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100-517: The faith of this community has not been researched as much. According to the interpretation of Chinese sources by Marquarts and de Groots in 1915, the king of Ts'ao is said to have worn a crown with a golden fish head and was related to the Sogdians. The Temple of the Zun was recognizable by a large fish skeleton on display; this would indicate a related merchantry deity. In addition to that Marquarts states

200-599: A "☥" shaped amulet with a looped upper half. The ankh, it was believed, was surrendered with death, but could be preserved in the corpse with appropriate mummification and funerary rites . The supremacy of Re in the Egyptian pantheon was at its highest with the Fifth Dynasty , when open-air solar temples became common. In the Middle Kingdom of Egypt , Ra lost some of his preeminence to Osiris , lord of

300-602: A (pious) foundation(?) in Ragzamagan(?). (At that time) when there was a Turkish ruler and an Arab ruler, the deyadharma (meritorious gifts) made by me were kept . . . , and afterwards I made this Zinaiaka-deyadharma in the willing belief which I had towards the huddha-sastra and in great faith (Sraddha) and in ... Whatever merit ( punya ) may arise hereby, now and (in) the future, may I, Alkhis, and my parents and wife and brothers (and) sons and (other) relatives too-may each (and) every one (of us) attain (his) own desire. Homage to

400-568: A bow and arrow to save the people of the Earth. In another myth, a solar eclipse was said to be caused by a magical dog or dragon biting off a piece of the Sun. The referenced event is said to have occurred around 2136 BC; two royal astronomers, Ho and Hi, were executed for failing to predict the eclipse. There was a tradition in China to make lots of loud celebratory sounds during a solar eclipse to scare

500-658: A broad territorial unity of Buddhist kingdoms in Western Central Asia at that time, based on intense exchanges and a westward influence of Chinese Buddhism and artistic styles. The influence of Chinese artistic styles vanishes after 751 CE when Tang China withdrew from Central Asia following the Battle of Talas . Arabic sources recount that, after the Abbasids came to power in 750, the Zunbils made submissions to

600-708: A critical defeat. A new dynasty, the Hindu Shahi dynasty, took over in Gandhara and Kabul in 822 CE. The Zunbils were unaffected by Al-Ma'mun 's raids and continued to rule for about two more decades, before getting embroiled in the conflict to eventual extinction. The Zunbils were finally defeated in 870 AD by the Muslim conqueror Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar (r. 861–879 AD, founder of the Saffarid dynasty ), who conquered

700-724: A few years until 738. A Chinese account from the Tangshu mentions how Zabulistan (Chinese: 誓䫻 Shìyù ) was a vassal to the Kabul Shah around 710-720 CE, and how the Zunbil ruler, named "Shiquer", was recognized by the Chinese court in 720 CE. Shiquer received the title of Gedaluozhi Xielifa (Chinese: 葛達羅支頡利發). The word " Geluodazhi " in this extract (Chinese: 葛罗达支, pronounced in Early Middle Chinese : kat-la-dat-tcǐe),

800-550: A monotheistic one, Atenism. All other deities were replaced by the Aten, including Amun-Ra , the reigning sun god of Akhenaten's own region. Unlike other deities, Aten did not have multiple forms. His only image was a disk—a symbol of the Sun. Soon after Akhenaten's death, worship of the traditional deities was reestablished by the religious leaders (Ay the High-Priest of Amen-Ra, mentor of Tutankhaten/Tutankhamen) who had adopted

900-651: A political retribution: hoping to take advantage of the Great Abbasid Civil War (811-819 AD), the Turk Shahi ruler, named "Pati Dumi" in Arab sources, had invaded parts of Khorasan . The Turk Shahis not only had to convert to Islam but also had to cede key cities and regions. Another campaign against the Gandhara branch seem to have followed soon, with the Caliphate reaching Indus river , and imposing

1000-520: A sacred symbol in Bakongo culture, depicts these moments of the sun. The Sun ( Albanian : Diell-i ) holds the primary role in Albanian pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths, and legends. Albanian major traditional festivities and calendar rites are based on the Sun, worshiped as the god of light , sky and weather , giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye. In Albanian tradition

1100-543: A solar nature, fitting her role as a goddess of fire and light. In Chinese mythology (cosmology), there were originally ten suns in the sky, who were all brothers. They were supposed to emerge one at a time as commanded by the Jade Emperor. They were all very young and loved to fool around. Once they decided to all go into the sky to play, all at once. This made the world too hot for anything to grow. A hero named Hou Yi , honored to this day, shot down nine of them with

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1200-484: A struggle between the pharaoh's soul and an avatar of Osiris. Ra travels across the sky in his solar-boat; at dawn he drives away the god of chaos, Apep . The "solarisation" of several local gods (Hnum-Re, Min-Re, Amon-Re) reached its peak in the period of the Fifth Dynasty. Rituals to the god Amun, who became identified with the sun god Ra, were often carried out on the top of temple pylons . A pylon mirrored

