Snake and Bake

While visiting the St. Louis Zoo on a family vacation, I noticed three snake species in the Zoo's Herpetarium that were particularly relevant to my interests.  They were as follows:

The Armenian Viper

Information about the Armenian Viper

The Armenian Viper is, according to the St. Louis Zoo website, a venomous snake native to Armenia and its surrounding areas.  They are found in mountainous areas, where they feed on insects, rodents, and lizards.  They share dens with other vipers in the winter where they hibernate during the cold months.  An interesting fact about these vipers that the Zoo's website relates is that they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. (1)

Iranian Mountain Viper

Information on the Iranian Mountain Viper

According to the St. Louis Zoo's information card, the Iranian Mountain Viper is found only in Zanjan Mountain range, near the Caspian Sea, at elevations of 8,000 feet.  The Viper is vulernable due to over-collection for antivenom production. (2)

The Caucasus Viper

Information on the Caucasus Viper

The Caucasus Viper, according to the St. Louis Zoo website, is a vulnerable species of viper found in the mountainous areas of Turkey and Russia.  Because of political unrest, over-collection, and habitat destruction, conservation efforts for the snake have been frustrated in this area of the world.  Little is known about this snake due to the harsh climate that it inhabits. (3)

These are but a few of the many Eurasian species present at the zoo. I would encourage all my readers to visit the St. Louis Zoo's Center for Conservation in Western Asia website and check out their efforts to save various Central Eurasian species from the brink of extinction.

1.  St. Louis Zoo: Armenian Viper.  http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/reptiles/snakes/armenianviper/. Date Accessed: 04/12/2013

2.  St. Louis Zoo information card.  St. Louis Zoo Herpetarium.

3.  St. Louis Zoo: Caucasus Viper.  http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/reptiles/snakes/caucasusviper/. Date Accessed: 04/12/2013

Educational Filler

While I am lacking in updates with my own research, I thought I might share with my readers two of my favorite stories from Al-Mas'udi's The Meadows of Gold.  First, though, I should share a little information about the author.

Abu al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Masʿūdī was born around the year 890 AD in Baghdad. He was an Arab Historian and Geographer who traveled extensively, collecting information on local ethnic and religions groups, customs, laws, histories, natural sciences, geography, etc.  Of the thirty-six books that Al-Mas'udi wrote, only two are extant:  The aforementioned Meadows of Gold and The Book of Admonition.  Both books represent attempts at compiling a global history, lending to Al-Mas'udi's nickname "The Arab Herodotus".  While such works, based on interviews with individuals and contemporary sources and reports from other travelers, can have issues with accuracy, or even flights of absolute fancy, there are also incredibly accurate reports in The Meadows of Gold, such as the report of Huang Ch'ao's Rebellion in China, the reports on trade goods, and descriptions of ancient sites, such as the pyramids and Persepolis. Al-Mas'udi's contributions to scholarship are invaluable sources on the world of the late Abbasid Caliphate and give an insight to how scholars of his time period regarded their world and its history. (1)

In this first entry I am about to share, Al-Mas'udi is relating information on the famous city of Iram (Irem), whom many of you may have heard of in relation to the Chthulhu Mythos by H.P Lovecraft.  Mysterious, legendary desert cities were breeding romantic stories even in Al-Mas'udi's day.  Notice how in this entry, Al-Mas'udi turns a critical eye to the story of Iram, dissecting the fact from the fiction, and noting the work of others on this same subject, and condemning the storytellers of the day for blending the lines between reality and fantasy to curry favor with political and religious leaders.  I edited out Al-Mas'udi's description of The Thousand and One Nights because, honestly, I became tired of typing. If anyone desires more information on the subject of that classic of literature, please Google it.  I believe it is also offered as a free Kindle download from Amazon.

25. Iram of the Columns

The great temple known as Jayrun in the city of Damascus was built by Jayrun ibn Sa'd of the tribe 'Ad who supplied the marble columns which support it. This monument is identical to the Iram of the Columns mentioned in the Qur'an.

A different story is told on the authority of Ka'b al-Akhbar. When he came to the court of Mu'awiya ibn abu Sufyan, Mu'awiya asked him about Iram. Ka'b described a wonderful building covered with gold and silver and cemented with saffron and musk. He said that an Arab searching for his two lost camels would resdiscover Iram, and he described the man. Then, turning to the assembly, he cried out: "There's the man I just told you about!"

