Tibet : Jokhang Temple

The Jokhang Temple ("House of the Lord") is a four-storey timber complex with a gilt roof situated in the heart of Lhasa. It is the holiest site in Tibetan Buddhism and is the place where the ceremonies of initiation for the Dalai Lama and Panchen Llamas are held.

Constructed in 647 by the first ruler of a unified Tibet, King Songtsen Gampo (617-49), its’ purpose was to house a sacred image of the Buddha, the Jowo Rinpoche which was brought to Lhasa by Queen Wengcheng the second wife of the King from China as a dowry. This statue is still enshrined within the temple and is the holiest object in Tibet.
The temple has been regularly expanded over the years, and underwent extensive reconstruction in the 17^th century under the fifth Dalai Lama, although much of the central part of the temple is original, dating from the 7^th century.
Today, Jokhang Temple is open to pilgrims and tourists but carefully controlled by the Chinese government as since 1951 and the Chinese occupation, the Temple has become the focus of Tibetan cultural identity and resistance.
Covering an area of about 25,000 square metres, Jokhang Temple consists of four storeys which combine local Tibetan architectural elements with influences from Nepal, India and the Tang Dynasty of China.
The exterior of the temple is decorated with deer and wheel motifs.  These are the early symbols of Buddhism and represent the Buddha's first sermon, in which he "turned the wheel of the Dharma" in a deer park near Varanasi, India.
In the front of the temple is a large plaza and open porch, where prostrate Tibetan pilgrims can be seen. Jokhang Temple is a very important pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists who come from all over Tibet. The most devout pilgrims cover the last several miles prostrating themselves on the ground. Many pilgrims bring offerings (typically white scarves and yak butter for the votive candles) to the many chapels that ring the shrine or leave scarves outside in the open porch.
The interior consists of a number of chapels dedicated to various Gods and bodhisattvas (an enlightenment-being), and although some have undergone rebuilding, many of the original elements remain. Carbon dating tests on the wooden beams and rafters have shown them to be original; the door frames, columns and finials dating from the 7^th and 8^th centuries.
In the courtyard are shrines and rows of votive lights (small, prayer candles) which provide a path leading to the main hall. The main central hall is over 1,300 years old and is the oldest shrine of the complex. Above the main entrance is a Dharma Wheel (chakra) flanked by two deer. This represents the unity of all things and symbolizes the Buddha.
The central hall contains the gilded and jewelled Jowo Rinpoche (or Jowo Shakyamuni) the life-sized statue of the Buddha at the age of 12, the final destination of the pilgrims. On either side of the statue are two altars, one of King Songtsen Gampo and the other of his two wives who introduced Buddhism into Tibet. As a mark of respect, no photographs were taken inside the halls and chapels.

The third floor contains an image of Palden Lhamo, the fierce deity considered to be the principal protectress of Tibet and the Dalai Lama. The roof contains many beautiful statues and gilded objects and provides fine views over the temple, the Barkor (a maze of narrow cobbled streets which is the central market of Lhasa) and the Potala Palace.

Along with the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple has, since 2000, formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace".

Source: http://www.famous-historic-buildings.org.uk/tibet_55.html

Tibet - Lhasa : Potala Palace

The Potala Palace is situated on the top of the Red Hill in central Lhasa, at an altitude of over 3,700 metres it rises over 100 metres.  The Palace was built by the King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet in 637AD over a sacred cave as a palace for his bride the Princess Wen Cheng of China. Consisting of 9-storeys it was said to have had a thousand rooms. With the collapse of the Songtsen Gampo Dynasty, and the subsequent wars the palace was severely damaged. Construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. It was at this time that it became the Dalai Lamas main residence and the centre for political and religious affairs in Tibet though later became his Winter Palace. The Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694. In 1922 the 13^th Dalai Lama renovated many chapels and assembly halls in the White Palace and added two stories to the Red Palace. In 1959 the palace was slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese invasion. It was not sacked by the Red Guards during the 1960s and 1970s, due to the personal intervention of Chou En Lai. Consequently, all the chapels and their artefacts are well preserved. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, after the invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Today the Potala Palace has been converted into a museum by the Chinese government but is still a place of pilgrimage for many Tibetans.

