Epic Hero Rostam: Zabulistan, Khorasan and Zun

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"Rostam or Rustam (Persian: رُستَم‎, ) is the epic hero of the Persian epic Shahnameh in Persian mythology, and son of Zal and Rudaba. In the story, Rostam and his predecessors were natives of Zabol, the city in Zabulistan region of Sistan province in (present-day eastern Iran). Rostam's mother Rudaba was a princess of Kabul......Rostam was always represented as the mightiest of Iranian paladins (holy warriors), and the atmosphere of the episodes in which he features is strongly reminiscent of the Parthian period. He was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh, or Epic of Kings, which contains pre-Islamic Iranian folklore and history."

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"In Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Rostam is a native of Zabol, part of the Zabulistan region of Khorasan which is in present-day eastern Iran. His mother Rudaba was a princess of Kabul. Rostam is the champion of champions and is involved in numerous stories, constituting some of the most popular (and arguably some of most masterfully created) parts of the Shahnameh. In Shahnameh, Rostam - like his grandfather Sam, son of Nariman - works as both a faithful military general as well as king-maker for the Kayanian dynasty of Persia."

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"Kayanian dynasty......The Kianian, also Kias or Kianids or Kaianids or kiani, are a dynasty of Iranian tradition and folklore. Considered collectively, the Kianian kings are the heroes of the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, and of the Shahnameh, Iran's national epic....The Kayanian dynasty is particularly noteworthy in Zoroastrian history since it was during the reign of a Kayanian king, King Vishtasp (later called Gushtasp) that Zarathushtra preached. King Vishtasp was also Zarathushtra's first patron king..".....http://heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/legendary/index.htm#kayanian

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"Sām....also transliterated Saam is a mythical hero of ancient Persia, and an important character in the Shahnameh epic. He was the son of Nariman, grandson of Garshasp and father to Zāl. He was Iran's champion during the rule of Fereydun, Manuchehr and Nowzar. He was appointed by Manuchehr to rule Zabulistan (Sistan), and then Mazandaran. After Manuchehr, because of Nowzar's corrupted and failed rulership, Iranian champions asked Sām to rule Iran. Sām didn't accept, he supported Nowzar and advised him to follow Fereydun and Manuchehr. Sām returned to Mazandaran, and died soon after that. Afrasiab then attacked Zabulistan."

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"Zabulistan (Persian/Pashto: زابلستان; Zabul + -stan), originally known as "Zavolistan", is a historical region based around today's Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan. Zabulistan translates to "land of Zabul" or "land of the Zabuls". The name "Zabuls" is probably a transliteration of Zunbils, a Hindu and Buddhist dynasty that ruled the area during the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.....the territory south of the Hindu Kush between Kandahar and Ghazni is generally known as Zabulistan. According to Persian mythology, city of Zabol, was the birth place of Iranian hero Rostam....From the 7th century to 11th century, the region was ruled by Shahi kings.."

"In southern and eastern Afghanistan, the regions of Zamindawar (Zamin I Datbar or land of the justice giver, the classical Archosia) and Zabulistan or Zabul (Jabala, Kapisha, Kia pi shi) and Kabul, the Arabs were effectively opposed for more than two centuries, from 643 to 870 AD, by the indigenous rulers the Zunbils and the related Kabul-Shahs of the dynasty which became known as the Buddhist-Shahi.".....Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World By André Wink (2002)

"Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, was a dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in southern Afghanistan. They ruled from the early 7th century until the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in 870 AD. The Zunbils are believed to be an offspring of the southern-Hephthalite rulers of Zabulistan. The dynasty was related to the Kabul Shahis of the northeast in Kabul. "It follows from Huei-ch'ao's report that Barhatakin had two sons: one who ruled from after him in Kapisa-Gandhara and another who became king of Zabul"........The Zunbils worshipped a god named Zun (Zoon) from which they derived their name. 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.....Although the rulers of the Zunbil dynasty were worshippers of the sun god in Hinduism, many inhabitants under the rule of the dynasty practiced Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and other ancient religions before the Islamization of the region. 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)."...."The Temple of Zoor or Zoon in Zamindawar". Abdul Hai Habibi. 1969.

"Zamindawar is a historical district of Afghanistan, situated on the right bank of the Helmand River to the northwest of Kandahar, bordering the road which leads from Kandahar to Herat via Farah. The historic region of Zamindawar is located in the greater territory of northern Helmand and encompasses the approximate area of modern day Baghran, Musa Qala, Naw Zad, Kajaki and Sangin districts. It was a district of hills, and of wide, well populated, and fertile valleys watered by important tributaries of the Helmand. The principal town was Musa Qala, which stands on the banks of a river of the same name, about 60 m, north of Girishk........Zunbils ruled Zamindawar before Islamization of the area. 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)....."

"Kabulistan or Kamboja was the land of tribalism. Most people assume that Kamboj is a tribe of some sort. In fact its nothing more than a region state and at time an empire of ruling vast areas outside kabulistan proper. The tribes of ancient Kamboj are still the same tribes of modern Kabulistan perhaps might of assimilated into Islamic sharia law. Once again to conclude like many regions of Aryana, Kabulistan was too originally a tribalistic society. Although one might say even during the Hunduism domination in Kabulistan (500 BCE-500 AD) Kabulistan was still tribalistic. Despite the fact that majority of hindu society or Hinduism itself rejects tribalism and promotes Brahman Casteism nevertheless Kabulistan survived was still tribal nation and customary practice that left its signs during the Islamic era as well......The original tribes of Kabul were Asvakayan with many clans and sub-tribes, however in the state of Kamboja which is controlled by Kabul there are many other tribes as well such as Vahalka (Bahalka) and Rishis or Rishikas to the North to the south the Ashaka , Asvaka and other Kshatriyas etc. As years pass we witness Achaemenid (Mixed Elamid or Assyrian Medians) Empire and as Greeks come history takes another shape and then coming of the mixing many Cultures and religions one can saw that Kamboja is now not an easy subject to deal with. Nevertheless We witness their great power and fame in the making of Mahabartha (500 BCE-200 BCE). ".....http://www.pashtunforums.com/showthread.php?t=17883

