Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan
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Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan The lack of relevant state attention to ancient historical monuments may lead to the loss of Tajikistan’s pre-Islamic history, experts say. Subscribe to our Facebook page! In the south of Tajikistan, there is a village called Aivaj. It is located in the Shahritus region, at the junction of the borders dividing Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. This place is unique for several reasons. Aivaj Caves are located in southern Tajikistan on the border with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Illustration: CABAR.asia First of all, it is the southernmost point of the country with record high summer Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan temperatures. In addition, as it turned out, there are a series of not yet fully studied ancient and rare historical monuments about 15 km from this village towards the border; the loss of these monuments can lead to the disappearance of a whole layer of Tajik history of the pre- Islamic period. Our investigation revealed that Tajik historians and archaeologists have not studied these unique caves for a long time. Some local officials are not aware about their historical value, while other local authorities, which know their value, take no measures to preserve them. Their disappearance can take away the secrets of the history of this region. On the right bank of the Amu Darya, in the upper part of the hills rising at a level of 30-40 meters above the road, one can see 18 caves, similar to monastic cells; they occupy about 100 meters. Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves are a valuable monument of the pre-Islamic culture of Tajikistan. Illustration: CABAR.asia. The caves are 5 meters apart. Some of them are already largely destroyed and almost razed to the ground. In 1970s, the Amuzang-Bokhtar railway was constructed over these caves; it is still active today. Despite the fact that the caves are subject to pressure from heavy trains, most of them are still quite stable. These caves contain spacious rooms with square floors and semicircular ceilings. Most of Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan them have one to three rooms. The largest room is approximately 6 by 3 meters. Ceiling height is at least 2 meters. In the rooms, opposite the doors, there are carvings similar to a mihrab (a niche in the wall for prayers). Some rooms have narrow elevations (up to 50 cm) for sitting and sleeping. In the ceiling of two rooms, there are images of crosses, one of which is approximately five meters long. Rows of various holes are carved in the walls. During our October 2019 trip there, it was empty around the caves, but abandoned plastic bottles and rubbish testified to the fact that there were people here, most likely shepherds. Rare residents are aware of the existence of these caves and call this place Hajdahhona or Hajdahgora (“eighteen rooms” or “eighteen caves”), but do not know anything about their history. This place is located near the border post and access to it is prohibited. Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan We became interested in the images of crosses on the ceilings of these caves, and we decided to find out what kind of monuments they are and why are there only few of those who know about them. The only description of the results of archaeological excavations conducted in these places was recorded more than half a century ago. The description is brief and it still gains no special attention from the scientific community of Tajikistan. Moreover, local authorities do not make efforts to preserve and restore these unique architectural caves. According to the Candidate of Historical Dciences Sherali Khodjaev, Head of the Department for the Protection of Historical Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Tajikistan, Member of the Council of Analysts of Historical Material and Intangible Historical, Cultural and Natural Heritage of the CIS, this monument was registered in the early 50s of the last century by scientists working at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography named after Ahmad Donish of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (formerly Tajik SSR). He added that the object in question consists not of 18, but of 25 separate caves. Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan Unfortunately, over the past 50 years, not a single scientific article in Tajik language has been published on Aivaj caves. However, one can find many articles in Russian, Polish, German and English online, which indicates foreign historians’ interest in this object. Most of the articles are based on the 1970s research of a group of archaeologists; these articles have been published in different years. Disputes: Christianity or Buddhism? Aivaj caves show signs of religious architecture. In the report on the results of their group’s work “On the Work of the Shaartuz Archaeological Team in 1968-1970”, scientists Khmelnitsky and Atakhanov indicated the religious significance of the memorial. Scientists and archaeologists disagree on religious affiliation of these caves. Some of them believe it were the ancient Christian monuments discovered in the south of Tajikistan, others believe these caves are Buddhist. “From the point of view of floor-plan, internal structure and building techniques, the monument in question has no analogues in Central Asian architecture after the Arab, Muslim era. On the contrary, in the architecture of the early pre-Arab Middle Ages in the Middle East, large complexes of artificial caves are well known and are unanimously associated with structures of one specific purpose – monasteries” (p. 199). Describing the found monuments, they provide comparisons. One of them reads: “In our case, the branches of the cross have a trapezoidal shape, sharply expanding from the center to the edges, and in its outline the relief is most similar to the sign of the old Russian Order of St. George” (p. 201). Aidogdi Kurbanov, author of “The Hephthalites: Archaeological and Historical Analysis” (in Polish), referred to this article and suggested this is a monument of Christianity, probably – of Nestorianism. Boris Anatolyevich Litvinsky, known as the founder of the scientific school of archeology in Tajikistan, questioned the findings of the authors in the same article: “T. Atakhanov and S. G. Khmelnitsky expressed a different version about the Aivaj caves, regarding their connection with Christianity. The weakness of their arguments: the article does not provide comparisons and evidence arising from an analysis of the sources of religious construction practices of Eastern Christianity” (p. 22-23). Litvinsky, Boris Anatolyevich. The archaeologists T. Atakhanov and S. G. Khmelnitsky conclude their article: “The final confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis put forward above can only be done after the Aivaj Caves – Forgotten, but Able to Enrich the History of Tajikistan excavation of the monument and its further in-depth study have been completed” (p. 203, ibid.). Since the secrets of the unique ancient historical monument were no longer studied, the problem of identification of its religious affiliation remains open. The Tajik experts have other hypotheses about the belonging of this monument to a particular religion. This monument has remained from the time of Alexander the Great, – said Turdimurod Ochildiev, a distinguished history teacher, resident of the Shahritus region. “In the III century BC, Alexander the Great attacked our land, which at that time was called Bactria. The crosses in the caves are very similar to the crosses that were depicted on Christian banners. I doubt the veracity of this version, since there were no crosses on the banners of Alexander. But most likely, these caves remained after the Crusades, war against Islam,” says Khairullo Davlatov, art historian. Sherali Khodjaev, mentioned this monument as a “Christian shrine” and noted that it relates to the era of BC. “During the divide in Christianity, the representatives of one of its branches advanced from Syria to Ancient Bactria and settled on the right bank of the Amu Darya River, at an altitude of about 40 meters above the river. These cave rows are characteristic of the clergy of this group of Christians,” he added. “Judging by the photographs, the signs in the caves resemble the signs and symbols of Buddhism and Christianity,” emphasizes Khushvakt Abdunazarov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at Bokhtar State University named after N. Khusrav. – “In the Kushan era, in the I-IV centuries BC, Buddhism and Christianity (Greco-Buddhism) came together and a certain mixed culture appeared. This is a Buddhist monument. This religion’s Mahayana branch then came to our areas.” Another Tajik scientist, Nuriddin Sayfulloev, Head of the Department of Archeology at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography named after Ahmad Donish of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, says: “In order to get the best answer, I looked at your photos together with Chinese scientists.