Some Examples from Peshawar

Dr. Ihsan AIi, M.N. Qazi, M. Zahir

Iran, the land of cultures and civilizations, enjoyed cordial relations with the neigh boring countries, which influenced the indigenous cultures of these neighboring countries.

Ancient Gandhara (the modem Peshawar Valley), also enjoyed good relations with ancient Iranians and the first reference to Gandhara and it's inhabitants is known from the Behistun inscription of King Darius, dated to the Sixth century B.C. Gandhara was enlisted as one of the Twenty three satrapies of the Achaemenian Empire.' Alexander's invasion of the Indian sub-continent was not only to quench his thirst, but also to punish the people ofGandharafor helping the Iranians in the war against Greeks. Due to their great love and admiration for each other, the people of Persia and Gandhara remained in active contact throughout the historic era. With the advent of Islam, this relationship became stronger and reached its climax during the Mughal Period.

The scope of this brief paper is to study the influence of Persians on the life and culture of the people of Peshawar Valley, the ancient Gandhara, and to analyze the changes brought through this relationship over centuries. The subject matter is divided into the following:

1. Architecture:
The first reference to the region of Gandhara is known from the Behistun inscription of King Darius 1. The King Asoka's freestanding columns throughout the limits of his empire and the rock cut sanctuaries in western India, near Bombay, were also inspired from the Achaemenian architecture. Examples of the Persian architecture can be witnessed in the Persipoliton Capitals, mostly represented in relief in the Buddhist Art of Gandhara. This type of Pillars consists of a rqund base, placed on many square foundations and a cylindrical shaft tapering upward with a capital above it. The capital consists of one or two round bases and a superstructure ofback-to-back:'bulls, which supports the roof(PI.I).

Unfortunately, almost all the standing buildings of the Achaemenian Empire in the Frontier Province (ancient Gandhara) have vanished but the Buddhist Rock Cut Sanctuaries at Bamiyan, in Afghanistan, had imitated roofings of which only one is worth mentioning, having Persian influence; Le. lantern roofing, a very simple and archaic type ofthe dome and perhaps the ancestor of all the complicated domical structures in this region. In this type of roofing system, wooden logs were laid diagonally across the corners of a square and the same process repeated in consecutive tiers, so that finally a small opening remains at the summit, which was then filled by a keystone. Such architectural elements can be seen in the rock cut buildings of the Central Asia.2 Babur, the first Mughal king ofIndia, recorded his stay at Peshawar in 1526 and his narration speaks of the prosperity and enhancing landscapes of Peshawar.3 Jehan Ara Begum, the eldest daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jehan, builta Sarai, a Jamia Masjid and two wells at the site of Gor Khuttree (P1.2) in 1640 AD and named it as Sarai Jahanabad.4

Ali Mardan Khan, who is said to have established the Shalimar Bagh at Lahore (1641-42) and Peshawar (1653 A.D), was an Iranian Kurd, who came to the subcontinent iii the time of Shah Jahan and was appointed as the governor of Qandhar.5 It is also considered that it was he who introduced the palm gardens, canals and buildings in the Iranian style in this region after his homeland, Persia. The Shalimar at Peshawar, The Ali Mardan Khan Villa, and The AIi Mardan Khan Bagh are all, said to be the contribution of this great architect.

2. Sculptural Art:
Peshawar Valley is known throughout the world for the Buddhist Art of Gandhara, an art that had influenced from many cultures including Persia, which made it a cosmopolitan art. The Iranian motifs, symbols and ideas are often represented here like the Fire Altar, the Lion (PI.3) and other motifs.

The Kushanas also represented some Zoroastrian deities on their coins such as Pharo, Miro, Nana ,Mao and Athsho (PIA).

The succeeding dynasties of Sassanians, Little Kushans and the White Huns constantly copied the Fire Altar on their coins and sculptures.

3. Scripts:

Kharoshthi script was also introduced by the Achaemenian Empire in Gandhara, which later became the official script of this region. It is one of the oldest and unique scripts, by virtue of the direction of writing, making it easy to establish a relationship between the Aramaic and Kharoshthi.

Arabic became the official script and Islam the way of life of the Muslims in Gandhara after the Ghaznavid invasion. The coins issued by Ghaznvids bear influence from Persia and Central Asia. The Mughals brought with them the tradition of Persian Language as an official means of communication to this region. The Persian calligrapher, Mir Ali Tabrizi is credited to have introduced and devised rules for Nastaliq script,6 which got lot of appreciation in this area. Many beautiful manuscripts and works inscribed in Nastaliq adorn the Islamic Gallery in the Peshawar Museum.