And indeed, this Arab had found Iram while looking for his lost camels. So Mu'awiya rewarded Ka'b's truthfulness and reliability. If the story related on Ka'b's authority were true, it would be a good thing; unfortunately it is suspect, both for the chain of transmission and for other reasons. It must be considered the invention of the professional storytellers.

The site of Iram of the Columns, and indeed its very existence, has given rise to much discussion. None of the experts in tradition at the court of Mu'awiya, men who knew most about the history of the Arabs and other ancient peoples, accepted the legend of Iram, with the exception of 'Ubayd ibn Sharya, who gave Mu'awiya much information on the battles and events of the past. The work of this 'Ubayd is available to the public and well known. 

Many learned men believe stories of this sort to be apocryphal: lies invented by the storytellers to gain favour with kings. It is these men who gave their contemporaries the idea of preserving these tales and repeating them in their turn. 

Among these collections are works which have come down to us in translations from Persian, Indian or Greek originals. we have already mentioned the way they were composed. One such book is entitled Hazar Efsaneh, The Thousand Tales, for that is what efsaneh means in Persian. This book is known to the public as The Thounsand and One Nights...A similar book is called Farzi u Simas, which includes information on the kings and viziers of India. Another is the Book of Sindbad, and there are other compilations of the same kind. (2)

This next entry relates a story told to Al-Mas'udi about a certain disastrous excavation of an ancient Egyptian burial site. It's almost charming the way Al-Mas'udi says that the wonders and treasures of the ancient Egyptians are so highly sought after "even today", with today being his contemporary era. It  is fun and fascinating to know that then, as now, the allure of Egyptian treasure has brought archaeologists and explorers to Egypt for over a thousand years after the death of our author!  Even in Al-Mas'udi's day, as in the time of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter opening King Tutankhamen's Tomb, Pharaoh's curses were feared and ancient sites were excavated cautiously. The fruits of these excavations (see also: grave robbing) give a description of Egyptian burial sites that contain astonishing continuity with the contents of Tutankhamen's tomb, which is the most intact Egyptian royal tomb ever excavated. I don't know about anyone else reading this, but it makes my heart ache a little bit when Al-Mas'udi describes the excavators busting open statues for their precious contents.  Hang on, dear readers, because this story is a long one, but a good one.  

32. Excavations

I have questioned the most learned Copts of Upper Egypt and other provinces on the meaning of the word 'pharaoh', but no one has been able to tell me anything about it, for this name does not exist in their language. Perhaps originally it was the general title of all their kings and then the language changed, just as Pahlavi, the language of ancient Iran, has become Persian, classical Greek has evolved into modern Byzantine, and Himyaritic and many other tongues have changed. You will find in our previous works strange tales of the treasures and monuments of Egypt and the wealth which both its kings and other nations who ruled this land buried in the earth and which are sought even today.
Among the strange anecdotes on this subject is one told by Yahya ibn Bukayr. While 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Marqan [governor of Egypt, 685-705] was governing Egypt in the name of his brother 'Abd al-Malik, he was visited by a man who wished to give him some information. 'Abd al-'Aziz asked him what it was about, and the mane said, 'Under such and such a dome there is a great treasure.' 'Abd al-'Aziz said, 'What evidence do you have of that?'

'A pavement of different-coloured marbles will appear to us not very far down. Digging farther, we have to remove a door made of bronze, above which is a golden column. On top of the column there is a golden cock; his eyes are two rubies worth more than the revenues of the entire world. His wings are encrusted with rubies and emeralds, and his claws grip plates of gold on top of the column.'
'Abd al-'Aziz immediately commended him to be given several thousand dinars to pay the wages of the labourers hired for the excavations and all the other necessary work.

There was a large tell at the site and the men opened a vast trench in the earth, in which the marble slabs which the man had mentioned were brought to light, thus sharpening the greed of 'Abd al-'Aziz, who immediately made over to him new sums of money and incresed the number of workmen.
As they went on digging, they uncovered the head of the cock. His appearance was heralded by a light, swift and intense as lightning, which flashed, shining and brilliant from his ruby eyes. Then the wings and then the claws of the cock appeared. Next, they found, all about the column, a colonnade made of different kinds of stone and marble. It was composed of arches and, above the arched doors, niches with statues and figures of people in bronze and gold. Then came sarcophagi of stone whose lids were battened down and enclosed in nets, locked with rods of gold.