1300-511: Is Sunna . In the Norse traditions, Sól rode through the sky on her chariot every day, pulled by two horses named Arvak and Alsvid. Sól also was called Sunna and Frau Sunne. First century historian Tacitus , in his book Germania , mentioned that "beyond the Suiones [tribe]" a sea was located where the sun maintained its brilliance from its rising to its sunset, and that "[the] popular belief"

1400-520: Is also seen in the site of Adzina Tepe . It is thought that Buddhism was particularly strong in China during the rule of Empress Wu Zhao (624-705 CE), and that, together the several missions of Chinese pilgrims to Afghanistan and India, Chinese monks settled in Ghazni from around 700 CE. This activity mirrored the active development of monasteries in Xinjiang during the 7th-8th centuries, and highlight

1500-421: Is assumed to have been feminine, and several goddesses have been proposed as possibly solar in character. In Continental Celtic culture , the sun gods, like Belenus , Grannus , and Lugus , were masculine. In Irish , the name of the Sun, Grian , is feminine. The figure known as Áine is generally assumed to have been either synonymous with her, or her sister, assuming the role of Summer Sun while Grian

1600-695: Is characterized by meadows, willows, and sea buckthorn . In 2006, the province's first airstrip was opened near Qalat , to be operated by the Afghan National Army , but also for use by commercial aviation. Twice weekly service was scheduled by PRT Air between Qalat and Kabul . The airstrip is not paved. The ANA Chief in Zabul is Major General Jamaluddin Sayed Zabul Province is bisected by Highway 1 and travelers going between Kandahar and Kabul via road typically pass through

1700-559: Is reported that Samura "broke off a hand of the idol and plucked out the rubies which were its eyes in order to persuade the marzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness." Samura explained to the marzbān: "my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good." Circa 665 AD, the Arabs under Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura , a general of the Umayyad Caliphate and caliphal governor of Sijistan , captured Kabul for

1800-511: Is thought to be a transliteration of the ethnonym Khalaj . Xielifa is the known Chinese transcription of the Turkish " Iltäbär ", hence Shiquer was "Iltäbär of the Khalaj": The people from Tujue (Turks), Jibin ( Kabul ), and Tuhuoluo ( Tokharistan ) live together in this country [Zabulistan]. Jibin recruits from among them young men to defend against Dashi (Arabs). They sent an envoy to

1900-766: The Bronze Age in Europe. Possible solar boat depictions have also been identified in Neolithic petroglyphs from the Megalithic culture in western Europe, and in Mesolithic petroglyphs from northern Europe. Examples of solar vessels include: The concept of the "solar chariot" is younger than that of the solar barge and is typically Indo-European , corresponding with the Indo-European expansion after

2000-706: The Hindu Kush , including the areas of Kabul and Zabul . Finally, Puluo reaffirmed the loyalty of Yabghu Pantu Nili towards the Tang dynasty. Part of the Chinese entry for this account by Puluo is: On the Dingwei day of the eleventh month in the sixth year of the Kaiyuan era, Ashi Tegin Puluo writes to the emperor: Tokhara Yabghu, his elder brother, is controlling as his subordinates two hundred and twelve persons, such as

2100-670: The Hindu Shahis to the East, conquering these territories in the name of Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of the Hindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under Saffarid control. The Panjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint silver coins. According to C.E. Bosworth , the Saffarids achieved, for the first time, Muslim expansion in eastern Afghanistan, after more than two centuries of plundering raids by

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2200-618: The Incan Inti . In Germanic mythology, the solar deity is Sol ; in Vedic , Surya ; and in Greek, Helios (occasionally referred to as Titan ) and (sometimes) as Apollo . In Proto-Indo-European mythology the sun appears to be a multilayered figure manifested as a deity but also perceived as the eye of the sky father Dyeus . Three theories exercised great influence on nineteenth and early twentieth century mythography. The theories were

2300-550: The Islamization of Afghanistan." According to Gulman S, its Afghan followers were, most probably, initially Zoroastrians. Mention of Žun and its devotees disappeared with the end of Žunbil dynasty of Zabulistan in 870. Its followers, according to Ibn Athir, accepted Islam. According to N. Sims-Williams: "It is not unlikely that Zhun derives from the Iranian Zurwan." Ulf Jäger states: We should interpret "Zhun" as

2400-484: The Japanese ( Amaterasu ). The cobra (of Pharaoh, son of Ra), the lioness (daughter of Ra), and the cow (daughter of Ra), are the dominant symbols of the most ancient Egyptian deities. They were female and carried their relationship to the sun atop their heads, and their cults remained active throughout the history of the culture. Later another sun god ( Aten ) was established in the eighteenth dynasty on top of