4. Paintings:

The sculptural art ofBamiyan too had some wall paintings, which displayed Sassanian, Indian as well as Central Asian themes. The paintings done in the soffits of the 120 feet tall Bamiyan Buddha were Sassanian, marked by massive figures of the donors, alternating with the figures of Buddha. These figures were immense, gigantic, solid and inert, butfull offormality and dignity; features found in the sculptural art of Persia.' Such examples of paintings can be seen in the upper Indus Valley on the rocks along the Silk Route in Chilas and Gi Igit areas of Pakistan.

That was, Humayun, the Mughal King of India, who introduced the art of painting from Persia to India through two celebrated artists in the Safavid regime, Mir Sayyid Ali and lKhawaja Abdus Samad.8 These two notable Persian artists

introduced the Persian ideas, themes and subject matter into the Indian paintings thus providing new life to the dying art, a grandeur not equaled in the contemporary world.

Some paintings from Gor Khuttree, Peshawar are also dating to the Mughal Period. Beside paintings; there is also some stuccowork (P1.5), on the western gate of the Gor Khuttree. The paintings at Masjid Mohabat Khan, though redone in the British period, rem inds us a link with Persia.

5. Book Illustration:

The concept of illustrating books reached Iran from Arabia and from Iran to the Indian Subcontinent. The Shah Nama was composed by the great Persian poet, Abdul Qasim Firdusi, in the court ofMehmud ofGhazna in ]0]0 A.D. Soon it became one of the most popular books in the whole of Middle East, Persia and India. The Shah Nama in the Peshawar Museum is one ofthe rarest examples in Pakistan, profusely decorated with Persian paintings. These illustrations are in oil, with brilliant c<;>lours .in red, blue, yellow, golden and black. This Persian Shah Nama has the background and surroundings, in the form of a series of mountains,

appearing like steep cliffs, and the horizon is sh( drop in the landscape.9 Figures in the extreme bacl to be climbing the mountains, while ttey just re plan or people shown at a distance as part of the episod with their hands, shoulder and horses shown over an imj  (PI.6).

Such paintings were practiced in the Safavid Court. Another reason for attributing the Shah Nama in the Peshawar Museum to the Safavid Period, is that majority of the figures here are wearing a typical turban, popular in the Safavid time. The turban bore a stick, protruded at the top and usually painted in red, called Qazal Bash and those who wore it were also called Qazal Bash. There are many Chinese and Indian subjects as well; the faces of the figures are round like Mongols, with small eyes and bulky foreheads. There are other Chinese and Indian subjects in the manuscript like phoenix, dragons, elephants and tigers etc. The Peshawar Museum's Shah Nama contains 46 illustrations, 884 pages and measurers 32x56 cm. The manuscript was illustrated by Maulana Fakhr ud din Ahmad and inscribed in beautiful Nastaliq Script,

with gold gilded margins. This Shah Nama was probably illustrated in the middle of the sixteen century A.D.
Persian poet Hafiz Sherazi, who's Book, Diwan-i-Hafiz Sherazi, was and is still being used as a foreteller by th'e common people and elites to know and plan the events of their lives. Peshawar Museum is proud to have one of the best-gilded and painted copies of Diwan-i-Hafiz Sherazi, Calligraphed by a Kashmiri artist, Tota Ram Kashmiri at the order of La la GandaMal. The Nastaliq script was beautifully enclosed within the golden coloured margins, consisting of floral as well as arabesque designs. The manuscript contains 20 illustrations, 644 pages and measures 29x12cm.

Sikander Nama or the story of Alexander the Great, written by ArifNizami Ganjvi and scribed bY' Saifuddin Qadri is one of the best examples of the Persian art in the Peshawar Museum, containing 536 pages and 35 illustrations. It is dated 1247 A.H. and its size is 30x 19 cm.

Ku_vat-i-Ahl Sheraz, now in the Peshawar Museum, is a J. collection of nine magazines, dealing mainly with religious matters. Though the writer is unknown, but this specimen was , written by Fazal Din in 1280 A. H. in the beautiful script, known as Khatt-i- Bahar. The most interesting feature of this manuscript is the illustrations and the gilded work in the margins in the beginning of each chapter. The Hashiyas or Margins' are decorated with arabesque designs in golden colour giving a pleasing effect to the reader. The manuscripts measures 34.5 x 20.5 cm.

The other significant and unique specimen ofthe Mughal Art of India, a child of the Persian Art, by an unknown person of great intellectual level, is that of the Aina-i-Ishq (Peshawar Museum), containing the works offamous Persian poets. The manuscript was  illustrated and calligraphed by Muhammad Saeed Sahaf for King Farrukh Sayer in 1282 A.H. Every stanza is dealt exquisitely encompassed by the margins, decorated with unique arabesque work, and the words written in the golden background, each page is gilded. The book contains Ghazals, Rubaees, Marthias, Saqi  Naamas and Qasidas. The manuscript also contains many paintings; the best illustration of which is that of a lady, dressed fully in Islamic robe, shown in profile position, holding a branch of a plant and standing in a green field in front ofthe blue horizon.