'Abd al-'Aziz ib Marwan came on horseback to visit the scene of the excavations and look at the discoveries. One of those present, less patient, set foot on the steps of a staircase cast in bronze which led down to the finds. When he set foot on the fourth step, two enormous swords sprang out to the left and right of the staircase, meeting at the point where the man stood and slicing him to pieces. His body rolled to the bottom of the staircase. When a part of the corpse hit a certain step, the column shook, the cock gave a strange whistling cry, which was heard at a great distance, and flapped its wings. Terrifying sounds caused by a variety of devices and instruments were heard from beneath him. As soon as an object fell on the steps or only touched them, all who were present slid to the bottom of the excavation. The labourers engaged in digging and moving the earth, those who were supervising and organizing the work and those overseeing the workmen - some two thousand in all - perished to a man.
'

Abd al-'Aziz was seized with terror and cried, 'Here are ruins of the most marvellous kind to which all access is forbidden! We seek refuge in God from the evil therein!' Then he ordered that earth from the excavations should be flung onto the bodies of the victims and that the place should be their tomb.

Some people, interested in excavations and such discoveries, are very eager to dig mounds in order to hunt for the treasures and precious things which the kings and people of Egypt had long ago hidden in the bosom of the earth, found in a book written in ancient characters a description of a place, only a few cubits from the pyramids mentioned above, which promised them a rich treasure. They told the ruler, the Ikhshid Muhammad ibn Tughj, who gave them permission to excavate and to use all means necessary to reach the aim of their search.

They opened a deep trench and eventually came to vaults, catacombs and hollowed blocks of stone cut into the rock. Inside stood statues. There were coated with a varnish designed to prevent them rotting or wearing away. The figures were of all different kinds: old men, youths, women and children. Their eyes were made of precious stones, such as rubies, emeralds, turquoise and topaz, and some of them had faces made of silver or gold.

After having broken open several of these statues, it became clear that the housed fragments of bone and bodies crumbling into dust. Beside each one was a kind of jar like an amphora of emerald and marble containing the same varnish as had been used upon the corpses lying in their wooden coffers. The jars containing the remains of this substance, which was made of many ingredients, mixed and pounded, had no odour, but when it was tested in a fire it gave off an agreeable aroma different from any other perfume.

Each of the wooden chests had precisely the shape of the body it enclosed, and they varied according to the rank, age and appearance of the dead. In front of each chest was a statue in white or green marble, which was apparently one of the idols that the Egyptians worshipped. Each of these statues bore a different inscription, which no one, of any religion, could decipher. Several learned men maintained that this script disappeared in Egypt 4,000 years ago. All of which at least proves that the inhabitants of the country in antiquity were neither Jews nor Christians.

The excavations took place in the year 328/939 and led to no discoveries beyond these figures. From the ancient masters of Egypt up until Ahmad ibn Tulun [ruler of Egypt, 878-84] and indeed the present year, 332/944, strange circumstances have led to a series of discoveries of buried objects: money, jewels, treasures and hoards, hidden in tombs. We have already discussed them in our preceding works and in our writings already mentioned. (3)

A note on formatting:  The paragraphs are formatted this way because blogger will not let me use tabs to indicate a new paragraph.  Also, reading huge blocks of text becomes painful for my eyes.

Citations

(1) Mas'udi. From The Meadows of Gold. trans. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. (New York: Penguin   Books. 2007.), 1-2

(2) Ibid., 44-46

(3) Ibid., 53-57

What Are You Taklamakan About?

I must confess:  I haven't really been thinking all that much about Bactria lately.  Bactria, along with a great many other important things, has taken a backseat to the holidays, family, and work.  However, I have been thinking recently about Xuanzang, the famous Buddhist pilgrim of the 7th century, who recorded a wonderful snapshot of Buddhist Balkh on the eve of the Islamic Conquest of Bactria.  

