahi king of Kabul. He then came to Ghazni, whose citadel he besieged for four months and wrested the town from its ruler, Abu 'Ali or Abu Bakr Lawik or Anuk. The origin of this chief was Turkic, though it is not known if he was a Samanid vassal or an independent ruler. Josef Markwart suggests he was a late representative of the Zunbils.[160] The Lawik dynasty of Ghazni was linked to the Hindu Shahi dynasty through marriage.[158] Alp-Tegin was accompanied by Sabuktigin during the conquest of Ghazni.[159]
Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani states that Alp-Tegin had his position regularised by Amir Mansur b. Nuh through an investiture, however Siyasatnama mentions an expedition against Alp-Tegin from Bukhara which was defeated outside Ghazni. His ambiguous, semi-rebel status seems to be reflected in his coins, with two of his coins minted at Parwan mentioning his authority from the Samanids to mint coins only in an indirect way.[160] He was succeeded by his son Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, who lost Ghazni to Abu Ali Lawik, the son of its expelled ruler. He recovered it however with Samanid help in 964–65.[161]
Alp-Tegin's ghulams were reconciled with the Samanids in 965 but maintained their autonomy.[162] After Ibrahim's death in 966, Bilge-Tigin was made the successor and he acknowledged the Samanids as his overlords. He died in 364 AH (974–975 AD) while besieging Gardez and was succeeded by Böritigin or Piri.[163]
Piri's misrule led to resentment among the people who invited Abu Ali to take back the throne. The Kabul Shahis allied with him and the king, most likely Jayapala, sent his son to assist Lawik in the invasion. According to the Majba al-Ansab, Sabuktigin managed to convince the Muslim Turks living in Ghazni, Gardez and Bamyan to participate in a jihad against the Hindus. When the allied forces reached near Charkh on Logar River, they were attacked by Sabuktigin who killed and captured many of them, while also capturing ten elephants. Lawik as well his ally were both killed in the battle. Piri was expelled and Sabuktigin became governor in 977 AD. The accession was endorsed by the Samanid ruler Nuh II.[164][163]
Hudud al-‘Alam states that Ghor was under the overlordship of Farighunids.[123] Both Gardezi and Baihaqi state that in 379 AH (979–980 AD), the Samanid Amir Nuh b. Mansur dispatched an expedition under Abu Ja'far Zubaidi to conquer Ghur, but he had to return after capturing several forts. As the Samanid governor of Zabulistan and Ghazni, Sabuktigin attacked it several times.[165] He was able to conquer eastern Ghur after initial set-backs and was acknowledged as a sovereign by Muhammad ibn Suri.[125]
The Ghaznavid campaigns from the time of Sabuktigin are recorded as jihad against the people of al-Hind to destroy idolatry and replace it by expanding Islam. The Kabul Shahis only retained Lamghan in the Kabul-Gandhara area by the time of Alp-Tegin. According to Firishta, Sabuktigin had already begun raiding Multan and Lamghan under Alp-Tegin for slaves. This precipitated an alliance between the Shahi ruler Jayapala, Bhatiya and Sheikh Hamid Khan Lodi.[166][167] He crossed the Khyber Pass many times and raided the territory of Jaipala.[168]
Jayapala appointed Sheikh Hamid Khan Lodi as ruler over Multan and Lamghan, but Sabuktigin broke up this alliance after his accession through diplomatic means, convincing Lodi to acknowledge him as an overlord. Although Ferishta had identified Lodi and his family as Afghans, historian Yogendra Mishra pointed out that this was an error, since they were descended from the Qurayshite Usama ibn Lawi ibn Ghalib.[169]
Sabuktigin plundered the forts in the outlying provinces of the Kabul Shahi and captured many cities, acquiring huge booty.[164] He also established Islam at many places. Jaipal in retaliation marched with a large force into the valley of Lamghan (Jalalabad) where he clashed with Sabuktigin and his son. The battle stretched on several days until a snow storm affected Jaipala's strategies, forcing him to plead for peace.[168] Sabuktigin was inclined to grant peace to Jayapala but his son Mahmud wanted total victory.[170]