6. Calligraphy:

Calligraphy, the Queen of all figural art ofthe Muslims, has had the same appreciation from the rulers and subject people during all times, but these were the Persians, who gave it a new life and the people of this area tried to imitate it. The various Iranian decorative scripts such as Nastaliq were imported from Iran and received maximum attention in Gandhara.

Arabic and Persian languages were the popular languages for the Muslim rulers and people of this area and many scripts were employed. But it was Nastaliq script, which originated in Persia from the Naskh and Taliq scripts, founded by the Iranian calligrapher Ali bin Tabrizi, got full appreciation of the people and rulers alike and is still very popularly used in this region.

An example ofTughra in the Peshawar Museum is that of the Genealogical table of the saints, about 30 feet long and 1.5 feet wide scroll of paper in the honour of Sultan al Aarifin Khawaja Bayazid Bastami. This scroll contains more than a thousand names of the saints and their followers; the beauty of the whole arrangement of these names lies in the different shapes given to these names, representing trees or other objects.

7. Handicrafts:

The Ceramic art, metal work and the carpet weaving industries of this region were also greatly affected by Iran. In fact, some of the industries (like carpet industry) of this region were directly copied from Iran. This industry with Persian influence is famous all over the world. Initially, carpets were imported from Persia and some cities were famous for their carpets, such as Goskhan (Joshaqan), Khuzistan, Kerman, Sabzwar and Herat. But later on a local industry developed in the time of Hum ay un and continued through  his successors. to The majority of the subjects are still Persian with a few innovations by the local people over centuries. The Isfahani carpets and rugs were also very popular in Gandhara.

The traders of Persia and the ancient Peshawar Valley dealt in the field of jewelry of turquoise, lapis lazuli and pearls. Metal pots, though skillfully prepared by the Iranian artists, were also copied at Peshawar and then traded to Iran, mostly via Kabul. Bazar-e¬Misgaran (Bronze Bazar), Peshawar is still famous for such crafts. In this bazaar, vases and elongated Evers are still exceptionally illustrious, speak of the past glory of the area and the cordial relations between the two regions.

8. Customs:
The hair washing ceremony and the custom of the sacred fire at the court by Chandra Gupta Maurya, 4th Century RC. were taken from the Persians.l1 The writing of edicts on rocks by this great king was also borrowed from Persia.

The title for the king "Shaho Nano Shaho" (King of the Kings) was introduced on the coins by the Kushans, which later on gave way to the title, used in both the regions to denote the sovereign, i.e. Shah-in-Shah or king of Kings. The important techniques used in the decoration of the secular as well as religious buildings were stucco stalactite, stucco tracery, brick imitation, calligraphy, woodwork, fretwork, tempera paintings and glass mosaics.

The techniques, mentioned above, were all i!1troduced here from Persia (Iran), while the important designs, such as floral vases, textile designs, the concept of stylized geometrical patterns, the inverted lotus and floral designs were all the important features of the Persian Art that influenced the arts and crafts of the ancient Peshawar Valley (Gandhara) to a great extent.

9. Music and Literature:
Iranians were very melodious people and they loved music and folk lore. Therefore, they influenced the music and literature of this area also. The famous Persian folk stories and songs of Leila-Majnu, Shireen-Farhad, and Khusro-Shireen were very well received in Gandhara and are sung even today. The Epic of the Uncle of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), Dastan-i-Amir Hamza, was an all time favourite and was liked by Emperor Humayun and Akbar so much, thatthey illustrated it. 12

NOTES AND REFERENCES:

I The sculptures and inscriptions of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistun in Persia, British Museum Publication (BMP) (London: 1907).
2B. Roland, The Art and Architecture of India (Buddhist-Hindu-Jain) (London: 1953).
J Zaheeruddin M. Babur, Babar Nama, trans. H. Beviridge (Lahore: 1987).
4 S.M. Jaffar, Peshawar. Past and Pres ent (Peshawar: 1946).
5Urdu Daira-e-Maarif-e-Islamia, V01.14/2, Lahore: 1982.
"YH. Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (London: 1978).
7 Roland.
0 P. Brown, Indian Paintings under the Mughals (A.D. 1550 to 1750)
(New Delhi: 1981).
'D.T. Rice,lslamicArt(NewYork: 1993).
10 Bennet, Ian, Edt. Rugs and Carpets of the World (Hong Kong: 1977). 11 Mahajan, p.211.
12 P.Brown.