Kingdom of Kapisa

The Kingdom of Kapisa, appearing in contemporary Chinese sources as Caoguo (漕國) and Jibin (罽賓),[1] was a state located in what is now Afghanistan during the late 1st millennium.In the early 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang made a pilgrimage to Kapisa, and described there the cultivation of rice and wheat, and a king of the Suli tribe.In later times, Kapisa seems to have been part of a kingdom ruled by a Buddhist Kshatriya king holding sway over ten neighboring states including Lampaka, Nagarahara, Gandhara and Banu, according to the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang who visited in 644 AD.[28][29][30][31] Historian S. Levi further holds that old Persian Ka(m)bujiya or Kau(n)bojiya, Sanskrit Kamboja as well as Kapisa, all etymologically refer to the same foreign word.[40] Kapisa (Ki-pin, Ke-pin, Ka-pin, Chi-pin of the Chinese records), in fact, refers to the Kamboja kingdom, located on the south-eastern side of the Hindukush in the Paropamisadae region.Even the Komoi clan of Ptolemy, inhabiting towards Sogdiana mountainous regions, north of Bactria, is believed by scholars to represent the Kamboja people.The surviving account of the travels of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang says that "the people of Kapiśa (Kai-pi-chi(h)) are cruel and fierce; their language is coarse and rude.[55] According to scholars, much of the description of the people from Kapiśa to Rajapura as given by Xuanzang agrees well with the characteristics of the Kambojas described in the Buddhist text, Bhuridatta Jataka[56] as well in the great Indian epic Mahabharata.(Oldham further claims links between the Katas and/or Takkas and the Hazaras [the "Naga-cum-Sun worshipping Urasas"], Abhisara, Gandharas, Kambojas and Daradas.)[71] Ancient Indian sources such as Pāṇini's Astadhyayi,[72] Harivamsa,[73] Vayu Purana,[74] Manusmriti,[75] Mahabharata,[76] and Kautiliya's Arthashastra[77] name the Kambojas and the Gandharas as Kshatriyas.According to Olaf Caroe, "the earlier Kabul Shahis, in some sense, were the inheritors of the Kushana-Hephthalite chancery tradition and had brought in more Hinduised form with time.There does not yet exist in the upper Kabul valley any documentary evidence or any identifiable coinage which can establish the exact affinities of these early Shahis who ruled there during the first two Islamic centuries.[80][81][82][83][84][85][86] The Aśvakayanas and Aśvayanas are also believed to be sub-tribes of Paropamisan Kambojas, who were exclusively engaged in horse breeding/trading and also formed a specialised cavalry force.
Statue of Buddha found in the monastery of Fondukistan , Gurband Valley, Parwan . 7th century. Guimet Museum .
Asia in 565 AD, showing Kapisa and its neighbors.
AfghanistanHindu KushBamiyanKandaharJalalabad Districtname KapisaSanskritizedAlexander the GreatBagramAlexandria on the CaucasusXuanzangMahayanaBook of SuiMiddle ChineseBook of HanOld ChineseKashmirTurk Shahi dynastyFondukistanParwanGuimet MuseumChineseKapisa ProvinceParwan ProvinceAchariya PāṇiniIndo-GreekApollodotusEucratidesNezak HunsMahabharataBegram ivoriesBuddhistKshatriyaNagaraharapilgrimXuan ZangSanskritKambojaPersianKshemendraDr Moti ChandraHindukushParopamisadaeAśvakayanaAssakenoiAśvayanaAspasioKambojasDaradasKafiristanParama KambojaTransoxianaBadakshanPamirsAllai valleyRishikasScythianPtolemyBactriaParopamisanTukharaTurk ShahiMuslimAlberuniHindusKushan EmpireKaṭaBashgul Valleycadet branchSiah-PoshTakkasHazarasAbhisaraGandharasKalhanaKashmirianRajataranginiPāṇiniAstadhyayiHarivamsaVayu PuranaManusmritiKautiliyaArthashastraAshvakasBrahminvizierBrahmanicalVedic HinduChitralYashkunsGilgitPāṇinianYusufzaiAspasioiEtymology of KapisaWayback MachineArthur Anthony MacdonellEpigraphia IndicaR. C. MajumdarThe History and Culture of the Indian PeopleAn Advanced History of IndiaParama-KambojasScythiaYamunaprakritAvesticVedic AryanstribesKhasasIranianPahlavasPersianisedIoniansYavanasnomadicScythiansShakasGandharaHenry Walter BellewCamojeKamtoz