Jaypala upon hearing Mahmud's plans warned Sabuktigin, "You have seen the impetuosity of the Hindus and their indifference to death... If therefore, you refuse to grant peace in the hope of obtaining plunder, tribute, elephants and prisoners, then there is no alternative for us but to mount the horse of stern determination, destroy our property, take out the eyes of our elephants, cast our children into fire, and rush out on each other with sword and spear, so that all that will be left to you to conquer and seize is stones and dirt, dead bodies, and scattered bones." Knowing Jaipala could carry out his threat, Sabuktigin granted him peace in return for his promise of paying tribute and ceding some of his territory.[170]
After making peace with Sabuktigin, Jayapala returned to Waihind but broke the treaty and mistreated the amirs sent to collect the tribute. Sabuktigin launched another invasion in retaliation. While the mamluks remained the core of his army, he also hired the Afghans, especially the Ghilji tribe, in his dominion.[171] According to al-Utbi, Sabuktigin attacked Lamghan, conquering it and burning the residences of the "infidels", while also demolishing its idol-temples and establishing Islam.[172] He proceeded to slaughter the non-Muslims, destroyed their temples and plundered their shrines. It is said that his forces even risked frostbite on their hands while counting the large booty.[173]
To avenge the savage attack of Sabuktigin, Jayapala, who had earlier taken his envoys as hostage, decided to go to war again in revenge. According to al-Utbi, he assembled an army of 100,000 against Sabuktigin. The much later account of Ferishta states that it included troops from Kanauj, Ajmer, Delhi and Kalinjar. The two sides fought on an open battlefield in Laghman. Sabuktigin divided his army into packs of 500 who attacked the Indians in succession. After sensing that they were weakened, his forces mounted a concerted attack. The forces of Kabul Shahi were routed and those still alive were killed in the forest or drowned in the river.[174]
The second battle that took place between Sabuktigin and Jayapala in 988 AD, resulted in the former capturing territory between Lamghan and Peshawar. Al-Utbi also states that the Afghans and Khaljis, living there as nomads, took the oath of allegiance to him and were recruited into his army.[175] He helped Nuh II in expelling the rebel and heretic Abu Ali Simjur from Khorasan, resulting in its governorship being given to Sabuktigin who appointed Mahmud as his deputy there. He also appointed Ismail as the successor to his kingdom and died in 997. A succession war erupted between Ismail and Mahmud, with the latter gaining the throne in 998.[176]
The Samanid amir Mansur II appointed Bektuzun as Khorasan's governor after Sabuktigin's death. Mahmud however wished to reacquire the governorship after defeating his brother Ismail and his allies. Bektuzun and Fa'iq, the de facto power behind the Samanid throne, toppled Mansur II as they did not trust him, and replaced him with Abu'l Fawaris 'Abd al-Malik. Their forces were however defeated in 999 by Mahmud, who acquired all the lands south of Oxus, with even those to the north of the river submitting to him. The Samanid dynasty was later ended by the Karakhanids.[177] In 1002, Mahmud also defeated the Saffarid Amir Khalaf ibn Ahmad and annexed Sistan.[178]
Mahmud systemized plunder raids into India as a long-term policy of the Ghaznavids. The first raid was undertaken in September 1000, but was meant for reconnaissance and identifying the possible terrain and roads that could be used for future raids. He reached Peshawar by September 1001 and was attacked by Jayapala. The two sides clashed on 27–28 November 1001 and Jayapala was captured.[179] Anandapala who was at Waihind, had to pay a heavy ransom to have his father and others released. Jayapala later self-immolated out of shame and Anandpala succeeded him.[180] Mahmud attacked Anandpala later over his refusal to allow him passage during his attack on Multan, which was controlled by Fateh Daud.[181] The two sides clashed in 1009 in the eastern side of Indus at Chhachh, with Mahmud defeating Anandapala and capturing the fort of Bhimnagar.[182] He was allowed to rule as a feudatory in Punjab for some time.[182]
An alliance between Anandpala's son, Trilochanpala, and Kashmiri troops was later defeated.[183] During the warfare from 990–91 to 1015, Afghanistan, and later Punjab and Multan were lost to the Ghaznavids.[182] Trilochanpala's rule was limited to eastern Punjab and he gained respite from the Muslim invasions with retreat to Sirhind. He allied with the Chandellas and in 1020-21 was defeated at a river called Rahib by Al-Utbi, while Firishta and Nizamuddin Ahmad identify it as Yamuna.[184] He was killed in 1021 AD by his mutinous troops and succeeded by Bhimapala,[185] who became the last ruler of the Kabul Shahi and was killed fighting the Ghaznavids in 1026 AD. The remnants of the royal family sought refuge with the Lohara dynasty of Kashmir and Punjab passed under the control of Muslim conquerors.[186]