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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Zhang Zhung: Senge Khabab, Khyunglung Ngulkhar, Khargok Fort

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Tibetan Empire, Turk Shahis & Bactria (708 AD)

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"In 708 AD, Nazaktar Khan, a Turk Shahi prince in alliance with the Tibetan Empire, captures Bactria from the Umayyads and established a fanatic Buddhist rule, including the beheading of the abbot who converted..... In 715 Ibn Qutaybah recaptured the region for the Umayyads and Tibet switched sides to ally with him against the Turk Shahis. In retribution for the insurrection Qutaiba inflicted heavy damage on Navbahar resulting in many monks fleeing to Khotan and Kashmir. The Muslims destroyed select monasteries that harbored opposition but then let them rebuild and prosper to exact a pilgrim tax.".....Buddhist-Muslim Doctrinal Relations: Past, Present, and Future by Alexander Berzin

"The Shahi (Devanagari: शाही), Sahi, also called Shahiya or Hindu Shahi dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara (now in northern Pakistan), from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century. The kingdom was known as "Kabul Shahi" (Kabul-shāhān or Ratbél-shāhān in Persian کابلشاهان یا رتبیل شاهان) between 565 and 879 AD when they had Kapisa and Kabul as their capitals, and later as Hindu Shahi.....The Shahis of Kabul/Gandhara are generally divided into the two eras of the so-called Buddhist-Shahis and the so-called Hindu-Shahis, with the change-over thought to have occurred sometime around 870 AD.".....Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. "Shahi Family"

"....870 A.D. marks the first time that the Kingdom of Shambhala actually came under Moslem domination. The Hindu Shahis recaptured Kabul and the rest of their Kingdom after the death of the conqueror Yaqub but never again maintained Kapisa as their capital.".....http://www.dharmafellowship.org/biographies/historicalsaints/lord-padmasambhava.htm#eightcentury

"In 624 AD, a Moslem invasion weakened the Kingdom of Śambhala"……..(The Blue Annals: Part 10 (Kalachakra)…Tibetan Historical Text completed in 1476 AD, written by Gö Lotsāwa Zhönnu Pel

Ithihaasa: The Mystery of His Story Is My Story of History.....By Bhaktivejanyana Swami

"The Tibetan Empire existed from the 7th to 9th centuries AD....The varied terrain of the empire and the difficulty of transportation, coupled with the new ideas that came into the empire as a result of its expansion, helped to create stresses and power blocs that were often in competition with the ruler at the center of the empire. Thus, for example, adherents of the Bön religion and the supporters of the ancient noble families gradually came to find themselves in competition with the recently introduced Buddhism. The empire collapsed into civil war in the 840s."

"The Chinese Princess Wencheng (Tibetan: Mung-chang Kung-co) departed China in 640 to marry Songtsän Gampo's son. She arrived a year later. This is traditionally credited with being the first time that Buddhism came to Tibet, but it is very unlikely Buddhism extended beyond foreigners at the court."

"Around 760 AD....King Trisong Detsen, the 38th king of the Yarlung dynasty and the first Emperor of Tibet (742–797), invited the Nalanda University abbot Śāntarakṣita (Tibetan Shiwatso) to Tibet. Śāntarakṣita started the building of Samye, the first Buddhist monastery on Tibetan ground....Demonical forces hindered the introduction of the Buddhist dharma, and Padmasambhava was invited to Tibet to subdue the demonic forces."

"The great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (982-1054 AD) was responsible for reintroducing pure Buddhism into Tibet."

"The Great Khorasan Civilization ('Land of the Rising Sun') had numerous great city/states, each with its own King and Queen, Royal Court, and Castle….Balkh (Bactra) was the most legendary and grandest, not only a legend in 7th Century pre-Buddhist Tibet but also throughout ancient China, India, the Middle East and Greece."

"Islam and Tibet – Interactions along the Musk Routes....The first encounters between the Islamic world and Tibet took place in the course of the expansion of the Abbasid Empire in the eighth century. Military and political contacts went along with an increasing interest in the other side. Cultural exchanges and the transmission of knowledge were facilitated by a trading network, with musk constituting one of the main trading goods from the Himalayas, largely through India. From the thirteenth century onwards the spread of the Mongol Empire from the Western borders of Europe through Central Asia to China facilitated further exchanges. The significance of these interactions has been long ignored in scholarship." ...Islam and Tibet – Interactions along the Musk Routes....December 2010......Edited by Anna Akasoy, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, UK; Charles Burnett, Warburg Institute, University of London, UK and Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim, Wellcome Trust University Award holder, Department of History, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

"In 'The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia', Beckwith provides a narrative of events running from around 600 to 850 CE, with the greatest detail in the first half of the 8th century. He presents a Tibetan perspective, but uses Chinese and Arab sources and gives what is effectively a general history of the Tarim basin and surrounding areas........The early 8th century saw the Tibetans turn their attention to the "Western Regions" in the Pamirs and Tukharistan. The Arabs under general Qutayba fought the Western Turks, with interference from both Tibetan and Chinese. In 715 the Arabs took Ferghana and a raiding party reached Kashgar, bringing them to the borders of the Tang Empire........Conflict between China and Tibet continued, with the Tibetans allying with the Türgis confederation of the Western Turks......Beckwith's narrative continues in less detail (the Old Tibetan Annals end in 765) down to 866, when only bits and pieces remained of the once powerful Tibetan Empire.."...The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987;

