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The monuments at the Kuhandiž of Herat, Afghanistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

The site of the Kuhandiž in Herat is known to scholars because of the two shrines located there. It was first reported by Ferrier, who gave the traditional name of “Thaleh-bengy”, and suggested that it was an artificially raised mound and that it was the site of ancient Herat. He does not give the name as Kuhandiž, nor does he speak of the shrines there, but the location he gives for the site, between the Musalla and the city, corresponds with the location of the Kuhandiž. Furthermore, we will see that “Thaleh-bengy” or Tal-i Bangiyān was another name of the site used in the 19th century. Ferrier speaks of a mosque there and records a tradition of his time that this building was built on the site of a fire-temple. He suggests that it must be the same as the well known fire-temple of Herat, converted to a mosque by the Muslims, and recorded in the Rawḍat al-ṣafā and the Tarīkh-i Ḥabīb al-siyar.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1983

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