2500-709: The Sabines at the times of Titus Tatius . Copernicus describing the Sun mythologically, drawing from Greco-Roman examples: In the middle of all sits the Sun on his throne. In this loveliest of temples, could we place the luminary in any more appropriate place so that he may light the whole simultaneously. Rightly is he called the Lamp, the Mind, the Ruler of the Universe: Hermes Trismegistus entitles him

2600-476: The Tapa Sardar Buddhist monastery in Ghazni , dates to the time of the Zunbils. The Zunbils worshiped a deity called Zhūn (or Zūn), from whom they derived their name. He is represented with flames radiating from his head on coins. Statues were adorned with gold and used rubies for eyes. Huen Tsang calls him "sunagir". The origin and nature of Zhun is disputed. M. Shenkar in his study comes to

2700-658: The Turk Shahis and the Zunbils were consistently an obstacle to the eastward expansion of Muslims forces. About 643-644 AD, the Arabs raided Sistan for the first time, and then started to attack the Turkic territory from the southwest. In 653-4 AD, an army of around 6,000 Arabs was led by general Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura of the Rashidun Caliphate , and they arrived to the shrine of Zoon in Zamindawar. It

2800-601: The cosmic renewal. The most famous representation of it is the constant battle between drangue and kulshedra , which is seen as a mythological extension of the cult of the Sun and the Moon, widely observed in Albanian traditional art. In Albanian traditions, kulshedra is also fought by the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun, who uses her light power against pride and evil, or by other heroic characters marked in their bodies by

2900-406: The crescent Moon , is commonly found in a variety of contexts of Albanian folk art, including traditional tattooing , grave art, jewellery, embroidery, and house carvings. Solemn oaths ( Besa ), good omens, and curse formulas, involve and are addressed to, or taken by, the Sun. Prayers to the Sun, ritual bonfires , and animal sacrifices have been common practices performed by Albanians during

3000-413: The fire – zjarri , evidently also called with the theonym Enji – worship and rituals are particularly related to the cult of the Sun. Ritual calendar fires or bonfires are traditionally kindled before sunrise in order to give strength to the Sun and to ward off evil . Many rituals are practiced before and during sunrise , honoring this moment of the day as it is believed to give energy and health to

3100-503: The hieroglyph for 'horizon' or akhet , which was a depiction of two hills "between which the sun rose and set", associated with recreation and rebirth. On the first pylon of the temple of Isis at Philae , the pharaoh is shown slaying his enemies in the presence of Isis, Horus, and Hathor. In the Eighteenth Dynasty , the earliest-known monotheistic head of state, Akhenaten , changed the polytheistic religion of Egypt to

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3200-456: The moon goddess Chang'e and her festivals are very popular among followers of Chinese folk religion and Taoism . The goddess and her holy days are ingrained in Chinese popular culture . In Germanic mythology , the sun is personified by Sol . The corresponding Old English name is Siȝel [ˈsijel] , continuing Proto-Germanic *Sôwilô or *Saewelô. The Old High German Sun goddess

3300-687: The "solar mythology" of Alvin Boyd Kuhn and Max Müller , the tree worship of Mannhardt , and the totemism of J. F. McLennan . Müller's "solar mythology" was born from the study of Indo-European languages . Of them, Müller believed Archaic Sanskrit was the closest to the language spoken by the Aryans . Using the Sanskrit names for deities as a base, he applied Grimm's law to names for similar deities from different Indo-European groups to compare their etymological relationships to one another. In

3400-603: The Arab conquests. This construction period was possibly marked by the patronage of Alkhis , a contemporary ruler of the Zabul area who was probably of the same ethnicity as the nearby Turk Shahis of Kabul and a member of the Zunbils, or his successors. The period sees a marked evolution in the facial types of the statues, with the Chinese-Indian traits of the previous period moving markedly towards Tang dynasty styles, and clearly following Tang prototypes. Such phenomenon

3500-575: The Aten during the reign of Akhenaten. In Kongo religion , Nzambi Mpungu is the Sky Father and god of the Sun, while that his female counterpart, Nzambici , is Sky Mother and the god of the Moon and Earth. The Sun is very significant to Bakongo people , who believe that the position of the sun marks the different seasons of a Kongo person's life as they transition between the four moments of life: conception ( musoni ), birth ( kala ), maturity ( tukula ), and death ( luvemba ). The Kongo cosmogram ,

3600-537: The God Visible. Sophocles' Electra names him the All-seeing. Thus does the Sun sit as upon a royal dais ruling his children the planets which circle about him. Zabul Zabul ( Pashto / Dari : زابل ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan , located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it

3700-487: The King of Kabul was the uncle of the king of Zabul. From Kapisa I travelled further west and after seven days arrived at the country of Zabulistan which its people call She-hu-lo-sa-t'a-na . The native are Hu people; the king and cavalry are Turks. The king, a nephew of the king of Kapisa, himself controls his tribe and the cavalry stationed in this country. It is not subject to other countries, not even his own uncle. Though

