Buddhas of Bamiyan, Gandhara (570–618 A.D.)

I. IDENTIFIERS

Artist/Attribution: Unknown Hephthalite-era artists and local Buddhist monks

Date: 570–618 A.D. (6th to 7th century CE)

Medium: Carved sandstone cliff, mud straw plaster, stucco, and paint

Location: Bamiyan Valley, central Afghanistan (Hindu Kush region)

Culture/Period: Late Gandharan style / Greco-Buddhist (Hephthalite period)

II. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

During the late 6th and early 7th century, Central Asia was dividing between the collapsing nomadic confederacies and there were competing empires.  The Hephthalites (White Huns) had dominated Afghanistan for a century. However, around 560 A.D. they were military split because of distinct alliances between the Western Turkic Khaganate’s and with the Sasanian Persian Empire.  

The most important aspect of Bamiyan during this timeline is the Silk Road commerce. The city of Bamiyan was a mega-hub of the trade routes, monasteries functioned like current banks in which traders donated extensive amounts of gold, silk, and gems to the monks in exchange for a safe place to sleep, and to store their caravans. The Silk Road also drastically expanded because during the 7th century China was successfully reunified which gave rise to the Tang Dynasty. 

      The dominant branch of Buddhism that existed along the Silk Road was Mahayana Buddhism which emphasized omnipresent Buddhas and their altruistic Bodhisattvas who delayed themselves from being enlightened in order to save humanity. Many monks traveled between India and China to translate the sacred Mahayana texts. Globally, 570 A.D. is the birth year of the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca, therefore around this time Islam was being born.

IV. ABOUT THE ATTACK

      The Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed in March of 2001, under the orders of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. The destruction of the statues stemmed from extreme religious ideology and as political protest. Around this time, Taliban started to enforce strict, fundamentalist interpretations of Islamic law and their concept of shirk (worshipping idols) which violated their prohibition of human images. Even though for many centuries, previous Muslim rulers and dynasties had been interacting with the statues and people had stopped worshipping them for centuries. Simultaneously, the Taliban regime was isolated globally and was experiencing heavy economic sanctions. There were Western organizations and UNESCO who were offering millions of dollars to preserve and restore the ancient statues. Mullah Omar became enraged at this since the Afghan people were starving from a severe famine, and globally the importance was on the statues. 

      Fueled by anger Mullah Omar ordered the destruction of these statues. At the news of this international museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York offered to buy the statues and with the help of engineers slice them safely out of the cliff and fly them out of the country which were rejected by the Taliban. The Buddhas were attempted to be destroyed first with guns which was ineffective, then they tried to place anti-tank mines (bombs) at the base of the statues which was also ineffective, afterwards the Taliban forced local captives from the Hazara ethnic group and obligated them to lower themselves down the cliffs with ropes and drill holes into the bodies of the Buddhas, place dynamite in the holes and make them detonate.  After the fall of the Taliban regime, the UNESCO brought experts to study the site in order to prevent the cliffs from collapsing. There are two massive empty niches that remain in their site, showing the recklessness of the Taliban regime. 

V. PERSONAL CONNECTION

Prior to my AP Art History class, I was unaware of these Buddhas, and soon became fascinated with them, especially with their total destruction. I went on an online rabbit hole trying to understand these statues, but most of all their destruction. The conclusion that came up with the entire search about these statues was that there are things in the world that must be protected by everyone, from ancient artifacts, to rainforests, to culture, to food, but most importantly with freedom. The act of destruction of these Buddhas shows a selfish stance on this issue, particularly with the prohibition of encountering culture and preserving heritage that had accompanied the world for roughly 1,500 years. This leads me to a different conclusion about how I started to experience the world after finding out about these pieces; while I think that yes, it is a pain and grievance that these colossal statues were destroyed there is an aspect which people should implement instead of grieving for a reality the never experienced. That aspect is the dedication to preserve what we have today and of uniting ourselves with all cultures, not demanding them to change, but to preserve their unique distinction; them.