"From 715 until approximately 727 AD, Tibet had a military alliance with the Umayyads. During that period, Caliph ‘Umar II decreed that all Umayyad allies should follow Islam. As an expedient means not to jeopardize the alliance, the Tibetan Empress Jincheng requested an Islamic cleric be delegated to Tibet. The Caliph sent al-Salit bin-Abdullah al-Hanafi. The Tibetan Buddhists, however, do not seem to have taken any sincere interest in Islam. There are no records of any interfaith dialogue or Tibetan Buddhist conversions to Islam having taken place as a result of this visit. The cool reception was most likely due to the influence of the xenophobic opposition faction at the Tibetan imperial court."...Source: Buddhist-Muslim Doctrinal Relations: Past, Present, and Future by Alexander Berzin. Originally published with extensive footnotes in Buddhist Attitudes toward Other Religions, ed. Perry Schmidt-Leukel. St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 2008, p. 212 – 236

"Princess Jincheng, the ethnic Han Chinese Empress, was a devout Buddhist and brought a Han Chinese monk with her to teach the ladies at the Tibetan court......in 737 AD, she gave asylum to Buddhist refugee monks fleeing an anti-Buddhist persecution in Khotan...... She arranged for refugee Buddhist monks from Khotan and Han China to receive asylum in Tibet and had seven monasteries built for them, including one in Rasa....In 741 AD, Tibet sent a mission to China to announce the death of Princess Jincheng and ask for peace, but China refused."....The History of the Early Period of Buddhism and Bon in Tibet .......The Empire of the Early Kings of Tibet

"The next Buddhist-Muslim doctrinal interaction took place during the last half of the eighth century CE, during the ‘Abbasid Caliphate. Caliph al-Mahdi, followed by Caliph al-Rashid, invited Buddhist scholars from India and the Nava Vihara monastery in Balkh to the House of Knowledge (Ar. Bayt al-Hikmat) in Baghdad. There, he commissioned them to help translate primarily medical and astronomical texts from Sanskrit into Arabic. Ibn al-Nadim’s late tenth-century CE Book of Catalogues (Ar. Kitab al-Fihrist), however, also listed several Buddhist works that were rendered into Arabic at that time, such as an account of Buddha’s previous lives, The Book of the Buddha (Ar. Kitab al-Budd). The text was based on two Sanskrit works: A Rosary of Previous Life Accounts (Skt. Jatakamala) and Ashvaghosha’s Deeds of the Buddha (Skt. Buddhacarita)."....Source: Buddhist-Muslim Doctrinal Relations: Past, Present, and Future by Alexander Berzin. Originally published with extensive footnotes in Buddhist Attitudes toward Other Religions, ed. Perry Schmidt-Leukel. St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 2008, p. 212 – 236

"Buddhists and Muslims have interacted with one another culturally, politically, economically, and sometimes militarily for the last thirteen and a half centuries. Depending on the place, the time, and the individual persons and governments involved, the interaction in all these spheres has spanned the spectrum from friendly to hostile.....Much attention has been paid to the history of these areas of interaction, but less has been directed toward an analysis of doctrinal relations. In this paper, after a survey of this facet of past and present relations, I should like to examine the prospects and grounds for future dialogue. The discussion will focus primarily on the Buddhist viewpoint toward doctrinal engagement, particularly within the Indo-Tibetan-Mongolian cultural spheres."....https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/buddhist-muslim-doctrinal-relations-past-present-and-future/

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"The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates......The earliest contact between Buddhist and Muslim populations was in present-day Afghanistan, eastern Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan when the region came under the rule of the Arab Umayyad Caliphate in the mid-seventh century AD. The Umayyad Arab author, ‘Umar ibn al-Azraq al-Kermani, took interest in explaining Buddhism to his Islamic audience. Consequently, at the beginning of the eighth century AD, he wrote a detailed account of the Nava Vihara Monastery in Balkh, Afghanistan, and the basic Buddhist customs there, explaining them in terms of analogous features in Islam. Thus, he described the main temple as having a stone cube in the center, draped with cloth, and devotees as circumambulating it and making prostration, as is the case with the Kaaba in Mecca."...https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/buddhist-muslim-doctrinal-relations-past-present-and-future/

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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Sacred Mountain of Balkh: Koh e Alburz & Harā Bərəzaitī

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"Koh e Alburz.....(Romanized as Kuh i Elburz, Gory Koh-i-Elburz, Kohe Alborz, Kuh i Alborz (Persian: کوه البرز‎ high mountain) is a mountain a ridge of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan, Balkh Province. The ridge is elongated to the south of the ancient city of Balkh, which is about 25 kilometers northwest from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. It is a tertiary, elongated ridge with steep slopes to the north and south. The comb has short canyons. Between the breaking points are the small river Schadyan and Marmal mountain. The German ISAF troops call their military camp Camp Marmal. Above this ridge, the two Buddhist monasteries as Nava Vihara Top i Ruslam (Persian: تپه رستم‎ Rustam hill or Rustam Hat) and Takht e Rustam (Persian: تخت رستم‎ Rustam's throne) and fire temple of Nava Vihara.

Persian Kōh: mountain......

Alborz (Persian: البرز‎), also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is also a mountain range in northern Iran.

Hindu_Kush_viewed_from_Camp_Marmal_at_Mazar-e_Sharif_in_Afghanistan

"The name Elbrus is derived by metathesis from Alborz. The name Alborz is derived from that of Harā Barazaitī, a legendary mountain in the Avesta. Harā Barazaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī. *Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian boland (بلند) and Barz/Berazandeh, cognate with Sanskrit 'Brihat' (बृहत्). Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root *ser- "protect". In Middle Persian, Harā Barazaitī became Harborz, Modern Persian Alborz, which is cognate with Elbrus."

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The Nava Vihāra (Sanskrit: नवविहार "New Monastery", modern Nowbehār, Persian: نوبهار‎) was two Buddhist monasteries close to the ancient city of Balkh in northern Afghanistan. The temples and monasteries of Nava Vihara are spread over a very large area about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Balkh above Chesme-ye Safā (Persian: چشمه صفا‎ "Clear Spring"), not far from the Koh e Alburz.

Takht-e-Rustam.....The thrown of the hero of the world. A buddhist stupa on a hill in Aybak, a medieval caravan stop, Samangan province in Northern Afghanistan. It dates back all they way to the 4th and 5th centuries.

