Kingdom of Kapisa facts for kids
The Kingdom of Kapisa was an ancient state located in what is now Afghanistan. It existed during the late 1st millennium CE, which means from about 500 AD to 1000 AD. The capital city of this kingdom was also called Kapisa.
The kingdom of Kapisa was quite large. It stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in the north down to Bamiyan and Kandahar in the south and west. In the east, it reached as far as the modern Jalalabad District.
The name Kapisa seems to come from a very old name for the area, even before recorded history. When Alexander the Great conquered the area in 329 BCE, it became known as Alexandria on the Caucasus in the Greek world. However, the older name, Kapisa, continued to be used.
Around 600 CE, a famous Chinese Buddhist monk named Xuanzang visited Kapisa. He wrote about how people grew rice and wheat there. He also mentioned a king from the Suli tribe. Xuanzang noted that there were over 6,000 Buddhist monks of the Mahayana school in Kapisa. In some old Chinese writings, Kapisa was called the kingdom of Cao (Chinese: [漕國 Caoguo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). In other Chinese books, it was known as Jibin (Chinese: 罽賓 Jibin).
Between the 7th and 9th centuries, the kingdom was ruled by the Turk Shahi dynasty. At one point, the city of Bagram was the capital. But in the 7th century, the main center of power for Kapisa moved to Kabul.
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Kapisa City: The Capital
Kapisa (also spelled Kapiśi or Chinese: [迦畢試 Jiapishi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) was the main capital city of the Kingdom of Kapisa. Today, the name Kapisa is used for a modern province in Afghanistan. However, the ancient city of Kapisa was actually located in Parwan Province, near or in the modern-day town of Bagram.
The earliest mentions of Kapisa come from the writings of an Indian scholar named Achariya Pāṇini in the 5th century BCE. Pāṇini wrote about the city of Kapiśi, which was part of the Kapisa kingdom. He also mentioned Kapiśayana, a famous wine from Kapisa. The city of Kapiśi also appeared on coins from the Indo-Greek and Nezak Huns periods.
Archaeological digs in 1939 helped confirm that Kapisa was a center for the wine trade. Many glass bottles, fish-shaped wine jars, and drinking cups were found. These items were typical of the wine trade back then. Ancient Indian books also mention the grapes (Kapiśayani Draksha) and wine (Kapiśayani Madhu) from this area. The ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, also noted that slavery was common in the city. The Begram ivories, which are beautiful carvings that survived from burnt furniture, were also important art discoveries from this area.
Later, Kapisa seemed to be part of a kingdom ruled by a Buddhist king. This king controlled about ten nearby states, including Lampaka, Nagarahara, Gandhara, and Banu. This information comes from the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang, who visited in 644 AD. Xuan Zang also noted that a special breed of horses called Shen came from the area. He also mentioned that many types of grains and fruits were grown, along with a sweet-smelling root called Yu-kin.
What Does Kapisa Mean?
Many scholars believe that the name Kapisa is closely related to the Sanskrit word Kamboja. It's thought that both Kapisa and Kamboja were different ways to say the same ancient foreign word.
For example, an 11th-century Sanskrit scholar from Kashmir, Kshemendra, wrote a text that specifically said Kapisa and Kamboja were the same. This suggests that the two names referred to the same place or people.
The term Kapiśi, mentioned by Pāṇini, is believed to have been the capital of the ancient Kamboja region. Kapisa (known as Ki-pin, Ke-pin, Ka-pin, Chi-pin in Chinese records) likely referred to the Kamboja kingdom. This kingdom was located on the southeastern side of the Hindukush mountains, in the Paropamisadae area. This region was home to the Aśvakayana (known as Assakenoi by the Greeks) and the Aśvayana (known as Aspasioi by the Greeks) tribes. These were sub-tribes of the Kambojas.
People of Kapisa
The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang described the people of Kapiśa (Kai-pi-chi(h)) as "cruel and fierce." He said their language was "coarse and rude." He also noted that their marriage ceremonies were simple. Their literature was similar to that of the Tukhara country, but their customs and common language were a bit different. For clothes, they wore wool and garments trimmed with furs. For trade, they used gold, silver, and small copper coins.
Hiuen Tsang also wrote that the king of Kapisa was a Kshatriya by caste, which is a warrior class in ancient India. He described the king as clever, brave, and determined. The king had conquered about ten neighboring countries and ruled over them.
According to scholars, many of Hiuen Tsang's descriptions of the people from Kapiśa to Rajapura match what is said about the Kambojas in ancient Buddhist and Indian epic texts like the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata even mentions that Rajapuram was a major city of the Kambojas. Rajapuram is believed to be modern Rajauri in southwestern Kashmir. Kapisa also had a strong Iranian cultural influence.
Early Rulers of Kapisa and Kabul
The early rulers of Kapisa and Kabul, known as the Turk Shahis, probably ruled from the early 5th century until 870 AD. Their exact origins are still debated. However, ancient sources generally agree that the rulers of Kapisa were Kshatriyas from India. They claimed to be descendants of the ancient city of Ayodhya in India. Indian scholars and Chinese travelers from different centuries, as well as the 12th-century historian Kalhana, all agree on their Indian Kshatriya origins.
Even though their backgrounds might have been mixed, these rulers practiced both Buddhism and Hinduism, just like many people in India at the time. Some historians have suggested that the Shahis might have come from the Kushan Empire or the Kaṭa tribe.
The 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang described the ruler of Kapisa as a Buddhist and a Kshatriya. Kalhana, a 12th-century historian from Kashmir, also called the Shahis of Gandhara/Waihind Kshatriyas. These old records from different sources suggest that these rulers and their families were definitely from a Hindu background.
From the 5th century until about 794 AD, the capital of the Shahis was Kapisa. This was the ancient home of the Kambojas who lived south of the Hindukush mountains. When Arab Muslim armies started raiding the Shahi kingdom, the Shahi ruler of Kapisa moved their capital to Kabul. This happened until 870 AD.
One account from the 11th-century Muslim historian Alberuni says that the last king of the early Shahiya dynasty was Lagaturman. He was overthrown and imprisoned by his Brahmin (priestly class) advisor named Kallar. Alberuni's mention of a Brahmin advisor taking over might mean that Kallar and his successors followed the Brahmanical religion, while King Katorman and his earlier Shahi rulers were strong Buddhists. It's possible that a change in religion was mistaken for a change in ruling family. In any case, this event is said to have started the line of the "Hindu Shahi" rulers, according to Alberuni.
See also
- Etymology of Kapisa
- Kapisa Province (modern Afghanistan)
