Barikot
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Barikot () (
Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
: بریکوټ) is a town located in the middle course of the
Swat River The Swat River (, ) is a perennial river in the northern region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the Kalam Valley before for ...
in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. It is located about away from
Mingora Mingora (, ''Romanised: Minga Wara'') is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and ...
and the
Butkara Stupa The Butkara Stupa (Pashto: بت کړه سټوپا) is an important Buddhist stupa near Mingora, in the area of Swat, Pakistan. It may have been built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, but it is generally dated slightly later to the 2nd century BC ...
. It is the entrance town to the central
Swat Valley Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per th ...
with a population of approximately 25,000 people. Barikot is the location of an ancient
citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...
captured by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
, Archaeological site notice with
Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
remains dating back to ,Olivieri, Luca M., 2012. "When and why the ancient town of Barikot was abandoned?: A preliminary note based on the last archaeological data", in Pakistan Heritage 4, Table 1, and p. 111. and an early-historic period town dating back to .Olivieri, Luca Maria, & Anna Filigenzi, 201
"On Gandharan sculptural production from Swat: Recent archaeological and chronological data"
in W. Rienjang and P. Stewart (eds.), Problems of Chronology in Gandharan Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhara Connections Project, p. 71.
The Italian Archaeological Mission (renamed ISMEO) founded by
Giuseppe Tucci Giuseppe Tucci (; 5 June 1894 – 5 April 1984) was an Italian orientalist, Indologist and scholar of East Asian studies, specializing in Tibetan culture and the history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian fascism ...
has been excavating ruins of the ancient town of ''Bazira'' under Barikot since 1984.


Demographics


Population

According to 2023 census, Barikot had a population of 115,045.


Excavations

Although previous excavations already attested Chalcolithic pit structures since 1700 BC, urban living, earlier than c. 150 BC, was not discovered before 2015 as " e archaeological sequence accepted until then was that the city was founded as a fortified centre towards the end of he second century BCdirectly on the remains of a protohistoric village, and that the major earlier evidence of the city was the massive defensive wall surrounding the city and its acropolis." Early Iron Age proto-urban layers were found, and dated to eleventh-eight centuries BC, archaeologists also found that the fortified urban settlement in Barikot (lower area and acropolis) was established around mid-first millennium BC.


Bronze Age (c. 1700–1400 BC)

The first traces of human presence in Barikot are from ca. 1700 to 1400 BC, as per Giorgio Stacul (1987) findings, which he reported as belonging to Swat Period IV,Spengler, Robert N. III, et al., (2021)
"The southern Central Asian mountains as an ancient agricultural mixing zone: new archaeobotanical data from Barikot in the Swat valley of Pakistan"
in ''Vegetation History of Archaeobotany 30'', pp. 463–476.
these are pit remains attested since around 1700 BC.


Late Bronze/Iron Age (c. 1200–800 BC)

During excavation campaigns in 2016–2017, the Italian Archaeological Mission was able to identify the transitional phase from Late Bronze to Iron age, dating it c. 1200–800 BC. Excavations were performed in trench BKG 12 W, where archaeologists found, in Macrophase 1b, residential structures and workshops, along with a toy-cart, bi-carinated pottery, miniature vessels, stone tools, and incised pottery, all radiocarbon-dated between 1196 and 1021 BC (95.4% probability model). During this time, c. 1200 to 800 BC, archaeological data show the presence of a large settlement (around 15 ha), including a hilltop acropolis, commented by Callieri et al. (2000), an inner stronghold, and an extensive outer graveyard. This phase was previously known as Gandhara grave culture.


Abandonment Phase (c. 800–600 BC)

After the Iron Age, the settlement suffered the collapse of its earthen rampart in Macrophase 1c.Olivieri, Luca Maria, et al. (2019)
"A new revised chronology and cultural sequence of the Swat valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) in the light of current excavations at Barikot (Bir-kot-ghwandai)"
in Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research B, 2019, p. 4.
The site was abandoned and alluvium covered the place in Interphase 1c/2a, between c. 800 and 600 BC.Olivieri, Luca M., Michele Minardi, and Massimo Vidale, (2022)
"A Note on the Discovery of a Prehistoric Maskoid on the Barikot Top-Hill (Bir-kot-ghwandai, Swat)"
in: Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XXXIII, 2022, p. 72, Table 1.


