Kalai Kafirnigan Explained

Kalai Kafirnigan
Native Name:Kala-i Kafirnigan
Map Type:West Asia#Bactria#Tajikistan
Relief:yes
Coordinates:37.8974°N 68.2627°W
Type:Buddhist cloister

Kalai Kafirnigan, also Kala-i Kafirnigan was a Buddhist temple in the region of Tokharistan (Classical Bactria), dated to the 7th-8th century CE. Buddhism in Tokharistan is said to have enjoyed a revival under the Western Turks (known as Tokhara Yabghus in Tokharistan). Several monasteries of Tokharistan dated to the 7th-8th centuries display beautiful Buddhist works of art, such as Kalai Kafirnigan, Ajina Tepe, Khisht Tepe or Kafyr Kala, around which Turkic nobility and populations followed Hinayana Buddhism.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Baumer . Christoph . History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-83860-868-2 . 203-204 . en.