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"Zoroastrians may identify the range with the dwelling place of the Peshyotan, and the Zoroastrian Ilm-e-Kshnoom sect identify Mount Davamand as the home of the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart'). In his epic Shahnameh, the poet Ferdowsi speaks of the mountains "as though they lay in India." This could reflect older usage, for numerous high peaks were given the name and some even reflect it to this day, for example, Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, and Mount Elbariz (Albariz, Jebal Barez) in the Kerman area above the Strait of Hormuz. As recently as the 19th century, a peak in the northernmost range in the Hindu Kush system, just south of Balkh, was recorded as Mount Elburz in British army maps. All these names reflect the same Iranian language compound, and share an identification as the legendary mountain Harā Bərəzaitī of the Avesta."

"Harā Bərəzaitī[.....literally meaning "High Watchpost", is the name given in the Avestan language to a legendary mountain around which the stars and planets revolve.....Harā Bərəzaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī. Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root *ser- "protect". *Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant- "high", which is cognate with Celtic brigant- (as in the Brigantes) and with Germanic burgund- (as in the Burgundians). Hence 'Harā Bərəzaitī' "High Watchpost.".....In the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures of the Avesta, Harā Bərəzaitī is the source of all mountains of the world, that is, all other mountains and ranges are but lateral projections that originate at High Hara. So, for instance, the mountains of the Hindu Kush (Avestan: ishkata; Middle Persian: kofgar) appear in Yasht 19.3 as one of the spurs of High Hara."

"In Avestan cosmogony, High Harā is the geographic center of the universe, immediately surrounded by the steppes of the Airyanem Vaejah, the first of the seven lands created by Ahura Mazda. It is a polar mountain around which the stars revolve; it is also the mountain behind which the sun hides at night.....The pinnacle of High Hara is Mount Hukairya, "Of good activity" (Yasht 10.88), from which springs the source of all waters of the world. These waters rush down from the mountain as the mighty world river Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā....... The sacred plant haoma grows on Harā. It is also the home of the yazata Mithra......

"A Greek inscription from Roman times found in Asia Minor reads 'the great goddess Anaïtis of high Hara'.

"...water too comes in from Harborz” (Bd. 11.6); for the mythical river Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā was held to pour down from the mountain’s peak into the ocean Vourukaša (Yt. 5.3; cf. Bd. 10.5-6), being thus the source of all the waters of the world."....http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alborz-massif-iran

"Ferdowsī in the Šāh-nāma refers to the Alborz mountains as though they lay in India......In Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, where the mountain in Ērānvēj is named Alborz, Mount Hara is the place of refuge for Fereydun when he is sought for by the spies of Zahhāk. It is the dwelling-place of the Simorgh, where he brings up the infant Zāl. It is also the region where Kai Kobad dwells before being summoned to the throne of Iran by Rostam."

Mithra...."In Yt. 10.50 and Yt. 12.23 the towering, luminous Harā mountains and their many outcrops are the abode of Mithra, “where neither night nor darkness, neither a cold nor a hot wind, neither harmful pestilence nor the daēva-created pox (rules);”....http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alborz-massif-iran

"......borz, “mound” ......The feminine gender is surprising, for it does not occur in other mountain names among the Indians and Iranians; these are normally masculine. Linguistically too, then, the name Alborz is unusual......The name of the range probably means “high watch/guard,” a common designation all over the world for mountains and high places. Av. harā- (fem. “watch, guard, defence,” not attested as an appellative) is from the OIr. har- “to pay attention to, watch over, protect” (AirWb, col. 1787), I.E. 2ser- (Lat. ser-v-are; see J. Pokorny, Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Berne and Munich, 1959, p. 910). The epithet bərəzaitī is *bṛzatī, feminine from OIr. *bṛzant- “high;” the equivalent in southwest Iranian is *bṛdant-, which in New Persian produces boland after regular sound changes. Cf. NPers. bālā (“high”) from bālā’ (“height”) from *bard-; NPers. barz/borz, “mound” (frequent in toponymy); further OInd. bṛhant- (“high, majestic”), German Berg, Burg, Burgund (IE. bheregh-, Pokorny, pp. 140f.).".....www.iranicaonline.org

"Rostam or Rustam (Persian: رُستَم‎, pronounced [ɾos'tæm, ɾʊs'tæm]) is the epic hero of the Persian epic Shahnameh in Persian mythology, and son of Zal and Rudaba. In the story, Rostam and his predecessors were natives of Zabol, the city in Zabulistan region of Sistan province in (present-day eastern Iran). Rostam's mother Rudaba was a princess of Kabul......In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Battle of Carrhae. Rostam was always represented as the mightiest of Iranian paladins (holy warriors), and the atmosphere of the episodes in which he features is strongly reminiscent of the Parthian period. He was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh, or Epic of Kings, which contains pre-Islamic Iranian folklore and history.".....

"The Naubahar / No Gombad ruins are located just south of the city of Balkh and are variously described as being those of a mosque, a Zoroastrian fire temple, and a fire temple that was converted into a Buddhist temple and then into a mosque. 'Nau' or 'no' can mean 'new' or 'nine'. 'Bahar' can mean 'spring'. 'No Gombad', a more recent name, means nine domes. The ruins are also known as Khoja Piada, Masjid-E Haji Piyada, and Haji Nau Peyodya (new walking pilgrim to Hajj). An alternative spelling is Noh Gumbad. ....The indications are that the present structure, dated between 850 - 900 CE, was built over an earlier structure that could have been constructed as early as the first century BCE. ....The structure measures some 20 by 20 metres or 65 by 65 feet. The design work on the columns also features a paisley-like boteh motif......Various Islamic authors such as twelfth and thirteenth century CE Islamic authors, Yaqut ibn-Abdullah (al-Rumi) and Shams ibn-Khallikan, note that the Naubahar structure was a Zoroastrian temple. An earlier tenth century CE author, al-Masoudi, adds in Muruuju dh Dhabab that Barmak, the eponymous ancestor of the renowned Barmaki (also Barmakiyan) family was a Magian (cf. magi, Zoroastrian priests - a name that Islamic authors gave Zoroastrians) and high priest of great fire-temple at Naubahar.".....http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/balkh2.htm

