Introduction | 1. The dated documents | 2. The undated documents | 3. Conclusions | Appendices | Abbreviations and References | Plates 1–4 (Tochi valley inscriptions and Pahlavi letter Doc. 129)

More than 150 documents in Bactrian, the chief administrative language of pre-Islamic Afghanistan, have come to light during the last twenty-five years. These documents include letters, legal contracts, economic documents and a few Buddhist texts; many of them bear dates in the so-called “Bactrian era”, which is also known from a few inscriptions, such as the Tochi valley inscriptions in Pakistan, but whose starting-point is controversial. The Bactrian documents have the potential to transform our knowledge of the history of the region during the 4th to 8th centuries CE, a period for which we have few contemporary records, but before they can be fully exploited as historical sources it is necessary to establish their relative and absolute chronology. The present volume aims to fulfil this need. In Part 1 we consider the dated documents, discussing the nature of the Bactrian calendar and the epoch of the Bactrian era, and concluding with a conspectus in which all the attested dates are converted to Julian dates on the basis of the facts and arguments presented. In Part 2 we turn to the equally important undated documents, systematically weighing up all types of evidence, whether historical, prosopographical, palaeographical, linguistic or orthographic, which may have a bearing on their dating. Part 3 provides a handy check-list of our conclusions, while the Appendices provide additional and supporting material including editions of the Tochi valley inscriptions and of a Pahlavi letter which was purchased together with the Bactrian documents.

This book will be required reading for scholars and students of the pre-Islamic and early Islamic history of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. It will also be a useful resource for those interested in the languages, religions and numismatics of the region. 

with contributions by Harry Falk and Dieter Weber

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Studies in the Chronology of the Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan

The Seal Inscriptions | Catalogue | Catalogue | Catalogue | Appendix, Bibliography and Indices | Color Plates | Foreword | Acknowledgements | Map, List of illustrations, Bibliographic Abbreviations and Notes | Glyptic Art from Bactria to Gandhara: The Aman ur Rahman Collection in Context | Catalogue | Catalogue | Catalogue

This volume presents the Bactrian and Gandharan seals, sealings, and tokens in the Aman ur Rahman collection, which span the period from the second half of the 4th well into the 8th century CE. As the largest gathering of such glyptic art in the world, the publication brings this previously little-known collection to public and scholarly attention and places it within the context of the history and culture of the vast crossreads that extended from Afghanistan to Northern India. This area came under the successive control of Sasanian Persians, Hunnic tribes, and Turks, and it was home to such religious beliefs as Buddhism, Hinduism and Zoroastianism. These many influences are reflected in the iconography and style of the seals made and used in the region. In discussing these seals, the author, Judith A. Lerner, draws upon evidence from numismatics and textual remains, as well as from contemporary sculpture, painting, and decorative arts. Supplementing her study are chapters on the seal inscriptions by Nicholas Sims-Williams (Bactrian, Middle Persian and Sogdian) and Harry Falk (Brahmi). 

With contributions by Aman ur Rahman and Harry Falk

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Seals, Sealings and Tokens from Bactria to Gandhara (4th to 8th century CE)

Introduction | Abbreviations | References | Bactrian personal names | Names of which the first letters are missing | Indexes

From the time of the Kushan Empire (1st to 3rd centuries C.E.) until the early Islamic period, Bactrian was the principal language of administration in what is now Afghanistan. The surviving Bactrian inscriptions and documents, coins and countermarks, seals and sealings attest a large number of personal names, whose various linguistic origins – Persian, Sogdian, Indian, Hunnic, Turkish, and of course native Bactrian – mirror the variety of peoples and religions which combined to form the unique culture of this region during the 1st millennium C.E. In this comprehensive study, Nicholas Sims-Williams analyzes the etymology, structure and meaning of the names themselves and where possible, identifies the persons who bore them. This volume will be of interest to specialists in onomastics, as well as to linguists and historians concerned with the languages and culture of pre-Islamic Afghanistan and neighbouring regions. Bactrian was the principal language of administration in what is now Afghanistan from the time of the Kushan empire (1st to 3rd centuries C.E.) until the early Islamic period. The surviving Bactrian inscriptions and documents, coins and countermarks, seals and sealings attest a large number of personal names, whose various linguistic origins – Persian, Sogdian, Indian, Hunnic, Turkish, and of course native Bactrian 舑 mirror the variety of peoples and religions which combined to form the unique culture of this region during the 1st millennium C.E. In this comprehensive study, Nicholas Sims-Williams analyses the etymology, structure and meaning of the names themselves and where possible identifies the persons who bore them. It will be of interest both to specialists in onomastics and to linguists and historians concerned with the languages and culture of pre-Islamic Afghanistan and neighbouring regions.

Iranisches Personennamenbuch Band II Mitteliranische Personennamen Faszikel 7

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Nicholas Sims-Williams

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Studies in the Chronology of the Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan

Seals, Sealings and Tokens from Bactria to Gandhara (4th to 8th century CE)

Bactrian Personal Names

Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese