Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

3.2
when the rebellious Sassanian general Bahram Chobin was defeated, many of his
Turkic allies who had fought with him had a sign of a cross on their foreheads. They
claimed that such a sign was placed on the foreheads of newborns, on the advice of
Christians, to ward off all manner of misfortune.
It is likely that there were also some Christians among the Hephthalites, a powerful
tribe who established one of the most significant states in Central Asia in the late
5th and early 6th century AD. According to accounts by Elishe, when concluding a
treaty of alliance with the Armenians the Chuni-Hephthalites ‘took a Christian oath
to keep a firm alliance with them’.
In addition to Nestorian Christians, there were probably many Orthodox
Christians in Central Asia. Based on a study of an 8th-century document, S.P. Tolstov
believed that the metropolitan of the Khazars also included a special Khwalis (i.e.
Khorezmian) Christian diocese. According to Biruni, the city of Merv was the seat of
the metropolitan of Khorasan, and this implied the existence of a very large Christian
community of Orthodox Melchites here. Before attaining the highest religious office
of metropolitan, Melchite priests first had to pass through several other offices such as
chorister, acolyte (or reader), subdeacon, deacon, priest and bishop.
The Melchite calendar of al-Biruni, given in The Chronology
of Ancient Nations, includes a Feast of Roses, which was
also celebrated in Khorezm on the fourth day of the
month of Ayyar (May) –‘The Feast of Roses according
to the ancient rite, as it is celebrated in Khwarizm.
On this day, they bring Juri-roses to the churches, the
reason of which is this, that Mary presented on this
day the first roses to Elizabeth, the mother of John.’
Historical data on the widespread dissemination
of Christianity in pre-Muslim Central Asia are
supported by material evidence. These include
Coin of a Chach ruler depicting churches and monasteries, Christian religious
a cross. 7th Century AD. objects, funerary monuments and coins bearing
Christian symbols.
Churches and monasteries occupy a special place in this list. Few of them
having been discovered in Central Asia, but records show that they existed in Merv,
Samarkand, Khorezm, Taraz, Merke, Semirechye and other places, which had
Christian communities.
Many of them were destroyed after the arrival of the Arabs, while others were
replaced by Muslim mosques. Narshaki wrote, ‘On entering the town through the
Gate of the Bazaar, “the street of the drunkards” (Kū-i- Rindān) was on the left;
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