Bagram
Encyclopedia
Bagram founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District
in Parwan Province of Afghanistan
, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul
. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Valley
, near today's city of Charikar
, Afghanistan. The town of Bagram also sits right next to Bagram Airfield, which is the largest U.S. military base in the region.
The location of this historical town made it a key passage from Ancient India
along the Silk Road
, leading westwards through the mountains towards Bamiyan.
of the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty
destroyed the city as part of his campaign against the Saka
nomads in the region. The town, however, was soon rebuilt by his successor Darius I.
In the 320s BC, Alexander the Great captured the city and established a fortified colony named Alexandria of the Caucasus
.
The new town, laid out in the "hippodamian plan" or iron-grid pattern--a hallmark of Greek
city planning, had brick walls reinforced with towers at the angles. The central street was bordered with shops and workshops.
After his death in 323 BC, the city passed to his general Seleucus
, who traded it to the Mauryan Dynasty of India in 305 BC. After the Mauryans were overthrown by the Sunga Dynasty in 185 BC, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
invaded and conquered Northwestern India (Present Day Pakistan) with an army led by Demetrius I of Bactria
. Alexandria became a capital of the Eucratidian Indo-Greek Kingdom
after they were driven out of Bactria
by the Yuezhi
in 140 BC.
Bagram (Kapisa) became the summer capital of the Kushan Empire
in the 1st century, whereas their winter capital was in Peshawar
.
The emperor Kanishka
started many new buildings there. The central palace building yielded a very rich treasure, dated from the time of emperor Kanishka
in the 2nd century: ivory-plated stools of Indian origin, lacquered boxes from Han China, Greco-Roman glasses from Egypt
and Syria
, Hellenistic statues in the Pompeian style, stuc moldings, and silverware
of Mediterranean origin (probably Alexandria
).
The "Bagram treasure" as it has been called, is indicative of intense commercial exchanges between all the cultural centers of the Classical time, with the Kushan empire at the junction of the land and sea trade between the east and west. However, the works of art found in Bagram are either quite purely Hellenistic, Roman, Chinese or Indian, with only little indications of the cultural syncretism
found in Greco-Buddhist art
.
The city was apparently abandoned after the campaigns of the Sassanian emperor Shapur I
, in 241 that moved the commerce to Peshawar
--a city rebuilt, expanded and renamed by him, Veh Shapor, whence BehShawur ("beautiful deed of Shapor").
Bagram hosts the strategic Bagram Airfield from which most US air activity in Afghanistan takes place. The runway was built in 1976 and it was a Soviet Air base from 1979 to 1989. There is also a Provincial Reconstruction Team
which is led by the US.
Bagram District
Bagram District is a district of Parwan Province, Afghanistan. Its seat lies at Bagram, which lies about 60 kilometers north of the capital of Kabul...
in Parwan Province of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Valley
Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...
, near today's city of Charikar
Charikar
Charikar is the main town of the Kohdaman Valley and the capital of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan. The city lies on the road 69 km from Kabul to the northern provinces. Travelers would have to pass by the city when going to Mazari Sharif, Kunduz or Puli Khumri. Charikar is at the...
, Afghanistan. The town of Bagram also sits right next to Bagram Airfield, which is the largest U.S. military base in the region.
The location of this historical town made it a key passage from Ancient India
Ancient India
Ancient India may refer to:* The ancient history of India, which generally includes the ancient history of the Asian Subcontinent, including:*Science and technology in ancient India**Indian mathematics**Astronomy**List of Indian inventions...
along the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
, leading westwards through the mountains towards Bamiyan.
History
It is unknown when the site was originally settled. In the mid 500s BC, Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
of the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
destroyed the city as part of his campaign against the Saka
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
nomads in the region. The town, however, was soon rebuilt by his successor Darius I.
In the 320s BC, Alexander the Great captured the city and established a fortified colony named Alexandria of the Caucasus
Alexandria of the Caucasus
Alexandria on the Caucasus was a colony of Alexander the Great...
.
The new town, laid out in the "hippodamian plan" or iron-grid pattern--a hallmark of Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city planning, had brick walls reinforced with towers at the angles. The central street was bordered with shops and workshops.
After his death in 323 BC, the city passed to his general Seleucus
Seleucus
-Monarchs and relations of the Seleucid Empire:* Seleucus I Nicator , son of Antiochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire* Seleucus II Callinicus * Seleucus III Ceraunus...
, who traded it to the Mauryan Dynasty of India in 305 BC. After the Mauryans were overthrown by the Sunga Dynasty in 185 BC, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC...
invaded and conquered Northwestern India (Present Day Pakistan) with an army led by Demetrius I of Bactria
Demetrius I of Bactria
Demetrius I was a Buddhist Greco-Bactrian king . He was the son of Euthydemus and succeeded him around 200 BC, after which he conquered extensive areas in what now is eastern Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan thus creating an Indo-Greek kingdom far from Hellenistic Greece...
. Alexandria became a capital of the Eucratidian Indo-Greek Kingdom
Indo-Greek Kingdom
The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom covered various parts of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries BC, and was ruled by more than 30 Hellenistic kings, often in conflict with each other...
after they were driven out of Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
by the Yuezhi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
in 140 BC.
Bagram (Kapisa) became the summer capital of the Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
in the 1st century, whereas their winter capital was in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
.
The emperor Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
started many new buildings there. The central palace building yielded a very rich treasure, dated from the time of emperor Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
in the 2nd century: ivory-plated stools of Indian origin, lacquered boxes from Han China, Greco-Roman glasses from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Hellenistic statues in the Pompeian style, stuc moldings, and silverware
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
of Mediterranean origin (probably Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
).
The "Bagram treasure" as it has been called, is indicative of intense commercial exchanges between all the cultural centers of the Classical time, with the Kushan empire at the junction of the land and sea trade between the east and west. However, the works of art found in Bagram are either quite purely Hellenistic, Roman, Chinese or Indian, with only little indications of the cultural syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
found in Greco-Buddhist art
Greco-Buddhist art
Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic...
.
The city was apparently abandoned after the campaigns of the Sassanian emperor Shapur I
Shapur I
Shapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...
, in 241 that moved the commerce to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
--a city rebuilt, expanded and renamed by him, Veh Shapor, whence BehShawur ("beautiful deed of Shapor").
Recent history
Provincial reconstruction team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team is a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in late 2001 or...
which is led by the US.
External links
- Map of Bagram and the surrounding area, Afghanistan Information Management Service (AIMS)
- Human Rights First; Undue Process: An Examination of Detention and Trials of Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan in April 2009 (2009)
- Human Rights First; Arbitrary Justice: Trial of Guantánamo and Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan (2008)