Course info

Gandhāra is a historical region which covers present-day Northwest Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan and was a pivot between South and Central Asia. First mentioned in historical sources as a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire, Gandhāra was, between the 4th century BCE and the 4th century CE, conquered by Alexander the Great and successively ruled by Greek, Scythian, Parthian and Kushan kings.

The first part of the seminar gives an overview of the history of Buddhism in the region. Introduced in Gandhāra under the rule of the Indian king Aśoka Maurya (c. 268-232 BCE), Buddhism remained the prevailing religious faith until the conquest of the Hephtalites in the 6th century CE. Students will track the developments of Buddhism from its introduction until its decline through the analysis of both written documents (e.g. epigraphy, Buddhist narratives) and visual material (e.g. iconography, archaeological data). Particular attention will be given to practices such as the cult of relics or image-production and image-worship, to the formation of pilgrimage sites, the diversification of Buddhist schools and the emergence of Mahāyāna movements. By posing the question “what is specifically “Gandhāran” about Buddhism in Gandhāra?”, this seminar will seek to examine processes by which a religious tradition becomes localised. The second part of the seminar will address issues connected to the reception of the Buddhist religious heritage in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It will examine the role of cultural institutions (museums, UNESCO) in raising awareness for the Buddhist past of Pakistan/Afghanistan by local populations, their perception of Gandharan heritage and the role of the latter in identify-negotiation.