Mahmud used his plundered wealth to finance his armies which included mercenaries. The Indian soldiers, presumably Hindus, who were one of the components of the army, with their commander called sipahsalar-i-Hinduwan, lived in their quarter of Ghazni while practicing their own religion. Indian soldiers under their commander Suvendhray remained loyal to Mahmud. They were also used against a Turkic rebel, with the command given to a Hindu named Tilak according to Baihaki.[16]
The renowned 14th-century Moroccan Muslim scholar Ibn Battuta remarked that the Hindu Kush meant the "slayer of Indians", because the slaves brought from India who had to pass through there died in large numbers due to the extreme cold and quantity of snow.[17] He states:
After this I proceeded to the city of Barwan, in the road to which is a high mountain, covered with snow and exceedingly cold; they call it the Hindu Kush, that is Hindu-slayer, because most of the slaves brought thither from India die on account of the intenseness of the cold.
The Travels of Ibn Battuta: in the Near East, Asia and Africa, 1325–1354[187]
The conversion of Ghur occurred over a long period and it was mostly pagan until the 10th century, which Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami say was probably a result of the missionary activities by the Karramiyya movement established in the region in 10th–11th centuries. Its imperfect conversion is visible by the fact that while the people of Ghur had Muslim names, they led the life of pagans. Muhammad b. Suri, who had acknowledged Sabuktigin as his sovereign, withheld tribute after his death, started plundering caravans and harassed the subjects of Mahmud.[125] Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ called him a pagan, and al-Utbi stated that he was a Hindu.[188]
In 1011, Mahmud dispatched an expedition to conquer Ghur under Altuntash, governor of Herat, and Arslan Hajib, governor of Tus. Muhammad b. Suri, the king, placed himself in inaccessible hills and ravines. The Ghurids were however defeated and Suri was captured along with his son Shith. Abu Ali, who had remained on good terms with the Sultan, was made the ruler of Ghur by him. Eastern Ghur was brought under Ghaznavid control.[125] In 1015, Mahmud attacked Ghur's southwestern district of Khwabin and captured some forts.[189]
In 1020, Mahmud's son Ma'sud was dispatched to take Ghur's northwestern part called Tab. He was helped by Abul Hasan Khalaf and Shirwan, chieftains of the south-western and north-eastern regions respectively. He captured many forts, bringing the entire region of Ghur, except maybe the inaccessible interior, under Ghaznavid control.[189] He also captured the stronghold of the chieftain Warmesh-Pat of Jurwas, levying a tribute of arms.[190] Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani praises Abu Ali for firmly establishing Islamic institutions in Ghur. The progress of Islam in this divided region after his death is however unknown.[191]
Ghur remained a pagan enclave until the 11th century. Mahmud who raided it, left Muslim precepts to teach Islam to the local population. The region became Muslim by 12th century, though the historian Satish Chandra states that Mahayana Buddhism is believed to have existed until the end of the century.[20] Neither Mahmud nor Ma'sud conquered the interior. Habib and Nizami say that the Ghurids were gradually converted by propagandists of new mystic movements. The Shansabani eventually succeeded in establishing their seniority in Ghor, if not its unification. By the time of Sultan Bahram, Ghur was converted and politically unified.[21] According to Minhaj, both Ghiyasuddin and Mu'izzuddin were Karamis who later converted to Shafi‘i and Hanafi Islam respectively.[192] Tarikh-i guzida however says that the Ghorids were only converted to Islam by Mahmud.[193]
The name Afghanistan was first used in a political sense by Saifi Herawi in the 14th century. It was even used during the height of the Durrani Empire. Only after the Durand line was fixed, did its modern usage for the land between it and the Oxus river became usual. The people who were mostly responsible for establishing the Afghan kingdom are referred to as Pashtun, who were also called "Afghans". The name Pashtun (or Pakthun) is the original and oldest name.[194]