"There are many shared elements of undoubted significance in Indo-Iranian cosmography. Comparison of the various ancient Indian cosmographic systems and the Avesta or, indeed, the whole body of Zoroastrian writings, including the Pahlavi literature of the ninth century, reveals a number of common features: the concept of Mount Harā and that of Mount Meru, or Sumeru, in Brahmanical, Buddhist, and Jainist cosmography; the idea of the seven regions of the earth, the Iranian karšvar- (Pahlavi kešwar) and the Indian dvīpa; the idea of a central region, Xᵛaniraθa (Pahlavi Xwanirah) and Jambūdvīpa; the idea of the “Tree of All Seeds” in the Vourukaša sea, south of the Peak of Harā and the Jambū tree, south of Mount Meru ...... These elements, common to the Iranian and Indo-Aryan vision of the earth, are certainly to be considered essentially mythical when related to the historical periods during which these groups were living on one side or the other of the Indus. Yet they do not seem to be totally devoid of any geographical reference if the so-called nordic cycle of Indo-Iranian mythology is anything to go by."....AVESTAN GEOGRAPHY.....http://www.iranicaonline.org

Camp Marmal is adjacent to the Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains. The camp gets its name from the bordering Marmal Mountains.

Surkh Kotal / Atashkadeh-ye Sorkh Kowtal......http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/images/balkh/surkhkhotal/hillside.jpg

"After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Zoroastrian fire temples, with their four axial arch openings, were usually turned into mosques simply by setting a mihrab (prayer niche) on the place of the arch nearest to qibla (the direction of Mecca). This practice is described by numerous Muslim sources.... Zoroastrian temples converted into mosques in such a manner could be found in Bukhara, as well as in and near Istakhr and other Iranian cities."

"The name Khorasan is a compound word Khur+san meaning Sun+land. '-san' is an older form of '-shan' and '-stan'. Most authors take this to mean land of the rising sun since Khorasan is today in the east of Iran."

?....Pre-Zoroastrian Sun Temples converted into Zoroastrian Fire Temples.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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Al-Kermani: The Great Navbahar Buddhist Temple in Balkh (8th C. AD)

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"An Arab author, Omar ibn al-Azraq Al-Kermani, wrote a detailed account of Navbahar at the beginning of the 8th century that is preserved in a later 10th-century work, the Kitab al-Buldan by Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani. He described Navbahar in terms strikingly similar to the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest site of Islam. He described that the main temple had a stone cube in the center, draped with cloth, and that devotees circumambulated it and made prostration, as is the case with the Kaaba. The stone cube referred to the platform on which a stupa stood, as was the custom in Bactrian temples. The cloth that draped it was in accordance with Persian custom of showing veneration that applied equally to Buddha statues as well as to stupas."

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"Baharats or Buddha idol temples which were called Now Bahar in Balkh, and Beit-ul Sanam in Bamian, existed after the emergence of Islam and a long time after that. Each year Buddhist pilgrims from China and Khotan used to visit the sacred Buddha temples in Khorassan."....

"The second part of Hamavi's chronicle depicts other aspects of Iranian influence on Buddhism and the impact of Buddhism on the Iranian civilization: 'The religious custodian of the Now Bahar Temple was called a Barmak and the Barmakians descended from these priests and inherited the title from generation to generation. Now Bahar Temple was constructed to compete with the Kaaba in Mecca. Its walls were adorned by precious jewels and covered by gold embroidered curtains. On many occasions and specially during spring the temple was adorned with beautiful flowers. For that reason the temple was called Now Bahar. It was in that season that pilgrims flocked to the temple from all over Iran. The temple was capped with a dome called Asten that was 100 gaz (nearly 93 meters) high and was adorned by flags. Many pilgrims from Kabul and Indo-China visited the temple, worshiped the idol and kissed the hands of the Barmak or the grand custodian of the temple." ......Historical Geography of Eastern Caliphate Lands, Guy Listering, translated by Mahmood Erfan, 1958, p. 447

"In 708 Nazaktar Khan, a Turk Shahi prince, in alliance with the Tibetan Kingdom recaptured Bactria from the Umayyads and established a fanatic Buddhist rule, including the beheading of the abbot who converted. In 715 Ibn Qutaybah recaptured the region for the Umayyads and Tibet switched sides to ally with him against the Turk Shahis. In retribution for the insurrection Qutaiba inflicted heavy damage on Navbahar resulting in many monks fleeing to Khotan and Kashmir. The Muslims destroyed select monasteries that harbored opposition but then let them rebuild and prosper to exact a pilgrim tax."

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"According to Masoodi Now Bahar, the giant temple in Balkh was called Mah Bonyad during Manouchehr Shah. At that time the custodian of the temple was greatly respected by the kings and all the citizens obeyed his orders and presented much property and money to that idol temple. As we said the custodians of the temple were called Baramakeh and Khalid Barmak was the last custodian of the temple. This was a very lofty building and adorned by spears on which green silk was hung. ....Yaqoot Hamavi (539-626 A.H.) relates a lengthy story from Omar ibne Azraq Kermani about Now Bahar. Qazvini and Mohammad ibne Mahmood ibne Ahmad Toosi have also described the temple like that written by Hamavi. ...Rooh-ul Mazaheb, translated by Abolqasem Payandeh, vol. 1, p. 589. - See more at: http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/iranians_role_expansion_buddhism.php#sthash.qpHhAocQ.dpuf....http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/iranians_role_expansion_buddhism.php

"Referring to Balkh, the writer of Turkestan Nameh says: "Balkh was the most ancient city in the Amu Darya region. Muslim writers have rightly called Balkh the mother of cities. Balkh had been the capital of semi-mythological Bacteria which was later converted into a western Satrap (Bacterian Satrap) of the Achamenid Dynasty and during the time of Darius, Marviania (or Marv district) was part of that territory." ....