Consisting of 13 stories with an interior space in excess of 130,000 square meters, it contains two palaces and living quarters of over 1,000 rooms, temples, stupas and 10,000 shrines. As a museum it houses about 200,000 statues and a wealth of national treasures. The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south. It has thick sloping stone walls averaging 3 metres with up to 5 metres thick walls at the base. In order to help protect it against earthquakes it has copper poured into the foundations. At its base to the south is a large enclosed space with stairs and gentle slopes leading to the summit and the palace buildings.

The Potala consists of two palaces, the White and Red. The White Palace contained the living quarters of the Dalai Lama, offices, the seminary and the printing house. First built in the 17^th century it was extended to its present size in the early twentieth century.   A central, yellow-painted courtyard known as a Deyangshar separates the living quarters of the Dalai Lama and the monks with the Red Palace.

The Red Palace, painted red to represent stateliness and power, is devoted to religious study and prayer. It consists of many halls, chapels and libraries on a number of levels with many smaller galleries and passages. The main central hall built by the fifth Dalai Lama is the Great West Hall and chapels with cloth wrapping the many columns and murals painted on the walls. The Dharma Cave and the Saint's Chapel are the remaining parts of the 7^th century building and contains statues of Songtsen Gampo, Princess Wen Cheng, and Princess Bhrikuti.

The Potala Palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. In 2000 and 2001, the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka (the Summer Palace of the Dalai Lama) were added as extensions to the sites.

Source: http://www.famous-historic-buildings.org.uk/tibet_55.html

The Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid or Sasanian Empire of Persia ruled from 224 to 651 CE.  It was the last Persian dynasty before the coming of Islam, and had a long history of rivalry and cultural exchange with the Roman Empire to the west.  The Sassanid people called their country Eranshahr, which means "Kingdom of the Aryans."

At its greatest extent, under the Shahanshah (king of kings) Khosrow II who ruled from 590 to 628 CE, the Sassanid Empire included a huge expanse of land. Modern day Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Egypt,Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates were all under Sasanian rule, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, and Pakistan. Khosrow II was the last of the great shahs; he would be executed by his own son following a coup, and the Persians would soon thereafter be conquered by the Arab armies of Islam.

Early Sassanid History

The Sassanid dynasty was founded in 224 CE by Ardashir I, who named his ruling line after his grandfather, Sasan.

Ardashir started out as the local governor of Darabgird, but was able to conquer neighboring provinces one after another.  By 231, he controlled not only what is now Iran, but much of the top half of the Arabian Peninsula as well.  

After Ardashir's death in 241, his son Shapur I (r. 241 - 272) expanded the new empire into Central Asia, conquering Bactria and the Kushan territories.  He also fought with the Romans on the western front, taking the Roman emperor Valerian captive in 259 after the Battle of Edessa.  This was the first time that a sitting Roman emperor had been captured by an enemy - an unprecedented humiliation for the Romans.

Shapur I had a very tolerant attitude toward different religions, establishing freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, and Manichaens in Sassanid lands. However, his son Bahram I was a Zoroastrian fundamentalist, and undid his father's liberal policies.  Under his rule, Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, died while in prison awaiting his execution. The Sassanid Empire suffered under a succession of weak rulers, who lost various parts of the empire to neighboring powers, until 309, when Shapur II assumed the throne in a most astonishing fashion.

Shapur II (r. 309-379) was crowned king while still in his mother's womb.  The crown was placed on her pregnant belly, the only known in utero coronation in history.  His mother and a coalition of nobles served as regents for the child until he came of age; he would turn out to be a great ruler, and would lead the country into its first golden age.

First Golden Age

Shapur captured new territory to the east and west, including Afghanistan, Armenia, and five Roman provinces. He successfully pacified the Central Asian nomads along Persia's northern and eastern borders, ushering in an era of cooperation between the Persians and their nomadic neighbors. At this time, the Roman Empire converted to Christianity under Emperor Constantine; this change so alarmed Shapur II that he began to persecute Christians in Persia harshly.

After Shapur II's death in 379, Persia entered a period of relative peace and stability. Its territory remained more or less the same through 498, neither losing land to invaders nor conquering new lands for itself. One of the most famous Persian shahs, Bahram V, ruled during this period from 421 to 438. He is renowned in poetry not for his politics, so much, as for his love of hunting and polo, and his fascinating love life.

