Surkh Kotal Fire Temple
Surkh Kotal Baghlan Temple · Surkh Kotal Kushan Temple · Bagh-e-Sukhrobi Temple
Kushan 2nd c CE (Kanishka)·Kushan imperial dynastic — Bactrian fire cult with Hellenistic architecture·🇦🇫 Afghanistan, Baghlan Province, Puli Khumri District, Surkh Kotal hill 18 km north of Puli Khumri, Hindu Kush southern piedmont overlooking Baghlan valley, Afghanistan
About
About Surkh Kotal Fire Temple
Surkh Kotal Fire Temple — Kushan dynastic sanctuary (2nd c CE Kanishka period) on Surkh Kotal hill 18 km NE Puli Khumri, excavated 1952–63 by D. Schlumberger (DAFA). Surkh Kot al revealed massive Kushan temple platform (70×30 m) with Hellenistic columns, statue of Kanishka (broken 2001, restored Guimet), and Rabatak inscription? No— Surkh Kot al inscription (SK 4) in Bactrian Greek script detailing Kanishka's lineage and fire cult. Four-bastion courtyard, eternal fire altar, and staircase of 30 steps prove Zoroastrian–nomadic Kushan imperial cult. Abandoned 5th c Hun invasion.
Why it mattersKushan dynastic temple type-site — Kanishka statue and Bactrian Greek fire temple inscription
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Fire cult — Zoroastrian vs nomadic ancestor worship?
Theories
- 01Kushan dynastic sacral kingship model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.128–151 CE Kanishka I reign
- Period
- Kushan 2nd c CE (Kanishka)
- Culture
- Kushan imperial dynastic — Bactrian fire cult with Hellenistic architecture
- Builders
- Kushan artisans under Kanishka I (Schlumberger's Kanishka-e festival temple)
- Purpose
- Imperial dynastic fire temple propagating Kushan lineage and Zoroastrian eternal flame
- Abandoned
- c.5th c Hephthalite Hun
- Rediscovered
- 1952 Schlumberger survey; 1958 Kanishka statue find
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.128–151 CE
Kanishka builds dynastic fire temple on Surkh hill
1958
Kanishka statue and Bactrian SK 4 found
2001
Statue smashed and later French restoration
On the ground
Structures & features
36.0500° N · 68.5667° E · 900 m · 3 mapped features
Eastern Grand Staircase and Platform
staircase30-step eastern grand staircase ascending to 70×30 m Kushan temple platform
36.0505° N · 68.5670° EWestern Fire Altar Courtyard
altarEternal fire altar and four-bastion courtyard with Kanishka statue base on western hill
36.0495° N · 68.5663° EBactrian Inscription SK 4 Block
inscriptionBactrian Greek dynastic inscription block detailing Kanishka lineage near altar
36.0500° N · 68.5667° E
Gallery