Raw data
A Buddhist cave monastery close to the banks of the Amu-Darya - Bradley et al. (2007:248-249)
"Hinayana was widespread in Tokharistan; according to Hsüan-tsang" - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)
Termiz - "The main sights lurk northwest of the city on the road to Qarshi. Driving out here you'll notice various piles of rubble in the cotton fields of what used to be Termiz (and is now known as Old Termiz). These are Buddhist ruins, levelled by Jenghiz Khan along with the rest of Old Termiz in 1220. Today archaeologists are busy trying to recerse some of the damage at Fayouz-Tepe, a 3rd-century AD Buddhist monastery complex 9km west of the bus station. Discovered only in 1968, in recent years it's been restored and partly rebuilt with support from Unesco. The modern-looking teapot dome protects the monastery's original stupa. Looking south-west from here the remains of Kara-Tepe, a Buddhist cave monastery, are visible on the banks of the Amu-Darya."
Bradley et al. (2007:248-249)
[2] The remains of Bactrian Buddhist monasteries have been found near Termez in southern Uzbekistan at Kara Tepe, Fayas Tepe and Dalverzin Tepe,
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/study/islam/historical_interaction/overviews/hist_sketch_west_turkistan.html
Brahmi inscriptions of Kara-tepe "mention a sangha, vihara [monastery] or school." p. 118
(Litvinskii et al. 1996:118)
Kara Tepe
Kara Tepe is the name of a natural hill made up by cemented sands, located not far from Old Termez. It consists of three complexes: Northern, Western and Southern. Unique ancient Indian inscriptions, clay statues of Buddhas and Boddhisattvas are today displayed in Termez and Tashkent museums.
http://www.wbcet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=44
Kara - tepa
Karatepa is a Buddhist place of worship built on three hills situated in the north-west part of Old Termez.
It includes a number of temples and monasteries that appeared in the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. The architecture of Karatepa is characterized by a combination of caves made of pahsa and unbaked brick.
Interiors of the shrines were decorated with topical and ornamental paintings on stucco plaster and sculptures made of loess and clay. In the architectural decor marble-like limestone and carved stucco were widely used.
During the Kushan period, as witness dedicatory inscriptions on ceramics, the Buddhist centre in Karatepa (or part of it) could have had the name of Khadevakavihara, or King's Monastery (according to V.V. Vertogradova). Thanks to support from the Kushan administration, the Karatepa centre achieved the peak of flourishing in the 2nd-3rd centuries. In the 4th-5th centuires a considerable part of the shrines stopped functioning. During that period caves were used as burial places, and entranceways were usually bricked up. However, it is highly probable that some shrines, or at least their surface parts continued to exist as Buddhist places of worship till the 6th century. In the 9th-12th centuires hermits called "sufi" settled in semi-destroyed caves.
The walls of Karatepa caves still carry numerous grafitti drawings and visitors inscriptions (Bactrian, Middle Persian, Brahmi, Soghdian, Syrian (?), Arabic), made both when the Buddhist centre was functioning and in the period of its decline when caves were still accessible.
http://www.eastlinetour.com/uzbekistan/termez/history/karatepa.html
"While Begram was the summer capital, Kara-tepe presents a group of caves, stupas and monasteries […] The Buddhist complex of Kara-tepe was also deserted at some moment when the Kushano-Sasanians occupied it, but the discovery of Kushano-Sasanian coints and later construction provides evidence of its subsequent continuity as a reliogious centre." Dani and Litvinsky (1999:111)
Input by: tmciolek, Aug 28, 2009
Final data (and their sources)
Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.
General location of the Kara-Tepe monastery, UZ.
lat=37.2748 long=67.1782
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.
Google Map link:
Final data - explanatory notes
1. Monastery's name
- Kara-Tepe monastery - Bradley et al. (2007:248-249)
2. Monastery's modern country & province
- Uzbekistan:Surxondaryo Viloyati
3. Monastery's alternative/historical names
- Karatepa monastery - San'at (2002a)
- Kara Tepe monastery - http://www.berzinarchives.com
- Karatepe - Zejmal and Rtveladze (1999)
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- Approx., on the basis of inspection of maps.google.com, Lat=37.2748 Long=67.1782 = tmc, 28 Aug 2009.
5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries
- The nearby Fayaz-tepe monastery - San'at (2002a)
- The nearby Airtam monastery
6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village
7. The settlement's alternative/historical names
- Termez http://www.fallingrain.com/world/UZ/12/Termiz.html
- Tarmita - Krishan (1996:83)
8. The settlement's coordinates
- Exactly, Lat 37.2242 Long 67.2783 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/UZ/12/Termiz.html
9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition
- Theravada - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)
10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition
[missing data]
11. Date-early
[missing data]
12. Date-intermediate
[missing data]
13. Date-late
- Destroyed by the Mongols in 1220 - Bradley et al. (2007:248-249)
14. Details of contacts with other monasteries
[missing data]
15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery
- Archaeological, epigraphical
16. Additional notes
[missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)
17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by
[missing data]
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