By the late 400s, Persia faced constant attacks and plundering along its eastern border from a new foe - the Hephthalites, or White Huns. The White Huns would bedevil Persia until 502, when the Sassanid shah Kavadh I managed to form an alliance with them.  Together, the Persians and the Huns attacked the Romans, seizing back Armenia, Georgia, and parts of what is now Iraq.

Second Golden Age

Kavadh I's son, Khosrow I (r. 531 - 579), would better his father's record of fighting the Romans. He seized lands as far away as Yemen, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.  Khosrow I also rebuilt much of Persia's decaying infrastructure, rebuilding or repairing canals, fortifications, and farms ruined by Peria's many wars.

Khosrau II (590 - 628) was another powerful ruler, who sent armies to conquer the largest area yet for the Sassanid state. He captured Jersualem in 614, and all of Eygpt in 621.  However, his ambition would prove the undoing of the Sassanid Empire. In trying to control this huge expanse of land, Khosrau II burned through the money in the Persian treasury, and severely over-stretched his armies.

Fall of the Sassanids

Sensing weakness in their traditional foe, the Byzantine Romans launched a series of attacks on Persia throughout the first 25 years of the 600s.  Piece by piece, Persia lost bits of its empire, although the Persian homeland, Azerbaijan, most of Iraq, and what is now Afghanistan remained under Sassanid rule through 632. 

In that year, newly converted Muslim armies poured out of Arabia and attacked Persia for the first time. The Persians and the Byzantines combined to hold off the Muslim army of Caliph Umar until 637, when the Arabs prevailed at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Soon after, the Arab army captured the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, and with it the Persian treasury.  Strapped for cash, the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd, fled to Merv in what is now Turkmenistan, where he was assassinated by a local tradesman in 651.

With the fall of the Sassanid Empire, Persia became a part of the quickly expanding Muslim world. Most ordinary Persians remained Zoroastrian for some time, however, paying the jizya or tax on non-Muslims living under the caliphate. Gradually, over the next two centuries, people converted to Islam, and Persia entered a new phase in its history.

Source: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/iran/fl/The-Sassanid-Empire.htm

The Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid or Sasanian Empire of Persia ruled from 224 to 651 CE.  It was the last Persian dynasty before the coming of Islam, and had a long history of rivalry and cultural exchange with the Roman Empire to the west.  The Sassanid people called their country Eranshahr, which means "Kingdom of the Aryans."

At its greatest extent, under the Shahanshah (king of kings) Khosrow II who ruled from 590 to 628 CE, the Sassanid Empire included a huge expanse of land. Modern day Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Egypt,Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates were all under Sasanian rule, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, and Pakistan. Khosrow II was the last of the great shahs; he would be executed by his own son following a coup, and the Persians would soon thereafter be conquered by the Arab armies of Islam.

Early Sassanid History

The Sassanid dynasty was founded in 224 CE by Ardashir I, who named his ruling line after his grandfather, Sasan.

Ardashir started out as the local governor of Darabgird, but was able to conquer neighboring provinces one after another.  By 231, he controlled not only what is now Iran, but much of the top half of the Arabian Peninsula as well.  

After Ardashir's death in 241, his son Shapur I (r. 241 - 272) expanded the new empire into Central Asia, conquering Bactria and the Kushan territories.  He also fought with the Romans on the western front, taking the Roman emperor Valerian captive in 259 after the Battle of Edessa.  This was the first time that a sitting Roman emperor had been captured by an enemy - an unprecedented humiliation for the Romans.

Shapur I had a very tolerant attitude toward different religions, establishing freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, and Manichaens in Sassanid lands. However, his son Bahram I was a Zoroastrian fundamentalist, and undid his father's liberal policies.  Under his rule, Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, died while in prison awaiting his execution. The Sassanid Empire suffered under a succession of weak rulers, who lost various parts of the empire to neighboring powers, until 309, when Shapur II assumed the throne in a most astonishing fashion.

Shapur II (r. 309-379) was crowned king while still in his mother's womb.  The crown was placed on her pregnant belly, the only known in utero coronation in history.  His mother and a coalition of nobles served as regents for the child until he came of age; he would turn out to be a great ruler, and would lead the country into its first golden age.