The Beginning of the City and Achaemenid Acculturation Phase (c. 600–400 BC)

After the abandonment, the beginning of the city can be traced back archaeologically to Macrophase 2a1, between 600 and 500 BC, a pre-Achaemenid phase, attested poorly in finds and pottery, featuring "only a badly preserved stretch of a wall with evidence of a passageway marked by wheel traces." The
Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...
acculturation belongs to Macrophase 2a2, from 500 to 400 BC. This influence from c. 500 to 450 BC started with "the local production of tulip bowls at Barikot
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
suggests that since the first half of he 5th century BCprocesses of emulation and social aspiration were at work among the Swat elite," in the Classic period of that Persian Empire. Archaeologists found, in this phase of Barikot, luxury pottery typical of the Achaemenids, but also saw the introduction of non-luxury Indic pottery, and many local glass objects.


Regionalization Phase (c. 400–250 BC)

Greek and Latin sources like
Curtius Rufus Curtius Rufus () was a Roman professional magistrate of senatorial rank mentioned by Tacitus and Pliny the Younger for life events occurring during the reigns of the emperors Tiberius and Claudius. In all probability, he is to be equated wi ...
, talking of this period, tell that Swat and Gandhara were not controlled by Achaemenids anymore (from around 350 BC), and that a tribe known as Assakenoi ruled the region allied to other Indian tribes. Italian Mission archaeologists consider this phase saw the complete disappearance of Achaemenid ceramic forms, but that household Indic vessels were still in use at Barikot. This belongs to archaeological Macrophase 2b, from c.400 to 250 BC, and Macedonian siege to Barikot (Bazira) occurred within this period, in autum 327 BC. Also during Macrophase 2b, in trench BKG 11, a
Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
coin was found, radiocarbon dated to 349–282 BC (95.4% probability model), what is 315 +/- 34 BC.


Mauryan and Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms Linking Phase (c. 250–200 BC)

Beginning in 2011, an excavation in the south west corner of the site discovered several older settlements than expected. In 2016, one pre-Indo-Greek level was dated to the mid 3rd century BC or in the middle of the Mauryan era. During this time, known archaeologically as Macrophase 3a1, Barikot was part of a political and commercial network linking Mauryan and
Greco-Bactrian The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom () was a Greek state of the Hellenistic period located in Central-South Asia. The kingdom was founded by the Seleucid satrap Diodotus I Soter in about 256 BC, and continued to dominate Central Asia until its fall a ...
kingdoms, as both Greco-Bactrian and Hellenistic pottery forms were introduced in the site with clear relationships to northern Afghanistan and Central Asia, just like
Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a mili ...
.


Old Apsidal Temple

In December 2021, archaeologists of Ca’ Foscari University and Italian Archaeological Mission in collaboration with the provincial department of archaeology and museums in Pakistan, led by Dr. Luca Maria Olivieri, announced the discovery of the earliest Buddhist apsidal temple in Barikot (the ancient Bazira). They claim it was constructed in the times of
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
's reign in Mauryan period, around 250 BC. It was also found that this structure was still in function during the reign of Menander I, the Indo-Greek king, in the mid-second century BC, but even though it was enhanced in later times, it came to an end around the third or fourth century of the Common Era, as the city was abandoned by the Kushan rulers of the time due to an earthquake. This is the earliest apsidal temple found in Pakistan until now, and is a revolutionary discovery also because it proves the presence of Buddhism in Swat since the 3rd century BC, and confirms that Menander I, known as
Milinda Menander I Soter (, ; ), sometimes called Menander the Great, was an Indo-Greek king (reigned /155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. The first date is estimated by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, the other Boperachchi –1 ...
by early Buddhists, supported this cult.Dawn, (20 December 2021)
"Oldest Buddhist apsidal temple of country found in Swat."
/ref> "We have found coins, among which a silver specimen issued by King Menander, an onyx-made seal decorated with a Hellenistic intaglio depicting the image of a youth in Greek attire with a
Kharosthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...
inscription, a monumental Kharosthi epigraph, many other Kharosthi inscriptions on pots, and potsherds belonging to the Indo-Greek cultural horizon such as fish plates and polished black pottery that imitates Attic models," said the archaeologist Dr Michele Minardi, member of the Italian mission. A 2024 publication by Luca Maria Olivieri considers that: " heapsidal temple sassociated with an Indian-style Buddhist stupa ..dating to the time of the great promoter of Buddhism, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r. 268-232 BC). The monument was modified from an earlier, non-Buddhist shrine from the time when Alexander the Great besieged Barikot in 327 BC."


