Overview

Afghanistan is at the cultural crossroads of Asia, where the great civilisations of Mesopotamia and Iran, South Asia and Central Asia overlapped and sometimes conflicted. Its landscape embraces environments from the high mountains of the Hindu Kush to the Oxus basin and the great deserts of Sistan; trade routes from China to the Mediterranean, and from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea cross the country. It has seen the development of early agriculture, the spread of Bronze Age civilisation of Central Asia, the conquests of the Persians and of Alexander of Macedon, the spread of Buddhism and then Islam, and the empires of the Kushans, Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids centred there, with ramifications across southern Asia. All of which has resulted in some of the most important, diverse and spectacular historical remains in Asia. First published in 1978, this was the first book in English to provide a complete survey of the immensely rich archaeological remains of Afghanistan. The contributors, all acknowledged scholars in their field, have worked in the country, on projects ranging from prehistoric surveys to the study of Islamic architecture. It has now been thoroughly revised and brought up to date to incorporate the latest discoveries and research.

Full Product Details

Author:   Raymond Allchin ,  Warwick Ball (Former Acting Director, British Institute of Afghan Studies) ,  Norman Hammond (Senior Fellow, University of Cambridge; Boston University)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9780748699179

ISBN 10:   0748699171
Pages:   752
Publication Date:   03 May 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Foreword, Mohammad Fahim Rahimi, Kabul Museum Preface, Norman Hammond Introduction to the first edition, Norman Hammond and Raymond Allchin Introduction to the new edition, Warwick Ball 1. The Geographical Background, Sophia R. Bowlby and Kevin H. White 2. The Palaeolithic, Richard S. Davies 3. The development of the Oxus Civilisation north of the Hindu Kush, Henri-Paul Francfort, Bertille Lyonnet, Cameron Petrie and Jim G. Shaffer 4. The development of a ‘Helmand Civilisation’ south of the Hindu Kush, Jim G. Shaffer and Cameron Petrie 5. The Iron Age, Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods, Warwick Ball, Simon Glenn, Bertille Lyonnet, David W. Mac Dowall and Maurizio Taddei 6. From the Kushans to the Shahis, Warwick Ball, Olivier Bordeaux, David W. Mac Dowall, Nicholas Sims-Williams and Maurizio Taddei 7. From the Rise of Islam to the Mongol Invasion, Warwick Ball and Klaus Fischer 8. From the Mongols to the Mughals, Warwick Ball and Klaus Fischer 9. Conclusion, Raymond Allchin and Norman Hammond Bibliography

Reviews

[T]he Archaeology of Afghanistan provides [an] invaluable survey of the state of current knowledge of the various periods, both in Afghanistan and the surrounding regions. [It] ranges freely across adjacent regions to provide an overview of changing alliances with the three adjacent major civilizations. It was not only dynasties that changed with alarming frequency, but also the religions promoted by them. Both Buddhism and Islam, had a major impact on the art, culture and architecture of this mountainous country. [The book] shed[s] a brilliant light on the archaeology of Afghanistan.... will be treasured as an impressive and remarkable record of the present state of knowledge... a major achievement. --Dr Georgina Herrmann, University College London Antiquaries Journal

Author Information

F. R. Allchin (1923-2010) was one of the foremost British archaeologists in South Asian archaeology. A member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, since 1963, he retired in 1989 as Emeritus Reader in South Asian Archaeology at Cambridge. Warwick Ball is former Acting Director of the British Institute of Afghan Studies and is author of The Monuments of Afghanistan (I.B. Tauris, 2008), The Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan (OUP 2019) and Editor-in-Chief of the Afghanistan journal. Professor Norman Hammond is a Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge University. He was founding editor of South Asian Archaeology and of Afghan Studies.

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