3800-627: The Majestic Lord / [minted in his] 15th [regnal year in] Zavulistan, by the order of the gods. According to Anthony McNicoll, "the Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD". Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-day Helmand Province of Afghanistan . The shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south of Musa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that

3900-495: The Moon and the Sun"); in others the Sun and the Moon are regarded as brother and sister, but in this case they are never considered consorts. Nëna e Diellit ("the Mother of the Sun" or "the Sun's Mother") also appears as a personified deity in Albanian folk beliefs and tales. Albanian beliefs, myths and legends are organized around the dualistic struggle between good and evil , light and darkness , which cyclically produces

4000-532: The Muslim governors of Sistan and fierce resistance from the rulers of the region. The Hindu Shahis , setting up defenses in Gandhara , continued the resistance to the eastern expansion of Islam until circa 1026 CE. In his travel diaries, the Chinese monk Xuanzang reported in the early 700s that the temple of the Hindu god Zun/Sun(Surya) was in the region. He also reported there were numerous Buddhist stupas in

4100-514: The Muslim writer Kitāb al-buldān records the destruction of a Šāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), thought to be Tepe Sardar , at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked the Šāh Bahār , "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them". In 815 CE, the Abbasids led by caliph Al-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of the Turk Shahis in 815 CE, in what was essentially

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4200-610: The Sun "God Visible". The Minotaur has been interpreted as a solar deity (as Moloch or Chronos ), including by Arthur Bernard Cook , who considers both Minos and Minotaur as aspects of the sun god of the Cretans , who depicted the sun as a bull. During the Roman Empire , a festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti ) was celebrated on the winter solstice —the "rebirth" of

4300-515: The Sun god and Horus as a god of the sky and Sun. As the Old Kingdom theocracy gained influence, early beliefs were incorporated into the expanding popularity of Ra and the Osiris - Horus mythology. Atum became Ra-Atum, the rays of the setting Sun. Osiris became the divine heir to Atum's power on Earth and passed his divine authority to his son, Horus. Other early Egyptian myths imply that

4400-406: The Sun is incorporated with the lioness Sekhmet at night and is reflected in her eyes; or that the Sun is found within the cow Hathor during the night and reborn each morning as her son ( bull ). Mesopotamian Shamash played an important role during the Bronze Age , and "my Sun" was eventually used to address royalty. Similarly, South American cultures have a tradition of Sun worship as with

4500-403: The Sun was the chief cult object of the Illyrian religion . Finding correspondences with Albanian folk beliefs and practices, the Illyrian Sun-deity is figuratively represented on Iron Age plaques from Lake Shkodra as the god of the sky and lightning , also associated with the fire altar where he throws lightning bolts. The symbolization of the cult of the Sun, which is often combined with

4600-416: The Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this exact house of worship. In 698 Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra , governor of Sijistan and a military commander of the Umayyad Caliphate , led an 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils. He was defeated and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade

4700-436: The Sun—which occurred on 25 December of the Julian calendar . In late antiquity , the theological centrality of the Sun in some Imperial religious systems suggests a form of a "solar monotheism ". The religious commemorations on 25 December were replaced under Christian domination of the Empire with the birthday of Christ. Much more ancient was the cult of Sol Indiges , supposed to have been introduced among Roman deities by

4800-513: The Tang in the first year of Jingyun (710) to present gifts. Later, they subjugated themselves to Jibin. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), the Emperor approved the enthronement of Gedalouzhi (" Khalaj ") Xielifa (" Iltäbär ") Shiquer. Their envoys came to the royal court several times until the Tianbao era (742–756). In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk Hyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国 Xiėyùguó ) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism. According to him,

4900-424: The Zunbil dynasty, paying temporary allegiance to Salm ibn Ziyad, the Arab governor of Sistan. The area of Zabulistan came to be ruled by Rutbil, also spelled Zibil or Jibul (from Turkic: Iltäbär "Commander"). The relationship between the two relatives was at times antagonistic, but they fought together against Arab incursions. Rubtil issued coins derived from Sassanian prototypes, with a Bactrian script legend on

5000-417: The Zunbils to have worshipped a solar deity which might have been connected to Aditya ( Surya ). However, according to Shōshin Kuwayama there was a clear dichotomy between worshipers of the Hindu god Surya and followers of Zhun. This is exemplified by the conflict between Surya and Zhun followers, which led to the followers of Zhun migrating southwards towards Zabulistan from Kapisa. According to André Wink

5100-403: The area from Kabulistan to Gandhara as well as Zabulistan. His title was "Khorasan Tegin Shah" (meaning "Tegin, King of the East"), and he was known in Chinese sources as Wusan teqin sa . His grand title probably refers to his resistance to the peril of the Umayyad caliph from the west. In 680-683 AD, Rutbil split from his brother the Shahi of Kabul according to al-Tabari , and established

