I guess that Dan may be referring to the Barmakid dynasty. A very useful survey is: Kevin van Bladel, "The Bactrian Background of the Barmakids", in Anna Akasoy, Charles Burnett and Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (eds.), Islam and Tibet: Interactions along the musk routes, London: Ashgate 2011, pp. 43–88.
Best Lubomir On Mon, 22 Nov 2021 12:52:06 -0500 Dan Lusthaus via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Dean, > > Archeological sites as far west as Anatolia record Buddhist settlements. See > for instance Roxann Prazniak, “Ilkhanid Buddhism: Traces of a Passage in > Eurasian History,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, > 2014;56(3):650–680. > > It is well-known — or I should say *used to be* well-known — that during the > Abbasid period, Buddhists from NW India and Central Asia were invited to > Baghdad because of their skill as translators to participate in the Bayt > al-Ḥikmah (House of Wisdom) translation projects of Greek and Indian texts. > That barely lasted a generation, when a new ruler started to kill them off, > purging them, having them flee back to Central Asia, then following them in a > drive that purged Buddhism and Buddhists from much of Central Asia (Tibet was > spared due to its relative inaccessibility and reputation as fierce > warriors). I attempted a quick search for a website or two to include in this > — they were not hard to find a few years ago, but web information on that > seems to have been purged and whitewashed as well — I searched with three > different search engines. More hits on Buddhists acting badly even for a > search like “baghdad buddhists” then even the tiniest morsel of information > on the tragedy of the invited Buddhist communities to Baghdad, and the > aftermath. > > Our increasing reliance on the internet for basic information is becoming > scary. We have entered 1984. > > Dan > > > On Nov 22, 2021, at 12:06 PM, Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi Dean, > > > > This recent publication contains many relevant references: > > https://brill.com/view/title/59960?language=en > > <https://brill.com/view/title/59960?language=en> > > > > Richard Salomon's indian Epigraphy includes discussion of pertinent > > epigraphical evidence from Central Asia. > > > > Viking artifacts of Asian provenance pose problems for interpretation. The > > Vikings were very active in the slave trade with Byzantium, which moved > > along the Volga river and Caspian sea, but the presence of a given artifact > > at a Viking site may not always imply that it arrived through Viking > > raiders moving upstream. There were also slave traders, and other > > merchants, based in Byzantine lands who moved downstream. > > > > best, > > Matthew > > – > > Matthew Kapstein > > Directeur d'études, émérite > > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris > > > > Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies, > > The University of Chicago > > > > https://brill.com/view/title/60949 <https://brill.com/view/title/60949> > > > > https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein > > <https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein> > > > > From: INDOLOGY <[email protected]> on behalf of Dean > > Michael Anderson via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> > > Sent: Monday, November 22, 2021 9:57 AM > > To: Indology List <[email protected]> > > Subject: [INDOLOGY] Hindus and Buddhists in Central Asia > > > > > > I've been working on the Indo-Europeans and some of their interactions. > > > > It started with the discovery that Vikings penetrated into Central Asia. > > Their hoards in Scandinavia contain silver coins from Afghanistan. While > > they might not have gone all the way there, it seems certain that they did > > penetrate well into Central Asia -- probably at least as far as the Caspian > > Sea. > > > > That led me to the second question which I asked here. Thanks again for all > > of the fascinating answers in another thread here that discussed Indo-Aryan > > influences as far as the Philippines and beyond. > > > > Now I'm looking back in the other direction again and wondering if anyone > > can provide more sources on evidence for Hindus and Buddhists in Central > > Asia. The Buddhists are better attested and there were probably more of > > them, but I was wondering what evidence we have for both groups in Central > > Asia. > > > > Best, > > > > Dean > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > INDOLOGY mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > _______________________________________________ INDOLOGY mailing list [email protected] https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