In particular, I have been considering Xuanzang's journey into the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts early in his travels.  The Gobi is a fairly well known desert by name and location, but perhaps not as well known is the Taklamakan Desert (Taklamakan, as explained by Dr. Anya King, is known to mean "you go in but you don't come out"), found in and around the Tarim Basin.

The Gobi Desert and the Taklamakan Desert.

A political map showing the Gobi and the Taklamakan Deserts.

Xuanzang's journey along the Silk Routes, the major highways for travel of that day, is an excellent account of the conditions travelers faced on the roads.  It was necessary for the monk to have a guide and a horse, of which he had both, though his guide was old and his horse was a skinny mare long past her prime.  The importance of vetting a guide becomes evident as well, since Xuanzang's guide tried to kill him in his sleep.  However, the guide left Xuanzang alone in the desert, and the monk made his way to a Chinese desert outpost, from which he entered the heart of the Gobi Desert.  The dangers of traveling the open desert soon become apparent to the monk.  He questioned things he was seeing, knowing mirages could lead travelers astray.  He encountered the bones of unlucky men and beasts in the desert.  He lost his water supply at one point, and, according to his hagiographer Hui-Li, was only saved through the divine protection of Guan Yin, a Bodhisattva that Xuanzang prayed to when he felt he was in danger.  Xuanzang also encountered bandits on numerous occasions in his travels, as the routes on the periphery of the empires, kingdoms, city-states, etc. were prone to raiding from bands of highwaymen.  Weather and political situations could also prove hazardous to travelers, a unstable governments lead to reduced security along the roads.

The northern Silk Route along the Taklamakan Desert is the route Xuanzang took after arriving at Hami.

There are two routes to choose from when desiring to go around the Tarim Basin and the Taklamakan Desert at its heart.  One is the northern route, along the Tian Shan mountains, were the oasis towns of Turfan, Aksu, and, further west, Kashgar.  On the southern route there were the towns of Khotan, Niya, Loulan, and Dunhuang.  These oasis towns were crucial to safe passage around the Taklamakan, as the desert is a dry, brutal salt basin prone to extreme cold and heat.  The mountains around Tarim Basin give seasonal snowfall and melts, creating rivers that drain into the desert where they disappear due to evaporation upon encountering the dry, arid conditions of the desert.  These seasonal rivers provided the much needed water for agriculture in the oasis towns, producing fruits and other goods to sustain the cities and engage in the trade.  Sericulture (cultivation of silk worms and the production of silk) also made its way to these areas from China along the Silk Routes.  These cities were known for the grand wealth and their strategic importance, and were often the subject of conquests by invading forces, from the successive invasions of the nomadic confederations, to the Chinese, to the Islamic Conquests.  

This map is terrible, but it was the best I could find to show the names, listed in white, of the oasis towns.

As I mentioned earlier, Xuanzang's religious devotions and prayer during his trials in the desert were not an uncommon practice among travelers of that time.  Traveling was a dangerous proposition, and any number of ill fates could befall a caravan.  This is the time of the omens, of consulting wise men, religious figures, and divination for advice on when to leave and what route would be safest to travel.  To show their gratitude, demonstrate piety, and earn a little merit, wealthy merchants and travelers would often commission Buddhist carvings, paintings, manuscripts, or entire Buddhist cave shrines to be constructed.  These sites were important places of pilgrimage and learning for Buddhist monks, who received patronage from local government officials in China as well as wealthy, private individuals.  Two famous Buddhist cave complexes are the ones at Dunhuang (including Mogao and other cave complexes) and the Bezeklik caves at Turfan and Loulan.  These shrines were elaborately decorated, some with portraits of their patrons along with various depictions of Buddhist legends, Bodhisattvas, and various incarnations of the Buddha.  These caves must have been welcome sights of civilization to travelers weary after their long journeys.

Though Xuanzang did not have much use for the caves.  When pressured to stay and visit the caves at Dunhuang by a Buddhist watchman, he insisted he go forward on his pilgrimage to India, even if it meant wandering the desert thirsty, with no guide, a skinny horse and a Bodhisattva.  Such was the devotion of the monk.

Bibliography

Hwui-Li.  The Life of Hiuen-Tsang. trans. Samuel Beal.  Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co: London. 1911.  Elibron Classics replica edition. 2005.

Wriggins, Sally Hovey. The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang.  Wrestview Press: Boulder, CO.  2004.