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5200-400: The area of Zabul. There were dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of Buddhist monasteries. In addition , drawing many pilgrims. According to Wink, it was clear that Zunbils ruled over a predominately Indian realm. In 726 CE, the Korean Buddhist monk Hyecho visited Zabulistan (谢䫻国 Xiėyùguó ) and recorded that Kabul and Zabul were ruled by Turkic kings, who followed Buddhism. The last phase of

5300-464: The artistic creations under the Zunbils around that time, as seen in the Buddhist monastery of Tepe Sardar . During the period from 680 to 720 CE, essentially Indian post- Gupta start to blend with Chinese stylistic influences, "a Chinese touch" discernable in Buddhist works of art. A full-blown "Chinese phase" is attributed to the period from 720 to 750 CE, corresponding to the last major phase of construction and decorations of Buddhist monuments before

5400-399: The beginning of the New Kingdom ( c.  1550 BC ), was mounted on four-spoked chariot wheels. Similarities have been noted with the Trundholm Sun Chariot from Denmark, dating from c.  1500 –1400 BC, which was also mounted on four-spoked wheels. Examples of solar chariots include: In Chinese culture, the sun chariot is associated with the passage of time. For instance, in

5500-478: The body. As the wide set of cultic traditions dedicated to him indicates, the Albanian Sun-god appears to be an expression of the Proto-Indo-European Sky-god ( Zot or Zojz in Albanian). Albanians were firstly described in written sources as worshippers of the Sun and the Moon by German humanist Sebastian Franck in 1534, but the Sun and the Moon have been preserved as sacred elements of Albanian tradition since antiquity. Illyrian material culture shows that

5600-483: The brother or nephew of Barha Tegin, and may have been appointed as the governor in Zabulistan by Barha Tegin after he conquered the region from Ghar-ilchi . Rutbil and the king of Kabul campaigned together against the Arabs after Abdur Rahman ibn Samura was replaced as the governor of Sistan . Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi upon assuming governorship in 671 CE attacked Rutbil at Bost , and drove him to al-Rukhkhaj . Rabi's successor Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra continued

5700-402: The buddhas." According to Chinese sources, in particular the chronicles of the Cefu Yuangui , the Turks in Kabul were vassals of the Yabghus of Tokharistan . When a young brother of the Yabghu Pantu Nili, named Puluo (僕羅 Púluó in Chinese sources), visited the court of the Tang dynasty in Xi'an in 718 AD, he gave an account of the military forces in the Tokharistan region. Puluo described

5800-462: The comparison, Müller saw the similarities between the names and used these etymological similarities to explain the similarities between their roles as deities. Through the study, Müller concluded that the Sun having many different names led to the creation of multiple solar deities and their mythologies that were passed down from one group to another. R. F. Littledale criticized the Sun myth theory, pointing out that by his own principles, Max Müller

5900-473: The conclusion that Zhun was possibly connected to the deity of the river Oxus, the modern river Amudarya. Furthermore, he holds it most likely that Zhun was the greatest deity worshiped in Zabulistan. F. Grenet believes that Zhun might have been connected with the Iranian solar deity Mithra . Zhun has been linked with the Hindu god Aditya at Multan , pre-Buddhist religious and kingship practices of Tibet as well as Shaivism . Some scholars have considered

6000-418: The cult of Žun or *Zruvān can be viewed in a much wider context of Iranian history and religious developments. Žun, Like Zurvān, most likely represented the "god of time", a heresy in Zoroastrianism, which originated in response to the religious reforms introduced during second half of Achaemenid Empire. The cosmopolitan nature of the god is consistent with the variety of religions practiced in the region prior to

6100-497: The cult to be neither Buddhist nor Zoroastrian, but primarily Hindu. Scholars point out the connections between the deity Zhun/Zun and Shiva . His shrine lay on a sacred mountain in Zamindawar and another at a temple in Sakkawand . Originally he appears to have been brought at Zamindawar by Hepthalites, displacing an earlier god on the same site. Parallels have been noted with the pre-Buddhist monarchy of Tibet , next to Zoroastrian influence on its ritual. Whatever his origins, he

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6200-410: The dedication of a stupa by Alkhis , son of Khuras, lord of "Gazan", thought to be Ghazni . Alkhis is considered as the patron of the second period of florescence of the Buddhist sanctuary of Tapa Sardar , characterized in this period by the creation of hybrid Sinicized-Indian Buddhist art. "(It was) the year 492, the month Sbol, when I, Alkhis son of Khuras, lord of Gazan, established this stupa (as)

6300-402: The entire Zunbil territory from his base in Sistan. Yaqub bin Laith al-Saffar started his eastern conquests in 870/871 CE, when he marched against the Kharijites of Herat , and defeated them. He then marched towards Karukh , and defeated another Khariji leader who was named Abd al-Rahman. His army would then march to Ghazna , conquering the Zunbils, and further to Bamyan and Kabul , pushing