First Golden Age

Shapur captured new territory to the east and west, including Afghanistan, Armenia, and five Roman provinces. He successfully pacified the Central Asian nomads along Persia's northern and eastern borders, ushering in an era of cooperation between the Persians and their nomadic neighbors. At this time, the Roman Empire converted to Christianity under Emperor Constantine; this change so alarmed Shapur II that he began to persecute Christians in Persia harshly.

After Shapur II's death in 379, Persia entered a period of relative peace and stability. Its territory remained more or less the same through 498, neither losing land to invaders nor conquering new lands for itself. One of the most famous Persian shahs, Bahram V, ruled during this period from 421 to 438. He is renowned in poetry not for his politics, so much, as for his love of hunting and polo, and his fascinating love life.

By the late 400s, Persia faced constant attacks and plundering along its eastern border from a new foe - the Hephthalites, or White Huns. The White Huns would bedevil Persia until 502, when the Sassanid shah Kavadh I managed to form an alliance with them.  Together, the Persians and the Huns attacked the Romans, seizing back Armenia, Georgia, and parts of what is now Iraq.

Second Golden Age

Kavadh I's son, Khosrow I (r. 531 - 579), would better his father's record of fighting the Romans. He seized lands as far away as Yemen, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.  Khosrow I also rebuilt much of Persia's decaying infrastructure, rebuilding or repairing canals, fortifications, and farms ruined by Peria's many wars.

Khosrau II (590 - 628) was another powerful ruler, who sent armies to conquer the largest area yet for the Sassanid state. He captured Jersualem in 614, and all of Eygpt in 621.  However, his ambition would prove the undoing of the Sassanid Empire. In trying to control this huge expanse of land, Khosrau II burned through the money in the Persian treasury, and severely over-stretched his armies.

Fall of the Sassanids

Sensing weakness in their traditional foe, the Byzantine Romans launched a series of attacks on Persia throughout the first 25 years of the 600s.  Piece by piece, Persia lost bits of its empire, although the Persian homeland, Azerbaijan, most of Iraq, and what is now Afghanistan remained under Sassanid rule through 632. 

In that year, newly converted Muslim armies poured out of Arabia and attacked Persia for the first time. The Persians and the Byzantines combined to hold off the Muslim army of Caliph Umar until 637, when the Arabs prevailed at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Soon after, the Arab army captured the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, and with it the Persian treasury.  Strapped for cash, the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd, fled to Merv in what is now Turkmenistan, where he was assassinated by a local tradesman in 651.

With the fall of the Sassanid Empire, Persia became a part of the quickly expanding Muslim world. Most ordinary Persians remained Zoroastrian for some time, however, paying the jizya or tax on non-Muslims living under the caliphate. Gradually, over the next two centuries, people converted to Islam, and Persia entered a new phase in its history.

Source: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/iran/fl/The-Sassanid-Empire.htm

Nepal Kathmandu

The history of the city of Kathmandu dates back to ancient times and is inseparable from that of the Kathmandu valley whose architectural and cultural heritage consists of seven groups of monuments and buildings. These illustrate the historic and artistic achievements for which Kathmandu is renowned and contain a variety of beautiful and unique architecture. Kathmandu is a mixture of both Buddhist and Hindu temples with stone and wood carvings providing excellent examples of intricate workmanship that can be seen throughout the city. The finest example is in the Durbar Square; this is located in the old city and developed over many centuries. The meaning of Durbar is the place of palaces although it could also be known as the place of temples as it has 50 temples situated in two quadrangles. Adjacent to Durbar Square is Kumari Ghar. This is the palace where the living incarnation of the goddess Taleju lives. The Kumari is a young girl who is selected as a manifestation of the divine female energy and retains that role until she reaches puberty.

The Buddhist stupas (domed structures housing Buddhist or Jain relics) of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath are located 7 miles from the city centre and are the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal. The Bauddhanath is 36 metres tall and was probably built in the 14th century after the Mughal invasions, although records do indicate that it may have existed in some form as far back as the 6th century AD. The base of the stupa has 108 small depictions of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha and is surrounded with a brick wall with 147 niches, each containing prayer wheels. Swayambhunath is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. This is also known as the Monkey Temple as a number of holy monkeys live in parts of the temple. It is believed to date back over two thousand years and an inscription records that King Manadeva worked on the site in the year 460AD. The present stupa was rebuilt after Mughal invaders broke open the original in 1346 when searching for gold. The stupa was expanded in the 17th century by King Pratap Malla, who added a large stairway.