"The following inscription was written on the gate of the Now Bahar Temple: "Buddha says the courts of the kings need wisdom, patience and money." Under that inscription an Arabic script says: "Buddha is in the wrong because a man who possesses one of these qualifications would never agree to be a vassal in the court."....Ajayeb-ul Makhlooqat, edited by Manoochehr Sotoodeh, p. 279. ..http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/iranians_role_expansion_buddhism.php

"Idries Shah wrote in "The Sufis":...."Jabir Ibn el-Hayyan was for a long time a close companion of the Barmecides, the viziers of Haroun el-Rashid.These barmakis were descended from the priest of the Afghan Buddhist shrines, and were held to have at their disposal the ancient teaching which had been transmitted to them from that area. Haroun el-Rashid was a constant associate of Sufis, and there are instances on record of his making reverential pilgrimages to meet Sufi masters." (p. 196)"

"A comment by M. Sufilight:....It is also known that at the time of Geber it can be found that one of the strongholds of the Afghan-Sufi-Buddhists was at Balkh, and at the monastery known as Nava Vihara.....This monastery and nearby shrines was through many centuries the hot-bed of esoteric sufi-buddhist-zoroaster teachings. These doctrines lived side by sides at that place. And no Buddhist was allowed entry to it unless he first was known to have written a paper on Buddhism.....The Nava Vihara Monastery was it is said build on an old fire-temple of the Zoroastrians. A number of their temples had a form like a CUBE and was placed in the center of the shrine almost similar to the Kaaba at Mekka.....The Nava Vihara Monastery was for centuries compared on equal foot with the highly regarded monastery called Nalanda Monastery or Nalanda University.".....http://www.theosophy.com/theos-talk/200912/tt00012.html

"The earliest contact between Buddhist and Muslim populations was in present-day Afghanistan, eastern Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan when the region came under the rule of the Arab Umayyad Caliphate in the mid-seventh century CE. The Umayyad Arab author, ‘Umar ibn al-Azraq al-Kermani, took interest in explaining Buddhism to his Islamic audience. Consequently, at the beginning of the eighth century CE, he wrote a detailed account of the Nava Vihara Monastery in Balkh, Afghanistan, and the basic Buddhist customs there, explaining them in terms of analogous features in Islam. Thus, he described the main temple as having a stone cube in the center, draped with cloth, and devotees as circumambulating it and making prostration, as is the case with the Kaaba in Mecca....Al-Kermani’s writings were preserved in the tenth-century CE work, Book of Lands (Ar. Kitab al-Buldan) by Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani. Buddhist scholars, however, do not seem to have shown reciprocal interest in explaining the Muslim customs and beliefs to the Buddhist audience. There is no recorded evidence of any such description at this time."...https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/buddhist-muslim-doctrinal-relations-past-present-and-future/....Source: Buddhist-Muslim Doctrinal Relations: Past, Present, and Future by Alexander Berzin. Originally published with extensive footnotes in Buddhist Attitudes toward Other Religions, ed. Perry Schmidt-Leukel. St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 2008, p. 212 – 236

Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia.....edited by Andrea L. Stanton

From Bharata to India: The Rape of Chrysee.....By M. K. Agarwa

Book of Lands by Al-Kermani

"Buddhism in west, central, and south Asia from 1200 to 1900 AD is noted primarily for its disappearance from the region during this period."

"The term Baramakeh or Barmaki in this tribe is derived from Parmookhia in Sanskrit language which means a head (which is the customary title of the custodians of the Now Bahar Temple in Balkh). ....In his Albaldan, Ibne Faqid Hamedani says: "Before turning to feudals the Barmakians enjoyed high position and reputation and were idol worshippers. The citizens of Mecca had told them about the custom of the Qoraish tribe and Arabs in Mecca who worshipped the idols in Kaaba. This induced the Barmakians to build a rival giant idol temple in Balkh. They called this temple the Now Bahar Temple or the new temple. They respected the temple and presented gifts to the temple and adorned it with silk and ornamented the dome with flags. The dome of the temple was 100 x 100 gaz (one gaz is about 93 cm) in size. 360 nosegays (cells) were constructed around the temple in which the temple's servants and guards dwelt. Each day one servant served the temple and thus in one year 360 servants served the temple by turn so that each servant worked one day in the year. The grand custodian of the temple was called Barmak or a custodian from Mecca or ruler of Mecca. Thus those who were appointed as the custodian of the Now Bahar Temple were called Barmaks." ....http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/iranians_role_expansion_buddhism.php

"The kings of China and Kabul also worshipped idols and whenever they traveled to the Now Bahar Temple they worshipped the grand idol. Thus all the properties surrounding the Now Bahar Temple and seven hundred villages in the Takharestan region known as Zavan which was 8 x 4 farsangs in size were owned by the Barmakis. All these villages were ruled by Barmaki headmen. Their sway continued until the time of Othman, the caliph, when Khorassan was conquered by Ibne Offan. .....When Khorassan was taken the grand custodian of the Now Bahar Temple was Barmak, the father of Barmak and grand father of Khalid.".....http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/iranians_role_expansion_buddhism.php

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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Bactria/Kapisa/Shambhala: the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (644 AD)

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"By 669 AD the Western Turks were undergoing considerable political turmoil and Tri Du-srong, the emperor of Tibet, was actively extending his power in Central Asia by means of continuous bloody warfare and pillage. The neighboring Turkish Shahi kingdoms of Kapisa (Shambhala) and Uddiyana were also both being hard pressed on their southwesterly flank by the inexorable expansion of the southern Arab Moslems.".....http://www.dharmafellowship.org/biographies/historicalsaints/pramodavajra.htm

"Based on the account of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang), ( journey from 629 to 645 AD), who visited in AD 644, it seems that in later times Kapisa was part of a kingdom ruled by a Buddhist kshatriya king (Warrior King) holding sway over ten neighboring states, including Lampaka, Nagarahara, Gandhara, and Banu. Hiuen Tsang notes the Shen breed of horses from the area, and also notes the production of many types of cereals and fruits, as well as a scented root called Yu-kin."