The Geography of Bactria

Understanding the Silk Routes and the Political Geography of Bactria is a key launching point into this area of study.  The town of Balkh/Bactra was situated at the focal point of two very important routes:  The east/west route to and from China and the north/south route into al-Sind and al-Hind (modern Pakistan and India). 

The Silk Routes around the 1st Century CE. 

This first map shows that there was no one all-encompassing "Silk Road" but, in fact, a network of land and sea routes spanning across Central Eurasia and linking the world, from Europe, to Africa, all the way to India and China.  The land routes traversed various perilous terrains, ranging from scorching desert to frigid and treacherous mountain ranges.  The following map demonstrates the physical geography of the Silk Routes.  Note the expansive size of the desert in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang/China, the mountain ranges surrounding India, and the general high elevation of the Iranian Plateau, lending to dry conditions therein.

Balkh itself is situated on the Bactrian Plain near the Balkh River, which lent to irrigation and flourishing of agriculture in the area.  Goods produced here, as attested in the Hudud al-Alam (The Regions of the World) include "citrons and sour oranges (turunj-u-naranj), sugar-cane (nay-shakar), and water-lilies (nilufar "lotus")".  The close proximity to the Amu Darya (Oxus) River granted Balkh excellent pasture land for nomadic herders.  Because of its ideal location as a hub of trade routes, Balkh had an extensive market-based economy, trading in manufactured and imported goods.  

This map shows the location of Balkh, marked here as Bactres, near the Amu Darya and Balkh rivers on Bactrian Plain

The compounding effect of devastating invasions, gradual climate change, a shift in trade routes, and an outbreak of malaria lent to the steady decline of Balkh.  However, even in decline the city was respected as a center of learning, a characteristic it maintained since ancient times as a center of Buddhist and, later, Islamic education.  When the capital of Balkh Province was moved to Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh became a cluster of ruins.  However, many sites indicating the old splendor of the region remain, such as the site of the Green Mosque, built by Timurid conquerors in the 15th century.  As late as 1924-25, four stupas of monumental size were visible, though in a ruinous condition in Balkh.  Interestingly, one of the largest and most elaborate stupas corresponds to the location of the famous Naw Bahar, the grand Buddhist temple attested to in multiple accounts of Balkh.

This map shows the location of modern Balkh Province in Afghanistan.

 

   This map shows Balkh province with the city of Balkh in the middle of the province.

Bibliography

Anonymous. Hudud al-Alam: The Regions of the World. Trans. V. Minorsky ed. C.E. Bosworth. Gibb Memorial Trust: Cambridge. 1982.

de Planhol, X. "BALḴ: i. Geography".  Encyclopedia Iranica Online. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/balk-town-and-province

Paul, Jürgen. "Balkh." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE . Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, ; Denis Matringe, ;John Nawas and ; Everett Rowson. Brill, 2010. Brill Online. Indiana University Bloomington. 31 December 2010. http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=ei3_SIM-23449

World Architecture Map. "The Green Mosque". http://www.worldarchitecturemap.org/buildings/green-mosque-balkh

Maps 1-4 from Wikimedia Commons.  Map 5 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark website.

Research Topic - Everyday Bactria

In a previous post, you might remember that I was amused with the sales receipts present in the Bactrian Documents.  Such a seemingly insignificant piece of parchment has extremely interesting and wonderful information about the daily lives of Bactrians, namely what sorts of goods were purchased and consumed by everyday people.  These receipts bring the past home in a very personal, almost charming way, demonstrating that their habits of consumption and lifestyle were not so different than our own modern consumption patterns.  With an eye to patterns of trade and consumption, I will endeavor to paint a picture of everyday life from the source material in the Bactrian Documents.  Here's some preliminary questions that I will strive to address, keeping in mind this is an evolving project and, as such, more questions will undoubtedly arise while I am conducting my research:

- Goods traded within Bactria are well known and listed in primary sources, but who was using these sources?  Was it the common people or those in higher stations within society?

- Types of goods exchanged for a marriage.  What was highly valued?

- Time period to be surveyed shall be that of the time period covered by the Bactrian Documents, roughly the Kushan Era, Hephtahlites, Sasanians, and a tiny smidge of the Arab Conquest.