The tenth-century Persian geography Hudud al-'Alam is the earliest known mention of the Afghans. In Discourse on the Country of Hindistan and Its Towns, he states that, "Saul, a pleasant village on a mountain. In it live Afghans." Ibn Battuta described Saul as being situated between Gardez and Husaynan along a common trade route, the exact location of Husaynan is unknown. Akhund Darweza states that their original homeland was Qandahar from where they migrated in 11th century upon the request of Mahmud of Ghazni to assist him in his conquests. Afghan tradition considers "Kase Ghar" in Sulayman range as the homeland.[195] Hudud al-'Alam also mentions that the king of Ninhar (Nangarhar) had many wives including "Moslem, Afghan and Hindu".[22]
The Pashtun traditions speak of Islamization during Muhammad's time through Khalid ibn al-Walid.[196] Qais Abdur Rashid, the presumed ancestor of the Afghans, is said to have led a delegation to Mecca from Ghor after being summoned by Khalid b. Walid and converted to Islam while also distinguishing himself in the service of Muhammad. He adopted the name Abdul Rashid, and his three sons – Saraban, Ghurghust, Karlani, and a foundling Karlanri linked to Saban, are considered to be the progenitors of the major Afghan divisions.[197]
Ni'matullah's Makhzan-i-Afghani traces their history to an Israelite called Afghana who constructed the al-Aqsa mosque. Per it, under the time of King Suleiman, a figure named Bokhtnasser was responsible for "carrying away the Israelites, whom he settled in the mountainous districts of Ghor, Ghazneen, Kabul, Candahar, Koh Firozeh, and the parts lying within the fifth and sixth climates; where they, especially those descended of Asif and Afghana, fixed their habitations, continually increasing in number, and incessantly making war on the infidels around them." Qais traveled to Medina to receive Mohammed's blessings and fought against the Meccans. Muhammad himself conferred the title of Pashtun upon Qais and his people according to the tradition. They returned to Ghor to spread Islam and pledged loyalty to Mahmud.[198] Per Ni'matullah, the Ghurid ruler Mu'izz al-Din had initiated their eastward migration into present-day north-west Pakistan, in course of his military campaigns.[199]
The Arabs, at war with the Kabul Shah, had directed their campaigns in direction of Gandhara. By the time of Mu'awiya, Sistan's governorship was separated from Khorasan, with the governor looking after the region and keeping a check on Kabul Shah. Ahmed Hassan Dani considered that the Arab activities may have led to conversion of Aghans as well, and it may have been wholesale because of their tribal nature, i.e., all the Afghan tribes adopted Islam at once.[196]
Quoting Matla-al-Anwar, Ferishta states that a man named Khalid, son of Abdullah, stated by some to be a descendant of Khalid bin Walid or Abu Jahl, was for some time governor of Herat, Ghor, Gharjistan and Kabul. After being relieved of the charge, he settled in Koh Sulaiman, with the Lodis and Suris being the descendant of his daughter who married a converted Afghan.[200]
Al-Utbi in Tarikh-i-Yamini states that the Afghans were enlisted by Sabuktigin and also Mahmud. During this period, the Afghan habitat was in the Sulaiman Mountains.[22] After defeating Jayapala in 988 AD, Sabuktigin had acquired the territory between Laghman and Peshawar. Al-Utbi states that the Afghans and Khaljis, living there as nomads, took the oath of allegiance to him and were recruited into his army.[175] Iqtidar Husain Siddiqui citing a 13th-century Persian translation, claims he mentions the "Afghans" were pagans given to rapine and rapacity, they were defeated and converted to Islam.[201]
Writing in the 11th century AD, Al-Biruni in his Tarikh al Hind stated that the Afghan tribes lived in mountains west of India.[202] He notes, "In the western frontier mountains of India there live various tribes of the Afghans and extend up to the neighbourhood of the Sindu valley." He earlier also noted about the mountains, "In marching from our country to Sindh we start from the country of Nimroz, i.e. the country of Sijistan, whilst marching to Hind or India proper we start from the side of Kabul... In the mountains which form the frontier of India towards the west there are tribes of the Hindus, or of people near akin to them — rebellious savage races — which extend as far as the farthermost frontiers of the Hindu race."[203]