"The earliest references to Kapisa appear in the writings of fifth century BCE Indian scholar Pāṇini. Pāṇini refers to the city of Kapiśi, a city of the Kapisa kingdom, modern Bagram. Pāṇini also refers to Kapiśayana, a famous wine from Kapisa. The city of Kapiśi also appeared as Kaviśiye on Graeco-Indian coins of Apollodotus I and Eucratides."

"According to the scholar Pliny, the city of Kapiśi (also referred to as Kaphusa by Pliny's copyist Solinus and Kapisene by other classical chroniclers) was destroyed in the sixth century BCE by the Achaemenid emperor Cyrus (Kurush) (559-530 BC).

"Xuanzang.....His first important stop was in Bactria, part of modern Afghanistan. Balkh was a city of prodigious antiquity which Alexander the Great chose for his home base from 329 to 327 CE. The successors of Alexander and the Kushan kings who succeeded them contributed to the distinctive art which we call Gandharan. Xuanzang stayed a month at the New Monastery there, one of the finest in the Buddhist world, where he admired its relics. After Balkh, he struggled through the treacherous Hindu Kush mountains to reach the valley of Bamiyan. It was a station of primary importance on the road from Central Asia to India. The pilgrim visited the colossal Gandharan statues carved in the cliff face....'On a declivity of a hill to the northeast of the capital was a standing image of the Buddha made out of stone 140 or 150 feet high, of a brilliant golden color and resplendent with ornamentation of precious substances.'......it was deliberately destroyed in March 2000 by the Taliban....From this important center of Buddhism, Xuanzang and his caravan made their way through the Black Mountains to the plain of Kapisa, whose capital Kapisi, is 40 miles north of Kabul. This was the first capital of the Kushan empire established in the first century C.E. Kanishka I,(BCE 78-225 CE?) its most famous king, ruled over much of present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and part of Central Asia. He was a great supporter of Buddhism and especially of Gandharan sculpture, that hybrid of Buddhism and Graeco/Roman art. which produced classical figures of calm and serene Buddhas.....Xuanzang met Jain and Hindu ascetics for the first time on this part of his journey. He contrasts the mountain-dwelling Afghans with their harsh uncultivated ways, wearing fur garments and coarse wool, to the Hindus who were slight, active and impetuous in comparison, and whose garments were made of white linen or cotton for the most part. A modern view marks British India as beginning at the eastern side of the Khyber Pass, but Xuanzang considered he had entered India at Jalalabad, his next important resting place......When Xuanzang finally reached the area near Jalalabad in Pakistan, he felt as Alexander the Great did 9 centuries earlier, that he had entered a new world. He stops his travel narrative to devote a long chapter to a consideration of the land of India. He says:...'India was above 90,000 li in circuit, with the Snowy Mountains (The Hindu Kush) in the north and the sea on its three other sides...'......http://www.mongolianculture.com/indomongolian.htm#_edn8

The Early History of India. 2nd Ed......By V.A. Smith

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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The Gods of the Kushan Empire & Shambhala Vision (127 AD)

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"Shambhala vision applies to people of any faith, not just people who believe in Buddhism. The Shambhala vision does not distinguish a Buddhist from a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu. That's why we call it the Shambhala Kingdom. A kingdom should have lots of spiritual disciplines in it.".... Trungpa, Chogyam. (2001). Great Eastern Sun: The wisdom of Shambhala. Shambhala Publications. p. 133.

Chogyam Trungpa: His Life and Vision...Page 230...By Fabrice Midal

Kushan deities...Kanishka was emperor of the Kushan dynasty (127–151 AD)

The Kushan Empire (Bactrian: κυϸανο; Sanskrit: कुषाण राजवंश Kuṣāṇ Rājavaṃśa; BHS: Guṣāṇa-vaṃśa; Parthian: Kušan-xšaθr) was an empire in originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of the former Greco-Bactrian Kingdom around the Oxus River (Amu Darya), and later based near Kabul, Afghanistan. The Kushans spread from the Kabul River Valley to also encompass much of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, from which they took their first official language (Greek),Bactrian alphabet, Greco-Buddhist religion, coinage system, and art. They absorbed the Central Asian tribes that had previously conquered parts of the northern central Iranian Plateau once ruled by the Parthians, and reached their peak under the Buddhist emperor Kanishka (127–151), whose realm stretched from Turfan in the Tarim Basin to Pataliputra on the Gangetic Plain."

"The Kushan religious pantheon varies widely as revealed by their coins and their seals, on which more than 30 different gods appear, belonging to the Hellenistic, the Iranian, and to a lesser extent the Indian world. Greek deities, with Greek names appear on early coins. During Kanishka's reign, the language of the coinage changes to Bactrian though it remained in Greek script for all kings. After Huvishka, only two divinities appear on the coins: Ardoxsho and Oesho.

"Kanishka was a Kushan of probable Yuezhi ethnicity. He used an Eastern Iranian, Indo-European language known as Bactrian (called "αρια," i. e. "Aryan" in the Rabatak inscription), which appears in Greek script in his inscriptions, though it is not certain what language the Kushans originally spoke; possibly some form of Tocharian – a "centum" Indo-European language. The "Aryan" language of the inscription was a "satem" Middle Iranian language, possibly the one spoken in "Arya" or "Ariana" (the region around modern Herat) and was, therefore, quite possibly unrelated to the original language of the Kushans (or the Yuezhi), but adopted by them to facilitate communication with local people."

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Representation from Greek mythology and Hellenistic syncretism include:

Ηλιος (Helios), Ηφαηστος (Hephaistos), Σαληνη (Selene), Ανημος (Anemos).... the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology.....and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn.

Further, the coins of Huvishka also portray two demi-gods: erakilo Heracles, and sarapo Sarapis.