6400-452: The eye as well as epithets associated with light. The theonym Sulevia , which is more widespread and probably unrelated to Sulis, is sometimes taken to have suggested a pan-Celtic role as a solar goddess. The Welsh Olwen has at times been considered a vestige of the local sun goddess, in part due to the possible etymological association with the wheel and the colors gold, white and red. Brighid has at times been argued as having had

6500-484: The first time, critically weakening the Nezak Huns . But the Turkic ruler Barha Tegin was soon able to mount a counter-offensive and repulse the Arabs, taking back the areas of Kabul and Zabulistan (around Ghazni ), as well as the region of Arachosia as far as Kandahar , and founding the new dynasty of the Turk Shahis circa 665 AD. Rutbil is first mentioned to have existed during his time, as his earliest mention in Arab sources dates to 666 CE. Rutbil may have been

6600-462: The god Zhun was primarily Hindu , though parallels have also been noted with pre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices in Tibet and had Zoroastrian influence in its ritual. Other scholars such as H. Schaeder and N. Sims-William have connected it with Zurvan . Their territory included between what is now the city of Zaranj in southwestern Afghanistan and Kabulistan in the northeast, with Zamindawar and Ghazni serving as their capitals. In

6700-426: The horned-cow is one of the 12 daughters of Ra, gifted with joy and is a wet-nurse to Horus. From at least the 4th Dynasty of ancient Egypt , the Sun was worshiped as the deity Ra (pronounced probably as Riya, meaning simply ' the sun ' ), and portrayed as a falcon -headed god surmounted by the solar disk, and surrounded by a serpent. Re supposedly gave warmth to the living body, symbolized as an ankh :

6800-422: The invention of the chariot in the 2nd millennium BC. The reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European religion features a "solar chariot " or "sun chariot" with which the Sun traverses the sky. Chariots were introduced to Egypt in the Hyksos period , and seen as solar vehicles associated with the sun god in the subsequent New Kingdom period. A gold solar boat model from the tomb of Queen Ahhotep , dating from

6900-485: The king and the chiefs are Turks, they highly revere the Three Jewels . There are many monasteries and monks. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. There is a great Turkish chief called Sha-tuo-kan, who once a year lays out his gold and silver, which is much more than the king possesses. The dress, customs, and products of this land are similar to those of Kapisa, but the languages are different. Chinese artistic influences, on top of nomical political influence, are discernable in

7000-452: The king of Sijistān , Zunbīl; the king of Turks, Tarkhan ; the king of Tibet , Ḥ-h-w-r-n; the king of Sind , al-Rāy; the king of China , Baghbür ; the king of India and Atrāḥ, Wahūfūr; and the king of the Tughuz-ghuz , Khāqān. In 769 CE, the Arabs were again able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils after nearly half a century, when Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni . Arab destructions are documented around 795 CE, as

7100-402: The kings, calling on them to submit, and most of them submitted to him. Among them were the king of Kābul Shāh, whose name was Ḥanḥal ; the king of Ṭabaristān , the Iṣbahbadh ; the king of Soghdia , the Ikhshīd ; the king of Tukhāristān, Sharwin ; the king of Bamiyan , the Shīr; the king of Farghana , ------ ; the king of Usrūshana , Afshīn ; the king of the Kharlukhiyya , Jabghūya;

7200-520: The local kings of various states, dudu (Governors-General), and cishi (heads of regional governments). The king of Zabul rules two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, the king of Kabul two hundred thousand, each king of Khuttal , Chaghanian , Jiesu , Shughnan , Evdal , Kumedha Wa'khan, Guzganan , Bamiyan , Lieyuedejian , and Badakhshan fifty thousand." A few Zunbil rulers are named in Chinese sources, especially Shiquer or Zigil (Chinese:誓屈爾 Shìqū'ér ), ruler of Zabulistan from 720 CE and for

7300-594: The name of the ancient Iranian deity of time, "Zurwan". Solar deity A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun or an aspect thereof. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name Sol or by its Greek name Helios . The English word sun derives from Proto-Germanic * sunnǭ . Predynasty Egyptian beliefs attribute Atum as

7400-441: The obverse, a Pahlavi script legend on the reverse, and a short Brahmi script legend in the name of Śrī Vākhudevaḥ ("His Highness the Majestic Lord"): Obverse: yypwlh. wtyp’ / GDH / ’pzwt PWN ŠMY yzt’ yypwl bgyh. wtyp’ wh. m’n’n mlt’n MLK’ King Jibul, [his] glory increased! In the name of god, Jibul, the Majestic Lord [is] King of brave men Reverse: Śrī Vākhudevaḥ / pncdh. z’wlst’n / ’pl plm’n yzd’n His Highness