Mahmud had gone to war against pagan Afghans while campaigning in the Sulayman mountains.[204] Firishta states that Afghans fought on both sides during the war between Mu'izz al-Din and Pithorai in 1192 AD, which Encyclopaedia of Islam says probably indicates that they were not completely converted yet.[205]
In 1519, Babur mounted an attack on the fort of Bajaur and sent a Dilazak Afghan as an ambassador to the Gibri Sultan of Bajaur, Mir Haidar 'Ali, to surrender and enter his services. Gibri, a Dardic language of Bajaur, was also spoken by the royal family and nobility of the Swat Valley. The Gibris decided to resist and Babur's forces stormed it in two days. He ordered a general massacre of its inhabitants on the pretext that they had rebelled against Kabul's regime and were infidels who had forsaken Islam.[206]
The westward migration of Pashtuns from Sulaiman mountains to Qandahar and Herat is thought to have begun in the 15th century. In the 16th century, the area around Qandahar formed a bone of contention between the Ghilzais and Abdalis. The latter gave in and migrated to Herat during the reign of Safavid Shah Abbas I. Their migration displaced or subjugated the indigenous populations, especially the Tajiks who were also the dominant population in Kabul, Nangarhar and Laghman in east Afghanistan. Before the advent of Ghilzais of the Ahmadzai division in the late 16th century, Logar River was also a Tajik stronghold. The Pashtuns also displaced the original Kafirs and Pashayi people in Kunar Valley and Laghman Valley, located south of Kabul in east Afghanistan, to the infertile mountains. Regions to the south and east of Ghazni were the strongholds of Hazaras before the 16th century. They also lost Wardak to the tribe of the same name when the latter invaded in the 17th century. In Qandahar, the Farsiwanis, Hazaras, Kakars and Baloch people were subjugated.[24]
Kafiristan is a mountainous region of the Hindu Kush that was isolated and politically independent until the Afghan conquest of 1896.[27] Before their conversion to Islam, the Nuristanis or Kafir people practiced a form of ancient Hinduism infused with locally developed accretions.[25]
Kafiristan proper from west to east comprises basins of Alishang, Alingar, Pech or Prasun, Waigal and Bashgal. The region became a refuge of an old group of Indo-European people, probably mixed with an older substratum, as well as a refuge of a distinct Kafiri group of Indo-Iranian languages, forming part of the wider Dardic languages. The inhabitants were known as "kafirs" due to their enduring paganism, while other regions around them became Muslim. However, the influence from district names in Kafiristan of Katwar or Kator and the ethnic name Kati has also been suggested. The Kafirs were divided into Siyah-Posh, comprising five sub-tribes who spoke the Kamkata-vari language; while the others were called Safed-Posh, comprising Prasungeli, Waigeli, Wamai and Ashkun.[27]
The Kafirs called themselves "Balor", a term that appeared in Chinese sources as early as the fifth century AD. In both the Chinese sources and Muslim sources like the 16th-century work of Kashmir's conqueror Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, the terms "Bolor" and "Boloristan" denote the area from the Kabul valley to Kashmir, Yarkand and Kashgar. The country is the most inaccessible part of Hindu Kush. The Muslim conquerors could not achieve a lasting success here.[207]
The vast area extending from modern Nuristan to Kashmir contained a host of "Kafir" cultures and Indo-European languages that became Islamized over a long period. Earlier, it was surrounded by Buddhist areas. The Islamization of the nearby Badakhshan began in the 8th century and Peristan was completely surrounded by Muslim states in the 16th century with the Islamization of Baltistan. The Buddhist states temporarily brought literacy and state rule into the region. The decline of Buddhism resulted in it becoming heavily isolated.[26]
There have been varying theories about the origins of the Kafirs.[208] Oral traditions of some Nuristanis place themselves to be at confluence of Kabul and Kunar River a millennium ago, being driven off from Kandahar to Kabul to Kapisa to Kama with the Muslim invasion. They identify themselves as late arrivals here, being driven by Mahmud of Ghazni, who after establishing his empire, forced the unsubmissive population to flee.[25] George Scott Robertson considered them to be part of the old Indian population of Eastern Afghanistan and stated that they fled to the mountains while refusing to convert to Islam after the Muslim invasion in the 10th century.[208] The name Kator was used by Lagaturman, the last king of the Turk Shahi. The title "Shah Kator" was assumed by Chitral's ruler Mohtaram Shah who assumed it upon being impressed by the majesty of the erstwhile pagan rulers of Chitral.[209] The theory of Kators being related to the Turki Shahis is based on the information of Jami- ut-Tawarikh and Tarikh-i-Binakiti.[210] The region was also named after its ruling elite. The royal usage may be the origin behind the name of Kator.[211]
