Kakrak Valley (Bamyan)

Not to be confused with Kakrak Valley, Ghazni Province.
Kakrak Valley
درهٔ ککرک
Valley
Kakrak Valley is located in Afghanistan
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley is located in Bactria
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley is located in West and Central Asia
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley is located in South Asia
Kakrak Valley
Kakrak Valley
Coordinates: 34°48′36″N 67°51′09″E / 34.809877°N 67.852553°E / 34.809877; 67.852553
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceBamyan Province
Population
 • Ethnicities
Hazara people
Time zone+ 4.30

Karkak Valley (Dari: درهٔ ککرک) is a valley in central Afghanistan, located in Bamyan province, 120 km west of Kabul province.

The famous Buddhist mural named "The Hunter King" (7-8th centuries CE) shows a typically local royal figure seated on a throne, his bow and arrows on the side. He wears a triple-crescent crown which has been compared to the triple-crescent crowns on the coinage found in northeastern Afghanistan in the area of Zabulistan, such as a coin found in Ghazni.[1] Late 7th to early 8th century CE.[2][3] Other authors have attributed the triple-crescent crown to Hephthalite influence.[4] The painting may be an allegory of a King abandoning violence, particularly the hunting of animals, and converting to Buddhism.[5]

  1. ^ Hackin, Joseph (1936). L'Œuvre de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (1922-1932) : vol.1. p. 49.
  2. ^ Göbl 1967, 254 ; Vondrovec tyre 254
  3. ^ Alram, Michael; Filigenzi, Anna; Kinberger, Michaela; Nell, Daniel; Pfisterer, Matthias; Vondrovec, Klaus. "The Countenance of the other (The Coins of the Huns and Western Turks in Central Asia and India) 2012-2013 exhibit: 14. KABULISTAN AND BACTRIA AT THE TIME OF "KHORASAN TEGIN SHAH"". Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Compareti, Matteo (2008). "The Painting of the "Hunter-King" at Kakrak: Royal Figure or Divine Being?". Studio Editoriale Gordini: 133.
  5. ^ "According to Jäger's interpretation, the so-called "Hunter-King" was a symbolic representation of a royal person who converted to Buddhism and abandoned hunting and violence in general." inCompareti, Matteo (2008). "The Painting of the "Hunter-King" at Kakrak: Royal Figure or Divine Being?". Studio Editoriale Gordini: 133.