Indo-Greek Phase (c. 200–100 BC)

The Italian expeditions in the 1980s and 90s discovered an Indo-Greek town from around the time of King
Menander I Menander I Soter (, ; ), sometimes called Menander the Great, was an Indo-Greek king (reigned /155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. The first date is estimated by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, the other Boperachchi –1 ...
in the 2nd century BC. The 2nd century BC town covered, at its peak, an area of about including the
acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
, or about without. It was surrounded by a defensive wall with massive rectangular
bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...
s. This defensive wall, constructed around Barikot during the Indo-Greek phase belongs to Macrophase 3a2, after 200 BC, as per 2016–2017 excavations by the same Italian mission when this wall, massive and imposing, was dated by numismatic findings and radiocarbon analysis. A burial associated with the construction of this Indo-Greek city wall was dated to (c. 130–115 BC), between the final part of Menader I's reign and the beginning of that of Antalkidas.


Sakas and Parthians Phase (c. 50 BC–70 AD)

Belonging to Macrophase 3b, this period in Barikot attests "historically and culturally ..the annexation of Swat by Sakas and Parthians .. as before 80 AD the Defensive Wall was reinforced.


Early Kushan Phase (c. 70-200 AD)

This period belongs to Macrophase 4a and 4b in Early Kushan times, when "in the first centuries of the Common Era, is geographical area appears to have acted as a referential space for at least three distinct and overlapping religious and social realities: the Buddhist saṃgha, the so-called ‘Dardic’ communities, and Barikot’s urban elites."


Late Kushan Phase (c. 200-250 AD)

This period belongs to Macrophase 5a (c. 200-250 AD). Under the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...
it grew into a major town before a series of earthquakes in the 3rd century AD devastated it. Probably due to the damage from the earthquakes as well as the decline of the Kushan Empire, Bazira was abandoned by the end of the 3rd century. The excavations have discovered a number of artifacts which document the daily life of the residents, including coins, pottery and weapons. Several large artifacts including, a large green-
schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
statue of Siddhartha
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
riding his horse
Kanthaka According to Buddhist legend, Kanthaka (in Pali language, Pali and Sanskrit language, Sanskrit) (6th century BC, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India) was an eighteen cubit long, favourite white horse and royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who ...
and a carving of a
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
with two lions, document the
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
history of Bazira. Another statue depicting an unknown deity sitting on a throne, with long, curled hair, holding a wine goblet and a severed goat head in his hands may represent
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
, the Greek god of wine or another local deity.


Late Kushan, sub-Kushan, and Kushano-Sasanian Phase (c. 250-400 AD)

This period belongs to Macrophase 5b (c. 250-300 AD), and Macrophase 6 (c. 300-400) of late Kushan, sub-Kushan, and Kushano-Sasanian.Olivieri, Luca M., and Elisa Iori, (2023)
"Early-historic Data from the 2016 Campaigns at the Urban Site of Barikot, Swat (Pakistan): A Shifting Perspective"
p.84.


Abandonment Phase (c. 400-550 AD)

The Macrophase 7, (c. 400-550 AD) is considered as an abandonment phase, although a sacred building was constructed.


Shahi Phase (c. 680-1000 AD)

Shahi phase belongs to Macrophase 8, (c. 680-1000 AD).
Turk Shahi The Turk Shahis were a dynasty of Western Turk, or mixed Western Turk, Turco-Hephthalite origin, that ruled from Kabul and Kapisa (city), Kapisa to Gandhara in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. They may have been of Khalaj people, Khalaj ethnicity."T ...
was a Kabul-based Turkic dynasty which also ruled
Swat Valley Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per th ...
(from 7th to 9th centuries AD), so members of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan were able to find a unique temple from this period, built in Barikot, on the top of Ghwandai mound. It's an important discovery as there are few cultic centres in this region belonging to Shahi periods in general. Dr. Luca Maria Olivieri said the temple was built around 700 AD., by that time Uddiyana (Swat Valley) was ruled by a king known as " From Kesar", who was the son of Khurasan Tegin Shah, a well-known Turk Shahi king from Kabul, and that the temple was re-established and maintained till the
Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...
time (ca 1000 AD). The temple is also mentioned in a
Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...
inscription, found in Barikot in the late 19th century and conserved in
Lahore Museum The Lahore Museum (; ) is a museum located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's larg ...
.


Ghaznavid Phase (c. 1000-1100 AD)

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...
phase belongs to Macrophase 9a, (c. 1000-1100 AD).


References


External links


Report of the Italian Archaeological Mission
(Pdf, Italian) {{gandhara Populated places in Swat District Cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Populated places along the Silk Road Stupas in Pakistan Indo-Aryan archaeological sites