This is no small task, and I realize the road from construction of a research article to actual publication is a very, very long one, but I will document it here for those who might be interested to follow my progress.  Join me as I heap loads of work upon myself for no real reason other than to seek information and research an area of interest that is near and dear to my heart.

Achaemenid Architecture Gets a Cameo in Marvel's Avengers

By now, most people on this planet, and perhaps even inhabiting this region of the galaxy, have seen or are at least aware of The Avengers, the Joss Whedon directed juggernaut (see what I did there?) destroying Box Office records the world over.  However, there was one brief moment that I, and perhaps a few others who are far nerdier than most, noticed.  Spoilers ahead, in case there is one soul left who hasn't seen the movie:

The scene in Stuttgart, Germany, where Loki appears at some generic Gala event where wealthy people cloister to drink and be wealthy together, seems to be taking place around a distinctive piece of Achaemenid Architecture: A Bull Capital.  This style of capital is a prevalent and recognizable motif in Achaemenid Architecture seen in palace and government buildings such as, for example, at the palace complex of Persepolis.  Depicted below is an example of such a capital:

(image source: Wikipedia)

And here is the set piece used in The Avengers:

(image source: Marvel's The Avengers)

This just goes to show there really is something for everyone in The Avengers!

The Bactrian Documents vol I and II

The Bactrian Documents, translated by Nicholas Sims-Williams, are valuable, first hand documents written in the Bactrian language pertaining to everyday life in pre-Islamic Bactria.  The documents can vary from being as important as Buddhist texts or legal/marriage contracts to receipts for goods purchased and received from one person to another.  While the marriage contract is interesting to read, I honestly find the receipts to be very interesting and even slightly amusing to read.  It makes me chuckle to think of reading someone's old grocery shopping receipt from the Kushan era and finding that people back then shopped for things not so different than what we shop for today.  Such as in Document B:

"The year 137, the month Shabat,

There has been received by me, Aspal-bid, from you, Zuwanind, the store-keeper, what is written in the list:forty measures of flour and grain, twelve jars of wine, ten sieves, ten bags of straw, fourteen bundles of lucerne, one chicken.  So this (is) your proof (of receipt). " (1)

The contracts contained herein are also fascinating.  Document A is a marriage contract, wherein a woman named Ralik is married to brothers,  Bab and Piduk.  I'm not sure how common it was for one woman to be married to two men.  The reading here seems to be pretty clear on the matter, though:

"Now:There has been requested by me, Bag-farn, from you, Far-wesh, and from you, Nog-sanind, this woman whose name (is) Ralik (as) a fully privledged daughter-in-law, (as) a wife for these (my) sons, Bab and Piduk..." (2)

The document also goes on to say:

"And a declaration was made (by us), Bab and Piduk.  We have received Ralik - I, Bab, and (I), Piduk - (as) a wife (to be treated) like a wife in every home which we now have and also which we may acquire in the future, (as) a lady possessing authority, as (is) the established custom in the land." 

I immediately drew correlations in this practice here to the practice mentioned in the Bible of how Jewish men would marry the wives of their dead brothers, and any children had in that relationship would belong to the dead brother.  Mongol men would marry their stepmothers if their father died, or marry their brother's wives in order to keep the women in the family and afford them social security and protection.  This appears to be similar to that in some regard, though I wonder if both these men engaged in intercourse with her.  At least they would know someone was fathering the children, though probably not which brother was successfully producing offspring with her.

Other documents included in the volumes include contracts for sales of items and slaves.  Loan contracts were also present, describing their interest rate, penalties, and items and/or amounts of money loaned.  There are also Buddhist texts and private correspondence, as well as a few legal proclamations.  The documents bring to life the workings of an advanced, organized society.  These types of primary sources are my favorite because they demonstrate that people, living in the years approximately from 200-400 A.D, were not so different from us at all, and desired and valued similar things to modern people.  They needed clear legal rulings for property inheritence, grievances, and criminal justice.  They utilized marriage contracts to negotiate rights for newly married women and their roles in their new households.  They shopped in markets for goods to feed their families. They wrote expressive, elegant letters to one another and they wrote beautiful hymns to the Buddha.  The Bactrian Documents are a significant and integral source of information for Bactrian scholarship and crucial to understanding the rich history of this important area.