7500-599: The other solar deities, before the "aberration" was stamped out and the old pantheon re-established. When male deities became associated with the sun in that culture, they began as the offspring of a mother (except Ra, King of the Gods who gave birth to himself). Sun worship was prevalent in ancient Egyptian religion . The earliest deities associated with the Sun are all goddesses: Wadjet , Sekhmet , Hathor , Nut , Bast , Bat , and Menhit . First Hathor, and then Isis, give birth to and nurse Horus and Ra , respectively. Hathor

7600-517: The poem Suffering from the Shortness of Days , Li He of the Tang dynasty is hostile towards the legendary dragons that drew the sun chariot as a vehicle for the continuous progress of time. The following is an excerpt from the poem: I will cut off the dragon's feet, chew the dragon's flesh, so that they can't turn back in the morning or lie down at night. Left to themselves the old won't die;

7700-538: The power of "the kings of Tokharistan", explaining that "Two hundred and twelve kingdoms, governors and prefects" recognise the authority of the Yabghus, and that it has been so since the time of his grandfather, that is, probably since the time of the establishment of the Yabghus of Tokharistan. This account also shows that the Yabghu of Tokharistan ruled a vast area circa 718 AD, formed of the territories north and south of

7800-454: The province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (41%) while more than one quarter of the area is made up of flat land (28%). The primary ecoregion of the province is the central Afghan mountains xeric woodlands. Common vegetation is listed as dry shrub-land and pistachio . The high mountains of the northern portion of the province are in the Ghor - Hazarajat alpine meadow ecoregion, which

7900-599: The province. On 4 September 2016, at least 38 people were killed and 28 were injured during the September 2016 Afghanistan road crash . The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 0% in 2005 to 32% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 1% in 2005 to 5% in 2011. The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 1% in 2005 to 19% in 2011. The overall net enrollment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 31.3% in 2005 to 5% in 2011. As of 2021,

8000-461: The ritual pilgrimages on mountain tops. In Albanian pagan beliefs and mythology the Sun is a personified male deity, and the Moon ( Hëna ) is his female counterpart. In pagan beliefs the fire hearth ( vatra e zjarrit ) is the symbol of fire as the offspring of the Sun. In some folk tales, myths and legends the Sun and the Moon are regarded as husband and wife, also appearing as the parents of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit ("the Daughter of

8100-728: The sacred beast away. The Deity of the Sun in Chinese mythology is Ri Gong Tai Yang Xing Jun (Tai Yang Gong/Grandfather Sun) or Star Lord of the Solar Palace, Lord of the Sun. In some mythologies, Tai Yang Xing Jun is believed to be Hou Yi. Tai Yang Xing Jun is usually depicted with the Star Lord of the Lunar Palace, Lord of the Moon, Yue Gong Tai Yin Xing Jun (Tai Yin Niang Niang/Lady Tai Yin). Worship of

8200-434: The sky in a boat. A prominent example is the solar barque used by Ra in ancient Egyptian mythology . The Neolithic concept of a "solar barge" (also "solar bark", "solar barque", "solar boat" and "sun boat", a mythological representation of the Sun riding in a boat ) is found in the later myths of ancient Egypt , with Ra and Horus . Several Egyptian kings were buried with ships that may have been intended to symbolize

8300-734: The solar barque, including the Khufu ship that was buried at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza . Solar boats and similar vessels also appear in Indo-European mythologies, such as a 'hundred-oared ship' of Surya in the Rig Veda , the golden boat of Saulė in Baltic mythology , and the golden bowl of Helios in Greek mythology . Numerous depictions of solar boats are known from

8400-678: The south their territory reached at times the cities of Rakhwad ( al-Rukhkhaj ) and Bost (near Kandahar ). The title Zunbil can be traced back to the Middle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, 'Zun the Justice-giver'. The geographical name Zamindawar would also reflect this, from Middle Persian 'Zamin-i dātbar' (Land of the Justice-giver). During more than two centuries of their rule, the Tokhara Yabghus , followed by

8500-461: The stones still standing were associated with observations of sunrise or sunset at the solstices and equinoxes. ) Those who practice Dievturība , beliefs of traditional Latvian culture , worship the Sun goddess Saule , known in traditional Lithuanian beliefs as Saulė. Saule is among the most important deities in Baltic mythology and traditions. The sun in Insular Celtic culture

8600-547: The symbols of celestial objects, such as Zjermi (lit. "the Fire"), who notably is born with the Sun on his forehead. In Armenian mythology and in the vicinity of Carahunge , the ancient site of interest in the field of archaeoastronomy , people worshiped a powerful deity or intelligence called Ara, embodied as the sun (Ar or Arev). The ancient Armenians called themselves "children of the sun". (Russian and Armenian archaeoastronomers have suggested that at Carahunge seventeen of

8700-414: The territory of the Zunbils again. About 700, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of Zabulistan . During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbils, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On

8800-442: The third Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785), but these appear to have been nominal acts, and the people of the region continued to resist Muslim rule. The Muslim historian Ya'qubi (died 897/8) in his Ta'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of various Central Asian rulers, including that of the Zunbils. The original account by Ya'qubi reads: Al-Mahdī sent messengers to