In 1020–21, Mahmud of Ghazni led a campaign against Kafiristan and the people of the "pleasant valleys of Nur and Qirat" according to Gardizi.[212] The Persian chronicles speak of Qirat and Nur (or Nardin), which H. M. Elliot on authority of Al-Biruni identifies with Nur and Kira tributaries of Kabul river.[213] Ferishta wrongly calls these two valleys as "Nardin" and Qirat and confuses this conquest with the one against "Nardin" or Nandana. He also wrongly mentions that it took place after 412 AH.[214] Alexander Cunningham identifies the places conquered as "Bairath" and "Narayanpura".[215]
These people worshipped the lion.[216] While Clifford Edmund Bosworth considers that Mahmud attacked "pagan Afghans", Joseph Theodore Arlinghaus of Duke University does not consider it correct because his source Gardizi simply calls them "pagan (kafiran)" and not "pagan Afghans", as they were not known to be pagan or live on borders of Nuristan in the 11th century.[217] Mohammad Habib however considers that they might have been worshipping Buddha in the form of a lion (Sakya Sinha).[213] Ramesh Chandra Majumdar states that they had a Hindu temple which was destroyed by Mahmud's general.[218] Ram Sharan Sharma meanwhile states that they may have been Buddhist.[212] Cunningham claims based on the reporting of Ferishta that the place was plundered by 'Amir Ali after being taken.[215]
According to Gardizi, while returning from his recent invasion of India, Mahmud had heard about the Kafirs and the chief of Qirat surrendered without any struggle and accepted to convert, with the inhabitants converting as well. Nur however refused to surrender and his general 'Amir Ali led an attack on it, forcing its people to convert.[219] According to Firshta, the rulers of both of them submitted and accepted Islam in 1022.[220] He adds, "On breaking a great temple situated there, the ornamented figure of a lion came out of it, which according to the belief of the Hindus was four thousand years old."[213]
However, no permanent conquest was attempted.[221] Iqbal namah-i-Jahangiri stated that Kafirs still lived in Darrah-i-Nur which Mahmud of Ghazni had claimed to have converted. The Mughal Emperor Jahangir had received a delegation of these pure Kafirs in Jalalabad and had honoured them with gifts.[222]
The campaigns of Timur are recorded by Zafarnama, written by Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi, which is based on another work.[223] On his way to India, Timur attacked the Siyah-Posh in 1398 AD after receiving complaints from the trading city of Andarab about the raids by the Kafirs. He penetrated Kafiristan from Khawak pass and restored an old fortress there.[224] He personally proceeded against the Kator region, which extended from Kabul to Kashmir.[225]
Timur sent a detachment of 10,000 soldiers against the Siyah-Poshas under Burhan Aglan and had the fort of Kator deserted by Kafirs destroyed, while the houses of the city were burnt. The Kafirs took refuge on top of a hill and many were killed in the ensuing clash. Some held out for three days but agreed to convert after Timur offered them the choice between death and Islam. They however soon apostatised and ambushed Muslim soldiers in the night. The Muslims repelled them and a number of the Kafirs were killed, with 150 being taken prisoner and later executed. Timur ordered his men "to kill all the men, to make prisoners of women and children, and to plunder and lay waste all their property." His soldiers carried out the order and he directed them to build a tower of skulls of the dead Kafirs.[225]
Timur had his expedition engraved on a neighbouring hill in the month of Ramadan. His detachment sent against the Siyah-Poshas however met with disaster, with Aglan being routed and forced to flee. A small detachment of 400 men under Muhammad Azad was then sent and defeated the Kafirs, retrieving the horses and armour Aglan lost. Timur later captured a few more places, though nothing more is stated, presumably he left the Siyah-Poshas alone. He proceeded to exterminate the rebellious Afghan tribes and crossed the Indus River in September 1398.[225]