It was during the period of 1673 to 1696 under King Jitamitra Malla, that Kathmandu experienced its greatest building works. In 1674, Jitamitra Malla built the Shiva temple and in 1682, the two-storied Dharmasala Palace which was used by royalty until 1769; which today is a museum. To the east of this he erected the temple and statue of Narayana, along with the temples of Dattatrikasa and Pashupati. The Kathmandu Valley became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 with a number of minor modifications in 2006.

Since this article and photographs were published, many of the buildings in Kathmandu have been damaged in the earthquake that occurred on the 25 April 2015.

                Source: http://www.famous-historic-buildings.org.uk/nepal_24.html

Cambodia | Siem Reap - Temples of Angkor Thom & Angkor Wat

The temples of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat are a vast temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia, about 200 miles from the capital of Phnom Penh. Angkor Wat (which means Holy Temple), was built by King Suryavarman II (1113 A.D. to 1145) as a vast funerary temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. Suryavarman united the kingdom, following a period of conflict, and conquered many of the surrounding kingdoms, which included the present day Thailand and an area stretching to Burma, the Malay Peninsula and Laos. It is believed that he died during a military expedition against the Vietnamese Kingdom of Champa, and in 1177 the Champa were responsible for sacking Angkor.

In 1181 King Jayavarman VII began to expand the empire. He invaded Champa and made it part of the empire, turning the Khmer Empire into one of the most prosperous and sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia. Its prosperity resulted in the construction of a wide range of architecture under Jayavarman, who was one of history’s great builders and it was he who started the construction of Angkor Thom (meaning Great City) which was to extend over 400 square kilometres. It is the largest religious complex in the world and is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture in Cambodia.

During its six centuries as the imperial capital, Angkor went through many changes in architectural styles and in religion. The city of Angkor changed from the Hindu God Shiva to Vishnu, and finally to the Mahayana Buddhist Deity Avalokitesvara; all of which had a major influence on its’ temple architecture. The design of the temples was based on Hindu cosmology, having been built around a central temple situated on a hill. This symbolized Mount Meru, the home of the Gods, with the central tower of each temple also representing Mount Meru. The outer walls of the temple represented the mountains that were believed to encircle the cosmos.

Angkor Thom contains many buildings. There is the Buddhist Temple dating from the late 12^th century, which is famed for its 200 large faces; the Bayon with its towers and the faces of the Mahayana Buddhist Deity Avalokitesvara. Each is several metres high and is carved out of stone; and there is the Terrace of the Elephants, which was where the Royal family would stage entertainment, and ministers and Generals would review their forces. The waterways, canals and moats of Angkor served a dual purpose. They symbolized the waters of the cosmos but also had a more practical purpose of water supply and irrigation. 

Angkor Wat consists of five central shrines, and three galleries. To gain entry to the complex, a paved causeway runs over the moat and under a portico, and continues on between two libraries to the main entrance of the main building. The galleries are all beautifully decorated with apsaras (heavenly nymphs), together with dancing male figures and animals. Temples are decorated with bas-reliefs, depicting scenes from the Hindu sacred texts that recount the adventures of two major incarnations of Vishnu. They consist of Gods, men and animals, which are displayed on every flat surface. Also to be found in Angkor is the longest relief in the world with 1,200 metres of bas-reliefs carved into the stone and incorporating over 11,000 figures.

Angkor flourished from the 9^th to the 15^th century. At its peak, between the 11^th-13^th century, it was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of in the region of 80 – 150,000. (London at that time had a population of 30,000). 12,000 people served the temple, but its prosperity was to end in 1431 when it was sacked by the Siamese, resulting in the capital being moved to Phnom Penh and Angkor being abandoned and becoming overgrown by the jungle. The process of reclaiming Angkor from the jungle was begun in the 1860s by the French, but the task had to be suspended in the 1970s during the rule of Pol Pot. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.