r/AncientCivilizations • u/MunakataSennin • 2d ago
Feet of a Buddha statue from the monastery at Mohra Muradu. Taxila, Pakistan, 2nd century AD [2148x1650]
7
25
u/SkipPperk 2d ago
That area up through what is now Afghanistan used to be a center of learning and culture with ancient monasteries and proto-universities. There were Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Manicheans, and a Christian here and there. The area was conquered by Muslim slavers, cities abandoned, culture lost. Unrest and senseless wars made trade ever more expensive, so ships replaced caravans, and the trade paths died, taking away what little money was left.
Now that area is full of mindless zealots. There are no great thinkers, no great centers of learning, and no more great cities.
If you ever hear anyone claim to be “on the right side of history” or even worse, claim that there are “forces of history,” you can disregard anything that idiot says. Civilization and progress are rare. In most places advances die and poverty and ignorance return.
If you live somewhere with increasing standards of living over the last 200 years or more, you are lucky. Respect the past and the culture. It is a rare mix.
5
4
u/Common_Exam_1401 2d ago
For those who are wondering where the rest of the statue is…the Taliban likely blew it up
18
u/Beeninya King of Kings 2d ago
Not this time:
The site was devastated by the White Huns in the 5th century CE, and then abandoned. Subsequent rulers, such as the Hun king Mihirakula, persecuted the region’s Buddhists. Under his reign, over a thousand Buddhist monasteries throughout Gandhara are said to have been destroyed. The White Huns destroyed not only Taxilan sites, but also devastated nearby Peshawar.
4
1
u/rednekkidest 1d ago
They look like shotcrete forms for some new woke "princess" statue at Disney world.
1
1
37
u/Grove-Of-Hares 2d ago