The Timurid Sultan Mahmud Mirza is said to have raided Kafiristan twice by Baburnama, which earned him the title of ghazi.[27]
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat invaded Balor under orders of Sultan Said Khan in 1527-1528 AD, and was accompanied by Said's eldest son Rashid Khan. The expedition was an Islamic frontier raid called ghaza.[226] Dughlat undertook highly devastating plundering raids against the region.[227]
Rashid Khan (r. 1533–1569) undertook further expeditions against Bolor (Kafiristan), which are recorded by Tarikh-i-Kashgar and Bahr al-asar of Mahmud b. Amir Wali. The Kashgari author mentions it briefly, though Wali goes into detail. The first campaign failed with a number of Kashgari captured and enslaved by the people of Bolor. A second invasion was successful and forced them to submit. Tarikh-i-Kashgar states that Bolor was governed by Shah Babur after Abdullah Khan's successful campaign in 1640.[226]
Babur himself came to the region in the winter of 1507–1508 and had an inscription carved commemorating his transit.[27] While fleeing to India to take refuge in the Afghan-Indian borderlands after Shibani Khan attacked Qandahar, which Babur had recently conquered, he marched from Kabul to Lamghan in September 1507. He eventually reached the Adinapur fort in Nangarhar district and commented that his men had to forage for food and raided the rice fields of the Kafirs in the Alishang district.[228]
While writing in his memoirs, Babur noted that when he captured Chigha Sarai in 1514, the "Kafirs of Pech came to their assistance."[229] He mentions some Muslim nīmčas or half-breeds, probably converted Kafirs, who married with the Kafirs and lived at Chigha Sarai, located at confluence of Kunar River and Pech River.[27] In 1520, he mentions sending Haidar Alamdar to the Kafirs, who returned and met him under Bandpakht along with some Kafir chiefs who gifted him some wineskins.[229]
The relationship between the Siahposh and the residents of Panjshir and Andarab remained the same even more than a century after Timur's expedition. Babur records about Panjshir that, "It lies upon the road, and is in the immediate vicinity of Kafiristan. The inroads of the robbers of Kafiristan are made through Panjshir. In consequence of their vicinity of the Kafirs - the inhabitants of this district are happy to pay them a fixed contribution. Since I last invaded Hindustan, and subdued it (in 1527), the Kafirs have descended into Panjshir, and returned after slaying a great number of people and committing extensive damages."[229]
Per Tabakat-i-Akbari, the Mughal Emperor Akbar had dispatched his younger brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim, who was a staunch adherent of the missionary-minded Naqshbandi Sufi order, against the Kafirs of Katwar in 1582.[27] Hakim was a semi-independent governor of Kabul.[230] The Sifat-nama-yi Darviš Muhammad Hān-i Ğāzī of Kadi Muhammad Salim who accompanied the expedition mentions its details[27] and gives Hakim the epithet of Darviš Khan Gazi.[230]
Muhammad Darvish's religious crusade fought its way from Lamghan to Alishang, and is stated to have conquered and converted 66 valleys to Islam. After conquering Tajau and Nijrau valleys in Panjshir area, his forces established a fort at Islamabad, located at the confluence of Alishang and Alingar rivers. They continued the raid up to Alishang and made their last effort against the non-Muslims of Alingar, fighting up to Mangu, the modern border between Pashai and Ashkun-speaking areas.[231]
The conquest does not seem to have had a lasting effect, as Henry George Raverty mentions that Kafirs still lived in upper part of Alishang and Tagau.[222] Khulasat al-ansab of Hafiz Rahmat Khan stated that the Afghans and Kafirs of Lamghan were still fighting each other during the time of Jahangir.[222]
Under Amir Sher Ali Khan, Afghanistan was divided into provinces (wilayats) of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Afghan Turkestan. Uruzgan and Kafiristan were later incorporated into Kabul.[232] Some parts of Kafiristan were already following Islam before its conquest. Amir Abdul Rahman Khan tried to persuade them to convert to Islam by deputing Kafir elders. The Kafirs were meanwhile poorly armed as compared to Afghans and numbered only 60,000. By 1895, the demarcation of nearby Chitral under indirect British rule, and the conquest of Pamirs by Russia, worried him about the endangerment of integration of Afghanistan through the independent Kafiristan.[233] Afghan tribes meanwhile undertook slave raids in places like Kafiristan, Hazarajat, Badakhshan and Chitral.[234]