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The Indic entities represented on coinage include:

Βοδδο (boddo, Buddha)...The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one".

Μετραγο Βοδδο (metrago boddo, bodhisattava Maitreya).....Maitreya may have come from the ancient Indo-Iranian deity Mithra.

Mαασηνo (maaseno, Mahasena)...

Σκανδo koμαρo (skando komaro, Skanda Kumara).....Skanda is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Ϸακαμανο Βοδδο (shakamano boddho, Shakyamuni Buddha).....Siddhārtha Gautama was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded....He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BC.

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The Iranic entities depicted on coinage include:

Αρδοχϸο (ardoxsho, Ashi Vanghuhi.....Ashi (aši) is the Avestan language word for the Zoroastrian concept of "that which is attained." ....Although conceptually older than Zoroastrianism, Ashi has no attested equivalent in Vedic Sanskrit.....On Kushan coins, Ashi appears as Ardoxšo with a cornucopia in hand.

A?αειχ?o (ashaeixsho, Asha Vahishta)... the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius" of "Truth" or "Righteousness"

Αθϸο (athsho, Atar)...Atar (Avestan ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" ....

Φαρρο (pharro, Khwarenah)....Khvarenah or khwarenah (xᵛarənah) is an Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aiding the appointed. The neuter noun thus also connotes "(divine) royal glory," reflecting the perceived divine empowerment of kings. The term also carries a secondary meaning of "(good) fortune".

Λροοασπο (lrooaspa, Drvaspa)....Drvaspa is the Avestan language name of an "enigmatic" and "strangely discreet" Zoroastrian divinity, whose name literally means "with solid horses" and which she is then nominally the hypostasis of.....The word drvaspa is grammatically feminine. Proceeding from an observation in James Darmesteter's Avesta (1875), "it has been customary to compare her to the Celtic Epona."...Drvaspa appears on Kushan coins as 'Drooaspo' (ΛΡΟΟΑΣΠΟ), which is however a masculine form of the name, and Drvaspa is depicted as a male figure. "

Μαναοβαγο, (manaobago, Vohu Manah)....Vohu Manah is the Avestan language term for a concept generally translated as "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind"

Μαο (mao, Mah)....Mah or Maonghah is the Avestan language word for both the moon and for the Zoroastrian divinity that presides over and is the hypostasis of the moon.....The names 'Maonghah' and Mah derive from an Indo-European root that is also the origin of the English language word "moon." .....Herodotus states that the moon was the tutelary divinity of the Iranian expatriates residing in Asia Minor....The divinity Mah appears together with Mithra on Kushan coins.

Μιθρο, Μιιρο, Μιορο, Μιυρο (mithro and variants, Mithra)....Mithra (Avestan: Miθra, Old Persian: Miça) is the Zoroastrian angelic Divinity (yazata) of Covenant and Oath. In addition to being the Divinity of Contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing Protector of Truth, and the Guardian of Cattle, the Harvest and of The Waters.....In Middle Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian etc.), Mithra became Mihr.... in Zoroastrian/Iranian tradition, Mithra became the Divinity of the Sun.....In the Hellenistic era (i.e., in Seleucid and Parthian times), Mithra also seems to have been conflated with Apollo, who – like Mithra – is an all-seeing Divinity of the Truth.

Μοζδοοανο (mozdooano, Mazda *vana "Mazda the victorious?")....Mazda is wisdom.

Νανα, Ναναια, Ναναϸαο (variations of pan-Asiatic nana, Sogdian nny, in a Zoroastrian context Aredvi Sura Anahita)....Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā); the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' (Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom....of Indo-Iranian origin,...related to Sanskrit Sarasvatī ...Hara Berezaiti, "High Hara", the mythical mountain that is the origin of the *Harahvatī river.....Oxus, identified as the world river that descends from the mythological High Hara.

Οαδο (oado Vata)....Vāyu-Vāta or Vāta-Vāyu is the Avestan language name of the divinity of the wind (Vayu) and of the atmosphere (Vata).

Oαxϸo (oaxsho, "Oxus")

Ooρoμoζδο (ooromozdo, Ahura Mazda).....Ahura Mazda , (also known as Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hourmazd, Hormazd, and Hurmuz, Lord or simply as spirit) is the Avestan name for a higher divine spirit of the old Iranian religion (predating Islam) who was proclaimed as the uncreated spirit by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda is described as the highest spirit of worship in Zoroastrianism, along with being the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the Yasna. The literal meaning of the word Ahura is light and Mazda is wisdom.

Οραλαγνο (orlagno, Verethragna).....Verethragna (vərəθraγna) is Avestan literally meaning "smiting of resistance" .....related to Avestan verethra, 'obstacle' and verethragnan, 'victorious'. (Gnoli, 1989:510) In Zoroastrian Middle Persian, Verethragna became Warahran, from which Vahram, Vehram, Bahram, Behram and other variants derive....the deity has correspondences in Buddhist Sogdian Wshn, Manichaen Parthian Wryhrm, Kushan Bactrian Orlagno....parallels have also been drawn between it and Vedic Indra, Puranic Vishnu, Manichaean Adamas, Chaldean/Babylonian Nergal, Egyptian Horus, Hellenic Ares and Heracles.

Τιερο (tiero, Tir)

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Additionally....

Οηϸο (oesho), long considered to represent Indic Shiva, but more recently identified as Avestan Vayu conflated with Shiva....ΟΗϷΟ (oesho, Shiva). ...Sanskrit: Śiva..... the Supreme God within Shaivism.... limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formles....he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya......Shiva is usually worshiped in the aniconic form of Lingam....Temples of Lord Shiva are called shivalayam.

Two copper coins of Huvishka bear a 'Ganesa' legend, but instead of depicting the typical theriomorphic figure of Ganesha, have a figure of an archer holding a full-length bow with string inwards and an arrow. Typically a depiction of Rudra, in the case of those two coins Shiva has been represented.....Shiva is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2014

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