8900-721: The total population of the province is about 391,150, which is mostly a rural tribal society. According to the Naval Postgraduate School , the population is primarily Pashtun , sprinkled throughout around 2,500 remote villages. Major tribal groups include the Tokhi, Hotak, Nasar, Kharoti, Taraki, Ghilji and the Noorzai and Panjpai Durrani . Pashto is the dominant language in the area. The people of Zabul are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim . Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry. 60.8% of

9000-532: The war upon being appointed in 673 CE, leading Rutbil to negotiate a peace treaty for both Kabul and Zabul , in which the governor of Sistan acknowledged control of these territories by Rutbil and the King of Kabul. Around the time the first ruler of the Turk Shahis Barha Tegin died, his dynasty split into two kingdoms. From 680 AD, Tegin Shah became the king of the Turk Shahis , and ruled

9100-530: The way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion. The Arabs regularly claimed nominal overlordship over the Zunbils, and in 711 Qutayba ibn Muslim managed to force them to pay tribute. In 725–726, Yazid ibn al-Ghurayf , governor of Sistan failed to do so. The Arabs would not be able to obtain tribute from the Zunbils again until 769 CE, when Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni . The Bactrian inscription of Tang-i Safedak, dated to around 714/15 CE, mentions

9200-522: The west, and judge of the dead. In the New Empire period, the Sun became identified with the dung beetle , whose spherical ball of dung was identified with the Sun. In the form of the sun disc Aten , the Sun had a brief resurgence during the Amarna Period when it again became the preeminent, if not only, divinity for the pharaoh , Akhenaton . The Sun's movement across the sky represents

9300-852: The world in Australia ( Bila , Wala ); in Indian tribal religions (Bisal- Mariamma , Bomong , 'Ka Sgni ) and Sri Lanka ( Pattini ); among the Hittites ( Wurusemu ), Berbers ( Tafukt ), Egyptians ( Hathor , Sekhmet ), and Canaanites ( Shapash ); in the Canary Islands ( Chaxiraxi , Magec ); in Native America, among the Cherokee ( Unelanuhi ), Natchez (Oüa Chill/Uwahci∙ł), Inuit ( Siqiniq ), and Miwok ( He'-koo-lās ); and in Asia among

9400-525: The young won't cry. Solar deities are often thought of as male (and lunar deities as being female) but the opposite has also been the case. In Germanic mythology , the Sun is female, and the Moon is male. Other European cultures that have sun goddesses include the Lithuanians ( Saulė ) and Latvians (Saule), the Finns ( Päivätär , Beiwe ) and the related Hungarians . Sun goddesses are found around

9500-548: Was certainly superimposed on a mountain and on a pre-existing mountain god while merging with Shaiva doctrines of worship. Other scholars however have connected Zun with the Sassanid Zoroastrian deity Zurvān , the deity of time. "Regarding origin of Žuna, Xuanzang had only mentioned that it was initially brought to Kapisa, later Begram from "far" and later moved to Zabul. There is no consensus as to who brought it and when. By identifying Žun with Sassanian Zurvān,

9600-469: Was himself only a solar myth. Alfred Lyall delivered another attack on the same theory's assumption that tribal gods and heroes, such as those of Homer , were only reflections of the Sun myth by proving that the gods of certain Rajput clans were actual warriors who founded the clans a few centuries ago, and were the ancestors of the present chieftains. The Sun was sometimes envisioned as traveling through

9700-461: Was part of the Zabulistan region. Qalat serves as the capital of the province. The major ethnic group are Pashtuns . Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry. Zabul borders Oruzgan in the north, Kandahar in the west and in the south, Ghazni and Paktika in the east. It borders Pakistan in the east. The province covers an area of 17293 km2. Two-fifths of

9800-439: Was sometimes depicted as driving a fiery chariot. The Greek astronomer Thales of Miletus described the scientific properties of the Sun and Moon, making their godship unnecessary. Anaxagoras was arrested in 434 BC and banished from Athens for denying the existence of a solar or lunar deity. The titular character of Sophocles ' Electra refers to the Sun as "All-seeing". Hermetic author Hermes Trismegistus calls

9900-427: Was that "the sound of its emergence was audible" and "the form of its horses visible". In Greek mythology , Helios , a Titan , was the personification of the Sun ; however, with the notable exception of the island of Rhodes and nearby parts of southwestern Anatolia , he was a relatively minor deity. The Ancient Greeks also associated the Sun with Apollo , the god of enlightenment. Apollo (along with Helios)

10000-526: Was the Winter Sun. Similarly, Étaín has at times been considered to be another theonym associated with the Sun; if this is the case, then the pan-Celtic Epona might also have been originally solar in nature. The British Sulis has a name cognate with that of other Indo-European solar deities such as the Greek Helios and Indic Surya , and bears some solar traits like the association with

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