The territory between Afghanistan and British India was demarcated between 1894 and 1896. Part of the frontier lying between Nawa Kotal in outskirts of Mohmand country and Bashgal Valley on outskirts of Kafiristan were demarcated by 1895 with an agreement reached on 9 April 1895.[235] Abdur Rahman wanted to force every community and tribal confederation with his single interpretation of Islam due to it being the only uniting factor. After the subjugation of the Hazaras, Kafiristan was the last remaining autonomous part. Field marshal Ghulam Hayder Khan sent a message to Kafirs of Barikut which stated, "It is not the duty of the government to compel, force or impose on them to accept, or take the path of the religion of Islam. The obligation that does exist is this: they render obedience and pay their taxes. As long as they do not disobey their command, they will not incinerate themselves with the fire of padishah's [king's] wrath. In addition, they are not to block the building of the road [that was planned through their territory]."[236]
Emir Abdur Rahman Khan's forces invaded Kafiristan in the winter of 1895–1896 and captured it in 40 days according to his autobiography. Columns invaded it from the west through Panjshir to Kullum, the strongest fort of the region. The columns from the north came through Badakhshan and from the east through Asmar. A small column also came from south-west through Laghman. The Kafirs were forcibly converted to Islam and resettled in Laghman, while the region was settled by veteran soldiers and other Afghans. Kafiristan was renamed as Nuristan.[237] Other residents also converted to avoid the jizya.[236]
His victory was celebrated with the publishing of a poem in 1896 or 1897 and Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara gave him the title of "Idol-Smasher".[236] About 60,000 of the Kafirs became converts. Mullahs were deployed after the conquest to teach them about fundamentals of Islam. The large-scale conversion proved difficult however and complete Islamization took some time. Kafir elders are known to have offered sacrifices in their shrines upon hearing rumours of Rahman's death in 1901.[233] Three main roads connecting Badakhshan with Kunar and Lamghan (Chigha Sirai-Munjan, Asmar-Badakhshan and Munjan-Laghman) were built after the conquest.[238]
Modern Afghanistan was part of ancient India; the Afghans belonged to the pale of Indo-Aryan civilisation. In the eighty century, the country was known by two regional names—Kabul land Zabul. The northern part, called Kabul (or Kabulistan) was governed by a Buddhist dynasty. Its capital and the river on the banks of which it was situated, also bore the same name. Lalliya, a Brahmin minister of the last Buddhist ruler Lagaturman, deposed his master and laid the foundation of the Hindushahi dynasty in c. 865.
Although Afghanistan was considered an integral part of India in antiquity, and was often called "Little India" even in medieval times, politically it had not been a part of India after the downfall of the Kushan empire, followed by the defeat of the Hindu Shahis by Mahmud Ghazni.
Ibn Battuta, the renowned Moroccan fourteenth century world traveller remarked in a spine-chilling passage that Hindu Kush means slayer of the Indians, because the slave boys and girls who are brought from India die there in large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and the quantity of snow.
When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan, he led his army against Sakawand, a large Hindu place of worship in that country with a temple and many idols. He took the temple, broke the idols into pieces, and overthrew the idolaters. He informed Amr ibn Lais of the conquest and asked for reinforcements. When the news of the fall of Sakawand reached Kamalu, who was Rai of Hindustan, he collected an innumerable army and marched towards Zabulistan to take revenge.
There was a large place of worship in that country, which was called Sakawand, and people used to come on pilgrimage from the most remote parts of Hindustan to the idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led his army against it, took the temple, broke the idols in pieces, and overthrew the idolaters. Some of the plunder he distributed among the troops, the rest he sent to Amru Lais, informing him of the conquest, and asking for reinforcements.
